Day 4 - Hiking Day 1
Thursday, September 25
Soraypampa (12,631 ft.) → Soyrococha (14,715 ft.)
Hiking Mileage: 3.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 2,084 ft.
Highest Elevation: 14,715 ft.
Trekking TIme: 4+ hours
Vlad, our guide, picked us up at 4:30am for the 3 hour drive up to the trailhead. As the road snaked its way higher into the mountains, we woke from our van naps to snow-capped peaks in every direction. Again, we saw Ausengate (which we saw from Paocoyo/Rainbow Mt. yesterday), and Mt. Salkantay, which we would be trekking to and around in the days to come.
We arrived at Soraypampa (12,631 ft.) at 8:00 where our crew (chef, sous-chef, and 2 horsemen) were already preparing for our arrival. There were also many other groups gathering with their guides and horses, organizing their gear as well. We filled our water bladders (that go inside our backpacks) and went to a nearby building for breakfast, prepared by our chef, Santos. Scrambled eggs, sweet French Toast, porridge, very strong coffee!
Then as we were donning our backpacks to head out, we noticed that the bottom of Mike’s backpack was soaking wet! He hadn’t securely closed his water bladder and it had emptied out inside his pack! Fortunately everything in the pack was in separate bags, so nothing was wet, and he tied his rain jacket around his waist to keep his clothes dry while hiking. Whew! (The pack had dried out by the end of the day.)
We were on the trail at 9:15! Haku! (Quechua for “Let’s go!”)
The trail was UP! We started on a dirt road with a gradual incline, but then we were on a rocky trail with many steep sections. There were a couple stream crossings, but there were always rocks available so our feet never got submerged. I was at the back of the pack, and Mike stayed with me. I was really feeling the altitude…I felt “tipsy” and lightheaded, which was not helpful when I needed to feel steady and sure-footed!
We arrived to our camp (tents and sleeping pads all set up!) at 1:30 just as it started raining. We were all really cold by the time we got there. Camp consists of our sleeping tents, a toilet tent, the cooking tent, and a dining tent. We threw our duffel bags in the tent and went to lunch: chicken, broccoli, rice, quiche, and a hot apple drink that tasted just like apple pie!
After lunch we returned to our tent and figured out how to arrange our stuff. Mike did some exploring out around camp, while I endured an afternoon of nausea and visits to the toilet tent. Our traveling friends also retreated to their own “quarters” since no one was feeling 100% at that point.
Tea time was at 5:45 in the dining tent at which our guide, Vlad, demonstrated the quipu, the Incan counting system: a base-10 system of knotted cords to record numerical and even non-numerical information. Dinner began with potato soup, followed by trout, rice, and vegetables. Dessert was candied pear in red wine sauce. (Sorry - no photos of the meal. I was barely upright and present for it!) They gave us fleece covered hot water bottles (called “wawa’s”) to take to our sleeping bags for the night. We turned in by 8:00pm and prayed for sleep. (We’re all taking diamox to alleviate altitude sickness; and it is known to make you visit the toilet tent!)
Here I am trying not to be sick while Mike enjoys the tent!
You can follow our hiking path on All Trails here:
Tomorrow: The high pass!