Day 344: Inca Trail Trek – Day 2
The second day of the Inca Trail seriously kicked Lindsay’s butt. It was a loooong day with a lot of climbing, but we actually made really good time! The dreaded Dead Woman’s Pass wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. The ascent was tough – don’t get me wrong – it was 900M straight up, but we were able to complete the estimated 6hr. hike to the lunch break spot in only 4hr! Fuck, yeah! 30-somethings blazing the trail!
Early morning cloud cover over the Dead Woman’s Pass – we get a 7AM start on the steep climb up the mountain staircase
The second half of the ascent was easy in comparison to the staircase – a gentle incline up to the peak
Made to the top of Dead Woman’s Pass! One down, one more to go!
We get a glimpse of some Andean mountain peaks as thick clouds pass through the sky
Making our way down into the valley
Igor’s nature photography: moss and flowers
We arrive at the Pacaymayu campground at 11AM, where our chef is hard at work making lunch in the mess tent
Relaxing on our mats as we wait for another decadent lunch – chicken wontons, YUM!
The only downside to having such a fantastic chef on board our trek is that it’s hard to portion control when the food is so tasty! We ended up eating more heavily than we normally would during lunch, which made for very full bellies. Lindsay in particular found the second mountain pass to be more difficult (where it was from being tired, or from having a food-baby it’s hard to say), and ended up sitting out most of the ruins we passed along the trail. But at the end of the day, we were both feeling healthy and very satisfied with our progress on the trail.
We stop at the small, Runkuracay ruins on our way up the second pass
Lindsay finds hiking after lunch to be much more difficult and takes a break at the ruins. However, it’s soon crawling with other tourists, so we pick up and head on
Misty mountains in the Peruvian Andes
Lindsay is EXHAUSTED when she finally makes it up to the second pass. Igor, on the other hand, is feeling just dandy and runs around like a mountain goat, taking pictures from an even *higher* lookout
Lindsay needs a moment to recuperate before descending into the next valley
The hardest part is now over – no threat of turning back now!
The rain has stopped and it’s getting a bit toasty. Igor contemplates jumping into a small pond by the side of the trail. Or at least washing his smelly clothes…
The Sayacmarka ruins – a pretty big complex about 20min away from our campsite. Lindsay is just too tired to explore with Igor, so she just sits while he runs around taking pictures
Igor gets a small break in the clouds at the Sayacmarka ruins
Within minutes, the mist rolls in and covers the viewpoint in a cloud of white
Our campground in the distance – when we arrive, our tent is already set up
Lindsay takes a nap until teatime – of course she would wake up in time for food! Seriously, this chef and his fruit tart are taking glamping standards to a whole new level!