Old Town Outfitters

Acatenango trail work day

2011-11-08T20:38:00.001-08:00

Old Town Outfitters practices what we preach: Community based relationships and trail stewardship.

Together with our friends, local community guides, and porters from la Soledad we hiked up acatenango to do some yearly trail maintenance.

This years heavy rains left the trails and campsites on our favorite mountain in bad shape.

In an effort to be a responsible community member we feel that rolling up our sleeves and working alongside the locals is a great way to foster relationships and protection for this amazing place.

Campsite platforms with a front row seat for the eruptions on Fuego.

Big work = big lunch and a siesta.

Come around to Old Town and sign up for an overnight trip up acatenango.

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Holiday ride

2011-09-15T17:58:00.001-07:00

Today's Guatemalan independence day and everyone's for the day of work.

So we rounded up the troops and headed out on a bike ride. Apparently a big climb on a "holiday ride" is not so cool.

I of course did not know this and headed up hill and up some more to the tops of the northern ridges. At the top of the downhill however it was all smiles.

After what seemed like an eternity if uphill soon turned the other direction and we started for the valley floor. Who know 18.5 km.s could hurt that much!

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Trip Advisor

2011-08-24T11:17:00.001-07:00

Thanks for all the great feedback!

Trip Advisor continues to be a great resource tool for travelers planning their trips. Help us to spread the good word about Old Town Outfitters on Trip Advisor. If you've been on a trip with Us write a review for fellow travelers. Hope to see y'all back on trail soon!
Mateo

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Goin' High!

2011-08-02T11:37:00.001-07:00

Today was a big day on the trail. We climbed up out of the Antigua valley to the top of re "Cielo Grande" ridge.

It's a whimper of a climb but the ridge riding is some of the best around. Theres plenty of east coast-isk slippery root sections to keep ya honest.

But once the trail starts down...

It's all the way back down to the valley floor. Come by the shop and teat your mettle on the Cielo Grande ride.

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Fuego's Fireworks

2011-03-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

The Five hour hike to the top of Acatenango, Guate's third largest voclano, is well worth the effort on nights like this!

This was the view from our campsite of neighboring Fuego Volcano. Not your everyday show, one we were happy as hell to catch.

Come by the office to sign up for our next summit adventure!

Old Town Outfitters

5a Ave. Sur #12c

5399.0440

Las canas

2011-03-10T04:27:00.001-08:00

Leaving our beautiful campsite along the rio grande de Zacapa behind we headed into the jocotan grande canyon. This is my favorite part of the whole trip.

18kms of nonstop sweet singletrack, river views, swimholes and amazing scenery.

This place really gives you the feeling of being out there and off the gringo path. It's a hard road but one so worth the trip.

The mountains in this part of the country are no huge but there beautiful all the same. Riding along the line in this canyon is a unique chance for a true back country experience. There is no way out once you head into the canyon other than pushing forward or turning back. We didn't set out to turn back!

Halfway through the canyon the jocotan and rio zacapa mix making a great swimhole. The high temps down in the canyon make the plunge a non decision.

The only town at text of the canyon oaths remote town of Santa Barbara. Lucky for us it isn't so remote that you can't find an icy cold chilly willy to gnaw on.

The end of the day brought us to this sweet campsite at the foot of the jocotan mountains. We set up shop and are celebrating our last night in camp with plenty of cold gallos.
-Mateo

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Estellando con la linea

2011-03-10T04:25:00.001-08:00

Yesterdays long push had us getting to camp at almost dark. None of us had any idea as to how pretty our spot actually was along the banks of the Motagua River. Here ya go: sunrise from our camp. Pretty sweet.

"la linea" has transformed itself from railroad line to singletrack in many spots. It's hotter than he'll out there but damn it's pretty. The views from the trail across the river are of the cool cloud forests of the Sierra de las minas, another of our favorite places to go!

As amazing as the trail is, it's incredibly thorny. We logged some crazy amount of flats yesterday only to be equalled by that number today. Add the heat and sand and you got all the makings of a real "challenge".

Given the amount of flats along the way even with the skill of the old town staff 20+ flats is say 15 too many. We opted out of the "trail pump" for something well....more substantial. Welber "super bomba" Jimenez.

It wasn't all fun and games. The 40* temps kept most Englishman at bay. Here is a fine example of an hombre de Tierra fria laid out by the days heat.

However, just as the going got tough, the van found ice and my friend ice on the desert is crucial.

With the beer orders placed we pushed on to our campsite on the rio grande de zacapa. A watering hole next to the camp made it all worthwhile.
We'll see what mañana unfolds!

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The wild wild east part tu

2011-03-08T17:09:00.001-08:00

We pushed hard out of the gates and were rewarded by makingitto finca la Cruz. In this dusty desert of eastern Guatemala this IS the oasis of green you're looking for. Breaky in green grass and poolside was pretty sweet!

Alas all that greenery has to come to an end. But man, the views opened up as we rounded the bend over looking the El Rancho valley. This was great desert riding, rolling fun and fast.

Surprisingly as we rounded the end this monster bridge was wanting for us. It's all Rideable for those with what Guatemalans call "huevos" (balls) and is "bien de ahuevo"(cool) at that! I know all very confusing considering both expressions are based on the word "egg".

We rode and rode and rode some more pausing about, well every other 200 meters to repair a flat. We had a staggering 17 flats today, this must be a record somewhere. All was made good along the banks of the Motagua River when we finally made camp after 10:30 hours and 48 kms.

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Beast of the East GVI charity challenge

2011-03-07T11:20:00.001-08:00

The first annual GVI phoenix GC to Copan Las Ruinas, Honduras trip pulled out of the station this morning early. We made it through the hardest part of the trip (Guatemala City) and on to the trail head.

The ride is littered with cool bridges, tunnels and great singletrack. The ride takes you through amazingly beautiful countryside that hardly anyone sees.

Certainly not many gringos come out here. It's a unique opportunity to see rural Guatemala. We pushed past our planned camp and made it to the lush green oasis of finca la Cruz.

Unfortunately the pool and jacquzi had been drained but the beets were cold at the fiends around the corner.

Juan and Co. cooked up a big spread of food, enough to feed an army of hungry cyclists.
Tomorrow we push on through el rancho and on to our next campsite at Cabanas.

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Wild wild east

2011-02-18T10:32:00.001-08:00

Three days following "La Linea" led us to perhaps one of the nicest river canyons I've seen thus far. The trail heads south from Zacapa through the canyons following the river.

The old line, only a flat scar of a bench cut that once connected village to village along the Banana Republic Line, is now only singletrack, and nice singletrack at that.

There were a couple slides cover the long ago tracks which quickly turn Into technical pieces of prime trail
The views, the canyon, the line following the ricer with its old ruined trestles and caved in tunnels is like a scene direct from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid.

This by far was my favorite piece of trail o the whole trip but certainly the most demanding. Today's ride was 7 hours and we only pushed 21 kms.

After a few times fjording the river we made it to the only pueblo in this part of the canyon called Santa Barbara. A couple chilly willys and a few bags of water later we were again on our way.

Misinformation is a way of life here in Guatemala. While out exploring this can be perhaps harder than any hill climb or dusty road. Like the chatter from a "good" guide there is always the promise of your goal being "just around the corner" or over te next hill or just a couple hours away.

Sitting in Santa Barbara was no different. When the locals heard of our lofty goals to reach the town of Jocotan we were assured that it wasn't but a couple hours from here. We should "have no trouble getting there today".

What we were not told about and certainly couldn't have been calculated in our modest few hours was the Indiana Jones style swinging bridge missing 50% of it's cross pieces or the hour(felt like ten) hike-a-bike up an Everest-isk incline of dust and rock. Oh yeah it had to be 100* and not a stitch of shade ANYWHERE to be found.

I can't remember a time in my recent history when I felt so defeated as on that push.

Arriving at the first of the aldeas on our way to Jocotan, El Oregano( yes the oregano) which sits at the top of that hellacious climb the locals began to come down the hill to greet us. I thought they were coming to spare the gringos the last little push and help us with our bikes. Nope, they just sat and watched as be painfully past and snickered. If ever there was a chance fleece a gringo of some
Cash that was it. Opportunity lost as I labored up the rest of the hill.

El Oregano quickly made up for any short comings as we were warmly received after the usual interrogation as to why we were there was over. Satisfied that we were not there with the mining nor the hydro electric companies we were sat down to cold cokes and a bowl of eggs and beans.

As there's no holiday inn in town we were let into the "school" to sleep for the night. I've slept through many a course at my desk but I've never sleep on three desks pushed together.
Lucky for us there doesn't appear to be any classes being held tomorrow.

Good Night!
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Railroad gang day 2

2011-02-16T20:17:00.001-08:00

Loooooong day in the saddle today.

We pushed some 80 plus kms. From Gustatoya to Zacapa. That mightn't mean a whole lot to most folks but let me tell you it's a long way.
The ride out to the town of El Rancho was pretty incredible! Lots of cool trail, fast and fun with a few big bridges to cross.
In el rancho begins the long push out across the Montagua valley to El Rancho.

