I survived Dead Woman´s Pass - just!

---

I have had the most exhausting four days that I can remember in a long time but it was definitely worth the hard slog. Despite the fact that I´m now still incredibly stiff and sore - don´t think I´ve used my muscles that much in a long time.

Day 1

We started our long hike on 20th May after an early start. We met our guides - Selso and Luis who were to help us out a great deal for the next few days. We then had about an hour´s drive from Ollantaytambo to km82 for the start of the trek. I was a little bit apprehensive to say the least, but the sun was shining which was an added bonus.

We got the rest of our kit sorted and all our duffle bags were weighed to ensure that each was no more than 6kilos (including mattresses and sleeping bags) and they were handed out to the porters to carry.

We then had to wait in line at the check point to make sure we all had tickets before heading off over the suspension bridge for the first part of the trek. Day 1 wasn´t too bad. We had a few hills to climb and I was a bit relieved that it wasn´t as bad as I was imagining it to be. We arrived at our first campsite for lunch and were stunned by the set up. The dining tent had been erected and there was a table all laid out for us for lunch. We were all given bowls of warm water and soap to wash our hands before settling down to a three course meal. This definitely wasn´t what I was expecting. We weren´t roughing it at all. After lunch we were given about 15 minutes to relax before we set off again for another 2-3 hours of walking. We had beautiful weather all day and arrived at our campsite for the evening at about 5pm so it had been a long day.

Selso was a bit of a character. He really got the group going and was very motivational - definitely a good person to have around.

We arrived at camp to lots of applause from all the porters which was lovely and more bowls of warm water to wash with AND hot drinks and popcorn. Fantastic!!

Then another three course meal before heading to bed at about 9.30 - well it was dark and cold. It was fantastic sitting up looking at the stars though - a beautiful place. I didn´t get that much sleep though - what with the donkeys deciding to graze right next to our tent in the middle of the night, the snores coming from other tents and the fact that I kept on sliding down the tent it was not really surprising.

Day 2 - the killer

We were woken at 5.30am by the cook (Alex), the assistent cook (Boo Boo) and the two waiters knocking on our tent. ¨Hola signoritas, buenas dias, como estas?¨etc etc. They were bringing us hot drinks to our tents. How great is that? Camping in style.

We then had a fantastic breakfast before heading off for the longest day of our trek. We were walking over two of the three passes and going from about 3,300m to 4,200m then back down to 3,500 and back up again to 4,000, then down again to about 3,600m before stopping for the day.

Before we left we were introduced to all of the porters and were told a little bit about them all (including age, marital status etc) - we then had to do the same and there were lots of murmurs of appreciation when all the single girls in the group said they were single!

We set off. After about 15-30 minutes into the walk I was beginning to feel really strange. Quite dizzy, sick and weak and just not my normal self. I carried on for a bit but then decided I had to stop for a while. Jess was with me and told me to have a rest. Apparently I was looking very white and also quite green - nice! I sat there for a while then decided to try and get up but that just made it worse. Jess gave me a drug for anti nausea and anti dizziness (she´s a doctor) and told me to sit for a while. By this time Selso and Luis had caught up with us. Selso was great and told me that it was just the altitude. He sat with me for a while before trying out his form of shamen medicine which consisted of rubbing alcohol. He put some in his hand, told me to shut my eyes, clapped his hands in front of my face so it splashed all over me, then made me breathe it in before rubbing the rest on my face and forehead. Jess said that he was chanting something too while he was doing it but I didn´t notice that - I was quite out of it! He repeated that about three times and I did feel a bit better. I think it was basically a bit like smelling salts. I continued for a bit longer but still felt very strange. I popped another of Jess´s pills and carried on for a bit. Selso caught up with us again and gave me more of his ´magic potion´and I carried on again.

This continued all morning. Selso tried the encouraging approach and then the ´there are women over 50 and 60 who are walking faster than you´approach but none of them worked. It was horrendous. Jess told me that she was walking so close behind me because on a number of occasions I was wobbling so much she had to almost catch me to prevent me from falling over. She said it was quite strange as my eyes were rolling around and I wasn´t really focussing on anything!

More magic potion and finally at about 12pm after an incredible amount of stubbornness and determination I made it to the top of Dead Woman´s Pass. 4,200 metres up. The rest of the group were supposed to meet us there but had given up waiting and had headed down to the campsite for lunch. I was absolutely exhausted but so relieved to have made it.

