Peru Trip Part 2: The Inca Trail

We signed up back in January for the 4-day Inca Trail hike to Machu Picchu with Peru Treks. They were supposed to pick us up Monday morning between 5:30 and 6. We asked out hotel for a 4:50 wake-up call. They called at 5:05. Five minutes later they called to say that the guy was there to pick us up. No breakfast! So we met up with a guide, walked to our bus and drove around Cusco picking up the rest of the group and wasting precious "could-have-eaten-breakfast" time. We enjoyed the first of many CLIF bars.

After picking everyone up, we went to the tour company headquarters. A man and woman doing the hike together wanted separate tents and there was a big miscommunication about that. (When you sign up and pay, they give you a tent with the agreement that you'll share it with someone, but you have to pay extra for a separate tent if you want one.) This confusion led one guy in our group to think that he didn't order a tent at all and that he'd have to sleep outside. He was really worried until he was assured that he did, indeed have a tent.

Anyway, we finally set off on the bus to Ollentaytambo (the same place we'd gone on Saturday) to eat breakfast and get walking poles, etc. After that pit stop we finally began our drive to the trailhead at km 82. They stamped our passports and away we went. But not before a group picture.

 The group: A mom (not sure on age), dad (65) and their two daughters (28 and 20) from Nevada, a young couple (the guy squatting and the girl in the green) from London (21), three college buddies from CA (27ish), two friends from India (31), two friends from Canada (the guy was 35 and I'm not sure about the girl), and us. I was really hoping for more old people in the group. I was (I think) the second oldest female! The 28-year-old daughter doesn't count b/c she'd been hiking South America for the last 6 months.

 Crossing the Urubamba River.

The first day was pretty easy. The guide stopped a lot to discuss plants and things. Then we stood around in a circle with our heavy packs on and introduced ourselves.

 Above: Some ruins behind us.
Below: A pretty view.

 Llactapata ruins. So amazing. They're supposed to look like a puma paw.

 Or a jaguar paw. I can't remember.

Some time in there we had lunch and then we kept hiking. Pretty easy hiking day.

Our tent.

 We were packed in there pretty tight!

It was pitch black by six each night. After dinner we all crashed. Well, Dan and I did at least. It was probably one of the worst night's sleep I've ever had. We were on a slight hill and we kept slipping down which meant we had to bend our knees, but they when we turned on our sides, it hurt the hips after a few minutes, turn over onto the back again, can't straighten legs, etc over and and over all night! Roosters started crowing at like 4 in the morning and I kept thinking it was time to get up but I didn't have a watch so I had no idea... Annoying.

Day two is touted as the most challenging day. Dan thought that a little uphill didn't sound too daunting so he decided to get a major stomach bug, too. Nothing like getting diarrhea in the wilderness. I don't have many pictures from day two, but it was really difficult! Lots of huge uneven stone steps, major elevation increases, it was tough.

 Above: Sunrise, day two.

Below: The killer mountain of the day. We started the day at the Wallabamba campground (you can see it three dots below Dan's finger.)

 I'm showing what I thought we were supposed to hike that day. We really only hiked to Pacaymayu (the dip on the map after the tall mountain). But that was enough for us!

This is a terrible picture, but I wanted to show a picture of a porter. These guys are locals who are hired by the tour companies to carry all the extra stuff. As soon as we emptied our tents each morning, they'd take them down, load them up, put about 50 pounds of stuff on their backs, and haul up the mountain to the lunch spot, set up the meal tent, cook our food, and wait for us to arrive hunched over and panting a while later. Then they'd pack it up again, and do the same at dinner. They were incredible.

Pretty trail.

 We had brunch around 10 or so this day, and Dan basically collapsed around the backpacks, not sure if he should keep going or not because he felt so sick. Our guide kindly offered to carry Dan's pack for 15 minutes or so and that made a huge difference. We kept going and it wasn't so bad as long as we stopped a lot to catch our breath. I'm making us sound like babies. We probably are.

A steep ascent.

 You can see tiny people at the saddle at the top. That's where we were headed.

It had started sprinkling a little bit and we saw a rainbow. Can you see it?

Finally we made it to the top - Dead Woman's Pass, elevation 13,780 ft.

 The view behind is where we just came from.

 And the view here is where we're headed.

After enjoying the view for a few minutes, we began the descent. This next part - the hike down into this valley - was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. The pictures do not do it justice. The mountains were amazing, there was this fuzzy grass blanketing the backside of the mountain and beautiful yellow wildflowers. Just gorgeous!

 Me in front and Chintin (one of the guys from India). I'm so glad I had those walking poles. Made life a lot easier.

 Dan and Chintin taking a break.

 The trail continues.

At this point it started to rain harder. We were way behind and the guide sent two porters back to offer to carry our packs. We declined (I wanted to say I did it all myself). Right after we got to camp it started pouring. We ate a late lunch there and Dan about fell asleep in his soup. He went and slept for the rest of the day. I hung out a little bit and had dinner with everyone else a while later. Then went to bed, too.

This is so long that I think I'll do another blog post about days three and four, but I would like to mention the toilets. They were porcelain holes in the ground. So nasty. A special shoutout to one of my fitness teachers at the gym, Lindsay, for making us do all those squats. They sure came in handy.

Stay tuned for the rest of our Inca adventure.