5am, people... 5am! :-(
We fled the hotel so early that breakfast was not a good option. Alex had us in the van with driver, Carlos as the sun was rising. It was a 90 min drive along winding roads over tall passes, before a short stop in Mollepata for breakfast. Then we were back on the road again. This time, calling it "the road" was being generous. Up and up we went on switchbacks, single lane dirt road with sheer drop to the side, until we reached the beginning of the trail (for us). For other folks, the road went a bit further. They obviously traded quite a bit of stunning hike for the comfort and dryness that their vehicle offered, though.
For about 40 mins we hiked mainly uphill. Then, the trail leveled a little and we followed an irrigation canal all the way to Soraypampa. We are in the cloud forest... one step down from the rain forest. It is damp and cold, but stunning. EVERYTHING is growing on everything else.
The plan from Soraypampa, was a lunch break, then hike to Lake Humantay, about a 1500' climb over a mile or so. Then back down to Soraypampa and another 90 min hike out of that valley toward Mt Salkantay. Our campsite was to be at 14,000' but it would cut 90 mins off tomorrows long hike.
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| The trail from Soraypampa toward Salkantay Pass |
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| Headed up to Lake Humantay |
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| Kelli and I show our appreciation to Alex! |
Returning to Soraypampa, we discovered that too many large groups had been seen headed up the valley already and camping options would be slim to none. Not worth the risk of walking that far only to walk back down today. Our tents were already pitched and our mattress pads, blown up - thanks to the amazing guys that were our support crew.
We ate a hearty and amazingly flavorful 3 course meal. Darkness fell and so did the temperature before we crept into sleeping bags, still enveloped in our thermal layers and fell fast asleep.
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