We rested for about half an hour and then made the easier journey to 3,500m for lunch. About quarter of the way down we met a couple of the porters running back up to meet us. Selso had obviously told them that I was having trouble. I thought he was joking but he said that they´d come to carry me down. My first thought was - there´s absolutely no way they could lift me (most of them are half my size!), and my second was - no, i want to do it on my own. So one of them carried my bag down and they both ran back down to the campsite. Selso said he had to run down too to make sure the rest of the group was okay, but Jess and Luis stayed with me. We made it back to the campsite in just under an hour and before a couple of the group who had been taking it easy!

We had another three course meal although I wasn´t feeling as hungry but it did help. We were also applauded when we arrived again and the bowls of water were there to greet us.

The afternoon wasn´t as bad at all. I think it must have been a mixture of dehydration, altitude and low blood sugar that made me feel so strange because I managed the second pass with no problems. I was a bit dizzy and breathless but no where near as bad as the morning.

We did have a little bit of rain that day but only during lunch and a few spots afterwards, although the cloud came down pretty quickly and made walking in the afternoon not as exciting as we couldn´t see anything - almost a white out.

We made it to the second camp at 5.30 just as it was getting dark and I wasn´t the last!! More bowls of water and milo or tea and popcorn to greet us. The stars were even clearer that night and it was quite a bit colder. Another three course meal and then a few of us stayed up and played cards with the guides. Felt really bad afterwards because as soon as we had finished about 7 of the porters charged into the tent - they were freezing. We had forgotten that they nearly all slept in the dining tent and were too shy to ask to come in.

Day 3 - nearly there

Another early start for an easier day. We only had to make it over the third pass which was only about 150m higher than the campsite. For the rest of the day we had a nice walk going up and down a little bit. It was great and I felt fantastic. We then had to go down 4,000 steps to our final campsite and we could actually see Machu Picchu as well. It was very exciting. I was pleased because I made it down first - made up for the day before. We got to our campsite in time for lunch and had the rest of the afternoon to relax and shower etc.

Our campsite had a fantastivc view of Machu Picchu and we could see it from our tent - amazing.

A few of us played cards (uno) with some of the porters. It was really good fun. Trying to explain the rules was interesting but it was worth it. We gave them loads of our snacks as well which they devoured so quickly or shared them out with their friends and then hid them in their bags. The card game went on for a good few hours and the porters slowly became less shy and began to enjoy themselves - they were very unsure to start with.

Supper was another big affair and being the last night it was even more impressive. The porters were then invited in to sing us a couple of songs - we had to return the favour and for some reason sang the beginning of Bohemian Rhapsody followed by a song that one of the Australian guys (Ian) sang and we all sang the chorus. It was really good fun.

Then more card games with Selso and Luis and a bottle of rum. Although I didn´t drink much. Selso had decided that he had a bit of a thing for me and had been flirting quite a bit during the trip - even asking me if i wanted to go and see the ruins close to the campsite (he´d taken some of the group down while we´d been playing cards). Apparently it looks really beautiful at night. Cheeky boy. I went to bed!!

Day 4 - made it

We were up at 4.30am and started walking at 5am to get to the check point in time. It opened at 5.30am. We were the 2nd or 3rd group through and charged to the sun gate. Head torches and fleeces were quickly removed as the sun came up. Amazingly we had a perfectly clear day and there was not a cloud in the sky. Making it up the gringo killer´(the final 45 steps) was fantastic and going through the gates and seeing Machu Picchu below was a breathtaking experience. We had actually got there in one piece. It was an awe inspiring place.

We walked for another hour down to the site after admiring the view at the sun gate and spent about an hour admiring the view close up and getting the picture postcard photos before then spending a good 3 hours wandering round and having a tour. It was absolutely amazing. We were all so exhausted though but it was well worth the hard slog. It´s difficult to describe the place but the scenery is awesome. I have no idea what possessed the inca´s to build something in such a difficult place to get to but I am so glad they did.

Despite feeling horrendous on the second day, despite finding it very difficult walking up and down steps, despite wishing i had a clean t-shirt and despite hoping that people didn´t walk too close to me it was well worth the effort. And it was a great feeling looking at all the tourists who caught the bus up and feeling that we had actually earnt our view of Machu Picchu (the old mountain)!

---

Photos

Milo and popcorn in the tent!
Camping in Style