After restocking at Walmart, we set out for Ixta. Much of the drive was through beautiful Mexican countryside, and the last bit was on rough sandy mountain roads.
Mount Poco is a mountain right next to Ixta. It is an active volcano so no one climbs it. We got to see it belching steam hundreds of feet into the air. The locals say it is visibly active sometimes once a month, sometimes once a year. I felt pretty lucky to see it blow today.
At the entrance to the national park we obtained permits and learned that only 5 people have died on this mountain in the last two months. They asked us to keep the casualties under seven...
The base camp is a sandy parking lot. Lots of groups were leaving as we arrived. There is a little shack where a lady sells some food. Lots of us bought some really good quesadillas from her.
After setting up camp, eating supper, and having worship, a bunch of us set out to carry a load of water further up the mountain. We hoped to acclimatize more and make the transition to high camp tomorrow easier. The sunset was awesome. It literally invoked awe. I personally hauled 8 liters of water and 3 ropes up to 14k feet before returning to base camp at 13k. Our whole group hauled 70 liters of water. We kinda got carried away and didn't leave enough water at base camp for breakfast. I had a little bit of a headache on the hike tonight, and I thought I may take some Tylenol before bed. By the time we got back to base camp I felt fine and went directly to bed.
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