My Experience Hiking a Mountain
The Village Mountain in San Gil, Zacatecas
Staring Donkeys
The Cactus
Me At The Top of The Mountain
Introduction
I was up before the sun rose and the annoying rooster we have in the den. The small village in Mexico where I was staying was filled with pocky plants, rocks, and sand. Occasionally you find livestock grazing in the wild. We have a rooster that wakes us up every morning and man, that rooster has a screech every morning call. Everyone in the house would hear his horrific voice in the morning. My old paps come into my room with his huge two liter water jugs. I thought he was just going to work as usual in the morning tending to his bean field.
”Do you want to hike the San Gil Mountain today.” my dad said in a hard accent. I was amazed by his words.
“Really! We can go today.” I exclaimed excitedly
“Yep. If we’re going to go you better get changed right now. Oh, and you cousin is coming with us”.
I was throwing all my other clothes on the ground to find the right ones. A white sombrero, long sleeve black and white polo, jeans, and by brand spanking new cream color hiking boots is what I wore to the hike. I hopped in my dad’s old 2000 F150 and headed off.
Falling Onto Cactus
When we arrived I stared at the top of the mountain for a while, to astonished to focus on anything else. I hear a thud in the back of the head. My cousin, Roberto, flicked me in the back of my head and then shoved me up the hill. I was having a moment soaking in the view and he ruined it. I gave him a disgusting look to let him know I was upset. All I wanted was to take in the view and start hiking, but knucklehead Roberto was pushy. I looked up and saw a donkey staring at me long and hard. It was as if it was trying to warn me of something. I'll never know was the donkey intended to do.
Ever since we started hiking I kept thinking don’t look back until you get to the top. Ahead of me was a large root that came from the ground. The root came to about my ankles. It made an arc shape and looked like it connected to another plant. When I approached it, my dad mumbled something that I didn’t understand. My mind was to focused on what he was saying. Forgetting the root was in front of me, my foot lifted right into the root. To my left was the biggest cactus I’ve ever seen in my life and guess where I fell onto. You guessed it. The large needles penetrated my left thigh leaving me reeling in my excruciating pain. I’m pretty sure the whole village hear my scream. Five large thorns were in a center group. Blood was trickling down my leg.
“We have to pull the thorns out. Don’t worry, we have bandages for your leg. When I take out the thorn hold onto something.” Roberto calm tone of voice seemed soothing
I just noded. I couldn’t say anything because I was biting down on my teeth from the pain. Roberto cached the first aid from my dad. Everytime he pulled out the torn, it brought a wave of sharp pain. I grunted every time. After that was over I felt my leg throbbing, in synch with my heartbeat. Next thing I knew he was wrapping bandages around my leg. Blood was showing through the bandages. Terrified of bleed out, I started to whine.
“Mijo, que paso?” (My son, what happened) my dad voiced concerningly.
“I fell onto a cactus. I’ll be alright to keep going.” I communicated. With a smile on my dad’s face we continued the hike.
Coyote Getting Shot
I don’t know how long it been on this long hike, but my mouth is as dry as this terrain. Suddenly my dad stop us and told us to not make a sound. Roberto and I had confused looks. My dad reached inside his polo shirt and pulled out a gun. I didn’t even know he carried a gun with him. Dad extended his arms and squeezed his right eye. When he did that I covered my ears, so did Roberto. We were in a small ditch. Few seconds of absolute silence then...Bang!...Bang! I could hear the bullet penetrating through what I thought was flesh. You could here a rippling sound. It’s something that you’re unfamiliar with. Later followed a screech, almost like a dog whining. With a glance over to us from dad I knew we were assured that it was alright to head up. Laying twenty yards away was a dead coyote. I stared at it phazed by the look the crippled body. All of us were confused of a weird smell that arose from the dead coyote. Dad’s arms were on my shoulder guiding me up the hill reminding me to continue. I kept the bullet casing for memories.
Deadly Mosquitos
When I think we’re at the top, there is more to explore. Eventually I tell my dad how long is it until we get to the top of the mountain. He gave me the “I don’t know” shrug. Slowly as we ascended the mountain there was a buzzing sound that got louder as I went up, but it had a low pitch sound. A humongous bee hive has hanging right outside a narrow cave. Dad gave a gesture to come next to him and Roberto as well. All of us were frightened. Heading towards the hive raise the rate of my heart. I knew if I got stung by one of these bees I could die. None of us made any sound. We all crawled below the hive. Dust fill ours eyes and make our mouth pasty. The loose dust make the ground feel soft as a pillow. I couldn’t stand the dense area are not mentioning I was already exhausted. A mosquito was flying a few feet in front of my face. I did not make a sound or movement. It was as if time had stopped. I was relieved when it flew away back to its hive. A big relief was off my shoulder. In my head I was hysterical thinking I could die in the middle of nowhere. This lead to heights and my dreams.
Conclusion
From the cave there was the top of the mountain. I was dreaming of this since I was a child saw the local landmark. Afar was the village and the favelas in front of me. To my left was a highway that took you to the nearest city and to my right was farmland. It was such a magnificent view of the village. It gave you a nice feeling inside your chest like you were on top of the world. After all my dad, Roberto, and myself went through it was worth it. I will hold onto this memory for the rest of my life.