A video capturing an epic yet comically disastrous hike on a volcano in Antigua, Guatemala, has gone viral on TikTok.
User @jasmin.jayy recorded the footage in May, hoping to capture the memorable experience of her best friend's birthday trip. The clip, which Jasmin posted on December 31, has since received more than 149,000 views.
The video depicts a series of unexpected challenges that Jasmin and her best friend, Gabby, faced during a hike on the Acatenango volcano.
"I wanted to document our hike because I'm all about capturing adventures for the memories (and the content, of course)," Jasmin told Newsweek. "But, honestly, this hike was a comedy of errors."
"We had stray dogs stealing my best friend's food, we were hours behind our group, and at one point, we were so exhausted that we had to get a horse for the last 15 minutes of the hike. It got to the point where all we could do was laugh at the struggle and pray for the summit," she added.
Hikers on the Acatenango volcano can see eruptions of the Fuego volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
"Eruptions at Fuego have become more mafic with time, and most historical activity has produced basaltic rocks. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows," the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History said on its website.
According to data compiled by Statista, more than 61 million people in the United States engaged in hiking activities at least once in 2023. This was the highest number recorded in the country since 2010, marking a growth of about 89 percent from the figure reported that year.
'My Lungs Were Having a Meltdown'
The hike, which is expected to take about 10 to 12 hours over two days, turned into an ordeal for Jasmin and Gabby. They took almost seven hours to reach the top and another six hours to descend. "We might've taken the scenic route," Jasmin said, adding, "It was mostly us stopping to gasp for air."
Despite being warned about the hike's difficulty, the women were confident in their abilities because of their active lifestyles.
Jasmin said: "Everyone warned us it was going to be tough, so I was mentally preparing for the worst while trying to stay optimistic. Like, 'Hey, I've done hikes before, how hard can it be?' Gabby and I both stay pretty active, so we figured we'd be fine."
She said women at their hostel who had done the hike a few days earlier told them to pack snacks and to "make sure our hiking boots were ready." Jasmin added, "Beyond that, we weren't ready for the reality of it."
Reality hit the pair quickly, given the volcano's steep incline and high altitude. "Seriously—five minutes! The incline hit hard from the get-go. My breath was already heavy, and I looked at Gabby like, 'Are we actually doing this?'" Jasmin said.
The altitude proved to be the most challenging part of the hike. "Every step felt like I was running a marathon," she added. The thin air made breathing feel like "breathing through a straw while someone was sitting on my chest. I knew then that this was about to be a way harder adventure than I imagined."
At one point, she was stopping every few steps just to catch her breath, and it "felt like my lungs were having a meltdown," she said.
She also took frequent breaks and felt too sick to enjoy any amenities, such as a bonfire, at the base camp of the Acatenango, from where they could watch the Fuego volcano's eruptions.
'Absolutely Surreal'
At a critical low point during the hike, Jasmin and Gabby reconsidered using horses on their journey. "At the beginning of the hike, they offer horses as an option, but we were like, 'Nah, we're good!' And then about six hours later, we realized how not good we were. We came across the horses just as we were hitting rock bottom," Jasmin said. They gratefully accepted a short 10- to 15-minute ride. The horses could not summit the volcano, so they had to continue on foot.
Despite the setbacks, Jasmin managed to catch a glimpse of the incredible views at the end of their journey. "I was so sick and exhausted by the time we got to base camp that I immediately went to lay down and pass out," she said. However, the next morning, she witnessed the volcano erupting and the breathtaking scenery above the clouds, which "was absolutely surreal," she said.
"Honestly, the scenery was unforgettable," Jasmin continued, adding, "I just wish I could've enjoyed it while being conscious."
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