At 5am, we jumped out of bed and into action. Actually, that was Brenda. I slept in until around 5:30am and headed upstairs, the last one to arrive! Everybody was eating already and I just sat there in a sleepy stupor. I had my New Mexico tech mug filled up to the brim with coffee, so I could sip knowing that I wouldn’t need to get a refill.
I had most everything all ready to go. So, I was just waiting for Carlos to arrive with the bus. I forced myself to eat a little bit since I knew I would be needing the calories. Everybody was so amped up. So was I, even though you wouldn’t have thought that looking at me!
When Carlos got there, we piled into the big green bus and drove out of Cusco. I fell asleep until we arrived at Urubumba, which was about 1 hour from the drop off spot. We stopped in Ollantaytambo for odds and ends. I bought a couple of bananas (they really are amazing in Peru…small but delicious!).
At the trailhead, the porters were assigned their tasks and went about immediately sorting, stacking, and packing our luggage. They all had the same jackets and it was a very smooth operation. I was impressed with the efficiency. While the porters were sorting things out, we were busy noshing on a mid-mornings snack in a sack. It had an orange, a nut bar, and a few other treats. In about 1 hour, we were all ready to go.
At around 10am we started down the Inca Trail! However, at 10:15, we were stopped at the gate for about 20 minutes while we waited for our porters to clear their checkpoint. We all got our passports stamped with Inca Trail moniker, sweet!
Every 30-60 minutes during our hike, Carlos stopped to point things out. Our co-leader was a svelt young man named Rolando. Rolando has a curiousity about wildflowers and plants, so I quite enjoyed hiking with him. He was sure to point out many neat specimens…I just wish I had thought to pull out my journal as I didn’t remember them long enough to name the flowers when I got home!
Our lunch was at 1:30pm. It was by the Cusichaca Stream, at Hatunchaca. There was a mess tent, a tarp for us to relax on, and also a portable toilet tent. Carlos went over the process for our campsite.
There was a wash porter who would pour the water for our hand washing prior to meals. There was a porter who would give us a papertowel to dry with. A main cook and his apprentice. Two porters who dealt with the potty. And, for each of us, there was one porter to carry stuff. It was a well oiled machine!
We had a very ample lunch (roasted chicken with veggies, bread, and cheese with hot drinks). We even had a few minutes to nap, total luxury! The site was near a village so there were a plethora of domesticated dogs roaming around, which we all thought were entertaining.
The last two hours of our hike increased steadily in angle as we climbed to Huayllabamba, at 9,692 ft. It was quite warm, I’d guess around 80-85df. It felt nice to be warm, as Colorado’s highs were in the 30s when we left. We made camp at 4:30pm. Brenda and I were assigned tent number 16. We had a prime spot at the end (a little more privacy rather than being in the middle).
As we were unpacking our stuff in the tent, they brought us hot water to wash with…I soaked my feet. It was amazing and I felt so spoiled. We had a late afternoon snack of tea and popcorn, an odd combination but both were yummy. We were then given some paperwork to fill out for dinner.
Dinner at 7pm was awesome. Chicken soup with veggies and pasta. Broiled trout with red tomato sauce and a bit of rice. Dessert was bananas and chocolate! Can you believe it, the meal we had in the mountains, IN TENTS! It was just great.
I was excited about the next day, we would be ascending 4,200 feet to Dead Woman’s Pass, at 13,891 ft. Then, descending the backside (~2,060 ft) to our next campsite. Most folks were feeling good, we just had a few people with headaches. No signs of danger. Whew!
Tags: Exodus Tour, Hiking, Huayllabamba, Inca Trail, Km 82, Peru