Advertisement
Published: June 27th 2006
Starting the Inca Trail
At kilometer 82, getting ready to enter the trail!We completed the Inca Trail June 19 - 23. First, I want to let everyone know that yes, all 4 of us completed the trail, and all are well and healthy, albeit a tad stiff. This entry will cover the four days of the trip.
On Sunday evening, June 18, our trekking company dropped of the two duffle bags for Kathryn and me that contained our sleeping bags, with room for our personal belongings up to 6 kg total. Bryan and Lloyd decided not to hire the additional .3 porter and instead they carried their own belongings. Packing our bags, I couldn't help but wonder if this really was a good idea. I consoled myself with the knowledge that many have completed this trek before, including some folks in their 70s that I met on my previous visit to Peru. If they could do it, so could I.
Monday, June 19, began early with a 5:15 am pickup at our house. The bus was prompt, and the crew cheery for such an early hour. We then picked up the remaining 12 trekkers from their hotels in the city and continued on to Ollantaytambo for breakfast. We were a group
Starting the Inca Trail
We crossed the bridge and are ready to go! of 16 trekkers, 22 porters, and 2 guides. The trekkers were from the US, England, Canada, and New Zealand, and the youngest were Kathryn and Bryan, most of the hikers were in their 20s and completing tours of South America, two of us in our 40s and two in their 50s. Our 22 porters consisted of a cook and assistant cook, personal porters, a head porter, and general porters to carry the personal tents, sleeping pads, camping stools, cooking equipment, community tents, food, etc. It really was an amazing and impressive feat of organization. After breakfast we journeyed by bus for another 45 minutes or so to the start of the Inca Trail. Everyone was quite excited, a tad nervous, we loaded up and started out. After the traditional photo by the entrance, we checked in at kilometer 82 checkpoint with our tickets and passports and the hike began. The first day is gentle with rolling terrain and an occasional uphill climb, with only one really big hill. Or at least we thought that was a big hill, until we compared it to day 2 - more on that in a moment. The porters head out in front of the
Ready to explore
Overlooking ruins on the trail hikers, and they move along, carrying quite a bit of weight, to set up for either the lunch stop or the end of day camping spot. By the time we arrived for our first lunch, a tarp was on the ground for our backpacks, the dining tent set up, and lunch being prepared. We enjoyed a glass of fruit juice upon arrival, soup, fresh fried trout, rice, potatoes with cheese, tea, dessert. This pattern continued for all our meals - very generous portions, all freshly prepared, and 3-4 course meals. Every day, every meal. Wow. Our group was feeling pretty good about our accomplishments that day, arriving at our campsite by midafternoon. What a beatiful view from our tent. The only downside of the day was Lloyd was feeling poorly and going downhill. As I wrote in an earlier entry, two days earlier Lloyd began to fight off an intestinal bug. Well, after today, it caught up to him. After arriving at the campsite very pale, and only eating the soup for lunch, we noticed the first campsite had a medical facility available. We decided to visit the doctor. Doctora Susan was awesome. She checked Lloyd over, recognized the ailments
Always a view
No matter which way you turned your head, the views were spectacular present, explained to the guide how American systems are so easily compromised here in Peru, and recommended a cocktail injection to get him back on his feet quickly, along with oral Cipro. If the injection worked, he would be able to continue the trek, if not, he would have to return to Ollantaytambo and continue to Machu Picchu by train. So the doctor gave Lloyd a cocktail injection of about 5 different elements to ease various symptoms I won't describe here. He rested for a while, the doctor ordered a special dinner which the trekking company cook prepared with no problem. Lloyd was feeling better by the time he fell asleep. The kids were a tad concerned when I told them I was taking their dad to the doctor, and that if he didn't improve we would have to turn back. Both kids asked if they really would have to go back too or if they could continue on without us. I actually smiled at that request - glad to see that they were having a good time and wanted to continue. Fortunately, Lloyd was better in the morning, and we were able to continue on to Day 2, the
Room with a view
Looking out our tent at the first campsite day known for its 7 km uphill ascent.
