Inca trail

Our porters
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I made it!! After years and years of wanting to hike the Inca trail and see Machu Picchu I finally did it!

It was a fantastic 4 days and I actually really enjoyed the hike. I was quite apprehensive beforehand as I’d heard from so many people how tough it is and how hard the second day is due to the altitude. I was also a bit concerned how I’d go as I’m anaemic and tend to get puffed just walking up the stairs at home!

The Incas had an interesting eye for real estate

Loved the hat
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The hike is long and tough in parts, but the scenery is so impressive and there are lots of ruins along the way and the general atmosphere with the porters and hikers and local farmers make it really interesting.

We spent a day in Cusco acclimatising to 3800mtrs and then another day lower down at about 2800mtrs before beginning the Inca Trail. The first day was "Andean flat" with stunning views of the mountains and various ruins and only a few steep parts. Day 2 was much tougher as we went from 3500 metres to 4200mtrs at the highest pass. The trail was very steep, but it was wide and once I got a good rhythm going I felt quite good. The last part of the climb to the highest pass was tough as it was cold and bit of a struggle but the sense of accomplishment once at the top was great!! As was the clapping from other hikers who were already there. The trail then went steeply down and I pretty much ran down as it was easier! After lunch was the second high pass and this was also tough as the steps were much steeper.

Beautiful wildflowers..
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Day three was fairly easy going as it was mostly "Andean flat" and down hill, though the stairs were very hard on the knees! Arriving in camp at lunch time on day three was fantastic as you knew it was almost over and the camp had all the hikers in once spot (previous nights we were spread across a few camp grounds at different altitudes). There were hot showers and a bar so there was a great atmosphere and you got a chance to chat to the various people you’d met on the way.

Day four began at 3:45am so we could have some breakfast and get to the front of the line at the final check point that opened at 5am. Once through there were hundreds of people walking the final few hours to reach the Sun Gate. With everyone going at different paces there was a lot of overtaking and after a while I was up towards the front moving pretty fast with some other people from my group. I reached the Sun Gate just after 6am and there were only about 20 people there and just as I arrived the mist parted and there was my first view of Machu Picchu...

Made it!
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It really was spectacular as the mountains are so high and jagged and the city is perched on the side.. I took a few photos, hugged and high-fived fellow hikers and enjoyed the view for a while.. I felt tired but fantastic and as I slowly began to ´realise´ where I was and what I’d done I got a little emotional and shed a few quiet tears.

We headed down to Machu Picchu as the sun rose and it began to look better and better... it is such a stunning location and even more impressive in person. We had a guided tour around the ruins for a few hours and as the day warmed up - it was the first sunny day there in weeks apparently - we headed into the nearby touristy town for some very very well deserved beers...!

Perfect
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But, enough about my hike, the most fascinating part of the hike were the porters who carry all the gear up. We had a group of 10 hikers, 2 guides, 12 porters and 1 cook. We carried our day packs and were allowed to give the porters 6kg including sleeping bag and camping mattress. The porters then also carried all the food for the 3.5 days, tents, communal tent, table and chairs, kitchen, table setting (including serviette holders and table cloth!), plus their own gear.

They were ´only´ allowed to carry 25kg each and these men were barely taller than me, and in some cases no taller or bigger than me! The went in front of us to set up the camp at lunch and dinner and then packed up and left after us each time, passed us, and set up again. They ran sections of the trail and it was humbling to see. They were all farmers and it is a hard life, but they were a great group of blokes who clapped each time we made it to camp, just as we clapped when they ran past us. One of the porters even played a pan flute at the top of the highest pass to encourage the hikers on.

Our guides
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The food was incredible, no 2-minutes noodles.... each lunch was soup and a main and each dinner was appetiser, soup and a main - we even got dessert one night. The food was really yummy, our first dinner was stuffed trout??!! Yep, 5-star camping.... we had a bowl of warm water in front of our tent when we arrived to wash with and were woken up each morning with a cup of tea and another bowl of warm water.. It was Narelle´s birthday on day 4 and at breakfast (at 4:15am) she was presented with a huge birthday cake! It was delicious and we couldn’t work out how the cook managed it!!!

Nervous
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All up it was a fantastic 4 days and I really enjoyed it, I found it a challenge, but not too difficult and would happily do it again!

My tips for the Inca Trail:

• Do train for it, it is tough on your legs and you need to be fit
• Go slow and steady, it’s so much harder to start again after you stop
• Think good thoughts and it will all be ok!

Graffiti of the day (as seen in the sparkling clean toilets at Macchu Picchu):

Getting prepared for hike
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I've waited four days for this shit.