Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

© Christa Brunt | Getty
cloud shrouds Concepción volcano
Rising in the bluish predawn, we begin our summit assault in the tiny hamlet of
La Concepción. We walk through fields of coffee and banana plantations, nodding
greetings at several early-rising farmers. But the easy stroll gets challenging very
quickly, as the trail takes a steep turn up the slope and into the forest. This is dry
tropical forest, dense with vines and ferns. It’s still early, and the first weak rays of
sunlight barely penetrate the canopy. Howler monkeys screech overhead, an eerie
sound that reminds me of the spooky stories I heard from the proprietor of the hotel
where we stayed the night before, stories of a man-devil named Chico Largo who
roams the nature reserve south of Concepción, turning men into cows and worse.
We climb and climb, sometimes walking up stairs hacked by machete out of the
earth. They’re slippery beneath our feet, still wet with morning dew. I trip on a root
and nearly land face first in the mud.