Tuesday – Oct 3, 2017 Llulluchapampa to Phuyupatamarca

Inca Trail Day 3

It was another beautiful sunny day. We got up at 5am and this time I didn’t bring my tea into the tent, but left it outside under the fly beside our bowls of water. Everyone was excited about the challenges the day of trekking would bring. We were all hustling to get going after breakfast when Russell suddenly took off in the direction of the washroom. Peter, our cook, was distributing the water and snacks, so I filled up Russell’s water bottles and got his snack for him. Snack today was a passion fruit and dried banana chips. We were all ready to go at 6am perfectly according to plan. That’s when everyone else seemed to realize that Russell had disappeared. Carlos was asking one of the porters if he knew where Russell was, and the porter pointed in the direction of the toilet block.

After several minutes, Carlos gathered up Russell’s backpack and poles and we all took off to the toilets. Carlos didn’t say anything, but it was obvious that he was getting impatient to get going. It was going to be a very long day and hiking after dark wasn’t something any of us wanted to do on the Inca trail. Another ten minutes or so later, Russell finally joined us. He’d had to do some emergency laundry and the giant washing trough had come in handy for that. We set off at about 6:20am

The day began with a steady ascent up to Warmiwanusqa Pass (4,200m/13,692ft), which is more commonly called Dead Woman’s Pass. It isn’t known who the dead woman was or even if there was a dead woman at all. Many put the name down to the fact that the pass resembles a woman lying on her back as if dead (and the pass runs between her breasts).

We could make out the pass from the trail shortly after leaving our campsite, and the ascent looked deceptively simple. It reminded me a bit of climbing Masatiompom mountain to the col on Brandon Mountain on the Dingle Way in Ireland. Approaching it from a distance it looked like a rolling hill, but it was a hard climb and every time we turned around we were amazed at how high we had gotten in a short distance.

Thankfully we had already climbed 1,350 of the 1,710 meters to get up to the first pass, so we ‘only’ had 360 meters left to climb (in over slightly more than 2 km).

The path was parallel to the Quebrada river up to its source and then across the puna (grassland) and over a section of paved path, which was laid in 1998 to protect the mountain from erosion.

We stopped part way up and had a snack and caught our breath. I asked Carlos if many of the trekkers he’d guided had needed oxygen along the way. He had a tank in his backpack in case someone developed altitude sickness (AMS). He said he sometimes had trekkers ask him for oxygen when he knew they didn’t need it, and he would tell them so. Some had gone on to insist on him giving them some oxygen, so he’d ‘pretend’ to give them oxygen, and they all felt better just thinking they had gotten some. He said it does occasionally happen that a trekker develops a severe form of altitude sickness, and in that case porters would carry them by stretcher off the trail and get them transported to the hospital. Once, he had a man die in his tent during the night.  He had had a heart problem he hadn’t told anyone about.

As we rested we were passed by several groups of porters powering their way up. Most of them were fairly young looking, and it looked like many of them were exceeding the 20kg per pack max.

Russell and I got musing about the trek. This trek was different from all the other pilgrimages we have gone on in the sense that virtually all our attention was focused on where we were going to put our feet at every given moment. Popular psychology today tells us that being mindful, being present, being conscious of life as you live it is the only way to live life to the fullest. This trek exacted mindfulness.

Almost at the top.

What a feeling of accomplishment at the top. And relief that we survived the altitude. We took another well-deserved break (along with a few dozen porters) and enjoyed the rewarding views afforded by the ascent we’d just conquered! Altogether, including numerous breaks, it took us about 3.5 hours to get over the pass from our campsite this morning. Thank heavens we did it early, it was already 25ºC at 10am.

Our next challenge was the descent to the Pacaymayo River that lay ahead. From the broad saddle that marks the pass, the path descends steeply and swiftly into the neighbouring valley, plummeting 850 meters in just over 1.5 kilometers.

