Perú 12: Machu Picchu and the Inka Trail… and the shower’s on fire??

A decade later, a dream becomes a reality.             

Well, that’s how I thought about starting this, but it’s terribly Disney. It’s true that I’ve been wanting to do this 4-day hike through the mountains and jungle of Peru since I was ten – since Machu Picchu always seemed so interesting and enigmatic, even if it’s not really the lost city of the Incas.

I had 509 pictures before sorting through and deleting duplicates and crappy ones.

That’s a little better.

However, since I am writing this unshowered and after 5 hours of sleep after getting home at midnight, a much more useful thing to do would be to share some of my realizations along the way:

1)      5am is no longer early. Anyone who’s been backpacking knows that you’d better get up before the sun so you can be on the trail in the morning before it sucks any energy you might have had.

2)      Water and toilet paper are more valuable than gold.

3)      My legs will never be sore again. Can we go snowboarding now?

4)      Thank God I only got blisters in the last hour.

5)      Dear backpack and sleeping bag: we were strangers in January, but I’ve never felt closer to you both. (A few students in our group had malfunctioning equipment, which is the worst thing ever when you’re in the middle of nowhere and can’t do anything about it. One had a backpack from a market here and straps kept falling off, one’s sleeping bag wouldn’t zip, someone borrowed someone else’s unbroken in boots and had terrible blisters from the first day… it was bad)

6)      I need to double check for a headlamp next time. The little bag I thought it was in turned out to be empty. But at least I didn’t squat in poison ivy.

7)      No matter what anyone says, one emergency change of clothes will do you for the trip. Don’t be a wuss and hire a porter for your stuff. It’s liberating how little one actually needs to survive and be happy on a trail.

The real adventure started last week before we even left. Generally the best time to shower is right before you leave on a backpacking/caving/hiking trip. Unless your shower catches fire. You might remember my explanation before of exactly how the hot water systems here work, which theoretically is fine until you’re standing in the shower expecting a stream of nice hot water, look up and realize “Holy crap…that’s smoke” and then jump out of the way just before it bursts into sparks.

So I started the trail without having showered for a day or two…

Friday 9 March 2010: We were up at 4:15am since we had to meet at the office at 5am. The first checkpoint is only open until 7:30, and it would take about two hours to get there, so we started early. Ten years ago, you used to be able to hike the trail without a guide; all you needed to do was register with the Peruvian Culture Institute. Now, that’s no longer legal. Due to injuries and preservation of the trail, you have to go with a tour company, which means that hiking is really luxury hiking. But you’ll see what I mean by that later.

I guess mostly for my mum’s sake I should describe the contents of my backpack. If you are not my mother, you might want to skip this part:

            Sleeping bag, 300g peanuts, 300g raisins, 3 chocolate bars, 6 pieces of bread and cheese, one 2.5 L water bottle, one 1L bottle, one extra change of clothes (undies, socks, t-shirt, jeans), toothbrush and paste, pocket knife, first aid kit, gloves and scarf, washrag which was once white and is now some weird grey-brown, and the trek company gave us skeeping mats which I strapped to the bottom.

The first day is a training day. There are a few uphills and a few downhills, but it’s the most level of the four days. We began at about 8:30am, after entrance formalities and getting our passports stamped (which is always exciting) and reached camp by about 2:30pm. But honestly, we stopped about every hour for a short time and stared in awe at the porters jogging by us with their loads at a minimum of about 30-35kgs (about 68-80lbs). Most of the trail was level, though we did get to see some interesting flowers and the first of a series of ruins along the trail.

This day had two surprising moments: the first was lunch. So we knew that the guides provided us with 3 meals a day and snacks through the trip. But since we were hiking, we were naturally expecting trail food: bread and cheese, peanut butter, dried fruits and veggies, maybe some oatmeal or dried soup. We arrived to a set table with table cloth and had steamed vegetables, bread and butter, and chicken. Someone accidentally spilled some juice on the cloth, and they brought out a new one, changed the table cloth, and reset the table! It was completely ridiculous. Later in the day, after we arrived at our camp for the night, we would have ‘tea time’ during which we drank an entire box of hot chocolate, followed by an amazing dinner.

The second surprising moment was when we stopped at about 1:45pm. I was expecting to hike until 3-4pm every day, and really didn’t feel tired at all. Little did I realize how much I would appreciate arriving so early the next day. 

