The Inca Trail
Luck is all a matter of perspective. The good, the bad, and the ugly all depend on how you look at it. And happiness comes under your control when you choose the best angle. A week ago, if you had told me I'd finish the Inca Trail to find a rainy day at Machu Picchu, I might have been dissapointed and felt unlucky. But when it turned out that way, I couldn't have felt more differently.
The "Inca Trail" is the name given to a piece of the vast system of roads and trails built to expand and serve the Inca empire through the Andes and beyond. This piece that I had signed up to traverse leads from the floor of the "Sacred Valley" of the Urubamba river, up into the foothills of the Vilcabamba range, and above the sacred river to the ruins of Machu Picchu. As we left Cuzco, we heard that rain was expected, but the forecast only made it 2 days into our 4 day trek. Our first day was pretty much true to form with a bit of sun in the morning and some light rain in the afternoon. As we climbed up to our camp at around 3700 m, it wasn't too bad.
Then things got interesting. After a night of little sleep due to the constant feeling that our tents would be blown off the mountain, we awoke to find that the rain had gone solid on us. As we trudge up through the pelting snow to "dead woman's pass" at 4200 m, I was sure that we'd walked straight into the first Lord of the Rings movie. Luckily, despite the wind, snow, and altitude, our fellowship had more luck and we made it to the other side. But the rest of that day and the day after were filled with constant rain or snow. With a 4 am wake up call looming over the last night, we went to bed early in hopes that the rain would pass. But pass it did not and we set out in the dark and rain on the forth day to head for Machu Picchu.
This had all finally started to get to me and I was feeling that luck had abandoned me this time. But then the rain retreated momentarily to leave only clouds shrouding the mountains. And when we crested the top of the Sun Gate and saw Machu Picchu there below, even in the pallid, grey light, it was an incredibly beautiful sight. The rain continued to fall intermittently throughout the day, but we were able to make our way through the ruins. A few of us even made the treacherous scramble up to the top of Huayna Picchu for the 360 degree view.
We got pretty damn wet and cold. We missed the panoramic views that most encounter. We didn't get the classic postcard photos that we'd hoped for. But we left with a real sense of accomplishment, having made it through the snowy pass. The day after we came through, it was closed. We got to experience the very rare event of snow falling in the cloud forest, something that hasn't happened here for 10 - 20 years. We were given a much greater appreciation for the rugged strength of the Inca people that inhabited these high places without Gore-Tex. And most importantly, we actually made it and got to experience Machu Picchu, even in the rain. So we were lucky. Damn lucky.
Anyway, I'm rambling again (what's new). I hope all is well with everyone and please write back to help me as I return to the world of the working. :-(
Take care,
Justin
The "Inca Trail" is the name given to a piece of the vast system of roads and trails built to expand and serve the Inca empire through the Andes and beyond. This piece that I had signed up to traverse leads from the floor of the "Sacred Valley" of the Urubamba river, up into the foothills of the Vilcabamba range, and above the sacred river to the ruins of Machu Picchu. As we left Cuzco, we heard that rain was expected, but the forecast only made it 2 days into our 4 day trek. Our first day was pretty much true to form with a bit of sun in the morning and some light rain in the afternoon. As we climbed up to our camp at around 3700 m, it wasn't too bad.
Then things got interesting. After a night of little sleep due to the constant feeling that our tents would be blown off the mountain, we awoke to find that the rain had gone solid on us. As we trudge up through the pelting snow to "dead woman's pass" at 4200 m, I was sure that we'd walked straight into the first Lord of the Rings movie. Luckily, despite the wind, snow, and altitude, our fellowship had more luck and we made it to the other side. But the rest of that day and the day after were filled with constant rain or snow. With a 4 am wake up call looming over the last night, we went to bed early in hopes that the rain would pass. But pass it did not and we set out in the dark and rain on the forth day to head for Machu Picchu.
This had all finally started to get to me and I was feeling that luck had abandoned me this time. But then the rain retreated momentarily to leave only clouds shrouding the mountains. And when we crested the top of the Sun Gate and saw Machu Picchu there below, even in the pallid, grey light, it was an incredibly beautiful sight. The rain continued to fall intermittently throughout the day, but we were able to make our way through the ruins. A few of us even made the treacherous scramble up to the top of Huayna Picchu for the 360 degree view.
We got pretty damn wet and cold. We missed the panoramic views that most encounter. We didn't get the classic postcard photos that we'd hoped for. But we left with a real sense of accomplishment, having made it through the snowy pass. The day after we came through, it was closed. We got to experience the very rare event of snow falling in the cloud forest, something that hasn't happened here for 10 - 20 years. We were given a much greater appreciation for the rugged strength of the Inca people that inhabited these high places without Gore-Tex. And most importantly, we actually made it and got to experience Machu Picchu, even in the rain. So we were lucky. Damn lucky.
Anyway, I'm rambling again (what's new). I hope all is well with everyone and please write back to help me as I return to the world of the working. :-(
Take care,
Justin
posted by Justin Callison at 8:35 PM
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