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Published: April 24th 2006
Our First Morning
After our first night, we awoke to a gorgeous morning.Well, we have all returned from our 8 day hike in the Cordillera Blanca and were not at all disappointed by the last second change in plans to this hike. In fact, the landslide blocking the Cordillera Huayhuash was likely a blessing in disguise. For the parents, we are currently all in relatively good health, though Jill did not feel her best earlier today. For tomorrow, we are on to the big city of Lima once again, as we make our way to Cusco by way of Nasca. On to the entry!
We woke early to wait by the curb for our guide. The destination: the Cedros, or Alpamayo, Circuit. We were expecting him to arrive around 7 am in a red car, but the car could be variable since the plans had changed without discussing the transportation situation except to change the time. 20 minutes late, in a white cab, our guide finally showed. After a jump to the tourism agency and a jump to the mini-bus station, we were packed into a 15 seat Toyota van with 20 people on it, headed to Caraz. Its amazing how many people they fit in the public transportation, but I suppose
Santa Cruz
One of the 20,000ft peaks in the Cordillera Blanca, this was one of the most beautiful sights of the trip, though at 15,000ft we were huffing and puffing to get here. that is why the public transit is so cheap. Anyway, after discontorting ourselves out of the van and a quick refresher course on how our legs work, we waited while our guide found the local taxi driver to take us to the start of our hike, Hualcayan. This ride was much more pleasant, and took us up above the valley to 3200 meters. This is the lowest elevation we would see for the next seven days plus.
We met up with our soon to be ex-donkey driver, or arriero, at around noon. All the gear save some personal effects (camera, rain gear, snack, etc.) was carried by our team of three donkeys. We were on our way by 12:30; five minutes later, it started to rain. For the next three hours we hiked straight up hill through the on and off rain to 3800 m, the second highest any of us have slept. The rain continued sporatically throughout the night, but on the plus side, dinner was good and we felt like the guide and donkey driver were going to make for a enjoyable experience, rain or not.
When we woke in the morning, we found that our
Up and Up
Headed up to our highest pass, at over 16,000ft, we had another beautiful view. donkey driver had deserted us, since his wife was pregnant and due soon, sending his brother in his sted. We also found that the clouds had passed leaving us will a clear, bright morning. On paper, today was the most trying of the trip, heading over the highest pass, 4860 m (15,940 ft) and then down and over a second pass at 4770 m followed by a step descent to 4000 m. After breakfast, we went over the 4000 m barrier, not to drop below for 4 days. Fortunately, we all felt fairly we acclimatized and were feeling no ill effects from the altitude. Dario, our guide, kept a close eye on all of us, making sure we were not suffering. After a few hours hiking, we reached Laguna Cullicocha, with the 6241 m Nevado Santa Cruz looming behind it. The entire mountain was covered with snow and up to this point, was probably the most impressive mountain I had seen in my life. This was to be re-evaluated several times during the trip. We continued on to the first of the two passes, crossing a bit of snow, and eventually tiring enough to block out most of the rest
Flowers
Not just rocks and snow, there were many interesting plants. of the afternoon as a bit of a slog. Regardless, the scenery was spectacular the entire way, as we reached our camp at about 3 pm. The donkey driver, Francisco, had gone ahead of our slow pace and set up camp in advance at a pre-Incan ruin, Ruina Pampa. This was fortunate, as the rain returned in the afternoon. Do you sense a pattern? We would.
After another night at high elevation, we were feeling pretty good about our conditioning and were hoping for a good day for what should be the highlight of the trip: Nevado Alpamayo. This peak is rumoured to be the inspiration for the mountain that greets you from any Paramount Pictures production, though I have my doubts. Day three was a short walk up the valley, from which we could see the peak in the distance with our once again brilliant morning weather. We passed camp and headed straight for the viewpoint. Though the clouds were beginning to close when we arrived, the lake below and the peak itself were most impressive. Back to camp, once again just in time to avoid the rain.
The next morning appeared quite unpromising, with low clouds
Flowers with. . .
