I understand why it is called ´Dead Woman´s Pass¨

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To sum it up, the past four days have probably been the some of the most physically and mentally challenging, BUT also the most rewarding days I have experinced. I have just completed trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail is a series of paths in the Andean Mountains that Incans would have used to travel between different cities and towns. I took the traditional four day route starting at Km 82 and hiked 45 km to our end goal of Machu Picchu.

What an AMAZING experience.

We had a small group of five people - Kristina and I, and three Americans - Rick, Andrew and Justin. Along with that we had our guide, Auki, and six porters. At first we felt guilty for having so many porters who would be running along the trail ahead of us with all the supplies including items such as our tents and food in order to set up camp and cook the meals. All we had to carry were our sleeping bags and personal belongings. THEN we saw all the groups who merely had a small daypack and porters who carried EVERYTHING for them. Needless to say - our group still blazed by many of these other groups even with all the extra weight on our backs. What amazed me most was the ability of the porters to carry so much weight on their backs and RUN up and down the mountain to the camp sites. We were told that they make about 40 Nuevo Sol a day doing this. Some will earn enough to buy a farm and others will continue on for over twenty years.

The first day is considered fairly easy. We started mid morning around 11am and trekked for about 12 Km before stopping around 430pm for the night. We had a long lunch break in the inbetween. Along the way I saw some of the most beautiful scenery and vegetation. It was a National Geographic pic at every turn. We also passed many communities who still live along the trail and would sell drinks and snacks to the trekkers and would supply the porters with a traditional ¨energy¨drink. Our highest altitude reached that day was about 3100m - nothing to feel any altitude sickness over.

The second day is called the ¨Challenge¨ Day and rightly so. It was the most mentally and physically challenging for me as we reached the highest altitude of the trek. The first part of the day is spent climbing upwards to an altitude of 4200m (climbing 1100m up) to what is known as ¨Dead Woman´s Pass¨. After reaching this pass - I must conquer with this name!

The first section of the trail climbs almost 800m over 6Km. Our guide had estimated that it should take us about 3 hours to complete this section of the climb and our trail map had recommended it take about 4 hours to complete this section. I realize now that I started this section MUCH to fast as after about 1 hour of hiking I was hit with intense nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness and a headache- all symptoms of altitude sickness. I hadn´t really realized that even if I was physically able to climb much faster, a slower pace would have helped me acclimatize much better. Therefore I slowed down in order to reach the first rest stop on our way to Dead Woman´s Pass. Even with the slower pace I completed the section in about 2 hours - much faster than I should have. After a good long rest and chewing lots of Coca leaves, I felt more ready for the climb to the Pass. This part was definitely one of the most challenging things I have experienced - especially dealing with acclimatization at the same time. When I reached the top of the pass at 4200m, I felt such elation! (Or was it still the lightheadedness??) It was so worth it to push through the pain to reach that point along the trail. Plus the most difficult climb had been completed. The rest of the second day was down the other side of the mountain to our campsite. We were all nursing sore calves and stiff knees that night.

The third day is considered the second most difficult (after the second of course). I was still nursing some nausea and a headache from the altitude but much of that passed by midday. The third day is the longest trek of about 16km. It includes many uphills and downhills - but our group was in good spirits knowing the most difficult was behind us. We saw many ancient Incan sights along the trail and despite the rain on the third day - we had a great time exploring and taking pictures of the amazing scenery. The last part of day three was a steep descent on an Incan stairway that played havoc with our knees. Never did I think I would be wishing for those uphills again. Kristina and I decided that the only way to make it through in good spirits would be to serenade our group with our lovely singing skills. I think we covered everything from showtunes, to country, to Christmas Carols, to current music, to past hits, and disney movies. I firmly believe the rest of the group LOVED us as we were taking requests by the end!

We awoke the next morning at 345am to have breakfast before we set out on the trail for the last 6km to reach Machu Picchu. Breathtaking is the only word to describe the view when at the Sungate we watched as the early morning mist cleared and revealed the ¨Lost City of the Incans¨. That morning we were given a guided tour of the site by Auki before the tourists who take the train to Machu Picchu arrive. We then had time to explore the site ourselves before heading into town for lunch and to catch our train back to Cusco.

That night we said goodbye to our new American friends - a little bittersweet as they were heading back to wri and we were continuing on our trip. We had a fitting farewell dinner at McDonalds to celebrate our Victory in finishing the trek!

Kristina and I have spent this weekend recovering in Cusco and enjoying the city as our knees are healing and getting better at walking down stairs. Monday morning we depart for Puno and Lake Titicaca where we hope to participate in a homestay. Looking forward to the next part of our adventures!

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