We ran into other trekkers today, something we hadn’t done on the first two days. One of the joys of the Camino to Santiago was meeting fellow pilgrims, either on the road or when sharing meals. You fall naturally into fellowship, sharing stories and getting to know a small but profound slice of one another’s lives. Since it took your full attention to navigate most of the Inca trail, any conversation with other trekkers was mainly limited to break times, and during the meals shared with Carlos, Mike and Sue-Anne. But we still felt an intense bond with the other trekkers we met along the way, just by sharing in such an awe-inspiring landscape and incredible journey. I noticed that most of the other trekkers we met, both on and off the trail, were much younger than us. I found a lot of hope in the fact that, so many young people are interested in making such a journey.

I had managed to be way out in front of everyone on the last part of that descent. On the steep ascents on this trek, I seemed to always be bringing up the rear. I have been suffering a bit with shortness of breath for the last few years and I got some Ventolin from my doctor before we left. I went for a breathing test after I got back home, and it turns out that I have asthma which is apparently causing a condition where my lungs don’t expel the air I breath in properly (ie, they trap carbon dioxide).  At least I have a more valid excuse than being out of shape for my shortness of breath, especially on the steep climbs at high altitudes. The Ventolin was helping.

At the bottom of that dizzying descent was Pacamayo campsite, a vast, sprawling campsite set amidst some scrubby trees, adjacent to the Pacamayo river. According to our guide, it is popular with large tour groups, and although the facilities are good here, with two toilet blocks, it is often noisy and crowded.

It was very noisy and busy when I arrived at the campsite.  This time I made sure to follow the first sign I saw to the toilet blocks, to avoid any unnecessary subsequent climbing. Back on the trail through the campsite, I was soon greeted by one of our porters, who invited me to sit.  The rest of the group soon arrived.  Mike and Russell (and Carlos as well, I suspect) had been having a few issues with their knees.  The porter offered us tea and a ham sandwich, to tide us over until lunch. It was the best sandwich I’ve ever had.

From the Pacamayo camp the path climbed very steeply up a series of steps, crossing two bridged sections over precipitous drops where the original trail has crumbled away, to the Inca ruins of Runcu Raccay. We had magnificent views over the valley below while climbing. The 500-meter ascent on this section included 170 steps (I think that’s what Carlos said) from the trail to get to the ruins, but it was well worth the extra climb.

The climb on this section of the trail (500 m) was much easier than today’s portion of the climb up to the first pass (360 m) for one obvious reason.  The altitude was much higher on the first climb.  Runcu Raccay was at an altitude of 3850 meters, which is close to the altitude of our camp this morning, compared to an altitude of 4200 meters at the first pass. From Runcu Raccay we had an outstanding view back to Dead Woman’s Pass.

IRuncu Raccay is perched precariously above a high chasm on a large terrace with a superlative view across the valley. It is thought to have been a tambo for passing travelers. A tambo (Quechuan "inn") was an Inca structure built for administrative and military purposes. Found along Incan roads, tambos typically contained supplies and served as lodging for itinerant state personnel. The popular theory is that the site is a transitional building, taking travelers from the purely practical buildings in the Cusichaca Valley to the far more elaborate, significant structures closer to Machu Picchu. Its location would have been very deliberate though, with the Incas keen that people passing this way had the chance to venerate their surroundings.

Carlos explained the religious significance of the site to us, evident from the circular walls, and altars inside, as well as its significance as an astronomical observatory.

The second pass was about an hour up, beyond a series of false summits and at the top of a series of steep staircases. Just before the real pass, the path winds between two lakes. The ground around the lakes is boggy and trekkers are told to stay strictly on the gravel path so as not to damage the fragile eco-system.

The second pass is another broad saddle and offers exceptional views of the Pumasillo and Vilcabamba range. Below it the path again falls away steeply into the adjoining Aobamba Valley.

Having descended through a short tunnel the trail begins a series of tight switchbacks, dropping height quickly until it reaches a small viewpoint atop a promontory.  Beyond here the descent is more gradual and the path curls and coils across the slopes. To the right of the pass lies a large, algae-covered lake.

