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Published: October 15th 2009
So, it was finally here, my trek to Maccu Pichu. I wasn't on the Classic Inca Trail as i'd heard this was getting a bit commercialised and there were much better available (or i'd been drinking too much in South America and forgot to reserve a place. Only 500 people a day can go on this, and that includes 300 porters and staff). Anyway, it worked out better, i booked a longer trek called Salkantay, which is becoming the one to go on. It was just voted best alternative trek on the planet by National Geographic....not bad!
However, i really should have researched it a little more, i didn't realise it was the hardest trek to do..... and it was seriously hard!
We met at 4am, and drove an hour or so out of town for breakfast. The group seemed ok, a good mix of English, Aussies, Americans, Canadians & Danes. After breakfast we set off on the BIG trek!
DAY 1: 17km mainly uphill. What a tough day, i hit the wall after about 30 mins, and realised 9 months of hard drinking probably isn't the ideal preparation for a trek of this difficulty. I struggled on
as the views were incredible. It was a rough walk, but the view of Salkantay Mountain was incredible, we knew we had to walk up to it the day after, and it looked huge. Then in a heart dropping moment, the mist cleared a little and revealed a much bigger mountain than the one we'd been looking at...this was in fact Salkantay, and this was the big bugger we'd have to climb up to tomorrow............. We stopped for luch on the way, and the chefs cooked up an amazing 3 course meal, with a hearty homemade soup, followed by chicken in a green sauce, with rice & potatoes, and a pizza, followed by a chocolate mousse. How they cook it all i don't know.
We finally reached the first camp, and our superhuman porters & chefs had raced ahead and set up all the tents, meal tent, and were preparing the food. It was seriously cold, so much so that the assistant guide offered me his sleeping bag, as the one i picked up in Rio (for a fortune) was rubbish and would have probably killed me if i'd have slept in it. I refused, but he insisted that
he would rather i be warm than him. The guides, porters & chefs really were the nicest, happiest people you could ever meet. Anyway, we sat down for another 3 course feast. The food is some of the best i've eaten on the trip, superb chefs. They also gave us a bottle of rum to go in our tea. Now, i'd promised myself 4 sober days on this trip, but some medicinal rum was ok, so the guide said!
It was then we were informed that the big walking day was coming up. Big day, i barely managed the 17km today (i think 17km is about the total distance you cover on the Classic Trail over 3 days)! I slept that night wearing 7 layers and wrapped tightly in my new super sleeping bag, it was still freezing.
Day 2: 28km majorly uphill at altitude. We were woken at 5am by the chefs with a nice fresh Coca Tea, and got up for a breakfast of bread & jam, and huge fresh American pancakes. We set off soon after on the gruelling ascent towards Salkantay. Again the views were stunning, but i was running out of steam, as
was everyone else, the first day had taken it's toll. A nice 3 course meal sorted that and we were off again, climbing steeply towards the Salkantay Pass at 4600m above sea level. It is so hard to walk uphill at altitude, you can manage about 20 yards before you have to stop and get some air. We finally made it to the pass, god knows how. The guide is a great believer in the mountain gods as he was raised in the Sacred Valley nearby, so he performed a ritual where we placed big rocks (which we had to carry all day from the bottom, cheers for that) and offerings and said a little prayer. It was a nice rest. We were also lucky enough to see a condor glide over and a huge avalanche right next to us. Amazingly, Salkantay has never been climbed, its only just over 6000m, but everyone who has tried hasn't made it off, bit of a toughie apparently.
We were assured that after the pass it was easy...... it wasn't, it was still hours and hours till camp, and rough downhill walking can be a lot harder than uphill. Somehow, made it
to camp late that evening and was looking forward to some good food. Sadly the chefs cooked Guinnea Pig, which i had the week before, so i knew what was coming... alot of faffing about and very little meat. Still, the soup, pasta, rice & potatoes was a welcome treat, as was the pudding, and biscuits & popcorn!! What a tough day, and the blisters on my feet were coming up a treat, still, i left them, thought they'd sort themselves out!!
Day 3: 13km up & down. By this point i was exhausted and in pain, but a only 13km today through cloudforest. We were woken with our tea and served a great breakfast and we were off again. Lots of hills today, very hard work, and, like the previous days, massive temperture changes within minutes. One minute its below freezing, few minutes later in well into the 30's, hard to get used to. We crossed a lot of rivers and saw numerous waterfalls, ate another great 3 course meal, and plowed on to our camp. They had a treat in store for us.... camp was a luxury thermal springs. Stunning place with huge natural springs to soak
in, and soak i did. We sat for hours in the hot pools and i finally got to see my feet. Blisters like never before seen by man....my little toes were more blister than toe, but right at that moment i didn't care. We did a little trek after the pools and had a go of a tiny self pulled cable car which was pretty cool. Afterwards we sat around and i wondered whether it would be better to pop my blisters, and at that moment i caught one on a rock, and it exploded, bigtime, more blood than i've seen in a while. It looked like curtians for my little toe. Luckily there was a nurse at the hot springs, so i limped over. She didn't like what she saw, got the tweezers, grabbed the top of my toe which was hanging off, calmly got the scissors, cut it off and threw it away. Goodbye little toe, i hardly knew ye! (Since healing, its not as bad as i first thought, but at the time i thought i'd lost the toe)
That night, the group got a little tipsy, but i'd promised myself 4 sober days, the first
in months & months, so i was determined to stick to it, and i did, it was bloody hard, but i did it!
