Albuerge No 19 Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Albuergue 19 is located at 4780m above sea level, and is reached by hiking from La Joya. The hike up to the shelter takes 3-6 hours depending on your stamina and has a climb of about 700 meters, return trip takes 2-4 hours. The shelter is used by hikers and also climbers of Izta who stays the night before early departure (4am!) next day to summit. The cache - a small tupperware container - is located at the base of the blue cross just above the shelter, underneath some stones. The cross has a small sign with "Padre Nuestro" on it.
If you plan to hike up to the shelter to find the cache, make sure to start early (i.e. before 10am) to make it back well before dark. Bring plenty of water and snacks/lunch as the hike is very tough, and extra warm clothes. Make sure to check the weather report also - this is high altitude mountains and should not be underestimated! The weather changes quickly, especially in the afternoon there is a tendency for clouds and precipitation. Normally on Saturdays there are quiet a lot of hikers gong up.
Before continuing up from Paso Cortez to the starting poit at La Joya you need to register in the visitors center and also pay the access fee of 25 pesos (May 2010).
As the cache has some difficulties to be maintained I would also appreciate if you can bring a spare log, pen, zip bag in case the contents are damaged.
May 2010 - increased the overall difficulty to 5 considering the long hike and high altitude.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)