INCA TRAIL: day 1 - excited and ready to go

Leah had the brilliant idea of buying a journal to document events during our epic hike across the Inca Trail, so Kelly will be copying most of the posts from that along with her own additions.

Our first day on the Inca Trail started bright and early when we were told to meet in a plaza at 5 am. Unfortunately, the transportation didn´t show up until around 6 am, which gave us plenty of time to watch the sky change colors and meet the people we would be walking with. We have a small group that consists of Leah, Phil, a couple from New Zealand, and me. Something told us that this couple was a bit more experienced than us considering they were carrying all their own stuff for the entire trail and we had hired 4 porters between the 3 of us.

The bus finally arrived and we tried to sleep for the 2 hour ride to km 86, the starting point of the trail. We stopped in a little town to have some breakfast and buy any supplies we still needed. Leah made the wise decision to purchase some peanut butter cups (the first we had seen in 8 months!) while I got some skittles.

Once we got to km 86 we waited in a line to show our passports and enter the trail. There was a weird shaped thing on the ground near the front. Leah told me it was a dead flower, but in reality it was a squashed tarantula with purple stuff oozing out. What a welcome to nature. Anyways, we gained entry to the trail and had to cross the most rickety and teetering bridge I´ve ever seen. I personally think it was a final test to scare off weak, unsure people, so obviously Leah and I breezed right through it without a problem.

Quote from Leah´s journal: ¨The mountains towered around us like I couldn´t have envisioned. We were truly specks in a tumbling and intimidating landscape. Clouds hid the mountain tops in the morning til the afternoon sun revealed their true grandeur.¨

She will probably delete that, but I think it´s hilarious and fitting. Lunch was great, it was basically on a farm in a fenced in area, even though farm animals wandered around freely. There were lots of chickens, ducks, and dogs. There was also a little boy wandering around chopping at things with a machete. It was a little unsettling, so we steered clear. The food was awesome and way better then we expected, with a 3 course dining service which included an avocado salad, soup, and pasta with vegetables. There was also a ketchup incident which involved Leah running out of the tent crying and almost throwing up, but we survived.

After lunch I got my first experience with an ¨inca toilet.¨ This was basically just a hole in the ground. I was hesitant to use it at first, but after being told this was the only option for the next 4 days, I allowed Leah to coach me through it and was successful.

We walked a little bit, then learned some Incan history while resting in the grass. We had a great view of some ruins about half the size of Machu Picchu. As we got up, our guide kicked over a rock and there was the previously mentioned black widow, huge and terrifying. This was much more terrifying than the giant purple centipede we saw earlier in our day.

The second part of our day was more of a challenge since the hike was at more of an incline. Everyone was drenched with sweat and I thought we were doing pretty great until I saw our porters, who had passed us hours before carrying all of our stuff, sitting around and drinking beer and waiting until they saw us. Once they knew our location, they packed up and passed us again on the way to the campsite. The only perk was some of the younger guys weren´t wearing shirts, which is always appreciated.

Our campsite was absolutely beautiful, but freezing. We were surrounded by mountains and could see the dreaded ¨dead woman´s pass,¨ which we would be climbing the next day. We washed up in our individual ¨dog bowls¨ filled with hot water, then we all gravitated towards the kitchen tent where there was warmth, light, and hot chocolate. Dinner consisted of fried trout, veggies, rice, soup, and Leah´s absolute favorite: banana flambe.

We were introduced to our 10 porters and were told that they were all married accept for the one 19 year old who has had 3 serious girlfriends! We decided early on that we loved our porters, because every time we left or arrived at a resting point they would applaud us. Even though we felt that we didn´t earn their applause on the first day, it really was quite a moral booster.

The stars were absolutely incredible and we gazed at them as we applied icyhot to all of our aches and pains. I was a little nervous about the sleeping arrangements, this being my first real time camping, but our tent was cozy and warm and we slept great.