Saturday 10 April 2010: Dead Woman’s Pass

The second day on the trail is easily the most difficult according to most. You ascend from approximately 2700 meters above sea level (msnm) to 4215msnm, meaning that the entire first half of the day is a hot, steep ascent, and after you descend a few hundred meters to camp. This is the only day that I literally couldn’t make myself walk any further by the time I was done. We were up at 5:30am and reached the top of Warmiwañuska around noon. We weren’t able to spend more than 20 minutes at the peak because of how freezing cold and windy it was (if you do the trail, bring a good windbreaker).

A 1.5 hour knee-breaking descent later, during which I discovered it’s far easier to run or jog downhill than walk, we finally made it to camp. Thank goodness water was within easy reach, along with secluded areas for, well, you know, since the bathroom was another five minute walk straight downhill. The views were absolutely amazing though. I’m going to miss being above the clouds.

I also learned later than Mt. Rainier in Washington state is about 4200 msnm, which is crazy to think about. About 13770 feet. People go skydiving from below that!

I definitely took an advil before going to bed that night. I also somehow turned around in my sleeping bag so my head was down where my feet should have been… that shouldn’t be possible.

Sunday 11 April 2010: Day 3

This was the longest day, though not nearly as difficult as the day before. I woke up cold and sore, though getting woken up with a cup of coca tea after getting to sleep in until 6am was nice. I’m not sure how cold it got last night, but I was cold in my –1C sleeping bag. I was also pretty gross though, so maybe that had something to do with it?

The first bit of the morning was a climb through another pass at about 3900 meters. After that, we were in the sub-tropical rainforest which embraces our final destination: Machu Picchu, la ceja de la selva (the eyebrow of the jungle). Getting to the top of this pass was almost more amazing than Dead Woman’s Pass yesterday just because we were already exhausted and sore, plus the views were amazing. On one side, we could see the killer stairs we’d just ascended, and on the other was a valley filled with clouds, into which we would soon be descending.

One of the amazing traits of the Inca trail is how much the scenery changes in just 4 days and 20-ish miles. In the beginning, you’re in a river valley more or less, then you go into the high mountains and climb into the sky, before finally descending and being embraced by the brilliant colors of the jungle’s flora and fauna, flowers, birds, cool bugs, butterflies, everything.

The descent was also killer. We visted ruins called Phuyupatamarka “city above the clouds”, and another smaller set of ruins which reminded me a bit of the overgrown bunkers we saw on the Andaman Islands. I think that was some kind of tambo, or way station, for messengers to rest. It didn’t look big enough to be anything else.

Although I was excited to get to the campsite at 4pm (yeah, long day) I wasn’t done yet. Caroline, who’d arrived at the site about an hour before me, pointed out a path to more ruins, so we walked over of course. Why not? Along the way, we saw a monkey! I have no idea what kind it was, but it had black and white rings around a 3-4 inch diameter tail. (and if you’re a smart-butt and tell me it was a ringtail expect a smack the next time I see you) It scampered up into the canopy before we could get a good look at it, let alone a photo, but it was still awesome to see. We told the guide, John, and he told us seeing anything other than birds on the trail is really rare because of how heavily traveled it is.

There are facilities to take a hot shower at the third campsite, but honestly it’s so cold outside that it’s advisable not to do it and risk getting sick. You are backpacking after all, and everyone leaves smelling like wet dog. Don’t judge.

I could barely sleep out of excitement.

Monday 12 April 2010

The morning checkpoint opens at 5:00am. So we were up at 3:30 am to be the first ones there. Not only do you want to get a few hours in the ruins before the first trains arrive, but you also want to be able to snap photos without the addition of random backpackers in the background. Of course the gate didn’t really open until 5:30 (peruvian time and all) so some random guy entertained us with cell-phone music and a flashing headlamp. That memory of a makeshift discotec is up there with going to a club on Easter morning before mass. But that’s another story.

They told us it was a 2-hour march to Machu Picchu, but we reached Intipuka (Sun Gate) by 6:15 and got our first view of this enigmatic city in the clouds. On June 21, the winter solstice (southern hemisphere), the sunrise is visible straight through this gate and illuminates the entire city. The ruins were still shrouded with cloud cover, and the sun had not yet peeped over the top of the surrounding mountains, but the feeling of finally reaching a place I’d only read and dreamed about for the last ten years was absolutely amazing. I can’t put it into words, but if you’ve ever felt that way, you know what I’m talking about and you understand the futility of any attempts to imprison it in the solidity of a page.

