But first, a word from our sponsors. I want to take a minute to talk about the porters and cooks who carried all of our heavy things the entire four days. Each day they would hike ahead of us and set up the dining tent for every meal. At the end of a day we would arrive at our campsite with our tents fully set up with all of our other gear and sleeping mats/bags inside. Usually there was someone handing out wet washcloths and setting out bowls of clean water and soap for each hiker. In the morning a group of three of them would go tent to tent with a coffee and tea tray. Before we started hiking again the next day, they had boiled us fresh water and passed out extra snacks. This is why we called it "glamping".
Probably the most impressive part were the meals. We were given 3 solid hot meals every day on the trail. It was more food than I could eat. We had a tent just for dining. Also, the food they cooked on the trail was really good. It's not like the food was instant anything, it was food just like you'd make at home if you were cooking in your own kitchen. You can see by the below pictures what I'm talking about. The third day of the trip was Macy's (one of our group members) birthday, so the chef whipped up a quick birthday cake to celebrate.
After a good breakfast we began our assault on the almost 4,000 feet climb to the pass from our campsite. It was a good workout, but honestly, this was easier than the climbs we do back here in Colorado. I can remember my first couple hikes up 14ers and how hard they were. So, it's definitely difficult for people that aren't used to this sort of thing, but it's really not that hard if you're experienced. In preparation for the trip Stacey and I hiked 14ers like this without taking but 1 or 2 breaks. Because we were with a group, we stopped often, which is probably also why it seemed easier.
There weren't a lot of pictures to be taken on our way up the pass. The scenery was the same for most of the ascent as we funneled up the mountains on either side of the trail. I was really looking forward the view at the top of the pass. I had heard great things, but as we got closer to the top the clouds moved in. Weather is just a fact of life in the mountains. Or like a box of chocolates. You never really know what you're gonna get. Unfortunately, the great view at the top was obscured by clouds.
On the way down the scenery started to get much more interesting and jungle-like. For those of you prairie dogs, this is pretty standard for large mountains. There is usually a dry side and a wet side, depending on which one bears the brunt of the incoming weather (the wet side) and which one it rolls over (the dry side). This is true in Hawaii, in Colorado, and in Peru.
You'll also notice from these pictures on the other side of the pass we began seeing (and walking on) original Inca roads paths. From about this point until Machu Picchu most of the walkways were paved with stones. There were countless steps up and down the terrain the rest of the way. This section of the trail is a small sample of roads/paths that the Inca built all over there empire. By hand. One rock at a time. Covering who knows how many thousands of miles across South America's west coast.
Our campsite on the second day was spectacular. The last picture doesn't show it, but you can sort of get the idea. Our tent happened to be at the front of the row, so we had an unobstructed view of the entire canyon in front if us from our spot at almost 12,000 feet above sea level. We were able to sit at the front of our tent and watch the low clouds and mist move in and out of the valley. The next day would prove to be the longest (and probably hardest on the body), but also the most impressive and interesting of the entire hike.
