La Malinche - Scaling the Summit

Since we arrived in Tlaxcala, Julio and I have been talking about climbing the famous volcano 'La Malinche' in the region of Tlaxcala, which stands at an altitude of 4,461 meters.

Finally, on the weekend of July 13, 2019, the time had come. The morning jogging sessions in the past days and weeks were about to pay off.

We started the trip together with Julio's friends Miguel and Luisa. After a cozy evening of grilling and staying overnight in a 'Cabaña', we woke up at 6 am the next day. It was good to have spent the night in the national park already. This way, we could acclimatize to the high altitude and had enough time for the hike before the rain started.

Since I had never hiked such a high mountain before, I didn't know what to expect or if I could even make it, especially since I didn't feel very fit. I wouldn't say that I was negative, but rather that I wanted to see how the hike would go and how far we would get. Julio had already done this hike many years ago and was highly motivated to climb the summit for the second time.

The first part led us through the forest. Initially still half dark and very chilly, but soon the sun shone through the trees and warmed our faces. Unfortunately, Miguel and Luisa left us after only an hour and we continued towards the summit as a duo.

The gentle ascent through the forest soon rewarded us with the first view: a glimpse into the cloud-covered valley of Tlaxcala. The trees became more sparse and desert flowers slowly began to dominate the landscape. From now on, we could already see the summit. It doesn't look that far anymore, we thought. And according to Google Maps, we had already completed half of the route.

But as the paths became steeper, our speed decreased and the hike turned out to be quite a challenge.

But the view of the valley, the impressive landscape rewarded every step and we were convinced that we would actually make it.

Especially when the rocks became larger, no more flowers were in sight, and the fog obscured the view, our goal of reaching the summit was within reach.

And so, after 5 hours of ascent, we finally reached the top. We weren't alone, a group of Mexicans were already there, celebrating with a summit beer.

We were surprised and somewhat saddened to even encounter a dog from the street here, which had probably followed the many climbers in the hope of finding food.

After a short break, feeding the dog, and taking a summit photo, we started the descent, because we had taken a long time to climb and needed to be back by 3 pm at the latest.

On the way back, we could enjoy the spectacular landscape much better, although the steep path was quite difficult at some points and demanding for the knees.

After 3 hours, we were back at the Cabañas. The pressure on the ears was now (at least for me) noticeably stronger. Maybe it would have been better to stay another night in the national park to recover. But with our friends, we took a taxi back to Tlaxcala, where we fell into bed early in the evening like heavy stones, but proud and happy.

In conclusion: A spectacular, impressive hike that will remain in my memory forever and gives me the desire for another mountain climb!