Here we come Inca Trail! 6/21/11
Up at 530 to catch our ride to start our journey to Machu Picchu. We jumped in the Wayki Trek van and picked up four other guests, a couple porters, and our guide Antonio. A couple hours after leaving Cuzco we reached the entrance to the Inca Trail. We staged our equipment which now included sleeping pads that we didn’t know we had to carry. No worries, it was just another 2 lbs to add to our bag that probably weighed 20-25 lbs. The sleeping bags added most of the weight to our backpacks but we were pretty skim on what we brought. I brought a couple thermals tops one bottom, socks, sunblock, snacks, a towel, and two jackets. Not too bad for a 4 day hike. We were hiking with two gals from Portland, Leslie and Kristin, and a new couple from Atlanta, Robert and Karen. We quickly started our hike after passing the checkin with our passports. Andy and I were lucky that we were fully acclimated from being in La Paz/Titicaca the week before, the other travellers just arrived in Cuzco 3 days ago. We were done with the attitude pills which was awesome- I couldn’t stand the tingling sensation in my fingers and feet those pills caused.
As soon as we crossed the bridge (a river flowed through the Sacred Valley) and started up the hill I felt like I was going to be in trouble since I was already panting. It was slightly sprinkling which I didn’t mind because it meant that it wasn’t hot. Antonio said it’s usually really hot starting the hike so we were lucky- I could use all the luck I could get. We hiked over the rolling hills. At first we stayed low in the Sacred Valley, enjoying the scenery and the easy of the hike. Our porters ran past us carrying no more than 50 lbs on their backs. At the start of the trail all the porters are weighted. If they weigh more than the 50 the tour company is fined. These guys hauled ass past us so when we reached one of the stopping points lunch would be ready. Antonio had us stop every now and again so he could give us a little history. I’m all for learning about where we are hiking, but most of us just wanted to get going.
Towards the end of the hike we started slowly going uphill. Since this was supposed to be the easy day I was trying to take it slow but I was still breathing hard- nervous what was in store for me the next couple of days.
We stopped at a campground with 300 other campers. Only 500 people are allowed on the Inca Trail each day which includes porters. We were a group of 6 plus 9 porters (including a chef and his assistant) and Antonio. It’s amazing how much crap these guys have to haul, but lucky for us there were they because I would have probably died. Andy killed the hike beating everyone by a significant amount of time. He was a maniac. Dinner was delicious and we were all hungry. I tried not to eat all the popcorn and cookies they put out for us during tea time (5pm) but the hike had already started my metabolism. Everyone was in good spirits. The first day was done, no injuries, although not everyone was feeling great- the altitude was starting to get to them. It was damp out and we headed back to the tent where I gave Andy a calf massage. We went to bed around 9 and slept as our sleeping bags slid off the mats and into the corner of the tent. Tomorrow is supposed to be a really tough day- lots of stairs going straight up a mountain. Oh man.