INCA TRAIL - DAY 3 OR "ARE WE THERE YET?"

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August 23rd 2010

Published: August 23rd 2010

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Morning Climb

INCA TRAIL - DAY 3 OR "ARE WE THERE YET?"
Tuesday, August 17th

After another quasi-decent night's sleep, we were again awakened with hot tea, hot water, and soap. We stowed our gear and then ate another great breakfast of omelets, ham, cheese, break and jam, and hot tea, coffee, or chocolate.By 7am, we began our third, longest, and most interesting day on the Inca Trail. We climbed the second highest mountain, Runkuracay Pass, at 3,900 meters and stopped there for lunch and a break at around 12:30. Lunch today consisted of soup with egg, grits, and bits of veggies, a salad of green beans, carrots, onions, and cheese, a hot quinoa dish, spaghetti with cheese, and causa (a sort of layered potato salad. We also had some strawberry jello/pudding for dessert. We continued hiking after lunch until we reached the third pass, Phuyupatamarca , and then the ruins of Sayacmarca. One look at the very steep steps, unprotected on either side and Manoli and I both opted to bypass that part. We did stop at two way statioins along the way. After the 3rd pass, it was mostly downhill all the way. our guide told us we could take

Below Runkuracay Pass

Mountain View at restpoint below Runkuracay Pass - You can make out hikers near man's arm

a detour and visit the WinayWayna ruins before our campsite, but it would add a lot of distance and time. By the time we reached the turnoff, it was already 4pm or so, so we opted to head to the campsite for cold sodas, hot showers, and rest! This campsite was the biggest, since everyone stops here. It has hot showers, and a restaurant/bar with cold drinks and beer. I only bought a Coke and passed on the hot shower... too much hassle! Hey, I'm a guy... we don't mind being dirty. Manoli hedged for a bit, then decided to chekc it out. When Manoli returned from her refreshing shower, we ate our last dinner on the trail. Tonight we had a cauliflower casserole, another dish with beef and potatoes, and a different sort of lasagna. After dinner we took a group photo and tipped our cook and porters. There would be no time tomorrow, since we'd awaken at 3:30am, have a quick breakfast by 4am, and the porters would have to repack and run down the mountain (literally) to catch the porter train. By 8pm, we were in our sleeping bags and packed for a quick departure tomorrow. Tomorrow...