I was surprised by the amount of trail along the way where most of the railroad ties and hardware have been ripped out and sold as scrap metal to be
Melted down to build large Chinese buildings.

As this part of Guatemala is
Semi arid desert I thought the heat was gonna be the hard part. As it turns out it wasn't so hot due to an equally strong villain, a headwind. Throw that in with a few thousand thorn bushes to dodge along the way and you have all the makings for an all day love affair.

It wasn't all bad. The scenery was pretty amazing riding along the river with the Sierra de las Minas towering on the other side of the valley.

We arrived in Zacapa at the end of the day just in time for a few beers and a mega feast.
Tomorrow we take on the hills

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Estrellas de La Linea

2011-02-15T17:45:00.001-08:00

On a quest to forever search out the fresh we schemed up a trip down memory lane retracing the now defunct United Fruit Co.'s railroad line connecting Guatemala City with the fertile plains of the Montagua River basin to the once booming Banana Republic port town of Puerto Barrios.

We started just outside Guatemala City and rode "La Linea" or the railroad line about 55kms over trestles through tunnels and through countless farms and villages. Needless to say they haven't see too many pale faces around these parts and we certainly stick out.

It's been a pretty cool ride so far seeing all the old school narrow gauge train stations, water towers, and dusty towns La Linea used to service.

We made it just outside Guastatoya or El Progreso. Tomorrows objective is Zacapa, home of our favorite rum.

Stay tuned.....
Mateo

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Guatemala to Hondruas Charity Ride

2011-02-04T06:16:00.000-08:00

Were gearing up for a first time charity ride following the now defunct United Fruit Railroad line from Guatemala City out to Copan las Ruinas Honduras. We ship out on the 6th of March and will take 6 days to get there.

The railroad line heads east out of the Capital and steadily drops out of the mountains on its way to Hondras. Much of the ride follows the Sanarate river and then the larger Montagua River basin. The Montagua winds its way through the beautiful semi-arid topography teeming amazing bird life, Gila Monsters and other unique animals.

The line once an economic lifeline connecting Guatemala City and the banana fields with the Carribean port, is now a defunct corridor with relic tunnels and trestles perfect for riding.
This is pioneer trip. No one has endeavored to ply this route before. We will use this unique adventure as a fund raising event for the Global Vision International Pheonix program.
if you are interested in joining the ride you can either get in touch with us at Old Town Outfitters, or GVI directly.
Get out and ride, come ride with us and ride for a good cuase.
See ya on the trail!

Old Town Outfitters Annual Christmas Party

2010-12-16T07:38:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we celebrated our annual Christmas party with a trip out to the local hotsprings then a big ole southern BBQ.

Welber working the grill. All smiles as normal

We had more meat than should be allowed and the litros of gallo seemed to be limitless.

It's always a great time when you get the crew together for food drinks and a massive cornhole tourney!

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The Northern Traverse Part II

2010-12-09T10:24:00.001-08:00

After some R&R at Lake Atitlan we loaded up the team bus and headed out to the mountains.

We dropped into the town of Todos Santos and then climbed our way back out to the plateau at 3300 mts.

This part of Guatemala has some of my favorite riding. It's rocky, craggy, steep and punishing. The northern traverse takes us pretty far out there through towns no tourists ever really get to experience. Except us of course.

We stopped in for the night in the tiny village of 7 Pinos where we stayed in a traditional community hostel. It was an amazing experience living with a family and eating at the table with them.
We even learned how to pat out tortillas!

The views are huge out here.

A 10km grinder up centuries old original Mayan highway.

A few big and bumpy climbs separate valleys and villages each new climb leads to a new downhill and different Mayan group.

One of the last big descents as we continue moving to the east down to the Rio Chixoy.

With 12 days of riding and more than 600 kilometers of Guatemalan soil under the tires, this is no doubt the best way to see ye country.

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KE Adventures "La Ruta Maya"

2010-11-27T19:24:00.001-08:00

The KE Guatemala bike season has started! A group of 12 riders landed the 20th of November and we've started making our push across this beautiful country

We start with a couple rides in the Antigua valley. First tackling the Agua volcano ride, then grinding our way up into the mountains on the north side of the valley. Check out acatenango and fuego from the trails up above earth lodge.

After climbing out of the Antigua valley we start a 2 night 3 day push tirades lake atitlan. It's a mix of amazing terrain as we cross the hills and ravines that separate Antigua from atitlan.

One of the highlights is this turn of the century flour mill converted to a B&B. It's a super cool place to overnight on the way to the lake. A throw back to American homestead life.

Talking about throw backs! The trails take us into parts of guate that are like the living pages of a National Geographic Magazine.

We finally made it down to the lake after a few days of sweet riding. The famed "Santa Cat" trail is one of the crown jewels of the atitlan riding experience.

With 5 days of riding under the tires, this is the view from my hammock on our very much needed rest day at atitlan. Stay tuned for the second half of the ride blog.
Mateo

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The Todos Santos Singletrack Drop

2010-11-17T06:24:00.000-08:00

Heres a little jewel of a trail that drops into Todos Santos.

A Sacred Ride

2010-11-12T20:24:00.001-08:00

We've been out on the road now for about a week with the guys at Sacred Rides. We started in Huehuetenango and climbed up to the roof of Guatemala and then worked our way down to Todos Santos.

The trail drop is pretty amazing passing through beautiful valleys and sheep pasture land. What comes down must unfortunately also come back up.

Here we are on the climb back out of the Todos Santos valley. The peaks above us are Central Americas highest non volcanic mountains.

Back on top of the plateau the trails are rocky and super technical, just our kind of zoo.

We spent two days up in the altiplano riding at 11,000ft. The rides are super fun and punishing at the same time. It's the kind of place that you better ring your "A" game to come and ride.

The sunsets up on top of the mountains are amazing. It's time for a couple of cold beers and a look out over the horizon at tomorrows ride.

If you need a dose of arse kickin riding get in touch with us at Old Town Outfitters and well get ya out on the trail!
See ya soon

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Old Town Outfitters Video

2010-10-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

GVI Volcano bash Charity

2010-10-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Every year we help GVI (Global Vision International) with their annual Volcano Climbing Charity trip where they raise funds for various educational projects across Guatemala and other Central American countries.

The trip summits 4 volcanoes in just one week! A pretty tall order. Volunteers, past and present get together with other staff members and good folks like you to raise money while out having a great time in the Guatemalan backcountry.

Get involved! Come down to Guatemala and participate int eh fun or just be a donor. Check out the GVI Charity Climb's website

Hope to see you on the trail!
-Mateo

2010-08-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

This is the new mtb trail system out at El Zur. Rex and I had hoped that the weather would hold out but it didnt!

Afternoon Whipper on the Golden Arches

2010-08-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

Acatenango Overnight

2010-08-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Is it supposed to this nice during the rainy season?

I was on top of Acatenango Volcano the other day guiding a group up the mountain to spend the night. We ran into another one of our groups on their way down who had spent the morning hiking up the big ole beast only to get views of fog.

We had much better luck with stellar weather, crystal clear skies and an amazing sunset. It was one of those days of legend, and oddly enough it came smack dab in the middle of one of the rainiest rainy seasons I can remember.

We camped in "the Pines" expecting the worst.

However, by about 530pm with a cup of hot tea in hand I realized we were about to witness a pretty stellar sunset and view back out to the west overlooking about 10 volcanoes all the way out to the Mexican Border.

It was a pretty great trip. Great friends, good food and weather that couldnt be beat. Hope you guys come by the shop and sign up to drag yourselves up this big old bitch, and I hope you have as great a trip as we just did!

2010-06-25T10:35:00.001-07:00

Pacaya is now open again and we're excited to get back out to one of our favorite places. We are donating $10 for every tourist that we take to the mountain to help the locals there rebuild after huge eruptions left many homes in the area completely destroyed.

There have been lots of changes to the area with all the recent volcanic activity. Its looks like it snowed a half a foot of volcanic sand out there blanketing everything. All the leaves have been burned off the trees leaving an eerie desolate feeling on the mountain.

Come by Old Town Outfitters to sign up today to climb Pacaya.

See ya on the trail

Old Town on the Cover of July's BIKE magazine!!!

2010-06-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

We made the Cover of July's BIKE magazine.....pretty Cool!!

Check out the article and sign up for one of 3 dates to pioneer this new route at www.adventureguatemala.com

The relief effort continues

2010-06-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

As the donations have continued to roll in we have been working very hard out in the communities. We are sending our vehicles to and from San Miguel Escobar 3 times a day to ensure that volunteers can continue to stay involved in the clean up.

Over the weekend your donation dollars at work:

Q2000 - 20 wheelbarrows
Q1000 - various vaccines for the medical clinic
Q1300 - 55 gallons of Diesel for the heavy machinery

Other than these cash donations the Old Town Outfitters office has received local donations from the good folks here in the valley. We have distributed clothing and food to the communities of San Francisco Sales on the slopes of Pacaya Volcano, San Miguel, and La soledad on the slopes of Acatenango volcano.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us out and made donations! Although much head way has been made with the clean up efforts, there is much still to do.

Get in touch with us here in the office to find out how to get involved.

Thanks,

Donations continue to come in which is great.

Money Received and Spent to Date

2010-06-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all whom have donated in any way. We are trying our hardest to keep track of all the wonderful donations to make sure they are focused to the families and support the most in need.

Money and donations received to Date through OldTown Outfitters:
-Q 15,607.91
-Medicines
-Diesel
-Clothing
-Food
-Shuttles
-Trucks
-Volunteers!!! *Awesome!!!

Money spent:
200 pounds of Corn Q 300.00
100 pounds of Beans Q 470.00
15 pounds of Sugar Q 50.00
Q 400.00 worth of Diesel
Medical Masks Q 300.00
Gloves Q 300.00
5 pickaxes Q 240.00
5 Hoes Q 250.00
6 Pry-bars Q360.00

Volunteers Needed

2010-06-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

First of all, the volunteers that have been on site, You Are Awesome! The help you are giving is very necessary and appreciated. Please continue your efforts.

We are still in need of more Volunteers.

Schedule of Volunteers

Date: Mon trough Sunday
Leaving Time: 9am - 1pm
Leaving From: Y Tu Piña Tambien (1era Avenida Sur No. 11, Antigua, Guatemala)

What to bring?

- Rubber boots, rubber gloves
- Hat
- Shovel
- Bottle water
- Long pants (no shorts!)
- Sunblock
- Cell phone
- Tifoidea shot (be sure to get one)
- Lots of energy!!!

For more information and donations please contact us via FB or call Blake at: 4298-8159 ; Pablo at: 5876-7355 or Emilio at: 4768-1433

Items that are needed to support a sustainable recovery:
Please donate money for items that cannot be donated. $$$$$
NEEDED IMMEDIATELY:
-Diesel fuel
-Anti-Bacterial soap
-Brooms/ cleaning supplies
-Medical Masks
-Bedding
-Large Pry bars
-Buckets

***Please bring your donations by OldTown Outfitters. (5 Ave Sur #12C)

Tropical Storm Agatha

2010-06-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am sure you have heard of the recent volcanic eruption near Guatemala City,
but we have been affected more by recent Tropical Storm Agatha battering
us here in Guatemala dumping an unprecedented amount rain in 4 days.
Water saturated soil has prevented the constant rain from
being absorbed, thus the entire country has been inundated with water.
Rivers have jumped their banks, bridges have been taken out, and mudslides from flash floods have buried villages and made roads impassable leaving many communities completely cut off from the outside world.

When the worst of the flooding happened a few days ago, we shut our doors
and began collecting food, water, and clothing to distribute to the most
heavily hit areas around the Antigua valley. We were absolutely shocked to
travel just 5 short kilometers down the road from Antigua to find
neighboring villages covered in some places by as much as 9 feet of mud.
For those of you who are familiar with San Miguel Escobar and Ciudad Vieja (towns along our famous “Valley Ride”) route, a massive landslide has completely destroyed 44 homes, partially destroyed countless others and displaced over 200 families. We have since gone there as well with shovels and food to help the people dig themselves out.

Many villages are completely covered in mud and the villagers are left with
nothing. Their houses and belongings completely covered or washed away.
We carried hot food, canned and dried food, and clothing to try and reach
as many people as possible.

Supplies are starting to trickle in from abroad and make it out to the areas
most in need. However, this is going to be a long rebuilding period and
many will be left without. In efforts to provide more long term support to
folks, we are trying to raise money for the following projects:

1. Rebuild homes.
2. Provide basic necessities [food, water, diapers, toilet paper, etc.]
3. Building supplies for reconstruction.
4. Long term aid for folks who lost their entire crop for the year.
5. Vaccines for disease from standing water and thick mud.

We are seeking any amount of donation to help in these efforts. The US dollar goes a long way down here, so any assistance is greatly appreciated. Old Town Outfitters as well as other concerned citizens, business owners and NGO’s are working with a 501c(3) Non-Profit organization from the affected area to channel the funds to those affected. Please request a receipt if needed (only donations over $500 please).

**************************************************************

Please see below for 2 options on how to make a cash donation. Note any deposit should be flagged with “Agatha relief”.

OPTION #1 BANK DEPOSIT

Deposit Info:
Citibank
NY 111, World Trade St., N.Y. 10043
ABA 021000089 or SWIFT CITIUS33
TO BE DEOSITED TO ACCOUNT: 36236584
I/N/O BANCO REFORMADOR, S.A. - GUATEMALA
For Further Credit Account # 4761000494
I/N/O Matthew Ryan Hartell

OPTION #2 PAYPAL.com

Follow this link which will take you through the steps to pay with any major credit card online to our account here in Guatemala. Please label any deposit with “Agatha relief”

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Q95PGBVM9BLZE

A Paypal account is not needed, just a Credit Card or Bank Account.

Please look for the Continue without signing in link if you do not
wish to use a Paypal account.

Thanks,
Old Town Outfitters team

Pan American games

2010-04-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend Guatemala hosted the mountain bike portion of the Pan Am games. Our young buck guide and star old town race team captain Pancho was leading the charge of the Guatemalan hopefuls.

Pancho warming up pre race

The racing was fierce with several top US and Canadian riders in the field. Guate was clearly out gunned but still showing up and taking care of business

Todd Wells holding on to the #1 spot up the climb. The hill of pain was a move making spot where a strong rider could make a critical pass as the weaker riders were pushed off their bikes by roots and off cambered steep sand.

Young gunner Pancho manages to keep both wheels turning on the climbs which helped him roll onto a 13th spot finish in the Sub 23 group.

At just over 18 years old Panchito is gonna be a force to be reckoned with at next years games. Thad right a 13th spot finish in his first major competition and barely old enough to compete.
Watch out gringos Pancho will be on the
Move next year!
Congrats on a great race Panchito and the rest of Team Guatemala.

BIKE Magazine Sneak Preview

2010-04-06T15:13:00.001-07:00

A few months back the good lads at BIKE MAGAZINE sent a team down to Guatemala to check out the mountain biking scene here. Needless to say we made sure to show them a good time. Jordan Manley took some stellar images of our trip. Having seen his images I thought maybe he had shot in some other location. Damn does he have a good eye. Keep an eye out for his stuff in BIKE and most every SKI publications.

-taking in the sunset in the Cuchumantanes-

A few of the photos from the trip that will soon grace the pages of this summers BIKE magazine telling the story have been leaked to us here at the shop. I figured I would go ahead and post ya a few of these jewels.

-Atitlan Singletrack at sunset-
We greased the trails at Atitlan for a few days making sure to hit all the favorites and a couple stealh new trails as well. We had amazing weather and I think Jordans images can attest to that.

-Mateo roundin it out on a new ride "Ladies Choice"-

Not sure how he can make these images so bad ass, but they're pretty stellar.

-Luisa Getting nasty on the Santa Cat-

For more images go to Jordan's website and hold tight for the images to come out this summer.
-Traffic jam on Volcan de Agua-

Western Highlands Mayan Trail

2010-02-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite trips that we do here at Old Town Outfitters is the 3 day trek across the ancient Mayan trade routes that once connected the Maya cities of the lake atitlan area to those of Xela.

The trails wind their way through farms and fields where the locals are going about life in much the same as the generations before them. We camp the first night just outside a traditional Mayan settlemet that has been abandoned after Hurricane Stan came through in Oct. '05. The government has yet to rebuild the road that was washed away forcing the locals there to move up on the ridge

From up on the ridge we traverse the mountain tops at just about 3,300 mts. The mountains cut a ridge that seperates the Xela valley below on one side and the lake titlan caldera on the other. It is a spectacular place to camp.

But the weather can roll in at any moment and close out the view. It always breaks though giving up huge vistas over the pacific ring of fire and the atitlan basin.

It's a stunning view back to the east over looking the lake all the way back to the volcanoes outside Antigua.
The walk continues on the ridge before dropping down some 3,000ft through lush bamboo thickets and dense cloud forest

It's a tough walk, certainly not for the faint hearted, but such amazing areas are worth the effort. Here are a couple more shots from the trip.

The Northern Traverse

2010-01-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

Last week the good lads from BIKE Magazine came to Guate for a week or so of riding and some off the grid exploring. We spent the first couple days here in the Antigua valley and took advantage of a crystal clear night donned the lights and went out for a night ride. Agua volcano just south of town is the perfect place for a twilight ride. We left Antigua in time to enjoy the sunset from the top f the climb and then pick our way through the rocky descent with lights. A perfect way to roll into town and stop off at the local watering hole at Cafe No Se.
After Antigua we headed out to

Lake Atitlan where we hit all the local favorites: the Santa Cat, La Culebra, Atitlan Slickrock, the San Antonio MayaInca, and a new trail called ladies choice named for luisa who found the new jewel.
We shuttled out to the cuchumantes to start our northern traverse but first hit the Todos Santos downhill as a mice way to warm up for the big days to come. The trail into todos has some of the nicest flow in all off Guatemala. I think Jordan's images will showcase this amazing piece of trail.

What goes down must go back up and climb we did out of the Todos Satos valley back up to the high elevation altiplano of Paquix.
The riding on the plateau is fun and rocky and pretty techy. You definitely want to bring your "A" game up here. We stayed the night in the Blue Unicorn, a super sweet horsefarm at 3200 meters. From te horsefarm we pushed out through uncharted waters linking together century old Mayan trails and trade routes across the mountains.

We camped for the night in a beautiful high alpine valley before setting off on our 2 day unsupported push across the mountains.
We pushed, rode, fought and triumped our way up the ridge to the remote throw back village of Chortiz. Life here has not changed for centuries and it's like a page torn out of your Anthropology text book. The trails were either super technical or high altitude valley cruisrers, not much middle ground. We got to town managed to roust up a couple cold beers (some poor soul carried those a half day just so I could have a cool beverage at the community hostal whil swinging in my hammock.

Our last day treated us to nearly 1200 meters of fore arm burning, foot numbing, brake squealing ear to ear grin downhill all the way out of the mountains to the nearby village of Acul where lunch a cool unit and a shower were awaiting. We screamed past a group of hikers amazed to see us up there and mos likely afraid of the crazed glaze on our faces as we picked our way down the descent.

Keep your eyes open for this summers issue of BIKE to get the whole story and some sweet images of the ride.

Guate's only true mtn bike park

2010-01-14T05:42:00.000-08:00

We at old town have been working with some friends of ours to design and build guate's first and only true mtn bike specific trails. Some friends of ours have an enormous piece of land on the volcano just south of town and want world class trails.
We've finished about 6kms so far of roller coaster goodness. Once we're open for business we'll let ya know!

Bike magazine

2010-01-14T05:36:00.000-08:00

We're gearing up and heading out a week of riding with the lads from BIKE magazine. Be sure to hit the newstands this summer to see the goods

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Kayak T Rescue Seminar

2009-08-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

In an effort to keep out guides trained up to keep you safe out there on the trail with us we headed to the pool for our yearly kayak T rescue day. All our guides have to pass a series of these sorts of seminars to be able to be included in the old Town family of guides. Its kind of like a Boy Scout earning their merit badges.

The T rescue is imperative to learn to keep out customers safe out there on our paddling trips. There is always that day when the wind picks up and we are forced to help one of our overturned guests get back into their boats in the middle of the lake.

We here at Old Town Outfitters strive to make sure that our guides are the best in the biz. In shop training days, team building activities and weekly group rides are how we do it. Looking for a fun new direction to take yourself in? Come hang with us at Old Town.
Ciao,
Mateo

A great ride for a great cause this weekend!

2009-07-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

This upcoming Sunday we will be adding a special stop to our already great valley ride. Friends of ours at CasaSito are sponsoring a local music festival where various childrens choirs will be performing to raise awareness for various Guatemalan Non Governmental Organisations.

We will stop in to the neighboring village of Santiago Zamora and check out the festivities and childrens choirs. Also, all Old Town Outfitters profits for this trip will go to the Casasito Education fund so that schooling programs and projects like this may continue.

Another day on the River

2009-07-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

The rainy season has been good to us here in Guate filling up all the local rivers. We took advantage of a dry spell to head out for a kayak run down the Maria Linda river down on the South Coast.

Its a fun fast run with pretty constant class III rapids one right after the next. . The river is only an hour and a half from Antigua making it a great option for a half day paddle. Myself, Guille the mad frenchman, and Greg, the man of river bounced, surfed and dropped our way downstream to the cold Gallos at the take out.

Guille about to enter the "rock drop"

We got there just in time for the damn release so the river was running at a good fun level which made the normal class III+ rapids a little more manageable this time around.

Yours truly dropping off the top of the "rock drop"

Its bigger than it looks i asssure you.

Old Town can help you arrange logistics for just about any kayak adventure in Guatemala. We have a competent set of world class paddle guides and the expedition class support to make any river trip a one of a kind experience.
Taker easy -

Ring O Fire Volcano Climbing Charity Trip

2009-06-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

This November Old Town Outfitters is teaming up with the good lads at Global Vision International, or GVI to put together a charity volcano climbing trip to help raise funds for their local Guatemalan projects. The goal will be to raise enogh money through tour participation to increase the projects sustainabilty into the future.

The itinerary will be tough but super rewarding, cut from the cloth of one of Old Town's awarding winning Ring Of Fire treks. We will be climbing 4 of our favorite volcanoes in only 5 days!! This is your chance to spend the night on Acatenango Volcano with a front row seat to watch the spectacular Fuego volcano spew lava, and to look out over all of Guatemala from the top of Tajumulco, Central America's highest volcano, while at the same time supporting the hard work of a real "grass roots" development program in Guatemala.

The trip is already half full so reserve your spot soon and take part in a real adventure, one with a social conscience.

Hope to see you on the trail.

Mateo

Camping on Pacaya Volcano

2009-06-06T13:48:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we packed up and headed out to Pacaya Volcano National Park for a classic Old Town Outfitters camping trip on the side of the active cone. We left Antigua with enough time to get up on the mountain as the crowds were leaving to take in the sunset. Its pretty surreal to be up there as the sun's going down, there is lava oozing out of the side of the mountain and you have it all to yourself.

Most people go to Pacaya as a day trip. Old Town Outfitters, in a constant effort to go againist to grain and do things slightly different takes folks out there at night. Dont get me wrong its still pretty cool to be there during the day, but a night time trip out to the lava fields on pacaya is something different all together. We like to be out there when no one else is to make sure that you have a one-of-a-kind experience!

After a gourmet camp cooked dinner by our seasoned guides, we head out to explore the glowing red lava flows where we hopefully will get a chance to toast some marshmallows for desert. Its a pretty amazing experience to be up there at night. Dont worry if you missed this weekend's trip. We'll be going again, we go about each weekend.

Get in touch with us at the shop www.adventuregautemala.com to book a space on the next trip.

Hopefully we'll be seeing on the trail next weekend,

Mateo

Rio Cahabon Expedition

2009-05-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Guatemala's premier river experience can be found on the Cahabon River. We run a two day float on the Cahabon River up in Alta Verapaz just out of the sleepy mountainside village of lanquin. Its a class V + river so you better show up with yoru game face on. The trip stages from the local backpacker stronghhold of El Retiro which conviently sits on the lanquin river which can also be paddled in a hard shell. About a 2 hour paddle takes you to the confluence of the Lanquin and Cahabon rivers just above the big boy class V set of Rock 'n Roll and Entonces rapids.

Entonces Rapid Class V

Greg paddling Entonces

The river is absolutely beautiful. It's emerald water cuts an amazing canyon with calss III rapids stacking up one after the next. There are a few scenic and tranquilo stretches in there to give you a break from the action.

The end of day one comes just in time as you are starting to get tired. We set up camp, get the camp fire going and cook up gourmet vittles while you relax at the campsite. The sound of the river is the perfect thing to lull you to sleep for a big day tomorrow.

Day 2 starts just after the Class VI portage of Chulack Falls from the campsite. We kayaked down to the falls and somehow painstakingly dragged our boats around the rapid to get a view of her. Impressive to say the least. its been talked about for years who will be the first to run it. I think the consensus is always the same...."not me!"

The fun contines downriver as we pass through "cork screw" a class III+ rapid which then funnels you into the Cahabon Canyon.

Chilling in the pools and waterfalls at the end of the run. It truly is one of Gautemala's best 2 day River Runs. Get in touch with us about water levels and availabilty and let us show you this amazing place!!

Old Town turns 10!

2009-04-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Old Town Outfitters! We have been running adventure tours in Guatemala since the end of 1998. Its been a long but very fun road and we have come a long way in these past 10 years.

This past weekend we squirreled away a rare Saturday of no trips and headed up to Earth Lodge for the 10 year anniversary blow out.

There was a 75 pound pig on the spit and plenty of great food thanks to the lads at Earth Lodge, plenty, well almost plenty of beer to go around, and no shortage of debauchery to ring in the celebration.

Thanks to all of you who have made this possible, who have supported us in these past years and to those who have worked here at Old Town.

mateo

OTO Racing....Fast...Its coporate policy!

2009-03-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Team Old Town Outfitters continues to hammer the race scene fielding 3 riders across the categories.
Young gunner Pancho Haeckel is dominating the Jr. Elite with his lightning fast climbing prowess and surgeon like ability to pick his way through the technical bits. He finished in 1st place this past weekend at the Race in Tecpan.

Follow the Old Town race team as we head to Coban, Vera Paz the 19th of April.

Mountain Khakis

2009-03-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

Our good friends at Mountain khakis have hooked up the team at Old Town and sponsored us with their incredible line of Outdoor Utility pants and shorts. Our guides are out most days and appreciate clothing and products designed and built for outdoor professionals. This stuff is the bomb! I highly recommend you get yourself in a pair of 'em and find out for yourself.

Voluntourism

2009-02-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

Wanna get involved? We have teamed up with a couple different organizations here in Guatemala and abroad to help get travelers connected to the community. We can customize your adventure trip with Old Town Outfitters to head out into the campo and volunteer on different projects. Mountain bike a few days with us or trek into the countryside and stop off in a small community to get involved before moving on to the next stop.

There are any number of cool projects to get involved with around the country but one that we think is great is building high efficiency stoves in rural communities. These stoves were designed by the guys at Global Vision International, an international volunteer placement organization, and are said to not only reduce the amount of smoke in the house but uses up to %90 less fuel wood thus keeping our hills greener.

