Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail

I just got back from the Inca Trail trek. It was four days, three nights, covered 45km (28 miles), and was one of the most physically (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) taxing undertakings of my life. The group consisted of a young Irish couple, and three 66 year old english men. The whole group, aside from me and Sterling, opted to hire a porter to carry their luggage. Our packs didnt seem too heavy when we left the hostel, but when the water, sleeping pad and sleeping bag were added they were about 25 lbs. This wasnt even an issue until about halfway through day one.

Day one
Wake up at 330 am, pack the bags, head out to the lobby where the bus is waiting to pick us up. An hour and a half on the bus, winding through tiny towns in the Andes. Arrive at the trailhead. Start hiking. Word of the day: Peruvian Flat. You hike up, you hike down, and yet gain no elevation. Kind of frustrating to trudge up a climb, and when you make it to the top, have to walk right back down. But, it wasnt too hard, and we made it to the lunch site relatively quickly. The food on the trek was awesome. Those guys could cook meals in the wilderness over a propane fire that rivaled my cooking in a kitchen. After lunch, the fun began. It was three and a half hours of straight up. Up. And up. And up. A never ending staircase from hell, it went on and on. The packs got heavier as the day went on. Eventually it got to the point where we would look about 15 steps ahead and make a goal to get there. Rest at that big rock. Okay. Break when we get to that tree. Okay. Eventually, we made it at around 430. I passed out in my tent until dinner, woke up, at a bit, and passed right back out. Thankfully, that helped me get over the last of the altitude sickness. We were now at about 3700m. We had covered over 1000m elevation gain that afternoon. Ouch.

Day Two
Woke up around 6, feeling much better than the day before. That mornings task was to reach the trail summit at 4200m, about a 500m elevation gain. Starting fresh and in good spirits, we rocketed to the top (well not exactly, but in comparison to the day before...). It was all downhill from here. Sort of. Turns out going downhill hurts. Bad. The climbing muscle group now forgotten, attention was turned to calves and quads. Both of which burned with the heat of a thousand suns. The rest of the morning was spent descending in rainforest splendor, lush vegation and waterfalls all around. Lunch was spent in a pleasant valley, and it was pretty and sunny out. The afternoon hike involved a 1.5 hour hike up, then a 2 hour descent. The rain began on the climb. It didnt stop for 24 hours. Hiking in the rain sucks.

Day Three
Short hike today, started at 7am, reached camp at 11am. Mostly Peruvian Flat, not too bad, but it was rainy and miserable. Spirits are falling. The rain finally stopped around 3pm, and it cleared and got beautiful. We could finally see the beautiful andes mountains and neighboring valley that had previously been shrouded in mist. This was the most developed campsite (by far) and had a bar and hot showers. Well, warm showers. I had an interesting time trying to get dressed in the shower stall between the dripping showerhead (which left me 12" between the stream of water and the curtain) and the boys that were waiting in the room for the showers. (Maybe I was using the boys room? Who knows...) The rest of the day was spent hanging out in the bar area (warm and dry!!) and talking to the rest of my group.

Day Four: Race to the Sun Gate
Awake at 3:50am. Hiking by 4:20. There was a short hike to a control point, where all the groups line up for access to the final stretch of the Inca trail, the 6km to the Sun Gate. There were maybe 20 people ahead of us, and we hung out there on the trail until 5:30 when the control point opened. And we were off. I dont know where the sense of urgency came from, but it was a dog eat dog single file race. A couple girls from the group ahead of us stopped to take a picture. Pass them. Someone stopped to rest. Weakness. Pass them. The hike took about an hour, and after one particularly vicious climb, we reached it. The Sun Gate. Machu Picchu is visible in the distance (still about 3km away), and all the groups crowd on the small landing and fight for space to pose for a picture. Then we hiked the last little bit (packs are so much lighter when you can see your destination) and spent the rest of the day exploring. The aftermath? I´m dirty. Very dirty. Havent had a real hot shower in over 5 days. My calves still feel like they are being stabbed by 13 knives. I have yet to shake the chill from being wet and cold for so long, and 9 kilos of clothes are at the laundromat getting cleaned. Maybe some cuy (guinea pig, local delicacy) and a drink at the local irish pub tonight with the Irish couple from the trek will make me feel better.

In summary: Hard. Very Hard. Worth it? Definitely. Advice? Hire the porter.