Peru: Classic Inca Trail Day 2

Wednesday, June 25, 2014: Inca Trail Day 2

I was very nervous about Day 2 as I heard/read on blogs and learned from our guide Freddie the day before that it was definitely the hardest day due to the long ascend. We woke up super early - I think at 5am to have breakfast and begin our hike. It was very cold in the morning and made it all the more harder to get out of "bed". When it comes to hiking, I think it is always about the lesser of two evils. Would I rather stay in this uncomfortable sleeping bag and tent or go out to start the day in the cold....hmmm? I was tired. It was hard getting up each day, but sleeping in did not seem to make anything better. After breakfast, we started our hike. It was cold so Andrew and I both wore our fleeces. I even wore my glove liners. We ascended for 5 hours straight. No doubt it was really tough. The includes were steep and the trail was rugged with lots of stones. The only saving grace was that almost the entire hike was very well shaded as we were hiking through a cloud forest. From this perspective, it was easier than Day 1. I don't think I could have done Day 2 if it was in the hot sun. The shade and cool temperature definitely made Day 2 doable. We took many breaks for taking off layers, water, snacks, and just to catch our breath. However, I realized that it was easier to just go slow and steady rather than to take many breaks. Peter was well ahead of the group throughout the entire hike. We barely saw him on the trail. Andrew always stayed behind with me because I was going at a pace I was comfortable with: slow. I knew he could be fast with the other guys in front if he didn't have to watch out for me. This hike definitely made me feel like he is really capable of taking care of me (and vice versa) and that we are really compatible. After ascending for 5 hours, we reached the highest point known as Dead Woman's Pass (~14,000 ft). At the summit, we took a well deserved break for pictures of the beautiful deep valleys.

 View from summit at Dead Woman's Pass

Breaking in the SRL

After this short break after a long morning, we continued on to our descend for 2 hours until we reached camp at Pacaymayo where we were going to have lunch, rest/chill for the rest of the afternoon until dinner. It was encouraging to know that we will be finishing our day early and have the rest of the day to relax. However, the descend, to our surprise, was really tough. Almost as hard as the ascend. Andrew's knees got really swollen and I think he had a lot of pain because we had to stop at one point to take Advil. As for me, I was going slow as the decline was definitely tricky. My toes and feet were killing me from the constant pressure of my foot sliding forward with every declining step. We were the last ones to reach camp, I think it took us longer than average to descend. I was a bit surprised but Andrew's knees really gave him a hard time. He was trying to figure out which way was best/easiest on his knees on the decline - bouncing down or going slow zigzagging. Once we reached camp, we had lunch.

Descending after a short break at the summit

Looking back from where we were at summit - can you see the profile of a woman laying down? Hence the name Dead Woman's Pass

Our guide Freddie

Typical path on the beginning of Day 2 - mostly shaded and cool though much steeper than what is pictured here. The shaded path definitely helped make Day 2 more manageable. We were hiking through the world's highest cloud forest on this day

The porters have it so much harder - they are all carrying around ~40lbs on their back (regulations have limited the weight to 20kg which is about ~44lbs)

After lunch, we were introduced to the our team/family of porters and chefs that took very good take of us throughout the hike. Studying 10+ non-English names was very hard!

After lunch, Peter, Andrew, and I went to another nearby stream to dip our feet again, especially after having a positive experience the day before and realizing the benefits of resting your feet in ice cold water to reduce the swelling. After that, I ended up passing out for a nap in our tent. I didn't intend to sleep but I guess I was just so tired. I napped for about 2 hours and woke up with a throbbing headache. I took some Excedrin which normally fixes all my headaches but it didn't work. I took Advil after and it made my headache go away. Thank god! At dinner, I learned that we were camping at the highest altitude (~12,000 ft) on the trip which explained the headache and loss of appetite. Another guy in our group also got sick from altitude and seemed to have just dropped off since then for the rest of the trip. Guess I made out pretty good! After dinner, Peter came over to our tent and we played cards for a while. It was fun to just chill and hang out after long days of hiking. Unfortunately, he realized that his tent mate, also Peter, had gotten sick and vomited all over the tent while he was hanging out with us and had to sleep through the smell. I felt so bad for the both of them!

Rise and shine! View from our camp at Pacaymayo the next morning bright and early

Daily routine - gathering all of our gear to prepare for the hike ahead day and refilling all of our water bottles