Salkantay Trek

Mike and I originally planned to travel through the central Peruvian Andes to get to Cuzco, but when we discovered that it would take at least 5 buses and 60 hours of travel time to do so we changed our plans. Instead, we took a bus to Lima. While there, we joined the South American Explorers Club. The SAE offers all kinds of services, but we were most interested in the free Internet, the information and maps available, and the free luggage storage. We left our bikes in Lima, so no more pedaling until we get back to Arizona and start getting ready for RAGBRAI.

After only one night in Lima we set off for Cuzco, the tourist capital of Peru. In fact, that's where we are right now, but we've been here a while already. Mike's parents are joining us tomorrow for a 2 week vacation. We wanted to get here a bit ahead of them, though, so that we could do another crazy trek through the mountains. This time we wanted to end up at Machu Picchu.

The actual Inca Trail was out of the question for us. You have to get permits for it months in advance and we're just not that organized. Not to mention that most companies charge at least $500 to do the 4-day trek. Ouch. Also, we like to think we're bad-asses and we wanted to carry our own gear, cook our own food, and consult our own maps. On the Inca Trail you are required to travel with a guide. Porters carry most everyone's gear (very few people refuse this luxury) and cook meals. There are upsides to the Inca Trail (some nice ruins on the way, name recognition, and a morning descent to Machu Picchu), but in the end we were very happy with our alternate plan.

When we got to Cuzco we took a few days to get acclimatized and organized. We visited the SAE office here to pick up a topographical map and more advice. We rented backpacks and trekking poles again. We bought muffins and granola bars for breakfasts, sandwich materials for lunches, and pasta for dinners. On the morning of April 10th we woke up at 5:00 and set off on the Salkantay Trek.

Day 1

The computer alarm malfunctioned and we could have missed our bus. Luckily, Mike woke up knowing something was wrong and we bolted out of our hostal in under 10 minutes. This got us to the bus stop with a little time to spare even. We intended to take the bus to our start point in Mollepata. This would have worked nicely if a fresh landslide hadn't been blocking the road. It delayed us a bit, but we ended up merely climbing over it and catching a different bus on the other side. After a quick breakfast in Mollepata we started our trek around 10:00.

The first day entailed a fair amount of climbing, though we don't really have the stats for this hike that we had for the last one. All I know is that we went up quite a lot. Mostly we were walking around small family farms. The only people we saw all day were two other solo trekkers who had been on our bus in the morning. They had gotten lost (the trails were NOT well defined and we were glad to have our topo map) but were determined to book it to a predetermined campsite, so they left us behind rather quickly.

When we got to our campsite that night we discovered that there was a newly built road that came from Mollepata via a different route. It looked a lot easier than the hike we had done, but less interesting as well. Even so, we were a bit miffed that people could just drive up to where we were after hiking for a full day.



Jackie maps the route
Up to the Salkantay Pass
Tries not to get lost



Beautiful blue sky
Streaked with wispy, wistful clouds
Arches above us



Jackie's cheesy grin,
Ridiculous sunglasses
Make a silly pic



The light fades away
On the first day of hiking
Revealing beauty

Day 2

The new road actually went about 4 kilometers beyond our campsite, and since it had replaced our trail we were forced to walk along it for a while. At the end of the road we discovered a super-fancy, gigantic, mountain luxury lodge. Surprise! That explained the road...

This was also the point where the trail started to get especially tough. Day 2 was our 1000-meter climb day, and the day that we would have to cross the Salkantay Pass. This pass was at 4650 meters (only 10 lower than the pass we did on the Santa Cruz trek).

As we continued up the trail we were joined by some other trekkers. One guided tour group of 10 trekkers pulled up to the lodge, unloaded, and started to follow us up. They had donkeys to carry their stuff, but surprisingly did not manage to beat us to the campsite that night. Another two independent trekkers, Nick and Kendall from the States, showed up (having taken the road the entire way from Mollepata the day before) and joined us as well. Their pace matched ours well for the ascent, so we talked a little bit on the way.

I'm not gonna lie: the pass was tough. Sure, it was a bit lower than the last one we did, but I felt it a bit more. We just kept going up. The mountains were gorgeous though -- especially Salkantay (for which the trek is named). We made it to the top (ahead of the tour group, which had stopped for lunch) finally, but still had to descend 700 meters to our campsite. By the time we made it I was ready to collapse. We set up our tent and fired up our stove as the tour group trickled into camp, ate their already cooked dinner, and crawled into their already set-up tents. *Sigh*



Our morning vista:
Ubiquitous tent photo
With mountains behind



Jackie fixes lunch:
Avocado and onion
Sandwiches -- yummy!



