Hut Hut, Hikes!

No picture and no amount of words will be able to capture the two hikes I have conquered over the past two weeks. With many steps, aches, and pains, came also the soothing cascade of peace and amazement brought on by inexplicable views and picturesque landscapes. Best of all was the chance to share these hikes with my students and tackle nature's challenges together. On October 4th-6th, we left for the Takesi Trail, located in the Yungas Mountains and established by the Incan Empire. With 19 freshman and sophomores and four other teachers, we embarked on the 25 mile hike up and down the Takesi trail. My first overnight backpacking adventure, we carried everything on our backs and weathered many climates accompanied by many altitudes, ranging from 15,000ft to 7,000ft. The days were rewarding as much as they were challenging, and the pictures below barely begin to scratch the surface as to what it was like out there.

The start of the Takesi trail, and the mountain we pass over in the back.

The morning of day 2, wet but alive.

After returning from the Takesi, I had four days to rest up and prepare for the next hike with the juniors and seniors. This time the task was to take down the Choro Trail, a 44 mile hike in 4 days. From October 11th-14th, 22 students, 3 teachers, and yours truly wrestled the Choro Trail and came out victorious, if not also incredibly sore. The Choro is different in that it is more about endurance rather than physical strength. The first 30 minutes is all uphill, but the rest of the hike is basically a descent to the finish line, however somewhere on day 3 we crawled up a portion of the trail referred to as, "The Devil's Staircase". Downhill is harder on the knees, but the views and the journey was well worth the pain. This trail was also hotter and we had much better weather compared to Takesi, but with hotter weather comes more bugs, and many of us took home unwanted souvenirs on our legs as a result.

At the top of the Choro Trail with my roommate Luke before we start our descent down the mountain.

Muscles heal, lungs recover, and bug bites fade, but memories and conversations last, and for that reason alone it was a true blessing and honor to be able to go on these two hikes. So much of the trail was spent appreciating God's creation and letting that inspire conversation. I had several deep and meaningful conversations which helped cultivate the relationship building and mentoring I desire to build while serving here. I feel reinvigorated once again to continue serving here and to continue to make the most of every opportunity the Lord provides, no matter how challenging.

Truly incredible views at the campsites along the Choro.

The true challenge of these hikes was actually coming back to school and wrapping up the first quarter, finishing parent teacher conferences, and pulling off a National Honor Society induction ceremony where I had to pronounce some of the more challenging names in the high school. By God's grace and with some extra cups of coffee, I have made it through a crazy last two weeks, and am looking forward to getting back into the groove of things. The only foreseeable wrench may be the presidential elections that will take place on October 20th, and the possible ensuing protests that may break out because of them, but I will save that for a later update. Thank you again for spending the time to keep up with my life and mission here in Bolivia and at Highlands International School. Please keep us in your prayers. I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and are inspired to visit! God Bless.

The National Honor Society members from Highlands. (Yes, I read all those names with my best Spanish accent)

Supported our Highlands soccer team at a tournament in the city this week.

I decided to put the crazy staff photo in here as opposed to the boring professional one.