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Published: August 31st 2010
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Day 2 - Paria to Tuallipampa
This was, by far, one of the hardest days of trekking we have ever done. We knew from the start that it would be difficult, since long days on the trail are not only a physical but a mental challenge. What we didn't expect was to actually lose the trail for an hour, go slogging aimlessly through a meadow of dry grass and cow trails, and then connect back with the main trail no worse for the wear. But I digress.
Day two started off innocuously enough. The trail gained elevation here and there for the first few hours, and as the sun came up, it definitely got warm. We played leapfrog with a crew from France, two girls and a guy, who we later had lunch with and had the pleasure of learning their names. Laurene, Gen, and Mathieu had started a few hours behind us the day before, camped at the first campsite, and had woken early to make up the extra time they needed to cross the Punta Union pass.
About three hours into day 2, we made our first mistake. There is a turn in the Santa Cruz
5 hours in...
But it was good to be back on the wide, nicely marked trail. trail that takes trekkers left up the hillside, but equally as wide and unmarked was the trail going straight. Jason noticed the trail going left, and after passing it and going about 10 minutes further, we realized that perhaps we should have taken it. The trail that we were now on was markedly narrower, and was not gaining any real elevation.
It was at this point that a donkey driver on horseback passed us. We asked if we were on the trail to Punta Union, and he said yeah, basically, and pointed to the mountains to our left before taking off. Not particularly assured, we continued walking. A few minutes later we ran into our French friends, and shared our concern with them. They too had noticed that the trail was a bit smaller, but were opposed to going back and finding the unmarked trail that went up. So. We kept walking.
Much to our relief, we camp upon the Tuctu campsite after about 4, 4.5 hours of hiking. We all stopped for lunch, somewhat more comfortable to at least know that we were on a trail that was on the map. However, we were dismayed to learn,
7 hours in...
Significant elevation gain. The tiny notch in the center is the Punta Union Pass. after speaking with the same donkey driver, that we were NOT on the Santa Cruz Trail. We could get to it if we headed left (again, a vague wave of the hand in that general direction) but we were not currently on the right path. Futhermore, when we asked how far it was to Punta Union, the man said something to the tune of FAR. AND LONG. AND DIFFICULT.
This was not encouraging.
But, we set off through the grass and eventually connected to what appeared to be a cow trail. The cow trail got wider, and wider, and after about 45 minutes, connected to the Santa Cruz. We breathed/panted a sigh of relief and continued on. This began the most difficult part of the day. The trail climbed steadily, and then started becoming less of a trail and more of a follow-the-donkey-turds game over a series of enormous smooth, weather beaten rocks. This part of the trail would have been less nerve wracking if we knew where the heck we were going, but at this point, still had no clue where in the mass of mountains above us we we actually aiming for.
The next two
8 hours in...
Jason reaches the pass and I greet him with the hugest smile my face can muster. hours were a series of steps and stops as the elevation was growing more noticeable. We stopped to force down a power bar somewhere in the middle, and watched warily as the sun began to set over the looming ridge in front of us. This was the mind over matter portion of the trail.
And then, out of the blue, the rocks parted and we stood on the first flat patch of ground we'd seen since that morning. The sun was in full sunset glory, and the white of the mountains glowed luminous against the blue of the sky. The peak to our left, Taulliraju, was unspeakably spectacular. We spent the next twenty minutes taking pictures and saying over and over, "can you believe we made it?"
The next two hours were a mixture of relief and resignation. We could see the Taullipampa campsite glowing happily below us, and knew exactly where we were going. But the series of switchbacks in front of us appeared never ending, and here it was here I dubbed us Granny Bumble and the Billy Goat. Jason fairly bounded down the mountain, while I hobbled from rock to rock and cursed my knees.
Mt. Tualliraju
Some people say this is the Paramount pictures logo mt. I have read conflicting stories, but it's beautiful either way. The sunset provided a lovely shade of alpineglow, but we did end up pulling out the headlamps for the last half hour of the trip.
It should be noted that Tuallipampa is a nice campsite, but with difficult access to the water. Or maybe it was just difficult to find in the dark. Either way, neither of us felt like cooking, so after we filtered enough water to replenish our nalgenes, we crawled into our sleeping bags. As Jason battled altitude sickness throughout the evening and lost what was left of his lunch about half way down the mountain, and I was exhausted, neither of us ate supper. I barely managed to choke down another power bar before falling asleep. This is not to be recommended. But having ramen noodles for breakfast the next morning never tasted so good.
To note:
--Day two took us 10 solid hours of hiking. The elevation gain was significant, and was made even more difficult by us carrying our own packs.
--Water was life. We were fully loaded with two camel backs and a nalgene bottle, and made it down the mountain with little to spare. After Tuctu, there was not opportunity
Punta Union Pass
Yes. I am in love with this sign. to filter drinkable water.
--It would have been nicer to have more time at the top of the pass to take pictures. It would be worth it to start your day even earlier than you think you need to in order to accommodate for this.
--Do not underestimate yourself. Though this was a difficult day, it was very rewarding, and the views and challenges along the way were such that we would not trade them.
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