Arg!!  The weather on the entire Inka Trail was *perfect*…. until the very last day.  We awoke at 4am to make our way to the Sun Gate, *the* place to see the sunrise….  We really booked it and we were the third & forth people there.  And by there… I mean a big wall of white fog.  🙂 The “vista” above Machu Picchu wasn’t that much better.  Our guides kept saying that it would clear… and then around 8:30am, it finally did….   the llamas, also upset by the fog….    yep, that’s machu picchu.  not exactly how i envisioned …

The third day of the Inka trail might have been my favorite.  The hiking was challenging, but not ridiculous.  And we started early enough that we were able to see many of the small ruins all by ourselves….                  

Day 2 was by fair the roughest day.  We started out hiking up to Llulluchupampa.  This was a steep 3km and we were all feeling it by the time we got there.  From there, we were heading to Dead Woman’s Pass (or Warmiwañusca).  At 4198m (13,772 ft) it is definitely up there.  The last 200m was the worst.  You pass through 3 stages: Excitement – you can see the top.  Exhaustion – each step takes absolute effort.  Extreme exhaustion – you’re inches from the top but each step now takes 15 second.     made it to llulluchupampa!   you …

The first day of was pretty easy.  It was about 16km and 6 hours of walking along the Urubamba River  But we were at our lowest elevation point  of 2380m (7,808 ft), which was even lower than Cuzco.  The climb was very modest to Wayllabamba at 3100m (10,170 ft), our first camp site.   me, around 7am.  on the bus, en route for the trail.  photo op break.   the start of the trail.  we were very lucky and had a very fun treking group.   friendly visitor – donkey!     our first camp site.

I first began wanting to go to Peru a couple years ago.  My main motivation was to do the 4 day trek to Machu Picchu.  I had heard amazing things about the Machu Picchu ruins.  And I just imagined hiking through the Andes and finally coming upon the ruins… Well, the trail and Machu Picchu lived up to all my expectations.  It was an amazing experience. Some basic info about the trail: 33 km (22 miles) in 4 days Lowest point:  2380m (7,808 ft) Highest point:  4200m (13,779 ft)   If you’re heading out on the trail, a few thoughts …