Friday, May 23
Start: Cusco 11,384′ (3458m)
Via: Tinqui, Upis 12,766′ (3891m)
Stop: Pucacocha 15,214′ (4637m)
7.48 miles
1,860′ ascent
1,243′ descent
O2 average 86%
42% acclimated to 15,214′, fully acclimated to 7874′
It’s closer to 10 pm than 9 pm when I finally fall asleep. My alarm goes off at 3:30 am and I snooze it for 10 minutes. Despite the short sleep, I feel fairly rested and ready for another day of hiking. I take my last shower before storing my luggage at the front desk. They’re gracious enough to refrigerate my cheese for me again. I’m planning to meet Elizabeth at 4:30 am but it’s Ronnie that shows up. Their daughter Luna is sick and there’s a change in plans. I load into the large white van and it’s just me, Ronnie, the driver and the chef. We maneuver through the dark streets of Cusco in the sea of other white tourist vans. We head southeast out of Cusco in the darkness of the morning and stop alongside the road for several loaves of bread. I watch from the van as bread is loaded into bags and cups of coffee are handed out. I resist the urge to jump out and get some for myself as well. If only I had some soles coins.
We drive for almost three hours through countryside and the narrow streets of Ocongate before stopping at 7 am in Tinqui for a bathroom break and more grocery shopping. Local vendors are sitting street side selling bread, warm beverages, cheese, avocados and more where a large condor statue stands tall.
We backtrack down the road a short distance before turning and crossing a bridge over the Tinqui River. We follow dirt road for some distance as we keep an eye out for our horseman. There are small homes scattered across the countryside as we meet a few people driving past on motorbikes. We stop for a period of time, waiting for our horseman to arrive. I take the opportunity to find a mound to pee behind. We drive a ways farther and then reach a spot where we can no longer continue. The driver manages to turn the long van around on the narrow road where we soon pull off to the side. It’s about 9 am and Ronnie, the driver and the chef all start unloading gear and setting up to make breakfast. There are several items that I can’t eat in my to-go lunch from the hotel that I share them with the driver Kike.
The horseman soon shows up riding a horse with two tethered behind him. Another guy pulls up on a motorcycle and they both join the gear sort and morning breakfast effort. The crew fixes a wonderful breakfast which we eat seated along the roadside just behind the van. Ronnie gives me a Mountain Gods Peru hat to wear, which I had asked Elizabeth for, and then we start hiking about 10:30 am. We leave the crew behind to finish breakfast clean up, and to get the gear situated on the horses.
We hike crosscountry past a few small houses before crossing a little stream to a road cut/trail. Our starting elevation is about 14,600 feet. We point ourselves in the direction of a clouded but mighty Apu Ausangate as pools of water bubble on either side of the trail. Volume up!
There’s a spectacular outcrop of wool cactus or Austrocylindropuntia floccosa on the hillside above us. It looks so deceivingly soft and fluffy. By 11:15 am, the loaded horses have already caught up with us as we fork off to go check out Upis Qocha.
It’s a short and relatively flat trail up to the edge of the lake. There’s a spectacular glacier reaching all the way down the side of Ausangate. Apu Ausangate’s summit flits in and out of view behind the clouds. We’ve been hiking all of an hour and look at this epicness!
This bird’s wing flapping seems unique but I can’t figure out what bird it is. We tread back to the main trail, past volcanic rocks that appear to have olivine banding. Back on the main trail, I look down across the valley before turning uphill. We climb steadily as the trail passes a home with a large rock wall surrounding it. There’s a man on the side of the trail selling a few items but at first I’m distracted by his adorable young puppy. I try to take its picture but it’s running around too much. My soles bills are too big and Ronnie helps break it down. I buy a woven alpaca bracelet with white beads from Marco for 10 soles. Ronnie helps affix it to my wrist.
As we climb higher, we meet a herd of alpaca. They are busy living their best lives and grazing along the hillside.
Another look back down the valley.
We crest a sort of pass and veer to the right across rolling terrain. Mother Nature is doing her thang. The clouds billow above reflective volcanic mountains that stretch into the distance. We approach a large alpaca herd that sweeps up and down from the trail. Mostly the alpaca are not disturbed by our presence and we can easily stop and observe them. Hope you can handle all the photos!
As I’m standing in awe of this incredible moment and scenery, someone appears on the horizon with a herd of sheep. I can hear them whistle and maybe even say something. Ronnie tells me that the man does not want me to take pictures of the alpaca. Sorry, too late. I can’t bring myself to delete them and not share them with you all.
We continue hiking, following the contour around the massive valley’s edge. The trail starts to descend, passing small pools of water in this glacially carved landscape.
An Andean goose family forages next to a small lake as our lunch destination comes into view. Look into the valley for the small red cooking and eating tent.
Ronnie and I arrive about 2:30 pm where a large spread of food has been prepared. The crew has even had the time to erect the toilet tent for me. There’s another group at this location as well and they are laying out and relaxing. A young dog that’s quite friendly happily greets us.
After lunch I walk down by the big boulders in search of the high-pitched call I keep hearing. I think it is a chinchilla but post-trail research points me towards viscacha. There is a northern viscacha Lagidium peruanum perched atop a boulder that is ‘chirping’ and looking very cute. Northern viscacha are rodents in the Chinchilla family and native to the Peruvian Andes. Viscachas are herbivores and feed on a variety of plant material, including grasses, roots, and seeds. The northern viscacha grows to a length of 12 to 18 inches with a bushy tail nearly as long which can be curled in a coil.
We start hiking again about 3:40 pm and continue to move around the long flanks of Ausangate. As I hike uphill, I can see an alpaca herd far below us in the canyon.
We skirt around a pass where a stream is cascading across its edge. We climb briefly before a series of lakes come into view. At this elevation, the landscape is quite barren so the bright yellow flowers are like a strobe light blasting the horizon. We descend towards the next lake and there are a couple small houses with a horse and alpaca grazing nearby. We pass a few local families along the side of the trail. I give out little fruit leather roll treats to three children who seem quite happy by the surprise.
The mighty glaciers of Ausangate hang at a precipice as the setting sun glints off the tops.
We arrive at our destination for the day, Pucacocha, at about 5 pm, just before the rest of the team arrives. They go into quick action setting up camp. And good thing, because just minutes after getting into my tent it starts to rain/hail. There’s a few other tents set up closer to the lake’s edge.
I change out of my hiking clothes and bundle up in layers since we’re camped at 15,214 ft. I resume my routine that I established on my first trek and get my tent organized before heading to the mess tent for happy hour popcorn and hot chocolate. After a day of hustle, I meet the rest of our team; Julio the chef and Helario the horseman. After a wonderful dinner, I’m happy to get in my sleeping bag and warm up while I write in my journal.
Journey Return 