The five of us lumbered down the two small flights of stairs with our backpacks overflowing with necessities for the days ahead. Our angst was apparent as our labored breathing still hadn't acclimated to the Cusco altitude. Clearly, 10,000 feet was no joke, and we knew we would be hiking higher to the 14,000 ft mark. Beyond the lack of oxygen there was also energy around the fact that we were not positive what lay ahead for us, but at 5:20am in the morning we were able to put that aside as we awaited our Peru Treks bus.
We were the first to board, and over the next twenty minutes we watched as our fellow gringo adventurers joined us. Mark and Alex were a younger couple from Australia, Alyssa and Carolyn were army members stationed in Kansas City, Tony and Margaret were a couple from British Columbia, Michael and his daughter Maria also were from Australia, and Kristina and Beverly joined us from Montreal and the UK. Fifteen altogether and the only thing we knew for sure was that we had packed more than anyone else. Needless to say that led to a number of questioning looks between us, especially when Maria boarded the bus with what seemed like a pack that didn't have enough in it for a full day of hiking... (The two Americans that we had met at the briefing were not in our group, and we would see them a few times in the coming days as our group crossed paths with the other Peru Treks group.)
After an hour drive, we all grabbed a decent buffet breakfast, and bought some waters and coca leaves for the start of the trail. An hour later, we were beginning our hike with our two guides Freddy and Darwin. Along with them, 21 porters - known as Chaskis in Peru - also joined us.
We began hiking around 10:30am, and we had a mix of sun, clouds, and a bit of rain as we made our way along the Inca Trail. We passed through a number of climates, including a jungle. The scenery was amazing, as we were in a valley within enormous Andes Mountains, with crazy plants surrounding us. As hours went by, we knew we were marching upwards, as our breathing became more labored even though we were not actually physically challenged. We heard others call out behind us, "Chaskis" as a way of warning us to move to the side of the trail as these guys ran by us carrying 60 lbs on their backs while gliding from rock to rock in flip flops.
We soon came across our first ruins, which we quickly learned to refer to as Inca Sites instead. The carved rocks, careful landscape, and irrigation systems were all clearly impressive for an indigenous group back in the 1500s. It is amazing that many of their structures are still intact.
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| The "Local Bar" |
After taking in more views and making our way higher, we settled into camp around 5pm. People live all along the trail and sell necessities along the way, and it was no different near our tents. Andy purchased a large beer to go with his large water, and the rest of the crew replenished their water supply. We were able to change into comfortable clothes as the Chaskis made the dinner. We sat around with the other hikers and talked about our homes and previous adventures, throughout the entire time, our guide Freddy referred to us as a "family" and we were trying our best to live up to it,
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| Our Camp Site |
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| View of camp from the Ruins |
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| Andy's single tent |
Dinner was amazing, as we had guacamole and chips as an appetizer, followed by chicken noodle soup. Chicken and rice was our main course, with "broccoli cake"(aka quiche) as well. Even Brit enjoyed the food. Following dinner, we were all exhausted. The stars were incredible as it was a very clear night and we were in the middle of nowhere, but even after finding Orion's Belt and an upside down Big Dipper it was time for sleep. We were careful to pull our boots inside the tent as to avoid having poisonous spiders inside when we woke up.
Day 1 Total Distance: 14km
Camping at around 9,000ft
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Although Andy kept a few people up with his snoring right when his head hit the pillow most of the campers had a good sleep. Our wake up call came at 5:30am where Darwin, our guide, and Chaskis came by our tents offering us tea/coffee/hot chocolate to start our day. We were starting to get used to the hole in-the-ground bathrooms, we were getting to know our newest family members, and breakfast was great! However, hard times lay ahead, as we were starting our hardest day. We were scheduled to gain close to 4,500 feet over the day, and because of the altitude change, we wouldn't be eating lunch until we passed the highest point.
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| View from our tent in the morning.... |
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| Chaskis! |
Starting at 7:30am, we learned quickly who we were as hikers. Liz broke out quickly and set the fastest pace throughout the day (and week), Andy started fast then slowed to a more manageable speed, Brit kept her even pace, Tracy picked up trash as she went along which slowed her down, and Kendra had trouble adjusting to the altitude and did her best to go one step at a time. About halfway to the peak, we rested for some coca leaves. We wrapped it around charcoal and chewed it. Swallowing the juice, we then spit out the leaves after about five minutes. Our tongue and cheek were numb, but it did not seem to help with the altitude at all. It didn't really do anything for any of us, so no one came out of the trip addicted. Moving along, we continued to struggle our way higher. A few hours later, around 11ish, we stopped for a break to eat the most amazing popcorn. Not sure if it was even good, but at the time it was unbelievable.