Day 4: 14km + optional mountain climb. Up early again and a hearty omelette breakfast was followed by yet more trekking. We followed railway tracks all morning and in the early afternoon we reached a small town called Agus Calientes. A soulless little place built for Maccu Pichu tourists. Still, we were put up in a nice hotel. I got a double bed, tv, big bathroom, it was, at the time, the greatest thing i had ever seen in the world. I collapsed on the bed, just as there was a knock at the door. It was the guide asking if i wanted to go on an optional mountain climb which was gonna be really hard. hahhahahahahaha yeah right, he then explained that from the top we get a sneak preview of Maccu Pichu....... i sprung up, and a few of us set off. It really was hard, it was a proper climb, lots of rocks, and lots of shaky 50m high vertical ladders built into the mountain. I made it tho, and was rewarded indeed
with a sneak preview of Maccu Pichu which was well worth it.Not so much the huge road they've carved into the side of it shuttling fat lazy tourists around in gold buses. Its horrible, and i can't believe it was allowed. Me & the Danish lad thought it would be a great idea to run down. It takes 2 hours to get down, we did it in 35 minutes. It was a great idea too, i got to sleep before we all met later that night for some food! The food was pretty duff compared to what we'd been used to, but it was paid for, so no complaining. Everyone went straight to bed afterwards, the big day was upon us...
Day 5: too many km to mention. Maccu Picchu. Finally i was off to Maccu Pichu. I was up at 3.30am and we all met at 3.50am. It was pitch black and raining heavily. It was an hour & a half walk to the main gate which opens at 6am, but we wanted to get there early. There is a mountain called Wayna Picchu which offers stunning views, and only 400 people a day can climb it, so
you have to get there early to secure your spot. It was a very hard climb up. Its a 1 and a half hour steep uphill climb all the way, it was really hard. We had the option of the gold bus, but there was no way i was using it. I'd treked the hardest route possible, i wasn't giving in now.
We made it to the main gate, and waited around for it to open. The first gold buses started to roll in just before 6, and they were greeted with a few jeers from the trekkers. Gates open, we were in. Its amazing early in the morning, the low clouds and mist give it a strange feel. We had a 2 hour tour first, which explained about the history, the Inca's were damn smart people, incredibly so. I don't normally like this kind of guided tour, but it was really intresting. The mist was still thick, and you couldn't actually see Wayna Picchu yet, so after the tour we went to the vastly overpriced cafe for a drink. 2 girls from our group got on the bus after the tour and went back to town!!!! I couldn't
belive it, they'd done all the 4 days of hard trekking to get to this point, had a quick peek in, got a coffee, and left, what a waste. I'm sure they'll regret that soon.
We explored the ruins more and waited for the mist to go before tacking Wayna Picchu. Its big & steep and takes an hour to climb. The world record is 12 minutes, so the American lads set about challenging it. Fair play, they ran most of it and did it in 24 minutes, i walked fast and did it in 35. It was seriously hard tho, but you did get some great views of the surrounding area. I stayed up there for a while before tackling the descent, hard enough in itself. Back to the cafe for a snack and drink before more exploring. We went to see a bridge which is supposed to be a highlight. It was rubbish, an hour of my life i won't get back. It was late afternoon by now and most people had gone back to town, we had a train to catch at 6pm. I wasn't done yet tho, i convinced one of our group to stay,
and we set off on the long walk up to the Sun Gate. Cool place, with great views looking down over the main complex. After a rest it was time to head back. We sat at the best viewpoint one last time, and a llama strolled over and posed for the best photo of the day, a perfect end to Machu Picchu. We made it back to town in time for the train to Ollyantatambo, and from there a bus back to Cusco. We got back at 10.30pm and i promptly went back to my room and collapsed into a deep sleep!
I was up early the next day as we'd arranged to meet for some breakfast in town and to swap emails and stuff. After a hearty breakfast of ice cream, we all said our goodbyes and went our seperate ways. Before catching my 16 bus (i'd booked VIP, figured i'd need it after the trek), i vistied the food markets for some cheap hearty food, and hearty it was. Trek complete, it was easily the hardest thing i've ever done, and at times i wanted out, but looking back, i'm glad i did it, altho i'd never
do it again!! Right, off to Huacachina, an Oasis in the desert!!
My name is Edward Jordan and i'm 4 days sober....
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Nicole
non-member comment
Hey Thanks!
So my friends and I just bought our tickets to Lima with the purpose of getting to Cusco and doing the Salkantay trek... we found your blog, read it (most of it aloud), laughed... a lot... and thought it was extraordinarily helpful... so thanks! We live in Colorado, and are used to climbing mountians... So we're considering doing it ourselves, carrying our own packs, with just a guide... are we beyond crazy? ps. your blog is really well written, and your last line is completely epic!