Cactus to Clouds Achievement

I still can’t quite believe it—I completed the C2C, Cactus to Clouds. I failed this challenge last June. Without any experience in night hiking, we made poor progress during the sunrise hours, and everyone was completely overwhelmed by the intense June sun. In the end, we reached the tram station around noon and had to descend.

This year, around the same time, we learned from that experience. We started the hike at 11 p.m., pushing hard to stay on schedule, and by sunrise, we were already four hours ahead compared to last year. Although the first half of the route to the tram station was still grueling, the hope of reaching the summit kept us motivated and excited. After reaching the tram station, one of our teammates decided to stop. I set off again with confidence—but soon realized I was completely exhausted. I didn’t want to speak to anyone. Only the determination to summit kept me moving, step by step, like a machine.

In the end, I made it. After returning home and coming down the mountain, I lay in bed all day, unable to do anything. I don’t think I’ll ever do this again.