Macchu Picchu, Peru - Hike Day 1

Surveying the Changes
I hiked Macchu Picchu for the first time 22 years ago.  Since then it has become more popular.  So much so that the Peruvian government instituted many new regulations.  The most important being that they've limited the number of hikers on the trail to 500 a day.  That is probably ten times the number that was on the trail when I first went.  Matter of fact, I don't recall seeing any other hikers the entire time 22 years ago - we had it to ourselves.  At 5am our guide picked us up at our apartment and we got on the bus to join the other 14 in our group: 4 Australians, 1 English woman and 9 Americans.  It would prove to be an interesting mix of characters.  The ring leader of the characters presented herself on the bus ride, unprompted, this way "Hi, I'm Maya, I'm Lebanese but was born and raised in Baltimore and I now live in Hawaii.  I am probably going to be the biggest complainer of the group.  Ok, you're turn."  Nobody responded.  I slunk down in my seat and rolled my eyes.  She is the only person in the photo whose face you cannot see.  She never wanted to be in any group pictures and always volunteered to take the photo so she didn't have to be in it.

As an introduction, the Inca Trail starts at the Urubamba river, climbs up away from it, over a mountain range and back, ending up at Macchu Picchu, which peers down on the same river.  Our main guide Manuel joked "be careful, if you fall into the river, you will be in Macchu Picchu in 30 minutes."  In other words, the trail is not direct.  It is the "religious path" to Macchu Picchu and it is meant to be difficult.  It is usually split into 4 days, the second day being the hardest since you climb over 4,000 feet in a single day.

After a three hour bus ride, we got off at kilometer 82, donned our gear and waited to head off.  I tried on my pack and it felt heavy.  This is another big difference caused by the new regulations.  The porters are now only allowed to carry a certain amount of weight.  In the old days, they'd load them up with 75, 80 and even 100 lbs.  Now, since there is a limit, the hikers themselves have to carry more.  I estimate my pack was around 20lbs, which doesn't seem like much but going uphill at high altitude with it makes all the difference.

After five minutes of hiking we had to wait at a checkpoint.  The Peruvian National Parks service checks your ticket against your passport to ensure the exact number of daily hikers are let in.  These checkpoints are new - we didn't have to do this 20 years ago.  We waited for 30 minutes to get through and once we'd crossed the bridge it was a slow and steady hike up from 8,300 feet to 9,600 for the rest of the day.  This was known as the "easy day."

No changes to the beauty of the surrounding mountains - it's still a stunning landscape.  It was threatening to rain - this is the beginning of the 6 month rainy season.  It was about 55 degrees.

After an hour of hiking we arrived at our first ruin.  Since the Inca had no written language they left no record of the trail or the purpose of the buildings along it.  Anthropologists and archaeologists argue about this and the debate hasn't ended.  Some believe this was an administrative center, kind of an ancient checkpoint.  Others argue this was an agricultural site - a place where they'd grow the types of crops that can handle this elevation - quinoa, corn, etc.

At the southern edge of the ruin was a steep trail to a lookout point.  Manny, our main guide, took off his pack and sat down, explaining that climbing it was optional.  I looked over at Dodo and she said "let's do it."  It was treacherously narrow and steep and I sprinted up to get it over with.  I wasn't sure that was the right move when I got to the top.  It took almost two minutes of deep breathing to catch my breath.

This is a view from the top, looking up the valley towards our destination.

We took a rest stop once an hour or so.  During the first two days we'd be able to buy water and snacks from the small villages along the trail so we took advantage.  At this first stop, I made friends with a kitten and immediately struck up a conversation with one of the Americans, a young woman named Lauren who was an animal lover.  She was from Tampa Bay and worked for a newspaper there.  She didn't look to be fit enough for the hike, she was a tad overweight and had never hiked nor been at elevation before.

Our porters, whom the guides told us to refer to as Chaskis, were a hard working bunch.  While we slowly shuffled along the trail, they were at a full sprint ahead of us, carrying the food, tents and cooking equipment.  They would setup the lunch tent at the half way point of the day and the chef would begin to whip up a wonderful meal.

Our first lunch started with avocados that Manny had picked along the trail.

Almost every meal included soup, which was perfect since you'd quickly get chilly once you'd stopped hiking.  The main course almost always included rice, potato, quinoa or all three and some kind of meat.

After lunch we started off again.  I had a headache the whole time - from the first step onwards.  I was not used to lugging so much weight.  Dodo had a lighter pack and even she was feeling it.  Another American, a young guy named Alec said "It's not the pack, it's the altitude."  He was kidding himself, it was both.  I didn't want to think about tomorrow, the hardest day of all.  If I were feeling like this on the easy day then the hardest day was going to be a challenge.

We reached camp at 4pm and I got inside my sleeping bag and rested.  If they'd let me, I'd have stayed there until the next morning.  Dodo poked and prodded me and we eventually went outside to chat with our fellow hikers.  I took an immediate liking to Matt and Leanne, an older couple from Australia.  They told us the most amazing travel stories  - this was a couple who'd traveled more extensively than us.  They'd lived in Ireland for a year running a pub, they'd driven a caravan around India and Pakistan, they'd gone all over the place.  Before we knew it, dinner was ready.  I wolfed it down and was back in the tent and ready to sleep by 8pm.