The Inca Trail - Part 1

We awoke early on the morning we began the Inca Trail. We were told to be ready to be picked up at 5:30am, and our ride was pretty much right on time. We hopped onto the bus and drove around Cuzco until we had filled it up with fellow hikers, our two guides, and a few of the porters. We headed to Ollaytantambo. There we stopped for breakfast and some supplies (I bought a new hat at last!) before heading to the trail head. We stopped in a small town just before the trail hesd to find a few more porters. As it is the rainy season, it is hard to find enough porters for the number of hikers doing the trail each day, as the porters are working on their family farms instead. 200 people start the trek each day, and around 200 porters are needed to carry all the gear utilized, meaning around 400 people are hikin a given section of the trail everyday. It is quite amazing, I have never done a hike with so many people at once.

We began the hike at around 10:30, after passing through our first check point. The trail on the first day was quite mellow, a good warm up for the days to come. We hiked slowly uphill, on a gradually inclining path along the river into the mountains. We got to know our fellow trekkers, as we hiked next to different people. Our group was composed of 15 travellers, and it was nice to have different people to talk to and pass the time. Before lunch we stopped at our first Inca ruins of the trip, Llactapata. We could only view the ruin from above, but we took lots of photos, and sat to listen to our guide, Washington, explain the significance of these particular ruins and the Inca culture in general. That is until we were interrupted by the rain. We put on our rain jackets and ponchos and pressed on to our lunch spot.

We arrived to find lunch being prepared by the porters, and the lunch tent already set up, complete with folding stools and tables. As we waited for lunch to be ready, Washington took us through the rest of his explanation of the ruins, and a bit of Inca history. He was very passionate about the subject and it was good to have such an enthusiastic and interesting guide. He finished just as lunch was being served. It was an amazing 3 course meal, with tea to finish. I have never eaten so well on a hike before. We left for our campsite full to the brim, and exicted to see what was next.

We passed through several settlements on the way to camp that day. There were lots of Peruvians out selling bottled water, beverages and snacks to the hikers. We climbed higher into the Andes, I felt a bit out of breath as I lugged my pack up the hill. By the time we arrived in the campsite, I was ready to remove my boots and relax. It was incredible to arrive in camp to find all the tents set up and dinner already underway. It was the most deluxe camping I have ever experienced. Our campsite was perched on a hill over looking yet another Inca ruin. We had a beautiful view down the valley we had just hiked up, as well as a view up the pass that we were to hike the next day.

Before dinner that night, we were introduced to the porters, and introduced ourselves to them. It was a good way to form a bond in the group, and gain better appreciation for the porters. From then on we could use their names and greet them as they passed us on the trail lugging much heavier loads than we were burdened with.

Dinner that night as just as spectacular as lunch. We went to bed that night in good spirits, ready to tackle Dead Woman´s Pass the next day, our most challenging day on the trail.

We awoke early the next morning to tea served to us in our tents. We packed up our gear and got ready for the day. I had hired a personal porter for the day to take my heavy bag over the pass, so Timb traded me his sleeping bag for some of my things. We ate a delicious breakfast, and started out for the day, climbing steadily up to 4200m.

It was a constant upward climb, and as we reached the summit of the pass I was glad to not have my heavy bag to hold me back. It began top rain as we climbed higher, but when we reached the top, the rain ended for a brief moment and allowed us to take some celebratory shots. The good weather did not last long, however, and we quickly began to descend to our campsite, as the rain became harder. Timb sprinted down the backside of the pass, but I took my time on the slick rock stairs. By the time I reached camp that night everythig as thourougly soaked, including, unofrtunately, my camera. We did our best to dry things out, and luckily the rain stopped or a while to allow us to wander around camp without being soaked. The kitchen tent became a sort of drying center, with people drying clothes and shoes over the gas burners. I held my camera over the burners at a good distance in order to dry out the inner components, but sadly was not able to use it for the rest of the trip.

We were all thoroughly exhausted by the days hike in the rain, and relaxed by playing some cards before dinner. We were lucky to have a group of hikers that all got along rather well, and it was nice to socialize with everyone after a long day of hiking.

We still had two days of the trail to go, but it felt good to be half way there. I was excited for more ruins and spectacular views on the days to come.