Out and Back in Peru

John and Barara making their way down the backside

of Dead Woman's Pass in the fog and rain

Photo Gallery

Day 1-To Lima

July 1, 2004

Day 2-Cusco

July 2, 2004

Day 3-Cusco

July 3, 2004

Day 4-Pisac

July 4, 2004

Day 7-MP Trek

July 7, 2004

Day 8-Machu Picchu, Aquas Calientes

July 8, 2004

Day 9-Ollantaytambo

July 9, 2004

Day 10- Cusco

July 10, 2004

Day 11-12-Cusco, Lima, Home

July 11-12, 2004

Resource Review

Day 6, Tuesday-July 6, 2004

Inca Trail Day 2

The sky was still dark when I woke at 5:45 am.  After a fitful night’s sleep, I was left wondering how ground on the Inca Trail can be so incredibly hard compared to ground at home. I struggled out of the tent and to the baño before the masses awoke.  Headlamp beams were shining from under two of the three ladies stalls so I grabbed the door to the dark stall and yanked. Half asleep, I was startled by a shadowy figure sitting on the 2’x2’ piece of concrete in FRONT of the toilet. A Peruvian face starred back at me as I gasped in surprise trying to process what I was seeing…someone in the dark, face to the wall toward the other stalls and sitting on a very nasty floor. As I stood starring, an arm reached out, grabbed the door from my hands and slammed it shut.  And so began our second day on the Inca Trail.

By all accounts, today would be both our hardest and most rewarding day. Camped at 10,000’, we had 3,800’ to climb to the top of Dead Woman’s Pass. Our trek was projected to take 5 hours to the pass and 2 hours down the backside into camp.  We packed our belongings, ate breakfast and got on the trail by 7:45 am.  Fifteen minutes into the trek, we stopped at a

 checkpoint to have our MP pass and passport inspected.  An hour later we stopped again for a short break. A longer stop occurred about 10:15 am, when we took a respite near a small village along the trail.  In the break site, we mingled with hikers from other groups; all groups break at the same place about the same time.

Just off the trail, a number of Peruvian ladies stood beside tables filled with colas, Gatorade, bottled water and candy snacks for sale.  We assume that families from the little villages along the trail eke out a living by selling things to MP hikers but on this day, we didn’t see many hikers buying.  Our wonderful SAS team prepared a yummy brunch of fresh fruit (cut-up pieces of cantaloupe, mangos, bananas and apples), cheese sandwiches, cookies and hot drinks.  Athough the hiking was strenuous, we were eating a lot and the thought crossed my mind that for once I might gain weight on a backpack instead of loose.

Our group of 15 poured back on the trail with 50 or more hikers from other groups. Time to get serious about the trek to Dead Woman’s pass!  My strategy was to hike slow and maintain a steady pace.  Dodging resting hikers quickly became a pain as I discovered that many people employ the

“hurry up and stop, hurry up and stop” method.  That meant I passed the same people resting who rushed by me when hiking...over and over. On the other hand, moving out of the way for porters to pass was a privilege.  These guys were awesome!  Our very existence was tied on their backs….tents, food, plastic stools, tables, sleeping pads, our personal items.  We marveled at their speed and efficiency.  According to our guide, many of the porters are farmers who do this work to

supplement their family incomes. Our youngest porter, age 19, was making his first trip carrying 24 kilos (52.8 pounds)!

The terrain changed with the increases in altitude. During the early morning we hiked through a sub-tropic forest complete with tropical flowers and bromeliads attached to tree limbs. By mid morning we entered a thickly wooded forest filled with gnarled trees, very lush vegetation and a swollen creek rushing down the mountainside. From lush and woody we moved to scrubby terrain and finally the vegetation gave way to highland grasses. 

John and I most enjoyed hiking above tree line  so we could look back at where we had been and see ahead to our next destination. On this day the stark Andes were very dramatic beneath grey, overcast skies.  Clouds seemed to cling to the mountainsides, drifting in and out of the valleys. Periodically the sun snuck through a break in the clouds, sending warm rays our way.  Mostly it was gloomy and spitting rain.  

