Sal-kant-eye Majesty
Hola amigos! What a week it has been.
Last time I checked in, we were heading into the mountains. I feel like we have lived 4 lives since then. But every trip into the mountains feels that way, am I right? Nature has a way of making us all a little more wise each time we pay her a visit. <3 Today, I’m feeling very grateful for my health & for the docs in Cusco that were able to give us some answers on Jaker’s. But don’t worry, these complications didn’t stop this trip from being an amazing experience! The e.coli made it even more memorable 😋 The beauty of this place is so overwhelmingly unreal. I still stare at each photo in a sort of shock that I was fortunate enough to visit such a spectacular piece of nature art. Let me tell you more ‘bout it!
NOTE: however resistant we are to group tours typically, we did this trek with an expedition group. Fully suited with an amazing tour guide/highland local, our very own chef, multiple porters/camp hands, ~10 pack mules, and 9 other adventure hungry friends. You CAN do this trek on your own; however, it’s complicated. Be prepared if you plan to tackle.
Pre-Day: windy mountain drive-to camp
We were picked up around 3pm. Met with our crew for some packing & a 4 hour car ride ahead of us. With some poor planning, mistakes were made & Jen did not take her motion sickness pills. Of course we were blazing through bumpy gravel switchbacks on the side of mountains for the last 1.5 hours or so. Needless to say, my body didn’t handle it well. And once the vomiting started, it didn’t want to stop, thanks to camping around 13k feet.
I spent the night in a sweaty ball with utilization of the puke bowl every hour or two. A pup at camp sensed my misfortune and borrowed me her paw for some minutes ♥️ We stayed in glass cabanas this night with great views of the stars, however I wasn't in the mindset to appreciate. Definitely an evening in survival mode!!
Day 1: the hard as hell day
Wake up was at 4am - just 2 hours after my latest episode - but somehow I felt I turned a new leaf. May have been out of willing it for my body as I wasn't about to get in another car back down the mountain. I had no appetite and even water was tough, but I was upright and moving. The first leg was an out and back to a glacial lake and when we got to the turn off point, I decided I needed some rest. I was not keeping pace and was still a bit shaky. So I found a nice rock in an open horse pasture and napped among my horse friends.
In those 3 hours, I really took an uphill turn. The fresh air, grounding with pachamama (mother earth in the highland langauge), eating a bar, keeping down some electrolyte - i was a new woman. I joined with the group for the next section which was starting the ascent to the pass, which sits around 15,200 feet. I didn't make it too far before our guide called in backup (aka a horse) for me to take to our lunch spot to preserve some energy. I really was doing much better, but after the horse ride and some lunch, I was really feeling great again, unlike the rest of the group…
It was around the time I started feeling great that my sick energy transferred to Jakers. He started feeling a little off, but honestly a lot of the group did as we were climbing pretty quickly at high elevation. It was so hard to watch all of that lunch-time guacamole go to waste with none of us having appetite. #shame
I shared my caballo (horse) with another friend who was struggling and got on my feet. The climb was tough, but honestly I was just thankful to not be violently vomiting anymore. After some 1, 2, step, stop & breathe hours, we defeated the pass! The clouds had set in by this time & views were next to nothing aside from the “We made it!” sign! That was enough for me. The highest point we have trekked to date!
This day seemed to go on forever because we still had an 800m (~2600ft) descent ahead of us. Ugh. But the clouds passed and we got some EPIC views which made time move a little faster. Apparently, it was the first view of the Salkantay Peak of the season! Lucky duckies!
We didn’t get to camp until after dark; we were all extremely exhausted and wiped out. This was Jaker’s worst night - filled with shivers and extreme sweats, all in our cozy chilled tent in the middle of the wilderness. :/ However, after some natural remedies (egg whites in the pits and tea), he still felt like shit in the morning.
Day 2: de-SCEND it
These wake up views competed with day 4’s. The sky was so clear and all directions looked so mystical. With the clouds heavy the night before, we really didn’t have expectations in the morning. Salkantay Glacier covered half of the horizon while Humantay Glacier covered another side. The camp sites were CLUTCH on this trek. With rainy season just past us, the landscape was all so green as well. I was happy, the horses were happy, and Jakers was still breathing!
We were on our way bright and early; we actually entered the Amazon this morning! So the green lusciousness continued onward as we continued downward. We had 1600m (~5200ft) of descent to hike this day - the quads were FIRE. We also had a fair amount of rain this day, so the views were fairly limiting after the morning session of greatness. But we had the motivation of a promised jacuzzi ahead of us!
