Machu Picchu and hiking till failure :)

Machu Picchu Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/traveltt3


I guess I didn´t realize how much hiking we would be doing, so I happily boarded the 4 hour train to Machu Picchu in my jeans with 3 jackets on due to the freezing coldness of the high altitude. Little did I know, we´d be climbing up two of the tallest peaks in Aguas Calientes, the base city for Machu Picchu.
(As our track coach would put it: hiking 2x to failure)


Ascent to Mountain Putukusi
First we hiked straight up a mountain in hopes of a view of Machu Picchu. The locals told us it was only one hour. However, it was one hour of steep incline (we climbed 1800 feet in only one mile). We climbed up wooden ladders that were up to 60-70ft in almost a 90 degree, scaled boulders, and hiked up tons of switchbacks of stairs. I was still trying to catch my breath in the high altitude, while Trev practically ran to the top. Once we both reached the top, we were rewarded with a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains and we could see Machu Picchu across the vally.







Machu Picchu and the Ascent to Huayna Picchu


We were 7th in line for the bus at 5am. Finally the buses arrived at 5:30am and we hopped on the first bus up the many switchbacks to Machu Picchu. After we entered, we ran to the top for a great view before the tourists packed in. We wandered around the spectacular Inca city built into a mountain with 1000ft drops on each side.









We decided to hike Huayna Picchu (the tall mountain in the back of the above picture of me & Trev at Machu Picchu). We had to register to hike (hikers #139 and 140 of the day). The entrance sign warned about the steep grade and that hikers must be very fit and healthy. Ignoring the sign, we continued on the hike still exhausted from the day before. Luckily the hike was not nearly as bad (only 30mins for a 1000ft climb) and we had another great view, high above the clouds, overlooking Machu Picchu.


At the end of the day, Trev celebrated by trying Peruvian food: Alpaca with rice and fries...poor little alpaca. He claims it was very tasty though :)
















Up Next:
Lake Titicaca
Copacabana, Boliva
La Paz and
Biking down the World´s Most Dangerous Road (9/12)!!