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| Cocoa Leaves |
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| Llama on the Path! |
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| View from our lunch spot. |
We saw a few more smaller Inca Sites along the trail, but it became far more difficult and we focused on getting to the top. Although we finished a bit spread out, we all made it to the top (2 people in another group had to turn back) around 1:30pm. This point is known as "Dead Woman's Pass." There, we celebrated by piling flat rocks we had collected along the way into a pile, made an offering to Mother Earth (PachaMama) and took a swig of rum in celebration.
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| The steps on the way to the top... |
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| the view from Dead Woman's Pass |
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| The steep hike down |
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| Our campsite |
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| waiting for dinner - |
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Our third day started with a downpour. It was tough to get out of bed at 5:30am listening to the rain. Luckily the rain stopped a bit while we got ready to go, but by our 7:00am departure, it was raining again. Considering some of our outer shells were still wet from showers the day before, it was a tough start. Although the day was not as hard as the day before regarding altitude, we were still planning on hiking for ten hours.
We saw a few cool sites along the way, including a lookout point, but the rain made us trudge on as fast as we could manage.
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| The trail... |
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| Steep steps down. |
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| Following the trail through the Inca Cave |
We made it to the lunch spot around 1:30pm where we were able to escape the rain for a bit (Chaskis set up a ten for us to eat under). By the time we got underway again, the rain had subsided and it became a beautiful day. The trail soon became more intricate, as the Incas had tunneled through small parts of the mountains and they had made the trail into something like a spiral staircase to make the decline easier. All of the downhill areas are known as "gringo killers." Our knees suffered through a pretty steep decline as we made our way down the steep steps for two straight hours to our final campsite. There were a lot of cool pictures of the trail and views along the way. We also had to occasionally avoid a few llamas that were hanging out in the middle of the trail.
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| The spiral steps. |
As we neared our final camp, we caught view of the Sun Temple above Machu Picchu and all of a sudden we could sense the end nearby. Near our campsite, there were amazingly steep terraces. Standing on top it felt like if you fell down one level you would simply continue to roll from one to the next right to the bottom.
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| View of the Sun Gate |
Also near our campsite was another site that was like a mini Machu Picchu. We were able to drop our bags at camp when we arrived around 5:30pm and explore the ruins before the sun set.
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| Our Camp for the 3rd Night |
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| The view from the ruins near our camp. |
Following another good dinner, we had a short celebration for the Chaskis. They would be heading in a different direction in the morning since we would take a train back towards Cusco after reaching out destination (thank God we didn't have to hike back!). As part of a tradition, the two Chaskis that had made their first ever treks had eggs cracked over their heads as we clapped. We then said our goodbyes to each of the, individually. Our eldest 'family' member, Tony, made a brief speech before we gave them our tips. As we went to bed for the final time in our tents, it was pouring and we were just hoping that when we woke up the weather would be better for our final day!
Day 3 Total Distance: 18km (11+ miles)
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We were woken up at 3:30am, packed our stuff and ate a pancake before heading to the park gates. We stood in line for over an hour as we waited for the gate to open at 5:30am.
It was raining off and on, and we were worried we wouldn't be able to see Machu Picchu from above. However, as we hiked the weather became better. As we neared the Sun Gate, we came across the "monkey steps," which were just very large steps that were difficult to get up. We had to hike using our hands and the process was made more difficult because of our heavy packs. On top, we hung out for a while, waiting for the clouds to clear below.
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| Monkey Steps |
After getting a brief view of Machu Picchu, we continued downward towards where people take the "famous" picture from. Along the way, we passed an older man who was clearly sick. About two minutes later, someone went running past us to find a doctor. Luckily, Kendra did her EMT thing and reassured the man and his family that he was only sick from altitude and that he wasn't having a heart attack.
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| coming down into Machu Picchu |
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| The famous view |
Following Kendra's life saving actions, we took numerous pictures at Machu Picchu. No words (or even pictures) can put into perspective just how large and unbelievable the site really is when you are there. We spent a few hours exploring and hearing about the history. We knew some of the information, but not all of the details.
We then took a bus down to Aguas Calientes where we had lunch as a family and celebrated our successful trek. The pizza and beers were delicious. As we sat in the same room as the other Peru Treks group it was really obvious that the other group did not have as much fun as we did. Our group of 15 was amazing, and we were all thankful for the amazing experience that we shared! We then killed a few hours exploring the town before heading back to Cusco on a four hour adventure. We had two hours on a sweltering train followed by a two hour bus ride with drunken idiots behind us singing Phil Collins and REM. They were not talented.
We returned to our hotel around 11pm after an unbelievably long day and week. The warm shower and comfy bed were just what we needed.
Overall the experience was amazing. The trek was difficult, and at times the steps felt never ending. But in the end, the views stunning and the pain was worth it! We were so happy we did it, and also so happy to be done!
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