Well, I´ve done it! I´ve conquered the Inca Trail to Machu picchu. I believe I did mentally prepare myself for it perfectly because when it came to it, it wasn`t the complete hell I thought it would be. But I didn´t underestimate it like I did when hiking the other routes in in Bolivia and colca canyon. Here´s the quick recap.
Day 1
I got picked up at 6:30 AM and took a 45 minute journey to the start site. When I arrived showed my ticket and passport and I was on my way. Luckily I only had to carry my daypack during the hike (which was still 3.5kg). Most hikers had porters carry 6 kg of their belongings. The rest of my stuff was left at the hotel. Now I must say these porters are fucking awesome. They carry roughly 25kg of stuff on their backs, wear just plain sandals and kick everyone´s asses with racing through the Inca Trail. Well the first day hike was not that bad. There rolex yacht master 40mm mens 16628blso stainless steel were slight up and down hill hikes but it was seriously majorly doable. It was the easiest day in my opinion and I arrived at the campsite in no time. One scary part was when I saw horses carry two green looking women back down the trail back to the beginning but apparently they could not go on. I heard there was one group of 15 and 14 did not make it. The one guy that did stay threw up the WHOLE time. It´s mostly the altitide in my opinion. People don´t prepare. The rest is mental. I´ll get to that on day 2.
Day 2
Woke up at 5:50 and packed up all my things (clothes, sleeping bag/pad, etc) and got a pleasant breakfast by the cook. Then off to the ¨worst day¨of the Inca Trail. Basically I was at 3,000m above sea level and had to climb to 4,200m above sea level (1,200METERS) up to Dead Woman´s Pass then descend 600m. Now I must state. Being that high in altitude is not good. You have thinner oxygen. People tend to get nosebleeds, headaches, stomach aches, and at worst water in their lungs. Luckily I took altitude pills before after I suffered some aches in Colca Canyon and was fine the whole trail. This day was NOT an easy day. But I´ll tell you, it´s mostly mental. I just zoned into it and hiked. When people rest I wouldn´t pay them attention because I knew stopping would just make my muscles worst and I´ll lost my concentration so I just kept on going. And low and behold I made it in a faster pace then average. Like 45 minutes instead of 1.5 hours and etc.
Quotes to inspire me and people around me. And trust me, my quotes did certainly impress many (thank you to those who know these quotes wink wink)
¨Pain is weakness leaving your body.¨
¨Pain is temporary. Pride is FOREVER.¨ (i certainly couldn´t use the other version)
¨Pain is 90% mental…so suck it up!¨
Day 3
To be honest this was physically tougher for me than Day 2. We started off with a 300m uphill climb which was fine. Then supposedly 1.5 hours up and down hill climbs. Then the killer was the 900m descend. I don´t have the best knees and balance so this was extremely more difficult for me than just mentally climbing uphill. I made it down but it wasn´t fun. Inspiration was that at the campsite there were a place for hot showers (5 soles). After 3 days of that hike hellz yea I´m going at it. Everytime I passed a girl I got happier because that was a girl I beat to the shower. I had no problems getting a shower when I arrived back in good time. People behind me were a different matter. I saw the lines to the shower later on reaching into the night. Sucks for them.
Day 4 (the Site)
Wake up time–4:00 AM. The porters had to catch the early train home or else they won´t be able to leave until nearly 6:00 PM. Everyone was on a rush high and we waited by the start gate. I got up in the rush. And I must say, I´ve never hiked that fast for that long a period. The other days hermesreplica.to I just went at it at my own speed but I was tailing it today because there were these douches behind me I refuse to lose to. So I climbed up each fucking step with a fevor and when we got to the gringo killer stair hike I fucking bolted up there. We finally arrived to the Sun Gate but unfortunately that early in the day the Cloud Forest was still at its peak and I saw nothing but clouds. Then I hiked downhill for another 45 mins – 1 hour to Machu Picchu and at first it was consumed in clouds and I couldn´t help but thing ¨Great…I was fortunate in weather this whole trip with no rain and today I can´t see anything!¨ But by 8:30 AM everything cleared and low and behold…the best view in the world. It was all worth and I can´t say enough how awesome the whole experience was. Everyone capable should do it. Taking a train to the site if you´re able to do the hile is pussy shit. You get no pride and glory.
I certainly am filled with it.
What you need to bring/carry:
- Backpack
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping mattress
- Rain jacket or poncho (plastic ponchos can be purchased in Cusco for a few dollars)
- Strong, comfortable footwear
- One complete change of clothing (you can afford to carry more changes of clothing if you hire
a personal porters , see options below) - Sweater and jacket (something warm)
- Water bottle and purification tablets (Micropur are recommended and can be bought in local pharmacies in Cusco)
- Flashlight and batteries
- Hat or cap to protect you from the sun
- Sun block (sun protection cream
- Insect repellent
- Toiletries, towel and toilet paper
- Selection of small snacks, chocolate, dried fruit, biscuits etc,
- Camera, plenty of
film and spare batteries - Swimsuit
- You also need to bring your original passport on the trail.
if you deside do this walk, I recommend this companies that I saw in the road, very good.
I will not say with which I
Enigma www.enigmaperu.com
Llama Path www.llamapath.com
All Trek www.alltrekcusco.com
