The Inca Trail - Day 2

The Super Hikers after conquering the Bloody Stairs
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Day 2 - the Bloody Stairs of the Dead Woman´s Pass

After another restless night, we were up at 6am for a hearty breakfast and a briefing of the day ahead.  Our guide Isacc told us we were no longer tourists, but Super Hikers.  We were only his second ever group of Super Hikers, and earned the title by enduring the treking without complaint or needing any assistance from the guides.  Usually there are a few ´tourists´who need to be piggy backed or assisted up the stairs, but not so with our group.

It is literally 2 hours of high altitude hell, with seemingly never ending steps rising over 1200 metres

Prepared for all weather conditions
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We were also introduced to our porters and Super Chef today (all 21 of them).  Their ages ranged from 18 to 65, and they were all amazing and friendly.  We were constantly amazed to hear the pounding of feet coming up behind us, only to see the porters run past with massive packs on their backs, most only wearing sandals on their feet.

The first two hours we ascended steep rocky stairs through the Amazon Jungle.  The pace was slow and steady (as Isacc kept saying - don´t rush, its your holidays).  This pace gave us time to get to know some of our fellow Super Hikers, including Karen from London, Dave and Sarah from Dublin, Nicole and Alex from Brighton and Warren and Emma from Auckland.  All were lovely and friendly and we instantly formed friendships with them all.

Linda attacking some of the many stairs
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After lunch was the biggest test of the Inca Trail.  As Isacc puts it, the Bloody Stairs of the Dead Woman´s Pass.  It is literally 2 hours of high altitude hell, with seemingly never ending steps rising over 1200 metres.  We stuck to our plan and took it fairly easy, taking frequent breaks to take in the scenery and catch our breath.  After all its our holiday and we´re only here once.  As we neared the top, a local porter serenaded us with a beautiful tune on his flute.  The adrenilin and sense of pride we felt upon reaching the summit is something that we´ll never forget.  As we reached the top everyone cheered and shouted out ´the Honeymooners´ as we have been labelled.

The Hunchbacks of Inca Trail
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What goes up must come down, and down we went.  We thought climbing up was the hard part, but boy were we wrong.  The descent down over 2000 steps was even steeper, and the constant drizzling rain made each step perilous.  Linda slipped over a couple of times, but being a Super Hiker, she got up and soldiered on......she is a Fidge after all.  We needed every bit of our concentration on the way down, and I don´t think we would have survived without our trusty SAS walking poles.

A well earned lunch break
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As we walked into camp we felt such a sense of accomplishment knowing that we had just survived the hardest day of the Inca Trail.  The views again were amazing, and the constant sound of the rushing river only added to the atmosphere.  We were again early to bed as tomorrow was due to be the longest trekking day with over 9 hours of walking.