The Inca Trail to The Lost City!

6th - 9th September 2012

So finally Thursday 6th September, the time I had being dreading since trekking in Nepal had arrived! It was Inca trail time!

We were collected from our hostel at 5.30am and driven 3 hours to the starting point of the trek - Kilometer 82. Here our bags were weighed to check we didn't go over the allotted weight as the porters are only allowed by law to carry 35kg, which is still a serious weight. Our group consisted of five Germans travelling together, a Canadian couple and two American sisters! I reckon we were destined to be surrounded by siblings!

I think we made people nervous when we arrived on the bus complete with our own sleeping bags, trekking poles etc as they all thought we were seasoned hikers with all our own gear! In response we pointed to the numbers on our shoes (felt like they should say L for left and R for right like kids or something!) which showed we rented all our gear but from our hostel. Our company, SAS Travel, rented sleeping bags for $25 and walking poles for $20 whereas we rented trekking boots, sleeping bags and the walking poles for $33 in total!

Our guide Javier explained a few things to us like the fact that the porters run on ahead to set up the dining tent for lunch and the camps for the night. One group of porters leave for the lunch spot first thing in the morning and another group leave for the night camp to get the best space and get everything set up. When a porter is coming behind us on the trail we had to move to the side to allow them to pass as they would be running and carrying so much weight.

The first thing we had to do was show our passport and get a stamp entering the national park - random I know! The plan for today was a 15km trek with an ascent of about 600m which would take 7 hours. It started off with a relatively easy level climb for 3 hours with a visit to an archeological site along the way before reaching our lunch spot.

The set-up for lunch was insane. We reached the lunch camp and saw a tent had being set up with table and stools but there was even cutlery, napkins and a tablecloth! Bear in mind all this had to carried on some poor porters' back. We were even more surprised to be served an amazing meal with soup to start following by amazing potatoes, chicken, vegetables etc. I can't remember exactly what but it was full of flavour and tasted amazing especially considering it was cooked by a camper stove. We also got mint tea afterwards which helps digestion and stops cramps from doing strenuous exercise after eating! It worked amazingly well!

After lunch we started off on our trek again while the tent was packed up and the porters set off to the night camp to set everything up again! We had a couple of easy hours where we walked at our own pace so the guides could figure out the pace of the group. Surprisingly myself and Ronan were almost always the fastest and at the head of the group. The others had only being in Cusco two/three days so being used to the altitude probably gave us an advantage. We regrouped regularly when we were taking our own pace but ended up leaving some meeting points without the slowest members of the group. Myself and Ronan got to night camp first, after a difficult 1.5hour uphill climb. The backmarkers eventually made it about 40mins after everyone else. The rest of the tour basically continued with us waiting for them for breakfast, lunch, dinner etc!

We reached camp finally and had a wash in a small basin of hot water. After sweating and hiking all day we needed a bit more than a quick wash but no showering facilities available until Day 3! We got afternoon tea, popcorn and biscuits when we first reached camp then sat around chatting. As it started to get dark they turned on the light which involved lighting a plastic bulb which was fuelled by propane gas.  Our guide was telling us stories of different treks he had done and had just told us about a young woman in her thirties who had died from severe altitude sickness a few months before. Suddenly Catherine, one of the American sisters complained of feeling hot and dizzy and then she passed out. It was so scary. The guide and assistant guide got her the oxygen tank and some smelling salts and she came around after a few minutes. Obviously her sister, Chrissie, was so distressed and upset. It was awful. She was back to normal within 20mins, thank god. Afterwards she said she had all the symptoms that Javier had being describing when he talked about the woman who died! So that was fairly dramatic but we reckon it was caused by the lighting of the gas burning the plastic combined with all the people in the small enclosed space of the tent. For the rest of the trip Javier ensured that the gas was lit in advance with none of us in the tent and that we ate with the sides unzipped to allow more air in to avoid a repeat!

After all this excitement we were served an almost-gourmet dinner at around 7pm. It was so good, we were so shocked at what they can do from a tiny camping kitchen! After dinner we were told to retire to bed at the grand late hour of 8pm! To be honest though we were wrecked and sitting on plastic stools with no back support after a 15km hike didn't help!

On Friday we were woken at 5am with a cup of coca tea in our tent! Ronan slept like a log but I was awake for a while before having heard porters running around at some ungodly hour of the morning! This was to be the hardest day on the trail and I was worried about it! Although it was another 15km trek it was to be significantly harder than the previous day with a steep uphill ascent of 900m across two mountain passes.  Ronan was delighted with breakfast this morning - pancakes! We were late leaving as we were hanging around waiting for some of the group again! We started off at around 6.30am and it was a hard uphill climb for the next 4 hours as we ascended to reach the top of the mountain called Dead Woman's Pass which is at altitude of 4,200m, a full 1,000m higher than we went in Nepal! We really noticed the reduction of oxygen due to the altitude and how much harder it was to breath at this part of the trek. After a rest stop at the top (where we were provided with tea and a sandwich - best sandwich of my life!)  it was time to start the descent for 1.5hrs to our lunch camp. 

I reached Dead Woman´s Pass - result!!

Almost all the group at the summit!

I think the most disheartening part of trekking is the fact that we spent so long going up, only to go down and back up again in the afternoon! After the trimuph of reaching the summit of Dead Woman´s Pass it was hard work to do the 1.5hour tough downhill stretch to the lunch camp.The Canadian couple were last to camp for lunch again, we didn't wait for them at the rest stop at the top of Dead Woman's Pass as they were too far behind (the assistant guide Andy was with them as he always has to stay at the rear of the group).

