The Inca Trail

This is going to be a long one so I hope you´re prepared. It took me a while to really digest the hike, but I think now I can give a decent description of what it was like. I think its important to begin by introducing the cast of characters.

The guides :

Mauro - Mauro was our primary guide. He has been leading hikes on the Inca Trail for about six years. It takes three years of training at a private school for tourism in Cusco and another year of English to become a guide, so he was extremely qualified. While the rest of us were panting for breath, he was barely breaking a sweat and throughout the walks he would provide interesting info about the history and religious significance of the various sites and agriculture. He had a hint of used-car salesman in his demeanor and his explanations could get lengthy at times, but overall he was an excellent guide.

Rosa - Rosa was our secondary guide but could have easily led a hike by herself. She provided great commentary on the flora and fauna, but also had an emotional attachment to the group. She understood that the hike to Machu Picchu meant a great deal to all of us and tried her best to make it an experience we would never forget. I think for a lot of us, she was one of the main highlights of the hike. As Patrick Sr. said, ¨Rosa is just a class act.¨ She might have been the only female guide on the trail, but she carried herself in a way that commanded respect.

The Gringos:

Three Irishmen - These guys were great. Patrick Sr (65), Patrick Jr(30s), and Ronin (late 20s). It was one of Patrick Sr´s dreams to hike the Inca trail and two of his sons came with him to make it a family trip. It was pretty cool to watch them have the experience as a family. Although Patrick Sr was 65, he basically outhiked everyone else in the group. It was kind of embarrassing for us able-bodied twenty-somethings, but the man was a machine so give us a break.

Francis and Hhhun - This Dutch couple was also in pretty impressive. They speed-skated, cycled, and were obviously experienced hikers. When a guide asked Hhhun if she was sure she could carry her large backpack, she scoffed and let him know that she would be alright. Later we found out that she speed-skated something like 200 k in a day so she could obviously hold her own.

Daniel, Kacey, and I - Three fresh-faced American kids at the beginning of the trip and grizzled hiking veterans by the end. We were definitely the babies of the group, but we provided people with good insights about living in New Orleans for the last five years. Its interesting to talk to people abroad about such a failure in American social policy when we experienced it first-hand. Overall, I think we repped well for American youth.

The Porters: Its hard to verbalize how amazing these guys were, but I´m going to try. For each hiking group, there are about 8-12 porters who ¨assist¨ the group. They are mostly farmers who are natives of the Andean highlands and speak Quechua. Although we carry our clothes and sleeping bags/pads, the porters do everything else. On their backs the porters have four days worth of food, all the tents for the group, a massive propane tank for the camping stove, the stove, emergency oxygen tanks, and anything else you could possibly imagine you would need on a 4-day hike. Supposedly, their packs are not supposed to exceed 20 kilos because of a recent regulation from the Peruvian government, but some of those packs had to be heavier. Some of the porters don´t even use packs, the simply throw everything in their bag and somehow tie it to themselves with a blanket. Keep in mind that the average height of a porter can´t be more than 5´3¨ and some opt to hike the trail in sandals instead of shoes.

Every day the porters are about an hour ahead of our group to set up the tent to cook us lunch and dinner. At about 5 am, they woke us up with hot tea to coax us out of bed and had breakfast on the table by 5 30. After we´re done they break everything down and are at the next site ahead of the group. The hikes during the day were pretty grueling, but these men were literally running ahead of us to get to the next site. I´ve never felt like more of a lazy gringo watching them work. The food they cooked was amazing too. We were all expecting bag lunches or something, but Hugo, the lead porter and chef, always had a fantastic meal prepared for us. Every lunch and dinner started with soup and then had a main course and we had tea time every day around 5.

From that description it sounds like we had a really easy time, but the hikes were extremely physically demanding. We all found out pretty quickly that when Mauro said there would be a gradual incline that it meant steep and when he said a steep incline, it just meant vertical. The trail consisted of thousands upon thousands of giant steps that just ripped your calves and knees apart. I thought I was in pretty good shape going into the hike. I had been running an extra few miles a week to get ready, but I have never been more sore at the end of a day than on the Inca Trail.

Out of the four days, day two was definitely the most grueling. It is a 13 k hike, but during the first 5 hours, you climb up 1,200 meters. We started the day at 3,000 meters and Dead Woman´s Pass (the highest point on the Inca Trail) is at about 4,200 meters. After reaching the high point, it is about another three hours down giant steps to get to camp. By the end of the day, the way down feels like nothing compared to the steep incline.

Our group woke up around five like everyday and ate a pretty hearty breakfast, but that is the only meal we had until three in the afternoon. The guides know that it isn´t a good idea to eat before trying to conquer the pass because it will just weigh you down. The last hour or so up to Dead Woman´s pass was one of the hardest tasks I´ve ever had to complete. At that height, getting oxygen to your lungs is impossible and the only thing keeping you going is knowing that at the top you can sit down. There was a point where it felt like I was stopping every 10 ft just to catch my breath. Once you´re at the top though, its all worth it. The view of the valley you just climbed out of is breathtaking even if there isn´t much breath for it to take.

The lack of food did cause some unrest in the group though. Hhhun and Francis, who seem to live a pretty regimented life in terms of exercise and eating schedule were very upset about it. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches though. You have to be flexible and trust that the guides run the hike a certain way for a reason. There were a couple people who were too exhausted to even eat lunch, but I think after a little rest everyone was just happy that we had all accomplished our goal to get over the pass in one piece. I think we all learned something about how far we could push ourselves physically and mentally.

Day three was the longest of the 4 days, 17 k I think, but after day two it felt like a breeze. As our bodies adjusted to the altitude and constant walking, we could really look around and appreciate the beauty of what you were walking through. About 80% of the trail on day three is the original trail that the Incas used for their pilgrimage to Machu Picchu. The 500-year old stone path is still perfectly intact and you are walking the same path as only the most priveleged Inca had the oppurtunity to experience. The back-drop of the mountains while you slowly descend into jungle is more stunning than anything you´ve even seen. The best analogy we could think of was that it felt like you were walking through a scene in Lord of the Rings. Absolutely amazing.

On day four, you wake up at 3 30 am to be able to get to Machu Picchu by sunrise. As you walk in the twilight of the early morning, no matter what you believe in in terms of spiritual energy, there is something out of your control drawing you to Machu Picchu. Whether its your own body or an energy coming from one of the greatest religious sites in the world, you feel an incredible mental, emotional, and physical high.

The moss on the trees looked like it was glowing with phosphorescence as you walk through the forest, but there is one more obstacle before you get to see Machu Picchu: The Gringo Killer! This is a set of about fifty extremely steep, narrow steps that really wasn´t as hard as the name would suggest. It was damp that morning so the steps were slippery and if you fell, you would have to see Machu Picchu toothless or with something broken.

We got to Machu Picchu in time to see the sunrise but it was foggy! Although that was a bit disappointing, watching the fog roll away as the late morning sun heated up was just as impressive. Every few minutes, you could see more of the city and the incredible mountains that surrounded it. We got a lecture from Mauro that went on a little longer than necessary and also some great insight from Rosa on the most important temples around the city. We also took all the tourist pictures we could.

As the afternoon approaches, the city fills with tourists who arrive by bus or train and everyone who hikes the whole trail collectively scoffs and them. Machu Picchu is everything you´d expect, amazing ruins and beautiful views but its really the four days of discovering your new physical limits, conversing with old and new friends, and reflecting that make it an experience none of us will ever forget.