On September 1st, we started hiking the Inca Trail. Planning this trip took about a year. I did extensive research on which tour company to use, what time of the year to go, what to wear, watched a ton of YouTube videos on trekkers that completed this hike and advice they gave, all in all, I was beyond ready to finally do this. The company I choose was Alpaca Expeditions. They are one of the top Inca Trail companies in Peru, not just because of the way they take care of each trekker, but also because of the way they take care of the people that work for them. It was very important for us to book with a company that practices sustainability, pays fair wages to its employees, takes care of the land and the animals as well as provide us with a great time, and Alpaca met all those expectations. It was an unbelievable experience from start to finish. It was by no means easy, in fact, it was the hardest trek I have ever done (to date). Nothing about this hike was easy. It was uncomfortable, super cold in the mornings and evenings and ridiculously hot and sweaty during the day. Each day after hiking for 8-10 hours, we were so tired that sleeping on the ground felt amazing.
It's really hard to capture all the incredible views we saw in a snapshot and the great people that made up our group, but hopefully reading this will make you want to challenge yourself so that you can do something similar. Completing this hike, which has been unlike any other hike I have ever done, has only made me want to do more multi-day treks. I would have to say that for being the first one, its was definitely epic and one i will never forget.
The start of the journey...started at 3:45am, Alpaca (AE) picking us up in Cusco. We then rode a bus for about 2 hours to our starting point. Our group consisted of 2 guides, Lucio (head guide) and Yoel, the crew was made up of a chef, his assistant and 19 porters or crew that carried all of our stuff for the next 4 days. Everything from our tents, pots & pans, toilets & everything in between. These men are incredible to say the least, in our group the youngest porter was 19 and the oldest 60 years old! Day one's trek started around 9ish and ended around 5ish. It was a beautiful day, bright skies with sunshine all day long. We saw two Inca sites on this day and we stopped as a group while Lucio gave us the history of each ruin, then we got time to explore. This was the routine each day. Each night we got to our campsite and the porters already had our tents ready. They also had hot, clean water so we could wash our hands and feet. After getting settled, we all had dinner as a group. Our group consisted of 13 trekkers from the USA, France, Netherlands & Canada, the youngest at 24 and oldest at 56. We all hit it off and bonded as we talked about our day. The food served to us each day from breakfast to dinner was unbelievable, and each day it was something different, and it was amazing. Day one ended with everyone going to bed after dinner. It gets really cold almost instantly up in the Andes. We rested in preparation of the dreaded day 2, the hardest day of the 4 day trek known as Dead Woman's Pass. Wake-up call was at 5am with some coca tea to perk us up. After a great breakfast we were on the trail by 6am. The trek to Dead Woman’s Pass was relentless. Up and up and up and up along the ancient Inca pathway made up of enormous stone steps. My lungs were tight and seemed too small for the task, and my legs felt like cement as I tried to lift them over and over again up onto the next step. At the summit (approx. 14,000 feet), we then had to descend for roughly 5 hours. It was brutal. It felt like an eternity getting to camp. I am pretty certain that I would not have been able to complete this day had it not been for the trekking poles. I never realized (until i did this hike) truly how beneficial trekking poles can be. I was thrilled when day 2 ended, this was the day that I knew would be hard both mentally as well as physically. Completing it felt like completing a marathon, but there were 2 more days to go...
People live on the Inca Trail. The homes that you see in this picture are just a few of the many little villages that we came across as we were passing through. Most of the people living on the trail are Inca descents and are mostly farmers that have been living there for generations.
Standing next to the ruin from the first picture. From afar the ruins look so small, however when you get up close, you realize just how massive they really are. This particular ruin went around the entire mountain.
Our first history lesson of many to come for the next 4 days. Our main guide, Lucio, has been a guide for Alpaca for 15 years. He speaks Spanish, Quechua, English and a little French. He was a wealth of knowledge on each stop we made along our way.
Day 2: Resting as we are heading up 14k feet. Scott reaching the summit of Dead Woman's Pass. The afternoon of Day 2 overlooking other ruins and the mountain we crossed earlier that morning. Each day we were rewarded with incredible food. Each meal so special and different, truly took the experience to another level of awesomeness.
Everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinners our group would sit inside a tent and discuss highlights/lowlights of the day (lowlights were only that we were tired, but happy) It was a great group of hikers that we got the share this incredible experience with. There was a couple on their honeymoon, a group of doctors, an aunt and her niece, it was a real mix of great people.
After completing Day 2, everything else felt like walking on clouds...well kind of, but it was definitely much easier. Day 3 was perhaps my favorite day of the entire journey, even though we were still descending. Overall we dropped almost 2600 feet. I’m not sure which is more difficult, but I know that my legs were sorer after a day of going down than they were after going up! I would have to say descending sucks more than going up (lol). We dropped backed down through the tree line, entering into jungle-like scenery, where we could start to understand how Machu Picchu was hidden by jungle for so many years. We saw some incredible ruins after lunch. They truly took my breath away. We had the rare opportunity to actually sit and explore the area for a few hours. We took some incredible team pictures, rested, slept (some of us) and explored on our own.
