Day 13: Inca Trail Day 3

Good morning!   At 5am we had a cup of coffee and coca tea float into our tent.  The big day was here and we were to have breakfast at 530 and depart at 610.

   

It’s amazing how quickly you can slip into a routine, no matter what the conditions.   Two days without a shower was no big deal really.   We had a hearty breakfast and were climbing slowly to the top of Dead Woman’s Pass... a 400 meter ascent to the highest point of the trek at 4250 meters.

The schedule today was a long one:  leave at 615, get to lunch at 230! And get to the camp at between 430 and 530.   At the pace we’ve been going, we thought we could get there a little sooner...Nep was shocked when we arrived when we did.

We broke into our usual ascent groupings....  moms 25 meters ahead, Matt and I leading the walking dead.   



When we got to the pass (really, it’s one large breast with a huge nipple on top... we couldn’t really see the rest of the dead woman, but perhaps that was a combination of too much Coca and too little oxygen for the Incan naming committee).  Despite the slow steady pace, we’d reached the top in 45 minutes, rather than the 90 minutes Nep had allowed.

The descent was even better... Matt and I practically ran down the stone pathway... sometimes leaping big steps, often jogging and picking a line from rock to rock.

   

It felt great to be moving so fast.  We got down in 40 minutes, dropping a good 700 meters in elevation.

   

We reached the snack break almost 2 hours earlier than scheduled.   The porters were even surprised to see us there so soon.  It was really a second breakfast and we each downed a ham t we drenched in what seemed to be a luxury... mustard.

Next up was a pass at 3800 meters.... straight up and steep, the going was slow but again, steady.  The mom’s went first and the walking dead played “would you rather” to pass the time as we crawled up the steep steps, breaking halfway for a walk through an old Incan structure that was used as a waypoint for messengers.

The top of the pass was amazing.. we were on top of some clouds on both sides, but we could see the little snack area dotted on the valley car below where we had come, and on the other side just s shroud of mist in what Nep described as upper jungle climate.

Matt and I led the way down again. This section was much steeper, but after 25 minutes it evened out a bit.

  

The terrain really started to look like the high jungle, with mossy vines and strange looking reeds and trees that we hadn’t really seen before.

When we got to what felt like the bottom, we sat down and waited as Abby soon caught up.   I pointed across that valley and said that it looked like our lunch spot.    It was now just before 11.  We mostly regrouped (we saw the ladies picking their way down the steps with Nep  watching behind) so we set off along the mostly flat jungle path to lunch.

Lunch was fantastic, and though we had packed ourselves, their were some tired faces around the table.   We were several hours ahead of pace, but felt pretty comfortable.

The walk to the camp was a breeze compared to the morning... about an hour or so up and out of the lunch spot, then on some “Peruvian flats” (constant up and down) always now on a rock path that hugged a mountain face on the right side and that often dropped off thousands of feet on the left side.   Despite the description,the path was wide and always felt safe and sturdy.

We emerged in to our final camp area at 2pm, two and a half hours ahead of Nep’s early projection, and we all clambered up above our camp area to a narrow rock area perched above Machu Picchu mountain.   Tomorrow, we will hike down and around this mountain to get our first glimpse of the prize.

Today was tough, but we did very well.   I’m really proud of the kids, they’ve been quite amazing.  There have been moments for sure, but few and far between.   It was not long after setting into camp,that we heard the kids playing cards and laughing as the adults napped.... and blogged. 

  

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.