Hiking to new heights on São Miguel

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A while back I told you about my first hike up a mountain. That mountain was Mount Katahdin, in Maine. I received so much push back from people when I told them that was my plan. Katahdin is a big mountain. People said I was too much of a “princess,” too much of a “girl.” That I wasn’t strong enough to do it. Well, I proved them wrong. And ever since that first mountain summit, something inside me has been blown wide open.

I love to push my body and my soul to the limits. Whether it’s summiting a peak and fighting my fear of heights or putting myself out there to my ego’s great disdain to talk to people, in English or in another language. I try to push myself out of my comfort zone to experience life more fully. That’s what Pico de Vara was for me in São Miguel, Azores.

Pico de Vara

Not only the undisputed highest peak on the island but also the spot with the most unpredictable weather. Pico de Vara is 1,103 m high and is considered a special protection area. The mountain is nestled in an area surrounded by the largest remaining stand of the native laurel forest. Home of the critically endangered Azorean bullfinch.

From 2009-2013 the LIFE Sustainable Laurel Forest project has been developing ecological restoration plans and promoting their value for long-term sustainability. These forests are on the brink due to intense deforestation for conversion to agricultural lands and pastures. Along with this new invasive species of plants and animals have emerged. (For more information on this project check out this report.

Permit to Hike

Because this is part of a Nature Preserve, the Azorean people do everything they can to ensure it’s survival. So, not only are there ongoing restoration projects, they only allow a certain number of people to hike to the peak on any given day.

In order to hike summit Pico de Vara you must apply for a permit. Basically, it just says you understand the value of the area and will “leave no trace” and respect the area. You can find the application online. It’s pretty quick and within a half hour they email you your permit.

A word of warning. The whole site is in Portuguese and we couldn’t figure out how to get it to translate so we had to guess what information they were asking for.

Hiking Pico de Vara

After driving down what can only be described as a logging road, there is a small pull-off next to the trail head. All around you is a swath of forest. To my own chagrin all I could hear was the sound of chainsaws, which was completely counter to what this area stands for. And I never did find out how they were allowed to do this. My only thought is they are removing invasive species of trees.

Watch the weather very closely before you head out. It is completely unpredictable and also highly unlikely that you will get a clear view from the top on any given day. From reading information from guides who have hiked that peak a thousand times, it seems they have only ever seen the view once or twice. But if it’s a bad day, the views on the way up are also going to be diminished.

We also adjusted our plans in order to hike on a better day. And your permit allows for that, because honestly, no one is there to check if you even have a permit.

The trail starts within a beautiful cedar forest but quickly opens up into vast open areas surrounded by forest and birds chirping. I was constantly searching for the bullfinch, but we never saw one. The day that we hiked was a clear, warm, bright sort of day and I was thinking all along that we were going to have one hell of a view at the top.

The vistas all around us were stunning as the ground slopped away from us on either side into deep valleys. The air was so clean and fresh you couldn’t help but breath in deeply every time you stopped to look around.

A little history

There is more to this mountain, however. It’s not just about the never-ending views of forest on one side and sparkling ocean on the other. There is a sad history here. Two planes, on two different occasions, crashed into this mountain.

Both occurring in the 1940’s, one was an Air France flight where 48 people were killed. The wreckage catching fire and pieces of the plane were spread across an area of about 420 square meters. The other was an air force plane. Both have memorials that you can see along the route.

Summiting

Like I said along the route the day was perfect. However, looking towards the peak all we could see was a low hanging cloud. The peak was shrouded in mystery and a gray floating mass of cloud. The closer we got to the peak, the worse our visibility. Until finally, we reached the plateau at the summit and was immediately surrounded by thick, dense cloud cover with blasting wind and moisture.

I am sure the 360-degree views are spectacular to witness (you can check them out here), but no matter how long we waited we were never afforded the opportunity. But it was still a spectacular hike and even with the cloud shrouding the peak, it was far from a disappointment. I sat atop that peak, camera ready, just in case there was a break in the clouds, feeling profoundly satisfied at what I had just accomplished.

I had once again pushed my body, though since that first summit of Katahdin I have found it progressively easier to achieve these heights. My muscles had a delicious ache to them and a slight tremble, but I felt completely at ease and right where I was meant to be at that point of time in my life.

Heading to the Azores? Make sure to grab a copy of my guidebook The Azores: A guide for hikers.