Ecuador High Country in October, Unguided

[Danny D]

My wife is eyeing some guided hummingbird tours in the Quito area this October, which means I’m considering flying down with her and splitting off for my own two weeks of mountain explorations.

I would love to have some advice on trips that would allow me to break away from heavily impacted trails and spend at least a few days (up to ~10 days) solo in the backcountry. I like views above treeline and class 2/3 hikes with some route finding involved, but am also happy to spend time on developed trails below treeline and drop into towns and villages for a hot meal and the occasional shower and bed. I might be into bagging a high peak or two if it only requires some scrambling and traction/ice axe. Might buy a lightweight helmet if required/recommended. My Spanish is slow but likely good enough to get by.

I’ve gained a lot of backpacking experience in the last few years, mostly in the Sierra Nevada, but my international backpacking experience is still fairly limited, so I’m struggling with translating trip descriptions to my own skill level.

Calibrating my experience in the States: I hiked the PCT northbound in the high snow year of 2019, including hiking through the very snow-covered Sierra in microspikes with a Camp Corso axe in the month of June. I’ve done summer hikes of the Sierra High Route and the southern loop of Skurka’s Yosemite High Route, and I have the northern loop of that route, as well as the Wind River High Route and the SoSHR in the plans for this summer. Plenty of other on-trail stuff too. Very comfortable on class 2/3 terrain with a little exposure, but I don’t have experience on terrain that requires roping up. My class 5 rock-climbing experience is all indoor and over a decade stale.

And internationally: my wife and I did a guided Macchu Picchu trip along that ~26ish mile corridor organized by REI Adventures a few years ago. There were more guides than guests, meals, tents, and toilets were carried for us, and there were crowds and crowd-impacted surroundings everywhere. Really not my favorite experience – I far prefer fewer people and the fulfillment that comes with leading my own hike and carrying my own gear. In Laos, we did some other guided backpack/zipline tour for a few days, which I actually enjoyed, but it was more “adventure vacation” than backpacking, and is also not what I’m looking for now. In Thailand we did a day hike up Doi Pha Hom Pok, and locals insisted on the hiring of a guide, despite it really just being a walk up a well-defined trail. I find it difficult to navigate the difference between “hire a guide because our economy needs the money” and “hire a guide because there are dangers you are unprepared to handle”. I’m happy to support local economies, but I would rather do so with other purchases, rather than being forced into an unnecessary guided experience.

I ordered a copy of the Bradt/Rachowiecki/Thurber guide (fifth edition is what was reasonably priced/available), but don’t have it in hand yet, and I’m curious how the descriptions calibrate against the reader expectations of a Roper/Secor guide.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

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