up, up, up, down, up, down

The Inca Trail is a 4 day hike of 45kms. (For a great chart of the climbs and drops, see here.) Most travel companies bus people to "kilometre 82" (the start of the trail) and it's a 12-14km or so hike to the first campsite, which as far as I can tell, takes about 5-6 hours. That's the easy part.

Day 2 is the commonly-known "killer" day - During this part of the trail hikers are exposed to the Andean elements: first scorching sun and then, closer to the pass, freezing winds. 12kms, 9-11 hours hiking from 3000 meters (9,842 feet) to 4200 meters (13,779 feet), the Trail's highest point at Dead Woman's Pass. There is a celebratory shot of something at the top if you can catch your breath enough to gasp it down.

Day 3 sounds hard in a different way: steps, 2000 of them, going down. I think this is where my poles will come in handy. Beer, advil and a tepid shower at the third campsite. (16km, aprox. 6 hours)

Day 4: I'll be high on adrenalin so nothing will matter. We rise at 4:00am and trapse 5km (under 2 hours) in the dark to the Sun Gate to watch the sunrise over Machu Picchu.

Today I'm going on my second hike with the Bruce Trail Club (18km). These "practice" hikes are good for wearing in the new boots, building some leg muscle and learning where the trouble spots are. The first time I went, my feet were on fire for the last 10km and I couldn't stand that night. I now know all about blister surgery - which is surprisingly easy and painless - moleskin, socks, etc. I believe you can read all you want to prepare but that you also have to get out there and feel it.