How do I describe
This beautiful mountain scene?
It is beyond words.



"A horse photo?
You can never have enough,"
Say Kendall and Nick



Mike's "summit" photo
With a random horse jaw bone
Is better than mine



Over the pass or
Somewhere over the rainbow?
What's the difference?

Day 3

We said goodbye to Nick and Kendall in the morning and never saw them again. They had a whopping 10 days total in Peru and were therefore a bit more crunched for time than us. We assume that they busted their asses off that day because we never caught up to them despite our decent pace.

This day entailed a lot of downhill. I was very glad to have my trekking poles, because my knees wouldn't have made it otherwise. We went from frosty cold, high-altitude mountain weather to jungle-like heat. The plants and landscape changed dramatically, incorporating more flowers and bugs as we descended.

We encountered another group of guided trekkers and were impressed that they were all at least twice my age. I don't think they were camping (since we saw them shortly after the second super-fancy mountain lodge), but they were still doing an awful lot of walking. Good for them. We also saw and passed the 10-person group from Day 2 again. They were with a tour company called United Mice.

We ended up between established campsites come nightfall, so we just set up our tent in the first flat-ish area we saw. Again, I was extremely exhausted, and I started fantasizing about full body massages and cloud-like beds. Ahhh...



On this hiking trip
The animals let us be
And posed for photos



Salkantay Mountain,
The tallest in the region,
Appears majestic



As we walk downhill
The weather becomes warmer
And berries abound



A dandelion
Shot up close and personal
Looks fascinating



Oh my God, watch out!
I think that donkey is sick --
He's going to hurl!

Day 4

More walking, more downhill. We made it to a town called La Playa around lunchtime. Here the road started up again, so we saw several tour groups loading onto buses. We weren't done though. The road went to a town called Santa Teresa, but we veered off for a more difficult and more interesting path to Machu Picchu.

We started climbing again, and it was a very hot afternoon. The new trail was very nice, however: donkeys were not allowed to use the path. Yay! No more donkey poo! We climbed for the rest of the day and barely made it to the top of the ridge by dark. We camped right there in a small wooded area.



Day four of the trek
Brings us farther from mountains
With the snow-capped peaks

Day 5

How many days is this trek anyway? To be honest, we didn't know how long it would take when we started off. There are many variations on the trek listed in guidebooks and many different hiking abilities. We took the most difficult path, carried all of our own gear, and still managed to complete the trek 2 days faster than one guidebook budgeted. Even so, by Day 5 I was ready for a shower again.

We headed downhill once more. After only a half an hour we came to a clearing with a few small Inca ruins. Our guidebook said that Machu Picchu could be seen in the distance from the area, so we waited for the fog to clear a bit. As we waited the United Mice crew turned up, and they were surprised to see us again. We chatted for a while, then the fog cleared briefly. We caught our first glimpses of Machu Picchu, though it was quite a ways off. Still, few people take this route, so we were excited to have a somewhat unique perspective on the ruins. The clouds rolled back in, so Mike and I continued down the mountain towards the Hydroelectric plant at the bottom.

Some people take a train from the plant to Aguas Calientes (also known as Machu Piucchu Pueblo), but we refused to do so, having walked so far already. Instead, we walked the tracks for 11 kilometers. This was far easier than any of the trails, but also rather boring. We saw tons of people on the tracks, but we had no idea where they came from. They didn't do the same hike we did, at any rate.

After a couple hours we found ourselves in the Disneyland of Peru: Aguas Calientes. I'd guess that a good 99% of tourists who come to Peru find themselves trapped in this grotesque little town at some point. You have to go through it if you intend to visit Machu Picchu. It's obscenely touristy (read: pricey). Also, it's a mess. The town pops out of the middle of nowhere and reveals itself as a freakshow. Sure, there are nice hotels and restaurants, but most of the town is just tacky and overdone. There's a ton of construction going on, though there doesn't appear to be any organization or plan. Aguas Calientes basically exists for tourists, so it's far from representative of Peru.

After a bit of difficulty, we located a $10 hostal with a semi-hot shower. We went our for burritos and then crawled into bed with the intention of waking at 4:00 the next day. We planned to walk the last stretch up to Machu Picchu in the morning. The camping part of our trek was done, but we still had some kilometers to cover.



