i suddenly woke to the soft buzz of my alarm clock letting me know my flight was in a few hours, while my bag was laying beside me, barely packed.
i’d never been to mexico before, and knew our overlanding trip across mexico state, veracruz, and oaxaca would lead me to pack every type of layer you could imagine. one problem- my bag was only so big, and my camera gear was taking up most of the room. i tried to limit myself, only bringing the layers i knew i would wear and be comfortable in. versatility was key especially since we would experience chilly and cool temps in the mountains, and extremely hot and dry weather in the tropical jungles of veracruz. the weather would be anywhere from 20 degrees to 105 degrees fahrenheit.
i quickly packed my go-to’s, my kuhl weekendr tights, hörizn skinny pants, and various kuhl t-shirts like the lin ss and the sona ss. i also threw in some heavier layers such as a rain jacket and a puffy for cooler/wet days as i quickly ran to the airport. i made it just in the nick of time, thank goodness, said adios to the us and began to hola to mexico but got cut out by the flight attendant giving her safety spiel to everyone on board.
my adventure started quickly after the bumpy landing. ealizing i had to navigate the mexico city airport knowing little to no spanish. i made it through with my passport in hand, quickly typing in phrases like “where's the bathroom,” or “where's gate 8” to google translate on my phone. even though i was very confused, i was eager to start the journey ahead of me. i was also worried i wouldn't make it out of the airport with the language barrier. but i pushed onwards, smiling through the confusion. I finally made it through customs, grabbed my checked bag, and headed for the sliding glass doors that opened to the busy streets of mexico city.
patiently waiting for his arrival, i couldn’t have been more excited to see my friend helby pull around the corner in his 2012 rigged out jeep wrangler. it was a deep green color with black accents, looking like it should blend in with its surroundings but it obviously did't because we were in the city. his jeep would be our chariot and home for the next two weeks. We’d sleep in the rooftop tent, cook out the back door, and endlessly drive from place to place trying to see and do as much as we could. smiles reaching ear to ear, i gave helby a big hug and we headed west to our first destination - the volcano of nevado de toluca, 15000 ft above sea level.
first, we gathered food from the grocery store, ate some authentic Mexican tacos from a nearby food truck (maybe a little spicier than I was used to), and started our ascent to the trailhead of the volcano. “vamos, vamos!” Said helby who was full Columbian and fluent in Spanish. Prior to our trip, I told him that I took French in high school so only know basic Spanish words, such as hola or adios. He said we’d be okay and that he’d teach me as much as he could while we were traveling.
with the city was in our rearview mirrors, and the sun settling over the blue, faded mountains. we climbed higher and higher. our excitement grew as we ascended. Our plans were to camp at the trailhead around 13500 ft high in elevation. we didn’t think anything of it, only that in a few short hours, we would be climbing into a stratovolcano at sunrise.
i didn't think the elevation would bother me. i've done backpacking trips and summits where i gained 7000 ft of elevation in a day and was totally fine, so i wasn't worried. i brushed my teeth, admired our campsite, and climbed into bed around 9pm so i could be up early and ready to hike. anxious and a little nervous, i pulled my sleeping bag over my head hoping the knot in my stomach would go away soon. i quickly realized that it wasn't nerves or anxiety making my stomach a little queasy. it was something else. And that's when everything went downhill.