Yesterday we hiked almost all the way up La Malinche. At 14,440 feet, just a few minutes from the top, the park security emerged from the cloud to inform us that the mountain was closed due to the threat of lightning. My own assessment of the lightning risk was lower than his, but this guy didn’t seem in the mood to discuss and I wasn’t going to bring my rudimentary Spanish skills and a trekking pole to a gun fight. Oh well.

On the way down, we got thoroughly soaked and were happy to hop in the showers at the La Malintzi Resort before eating a hot meal and getting to bed early.

At the moment, we are in route to La Joyita, the trailhead for Ixtaccihuatl. We will spend the night there and head to high camp tomorrow.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier