Second Summit

Pedra da Gavea

As promised, the second enstallment of hill climbing in Rio. The day after stumbling accross the trail to the summit of Pão de Açucar I was headed up a steep, root-choked trail to Pedra da Gavea along with Javier. The trail was not exactly easy to find. Javier, his girlfriend Lucia, and I had tried to find the trail two weeks previously, and by following the directions of the bus drivers and random strangers we ending up hiking to the summit of Pedra Bonita instead of Pedra da Gavea. The two are right next to each other, but still, wrong mountain. Pedra Bonita was well worth the climb though. It is where all the hangliders and paragliders launch so we got to watch people soaring off into thin air. Looked super fun and I really wanted to go, but it is expensive (about US$175) and I didn't have any money on me... maybe next time.

 Pedra da Gavea from afar.

 Pedra Bonita, just to the right.

Wooden launch ramp near the top of Pedra Bonita where the line-up of hanglider pilots with their tourist charges take turns soaring off over Rio (neighborhood of São Conrado). Flights last around 15 minutes, longer if you have a good pilot who knows the updrafts.

Anyway, the second time Javier and I headed out to find the lost trail of Gavea I was armed with a map scribbled on a napkin that a Brazilian trail-hiking guide had made for me (the same guy who generously dropped me the rope to climb up Pão de Açucar). This time we succeeded in finding the trail without much trouble, although it was in an obscure part of town, in the back corner of a dirt parking lot inside a gated community... that map was really good.

The pictures of P Gav below are mixed with shots from my second summiting (it was way too cool to just go once, so last Sunday I went again, this time by myself). The trail is super fun, full of rocks and roots, its like nature's obstacle-course/playground.

Roots! Its like running up a staircase, but none of the stairs are the same dimensions so you have to really pay attention to your feet. Especially when running down.

 Javier working his way up one of the more technical sections. This trail was a steep hike in the easy parts, a scramble in the harder places, and a legitimate climb in one place.

 The "head of the emperor," the peak of Pedra da Gavea from a distance is said to resemble Emperor Pedro II (Cap, eyes, nose, bushy beard... makes a pretty convincing likeness).

 The climb section. Some people were roped up for this, but it wasn't necesary. The rock was steep but not vertical, and the holds were plentiful.

 Who is the safer climber in this picture? Sure he is roped up, but look who has the bloody knee.

 Javier and me at the summit. The views from up here were awesome.

 

 

This photo shows the size of the summit, it stretches along for a couple hundred meters. I'm standing near the ocean here, looking back towards the slightly higher end of Pedra da Gavea.

 

 This is the absolute high point. You can see this boulder in the previous picture.

 This is the view off to the west, the neighborhood of Barra de Tijuca. Barra beach is a little longer than Ipanema and Copacabana combined.

 The little islands out at sea were super cool, I really want to explore them...

This was my favorite view, to the east. The closest beach is São Conrado, which runs into Pedra dos Dois Irmaos (Two Brother's Rock). On the other side of 2 Brother's Rock you can see Ipanema and Copacobana beaches, Lake Rodrigo de Freitas (shaped like a heart), Pão de Açucar (behind the lake), and the statue of Christ the Redeemer (prominant peak to the left of the lake). Its hard to leave once up on top of Pedra da Gavea, everywhere you look provides a stunning view.

Even after my second climb up Pedra da Gavea I want to go back again. Its become my Sunday morning tradition and with my limited time left in Rio (only two more weeks!) I'd have to be hard pressed to give it up.