Humantay Warm-up Hike

There is somewhat of a paradox when one embarks on a trek to Machu Picchu but stays in comfortable lodges each evening with hot showers, great food, and hot tubs. Paradox or not, that is just what we did.

We booked through REI and traveled with Mountain Lodges of Peru. The first lodge was our home for 2 nights. It has 12 double rooms and a top notch staff. This lodge is at the end of any road passable by cars or trucks. The remainder of the lodges are supplied by pack animals.

We had a full group of 12 hikers and 2 guides. After a comfortable night in the lodge, we looked forward to a 4 to 5 hour, round-trip, warm-up hike to Humantay Lake.

As we prepared to depart, we were inspected by at least one curious child. I love the coordinated outfit.

We left the lodge and headed toward the low clouds shrouding the mountains. It was to be about a 4 to 5 mile adventure rising about 1200 feet above our 12,600 foot starting point.

Humantay Lake is a glacial lake, the glacier is somewhere up in the clouds. We didn't see it on this overcast day. Our guides suggested that we could go for a quick dip in the lake if desired. I did not touch the water except to verify that it was far colder than anything I had experience out side of a glass filled with ice and water. It was striking and somewhat mesmerizing.

A persistent drizzle, helped us make the choice to return to the lodge after a short rest. The hot tub was calling.

More images can be found at http://www.frankragan.com/Peru2010_8/