Through the Andes

“Here they were shut off from that part of Peru which was under the sway of Pizarro and the conquistadors by mighty precipices, passes three miles high, granite canyons more than a mile in depth, glaciers and tropical jungles, as well as by dangerous rapids.”

-Hiram Bingham

In Cusco I joined a guided 5 day/4 night group hike to Machu Picchu. In the group of 16 were 4 Austrians, 4 Belgians, 4 Germans, 2 Swedish, 1 Peruvian, and of course myself. We were to spend - in order - 3 nights sleeping in tents under the crystal clear southern cross, and one night in a hotel in Aguas Calientes – the town known as the gateway to Machu Picchu. Our fifth day would be spent exploring Machu Picchu herself. It was somewhat of a pilgrimage, I suppose.

The hike began in the high valleys outside of Mollepata among the local Quechua farmers and quickly gained elevation until reaching a level section of trail that met the specifications for

“peruvian flat” as our guide had lately come to introduce us. looking at Humantay Mountain in the distance, I was struck by how magnificent it was; how majestic, and how intimidating. The damned thing even gave me vertigo for a moment. It was not hard to understand how the Incas recognized this mountain as a God, then. We hiked 13 miles and set up camp directly underneath it. I suppose I've never been scared by a mountain before, but presently I wanted to sleep with a nightlight. Had I not been so tired, perhaps I would have asked for one. We were at 13,287ft. It was the highest altitude I had ever camped at.

The next morning I awoke well rested only to find out that two members of my party had come down with altitude sickness and were up all night throwing up. Poor bastards I thought. If only they could have enjoyed the early morning stars like I did; juxtaposed by Humantay Mountain and now Salkantay Mountain, instead of worrying if they would be able to continue on, or get a word out of their mouths without having it joined by the previous days lunch. The two of them benefited from a breakfast of pancakes spread with nutella and bananas, along with coca tea, and like two stubborn Europeans undaunted by circumstance, pushed forward. That I was happy for them should not be misunderstood, then, because the second day was as hellish as days comes in guided packages. Right away we got to hiking uphill. It was not steep, but gradual; which made it worse I think. At least when the trail is steep you gain elevation quickly. Indeed, gradual uphill is hard, and gradual uphill at elevation is the hardest. Fortunately we took many breaks and didn't have much distance to cover until reaching the highest elevation of our hike at 15,118ft. After we crossed over this pass we began our long descent into the Andean pre-jungle. On day two we covered 12.6 miles and a staggering 7,566 feet of elevation change. Needless to say, on day 3 I was sore and tired. Good thing we got to sleep in to 6:00am then, and even better that we got to relax in a natural hot springs outside of Santa Teresa the same day, after hiking only 8.1 miles and covering 2,914 feet of elevation change. We bought beer that third night at camp, and with every beer got a complimentary tequila shot. We took these blessings of the trail to the campfire and celebrated our third night in style. On our fourth day we hiked along the railroad tracks

underneath the imposing profile of Machu Picchu Mountain and Huayna Picchu Mountain. Once we had done this for about 7 miles we were finally at Aguas Calientes; and finally at a hotel with hot showers and clean beds. Most of us took advantage of the showers and explored the town a little until we had to go to sleep in order to get up at 4:00am to begin our early morning hike up to Machu Pichu.

So on our last day – Day 5 – we woke up well before sunrise and got to climbing the steep staircase steps outside the entry gate to Machu Picchu. Presently we were joined by many other groups who were there to do the last day with us. And so, about a hundred headlamps were on the ascent in total darkness. It looked like an early morning attempt at Mount Everest were it not for the jungle vegetation and the clean cut granite steps. Perhaps the best part about hiking in total darkness is the ease in which you can sneak off and pee without anyone noticing. I did this several times, and rejoined the conveyer belt when I was ready. When the sun finally rose we were at Machu Picchu and I was smiling because I did not have to pay the 1 soles to use the bathroom; Machu Picchu was nice too. It is a wonder of the world and has been described in detail here and there, and in a thousand books, so I will not burden anyone with a half ass, slip shod description of my own. All I will say is that I thought it deserved its place among the wonders of the world.

Our group hike ended with an hour and a half tour of the ruins, at the end of which we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways to explore the ruins further. I went to the Inca Bridge and the Sun Gate on the Inca trail and made sure to avoid anything that could pass for strenuous. Of course I relaxed in the ruins themselves and even tried to find places where I could hide and eat my lunch. It is a wonder all in itself that one can find a place of solitude among the currents of tourists passing through Machu Picchu. I still don't know how I got away with it. My lunch was terrible.