Quite honestly, me wanting to hike to Machu Picchu was the reason I chose South America as my destination for sabbatical/gap year/really extended vacation, whatever you'd like to call it. It was the first thing I booked for the trip, way back in February, even before I bought my plane tickets. So in no way was I potentially setting myself up for disappointment if it wasn't as I dreamed it would be. Luckily the experience was incredible, my group was a lot of fun, the scenery was some of the most beautiful I've seen, and Machu Picchu itself is just as cool as you would think. It was all I hoped it would be, and I'm quite sad that it's over. So yeah I had a pretty okay time I guess.
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| Overlook of the Sacred Valley |
The hike was four days long and roughly 30 miles, with us arriving at Machu Picchu on the fourth day. It's got a reputation as a tough hike and it is deserved. It's definitely mountains that you're climbing, and when the Incas were building their road, they decided the most efficient way to tackle this was in stair form. Think 30 miles of Harvard Stadium steps for any of you folk familiar with another one of my favorite things to talk about, November Project. But literally, we gained around 4200 feet of elevation on the second day, straight up. However, saying this, I was actually expecting the hike to be even tougher than it was so I was pleasantly surprised by how well I did. Mostly because I made it harder on myself by being cheap/too proud and not hiring a porter to carry my things. Who doesn't want their first multiple day trek to involve carrying 30 pounds on their back and climbing up to an elevation of 14,000 feet? Only people without any sense of adventure. But honestly it went fine, and I didn't have a Huaraz repeat where beautiful locations were marred by semi-digested lunch by-products so that was pretty nice.
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| Now imagine ~100000000 more of these |
However, as proud as I was of myself for carrying my things and not passing out on the trail, my effort was nothing compared to the porters working for the tour company I was with. These guys were absolutely incredible. While I carried my things, they carried all the food, and the tents, and multiple unnecessary creature comforts for us hikers, and they did this at a run up the trail. I'm not joking, we would be woken up in the morning with a friendly "Buenos días amigos" outside of our tent and then hot tea would be handed in. While we would be sipping this and generally waking up, they'd come around with basins of hot water for us to wash up in before heading to our multiple course breakfast in our dining tent where there was a table with a TABLECLOTH, stools, and cutlery with napkins folded into fun shapes waiting for us. It was unreal that they hauled all this through the mountains for days. Then once breakfast was over and we were all on our way, within about five minutes, they'd have everything ripped down and would be jogging by us on the trail in order to beat us to our lunch spot and have our dining tent and a gourmet meal waiting for us there as well. This was again repeated at dinner. My favorite was that as we'd come into camp, they'd all applaud in appreciation that we didn't die again that day. Needless to say, I'm going to be a pain in the ass to camp with when I get back. Where's my fresh grilled trout? What do you mean you didn't carry a pressure cooker 25 miles to make a celebratory cake? I have to set up my tent myself? But honestly, I hope they're paid well because they do an absolutely fantastic job. I know I was more than happy to leave a generous tip for them.
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| Really roughing it |
All along the way we saw Inca ruins, not to mention the trail itself which is still in incredibly good shape. But they definitely don't compare to Machu Picchu. It was cloudy when we arrived, so we got to see the ruins slowly emerge from the mist. The view is just like you would imagine it to be, with the mountains all around and the sun shining through the clouds. It was incredible. The first thought you have of course, is 'Wow, it's massive!' The second is 'Wow, I actually do smell realllyyy bad compared to these casuals who showered this morning and took the bus here.' Our guide took us all through the ruins, and gave us just enough information that of course I have about 1000 more questions now than I did before the trek. By the end the 3:30 wake up call was beginning to take its toll, and after I climbed Wayna Picchu to get a nice aerial view of the ruins, I was ready to leave the site to the washed masses and go in search of a shower.
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| Sunrise on the last day |
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| This is what you think it is |
All in all, I'm so glad that I did the trek. It was definitely an incredible experience and lived up to all I hoped it would be. I'm back in Cusco now and will give a separate update for that. If you ever happen to find yourself in South America, take it from a sort-of expert, the Inca Trail is worth the hype.
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