putting aside the fact that we can afford to come to costa rica, that we both work with such awesome people that we can just dissappear for 10 days during the run up to year end, and that we have a (mostly) happy, healthy and charming little girl …

… during the roughly 108 hours that we’ve been in Arenal, we’ve been able to see the very top of the volcano for exactly six hours — and three of those hours happend to be when we were hiking around the base of the volcano.

i don’t want to run the statistical odd of this ever happening again, but i do feel like i should buy a lottery ticket.

the main hike in the parque is about 2km from the primary parking lot to a (now fully cooled) lava flow from the 1993 eruption, which goes through a whole series of overlooks of both the volcano and the lake beneath.

we knew nothing about how strenuous the hike was, but started feeling good when we saw two Russian grandmothers hobbling off the mountain as we made our way to the trail head.

sparklet was a happy (and well fed) camper in throughout — and even hiked a bit herself on the way back.

she’s a good egg.

i’m calling this the last hike of the season — and while i hope it’s not actually going to turn out that way, it is getting pretty late into November. and, while we *are* taking the backpack to Costa Rica, based on the events of today i’m not convinced we’re going to use it much.

granted, sparklet had never been on a hike for longer than an hour and a half, and the lady sparkler had been on one hike since she got pregnant two years ago, but needless to say, it didn’t go especially well today.

note to self: (1) bring more food; (2) go over the trail details with your wife beforehand especially if she pretends not to care; (3) bring earplugs just in case you happen to fail on notes #1 and/or #2.

trail information:
Trailhead: 38.73885, -78.308208 (Google Maps); Length: 5.7 total miles; Elevation Gain: 800 feet; Trail Type: Loop (Jeremy’s Run Trail, to Knob Mountain Trail, to Elkhollow Trail); Skill Level: Easy-to-moderate.