Hiking in the Páramo

Yesterday was my tropical ecology class's field trip to the Páramo, the high altitude grassland that runs down the Andes.  In addition to being a wicked place to hike and explore, the Paramo is important to Ecuador because it's soil acts like a giant sponge- soaking up to 400% of the soil's weight in water.  It's this massive stockpile of water that gives Quito it's drinking water and fuels the lake behind the dam that generates 50% of Ecuador's electricity.  Yeah, it's kind of a big deal.  For the hike itself, we drove through Cumbaya & Tumbaco, heading up narrow roads to the (relatively speaking) highlands.  As our bus climbed a narrow dirt road, the conditions developed into what would become the normal for the day: blustery wind, light showers, and a heavy dose of fog.  We abandoned the bus at a set of radio towers, and began to hike quickly to avoid the cold, despite out layers. 

The first part of the downward hike was through the super-paramo, the highest part of grassland, where the elements ensured that nothing over 6 inches grew. The plants were all completely adapted to surviving in a frigid climate- they're mostly built low to the ground to avoid the wind, and the leaves, in most cases more like stubbly hemlock needles, are covered in a thick, waxy coating.  One of the coolest are cushion plants, which grow in mounts like coral- slowly building upon the previous layer of growth to create a warm, insulated core.  Within the plants, the conditions are too extreme for competition to exist- instead, they try to live together in ways the will mutualistically benefit both individuals.  For example, cushion plants often have other plants growing out of them to benefit from the warm shelter of the cushion plant.

cushion plant

something

the first lake

The beginning of the hike was a little brutal due to the wind and constant mist/rain- almost immediately pants were wet, and tops would have been the same without rain jackets.  The trail was barely there, and comprised mostly of scurrying down rocks and muddy patches between the plants.  After we finally dropped below the ridge line, the wind abated, and the trail wasn't as steep.  Not long after, the first small lakes appeared.  The first wasn't large at all, maybe 10 meters across, but with green algae on the banks, and initially shrouded in mist.   By the time we reached the second, a lake in it's own right, we had descended into the paramo itself, which is dominated by grasses instead of hardy, short plants.  The grass in the paramo works along the same principle as the cushion plants- it grows in big tan tussocks, where most of the blades present are actually dead, but stay attached to the plant to provide insulation for the few green, growing blades.  In the paramo itself, there's an almost monoculture.  Where the super-paramo was comprised of many species of various mosses and high alpine plants, the paramo is comprised almost entirely of grasses, with occasional pockets of other plants in sheltered areas.  We ate lunch at the large lake, then continued further down in altitude, to where the paramo began to include bogs in the patches of grass, surrounded by small hillocks, with larger crests further back.  Because of the clouds constantly blowing back and forth at ground level, what was clear one minute for a quarter mile, would be shrouded in white within moments.

me

the paramo, with a bog

professor esteban, man of the hour

the paramo

my foot after post-holing up to my ankle in a mud hole

Eventually, we descended into pockets of sub-paramo, where small, short forests can survive in the cold, wind protected areas.  After a particularly steep descent, we passed a small lake bordered by forests, where every surface from branches & stems to rocks was covered in a thick layer of assorted mosses.  At this lake, we saw inland gulls- just about the only animal life we saw during the whole excursion.  With a last downhill push through the sub-paramo, we ended our 8-mile hike at the bus for a short drive to a hotspring, fueled by the geologic activity of the Andes, which was a perfect end to a cold, exhausting, but thoroughly amazing trek through the high altitude!

the sub-paramo