From there, we began our descent along a 600 year old highway, seeing where mummies were discovered, learning that the actual mountain behind Machu Picchu the city is called Wayna Picchu (young peak) while the actual mountain ‘Machu Picchu’ is completely on the other side. We snapped the classic photo of the ruins in the morning sun, and got about a 2 hour guided tour around the ruins.

And I couldn’t feel my legs.

But if you’re only in a place once in your life, you sure as hell better make the most of it. And my parents taught me to be more stubborn than I am tired, and never EVER to pass up an opportunity.

I knew I wanted to climb Wayna Picchu, and I knew that the majority of the group was starving and exhausted. The last thing I wanted was for them to wait for me, but Lauren Hack, my roommate, was encouraging while everyone else was trying to convince me not to do it. “Don’t let anyone rush you and don’t  feel guilty. We have snacks, and we can wait. It’s not worth you having regrets.”

And really, she was right. But it felt good to have someone else tell me it’s ok to be a little selfish sometimes.

So I went, and Caroline came with me. The ascent was one of the scariest things I’ve done in a while. The muddy, slippery, worn path was almost straight up narrow, uneven flights of stairs which were extremely steep. It was almost like climbing up a ladder, and I was using my hands and climbing on all fours, but the view from the top, and of course the knowledge that we pushed the limits once again, was worth everything. As were the chocolate and almonds we shared in victory at the summit.

Of course the descent was scarier and you couldn’t help thinking ‘if I fall, I die, if I fall, I die’ but it’s good to know that the years I’ve spent on rock walls came in handy.

From there, it was a 30 minute descent to the main ruins followed by a suffocaating 25 minute bus ride alone a switchback road to Aguas Calientes, the closest tourist trap to Machu Picchu. There, we lunched around 2pm and spent the afternoon relaxing in the city. I spent most of the time wandering around the market and talking to another group with people from DC, London, Paris, and a small town just outside Munich.

We weren’t really sure how we were getting back to Km. 82 from there, let alone Cusco, since the train reservations weren’t made yet, but in the end we took a first-class train (which gave us BROWNIES!!) back and were met by two busses at km 82. It’s amazing how much less efficiently and calmly people work when they’re exhausted. Somehow, we figured it out and ended up in Cusco.

I crashed into bed around 12:30am, using my sleeping bag as a blanket since we didn’t have the water to shower. And got up the next morning at 6am for classes.

If you ever get a chance to hike the Inka trail, do it. If you have to hire a porter to carry your stuff, do it. It’s worth the blisters, sore legs, cursing along the way, exhaustion, possible altitude sickness, everything. And you will never forget it.

-Geeta

12th

            get up at 4am, 4:30am take breakfast

            5am walk to machu picchu – puerta del sol (2-3 hours)

            arrive in machu picchu around 7-8am.

            2-2.5 hours tour until 11am-ish

            1hour or 1.5 hours for walking around machu picchu  until 1pm-ish

                        total time depends on the train times

Equipo:

-         botas

-         clima – lluvias, always raining in machu picchu

-         bring clothes in plastic bags

-         ‘don’t bring a hairdryer’ FUCK YOU

-         3 t-shirts, extra pants

-         bathing suit??

-         Bug repellant (45 or more) bloqueador (45 or higher)

-         Water for a couple days – micropun

-         Chocolates/quick energy sources

o       Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner served, but NOT ENOUGH!!

o       Bring SUGAR – raisins, chocolate, bread and cheese with jam

-         ropa de abrigo?? Gloves and a hat

-         camera and bateries – but IN A BAG – also with temperature and altitude

-         Coca

Prof de desarrollo originally said ‘nosotros’ but quickly changed to ‘nosotras’

of the most famous ruins in the Americas since I was ten.

The trail begins at Kilometer 82

In the last week, I’ve finished reading three novels. How I manage to find books like this is beyond me. (1) The Book Thief – written from Death’s point of view about a girl growing up with a foster family near Munich in World War Two Germany (2) Dark Places – about a group of ‘homocide artists’ whose hobby is to murder tourists in third world countries (which was less than comforting, by the way, after returning from traveling alone in the developing world for a week) (3) Passage – about experiments concerning NDEs, Near-death experiences. This one is actually quite interesting and if it turns out to be relavent I may send some past professors the title as recommendation.

I a