The Trail to Machu Picchu

I have been somewhat neglectful of my blog and all of the travel activities that took place in 2010. A visit to Peru was one of the travel highlights of 2010. Our trip to Peru last May included a 39 mile trek from Soraypampa to Macchu Picchu. We accomplished a warm up hike the day before we departed Salkantay Lodge for the crossing of Salkantay Pass; it was chronicled in an earlier posting. Our real hiking objective was to depart the lodge in the early morning hours and hike to Wyra Lodge in about 6 to 8 hours. Our journey was to be about 8 miles in length crossing the Salkantay Pass at an altitude of 15,231 feet above sea level.

 I must admit that I was not 100%. Two days before the start of our assent of Salkantay, I was vigorously testing the functionality of both ends of my gastrointestinal system. I'm not sure if it was a food thing or an altitude thing. Maybe, it was a flu bug. In any case, bed seemed to be my truest friend at that moment in time. On the morning of our departure, Salkantay stood majestically within view from my bedroom window. It was beautiful, majestic, far away and very tall.
 

 Looking back on the lodge, I wasn't quite sure what I was in for. I had a feeling it was going to be a challenging day. It would likely be challenging even if I was feeling 100%.

 Dalmiro, our head guide, kept a reasonable but steady pace. I guess if you grow up in the Andes and guide tour groups on treks in the Andes, one might expect a leader with good hiking skills. He was very good.

 After an hour or two of trekking, our eyes fell upon the winding trail to the summit of the pass. Dalmiro advised to avoid looking up until we had reached the summit. The view was just too daunting. The climb took too many switch backs to count. There were points where my legs did not respond to the need to move ever upward. I stopped many times on the trail to catch my breath and take a minute of rest. The trail seemed to be endless.

 There were not may photos taken on the assent, I barely had the strength to lift the camera. To be honest, I wasn't sure that I would make it to the top without the assistance of some type of medical helicopter. There was not one to be found. Contrary to my strongly held convictions, I did make it to the top of the pass. The smile that appeared on my face was not forced.

 Out trekking group gathered for a celebratory photo. We were all overjoyed to be at the top; our prayers and other incantations were answered.

 We did not stay long at the top of the pass as the weather was a little cool. We were standing a short distance from a glacier. They do tend to retain the cold pretty well. In my travels down the street or to distant lands, I seem to encounter unusual things that people leave behind. Among the strangest on top of the pass was a bright yellow, straw hat. I'm still attempting to conjure up a believable story to explain the hat.

 The mountain peak was striking beyond words. Being as close as we were might have had something to do with it.

The clouds combed the mountain peaks giving the illusion of snow.

The downward trail was a pleasant change; the climb to the top was grueling. On the decent to the Wyra Lodge, we encountered the remains of an Inca trail. It was easy to imaging the intricate trail with its array of steps. The trail was somewhat decimated be the Spanish as they removed stones from the trail to build their haciendas.

After about an hour of descending, we came upon a lunch tent and cooking tent set up by our chef, Zoylo. We dined on a 3 course meal of local dishes. It was a great lunch; we were able to drop our packs and sit for a while. It was a piece of heaven.

After lunch and a short break, we continued down the trail and came to our home for the night, Wyra Lodge. We had completed 8 miles of hiking in the Andes; we had 31 miles ahead of us.  To see a few more images from our day of hiking click here.