- the typical 4-day trek is 42 km, I think that's more than a marathon
- the record time for traversal is about 3.5 hours (there's an annual porter's race)
- the starting point is about 3000 meters
- there are two passes, one 4200 meters, the other 3900
- Machu Picchu is the lowest point on the trail, about 2600 meters
- the trail includes high mountain plain and subtropical cloud forest
- only a small part of the trail is actual Inca road
- only 500 people (including support staff) are permitted entry each day
So much for the trivia.
The trip really began the day before, when I met Vlad, our lead guide, for the pre-trek briefing.
The first day started with an early pickup at the various hotels, followed by a roughly 2-hour drive to the trailhead, punctuated by a stop in Ollantaytambo (more about which in a later posting). It was a nice drive.
The first day's trail was the "get to know you" section. It began with the obligatory group photo
, and a crossing 
over the Urubamba River. 
with only gentle grades up the valley of first the Urubamba River, and then one of its tributary streams. Along the way we had views of smaller ruins 
. We stayed at a place called Huaylabamba, a highland village with large campsites scattered about.
The second day was hard. It consisted of climbing up the 4200 meter pass (about 1200m of gain), followed by about 600m of descent to the trail's high camp at Pacamayo.
I was persistently the slowest person in the party when going uphill (being at least 10 years older than everyone except one of the porters probably didn't help), so I was frequently accompanied by either Vlad, the lead guide, or JC, the trainee guide
. JC's real name is Julio Cesare, but we quickly christened him Jesus Christ (ba-dump-bump). Many (bad) jokes ensued. We had lunch in a meadow with some llamas and alpacas.
We spent the second night at a place called Pacamayo.
The third day was the longest, covering 16km of trail. We climbed the 3900m pass, and most of us enjoyed a lunch at a windswept high spot with nice views. I say "most of us" because I was already starting to feel the effects of, umm, the traveler's disease. It was either water or an unwashed apple. My bad. I'm recovering, but now more paranoid about what I eat. Let's just say that I skipped dinner, and lunch -- well, we won't discuss what happened to lunch. At least I was feeling better on day 4. On this day the vegetation started to become noticably more lush and jungle-like, although it was not technically jungle, but cloud forest.
Day 4 starts with an early rise. In our case this was the only day with any significant rain. In the morning. In the dark. At 4:30AM. The reason for the early rise is to be at the Inca Gate (Intipunku) early to see Machu Picchu in the morning light. Except it was all clouded in when we got there.
Fortunately, by the time we got down to MP itself, the clouds had mostly lifted (but not disappeared). So a glorious day was had exploring the ruins. It's a way cool place, highly recommended. (Did I need to say that?) There are a few short side trips possible.
Since I was not feeling my best, I opted not to climb Huayna Pichu, the peak next to Macchu Pichu peak, which has great views (according to those in my group who went). Instead I went to see the ruins of an Inca bridge, which is in a place where an Inca road crosses a fairly sheer cliff (several hundred meters high, and probably 20-30m wide). Not much to see, but I did take a picture...
The rest of the day was almost anti-climactic: bus ride down to the town of Aguas Calientes (where I assiduously avoided the tourist-trap that the entire town is, including the waters for which it is named), lunch with most of the gang, train ride to Ollantaytambo, bus ride to Cusco, and then one last dinner with the gang in town. (Hola amigos!)
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