Day 12: Inca Trail Day 2

Wake up was 6am.  I had a fairly uncomfortable sleep - the thermarest mattress and mummy sleeping bag were awesome, but I didn’t take the time to build a proper pillow so my neck and shoulders suffered... oh well, you don’t walk with your neck... 

Nep woke us up with hot coffee for Beth and coca tea for me brought to our tents... pretty damn civilized.

   

We got changed and packed our duffels.   All we have to do is leave the duffels, sleeping bags and mattresses in the tent and the porters take care of everything.

After breakfast, we did a little ceremony where the 16 member crew introduced themselves then we did the same.   They range in age from 18 to 60, are all farmers from sacred valley area and are using this as supplemental income.   We then introduced ourselves... Alejandro (Alex) got the biggest applause.... lol.

Ten minutes after we left, we climbed into a pretty large restored Incan ruin that served as an administrative center for the nearby, four, intersecting valleys, as well as a military lookout (looking hundreds of meters above where we were) and a temple dedicated to the snake.   The layered walls radiated out of the main temple following the river up the valley and formed the body of a giant snake.

We started our slow ascent then, walking up mostly dirt paths with more up than down, following the snake river.  It was pretty exposed and we were frying.  

We had started our day at 8 and finally got to lunch by 1215. 

  

We felt pretty good, though the last hour or so was a pretty steep climb.  We had started our ascent on the slopes where our camp would eventually emerge.

We left lunch at one and went straight up. The way was rocky and when it got steeper, made completely from rough rock into pretty even stairs (in most places).  Matt and I led at the front, trying to pace ourselves and the group so that our breathing didn’t get too hard. 

 Beth and Kim eventually broke out and went up front as they preferred their own pace and style (more weaving back  and forth on the stair sections to reduce bigger steps).  Abby and Robin followed closely behind, with Alex and Jeff and finally Nep watching the rear.  At every checkpoint Nep marvelled at our pace, but it was really because we went slow and steady with very few breaks.    The pacing was very similar, I told Matt, to climbing up a hill on a bike with a group.  If you weren’t trying to race and wanted to stay fresh for the next day, you had to listen for breathing and often, a lack of conversation.   When the talking stopped, Matt and I would slow the pace even more.  Often, we were taking steps one foot length each step.... we called ourselves the walking dead, but it was working really well.

We arrived at the camp at 220pm according to timex (that’s what Tracey calls Beth... she seems to be able to confidently time anything... even naps.   How does one know they napped for 38 minutes if they weren’t staring at their watch until the moment their arm fell and they fell asleep then woke up immediately recalling said time and being aware to do the math at the current time....)

Camp was Llulluchampa... or as I named it, Cloud City.  Like yesterday, we were cold when we arrived, immediately stripping off sweaty layers, doing what washing we could (can you call wet wipes on ankles and soap on face.... washing??) and putting on cleanish clothes.   We basically stayed in the food tent most of the time, playing cards until tea time, then playing in a kid/adult cross family Euchre tournament.  Matt and I started out hot but then fizzled, just hanging on to Rose Gold (or as some like to call it, bronze) while Abby and Alex started out 0-2 and ended up winning the whole thing.

Over dinner, we asked Nep if all the porters thought we were crazy, but he said when they hear us having so much fun, it makes them happy.    



They must have been really happy!

We were all in bed by 730 or so... Alex and Kim were out, the boys were mumbling, the girls were giggling and occasional we’d hear a high pitched “Abby!” Or “Robin!”.... fun.   We have a huge day tomorrow - 14km with constant climbing or descending.   I’m glad I’m with this group... we make a great team.