Ahead of us, the dramatically situated ruins of Sayac Marca were visible straddling a rocky spur high above the cloud forest. The ruins are protected on three sides by sheer cliffs that fall away to the jungle far below. No one is sure what these superb ruins were originally used for.

Around a hairpin bend and sitting in the shadow of Sayac Marca was a small set of ruins at Concha Marca. Tucked in a little valley and perched atop a series of tall, rounded terraces, these ruins were only uncovered in the early 1980’s.

Beyond those ruins lay a stretch of very attractive trail. The path skirts a series of precipices on stone slabs, most of which are of Inca origin, and contours through some very beautiful cloud forest.

We stopped for lunch at Chaquicocha, where some trekkers were setting up camp for the night. It was around 3:30pm, which made it a late lunch, but we left late and we may have been going a bit slow. We had had a sandwich around noon at Pacamayo, and I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. I was feeling exhausted at this point and was thinking it was too bad we weren’t staying there overnight. I asked Carlos if he ever had anyone crying and pleading to stop here for the day. He said, ‘Oh yes’, and proceeded to tell us some stories about that. It was another superb meal, and the opportunity to rest for close to an hour was certainly appreciated.

After lunch, the trail snaked steeply uphill, past two viewpoints. Then a section of intricately laid Inca paving lead down to an Inca tunnel. This 16m long corridor exploits a fault in the seemly sheer cliff that blocked the way ahead.

Emerging from the tunnel the path climbs again to the third pass. The walk along the ridge offered a leisurely respite from the day’s challenging ascents and long descents as well as incredible views of the beautiful Aobamba Valley below. We continued along the ridge through amazing landscapes and views of Mt. Salkantay on the western side, as well as Mt. Pumasillo silhouetted on the horizon to the north. We followed the flag-stoned trail until we arrived at our campsite at Phuyupatamarca, also known as “the village over the clouds.” We got there around 5:10pm, so maybe we made-up a bit for the late start.

There were other groups camping there, but they were separated from us physically, not visually. There were also toilet blocks, but I was hooked on the toilet tent by this point.

We were to meet for appetizers at 5:30 and dinner at 6pm. This was the day we were going to work out the tips for the porters. We had guidelines on how much we should tip if our group size was eight. We were only four, but we all agreed that the porters should still get the recommended tip, because they had worked so hard and looked after us so well.  If it hadn’t been for them, we wouldn’t have been able to make the journey.

Russell washed his face and then left me with the two bowls of water. I was so tired and sore from the day’s trek that it took me ages to have my bath.  By the time I made it to the dining tent, the others had worked everything out about the tips and it was dinner time. I still managed to taste some of the appetizer that evening, which was delicious, and the soup was so good that that was all Carlos had for supper. It was raining a bit that evening and very foggy. It also wasn’t easy to get between tents (dining, sleeping, toilet) because they were on different rocks with steep drops between them, and it was slippery from the rain.

We left our poles outside the tent when we went to bed, but the porters picked them up and put them in the dining tent overnight, which was much appreciated.

I was awakened at around 3am by a lot of activity around the campsite. I didn’t know what was happening, and was concerned that Mike and Sue-Anne were having a problem. It turned out that some of the other groups of campers had gotten up that early to arrive at the Sun Gate at sunrise. I asked Carlos about that later, it sounded like it might be very spiritual to arrive there at sunrise. He said there are a few problems with that. For one, you would miss the beautiful scenery on the last part of the trail, walking along in the dark with a bunch of bobbing headlamps; you would be tired when you arrived at Machu Picchu, from the lack of sleep; and, it is often very foggy early in the morning and you don’t even see the sunrise.

A bit later, I had to go to the bathroom.  I decided it would be too dangerous with all the slippery rocks to try to get to the toilet tent in the dark, fog and rain, and just went outside the tent.

We didn’t have too far to walk tomorrow, so wake-up wasn’t until 7am.

Day 3 Distance: 14km; Ascent: 1030m; Descent: 1080 m; Elapsed time 10.5hr (6:20am to 5:10pm); Moving Time: 7hr.