Well before the final ascent to the pass, our group had spread out along the trail.  John was hiking in the front with the young Brits and Vince. Diane hiked in the middle with the MIT guys and Julie and Adam.  Barbara, Will, Carlos (on his first trek) and I hiked near the back.  Freddy, our guide hiked a little with each group while Julian, our assistant guide took the sweep position in the rear. 

As we neared Warmiwansuca or Dead Woman’s Pass as it is commonly called, the terrain turned very steep and rugged.  Freddy pointed out the features along the mountain ridge that, coupled with

a little imagination, outlined the figure of a dead woman laying down.  As we began climbing the rocky steps, a light snow covered the ground.  The higher we climbed, the deeper the snow. 

John was the first member of our group to summit the pass.  First, he says, because the young Brits stopped to catch their breath. The Brits and Vince were next and soon each member of our group achieved their goal of summiting

Dead Woman’s Pass.  My watch read 1:00 pm. 

After many individual and group photos, we decided to explore. A snowman had been constructed on the left side of the trail and a number of  porters with disposable cameras were busy snapping pictures of each other

beside the snowman or otherwise engaged in a snowball fight.  Most were dressed in short sleeved shirts, shorts and tire soled sandals. We hoped they were staying warm enough. Freddy told us that this was the first snow on the pass in about 20 years and the first snow that many of the porters had ever experienced.  He also explained that the pass had been closed because of snow for several days prior to our trek. 

We stayed at the pass until Freddy signaled our departure. A cold, steady rain began to fall as we dropped below the pass so we stopped to put on rain gear and cover our day packs. The trail was “paved” with flat rocks and rock steps that became very slippery under our feet. After almost two hours of mostly downhill hiking toward the Valley of Pacamayo, we arrived in camp near Runkurakay. Situated at 12,000’, this camp was our highest and coldest overnight elevation.  

We were greeted with snacks of popcorn and soon served a wonderful lunch of corn (maze) soup, fried chicken, saffron rice, cucumbers and tomatoes, omelet, Peruvian potatoes and a soupy chocolate pudding. A new item on the menu, corn lemonade (tasted like raspberries). After lunch (about 4:00 pm),

An incredible view from Campsite 6-Runkurakay, probably the best view of all campsites.  We couldn't get enough  cloud and mountain watching.

we stood outside and watched as  massive clouds swept across the sky providing an ever changing image of the distant mountains. Most of our group stood mesmorized by the cloud  transformations while others opted to stay in the dining tent for a rematch of the card game initiated last night.

After a little cloud watching, John and I crawled in our tent and began to unpack. SAS tents are billed as three person tents but we could easily fit four with gear inside. This morning, John had wisely packed our personal items in a heavy guage plastic bag stuffed inside our backpack so our gear remainded dry during the rain.  Even stuffed in ziplock plastic baggies, some items in my day pack were not as lucky so I laid my damp passport and MP pass on my sleeping bag.  SAS provided us with sleeping mats (for a small charge) but they did not offer much cushion against the rock hard ground.  We really missed our therma-rests!

After dinner, a bottle of rum appeared on the table and Freddy introduced the group to a game called “The Happy Bus on the Inca Trail.”  The game goes something like this, “the Happy Bus on the Inca Trail is carrying a load of farm animals.”  Each person takes a turn making a different farm animal sound.

Anyone who stumbles has to take a drink.  With each miss, a new topic is introduced (countries, numbers, and names of trees….just about anything) and the process begins again.  The game provided a lot of laughter and sent some into a rum induced haze. About 8:45 pm, the "old folks" crawled off to bed while peals of laughter could be heard long into the night.

I woke sometime in the middle of the night and climbed out of the tent. The moonlight was so bright that I didn’t need a headlamp.  Although somewhat cloudy, millions of twinkling stars covered the sky and I paused to catch a glimpse of the Southern Cross, a sight visible only in the southern hemisphere. Spectacular!

Note:  the bathhouse at this campsite was the best of the three we stayed in.  The toilets were the standard flush type although they were missing toilet seats.  Three or four sinks with running cold water were lined up on the outside of the bath house providing a good place to rinse your face but remember to use boiled water to brush your teeth.   Bringing toilet paper on the Inca Trail…a must; remembering not to flush it into the septic system… priceless. 

Lots of photos from our summit are available in the photo gallery.