Follow the Inca Trail...

I survived the Inca Trail and I say that with the deepest sincerity because it WAS NOT easy...BUT...it was SO amazing!

We all began Saturday morning at 5:30am...3 Irish, 2 Brits, 3 French, 1 Canadian, 3 Americans, 18 porters, a cook and 2 guides! There were various ages ranging from 22 to 65 and everyone, no matter their age, was a bit nervous, excited and certainly ready for an adventure...

After getting our ticket and stamping our passports we were off on the trail...6 to 8 hours to go before the first campsite (4 hours to lunch)... and this was the easy day.



No one said much in the beginning I believe everyone was focused on the beauty surrounding us and the up, up and down, down of the path...the porters ran past us with up to 30 pounds on their back...


not sure they did it seeing I was suffering with 20 pounds on mine. Three of us started off on the first day with our full packs on...the rest had small packs and ordered porters to carry their other belongs...smart...as the day wore on I soon came to despise my over achieving nature...


Early afternoon we arrived at our lunch site. We were fed like kings and queens! Everything was ready for our arrival, lunch tent set up, juice poured and ready; bowls of water to wipe down with...it was amazing...

The view from our tent...not bad.

Cosy outdoor dinning room...


After lunch we were off again...



At about 6pm we arrived at our first campsite. Everything was set up and ready for us and we were met by a round of applause from all the porters. Not bad time for the first day. Not a lot of pain, but I was certainly ready for some food and R&R.


We had a great meal, some good conversation and were all in bed by 8:30pm...that is when it began to POUR, I am just glad it waited until we were done hiking for the day...the rain managed to put me to sleep...all night I had anxious dreams about the next day when we were scheduled for a 10 hour day and had to cross the infamous Dead Woman’s Pass (14,000 ft.)!

Day two started off at 5am with a wake up call and a cup of hot cocoa tea brought directly to my tent...not a bad way to start the day. Because of all the talk about how difficult the day was set to be I had arranged for 10 of my 20 pounds to be carried by a porter...thank god I did that...I seriously don’t think I would have made it.

The day was filled with a variety of landscapes, path variation and a shitload of STEPS!



With great care, a ton of stopping to breath and shear determination we made it to dead woman’s pass...it is named that because the mountain peek looks like a woman lying down...not because someone died...but you could have fooled me after that climb!

After a short break and a snack we started down...



Caught a few ruins on the way.

And by 6:00pm we were at the second camp site...tonight I was sore!


Day Three was set to be easy...Thank god they were telling the truth. It was a mere 5 hour hike. It was amazing how much the landscape changed from the beginning of our trip!

We arrived very early to our 3rd campsite. This was posh compared to all the others. There were hot showers (for 10 soles) and an actually building to eat in. This was the final stop for the 2 hour trek into Machtu Pitchu...a bit commercial...but hey I was ready for a tad of civilization and a BEER!


We had the afternoon off to relax and explore a couple local ruins...which were so impressive I found it hard to believe that the next day was going to be better!

We were all in bed by 8pm once again...seeing we had to wake up at 4am the next day to beat the crowd to the Matchu Pitchu check point.

We woke up to blackness and rain...not the best weather for viewing...

an air of disappointment loomed over everyone...but out guide pumped everyone full of energy and we were off...I will say this was suppose to be the best part of the hike but there were so many people that I felt I was in the "Great Race"...a bit frustrating especially since out previous days had been so tranquil and awesome...but I was determined to move on...

We finally made it to the Sun Gate (where all the famous pictures are taken) ...and we could see NOTHING...what a bummer!

But the weather changes all the time and we were determined that the sun would come out. We continued down, the crowd pushing forward, making it a bit distracting and difficult to manage the slippery steps...and yes, of course, in my awesome glory I SLIPPED...yepper...you guessed it! Down I went knocking my breath out, twisting my wrist and ALMOST plummeting over the edge (you know how I love to make a lasting impression). I think I almost gave my guide a heart attack! This little incident pretty much scarred the crap out of me and caused for pretty wobbly legs the remainder of the day...but I refused to let it get in my way!

We toured around the site and the clouds began to rise then fall...not quite a clear shot but I caught some pretty good ones...I have a ton and will put more photo´s up later...sorry for only the glimpse, because of the fog a lot will only be in my memory...

Then we got to Waynapitchu...

The infamous and difficult mountain that you have to literally scramble up (and down) ...I was determined to climb it...even with my bound wrist...hey, I am a trooper.

So, up I went...and up and up and up...and as I reached a certain point (almost slipping on wet rocks and mud, protected by NO guard rails, with shear cliff right beside me) I realized that if I didn’t keep going with these three other people from my group there was NO WAY I was going to get down. I was going to NEED them desperately. I have never been afraid of heights or had vertigo in my life...but this place scared the crap out of me!! I got to the top of the mountain and I seriously had no idea if I could get down AND I was convinced I was going to die trying.

Note that Matchu Pitchu looks like a map layout from this height!


Thank god for my 3 other climbers...I really don’t think I would have made it down without them. One held my hand, one played good cop and one played bad cop BUT ALL were VERY needed.

After safely arriving at the bottom I burst into tears...that was a life changing experience...it really hit some deep hidden fear in me...and tell you honestly I was proud of myself -- I have a hard time patting myself on the back sometimes, but this time I deserve it!

We quickly headed to the bus to catch up with the rest of the group in Agus Calientas (spell?)(the small town at the base of Matchu Pitchu). It had been one hell of a day and I was ready to sit and do NOTHING!