El gran día
Today we cracked the Salkantay Pass, at 15,200 feet (4,600meters) today is the highest day of the trek. We said goodbye to the Soryapampa Lodge, which had been very kind to us, with a little bit of trepidation - not least the stories and pictures from the day before with the guide covered in snow. The weather prediction for us was cold, windy and possible snow. Off we set in a similar direction to the Humantay Lake, but instead of heading left we continued up the hill.
Nicola soon starting flagging behind the rest of the group...... The prediction I had the day before about lungs and aerobic capacity was proven all too true. My legs felt strong, but I just couldn’t breathe or at least get enough breath in to pound it out. My mental strength was a bit challenged too..... Trek, trek, trek..... with Jon a wee way in front of me, Yarik checking in on me and the muleteer with a mule carrying the water and medical supplies and a spare horse. There was many a step when I asked myself (Nicola) why am I doing this, Shorty loves this kind of stuff and is fit and up for the challenge, but me, why...... So keep counting .... Uno.... Dos.... Uno.... Dos...... It then became count to 60 and then start again and see how many batches of 60 I could do before stopping. Manuel the muleteer was having a seriously easy day of it following me. But the trek was stunning, challenging and amazing - what we could see of it - but still here I was pushing myself to my limits and taking on the challenge.
The previous days snow/rain was all snow above 12,000 feet, so the ground under foot was very wet and slippery. The trip over the pass was split into three steep uphill sections with two flat sections in the pampas.
After the first up hill section Nicola decided it would be better and safer for her to do the remaining two section on the back of a horse, a very brave decision considering the terrain and to be honest the equipment (namely the saddle) - that was Shorty’s account of the situation.... Nicola’s account - I was made to get on the horse - I hate horses and am scared of the buggers!!!! But I listened to Jon (not a normal state of affairs) and got on that horse as in the weather conditions I was walking far too slowly and was making it difficult for Jon and the rest of the group.
At one point when I (Nicola) was flagging behind we were crossing the pampa covered in snow, there was a little building selling the usual gatorade, water etc..., so bizarre to see in what felt like the absolute middle of nowhere - we were shrouded in clouds and snow. At this point I (Nicola) was a little concerned as to where Jon was..... Yarik (the second guide) very helpfully told me he may well have become lost - at this point I was quite worried, but had committed to Jon to take the horse so take the horse I did. It was rather scary getting on the horses back and then trying not to worry about it slipping on stones/boulders or falling off the cliff..... Especially when the cliff side was sheer on one side or the other depending on the switch back.
Unfortunately I (Jon) had to continue the trip up the mountain unaided, with only two guides one having to take care of the main group while the second had control of Nicola.
It of course goes with out saying that our intrepid singleton (Jon) managed admirably, including choosing the right track by the freshness of the horse/mule shit on the ground - and there was a lot of it - he has pictures to compare the fresh and the not so fresh stuff - my hero :). Nicola and Jon were reunited temporarily part way up the second steep section (Seven Serpents).
Yarik then took over with Jon and took him the vertical short cut!!!!!! Yarik I think was quite pleased with himself describing it as a short cut, but looking back down on it from the horse it was just an sheer uphill battle and Shorty braved it with his sensible 15 mins then drink, 30 mins eat......
Back to Nicola’s horse riding - at the top of the Seven Serpents I was faced with the option of heading down a very steep pitch on the horse- not on my nelly - or on my own two feet, but without walking poles as Yarik had those and he was somewhere else on the pass with Jon.
Again Jon and I were reunited after his vertical short cut and we started together on the final steep pitch. I was eventually relegated to the horse once again, overtaking all and sundry. The scariest moment was meeting a mule train coming the other way - these trails are not very wide to say the least and all the mules in front and those coming down were all rather frisky!!!!!!! But made it up to the summit - for me, Nicola, it was a little lonely, but I said a mountain prayer especially for my Mum, Dad and Jon and of course all our family and friends.
Once all were at the summit the customary photo’s were taken and the descent to the lodge began. There was even a snow man at the summit!!!! Sadly due to the low cloud base the views of the mountain were few and far between but we could tell from the snippets we saw it was spectacular.
The trek down was a long trek, welcome in some respects after the long haul up the mountain, but downhill on slippery trails, avoiding mule trains is still quite a challenge. As the clouds started to scatter we got glimpses of the mountain ranges and passes that we had just trekked through. The Andes are amazing..... We must have trekked through at least 3 different eco systems today. The bottom half of the trek was kind of through boulder fields - could have been a scene from Lord of the Rings. Especially with the eerie cloud cover. Not sure the photos will do it justice, but it really was an amazing experience.
The Wayra lodge greeted 12 weary souls and could not have been more welcoming. Constructed of locally sourced river stones and 5,000 mule trains of other material - it was definitely the best lodge on the trek so far. And another hot tub!!!
Food was as ever delicious, the Peruvians know how to cook! Lunch at 3pm was Chicken stir fry, 5pm was Pizza, popcorn, beer and wine, then 7:30pm was steak and potatoes and NY style cheesecake. You would have thought we could not have fit that much food in - but after almost 7 hours of trekking, food was a really good idea.
Another early night to bed..........
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