We find a clearing
With an unexpected sight:
Old Inca ruins



Is it? Could it be?
There are too many damn clouds!
Where's Machu Picchu?



Ah ha! There it is!
Our first view of Machu Picchu
From a nearby ridge



The last stretch of trail
Down the valley, on the tracks
Brings us to A.C.



This cable puente
Is scary but sturdier
Than the log bridges

Day 6

Coming Soon....

I'm saving our Machu Picchu experience for the next post, so check back in a few days!

Huaraz

After returning from the jungle and recouping in Trujillo for a day, Mike and I went for the other extreme: we headed into the mountains. We caught a bus to Huaraz, which is the trekking center of the Peruvian Andes. All of the serious mountaineers, trekkers, climbers, etc. find their way to Huaraz eventually. There are several impressive mountain ranges in the area, and the Cordillera Blanca is the area containing the tallest mountains in Peru.

We spent our first few days in Huaraz getting acclimated to the altitude of 3100 meters. We'd been higher in Ecuador, but that was a while ago. Plus, it's best to get used to the thin air before strapping on a backpack and hiking even higher. Huaraz is a pretty nifty town with lots of good food and a general outdoorsy attitude. We did a bit of research while we were in town and decided that we wanted to do a self-supported trek nearby. We carry our tent, sleeping bags, water pump, and stove with us all the time anyway, so we rented some trekking poles and backpacks to supplement our gear. After grocery shopping, we were ready to start our trek.

Before I narrate our experience, I'll supply you with a few fast facts. The trek we chose to do is called the Santa Cruz trek. Apparently it can be quite crowded in the high season, but the end of March is still smack-dab in the middle of the rainy season. Most people hire guides and donkeys to carry all their stuff. Many groups also hire cooks. The trek itself takes approximately 4 days. It covers 50 kilometers, ascends 2260 meters, and descends 1460 meters. The Punta Union pass is the highest point on the trek at 4760 meters (according to Mike's GPS 15,700 feet). This point is higher than any peak in the continental U.S., but is lower than 8 peaks in Alaska.

Day 1

We tried to leave Huaraz nice and early, but it turned out that our map of the city was a bit outdated. By the time we made it to the actual bus stop, we were leaving an hour an a half later than intended. Ah well. We took a collectivo to Caraz and then a car/taxi to the trail head in Cashapampa. We finally started hiking at about noon.

It was nice and warm and sunny for most of the afternoon, which was rather deceptive since the rest of the trek was cold and rainy and foggy for the most part. Of all the days to be warm, this was probably the worst since the trail went steeply uphill. We climbed about 700 meters over 11 kilometers the first day. By the time sunset was nearing we hadn't quite made it to the official "Day 1" campsite, probably because we started so late. It didn't matter though, since there was plenty of running water nearby. We just found a grassy patch and set up camp. We pumped some water, purified it, and cooked pasta for dinner. Good night.



The first day started off sunny and bright. Mike took this picture during the car ride just before we got to the trail head.



This gateway stood fairly close to the trail head. "Rex" followed us up the path for a little while but gave up on us when the going got steep.



The first day was actually warm enough for a tank top!



When the clouds finally started rolling in, they sort of whooshed up the mountains.

Day 2

It rained during the night, so we woke up to donkeys licking the moisture off of our tent. Sure, there was a nice, clean, mountain stream nearby, but a few raindrops collecting on nylon is much tastier apparently.

The second day brought us about 13 kilometers and another 650 meters up. The climbing didn't seem as steep, and we passed through some fields and near some pretty green lakes. We stopped near one of the lakes and ate some spicy chicken ramen for lunch. Unfortunately, for a good chunk of the day Mike wasn't feeling well, perhaps because of the altitude. We took it slow and almost made it to the official night 2 campsite, nonetheless. Again we found a grassy area for the tent, pumped water, and ate pasta.

Although I had been feeling great for most of the day, about an hour after we crawled into the tent for the night I got sick to my stomach (not in the tent, thankfully). Perhaps that was due to the altitude as well; otherwise, something I ate or drank got to me. I immediately felt better though, so I was able to sleep some.



The donkey looks smug because he woke us up.



Trekking away...



This is close to the spot where we had lunch.

