The Inca Trail

What a perfect ending to our trip.


We ended up with a great group of 16 trekkers from around the world (Colorado, Norway, England, Australia, and Holland). Amazingly, Peru Treks assigned us 19 porters, two cooks, and two guides. We had quite the entourage and were one of the biggest groups we saw on the Inca Trail.


We quickly realized why our group needed so many porters... the food. The service on the trail was kind of incredible. We had hot, 4-course lunches and dinners each day and they brought around hot coffee and tea to our tents to wake us up in the mornings. Each meal was prepared and presented as if we were in a gourmet restaurant, not in a tent in the middle of a Peruvian hike. We also had extra porters because 12 out of the 16 of us hired personal porters to carry their gear, but Clint and I were tough (and cheap... mostly cheap) and carried our own.

(This porter holds the record for the fastest
time on the Inca Trail, which he set when they
still held races on it: 3 hrs and 50 mins for the
greuling, high-altitude, 26-mile trail)

The first day we only hiked about 4 hours, but got to see our first Inca ruin. It was an acclimation day and the hike was not very hard. We played cards at the campsite with new friends and watched the clouds clear from enormous moutains at sunset. It was pretty spectacular.


The second day was the hardest. We woke up at 5 a.m. and started hiking by 6:00. The trail rose 3,900 feet to ¨Dead Woman`s Pass,¨and it was brutal with our packs on. It started to rain before we reached the summit and we got soaked during the entire descent.

(An Inca tunnel during the descent.)

(There were beautiful flowers all along
the trail. We passed through nearly ten
ecosystems over four days.)

The rain cleared before we woke up on day three, but our muscles were still sore. This was the longest day, but also one of the best. We summited two smaller passes and saw three other Inca ruins. Each one was more impressive than the last and we were increasingly anxious to see Machu Picchu. At the very end of the day, we spent two hours going downhill. The Incas built amazing staircases through the mountains, but they are painful on sore muscles. The third campsite was like a small city. It is the closest campsite to Machu Picchu, so all the tour companies spend the last night there and there is even a restaurant and hot showers.

(A view of ruins from the trail)

(Evil staircase)

All in all, we got very lucky with weather (although it`s rainy season here, too) and only got rained on that one afternoon. The final day, there were clouds and fog as we woke at 4 a.m. and began our descent to Machu Picchu. Clint was so nervous that we would have no view of Machu Picchu--and he was right... but only for a moment. We arrived just above the ancient city around 6:30 a.m. and watched the clouds lift from Machu Picchu into a sunny, beautiful morning.


Machu Picchu lives up to its reputation as one of the 7 Wonders of the World. The science and skill used in construction (especially since the Incas never discovered the wheel) is mind-boggling. The ruins resemble a small city, complete with a school, three temples, agricultural terraces, housing, and water fountains.


So much is still unknown, but recently scientists have discovered huge corrolations between the buildings and astronomy (especially solstices and equinoxes). We encourage everyone to see it for themselves; it is inexplicable.

(The view from Wayna Picchu, the steep
mountain behind Machu Picchu. It is
fun going up and scary coming down.)

-Clint and Ashley