This stove below was finished by a group from Play It Forward, a U.S. based travel company that focuses on adventure travel with a moral compass. Voluntourism as it has been called is getting more and more popular. We are facilitate travelers to not only come and tour Guatemala but to give something back to the rural communities in which we travel.

Get in touch with us at www.adventureguatemala.com and let us help design a trip for you, get involved, get your hands dirty and get out on the trail.

Take time to Travel

2009-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

Tim and Sue, friends of ours from the lively Harrisonburg, Va. area came down to Guate to hang on our home turf for a few weeks of riding. Seeing as they abused a group of us up there a few months back we decided that we wanted to have them here to try and get a bit of revenge. First, to level the playing field we made sure to have plenty of homebrew on tap to give us a leg up the next morning.

We spent a few days hanging in Antigua and riding each day to get a feel for whats around. There are any number of rides in the area so we tried to hit as many as possible. Just south of town sits Agua Volcano at just over 12,000 ft. The views from high up on the trails are second to none passing through old growth forest and flower fields on its way back down to the valley floor.

Antigua boasts a new ride on each new day. Most of the trails lead high up into the surrounding mountains and each side of the valley is distinctly different from the next. We are working on a project to circumnavigate the valley on a mix of trails, jeeps tracks, and chutes like this one below on the bottom of the Cielo Grande Ridge ride.

With tons of terrain nearby to play with some times its just better to hit the trail with some German engineering underneath ya. We headed out and made a big ole lap around the valley on the 650's and even managed to explore a new bit of trail that is going to make a beautiful 2 day ride out to Lake Atitlan. Stay in tune for that one as I'll be doing it soon on a mountain bike to see how it pans out.

A couple hours of stout trail climbing above Antigua lies one of the areas best kept secrets. Earth Lodge is an active avocado farm and travelers mountainside hostal that always makes for a good time. The good folks who run the place always make sure to take good care of us. The food is second to none and more than even a hungry cyclist can manage to get down the gullet. This is going to be a normal stop over for our new ride that will make a 2 day loop around the valley

Heading west we took off for a few days of riding at world famous Lake Atitlan. There is a pretty solid network of trails there that serve for most riders as downhill runs. However, we managed to find oursleves climbing trails and making new rides. It was a fresh change from the way we normally ride these rides and certainly puts the black in what we call a black diamond run. The scenery from the trails is absolutely stellar. There is hardly a ride that does not have a huge view to the lake down below.

Heading further afield we made the trek up to the high plateau of the Cuchumantanes mountain range. These are Central America's highest non volcanic mountains. The riding like the scenery is spectacular and very different here than anywhere else in Guatemala. The rocky trails offer up an experience much like that of East Coast riding. So Tim and Sue were once again in a good spot to show us how its done in the rocks. There's more than a few days worth of riding up there but we were on a mission to hit as many different places as possible. We mapped out a ride that would take us across the mountains into no mans land and connect to an area that likewise we knew would have great riding.

Acul is a sleepy little village nestled deep in the mountains that were once plagued by civil war and Guerilla patrols. Now the wars over and the area is opening up to mountain bikes. Our long time buddy has opened his family run cheese farm at the Hacienda San Antonio to tourists. We took advantage of the area and managed to find a new trail that I would venture to say has never see fat tires.

A parting glance from my room at the Cheese Farm in Acul

Gone Fishin

2009-01-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

One of the best kept secrets about Guatemala is that the waters off the Pacific Coast are absolutley stocked with billfish. Some folks who fish the waters furhter north are happy to catch a handful of Sailfish or even see a Marlin in a single season.

This couldnt be furhter from the truth around these parts. This little stretch of coast line boasts some of the highest numbers hooked Sailfish and Marlins. Very few boats in the water means no over fishing and every racoon eyed fisherman that I run into has some outlandish story of the days legendary catch.

After hearing all the hoopla we decided to take a trip down to the Coast outselves and see if the crazy stories of 20, 30 sometimes up to 45 fish a day being pulled into the boat were true. We set it all up and headed down to Puerto Itzapa jumped on board the "Allure" that our Antigua buddy Kiwi Chris Captains.

Sure enough its not but a few minutes after we drop the first lines that we land the days first catch, a nice sized Mahi Mahi that the crew swiftly filetes up for lunch in a couple hours. Now ordinarily a few missed hooks on sailfish back home might dampen ones spirits, but here in Guatemala seeing the lines zinging out to sea every few minutes I knew that there would be plenty of time to hookmy first fish.

The crew were amazing and showed me the secret to hooking my own fish. It wasnt long before I had my first Sailfish on the line. After a fun fight we pulled her up into the boat so I could get a picture with the little cutie.

After a full day of fishing and beer drinking we managed to pull in nearly 40 Sailfish. If you work the math on that over about a 7 hour peroid that comes out to be something crazy like a fish every 10 minutes or so!!

So next time you hear the crazy story of how good the Sport fishing is off the coast of Guatemala, you'll know its not just another ole Fishin tale. Come down see for yourself.

-Mateo

Mountain Bike Magazine 2009

2009-01-04T14:08:00.001-08:00

We've done it again! Another magazine turned believer. We had the lads from Mountain Bike Mag down here to ride last March and as per usual, they were blown away. They tagged along on one of our tours around the country with a Canadian Based Company called Sacred Rides.

Magazine ran an 8 page spread showing some of the best of the riding around here in the valley and out at Lake Atitlan. hey but dont listen to me. Go out and buy yourself a copy and hold it tight.

Tackling the RING OF FIRE

2008-11-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

This November a group of 11 brave souls came to Guatemala to tackle seven of Guatemala's most impressive volcanoes. We at Old Town Outfitters like to call this trip the "Ring Of Fire" as we summit 7 summits, three of which are spectacularly active cones.

This is the view looking east from atop Santa Maria volcano at nearly 3,600 mts. back across many of the volcanoes we have already summitted. You can see in the distance all the way back to the volcanoes of Agua, Acatenango and Fuego in the Antigua valley a well as the peaks that ring Lake Atitlan.

The hike up Pacaya volcano get us with in Marshmallow roasting range of an active flow. This is like no other place on earth! Pacaya is the kind of place that is made famous by programs like National Geographic. After Pacaya we head out the summit the dormant sentinel that looms over Antigua, Guatemala, Agua volcano. Agua, is a long hard hike but the summit offers up amazing views from Guatemala City to the Pacific Coast.

From Antigua we head out for a 3 day 2 night summit bagging trek up the sister volcanoes of Acatenango and Fuego. These are Guate's premier trekking peaks. We load up the gear on porters and head up to the summit of Guate's third largest peak of Acatenango, 3979 mts. After taking in the views from atop this monster we head to our exclusive campsite for a night of lava fireworks from Fuego's active cone. Just because Fuego is active doesn't mean that we are going to shy away. The next day we wake up and head down to the saddle between the two and hed up the knife like ridge on Fuego and get within a few hundred meters below one of Guate's most active cones.

With the volcanoes of the Antigua valley behind us we head out to Lake Atitlan to climb San Pedro. After this hike we take a welcome down day to rest sore legs at the hotel La Casa del Mundo and take a soak in the wood fired hot tub there. Although we would have loved to stay at the lake a bit longer we still have two more volcanoes to summit. Our next objective is Santa Maria volcano with neighboring "old faithful" Santiaguito Volcano.

Santiaguito is Guatemala's youngest and smallest volcano. Don't be fooled as it super active belching out plumes of lava and ash every hour or so. After Santa maria we head out towards the Mexican Border and climb our last mountain and Guatemala's largest Tajumulco 4220 mts. This trip is an amazing way to get to see our amazing country and enjoy trekking in a comfortable, safe and enjoyable way. We set up all the logistics arrange all the porters and do all the cooking so you only have to hike and have a good time.
Get on board and we'll see on top of one of Guate's volcanoes!
Mateo

Old town is working to Re-open Acatenango

2008-11-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Acatenango is Back! After nearly 8 months of being "off limits" to hikers due to the "extracurricular activity" of some unsavory locals, Old Town Outfitters has re-opened our hikes and treks to the volcano. Its been a lot of hard work to bring it all together but the opportunity to spend the night on Acatenango at nearly 13,000 ft. and see Fuego do its thing makes it all worth the while.

Over the past year we have been involved in working with members of the local community of La Soledad at the base of the volcano to try and create a management plan for responsible community based tourism in the area. Our goal is to make the area a safe place for tourist to enjoy while at the same time incorporating the community into the master plan.

We believe that as the locals there at the base of the mountain become more involved and incorporated into the development of the park they then will work to keep the area clean, green, safe and beautiful for the days to come. We have been working hard with the good folks out there to build trail, clean and repair campsites, and implement resource officers.

Because we believe that the community is the key designing and maintaining a successful management plan we are employing them as our resource officers who will accompany each and every Old Town Group on the Volcano. This is not only a plan to inject tourist dollars in to the local economy but while on the mountain we will be working to raise awareness of the Environmental issues associated there.

