Peru - Inca Trail Day 2

Inca Trail Day 2

Distance 9km

Altitude change 3100m - 4200m - 3600m

After a great nights sleep we were woken at 5am by one of our beautiful porters with the offer of a hot tea and some warm water to wash in. The morning was misty and the low cloud cover in the valley was stunning. We left camp around 0630 climbing towards Dead Woman’s Pass which is at 4200m. This mountain pass is so named because from a distance it appears like a woman lying on her back. The actual mountain we climbed over is the woman’s breast, nipple and all!

The morning was tough! The weather was cool and drizzly and the clouds did not really ever lift so there was no view to admire, although the rainforest we walked through was gorgeous. We climbed up for about 3 hours arriving at the top of the pass at 0937am, almost our guides record. One of our group members was there to meet us though, Jess had trudged up this mountain at a rate of knots arriving at the top at 0905! We took some photos, laid our stones in a tower as an offering to Pacha Mama (Mother Earth) asking for better weather and a safe passage, ate some snacks (Snickers), and continued on our way as it was absolutely freezing!!!

The descent was steep and consisted primarily of Incan steps which are stone steps and paths of uneven shapes and sizes. With the persistent rain and slippery surface of the rocks, the descent was also quite treacherous. The scenery on the way down was beautiful, there were some spectacular waterfalls and the mountains were stunning. We arrived at our camp with sore knees but in one piece at 11.15am, just after our porters who had passed us only about 15min before the camp.  Thankfully the rain had eased so we were able to enjoy a brief period of sunshine while our tents were being erected and we waited for the rest of our group to arrive. Joined by Jess, we killed an hour or so playing Uno in our tent waiting for the remaining four members of our group to arrive at camp. We then enjoyed a fabulous lunch and relaxed for the afternoon resting our weary legs in preparation for the long day ahead tomorrow.

After dinner we were again in bed by 8pm.