♦Guest post by Rachel Roberson♦
Machu Picchu has been on the list for a long time, since before the easy access bus route was built. The Incan people built thousands of miles of trails, some with stonework rivaling modern day road embankments, between far flung cities. So hiking to Machu Picchu along the ancient trails and through the remaining ruins of other villages seemed like the only way to do the destination justice.
Lucky for me my friends are more organized than I am, and all the daydreaming over beers eventually resulted in a plan. At least the hike portion was booked, our slacker selves had to deal with the remaining logistics.
The first day the trail mostly meanders along the Urubamba river, which was a nice way to ease us into the hiking. Early in, the trail passes by several small communities where I am happy to report the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. Local residents set up small stands selling snacks and drinks, or put up signs to use their toilet for 1 sole (approximately 30 cents). And it was worth it as these would be the last proper toilets we would see until the end. There was also a stand selling cups of pink frothy liquid which the porters were all enjoying. Now I love to try the local flavors when I travel and was sorely tempted by the local chica. However the thought of getting the Peruvian runs for the whole trek was just barely enough to keep me away.
But soon the trail started to climb, as they tend to. We made our first stop at a little shelter to catch our breath and as it turned out, meet our spirit animal for the trek. This animal was strong, perseverant, and altruistic. Toiling in the sun merely to bring joy to the hearts of others. He would become our mascot throughout the trek. Behold the mighty beer donkey!
The first night we camped at the furthest of the possible sites, which meant that we gained some decent elevation at the end of the first day. While the highest pass is on the second day, the further site gave us a head start on the elevation. However in hindsight this also made this the toughest day. We all dragged into the campsite just before dusk in small groups. There is a phrase in hiking called hitting the wall. You feel like your energy is sapped. You can keep going but your pace is slow and trudging. Essentially the body is out of easily metabolized sugars and is pulling from the slow batteries. Despite knowing this, I never recognize at the time that I should eat something but rather blame it on my lack of fitness. We all hit the wall that day, although some hit it harder than others. When hiking, electrolytes and snacks are your friends.
To prepare for the trek, most of us had flown in to Cusco a few days in advance to acclimatize. Two had spent an extra day in Lima to acclimatize, since the elevation there is 5,000 feet.
This is the only place in the world where you have both elevation and sea in such close proximity, weird how close the ocean seems from 5000 ft high 🙂 Sadly the Lima elevation did not seem to help with acclimatizing to Cusco’s elevation, as Alysia and Jimmy can attest. They didn’t get a lot of sleep that first night on the trail, but it allowed us Northwesterners to indulge in one of our strange peculiarities.
Northwesterners, by which I mean anyone who has moved to the Northwest to be amongst their people, have some interesting tendencies. We pride ourselves on being outdoorsy and independent. We also like our tech toys and foodie treats. These tendencies combine to result in large accumulations of tech clothing, gadgets, energy bars and other aspirational just-in-case purchases. REI has benefitted greatly from this.
With four Northwesterners in the party, we had snacks and tape and moleskin galore. To a Northwesterner, patching up a fellow hiker is as deeply satisfying as pulling a car out of a ditch with your pickup winch is to a Southerner. Plus if we actually use any of that gear that we carry around that is proof that it is necessary and a powerful rebuttal to “you don’t need it” husbands who are buzz-killing my REI binge. So to the group I say thank you for being my enablers 🙂
The second day the trail climbed to 13,828 feet at Dead Woman pass. While most hikers agree this is a fitting name, it actually refers to the surrounding mountains looking like the prone body of a woman. I couldn’t see it but it may have been oxygen deprivation addling my brain. The big success for the day was everyone made it to the top of the pass, including bad ass Jimmy.
Oh you haven’t heard about bad ass Jimmy? He pushed himself up the mountain the first day, despite the altitude sickness he just got over. He was up most of the first night with similar symptoms and worrying that it had come back. Because…Peru hates the Lovgrens. Luckily a doctor at the next site spoke with him in the morning and determined he most likely had some strained muscles and dehydration from the previous day. Badass Jimmy hiked up with the rest of us and made it all the way to the top of the pass. Badass Mark carried some extra gear to take the load off Jimmy’s shoulders. But Mark’s a Northwesterner, so he was just happy he could justify bringing the full-size backpacking pack. Therefore, Jimmy was the bigger badass.
Jimmy at the top of Dead Woman’s pass with the 4 Northwesterners
Now I love hiking, but finding that kind of elevation near Seattle in April is difficult without crampons and ice axes. So my preparation was mainly yoga classes and the occasional run if the rain let up on the weekend. In hindsight the yoga may have been the best preparation. Not for the balance or flexibility to hoist my leg up yet another giant step, but for utkatasana and malasana. You see all the toilets at the campgrounds are pit toilets, which we Westerners are woefully unprepared for. I now understand that squats may serve more purpose than torture alone.
After the passes, we transitioned to the wetter side of the mountains. Cactus and shrub trees gave way to taller trees and greener scenery. Each day there were at least two ruins we walked through or saw.
Patallaqta Qentimarka
Runkuraqay
Intipata
Walter, our guide, would give us a brief description of the next day’s path over dinner each night. The third day was mostly “Peruvian flat”. Ok so he may have actually said “Peruvian flag” which would have been a more literal description of the undulating up and down trail. But I heard the former and Walter was a bit of a renaissance man, learning several languages (including Japanese!), full of Inca/Quechua trivia and fully fluent in English. I heard the term as Peruvian flat and sarcasm in a foreign language seemed well within his abilities.
We visited the ruins of Winay Wayna that afternoon, which was the biggest ruins we had come across so far. It is on the side of a steep mountain, with evidence of landslides just beyond the main ruins.
Those Peruvians, they sure like their stairmaster cities. It also afforded the Westerners an opportunity to perplex the locals with one of their own idiosyncrasies – llama selfies!
On the final day we got up early, as in headlamps and parkas early. The checkpoint from our campground opened at 5:30am but the line formed much earlier. Wake up time was at 3 so we could break camp and get breakfast (pancakes!!) and get in line.
This is where we parted ways with our porters, the hearty locals who could carry their weight in gear uphill both ways. From here they bombed straight down the mountain with all the tents and gear to hop a train back to Cusco. They are in an entirely different class of badass. We lowlanders can’t compete.
We “raced” the other hikers to the Sun Gate to be the first to get the birds-eye view of Machu Picchu and the valley below.
Machu Picchu was as gorgeous as expected.
The whole crew made it! Mark, Kerstin, Jen, Jimmy, Alysia, Meghann, Kari, Wolter, Rachel
The crew from UNC
Jimmy and the doc that saved the day
Our guides toured us around the site, pointing out the temples and residences and guardhouses. The cloud forest was true to form and it began raining while we toured the site. This helped clear some of the underdressed crowds while the Gortexed trekkers carried on.
And what epic hike wouldn’t end with stop at a local brewery. Yes that is yet another Northwesterner trait, give us a hike and we’ll find a local brewery to cap it off.
A friend asked me when I was back if I felt anything at Machu Picchu. Well my legs for sure but nothing in the energy sense that she was referring to. But the location is spectacular. Set in a steep cloud forest, the area could have been in China or Pandora. The Incan people designed elaborate water systems to bring fresh water from springs into the village. Even today water still flows through these systems. So from that sense the setting and technology must have seemed magical to visitors.
Leave a reply