Journey to Machu Picchu - Day Two

Saturday, September 24Wake up call is 5 am when the porters gently shake our tents and present us with bowls of warm water to wash in and mugs of hot coca tea. I would love to snuggle back into my sleeping bag and savour the tea, but there is no time for that. Henry wants us to reach the top of the pass by noon, before the worst heat of the day. We are breakfasted and ready to go by 6 am. Not far along the route we come to a shelter where we weigh our back packs. The maximum is meant to be 5 kg, but almost everyone is over. There seems to have been no real point to the excercise and we are soon back on the trail. The route this morning is one long, vertical ascent. There will be no lunch stop until we reach our campsite around 2 pm. The group spreads out as we all find our own pace. Dick and I team up to encourage each other and we find a pattern in walking and resting. We have to keep ears and eyes open for porters that pass us at a steady clip. We call out "porter coming" so the person ahead can step to the mountain side of the trail and let the porters rush by with their enormous packs. It is a very steep incline and the air is very thin; even the porters are breathing heavily. "Hola" we greet them as they go by.
The trail stretches upwards forever it seems; the climb goes on and on and on. My lungs struggle to get enough oxygen, my thighs feel the toll of a 1,000 or more steps. I pant, I puff, I gasp. Dick and I are still able to laugh at our struggles. We are both pretty fit but this hike makes us feel humble. We forge onwards and upwards. The sound of my breathing dominates my world. Step,step, step, breathe, step, step, step, pant. Step, step,rest. "Day 2 is the killer day" everyone has warned me. i fear they may be right. Henry drops back to check on us. He offers some "Agua de Florida" Inhaling the scent is meant to revive your energy. Enrique decides that he should relieve me of some of the weight I am carrying and takes my day pack, leaving me with just the camel-back to carry. By now most of the group is far ahead of us. From time to time we spot Anna walking on her own, but I can't muster the energy to catch up with her to give her some company. I am pleased that I have Dick to talk to, as we keep each other's spirits up. The weather is very changeable. From time to time we have a sprinkle of rain. We put on our ponchos. Then the clouds pass and the sun bakes down. We strip down some layers and keep on walking. Up, up, up, and then we see it; the top of Deadwoman's Pass. Most of the group are waiting, bundled up in all their layers. It must be chilly in the wind at the summit.

I call up to Peter that I am out of water and he comes down to meet me. What a gentleman. And then finally I take the last few steps and reach the top. The group cheers. There are high fives all around and we gather for a group photo. Then Henry breaks open the bottle of rum that someone bought along the way and Enrique carried in his pack. A dribble is poured on the ground as an offering to Paccha Mama (Mother Earth) then we pass it around and enjoy a capful of rum to celebrate our achievement.
Its downhill all the way now. I loan my poles to Lauren who, like a few of the others, finds the descent hard on their knees. The first part is quite tricky and steep, but after that it flattens out a bit and the path is wider. I get into a good rhythm and I enjoy the hike to the campsite and the welcome site of the dining room tent. After lunch, most of us retire to our tents and have a lovely nap. There's no more hiking today, so we relax after happy hour, play cards and are tucked into our sleeping backs soon after dinner.