Inca Trail – Day 3 – The Bennetts On Tour

Today we are scheduled to cover 16 kilometres, the longest leg of the trek. Normally that may take a few hours on flat ground near sea level. We hope to do it in 11. Another 5 a.m. wake up call, another wear everything to breakfast and another creaking, groaning beginning to the hike. At least view from our front door wasn’t too shabby.

Today was mostly downhill which sounds easy but is actually more challenging and fatiguing than going up. Offsetting that fact was that a good portion of the day was spent in the cloud forest, the ecological transition from the mountains to the jungle. It’s hundreds of miles wide and we’re very much still in the mountains. Sadly though the first two hour segment was a brutally steep, nearly 500 metre ascent to Runkuraqay Pass (3,950 metres/12,959 feet). At least the weather is clear, albeit cold as we looked back at Dead Woman’s Pass.

The cloud forest also had unique rock formations that created fissures through which the path passed.

At times we were above the clouds and occasionally in them.

At one point we had to edge around a llama who decide to forage along the edge of the trail. It seemed quite nonplussed as we slipped past.

There were sections which were down right gentle and we ambled along admiring flora and fauna and the occasional bird life.

Unfortunately it started to rain, then hail as we continued to descend so it was ponchos on for a second day. This storm was less severe than yesterday and didn’t impact the steps for as great a distance.

The storm passed and there was one last chance for a photo high above the Urabamba River.

The length of the day’s trek, the severity of both the first uphill segment, the storm and the constant downhill meant the last twenty minutes of the trek was done in the dark wearing our miners headlamps. It was indeed an 11 hour day of hiking. All the trekking groups and porters are congregated at a large, multi tiered campsite as tomorrow we make the “dash” to Machu Picchu. An early turn in as tomorrow starts at 3:15 a.m. Ugggh.