Another beautiful high altitude day dawns bright, with a few clouds moving across the face of the mountain.
Just stay to the left and the trail leads up and up, following just above a nice mountain stream.
Higher and higher, but the trail was good walking and the scenery magnificent. The grade was gradual. We saw another condor hanging around.
We walked into a small meadow you can see at the left in the photo. Here we're looking down on it. If you have a magnifying glass, you would be able to see the Lodge where we stayed right down in the center of the picture just above the horses."Primo" is on the right with his pack horses named "Rambo" and "Motor." Make sure you get the Spanish accents on the names: Rahhhmbo and Mowtorr. Primo followed us all the way with emergency equipment and extra water. I think if someone just couldn't walk anymore, he/she could ride out.
Salkantay Mountain just kept getting bigger and bigger. We're almost to the glaciated moraine field on the right side of the photo.
What you don't see is the 14 very steep switchbacks that we negotiated getting up to this point.
And just like any hike up a mountain, you think you're getting there and you're not . . . yet. This the last meadow before the last assault.
It was interesting too, that cattle were grazing all the way up - for sure up to the 14,000 height.
In the steep places, I was counting 30 steps, rest 10-30 seconds, 30 steps, rest, 30 steps, rest. All the other group members were ahead of us, but we didn't care. We were having fun doing our 30 steps - or at least we were getting there slowly.
Sometimes setting one foot in front of the other and not thinking ahead or in the past is just enough to get you where you need to go.
AND WE MADE IT!!!
We're greeted by a sign and a huge pile of rocks that people had added over a great number of years. Just to prove it, I took a picture of my altimeter. According to the sign, the altimeter was within 11 vertical feet. It was the highest that I had ever been on my own two feet!!!!
You wouldn't think this picture is worth much, but Dalmiro pointed out a stretch of trail off to the side of the current trail that was built by the Incas. If you look close, you can see the rock steps and the fact that it was cleared of extraneous rocks. It felt good to walk down a trail that was hundreds of years old.
Then we were on our way down another long valley.
But the good news? A tent with 14 camp chairs and folding tables - complete with a hot lunch of quinoa soup, hot pasta, with pear in wine sauce for dessert. It was cloudy and cold when we ate, but I hauled my camp chair out of the tent and drank some hot coffee in the sunshine and looked down the valley.
The totals? We climbed about 2500 vertical feet and then walked down about the same number - and for a total distance of 8 miles.
The walk down was very pleasant, without too much steep trail to it - but it was constant on one's leg muscles and knees.
And it was a relief to see the Wayra Lodge nestled in the clouds.
ML walks the last steps up to the Lodge. I think I liked this lodge the best - it was a bit smaller and more intimate. All of them were well designed and built of local rock and wood.
We were greeted with a warm towel and a cold drink. Wow, a person could get used to this.
I was goofing around later that evening outside the lodge and got this photo of Humantay Mountain peeking above the clouds.
It was hard to think that just the day before we were on the other side of that mountain getting blessed by Bictor.
Time to get in the hot tub and find a glass of Tacama tinto.
What a great day.
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