Inca Trail

ok, I'm back in the US.

Am i cheating to write the blog now? for the first time in a while, i'm stationary-- I'm going to attempt to catch up on my notes from the road.

first off, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. This has to be one of the great experiences one can have in this life. It is a 4 day hike through a stunning green valley, over 2 passes, leading to the city of Machu Picchu-- some of it actually following the old Inca road. it climbs some 1800 meters (5700ft), and is about 30 miles long. It is hard and amazing.

my cousin Nick had been living in Cusco, Peru for a couple months, so he was our local hook up, organizing the trip from the town. It is a very regulated process, with only 500 people total allowed on the trail per day. This includes porters, so the number of hikers is somewhere around 200. There is something like a passport control to enter the trail-- this protects the trail, and raises funds to maintain it. And one must be part of a guided group- no rogue backpackers. the support crews carry the tents, food, and sometimes your clothes/packs depending on the outfit. or, like chris and myself, hire an extra porter to carry your heavy stuff. we were not too proud. every night we'd arrive at camp with our tents set up, and they'd be working on dinner. With heavy packs the porters run ahead to set up, even after they'd stayed behind to clean up lunch. Ever chewing on coca leaves. They were pretty amazing.

Our crew was a ragtag group of nick's friends, mostly 19 year olds, so chris and i played the grandpas: popping advil like candy and not hesitating to upgrade to the 'extra porter' option. Most of the crew had some stomach illness issues- for a few it was a bad ceviche incident in Lima. As chris put it, Survivor Inca Trail. it was stomach russian Roulette-- who's going to be on the Pain Train today?? looks like Lizzy today.. oo, but there goes Robin. chris, nick and I were great, no worries. my stomach and knees held up, chris was still on penicillin from strep 2 weeks before so no bacteria had a chance in his system, and nick is apparently bulletproof. one girl, Abba had a bad stomach ache, was vomiting some. we thought it was altitude sickness. upon return to cusco, she was still vomiting but had been constipated for a week... can anyone diagnose this? ....... yup, Typhoid. she had typhoid, and had had it since returning from the amazon (5-10 day incubation). a tough girl, hiking the inca trail with a potentially fatal illness. (we took her to our hotel in cusco, where we got her a doctor and and IV, with a bomb of cipro to kill the typhoid. after we left she spent a few days in the hospital, she's ok now. pays to re-up those shots).

So to describe the experience... steep green mountains, either shrub or jungle covered, in and out of the mist, occasionally glimpsing the snow capped peaks all around... You pass through Glacier carved valleys, with inca ruins nestled in strategic places, lined with ancient terraced mountains that had been growing crops 500 years before. The ancient stone 'trail' was a feat of engineering-- occasionally passing through tunnels and diagonal cracks. The scenery shifts as you pass along rushing creeks, with jungle all around, and the old path weaving through overhanging foliage. Drizzle and mist followed us through the last 2 days, adding a haunting element to the ancient valleys.

On the final day, everyone wakes well before dawn. Lined up in the rain at 5:30, we pass the control point and start the silent march to Machu Picchu. Though the path is not too difficult, it is dark, and everyone is focused. Our legs are strong from the climbs of the past two days, and our elevation is lower; adrenaline is high. Our 3 days of expectation are coming to a head. The mist glows brighter as the sky is brightening above the clouds. No one is talking. we are wet. At last we reach a steep stair case (jokes of Gollum and the staircase flow) and we scale it with hands and feet, and at last we see pass through the sun-gate and see the city...

It was true elation we all felt. the city hangs impossibly with cliffs all around, surrounded by peaks and mountains. the mist was kind to us that day and we saw the city from the spot the sun does on the solstice, as it would shine directly into the sun temple. We laugh, and smile, then head down to the city to explore. it has to be the most incredible ruin i've seen in the americas; its combination of architecture and setting is an assault on the senses. I could write more, but one just has to experience it to understand.