Mt. Mogote

Every so often I like to do something special with the boys from El Callejon. Sometimes we'll go to the river for a day. One day I invited them all over to my house for dominos and dessert. It's always a lot of fun and a good bonding experience.

A couple weeks ago I took them all on a hike to the peak of Mt. Mogote at an altitude of 5450 ft. It's a grueling hike. The total climb is about 2000 feet and it's really steep, one of the most difficult short hikes I've ever done.

I pumped the boys up for weeks, using the trip as a way to keep them behaving well. We met in El Callejon on Saturday morning and piled 13 kids into 2 CRVs. The hike takes about 2 hours to climb and I honestly questioned if some of the boys would even be able to make it.

I even told Micael he couldn't come, but then after some whining I let him go on 1 condition: his older brother had to agree to stop and turn back with him if he gave up.

To my surprise, every boy climbed all 2000 ft without a complaint. The peak is breathtaking and you can see the entire city of Jarabacoa and even all the way to Santiago. It was cool to see the exhilaration and sense of accomplishment in their eyes when they made it to the top.

They made me proud.


Francis posing for a picture about half way up. He's one of my leaders and has grown a lot spiritually since the club began 2 years ago.


He hasn't just grown spiritually...He's grown a foot taller this past year. He's old nickname of 'Gordo' no longer applies. He wanted a before and after picture of his gut because he was convinced he was going to lose 10 lbs for the day.


I love this picture. 9 days out of 10 Luis Miguel wears the same torn shirt, pants, and flip flops. This is what he wore for the hike...he thought he was the coolest guy around. In fact, at one point he helped a teenage girl that we passed get down a rock and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. I've never seen someone strut the way he did after that.


The whole crew made it to the top.


"ok, now let's do a crazy one"