The Main Event gets started!

A few things as we get started:

• YES Machu Picchu is amazing. 
• YES the trip and trek are absolutely worth it. 
• NO we would probably not do it again, but mostly because we generally don’t go back to places over and over and because this is more of a once in a lifetime trip.
• YES the trek was freaking hard.
• YES I loved it and it was a great way to celebrate 40!

I am going to break the three day trek into three posts, but mostly because there are so many pics and stories to share. Feel free to skim the photos or do whatever works for you. 

To get started we have to backup to Lares and actually a little further than that. As I mentioned before, COVID has impacted everything including treks to Machu Picchu. The most well known Inka Trail was closed for trekking, so we trekked the Lares Trail. It is considered the more cultural trail and does not take you directly to Machu Picchu like the Inka Trail does. And just for the record, pretty much every trail in the Andes is an Inka trail. 

We left our hotel in Cusco around 6AM so we could drive 3 to 4 hours to Lares. We stopped along the way to check the impact of altitude and to get off the windy roads that led to Lares. At some point the road is one lane wide and you have to hope that you’re not on the cliff side. Also, there are llamas and alpaca everywhere. You could be inTexas, but instead of cows blocking the road, it’s llamas and alpacas.

We made it Lares around lunch time and had no idea that we’d have a preview of what our dining would be for the trek. We did not explore Lares, but the trek started by the hot springs, so if you’re interested in that, you can take a dip in those before heading out. We didn’t, but mostly because we were ready to hike and hot springs before hiking felt out of order.

Lunch was this crazy good fish dish, to which BK and I were beside ourselves, because we did not understand what was in store. Every meal had an app, generally a soup, a main dish and a dessert. Before you think we’re too fancy for our own good, we totally did not expect this. AND we did learn later that we were their first trek since October 2019. I think the company we used was trying to put as many people to work as possible, which we felt like was a good thing. Incrementally, not that big of a difference for us.

After lunch we got started on what was supposed to be a four hour day. It ended up being longer, but more on that later. The terrain is incredible and was so diverse as we trekked over three days. We started out at around 10,000 ft elevation and would work our way up to 13,000 ft the first day.

We trekked along rapid rivers, grass fields that looked like the trolls scene out of frozen, went over dirt bridges, saw many animals along the way, and did some general hiking in the mountains. We did have a crew traveling with us who carried all of the gear- and there was a lot of it. 

Llamas along the way

Part of the crew headed to camp

Roaring river we traveled along

Bouncy grass- the Frozen trolls could have popped right up

Bouncy bridge across the river

I won’t sugar coat it- Day 1 had a rough ending. The guys in our crew got a little ambitious and hiked further than the guide anticipated. We were supposed to go for around four hours and I think we ended up going either 5 or 6. One issue we had was that BK was struggling at the end and kept asking if Alex (guide) knew how much longer. His reply was generally 20 minutes. But BK the numbers guy would keep asking every 20 minutes and after about 5 20-minutes BK was about to hit his breaking point. 

The worst thing was that we passed a camp along the way, which now that I think about it, was the only other camp we passed the entire trek. It was dark when we got in and BK and I started to have the first signs of altitude sickness setting in. I quickly figured out why people said they started taking medicine a week before travel. The crew prepared dinner for us, but BK wasn’t feeling well so he called it a night. I did shortly thereafter as well. 

The pic above is our sleeping tent. So, no, I did not sleep on the ground while we were trekking. BK and I did not expect this AT ALL. One other thing we quickly realized- IT IS COLD. In addition to blankets, I also used a sleeping bag and two hot water bottles the crew had. I slept with those things all night and also slept in numerous layers. Whole heartedly agree when people recommend sleeping in your long Johns. 

Day 2 was a new day and one that held 7 hours of hiking ahead!