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Published: November 17th 2012
Good morning...
...not a bad way to start...September 30, 2012
Starting Elevation 3600m (11811ft)
3rd Camp - Wiñay Wayna- 2680m (8792ft)
Highest Point - 3900m (12795ft)
Distance Travelled 16kms
After listening to the rain drip onto the tent all night it was a pleasant surprise to see dawn break clearly, and to be greeted with the sight of snowcapped mountains as I emerged from the tent was nothing short of breathtaking...still not feeling great, but with the knowledge that the hardest day was done, that we were a little more than halfway there and that it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day did wonders for the morale, couldn't wait to get back on the trail!
Usual 6:30am start, although this time Lee and Kristal had pulled a sneakeroo and started on ahead of us, guess it was up to me to take care of the back of the column that day...haha...managed to get out ahead of most of the other groups, and it really seemed to make a difference that day, hardly saw anyone other than the porters and their daily shaming of us...lol...
Made it to our lunch spot at the highest point of
the day (3900 meters) around one in the afternoon, to be greeted by both stunning views and our crew of porters...I think it was "Day of the Tourist" or something, because we were surprised at lunch with a cake the chef had whipped up! Fantastic...introductions were made by our guide after lunch and we were to learn everybody's name and role on the trail, very cool...then it was back at it, for a three hour downhill grind that I thought would never end...haha...but again with every step I knew we were getting closer to our camp, and ultimately Machu Picchu!
What to say: it was a great day, my favourite of the bunch...the vistas along the way were spectacular, and we were back to passing beautiful Incan ruins again (the ruin of Sayaqmarka was certainly one of the more impressive, with both its location perched on the side of a mountain overlooking the valley to how well it seemed to be preserved.). While there were many challenging ascents and descents, they weren't nearly as arduous as the previous day, and I just felt I was in a good groove and could trek all day...which was a good thing, as
Camp 3
...at Winay Wayna it was our longest distance to travel and as we finally arrived at our camp at 5pm, our longest day of hiking as well...hard to do the sights justice in words, I'll let the pics explain the rest...
(*side note: My camera seemed to have changed a setting or crap out at lunch this day, so unfortunately all pics after lunch - including Machu Picchu the following day...*sigh* - are all grainy...dang...)
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Danielle Beriault
non-member comment
Tour Group used
Hi! I'm in the process of researching what group to go with for the Inca trail four day hike. Could you tell me which one you used and if it was a good one? Or any others you could recommend after doing it? Thanks so much! Danielle