When planning our vacation to the Azores, climbing Mount Pico was immediately at the top of my husband’s “must do” list and (for a while) it was at the bottom of mine. You see we had both been working long hours prior to the trip and I was preparing for some serious R+R. While I was ready to explore the beautiful islands of the Azores, I didn’t envision hiking a stratovolcano and certainly not one that Google searches had revealed would take hours of steep walking and some climbing to reach the top. Don’t get me wrong, achieving this would be cool but tiring and I was already tired, plus I hadn’t been to the gym or done much exercise in any form for months and I feared that Pico would conquer me.

Nevertheless, hiking Pico intrigued me and since vacations are also about new experiences, it didn’t take long for me to get excited about it.
The photo above was taken in the Azorean island known as Faial, with Pico in the distance. In that moment I felt confident and ready to take on the challenge. We decided to hire a local guide (Quim) to lead our Mount Pico adventure. My husband has more experience hiking than I do and has a great sense of direction, so we debated this for a while but I’m so glad we went with someone that knew the Mountain. Quim suggested we start as early as possible, letting us borrow his headlamps as we began our hike that morning.

Once the sun came up we started to enjoy the unique environment that surrounded us but as we passed trail post after trail post (there are 45 of them), reality set in for me that we still had a long way to go.

On our way to the peak I was focused and didn’t talk much (mainly to reserve my energy). I don’t know about you but when I’m on a treadmill I rarely put that incline setting all the way up to 10 and I was feeling this. It made me feel better having read that even experienced hikers find Pico deceptively challenging due to its steep and rocky, lava formed terrain. Plus, Quim (that’s him in the orange jacket) was keeping us on a steady pace as the clouds were rolling in and he wanted to ensure we didn’t miss our chance at the ultimate view.

About 2.5 hours into our hike we were nearing the final section of the mountain. Pico has a large crater at the top and in the middle of it a 230 foot volcanic cone, known as Piquinho, which leads to the final summit.

Panorama of the Pit crater and Piquinho (or little Pico).

At this point Quim told us to prepare for what he referred to as the Spider-man climb. The kid in me thought, ‘that sounds awesome!’ but the adult in me was about to catch up.

We were going to have to use our hands now, I reluctantly let go of my walking poles, looked up at the vertical climb ahead and realized that I wasn’t quite ready for my superhero debut.

Noticing my hesitation, Quim asked if I was o.k. and I responded: “I’m fine, just need a minute – forgot to mention that I’m afraid of heights.”

“Really? What are you doing here?” he asked.

His dry delivery cracked me up and at the same time I couldn’t help but think about the fact that I do this a lot in my life. Not the hiking volcanoes part but jumping into things a bit out of my comfort zone and trusting that it will all be ok in the end.  I have yet to figure out if it’s a ridiculous move or brilliant?

As I contemplated life (and turning around) my husband jumped in with encouraging words and very practical ones like “DON’T LOOK DOWN.” Quim also tried to snap me out of it:  ”Trust your hands. Trust your feet. Keep climbing. They are just rocks.”

The moment was like a real life version of a motivational poster – my fear slowly dissipating into an awesome landscape with each step I took.

And then….

Our guide allowed my husband and I to reach the top first and have a moment.  I love that we did this together and a mix of emotions came over me – fatigue, accomplishment, excitement.

After taking it all in, we sat down for lunch – sandwiches with Bolo Lêvedo. This bread reminded me of an English muffin but with a softer texture and sweeter taste. I had packed it with ham, apple slices, and cheese from Sao Jorge (another island in the Azores). Having reached the top, taking in the fresh air and surrounded by the beauty of the Azores, this lunch time was extra special.
I couldn’t believe it when only 15 minutes later the clouds covered everything around us. Once again it made us grateful that Quim was with us this day to help us navigate the terrain and make it to the top in good time so we wouldn’t miss out on the spectacular view.

Now it was time to make our way back down. For most it’s the worst part – tough on your knees, there’s no grand vista to look forward to, etc. But this wasn’t the case for me because I was so happy I hadn’t given up. I also felt more relaxed and we took the time to explore and check out craters on the way down.

Pico certainly tested my resilience but once we were done, I was on an “I did it!” high and realized that in the 6.5 hours of very few words exchanged – I actually learned a lot.

A few more notes on Pico:
- it is the highest mountain in Portugal with an elevation of 7,713 ft (2,351 m)
- Pico has been dormant since 1718
- Allow yourself 6 to 8 hours total time for going up and down the mountain (dependent on fitness level)

If you’re visiting the Azores and want to climb Pico (it’s an experience you won’t forget!), here’s a very informative site: http://climbingpicoazores.blogspot.com/p/the-mountain.html