Inca Trail - Day 2
The day of dread.
The first 4 hours of the morning were spent climbing straight uphill. It wasn't just an uphill incline either. There were large stone steps to climb up. At times, I practically had to use my arms to lift my leg up to reach the next step. It was a difficult morning...
I was the last person in the group to make it to the top. I felt bad about making the group wait, but then I reasoned that everyone should take the hike at their own pace. As long as I was comfortable and not too far behind, I assumed I was ok. By the same token, I know I took it easy on myself. I probably could have kept better pace if I wanted to, but why bother. I should enjoy the hike at my leisure...or enjoy it as much as is possible when climbing uphill.
The positive aspect was that Miguel kept me company on the way. I learned a bit more about his culture and I even learned a bit of the Quechua language. Phonetically - moo nai tika means beautiful flower. I tried to teach him the same in Mandarin, but that was a bit tougher.
Anyway, the rest of the group had probably been up there for 10-15 min before I reached the summit (4200 meters). The view from the top was gorgeous, but hampered by clouds and mist. It was also freezing at the top, so definitely bring warm clothing (hat, scarf, gloves) with you on day 2. We then climbed downhill for about an hour to reach the campsite for lunch. Downhill was so much easier, but it was just as steep and slippery from the rain in the morning. Walking sticks definitely came in handy here.
After lunch, we had another 3 hours of hiking - half uphill, half down. This part varies from the traditional trail hike. Normally, day 2 would end after reaching the summit and most groups would make camp where we had lunch. However, there had been so much rainfall this past season that parts of the trail were closed due to landslide. The traditional schedule calls for camping at the lunch site (Pacaymayo), then hiking on day 3 with camp at Winay Wayna, then early rise on Day 4 for the hike thru the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu and catching the train from Aquas Calientes back to Cusco. Our accelerated schedule - camping at some other location on night 2, lunch at Winay Wayna on day 3 and spending the night at Aquas Calientes on night 3, take the bus up to Machu Picchu on day 4. Unfortunately, the landslide had blocked the path from the Sun Gate to MP, so were weren't going to be able to get the sunrise view from the Sun Gate. The upside was that we got to spend the night in town on night 3 which meant a nice hot bath and warm bed. But more on that later...
Dinner on night 2 was more of the same. Did I mention the quality of the food yet? I think I forgot to mention that all the meals were amazing. Not only are the porters amazing at hiking and carrying stuff, but they were great at preparing the food as well. I was definitely surprised by the excellent quality of the meals. I wasn't expecting that much since we were hiking and "roughing it", but the food was great. And they put just as much effort into the presentation of the food as well. It looked as good as it tasted.
Needless to say, we had a long day 2. After dinner, I was looking forward to getting some much needed sleep.
P.S. Big shout out to Tad, Donna, and Karen for making it to the top! I know I couldn't have done it without the support along the way...
The first 4 hours of the morning were spent climbing straight uphill. It wasn't just an uphill incline either. There were large stone steps to climb up. At times, I practically had to use my arms to lift my leg up to reach the next step. It was a difficult morning...
I was the last person in the group to make it to the top. I felt bad about making the group wait, but then I reasoned that everyone should take the hike at their own pace. As long as I was comfortable and not too far behind, I assumed I was ok. By the same token, I know I took it easy on myself. I probably could have kept better pace if I wanted to, but why bother. I should enjoy the hike at my leisure...or enjoy it as much as is possible when climbing uphill.
The positive aspect was that Miguel kept me company on the way. I learned a bit more about his culture and I even learned a bit of the Quechua language. Phonetically - moo nai tika means beautiful flower. I tried to teach him the same in Mandarin, but that was a bit tougher.
Anyway, the rest of the group had probably been up there for 10-15 min before I reached the summit (4200 meters). The view from the top was gorgeous, but hampered by clouds and mist. It was also freezing at the top, so definitely bring warm clothing (hat, scarf, gloves) with you on day 2. We then climbed downhill for about an hour to reach the campsite for lunch. Downhill was so much easier, but it was just as steep and slippery from the rain in the morning. Walking sticks definitely came in handy here.
After lunch, we had another 3 hours of hiking - half uphill, half down. This part varies from the traditional trail hike. Normally, day 2 would end after reaching the summit and most groups would make camp where we had lunch. However, there had been so much rainfall this past season that parts of the trail were closed due to landslide. The traditional schedule calls for camping at the lunch site (Pacaymayo), then hiking on day 3 with camp at Winay Wayna, then early rise on Day 4 for the hike thru the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu and catching the train from Aquas Calientes back to Cusco. Our accelerated schedule - camping at some other location on night 2, lunch at Winay Wayna on day 3 and spending the night at Aquas Calientes on night 3, take the bus up to Machu Picchu on day 4. Unfortunately, the landslide had blocked the path from the Sun Gate to MP, so were weren't going to be able to get the sunrise view from the Sun Gate. The upside was that we got to spend the night in town on night 3 which meant a nice hot bath and warm bed. But more on that later...
Dinner on night 2 was more of the same. Did I mention the quality of the food yet? I think I forgot to mention that all the meals were amazing. Not only are the porters amazing at hiking and carrying stuff, but they were great at preparing the food as well. I was definitely surprised by the excellent quality of the meals. I wasn't expecting that much since we were hiking and "roughing it", but the food was great. And they put just as much effort into the presentation of the food as well. It looked as good as it tasted.
Needless to say, we had a long day 2. After dinner, I was looking forward to getting some much needed sleep.
P.S. Big shout out to Tad, Donna, and Karen for making it to the top! I know I couldn't have done it without the support along the way...
posted by KC at
5:22 PM
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