Tuesday, June 20, Day 2. After being cleared by the doctor in the morning, we began Day 2. Day 2 begins at 10,137 ft and several hours later we arrive at the first pass located at 13,776 ft, then descend to the campsite at 11,480. From the moment Day 2 began, it was uphill. And uphill. And uphill. In the middle of this ascent is definitely the moment I was chastizing myself about this fun family adventure. Bryan and Kathryn climbed at a good pace with our guide, pausing for the occasional rest, finding it challenging, but not seeming to have much difficulty. Lloyd hired a porter for the day to carry his backpack, which was a smart move as he was really still regaining energy. Lugging the backpack up the hill at this altitude would not have been in his best interest. I trudged along, and, was NOT the last to arrive at the summit. Yeah! After a brief rest at the summit, we had to go down to the campsite. Sounds easy, but after climbing for hours, the legs became tired quickly. In many respects, it is more difficult
Day 2 going up, up, up
The going up never seems to end on day 2.... to descend than to ascend. So, I now admit, I was the last to arrive at the campsite on day 2, only by about 15 minutes. The assistant guide stays with the last of the trekkers during the hike, and I admit, I enjoyed our converstations immensely! What made the descent particularly hard for me, I think, was the nature of the trail surface- the path is paved with stones, and while the stones are inlaid, they are irregular in shape, placement, size, level, etc. so walking can be difficult and you must keep your eyes on the path or risk tripping. Perhaps I was too cautious in stepping as I really didn't want to trip or be the one to be rescued from off the side of the mountain as I slipped off the trail. Oh yeah, the guides carry oxygen, rescue gear, first aid, etc. Comforting that they are prepared. The awesome landscape definitely calls for such preparedness. I was glad to arrive at the campsite, and shortly thereafter we were all treated to afternoon tea, including crackers and popcorn, and dinner later that evening.
Wednesday, June 21, Day 3. Ibuprofen is a wonderful drug. Great for
Day 2 going up, up, up
See that path? Steeper than it looks hurting knees and muscles. Today was the long day of hiking, with the terrain described as Inca Flat - up and down. This really is a beautiful day of hiking, passing through various climates and ruins. In fact there was a beautiful section I really enjoyed of cloud forest climate that was spectacular. The bummer for me was the end of the day - a 3200ft descent to our campsite. Yeah, more downhill on rough stone. My knees just don't care for the steps and stones. I may not have mentioned steps. Oh yeah, there are steps, to the tune of 2100 steps interspersed in the descent. This section is also known as the gringo killer. Yeah, that about sums it up right there. Young knees don't have many problems here, but my knees did. Wow. Lloyd kept his pace slower and stayed with me, the kids kept up with the first guide. We saw an area that was washed out by a mudslide and since rebuilt, as well as interesting birds, including parakeets. It was a beautiful walk, but I was soooo glad to see the campsite.
Thursday, June 22, Day 4. We woke up at 4:15 and
were ready to depart by 5 am for the sun gate. Yes, it is still dark. Hiking on rocky paths in the dark by flashlight can be a challenge. We had 2 hours to go to reach the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu, with the goal of observing the solstice at 7:20. It rained during the night, so the path was at times slippery. And, we had several stairs to negotiate, including 1 staircase that was seemingly straight up - called for using hands and feet in order to climb. I have no idea how Bryan and Lloyd climbed those stairs will full packs. We arrived at Machu Picchu with time to spare, and, unfortunately, quite a bit of fog and cloud cover. We were able to get a peak of the site at the sun gate before it completely fogged in. We descended to Machu Picchu for about 45 minutes, checked our bags, etc. and had a coffee prior to the tour. Since the site was completely socked in by fog, there was no sign of solstice or sun. After a 2 hour tour we had free time to enjoy the ruins. The fog periodically uncovered the ruins, teasing
and hinting to their size and complexity. Finally we were able to see the entire site in its grandeur. Beautiful. We also enjoyed a hamburger and fries at the snack bar outside of the ruins- tasted great! After visiting the ruins we descended to Aguas Calientes town to meet up with our group at a Pizzaria, tip our guides and personal porters, and receive our train tickets back to Cusco. The train ride back to Cusco was smooth and relaxing. And the bed that awaited us was most welcome!
All in all, an awesome experience! My knees will never be the same, and I do not think I will do this trip again, but it was indeed awesome!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.075s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 6; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0433s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Barbara Andrews
non-member comment
Wow!
I can't help but wonder how many activity points you earned on a trip like that? Is your next trip going to be the Camino de Santiago? I'd love to do that for a short distance--my knees aren't the greatest either--just so I could say I did it!