Proceeds of every tourist we take to the volcano will remain in the community by means of development projects. We have organized several projects in the local school to ensure that as you spend your tourist dollars to enjoy a safe and fun experience on Acatenango or Fuego Volcanoes that you will also be helping to kids of La Soledad have the chance for a good education.

See ya on the trail,
Mateo

Capital Punishment

2008-09-12T13:43:00.001-07:00

We at Old Town Outfitters call this the "Capital ride." It can be said that the name comes from the fact that it heads out of town and climbs into the nearby hills in the direction of Guatemala City, or "La Capital" as its called.

But one quickly realizes as soon as they are smacked down by the climb that the name refers to a certain type of punishment associated with a climb of this nature. The climb is long, relentless, steep, and has no warm up. And,it is most certainly punishing.

So why do it? Are we just gluttons for punishment? Maybe. But for me when the climb is over and you pass through (sneak really) the mysteriously beautiful fences of a remote finca called pillar and realize you are sucking wind looking out over the entire Antigua valley below, it all starts to make sense as to why you've come all the way up here.

The view. That's right...the view. To see the 3 volcanoes (Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango) that once towered over you while just a tourist back in Antigua on the valley floor now seem to be at eye level and not so oppressive.

You were'nt really gonna let me get away with saying its for the view were ya? Its the downhill...yeah the downhill that's so much damned fun. The views nice too, but come on. The trail rolls through fun fast open sections, tight technical rock gardens and you can test your luck on the tight rocky switchbacks at the bottom.
Bring it on....maybe you can tag along on our next morning out!

Nebaj -> Todos Santos Hiking Expedition

2008-09-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

This last week we here at Old Town Outfitters packed up the van for another jaw-dropping expedition through the Cuchumatanes Mountain Range (a.k.a. the “high country”) in far northwest

Guatemala

. We knew it was rainy season, but we just didn’t care. It had been far too long since we had hiked these beautiful trails, so we packed some extra raingear, threw two of our most loved dogs into the trunk, and headed out for our trailhead in Nebaj.

Far up in the Quiche Department of Guatemala, and situated in a natural bowl-shaped recession, Nebaj is the largest town in the Cuchumatanes. When you mix this area’s long history of civil resistance with it’s proud, colorful preservation of Mayan traditions and stunningly beautiful backdrop of mountains and waterfalls – it’s no wonder this off-the-beaten-track town is one of Old Town’s favorite stop-offs before a big hike. Our first day’s hike (after a long day of driving up from the Antigua Valley) across a nearby ridge and down into the Acul Valley landed us at Finca San Antonio – where to our surprise baby Blue Heeler puppies had been birthed just a few days before!

After a hearty delicious farm breakfast at the Finca (complete with pancakes and homemade fresh cream), we grabbed some of the fresh cheese they produce at the farm and headed out for what would be one of the more challenging hikes. The dirt road out of Acul ends at a tiny village named Xexocom, and it’s an 800 meter climb up switchbacks to the even smaller outpost of Chuantuj – situated on the rim of one of the many high-alpine plateaus in this region. Beautiful panoramic views of the Cuchumatanes are all around us during this day’s hike, and at the end of the day we had climbed over 1000 meters on the day. The only people we saw for the last 4 hours of hiking were two farmers hiking down from the altiplano with their horses!

Coming into Chuantuj on the topside of the ridge we begin to understand why so few people populate the high plateaus of the Cuchamantanes. Weather conditions up here are always unpredictable and fogs roam constantly through the highlands, chilling hikers and creating confusion in what was (only minutes before!) a perfectly lovely sunny day. Cloud forests, moss and fern covered pine forests, and rocky outcroppings cover the rugged topography of these ridges, giving our group time to get lost in mushroom blanketed thickets and strange stone formations. Houses in tiny hamlets like Chauntuj are constructed of local woods and topped with corrugated aluminum brought on horseback from days away. Almost everyone in the highlands is a farmer, raising potatoes, garlic, corn, or whatever else they can successfully raise to trade or sell.

We bedded down for the night in a spare room in Chuantuj used during harvest season for storing potatoes. We opted to seek out a shelter rather than set up our tents because of a good-sized rainstorm which ushered us into the village. As we dried our boots next to the fire, the guides on the trip – Juan and Sean – cooked up a feast for the group and passed around tea and hot chocolate. Situated at over 3100 meters above sea level, Chuantuj can be a chilly place to spend the night. We woke up rested with some sore calves, but happy to be setting off on a beautiful hike up on the high plateau.

Today’s hike took our group on a long windy hike across the top of one of the massive high-alpine plateaus this region is famous for. Landscapes here can best be described as “dreamy” or “fantastical”. Sinkholes, dense pine forests, brightly colored high-alpine flowers, trippy rock gardens and wide, sprawling plains make it a feast for the eyes as we make our way from one edge of this high mesa to the other. We pass by another tiny (sub-100 pax population) village, Chortiz, as we wander towards Pauil Pais – a larger sized village on the plateau by virtue of its road connection to the valley town of Aguacate.

Horses and mules wander outside the villages up in the high country, some of the few farm animals hearty enough to handle the conditions up here. Our Old Town guides befriend a local hunter out looking for deer with his dogs and rifle, and after a quick exchange of information and the usual pleasantries, our group makes a few minor adjustments to our planned route across the high plain in order to reach our destination before dark. We ate a huge lunch today nestled in a thickly wooded valley watching clouds roll past just a few hundred feet above our heads. Our blue blue skies and heavy stomachs forced an involuntary group nap in the early afternoon – a great opportunity to enjoy the tranquility of our scenery and the calls of the brilliantly colored mountain birds flying about the branches over our heads.

Another reason this area is so fascinating to many hikers is its remoteness and ruggedness – and their apparent effects on the locals here. Many Cuchumatanes residents haven’t ventured farther south than the nearest large city Huehuetenango, situated just outside the mountain range in the valley to the south. Most travelers to Guatemala never venture this far north because of the poorly maintained roads, lack of food, lodging, and transport options, distance from the capital, and the difficulty involved in obtaining guides and information for the area. Our 5-day camping expedition is a perfect way to see a part of Guatemala which is truly unique an unaffected by modern technology.

Another day full of dog-assisted hiking past Pauil Pais, our group traversed the gargantuan Pericon River Valley over the course of the afternoon and pitched tents on its western slopes. Rain showers in the early afternoon have been a trademark of this hike, and today was no different, but all in all we’ve had little trouble keeping the contents of our packs dry. The hearty meals our guides cook up every evening, together with warm oatmeal and fruit breakfasts and non-stop munching of hiking snacks (nuts, trail mixes, dried fruits and meats) during the days, have been making this trip (like all Old Town Outfitters trips) one of culinary delight and swollen bellies. We’re glad to have plenty of energy these days, because the rocky weathered landscape at these altitudes demands it. It’s onward and westward for our group towards our food re-stock in Chancol and our final destination of Todos Santos.

Walking down from the high plateaus the final day and descending into the charming town of Todos Santos is the last of our hikes over the course of these mesmerizing six days. Old growth cloud forests with 400-year-old trees blanket the insanely steep slopes of the Todos Santos valley and provide our group with limitless eye-candy as well as non-stop camera spots our entire trek downward. The locals here are known for their unique local textiles, their history of itinerant work throughout the country and world, and of course their legendary drinking abilities. The weaves and patterns of local clothing here are extremely distinctive and wildly beautiful. The remoteness of this town, in particular, and the local’s penchant for the pursuit of beauty and happiness in such a harsh environment, embodies the heart and soul of rural Guatemalan culture. After five long days of hard hiking and sleeping under the stars, we enjoy a night at a local hotel and steam the aches right out of our legs and feet with a traditional sauna. When it’s all said and done, the trip turned out how it always seems to turn out in the high country - an unforgettable experience and a rare and wonderful glimpse into the beauty of the Cuchamantanes Mountains and the local people and traditions who color it. Shoot us here at Old Town Outfitters an email or give us a phone call - and join us on our next trip up north to the beautiful Cuchumatanes.

-Sean

Lake Atitlan Gold

2008-08-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here are a few teasers for those of you tied up behind your cubicles. These shots were taken of yours truly with riding with some friends out at Lake Atitlan.

It just doesn't get any better than this! Sunset ride at Lake Atitlan. Here we are working the tight lines above the lake village of Santa Catarina.

The trail starts out about 1000 meters above the lake and works its way down, down, down through, farms, fields and villages to the lake shore.

The drops are steep and technical and the view around every corner is amazing. its just hard to work the trail and take in the views at the same time. This is the last piece of trail before dropping the "staircase" through the village of Santa Cat.
See ya on the trail...Mateo

Monterrico Sea Kayak

2008-07-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we loaded up the kayaks on the van and headed down to the Guatemalan Pacific coast for a day of sea kayaking. We Paddled through the mangroves mazes that line the pacific coast andharbor amazing bird biodiversity, and even had the chance to see my favorite bird the Northern Yacana.

After a couple hours of paddling through the lagoons and backwater canals we landed at the sleepy beach town of Monterrico. This small beach community is famous for its sea turtle nestingsite and release project to help boost the number of endangered leatherback sea turtles that make the Guatemalan Pacific coast their home.

