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Other entries in Lares

Lares Trial

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, July 2^nd to 4^th, Lares Trail

This is it!!  Started the day with a 3 hour bus ride to Lares, elevation about 3,000 metres.  First order of business was to visit a hot spring and rest our relaxed and untested body in a wonderful series of hot pools. We got the order all wrong and entered the hottest pool first (105F), but it was enjoyable all the same.  After a nice lunch we were off for the first leg of the hike, a 7 K hike to 3,800 metres.  This was an easy trek, but you could feel the altitude, so you took it easy.  Our porters had set up our tents when we arrived.  When we got to our first campsite, it was still light, but by 6 PM, it was dark and around 0 C.  After dinner, we admired the stars of the southern hemisphere, which were as clear as could be, with the Milky Way clearly visible.  Had to put on long johns, as much clothing as possible, two thick jackets, gloves, a touk and whatever might keep me warm. With all my clothing on and a minus 20 C sleeping bag I passed out at 8:30, awaking in a sweat at 3 and taking off some of the clothing.  Got up at 6 AM to discover frost on the tents, your belongings littered around you in the tent, and a few sore muscles.

Earlier, in July 2007, I did the Inca trail. That was then, this is now.  Over the three intervening years I have got my act together, married Jane and started a new life in Hong Kong.  I asked Jane if she was keen to visit Machu Picchu and she was most enthusiastic.  There are two hiking trails to Machu Picchu, one being the famed Inca Trail and the other, the Lares trail.  The Inca Trail is 4 days/3 nights, maximum elevation 4,250 metres, about 40 K and follows the trail that the Incas used to reach MP.  This path goes thru a mountain valley and over two mountain passes.  It has thousands of steps and visits rain and cloud forests, ending directly at the MP site.  This was my trek in 2007.  As luck would have it, all the Inca Trail passes were sold out, so we got to do the Lares Trail.  This trail is 3 days/2 nights, maximum elevation 4,510 metres, passes though wide valleys, about 30 K, very few steps (but a constant incline or decline) and visits several local communities.  Along this route you see the local highland people, wild llamas/alpacas, lots of spectacular snow covered mountain peaks and children eager to exchange a photo for a loaf of bread.

The first day’s hike is relatively easy (7K), going from 3,300 metres to 3,800 and overnighting at this elevation.  Our group was ten guests, 7 women and 3 men plus 2 guides, 3 or 4 llamas, a few horses, 2 porters and 2 cooks. 

Day two of the hike was the killer day.  After breakfast, we started the long ascent to 4,510 metres. The incline was gentle but unending.  Initially it was OK to soldier on, but by the second hour, I was starting to feel the altitude.  By the third hour, it was a dozen steps and look behind you, take several deep breaths and continue forward.  In the distance you could see your goal, a bit of the mountain in front of you. Although we were quite high, it was sunny and warm, so I wore only shorts and a t-shirt.  The valley ahead of me was wide and it was not always clear which path to follow.  Far ahead were some of the group,  and behind us was the first ill hiker.  Reached the summit/pass of 4,510 metres around 1 PM, got the photos to prove we did it and started the descent.  About 200 metres and 45 minutes later, lunch was waiting.  Our second and third ill colleagues were stretched out on the ground taking oxygen, or emptying their stomachs.  We had covered 5 K so far and had 9 more to go.  After heading down for about one hour, Jane got ill (casualty number 4) and could not go further, so she was put on a horse.  I continued downward for what seemed an eternity and got to the second campsite at 5:30, at 3,800 metres altitude again.  I had been hiking for about 10 continuous hours and was, to put it mildly, in an exhausted and foul mood.  It was suggested by some of my colleagues that I was incoherent and not my gritty self.  Jane was sleeping in the tent and feeling poorly.  Rested for a while, ate what was described as dinner and was in my sleeping bag by 8, with the only adjustment being that I took off my boots.  Day two was the killer day, but I survived.

Day three started and continued to be an easier day.  It was not as cold overnight and I felt rested.  After breakfast, we headed down a dirt road for 14 K passing through villages, open valleys and along a stream.  Jane was feeling well again, but a fifth member of the team (the doctor) was now very ill from altitude sickness. The scenery now was high mountain peaks (5,000K plus) to the left and right, as we followed an arid valley.  In a few months the fields would be planted with potatoes and corn, but for now they were fallow.  We walked into Ollyantamba (where we had started from three days earlier) and took a late afternoon train to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu where folks who take the train in from Cusco and stay before and after visiting the site.  For us hikers it was a joy to arrive here the day before as we could rest and take a shower (and for some recover from whatever had ailed them on the hike).

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