The Canadian Sscouts - Day 2 on the trail (Challenging Section)

This morning was a welcome start, with the group being woken up by porters bearing coca tea to our tents; they even provided sugar and hot water if we felt so inclined. We then had a half hour before the porters would break down the tents while we went for breakfast. It had been a warmer night than expected, but the morning was a little on the chilly side as we stumbled into the prepared dining tent.

That morning we enjoyed a warm breakfast of pancakes with a caramel spread creatively decorated into shapes of llamas and smiley faces. To go along with the pancakes there was also a selection of fruit and oatmeal.  There was also a bountiful supply of bread alongside a wide assortment of teas and other drinks, notably Milo, a chocolate-flavoured energy drink that was very popular.

Before we headed out we took part in a meeting to get us better acquainted with our porters. All the Canadians told the assembled porters their names, age and if they had a family or otherwise their relationship status.  The porters then went around giving their names, ages, and how long they had worked on the Inca trail as well as if they had a family. We were all shocked by the ages of some of the porters and the length of time working on the trail. The ages ranged from 18-63 and some of the porters have been doing this for over 35 years!

Once we had met all of the IntiSun trek team it was time to head out on the trail. The morning was long and grueling, hiking straight up for four and a half hours (but at least wasn’t too hot out, still being quite early in the morning). We took our time stopping every few minutes to catch our breath and have a sip of water.  Going up we saw wild llamas and trekked through a beautiful rainforest up hand-made original Incan-built stone pathways.  Eventually we made it to the top (13,776 ft) and it was an amazing feeling to have accomplished such an achievement.  We were so high (having just climbed close to 3,000 ft rise in close to the same run) that the clouds we had once looked up at now blew right by us, obscuring our view.  Our guides were thrilled and had kept us motivated the entire way up (even though they were struggling a bit themselves).  It was a perfect time to let loose a traditional “Who’s the Best?” which by now the guides had heard more than once and embraced.  ‘Dead Woman’s Pass’ was not an easy feat but we started and finished it all together as a team, it was a amazing team-building experience.

A few notes from the scouts and the climb:

Connor says “After every single turn the trail seemed to grow. Every time you sat down it became harder to get up. The motivation for me at least was the idea that the hardest part of the trail would be over. When I arrived at the top of the pass looking back at the rest of the hikers hiking up I realized how crazy it was that we had just done that and the satisfaction was overwhelming. That was my dead woman’s pass experience.”

Alison says: “It was the hardest thing I’ve every done. For the first 3 hours you could only see 15 meters in front of you and every time you turned a corner there was another set of stair cases or another hill waiting for you. The last hour and a half was brutal because although some people might find being able to see the top of the mountain inspiring it was frustrating to hike 20 minutes and not tell if the peak was any closer. When we reached the top it was so rewarding because everyone was cheering and hugging. It was such an incredible accomplishment to be able to take a deep breath after four and a half hours of climbing and know that you’ve finally accomplished the task of conquering ‘Dead Woman’s Pass”.

Calvin says: “Dead Woman’s Pass was definitely a challenge.  It took a long time to hike up but once at the summit, it was amazing.  We were able to see for kilometers.  On one side of the summit, the stairs down, it was so thick with fog that it was like walking into a giant cotton ball.  It looked like the world just ended.  On the other side of the summit, we could see thousands of feet down into the valley below where we started our assent.  At the top, we all took a rest and marveled over our achievement.  It was a pretty awesome day and an amazing experience.”

After a good 25 minutes at the peak, the guides decided to take a couple group photos, Scouter David decided to go hunting for a geocache (found quite easily) and then we started our descent down. We had all cooled down quite a bit being so high up and the treck down – although being able to catch your breath was nice – wasn’t a walk in the park. We descended over a thousand stairs down (close to 2,000 ft in less than 2 km) into a valley where we were greeted with lunch that consisted of chicken noodle soup with vegetables, broccoli covered in fried cheese, rice, potatoes, beef, and home-made Peruvian-style French fries (all served with hot tea).  It was a nice break but that was only the first half of our hike.  

After lunch, we filled our water bottles and set off on the trail once again.  We conquered pass #2 pretty quickly (about 860 ft shy of pass #1). It took us two hours to get to the top; passing a couple of Incan ruins and a small ‘lake’ as Jesus called it (we would describe it as more of a pond or puddle). When we reached the top we were exhausted but quickly began our descent (another 1,300 ft that felt much harder than the first one and took a great toll on our calves and knees). At the bottom we reached our camp site, with everything already set up. At this time it was around 5 o’clock.  After changing out of our sweaty clothes we sat down to “happy hour” followed shortly by dinner which consisted of white-potato soup, rice, cauliflower cakes (flat paddies), chicken rolls stuffed with vegetables, and potatoes in a cheese sauce.  After 11 hours, 12 horizontal kilometres and a net 1200 ft higher (although 8470 ft total vertical distance!) we were all ready to crawl into bed; proud to have completed the most challenging day of the entire trek.