Day 3

On day 3 we both woke up feeling better, so we set off toward the Punta Union pass first thing. It was another 510 meters up to the pass, but the views just got better and better as we climbed. We got very near the snow-capped mountains, and we passed by a gorgeous mountain lake. I'll let the pictures speak for this part, because I couldn't possibly describe the color of the lake or the dramatic peaks. We also witnessed a few really awesome ice falls (like a glacial landslide). I think that the noise created by these avalanches is my new favorite noise ever -- it's a bit like thunder, but more prolonged and frightening. The sight is pretty darn cool too (provided you're not beneath the slide, I presume).

By the time we got to the pass it was snowing and quite chilly, which, I suppose, ought to be expected at 15,700 feet! We paused long enough for pictures and then started heading down the other side. After hiking down about 800 meters in on-again-off-again snow/hail/rain, we found a campsite for the night between two ponds. This proved to be a less than ideal spot, since we spent a lot of time chasing some bulls away from our tent. Mike even got out once in the middle of the night in his underwear to scare them off. Obscenities and trekking poles were flying everywhere!

Despite the cows, I think Mike would agree that this was the best day of the hike. The views were gorgeous, and we felt like we accomplished something by getting over the the pass (which is the highest elevation either of us has ever been at).



A view of one of the lakes that we passed on day 2.



Getting higher, getting colder, "I miss Phoenix."



We didn't actually walk in this snow, it just loomed in the mountains above us. Brrr!



Look at the color of that lake! Can you believe it?! Wow...



We have proof! (Mike's GPS says we're at 15,700 feet.)



My "summit" shot at the Punta Union pass.



Mike's is better, but he almost fell to his death.



Pretty mountains at the top.



This one has a sweet cloud halo!



Our night 3 campsite would have been ideal, if it hadn't been for...



Pesky cows!

Day 4

After a rotten night's sleep (too much rain and mooing), we woke up to a gorgeous morning and started heading down. The hiking was easy and we walked at a brisk pace for most of the day. We descended about 600 kilometers until we came to a village called Huaripampa. This was the first settlement we passed, although we did see a number of other trekkers going in the opposite direction over the past few days (only 4 out of 30 or so were carrying their own gear like us, but even they were going what is considered the easier direction).

Anyway, we intended to go all the way to the end town of Vaqueria (just a little farther) that day until a local boy told us it was futile. He claimed that the remaining few kilometers would take us 4 hours because of the steep, rocky terrain. He said that even if we managed to do it quicker there wouldn't be anymore transportation for the day. He said that his family would be happy to put us up in their house for a small fee. Although I didn't exactly trust his take on the road ahead, Mike liked the idea of staying with a local family for the night. I kind of wanted a shower, but he talked me into staying.

We put up our tent inside the house in what seemed to be a living room/pantry. There were lots of potatoes in the corners. The tiny kitchen was connected, and the family made us fried potatoes with hot milk for our dinner. Sadly, I caught only a few names. Manuel is the boy who found us. His older brother, Marco, sometimes works as an arriero, driving donkeys along the trail. He says that he makes about $7 a day when he joins trekkers. There were also 2 younger siblings (a boy and a girl) and a mother. We were told that their father had died a while ago. Mike and I felt like zoo animals in our tent with the kids constantly peeking in, but we had a nice stay.



Mike went for the "mountain reflection" pictures in the morning since we were right next to some ponds.



It was gorgeous out....for a little while.



These are the kinds of mountains you draw when you're a kid: super pointy and covered in snow.



Mike poses in the morning mountain air.



I think this should be on the cover of an REI or Mountain Hardware catalogue.



Mike had a good time poking at these trees we passed. Their bark was like tissue paper.



We got the impression that the family we stayed with eats a lot of potatoes.



Here's the family (minus Mom) in the kitchen. Manuel is laddling our hot milk drink for us.



The youngest poses outside.



Here's the house from the outside: mostly mud, rocks, and sticks. We ended up paying 20 soles, 2 batteries, and a can of tuna to stay here.

Day 4+

I refuse to call this day 5 because we finished the hike in about 2 hours, by 9:00 in the morning. Technically, this means that we completed the hike in less than 4 days. We went down about 100 meters and then climbed back up about 400. I guess I was right to doubt Manuel, but it didn't really matter. He may have been right about the transportation, because when we did get to Vaqueria we had to wait hours for anything to go by. The few vehicles that do pass are often full to the brim. We made it back to Huaraz by dinner time, though.

We stayed in Huaraz a few more days, recovering and enjoying the views, but the Santa Cruz trek was definitely the best part of our stay in the area!