We walked through the jungle for a while and then linked up with a road that apparently has landscapes very prone to landslides. The roads are dirt, skinny, and on the edges of the mountains. All across the river, we could see evidence of fresh falls of the past. Actually just 2 years ago in 2020, a massive avalanche near Salkantay fell into the glacial lake and literally emptied out the lake causing a devastating cascade effect on the villages downstream. We could witness impacts of this the entire day - from bridges being knocked out to villages rebuilding. They actually have a version of cable carts in this region that they can use to get across the river (more like canyon) if one side of the mountain becomes impassable in order to get to the other side and out of the village.
Anyways, we ran into multiple landslides this day as it was nearing the end of rainy season. The first one was FRESH and Jake and I were leading the pack. It had happened about an hour earlier and some vehicles were on each side unloading goods and carrying them to a truck on the other side as it was not passable to vehicles. The road was partially washed out / partially turned into a gravel hillside for about 20 ft. We didn't have another way through. Rocks were still trickling down the mountain; our guide was our lookout and we passed one by one with him yelling “go” or “back” if a rock started coming down. This first one was quite terrifying, but the locals seemed un-phased. One wrong step or slip and you were down the cliffside. But we came upon more the next day that were much larger with carved foot paths; it just seemed like a normal part of these folks’ routine. And once rainy season is over, they clean them up and vehicles can resume route again.
This evening was epic. One because we got a hot shower and two because we were staying in this hobbit houses by the river. We all crammed in to the promised “jacuzzi” as well to recover the bod. Namaste 🙏
Day 3: jungle tropics green machine
The weather cooperated well this day, and we had a much lighter hike day! Jake still was shaky, but we got used to it because he was actually sick the entire trek. At this point, we were managing symptoms trying to keep the fever at bay and diarrhea less frequent (TG for our first aid kit!!). By day 3, we started suspecting some kind of bacterial infection. But he pushed through & we continued on, not exactly a whole lot of other options :P We visited a coffee farm in the AM and actual got coffee!! We all unintentionally detoxed on this trip because it just wasn't on the menu #cocatea for days! This is the popular drink in the highlights; and each morning, we would get awaken with a knock on the tent door and one of our porters saying “sin or con azucar, amigo?” What a life!
After being guilted into buying coffee from this farm whose crop suffered during covid and the avalanche, our chef hosted a cooking class on a local dish! Guys - when I say the food was outrageous on thus trek, I really mean it. Every lunch and dinner was multiple courses - starting with some kind of soup & then a large mix of entrees. For example, one meal was served with trout, guacamole, rice, potatoes, cheese corn, and some kind of bread. We rarely even put a dent into it!! It was crazy.
But anyways, after some food, we proceeded to hike a beautiful mountain side with lots of great views and fun stops! This landscape is also super fertile here. We passed tons of coffee plants, banana trees, avocado trees, and passion fruit vines. If I were an explorer, I’d choose here to start my garden :)
We also got our first viewing of Machu this day. What a view for a rest!! Our campsite views were just as good. Such an epic spot for constellation gazing and just laying on some flat grass. #BLESS
Day 4: the walk along the railroad tracks day / hi other tourists i haven’t missed
The wake up / alarm clock of coca tea was epic this morning. Situated on a point overlooking Machu and many other mountains, it was so peaceful and we actually had some time to enjoy the AM (tip the yoga). It was also pretty mild weather here since we had descended down to ~7000 ft. My favorite way to start a morning <3
The hike this day wasn't too exciting. Some more descent until we arrived in a small village for lunch. At this point, we started seeing lots of tourists and were really out of the wild. We continued following a long line of railroad tracks along the river for about 10km until we made it to Aguas Calientes, the Machu Picchu base town. We got a hotel room with real showers which felt wonderful!! Our first aid kit was also depleted by this time, so we stocked up at a pharmacy. We strolled around town which is small but has muchas shops and restaurants, had team dinner, and topped the night of with a delicious cheesecake brownie. We almost made it!
Day 5: the grand finale…
Saving for it’s own spicy post :P Because Machu deserves it. Here's a little sneak. 🙃
Summary:
This hike was epic - all 65km (40 miles) of it! The highest point we reached was ~15,200ft and the lowest just under 6,000ft (here is the company we went through). Despite the health issues we faced, it still scored so high on our list. I will say, the first day views were tough to beat. Day 3 was also nice but day 2 and 4 were less climatic. The size of the Peruvian Andes are breathtaking. The glaciers are incredible and remind you of how small our problems are. I love the way the Inka people (villagers) take care or the land and pachamama. The glaciers are too sacred to climb, the lakes are too sacred to swim. They respect the land; honor the land and its story. Our guide is from the highlands and did an amazing job teaching us as we went. This is definitely a perk of having a local guide! The company we went through is called Alpaca Expeditions. I loved everything about it aside for the push to review them and the request for tips after already being a quite expensive trip comparatively. Minor negative for a 5 day escape into the wild with all logistics, lodging, and food taken care of!
So worth it and so much to gain <3
Peace, love, and TY pachamama,
yo’ girl Jen