After a big sea food lunch we jumped back in the kayaks to explore more of the Hawaii-Monterrico reserve. From la Laguna de los volcanoes you can look back into the highlands and be staring no less than 4 monster volcanoes from sea level to 13,000 ft.!

The return trip took us through beautiful mangrove forests that seemed to be floating in the canals and lagoons. We managed to find time for a nice long float in the shade and listen to the sound of the birds overhead. If you think about it; a day spent sea kayaking on the Pacific coast, sponsoring a sea turtle for release, body surfing monster waves and an ice cold Gallo over some sea food with friends is a pretty good way to kill a Wednesday. You should try it sometime....give me a call I'll show ya the way.
Cheers,
Mateo

Old Town Outfitters on the Podium

2008-06-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was race day in the Antigua valley and the new Old Town Outfitters mountain bike race team showed up in force. The "punto a punto" or point to point is a race that has become hugely popular around here. This is one of Guatemala's most brutal courses that traverses some 60 kms. across the Guatemalan highlands.

Nearly 1700 mts. of vertical ascent across the course did not hold back Francisco "Pancho" Gaitan our hotshot young gunner who not only won his division, but nearly took 1st place overall. This determined 17 year old cruised around the 60 kms. course in only 2:47 minutes. To put this in perspective the Elite US pro rider who won overall finished in 2:42 minutes. Pancho will for sure be a face to watch in the future. Keep an eye on the Old Town Outfitters team to see him crush the competition.
Watch out boys, when you see Luisa "Wicha" Zea screaming up behind ya on a downhill, you'd better get out of her way. Don't feel bad though as she drops you on the climbs...your not the only guy shes cruised by. She stepped it up on Sunday to show the field what she's got under the hood. Wicha not only crushed the womens open field to come in 3rd, but brought most of the men on the course to their knees as well. Wicha will be the workhorse of the Old Town team and a true national contender. Racing with her prior Pro Road teammate Gaby Molina and good friend and Mirador Basin Saviour Josie Thompson, these 3 gals swept up 1st, 3rd and 6th place are a force to be taken seriously in whatever category they race in.

The "punto a punto" was our first race together as a shop team, but certainly not the last. To see so many Old Town Outfitters jerseys on the podium definitely turned more than a few heads amongst the big teams. We're taking applications for more riders if you think you got what it takes to stare down either Wicha or Pancho on the course....I say bring it on!

Western Highlands Mayan Trail

2008-06-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

The rains stopped and the sun finally came back out, which opened the perfect window for us to get a few folks out on our 3 day trek retracing the ancient Mayan trade routes connecting the Maya of the Lake Atitlan basin to those of the Quetzaltenango Valley. This walk crosses mountains and ridges used by the Highland Maya for centuries.

Leaving the Atitlan basin behind we pushed high up into the altiplano to an area locally known as Alaska. This cold, windswept, high mesa is named after its northern neighbor because of its climate. Much of this walk traverses the ridges at more than 10,000ft that seperate the lake from the rest of the western highlands.

"Las Siete Cruces" or the ridge of the 7 crosses is the backbone of this ridge system and offers up enormous views off each side. Legend has it that these crosses honor fallen Guerrilleros from Guatemala's long infamous civil war. The ridge passes through rare intact stands of virgin Pinabete forests which is a type of Pine endemic to Guatemala and in danger of extinction.

The views from the Las Siete Cruces campsite to the West has you staring down the dormant sentinel giant of Santa Maria volcano with its active neighbor which can often be seen letting out a puff of smoke after and eruption.

To the East the views from our campsite is of the Lake Atitlan Basin and the Volcanoes all the way back to Antigua. On a clear night with a little luch you can see fuego volcano giving off one of its signature lava shows.

On the third day of the trek we dropped down off the ridge skirting Zunil Volcano on our way to Fuentes Georginas Hotsprings. The trail down is pretty tough as it drops quite steeply from nearly 11,000ft., through lush bamboo forest down to the pools. The sounds of the fiesta coming from the hotsprings and knowing a long hot soak was going to heal sore muscles kept us going.
A cold beer and soak was the perfect way to end this trip.

Old Town Blog

2008-05-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is a big "What Up!" to all the friends of Old Town out there. Hope everyone is finding their own adventures out there. We try to get some in here in Guatemala too.

No matter what your relationship with the Old Town Outfitters Crew we're hoping to share our adventures with you, and hoping you will enjoy the trail tidbits. As outdoor specialists we pride ourselves on the time we spend exploring the hills and honing our skills. This relatively new blog is a small way we can share that enthusiasm with our extended family.

I think we've already got a fair sampling of our favorite activities. Kayaking, hiking, climbing, biking are all included in existing blog posts. Follow the link and check out our photos and video too! Don't be afraid to jump to some older posts too. There are some good bike videos from a couple months back.

Thanks all for keeping up with us and we'll see you, hopefully on the trail, again.

Slow time for Who?

2008-05-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

With the Big Kahuna out west as it were we've been holdin' down the fort during this slow month. That's right May is slow but the trails are just starting to get good. Despite working hard to remodel our shop, we've still been getting some people out on the trail. Not to mention taking some time to enjoy the trail on our own.

Matt left the Helmet Cam in my hands so I rallied the boys the last couple weeks and managed to get some trail footage. David, star of the "Punto a Punto" video, and his wife, had a beautiful baby boy, Roderigo! Congratulations David, for making it out on one last ride before the baby arrived that is. Oh yeah, and congratulations on the birth too. We're thrilled and can't wait for Welber's new one to pop out either. That's right we're going baby crazy here too.

Anyway, this trail is a nice single-track extension of the Punto-a-Punto or Point to Point trail that we use when we ride from the Shop in Antigua to Parramos and the Las Tierras Altas route. In this ride we skip the farmlands and head straight into the motorcycle rutted trails off a high-point nearby. This is one fun ride that is probably already turning to a river with the onset of the rainy season.

Punto A Punto

On another happy occassion recently I managed to drag our mechanic Erick away from the bike stand and his studies to get in a spin. I'd never ridden with Erick and had a feeling he was a pretty solid rider. He smoked me on the climb that day and only had to help me out of one giant hole from a washout. I dove right in. I cut that part from the video though. Maybe in a later bloopers vid.

This particular ride is one of the lower variations available in what we refer to as the Cielo Grande area. There's a ton of trail up there and it is all stellar. Check it out!

Goin' Out West......

2008-05-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

That's right, we packed up the ole truck and headed north for some riding fun of our own. After a busy season in Guatemala we decided we needed a little time out for ourselves. First stop on the tour was Charlotte, NC. home to say hey to the parental units and to load up the 25 some odd boxes of gear and bikes that littered my folks livingroom. While there we greased the local single track of the national whitewater center just outside of town. and then in a mad dash we pushed west from NC and re-grouped in the West Texas hotspot of Austin.

After a few rounds of disc golf in Austin to stretch teh legs we pushed off to test the northern Texas hidden trails of the "Capstone Canyon National park."

The remote Capstone Canyon is historically famous for saving the Southern Plains Buffalo from near extinction and is now becoming famous for its great trails and mountain biking.

After exploring the canyons of Texas we headed up and through the badlands of New Mexico to ride the mountains around Taos. Big climbs took us through Aspen forest to the top of the ridges. The climbs were tough but the downhill off the other side was well worth the trip.

We once again loaded up the ole Subbie and continued north to Durango, Co. to ride the Colorado trail. We pushed up the C.T. through the Pines to the Aspens and up to the snow line and that was the end of the line. But from 10,000 ft. it was ear to ear grin stuff, all the way back down to the parking lot.

Seeing as how the West's Mtn. Bike mecca was only 3 hours away, we once again packed up and headed further the line. We landed in Moab just in time for last callat the brew pub and to make camp at the trailhead. After a glorious night camping under a full moon we hit the slickrock trail for some classic moab fun.

If you havent ever ridden Slickrock, you definiteily need to get out there and give it a go.
25 hours straight through and we're all of a sudden back in Austin, Tx. getting ready for the trip back to guate.

Hope you have a road trip soon,
Mateo

San Andreas Downhill Run

2008-04-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Hey there fellers! Here's another quick video of the other days downhill run at Lake Atitlan. Hope you enjoy!
Matty

Trail of the Quetzal

2008-04-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Trail of the Quetzal
We just rolled back in from one of our newest trips, a 4 day walk across the Sierra de las Minas. This is a full on off the beaten track kind of trip. Not many travelers make it this far back into the Guatemalan wilds. The Sierra de Las Minas is Guatemala's most progressively protected national park. Administered by the Defensores de la naturaleza the park is Central America's crown jewel celebrating the largest intact track of pristine cloud forest in the area.
After just a few minutes on the trail leaving civilization behind you enter into a lush green world full of amazing bird and wildlife biodiversity. The walking is pretty hard going but the pay off is well worth the effort. The Sierra de Las Minas is a nature lovers ground zero.
There is no where else in Guatemala that you can walk for days on end and not see or hear another human being. We chased Tapir trails and jaguar tracks through rivers and across the lush sierra. While on the top of the ridge in the Core area or "zona nucleo" we saw 5 quetzales, and I'm not talking about the local currency. I'm talking about the elusive bird that everyone comes to Guatemala to see but never does.
This is the real deal. Come check it out. Places this amazing dont stay hidden forever. Get here and see it before the word gets out.
Get in touch with us so we can get you on the next trip.