Lunch was another fabulous feast and much needed at this stage! My feet were starting to get really sore, I was shocked with the blisters I had when I took off my shoes to soak my feet in the stream! All too soon it was time to head off again, for the last 3.5hr stretch of the day, another ascent to cross our second mountain pass of the day before starting the descent to camp for the evening.

We visited 2 archeological sites in the afternoon - after all we were on the Inca trail which is dotted with different relics all along the way from watchtowers to farmers houses to dwelling houses used to house visiting pilgrims. We finally reached camp at around 5.30pm - the toughest day was over. We were all wrecked though and my feet were truly in bits. I could barely walk for the blisters. We had afternoon tea but the chatting was a subdued affair as everyone was so exhausted. Dinner was amazing but none of us ate much and all ended up in bed by 7.30pm. I would say I was about 6 the last time I was in bed at this hour! This was the coldest night of the trek so I ended up in two layers of thermals, two pairs of socks and my jacket inside the minus 10 degrees sleeping bag! It also ended up raining so everything was slightly damp come morning.

The Saturday trek was only to be a half day but none the less we were woken at 5.30am to be ready to set off at 6.30am.  Today was consisting of an overall descent of 1,000m down to altitude of approx 2,600m. The early part of this morning was gradual up and down slopes but nothing too taxing. This was our first full day on the actual Inca trail, the paths from the previous two days had been done by the Peruvian government in the last 30years. We visited 2 archeological sites along the way before starting a descent of 700m or 2,000 steps to reach our lunch and night camp for about 1pm. This was really tough going on the knees and you would be surprised at how hard downhill is. We were all excited about it (just because it wasn't uphill but it proved just as hard!) until we realised the concentration it takes and it's impact on our legs! We had some downtime after lunch where we hung around chatting and enjoying the sunshine. The weather was better here as we were in the jungle and at a lower altitude. There were supposed to be hot showers at this site but alas they were out of order so cold showers were the order of the day. When I say cold I mean cold as the water was being directed from glaciers at the top of the mountains but it wasn't an option not to have one!! At 5pm we all regrouped and visited the spectacular archeological site of Intipata which is adjacent to the campsite. After exploration of these ruins it was dinner and bed!

Throughout the first 3 days of trekking, much to everyone's frustration, Ronan found all the uphill struggles to be a 'stroll in the park'. Himself and Javier spent most of the trek up front, a few 100 meters ahead discussing spuds and farming - along with the worlds' economic woes! I would have being fine, had it not being for the pain in my feet from giant blisters. Everyone was telling me I should take a photo of them as they were so bad but I couldn't scar Lorraine with her feet phobia by putting up a photo! The week we spent in Cusco beforehand really helped as we were acclimatised to the altitude so I reckon our bodies made them necessary extra red blood cells! Now all I have to do is keep them until I get home and I will be a 10k running champion!

So Sunday 9th September was the day we had being working towards! I had a crap nights' sleep as I was constantly being woken by the rain and was just hoping for it to clear for our visit to Machu Picchu.  A 3.30am wake up call was followed by breakfast (pancakes again!) and a swift exit from camp to get in line at the Control Station. We were all waiting here for over an hour before finally being allowed enter at 5.40am. This is the easiest day, with what should have been a 6km stroll, but my feet were in such agony that it was torture!

After finally getting through control we then had a brisk 1.5hr uphill walk to reach the Sun Gate. This is traditionally the first view of Machu Picchu and despite it not offering the best view, we were all so eager and excited to get our first look! Imagine our disappointment when this was all we could see:

Machu Picchu should  be over my left shoulder but we were in the clouds!

We hung around a while hoping it would clear but to no avail. We were walking towards the site when it finally started to clear and got our first view through the clouds:

A further 40min walk around the mountain finally brought us to our destination! We had reached Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas, a Wonder of the World! It was a great feeling especially when we worked so hard to get here and we really felt like we had earned the right to be here.

My feet were killing me but if I thought the walking was over there, how wrong I was!! The site is massive and we still had the whole tour to do! We started off at the best viewpoint you can get without a further 1.5 hour climb up a really steep mountain. Unfortunately due to the clouds we didn't get the best views ever which is a little disappointing considering we are probably only going to be here once in our lives. The weather was highly unusual as this is the dry season and the rainy season doesn't start until November. We had a tour included as part of our Inca trail package so Javier brought us around the main sights for 2 hours, this was brilliant as he was a very enthusiastic and passionate guide who is actually a descendant from the Incas!

It really is an awe inspiring place and it definitely lived up to any expectations we had. After our guided tour we had some time to ourselves to explore. It would be an amazing place just to sit and admire your surroundings but unfortunately Mother Nature had different ideas. We walked around for about 45mins looking at different parts not included in our tour before making our way to the bathroom. Then the heavens suddenly opened and it rained and rained. Then rained some more. We couldn't get back into the site as the rain was just so heavy and time was getting on. We were due to leave Machu Picchu at 1pm to go to meet Javier in the nearest town, Aguas Calientes for lunch.

The crowds just emptied as the downpour continued.

It was a disappointing end to our Inca Trail experience as we had three beautiful days during the trek and we didn't get all the photos we wanted to get. Our experience on the trail was fantastic with a great guide, great food and the best camping we could have asked for (tents being put up and down for us, cleaned etc) and the weather couldn't be controlled so c'est la vie!

We got the bus into Aguas Calientes at around 12.30pm for lunch. At least we were reunited with our overnight bags so could change into dry clothes. We had time for a quick wander around the markets where we got 'I survived the Inca Trail' tshirts before getting the train at 4pm. We had a 2.5hr train journey before transferring to a bus for 3hrs back to Cusco. We reached the Loki hostel at around 8pm tired and smelly! It was time for showers, some food and a glass of wine!  Think I earned it!

I survived the Inca Trail cheesy tshirts!