Alpamayo in the background. covering everything, especially Alpamayo. By the time we finished packing and were ready to leave, these had cleared leaving all the peaks visible. As we hiked to our next high pass (4830 m) all four of us, guide included, were constantly staring over our shoulders at the magnificant peaks behind us. It was yet another two pass day, so we put our heads down and got to it, reaching our camp of Janca Pampa by 2 pm. Finally, some time in the sun! Sara spent the time taking pictures of the local children with their pet lambs, enjoying the interaction. This was quickly ruined by the usual 4 pm rain, dropping the temperature from feeling like mid 80s to mid 40s in minutes. We really began to appreciate our tents in ways that California and southwest camping do not prepare you for. The rain was short lived, and by the time dinner was over the stars were our, though a errie cloud soon drifted not over but on us, hazing the sky. Sara, intent on star pictures, waited it out and was well rewarded.
The next morning didn´t even bother to look threatening, with picture perfect skies. Back up
Alpamayo
Potentially the most beautiful mountain in the world, and rumoured to be the model for the start of "Paramount" movies. we went, to 4610 m, though we seemed to feel the elevation more today than previous days. Odd. The pass, Huillca, was extremely windy as we took our break behind a rock wall, listening to the roar. We hiked off the pass quickly to get out of the weather, soon reaching a lake with quenua trees, which have a colorful red bark. After more great views of snow capped peaks, we reached camp at Janca Pampa, 3400 m above sea level, the lowest point of the trip. A new record of only 5 minutes of rain, with a cloudless night leading to more great star gazing.
The following day, I woke with a bit of a stomach ache, which was quickly cured with the local remedy, coca leaves. Yes, the same base ingredient of cocaine, but really more like aspirin. Regardless, they could not slow our loss of energy, as all three of us were dragging ourselves up the next pass. Though the day was once again amazing, it was becoming a bit ho-hum. After going up and over, then up again, we reached our first and only lakeside camp on Laguna Huecrucocha. We were all tired at this
Morning Light
We awoke the third morning to a crystal clear day, with panoramic views of the mountains and glaciers. point but spent some time cleaning up in the freezing cold river and drying off in the sun. For once, there was no rain to interrupt our our outdoor experience and we soaked up all the sun we could.
Today, it was Sara´s turn to feel ill, though mostly we were all feeling a little tired and seemed to be feeling the effects of the altitude more as the trip went on. As we continued up the pass to 4640 m, we reached the best panorama of the trip, with peaks on three sides of us and a blue green lake directly below us. In front of us lay the most popular trail in the area, the Santa Cruz, and we quickly dropped down to join it. Alas, we finally ran into the first two hikers on the trip, followed soon after by two more that I did not see. Well, it couldn´t be perfect solitude. Our camp was a short walk from the finish of Vaqueria, but we headed to sleep early for a 4:30 am wake up to try and catch the first bus back to the Yungay and the main valley.
The night was not
On the Other Side
Sara enjoying the fresh (but thin) air. kind to any of us, though I got off easy, waking at 1 am instead of the expected hour. Jill bore the brunt of it, feeling the ill effects of some sort of illness, most likely something she ate. We left a little late, at 5:30 am, seeing our first sunrise of the hike. Mostly we just looked at the ground and concentrated on breathing. We just missed the first of the buses, but another was due in an hour. Unfortunately, the 8 am bus was quite packed and our guide had to talk the driver into letting us on. I had mixed feelings about this, as we were envious of sardines soon after. Once we reached the pass, however, these misgivings were forgotten as we had great views all around, especially of Huscaran, the highest peak in Peru, and the Llanganuco lakes. We soon (not really, it took forever) reached Yungay and caught another, less crowded, bus to Huaraz. We were finally finished with the mini-bus with its mini-leg room and mini-seat size, and caught a cab back to the family house that Jill was staying with. Unfortunately, we were stuck outside as no one was home, left to
Lupine
The giant lupine, native to the area, were amazing. roast in our 8 days of filth. We were rescued by another tenant and finally rinsing off the grime. We headed to a late lunch where I gourged myself while Jill ate lightly, though she was feeling much better. After this, we purchased an overnight bus ticket to Lima and explored our options for getting the remainder of the way to Cusco. So here we are, just about ready to pack up once again and move on. Until we have, ciao!
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John Timberlake
non-member comment
Nice Hike
Matt and Sara, Sounds like you might have been better off to take a shorter hike and do more looking. Anyway, it sounds like you had a lot of spectacular views. Laurie and I went to Columbus yesterday (Saturday) to see Faith Hill and Tim McGraw in concert. It was great, but loud. They sang for over two hours - singly and duets. Love, Dad