Adios -
mateo

Bird's Eye View

2008-04-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

So this is what its like to wake up at 13,000ft, and poke your head out of your tent on Volcan de Acatenango. You can see across the valley pacaya Volcano is smoking away, and last night we saw lava spouts shooting out from the cone. Pretty amazing to be that high up and have your very own firework show.

Acatenango is the countries 3rd largest volcano and let me tell ya, it definitely ain't for the under achievers of the world or the weak hearted. This is a full on kick ya in the arse kind of walk. Now having said that it is very worth doing. It shares a saddle with Fuego Volcano that with a bit of luck will make you shake in your britches. Its only a km or so away but it feels as if its just right there. That was the view right at sunset before all the action started.

Its about a 5 hour walk up to the top of the volcano, but luckily for us our porters carried our gear

and headed down to the "double secret" campsite nesteld in the pines. After an amazing dinner by the Old Town Crew, we settled in to watch Fuego do its thing. If you've never had the chance to see an active volcano blow its top, this should be high on that life list of thigs to do. Give us a bell at the shop or drop us a line and we'll get you out on the next Acatenango fuego doubel header.
See ya on the trail
mateo

Caving Lanquin, Guatemala

2008-04-08T23:31:00.000-07:00

During the Semana Santa holiday, I jumped on one of our premiere trips, a caving trip to Lanquin. I wanted to learn the trip and get away from the Antigua crowds. Personally I haven’t caved since I was a kid and we visited some volcanic caves in Idaho. Let me tell you the Lanquin and Can’Ba caves north of Coban in Lanquin are a different story entirely. Humid, muddy, wet and full of bats!

For our second day of the trip we visited the Lanquin caves. In the morning Juan and I gave the rest of the group a lesson in Rappelling. This group requested the fullest caving adventure possible so we broke out the rope and harnesses. After our lesson we headed off to the Lanquin caves. The outer caverns are well traveled and well lit so we cruised past the crowded part and headed into the dark where we set up our rappelling anchors and proceeded to drop into the darkness well away from the disturbing sounds and lights of the surface world.

In the inner caves we did a fair bit of exploration and saw some things Juan had never seen before. His new extra bright light was eye opening, so to speak. After 5 hours in the dark depths we finally surfaced and made our way down to the Lanquin river to rinse off and float back to El Retiro. Natalie and Juan revisited childhood with a game of ring toss with inner-tubes in the parking lot. The local kids loved it! It was a little late, thanks to our long hours in the cave, but we floated up to El Retiro just in time to grab a warm shower before dinner and then settle in to a chair with a beer in hand.

For the third day we headed to Semuc Champey. Pretty amazing is all I have to say. One river flowing under the other seems simply uncanny, much less, to swim in one and look down at the other raging river disappearing underneath. Following our Swim we headed to the water caves called Can’ Ba. Juan calls it the Goonies Cave, because there’s a natural water slide and lots of cool features. My wife and Lauren even collected a bunch of clay to make pottery with. We’ll be seeing the results in a week or two. No photos of this cave though because we used a disposable in the water cave and didn’t get digital versions. It was however a stellar topper to the trip and we all enjoyed every minute of it. The only regret I have was getting in the car for the long ride home. I think I could spend a week or two just relaxing and floating rivers in the Lanquin area.

Night owls

2008-04-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

I guess this is what happens for those of us at old Town Outfitters when we cant sleep at night, some pace back and forth, others hit the bars, for us it was a trip out on the mountain bike, not important that most people with any sense have laid their bikes to rest many hours ago. Luisa and I climbed up to our favorite day training ride to see what it would be like at night. To our surprise, and most everyone else's we came across, it was equally as amazing to us as it was to everyone we passed. Although to be fair, we probaly had more candle power on our helmets than most have in there homes, enough to freeze a deer, thats is of course if there were anymore left around here. Hope you guys had as nice a night as we did!

Cheers,

Mateo

Rio Lanquin

2008-04-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hey check it out, I'm in process of sharpening my skills on the river. Who knows maybe this will turn into another great direction for us at Old Town Outfitters. We are hoping to partner up with the lads out in lanquin Alta verapaz to start running some river trips this summer. With a little luck, I'll be able to run as a support kayaker on the trips.

This particular shot is from the ledge drop rapid on the Rio Lanquin. I swam this one the first time around and was able to nail it the second go around.

The Rio Lanquin meets up with the Rio Cahabon just down river from here and thats where the real fun starts. We're starting to run logistics supporting multiday river running expeditions, so if youre a padler let us know and we'll get you out on the river.
Talk to ya soon,
Mateo

Hangin' Out

2008-04-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

We rolled down to Escuintla this morning to get some time on the rock. The climbing is pretty stellar, all sport routes about 5.10 but with amazing exposure. Enough so to make your backside pucker just a bit. This route is a spire seemingly precariously perched atop another mass of rock. Toppng out you have huge views back up to the Antigua Altiplano. In the fotos you can see Volcan de Agua in the distance and the sugarcane plantations of the pacific coast. After a few hours down in tropic sun, it was definitely time for a soak and a cold beverage.

River Tracing!

2008-04-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Check it out! In an effort to continue searching out the fresh....we just got back from a weekend trip canyoneering Guatemala's upper Coyolate River. It was a pioneer trip creek walking with a couple rappels mixed in to keep things ineresting. I can assure you we were the first gringos to see the folds and canyons this river has to offer. A 4 hour 4x4 truck ride got us up to the head waters of the river and then a 7 hour slosh through her canyons dropped us by the road side just in time for a cold beer. This canyon is only passable during the driest of the months so we'll have to wait another year to get back in here. This will soon become one of our seasonal favorites for those who like to get as far back into the backcountry as possible. This one even surprised us!

2008-03-21T21:59:00.001-07:00

Hey there amigos,
I hope everyone's doing well. We're still kickin' arse and taking names down here. Its Semana Santa craziness time in Guatemala and we're all in full swing. This is the time of year when the Gallo swilling heathens and the sweet lord baby Jesus seem to co-exist in a haze of Churrasco and Copal incense smoke and where religious fervor is rivaled only by the spring break style partying.
Luckily for us here at O.T.O it means we're running full tilt greasing single track all over this great country. Here's a shot of yours truly out at Lake Atitlan a few days ago. It doesn't get much sweeter than this. Thats my office a few days a week and I'm certainly not complaining I didn't get the corner office with a view. We're gearing up for a good fun summer season and even looking to expand/explore a few new rides. Got a hankering for sometime fresh, come hang with us in Antigua and we'll show ya the goods.
See a on the trail,
Mateo
Photo credit Patrice Halley. Visit his site at Patricehalley.com

Taking the dog for a walk

2008-03-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

Had a nice time this afternoon taking the pooch for a walk. This normally means a leash and a trip to the park for most. For us however this was a trip up into the hills on a mountain bike with chela doing her best to clog the trail in front of me. I'm not sure why I thought this was going to be 1 a good idea, or 2 fun. But I gave it a go riding the trail with chela on my back. Surprinsingly enough she was able to hang on for quite some way. At any rate, hope you got out this afternoon, even if just to the park.

Hasta luego,

Mateo

Lake Atitlan Slick Rock Trail

2008-03-10T16:05:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow our the Mountain Biking crew from Sacred Rides will be joining us for this chunk of Trail. An amazing descent from a trail-head near Solola to Panajachel on beautiful Lake Atitlan. Quite a ride!

El Hato Training Ride

2008-03-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Upon joining the team at Old Town I discovered I needed a little training to get me up to speed for the local climbs. The x-country mountain biking here in Antigua, Guatemala is pretty amazing but the climbs can be large. Training is key. This little ride, the El Hato Training Ride includes a good size climb; about 1/2 an hour or 40 minutes to the town of El Hato. From El Hato, a nice chunk of single track drops you back into San Felipe just outside Antigua. It's the perfect little training ride.

It just so happens this classic trail ride was technical enough to buck me on camera, making this a classic mountain biking video. You don't always get a good digger on camera! Happy to oblige y'all.

Enjoy, Tim!

Santa Cat Trail

2008-03-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering what some of Guatemala's premiere Mountain Biking looks like! Here's a little video The Old Town crew shot on the trail recently. The Sacred Rides Crew joined Matt and Luisa on this trail yesterday. If you are a mountain bike rider and plan on visiting Guatemala you should consider catching this chunk of trail and drop in to beautiful Lake Atitlan.

On The Trail with Sacred Rides

2008-03-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

We're out on the trail now with the lads from Sacred Rides, a mountain bike touring company based out of the Toronto Area. Once from the interior of BC in Fernie, Sacred Rides is looking to branch out and partner up with Old Town. So we're giving them a taste of what Guate has to offer. Keep tuned into BIKE magazine to see the fruits of out labor.

New Old Town Blog!

2008-03-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

After much time the new Old Town blog spot is up. Follow us on our adventures around Guatemala as we ride, paddle, trek, camp, and climb all over this great place.