Our Group overlooking the beautiful Inca gorge on day 3.
Our amazing Alpaca Expeditions Crew, 19 porters, 2 guides and 2 chefs. These amazing men made it possible for us to enjoy our trip. The work they do is incredibly hard, carrying everything that's needed to each campsite. They each introduced themselves to us, some didn't even speak Spanish, Lucio had to translate. The youngest was 19 and the oldest 60. They are the real heroes on this adventure.
On our last dinner, our incredible chef made a cake for our group, a cake! How do you make a cake in the middle of the Andes? Unbelievable!
We truly were fed like kings & queens! Each meal started with hot soup (and of course, each day it was different–no one meal was ever the same) then appetizer (popcorn, chicken fingers, pizza, etc.) then the main entrée and finally dessert.
Our final day, Day 4 of the trail started at 2:30AM for me (3:30 for everyone else) I got up extra early to allow myself time to pack, put my contacts in and organize my things before we started the day. This was the only day of the trek where we didn't have breakfast. At exactly 3:30am, Yoel came around and woke us up, with Coca tea at hand and warm water to wash our faces. At 4:00am our team was ready to hike. We used a headlamp to make our way to the Sun Gate as it wasn't open, but there was already a large group of people waiting to enter as soon as they opened the doors. Hikers literally run to get a good spot to sit while the gates open and then again run to be one of the first hikers to catch the sun coming up the Sun Gate. We waited for about 50 minutes then continued to make our trek to Machu. My heart was beating so fast from the excitement, I couldn't wait to see Machu Picchu, so many month of training, planning and waiting to complete this trek was finally coming to its climax. It was also exciting to be able to use a flushing toilet again ( i will never take one for granted again!) We finally saw the beautiful city of Machu Picchu and while it felt like a dream come true, a part of me was also sad at the amount of people that were there. There were tour groups all over the place. The people that took the train, for a day trip were everywhere. All of them looking so clean and smelling fresh and then there were us. We were all looking tired, haggard and dirty, but you know what? we earned our visit. We didn't just wake up and decided to go there, we actually walked the route the ancient Incas walked to get to this sacred place. I actually heard a tour guide say to his group, 'Do you see those people over there?' while he pointed in our direction, 'those people hiked 4 days to get here' :) that's right, we hiked for four days, sweating, freezing, sleeping in tents while most of the people there rode the train and we weren't done yet! Scott, Adela and I ( and about half our group) decided to climb to the HIGHEST point in Machu which is Huayna Picchu ("Huayna" means 'young' in Quechua- the language of the Incas, in other words, 'Young Mountain'). I was incredibly hesitant on doing this hike as i was already running out of steam. It was already 11am and had been up since 2:30am with no food. After a lot of convincing, I decided to hike it. It was (no joke) harder than the trail itself. There were parts of the mountain that were so steep that you had to crawl. There were ladders in parts where it was shear cliff on both sides, it was frightening! I wasn't afraid of the entire hike until i made it to this point. I'm not going to lie, i was miserable, i was sweating so much and was so tired and hungry that I actually broke down. Yes, Huayna broke me down. The trail for the past 4 days didn't affect me in the way that this trek did. When we finally got to the top, Scott was in all hire glory, excited and happy, and so was the rest of our small group that made it, while I just wanted to get down and leave. We took a few pictures and started heading our way down, which was just as difficult as going up.All in all it took about an hour and a half to do this trek, reaching the bottom felt amazing. Looking back, I am grateful that Scott made me do this, at the time, I was so tired i just wanted to sit and enjoy a big lunch with the rest of the team that didn't do this hike, but in the end, we still got to enjoy a big lunch with our entire team and we got the opportunity to do a big toast to a great adventure we shared. It's an experience I will always cherish and never forget for as long as I live.
We finally made it to Machu Picchu!
At the top of the world! Overlooking Machu Picchu from the top of Huayna, we did it, can't go any higher!
One of my fave pics (out of many!) on the trail, we hiked through a small village and the little girl kept talking to me as we were passing through. One of many memorable moments.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR A HIKE OF THIS MAGNITUDE?
• Start walking/hiking as much as you can (allow yourself at least 3-6 months)
• STAIRMASTER - make it your best friend!
• Do a lot of cardio at the gym (less focus on weight lighting)
• Take Oxygen tabs before your hike (to help acclimate you to the altitude)
• Dress in layers, its gets really cold at night but you'll be sweating during the day
• Make sure your hiking shoes are comfortable and worn in
• Be comfortable being uncomfortable!
• My best buy for this hike were my SMARTWOOL socks. I will never hike with any other socks again
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