Cerro Corazón

Cerro Corazón

On our first weekend in Chile, in late January, we hiked up Cerro Grande, the 1800 foot hill that dominates the eastern skyline of La Serena. At the time, we met an elderly gentleman with some English, who pointed out some of the other hills in the area. I had asked about the name of a nearby hill, to which he replied, Cerro Corazón. Since I was familiar with that name as one of the other good hikes in the area, Todd and I agreed that we’d climb that hill next.

Huanchalaruca

However, when we went back last weekend to hike it, we quickly realized that there had been a slight miscommunication. What I had pointed to was actually a smaller nearby hill called Huachalaruca, which is about half as tall as Cerro Grande. Cerro Corazón was slightly to the left, further away and taller (700 m or 2300 feet).

Place of rest & contemplation on route to Huanchalaruca

So last weekend, we hiked past Huachalaruca toward the bottom of Cerro Corazón, but decided to wait on climbing it. I needed much better hiking shoes before we attempted the climb. I hadn’t brought my hiking shoes on the plane, incorrectly assuming that I could just hike in my Skechers. Nope! Absolutely no traction on loose sand and rock!

Before the hike

This past week, I searched for hiking shoes. And I mean SEARCHED. The average Chilean person is quite a bit smaller than the average North American. This is obvious in the height of the counters in the kitchen, the height of the toilet seat, and now, in the size of the shoes! I went to multiple stores, looking for hiking shoes in size 9.5. The largest size most of the stores carried was an 8. The salespeople all said that I could order larger online and have them sent to my house. However, I usually have problems with shoes and have to try on 4-5 pairs before finding ones that will work. In the end, I found one pair of hiking boots in one store that would even fit me. They were size 9, but weren’t too short or tight. I decided to take a chance and bought them.

Bottom of Cerro Corazón

Yesterday, March 7, we made our second attempt on Cerro Corazón. Mornings are often foggy and/or hazy in La Serena at this time of the year. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise that we started hiking toward a hill that we couldn’t see. However, it was a bit disconcerting when, 90 minutes later, we reached the base of Cerro Corazón as it was even foggier, windier and colder than when we started. We decided to go for it anyway, and started up the steep side of the hill. About 2/3 of the way up, we came out into the sunshine above the clouds. What an amazing sight!

Top of Cerro Corazón
Above the clouds
Flowering cactus

While we were up on the top, exploring the ridge, the clouds disappeared and the view was absolutely fantastic. No one else was up there at the time, although we could see signs of both hikers and bikers. Bikers? Up here? Turns out there is another way up that’s much longer and more gradual. It’s possible to ride and/or carry your bike to the top, then bike back down. Todd suggested that maybe someday, when we actually get our bikes, we could try this. But, the ride up sounds exhausting just thinking about it!

Interesting rocks on Cerro Corazón
Cliff at bottom of descent

We decided to see if there was another way down that wasn’t as steep as our climb up but not as long as the gradual descent. We hiked down the ridge quite a way, then dropped off the side of the hill toward a road in a nearby valley. Nope. Not any less steep and it ended in a 8 or 9 foot cliff before the road! Fortunately, the slope we were on met up with another slope, creating a slight gulley that we could follow down to the road. Whew! I wasn’t looking forward to jumping off a cliff!

Our route on Cerro Corazón

On the way back, we met a very nice man, Esteban, who had biked up to the top of Huancharuca. He explained some of the trails to us and invited us to go hiking or biking with him and his girlfriend sometime.

All told, the hike was a great success. It took about 5.5 hours and covered around 10 miles. My shoes didn’t cause any blisters (thanks to two well-placed bandaids) and were extremely helpful on the steep, slippery slopes. We arrived home very dusty and tired, but otherwise happy with our adventure.

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3 Responses

  1. Barbara D. says:

    Wow! Just looking at the photos, I appreciated reaching the first photo of blue sky. Thank you again for the chance to experience a new adventure – vicariously.

  2. Betsy says:

    Great story and incredible photos, Deb! Sharing with a couple other family members that have hiked further south. I know they will love reading of your adventures. Love seeing the flowering cactus. Their formations and colors are different than those in AZ.

  3. Wow Deb! Thanks for letting us see the terrain and the wonderful faces and feet 😀 of people we miss!!!!! ❤