The bus left the hostel at 7 am to take us to the area where the porters were busy organizing our gear and duffel bags. They also had snacks available for us to take for the hike such as juice boxes, oranges, apples, bananas, and cookies. This was our only chance to get the snacks, so I think out of worry of getting hungry on the trail, I overpacked on the snacks, which weighed me down a bit and tired me out quicker than I expected. We hiked over to the 82 km (yes, we hiked a hard 82 km in four days) starting point at the Inca Trail. I was full of positive thoughts and determination so far. We waved to passengers on the train to Machu Picchu. We all thought they were lazy. I’m sure the passengers all thought we were crazy.
This first stretch of the trail was our training day trail, to get us used to the long days of hiking, get a rhythm going. Aside from our own personal breaks, we did have some rest areas at certain areas in between, but sometimes I felt the breaks weren’t that long enough. There were even a few little stands at the beginning of the hike where you could buy Gatorade, water and various snacks to replenish your supply. What was really rewarding was reaching the campsites. It is absolutely amazing what the porters and the cooks can do so high up in the mountain. Imagine carrying all that heavy equipment and having to set up tents and cook a fabulous meal for 17 people. We’re not talking just franks and beans here. Some examples of what we ate for breakfast: crepes, toast, eggs, sausage. Lunch and dinners consisted of pasta, turkey legs, fried rice, just normal food you would eat at a restaurant. One of the hikers celebrated her birthday during the hike, so the head cook BAKED a cake for her. I wonder what kind of special Peruvian easy bake oven does that!
The second day was the most challenging day of the hike. This was where you really had to test your mental, physical and emotional strength. The summit was at 4200m, for those of you who use the imperial system, this translates to a whopping 13,778 ft. Say what?!?!! I was still tired from the 6 hr hike the first day, so imagine doing an 8-10 hr hike, where the majority is a STEEP, UPHILL climb and other parts being very rocky. I would go uphill for a bit, take a break at a flat portion to catch my breath, go again for another bit and take another break, etc. I would get to what I thought was the top, go around the bend, only to find that there was another hill, waiting for me that was even steeper. It was almost as it was laughing at me saying, you thought you were done? Yeah right! This is where the mental toughness came in. At times, it was best to not look what was up ahead because I would automatically think, that’s impossible, how the “beep beep beep beep” am I supposed to hike that. I had to break it down into chunks and focus on what was just in front of me, not several metres ahead. Even after taking some of the weight out of my backpack the night before, it still felt like a ton of bricks. Everything feels like a ton of bricks when you’re exhausted.
As I mentioned before, the weather changed constantly and your best bet was to dress in layers, in breathable and waterproof clothing. I would get sweaty from hiking, but as I continued to hike higher up, it became much colder, to the point where I had to put on a toque and gloves. The great thing about hiking in a group was like it was sort of like running a marathon (which I have never done). You feel like you can’t go on, you feel like you’re going to die, but then you eventually see the summit and people are at the top screaming your name and cheering for you.You’re sweaty, cold, exhausted, your heart is racing, you can barely move your limbs, a little light headed. But somehow, because of all that screaming, it gave me that extra push I desperately needed to make it to the top. When I got up there, I thought OMG. I can’t believe I did that. It’s such an amazing feeling and I was just overcome with all these emotions. I took it all in, and then took a look at the really rocky downhill path to our lunch campsite. Insert another swear word here.
Are you afraid of heights? Have you conquered that fear? Do you have any other fears? (Me: scary movies, snakes, and spiders are just a few)
Congratulations on doing it! It is hard to breathe even for normal activity when you are so high, trekking is even worse.. good job! I have conquered the fear of most insects, still have a profound disgust for cockroaches, and I have un-conquered flying *sigh*
Awesome view photo 1. Thanks for sharing your travels with us! I can’t say I’m afraid of heights (unless I’m one of those men working on skyscrapers without any harness in 1930’s lol…) but my worst fear is drowning. The thought of not being able to breathe as your lungs fill with liquid is just terrifying to me!
That’s awesome – hiking at that elevation must have been something else. The last time I exercised in “elevation” was running hills at 7,000 ft in Santa Fe – and that was a LOT of elevation for me. (Our house is a whopping 13.3 ft above sea level.)
After you wrap up on the travel-y aspects of the trip – I’d love to see a post on what you paid for the trip – the tour guides, etc. Mr. PoP and his friends are talking about going on a jaunt either to Costa Rica (or there have been murmurs of Peru) next year and I’d love to hear what you thought was “worth it” or if you found reliable travel companies or deals… That is, if you want to share =)
I did think it was worth it. We found a 2 for 1 deal on the Intrepid website. So rather than paying about $1200 each, we each paid $600. I apologize, but I didn’t really keep an itemized list for my expenses. I don’t know why I tend not to do that for my vacations. 😛 Getting stuff for my vacation (backpack, hiking shoes, etc) that came out to about $300. Tipping the guides cost a lot too. I felt like we spent $50-$100 in tips for the guides, the porters and the cooks. I think in total I spent almost $3000.
Great job on the hike. I bet the view was just priceless. I am a big baby when it comes to heights…I absolutely hate them.
Wow! That’s incredible. You’ve got to be excited about choosing the hiking….I would have been. You have a story to last forever.
So exciting! And the pictures are amazing!
I have some nerve damage in my legs and in Belize I decided not to climb the pyramid, but then once my husband got 1/2 way up the top, I changed my mind. I knew I’d be so mad at myself if I didn’t go, so I climbed up the steps like a baby on all fours and made it up 75% of the way!! The tour guide “discouraged” me from going the rest of the way as there was nothing to hold onto, but I was so glad I went as far as I did. AND I was afraid of heights. So, little steps, right? Aren’t you so glad you did it??!! It was so worth it, right? 🙂
Good for you for pushing yourself a little more! I am real glad I did it, and it was so worth it. My friend and I talk about doing it again in 5 years. lol
I dream of Machu Picchu at night! You’re living my dream!!
Oh, wow! I’ve heard about how intense this is from both the altitude and the sheer nature of the hike. I bet it’s super rewarding, though! One for the grandkids!
I am so impressed! I would have totally been on that train waving to you! I like hiking-but just your average day hike type thing. The toughest one I ever did was half dome. Thats about it for me! The food sounds really good. No guinea pig? 🙂
Haha. No guinea pig was served to us during the hike.
We had a cake too on our hike. HOW DO THEY DO IT?! The porters were what really motivated me. They were friendly, laughing, joking around, singing, even though I didn’t know any Quechua and their Spanish was almost as basic as mine! I would do the Inca Trail again – it was all worth it at the end, even the no-showering-for-4-days!
They gave us a sheet to practice some Quechua beforehand and use with the porters, but I just ended up using my basic Spanish and that worked out fine. At our third day campsite, there was a makeshift shower, which was literally a hose in the wall that just blasted cold water. It was shocking and refreshing at the same time. lol.
Congratulations and welcome to the Inca Trail Alumni Club! Bella