Up at 2am we were greeted by an awesome display of stars, we were off on the last 5km hike to the summit of Cerro Chirripó! Thankfully, the clouds from the day before had blown away and we were hoping to watch the sunrise from the summit. Still groggy and very cold, we passed over rolling hills and valleys for a few km until we arrived at the Valle de los Conejos (valley of rabbits). At every break we would stop, turn off our headlamps, and stare in silence at the amazing view above us. This far away from civilization, the stars were brighter and more spectacular than I've ever seen. The milky way cut across us and left us dumbfounded as we counted one shooting star after another.
The last few km entered the rocky peak that led to the summit. It was cold now, and the clouds were starting to roll in, but there was no stopping us. We had to scramble up the art 500m, but it was more than worth it as the summit sign came into view!
Although we were completely clouded in, it was a great feeling knowing we had climber 12, 500 feet above sea level. There is something majestic knowing you are the highest point for miles around. I can literally say now that on Chirripó I was the highest I've ever been!
After a half hour and some fun pictures later, we decided to head down and get out of the freezing cold cloud that had blanketed us in. Little did we know that the walk down was going to be equally impressive. The sun had risen and the clouds were breaking up lower down, so we were able to see the beautiful valleys and mountains surrounding us that we missed on the hike up.
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