That's it for now, but check out my sister's new blog; it's linked on the right! She and Josh recently bought their first house and are posting pictures and details until we can visit.

Cha Cha Cha

As much as we liked taking a boat down the Amazon, the return journey wasn't quite as fun. Not that it was a bad trip; it was just same-old, same-old. It took a little bit longer too, so we ended up spending 3 nights aboard.



Banana raft. Which reminds me...while we were in Iquitos I read about a yearly raft race on the Amazon. Participants build their own 4-person rafts and steer them down the river for 3 days or so. If you want to be on my team next year, you should let me know.



4 boats in one! I wonder if they all need repairs?



This kid flew his bag kite off the side of the boat for about 20 minutes until it got loose.



Sunset on the Amazon.



Have they all melted, or are they just running around naked while their laundry dries?



This kid enjoyed belly-flopping into the water repeatedly.



At every stop food vendors came aboard to sell their wares.



You can buy an exotic bird from the Amazon for less than $10.



A picture perfect sky!

After getting off the boat in Yurimaguas we ran into a bit of a road block -- literally. The whole town was in the middle of a 48-hour protest that barred any traffic from entering or leaving the city. We had to sit around for most of the day, but luckily the protest ended around 5 and we were allowed to head to Tarapoto. (By the way, these town names should sound familiar -- we went through them on the way into the jungle).



The protest blocking the road. Turns out they were protesting deforestation.

In order not to repeat our entire journey into the jungle we stopped in a different mountain town on the way back to Trujillo. The town, Chachapoyas, boasts several tourist traps nearby, and we found ourselves caught. We went on 3 separate day trips in the area.

The first day we went to Kuelap, which is a site of Chachapoyas (a tribe of "cloud people") ruins. The ruins are often said to be the second best in Peru, after the Incan Machu Picchu, of course. After visiting the ruins our guide told us that we could walk down the hill to a town called Tingo, where he would meet us for the ride back to Chachapoyas. We thought that sounded nice. 3 hours, 10 kilometers, and several thousand feet (down) later, we made it to Tingo. He didn't really mention that the hike was so involved, and my knees were killing afterward. Ah well.



This-a-way!



A bunch of llamas live outside Kuelap.



The Kuelap ruins are remarkable because the Chachapoyas people built and lived in circular homes.



The cool diamond shaped decorations are also a popular feature of Kuelap.



Some archaeologist decided to "reconstruct" one of the structures in Kuelap. Apparently, this was controversial and the Peruvian government plans to tear it down sometime in the future. Ironically, posters of the reconstruction are what convince most tourists to visit.



Everyone likes monkeys, even though I highly doubt any monkeys ever lived in this region of the country.



We passed some small houses on the way down to Tingo.



We passed a wee piggy, too.



On the way from Kuelap to Tingo...

After barely recovering from our Kuelap trip, Mike and I woke up at 5am again the next day to head towards more archaeological sites. First we visited the Pueblo de los Muertos, which was a ceremonial site perched precariously on the side of a cliff.



We encountered an obstacle on the way to our tourist sites for the day: a bridge had collapsed a few days earlier, killing a few unfortunate souls.



Eeek!



At Pueblo de los Muertos several small statues sit tucked away in the cliffs. The locals call them sarcofagi.



As I said, the structures were very precariously perched on the cliff.



Mike poses on the edge of oblivion.



My turn.



In the afternoon we visited another site called Ayachaki. There were a few more sarcofagi and some crazy trails to hike.



This head was just sticking out of the cliff.



There were a few precarious buildings at Ayachaki as well.

Our third side trip from Chachapoyas brought us to La Catarata Gocta, which was billed as the third tallest waterfall in the world. We had our doubts about the veracity of that statement, but we thought the hike and the waterfall would be nice anyway. It turns out that we were right to doubt it, because various sources make other claims (such as 5th or 14th). At any rate, Gocta is 771 meters tall, which is still pretty big. The hike there turned out to be 6 kilometers one-way, which was another unexpected surprise. The tour agencies really don't reveal much info, and some of the people in our group really weren't in the kind of shape to be hiking for 12k up and down muddy embankments. Ah well, we enjoyed the hike nevertheless.



One of the women, at least, had a ride for the rough terrain.



Check out this awesome rock!



Here's a pic of the 2-level waterfall from a distance.



And here is the bottom part of the falls with me pictured in the red circle (squint real hard or click on the picture to enlarge it a bit). Mike had to stitch together several pics to get the whole thing.