Day 2 of the Inca Trail is known as the toughest day, and I’m enormously proud of the positive way the GradyBunch approached the day.
With Coca tea ‘tent service’ to wake us at 5am, and porridge to fuel us, it again showed the enormous effort that the chefs and porters go to for tourists. Our chef even added art to the morning, with each person receiving a different Inca drawing on their pancake! We loved the Llama and the Condor.
The climb was broken into 3 sections with the first 2km from Wayllabamba to Ayapata the easiest. The terrain was steep, but primarily dirt slope. The scenery looking over the Andes was amazing, as was the variety of wildflowers. All the while, mountain streams roared alongside us.
The second section was harder with hundreds of huge stairs along the path. These have been built in recent years to counter the damage that is done by the local people and horses, and tourists.
This section had a shady rainforest feel with a range of trees with colourful flowers either side. The flora on this trip has been stunning.
Alex also managed to find some fauna, although I don’t think its native! This puppy was leaping up the stairs, hanging out with a hiker for a while, and then moving on to the next group.
Llullucha marks the end of the second section, and is the last place to buy water or other supplies for the remainder of the day. We grabbed 2.5 l of water for $8AUD, which seemed ridiculously reasonable considering the location! These ladies were doing a roaring trade in Pringles, beer and other alcohol… I just can’t imagine carrying it all 16km uphill!!!
The final section to Dead Woman’s Pass was the steepest, with a mix of track and stairs cut into the side of the mountain. The edges were grassy and exposed, adding to the sense of height. This also allowed us to see the amazing view back to the valley.
Dead Woman’s Pass is the highest point of the Trail at 4215m. It was estimated that it would take us 2 hours to reach the pass, but in just over an hour we reached the top, and were greeted with amazing views of the mountains on both sides.
There are 2 schools of thought about the name… one is that a lot of bones were found there when Westerners first found the Trail, and these were thought to be offerings of young girls. The other is that it looks like a dead woman lying down. I prefer the latter! It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with losing tourists 🙂
As we arrived the clouds came in, rain fell, and the temperature dropped significantly. We spent half an hour or so enjoying the view, and celebrating our achievement before we headed down to our camp.
The steps down were steep and tough after a morning of climbing. The path on this side of the mountain is all laid with stone, but very uneven. You can understand why the guides are more concerned about hikers on the way down than the way up.
Meanwhile the Porters fly down the mountain at break neck speed, still with their 25kg on their back! A few Porters worked out the power of yelling ‘Porter back’ to get everyone to move to the side for them. The practice was also new to the Americans in our group.
Again, the Trail ended with a cheer from the team when we arrived. Someone meets us at the Trail, leads us to the campsite and must make a special call as we get close. Everyone drops what they’re doing, runs to the campsite entry and cheers for each person – it’s a lovely, genuine gesture.
Camp tonight is at Paq’aymayu, at about 3900m. It’s going to be a cold one!!! There are showers, but with no hot water… I think I’ll pass!
At the end of the day our 17 porters and 2 chefs were introduced to us personally. They were all mid-20s or mid-40s, some with a couple of ‘bambinos’, and many having spent a number of years with G-Adventures. Their names were distinctly Spanish – Julio, Porfirio, Adolfo, Leonardo, Demetria, Fernando and Edmundo, and they all came from local communities. It is clear that G-Adventures look after their team, with uniforms, good shoes, good working conditions, and insurance in the event of an accident. Great team.
At the end of the day our 17 porters and 2 chefs were introduced to us personally. They were all mid-20s or mid-40s, some with a couple of ‘bambinos’, and many having spent a number of years with G-Adventures. Their names were distinctly Spanish – Julio, Porfirio, Adolfo, Leonardo, Demetria, Fernando and Edmundo, and they all came from local communities. It is clear that G-Adventures look after their team, with uniforms, good shoes, good working conditions, and insurance in the event of an accident. Great team.
So, as we close a tough day, I reiterate how proud I am of the tough, positive, approach that all theBunch took to the day that saw us walk into camp first in the group, with a sense of achievement and huge smiles!
Love M & theBunch x
Love M & theBunch x
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