Inca Trail - Day Two

Official wake-up was at 6am though I heard the porters rustling about, unzipping flaps and calling out quietly "Morning - cocoa tea or coffee, madam?" I opened the inner flap to find two men outside, one holding a tray of cups and the other a steaming canister of tea. Shortly thereafter, as I was packing up my clothes and gear, another brought a basin of warm water and a bar of soap for a quick wash.

For breakfast in the communal tent: bread, jam, quinoa porridge and pancakes filled with apple. Water was waiting outside for us to fill our water bottles. Within 45 minutes we were on our way. Our tents had been taken down while we were eating and were well on their way to the next campsite. I left camp in long pants, short-sleeved shirt, arm warmers, wool hat and fleece. Within the hour I was stripped down to shorts and shirt. It was 8 degrees when we left.

In my notes that night, I wrote: I am in camp right now so it is easy to feel rather kindly about today. It was brutal. Sophie and I ended up alone at the back. The going in the morning up Dead Woman's Pass (1200 metres - steps - up in 3 hours, I think) was so hard, we decided to pick out markers maybe 30-40 steps ahead and just get to that. We had to stop to catch our breath. Thankfully Effrey gave us the room to do so for the most part. My legs felt like jello when we stopped and concrete when we pushed on. I could recover my breath fast enough when we stopped but within 10 steps I was gasping again. Even an emergency sports gel didn`t help. Toward the end, at the high altitude, we were down to 10 steps and a break, 10 steps and a break. The rest of our group made it to the top and were waiting for us. I was having trouble breathing for the last 100 metres. Effrey came up and poured a liquid into my hands, got me to rub them together very quickly for heat and then hold my hands over my nose and breathe deeply. That really helped. I asked him later what that was - aguaflorida, for altitude sickness.

Reaching the top was glorious and for me, my second favourite memory of the trek. It took us 4 hours to reach the summit, including breaks. It wasn`t quite cold enough for fleece on the sheltered side but standing up in the open, I really was happy to have mine. Effrey showed us the glaciers in the distance and told us how much they had receeded just over 3 years. They provide most of the farmers' water so he was worried about how they would make out in the future.

Coming down the other side was a treat for me. After lagging at the back, I positively skipped down the stairs on the other side for 2 more hours, though I almost twisted my ankle a few times. 6 1/2 hours of hiking, including breaks.

The camp is next to a small river. Some of us soaked my feet in the cold water. Luxurious place, for there are toilets that flush and a place to sit, not squat. Beautiful views of the valley. By 4pm I had my wooly long johns and fleece on as it was quite cold. This is the campsite at the highest altitude so the coldest of the 3.

Effrey offered us hot water bottles (gatorade bottles filled with boiled water) - I took one as I had given my heat sticks to the 4 people who froze last night (the warmest night) and it was very cozy in my rented down-filled mummy sleeping bag - I had to take off most of my layers to sleep. Again cards, an amazing three course dinner and then off to bed at 7. I felt bad we had taken that long as the porters sleep in our dining tent and several were shivering outside.