Less than 1 Month to the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu

Today marks the 4 weeks to go point before my trip to Peru. Since I am doing the 4 day hike of the Inca Trail I have been spending my weekend mornings walking/running and hiking reasonably large distances to prepare myself for the trek. I have spent some of that time carrying fairly heavy weight in a backpack as well to see if that is much of an issue for me. So far I feel like I should be ready for the hike though I cannot say how bad the thin air will affect me.

The highest altitude I can say I have been for certain was the 5th station of Fuji. We rode up their by bus and only spent an hour or so at the location. I believe it was in the 7000 feet above sea level range or so. I did not notice any issues with breathing but again I was not there long though I did a lot of moving around and searching for good photo spots. Basically it will be a mystery until I am actually in Cusco how I will handle the the altitude. I am going to hope for the best and do what I can to make it easier on myself.

The story goes that increasing altitude in stages will give you the best chance to acclimate. I don't particularly have that option however as I have already booked my trip I will have to deal with the fact that I am going straight to Cusco's altitude.

The next thing they say is to do very little on your first day at altitude, to drink lots of fluids and to eat light with a good amount of carbohydrates in the meal. I arrive fairly early in the morning so I hoped to just unpack and then take an easy look around the city of Cusco looking for photo opportunities and just taking stock of the location. They say drinking alcohol is bad until you get accustomed to the air. I am arriving 3 days before I am actually doing the trek. I get there on Friday morning and won't be setting out until Monday morning for the hike. Hopefully this will give me enough time to survive the altitude. They say 2 to 3 days is usually enough. Some people advocate taking a drug called Diamox as a preventative to altitude sickness but I am not really much of a drug taker and will opt to not do so unless I really need it.

Aside from the prep for hiking and the altitude I have a very different packing setup than I normally have on trips. I won't be bringing a laptop as I am not carrying anything like that on the trek. It is just too unwieldy and unnecessary. My backpack will not be my laptop bag but rather my trek bag. I will have to have a sleeping bag and a lot of other things meant for the hike that I would not normally consider bringing on a trip. For example I purchased a light weight acrylic mirror so I can put my contacts in while out in the boonies. I have been wearing contacts for several years now but still am not good at putting them in without visual aid. Also, I've never brought along a headlamp (or flashlight for that matter), trekking poles, my own toilet paper or even a towel. I am sure I will need this stuff though so it has to come with me.

The next prep item I am going to commit to is my haircut. Since I have started traveling regularly (read as at least once a year) I have gotten haircuts within two weeks of departing to make sure I look presentable. I am not really a fan of haircuts as I think they are generally a waste of money. The practical reason for them is more that I have less to bother with when getting ready in the morning during the trip. For this trip I want to have even less to worry about so I am going to get my first ever buzz cut. There are a couple reasons for this. In camping we aren't going to get real showers. The shorter my hair is the less water I need to keep it clean is the main reason. The likelihood that I will be wearing or taking off a hat a lot during the trek is also a factor. Plus it means not needing to bring hair gel or anything like that. Truth be told I am not looking forward to this but I see the concept as inevitable.

I believe I've mentioned I will have to post everything when I get back. I am fairly certain I will be out of range from the internet even in the hotel before and after the hike. As such I also noted I will not be bringing a laptop. As the international data plan for the iPhone doesn't cover Peru I cannot connect via 3g to do anything large and not expect to spend hundreds of dollars on it, so that is not an option. If I can find wifi spots I will be able to post smaller updates. My goal is to voice record my notes and then write things up when I get back. I intend to bring a bunch of SD cards for the camera so I have an easy time sorting out the days when I post them. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, that's the preseason. I suspect I'll post a pregame report just before I leave at the very least.

Next Trip Machu Picchu

My next trip is already around the corner and less than 2 months away. This past Denmark trip was sort of a bonus that I could indulge in because I didn't have to pay for a hotel along with the other expenses and the flight was very cheap.

I had actually planned Machu Picchu before I planned Denmark though I think some of the finishing details fell into place after I bought the plane ticket for Denmark.

The trip to Machu Picchu should not be terribly expensive, especially in comparison to some other trips. Obviously the flight is an expense and I have a couple nights of hotel to pay for plus the cost of the actual hiking tour. Still it should be a fraction of the cost I spent, say, going to France.

I found out through some research that SAS Travel Peru is considered the top choice for Inca Trail tours. I was mainly using them on the advice of a friend of a friend who said they were excellent. I got to speak to her in Denmark and she gave me some advice about what to pack and things I would need. I am going in late October as my birthday trip so the timing is a bit different from hers. She went in August last year. The weather should be a bit warmer overnight for me but there is a greater chance of rain on any given day according to Inca Trail Peru which is an independent site that gives information about the Inca Trail. I am already set up to go, but if you were ever thinking about going it has some good information about what to expect as well as the various ways you can experience the location.

I have obviously chosen to do the 4 day hike through the Inca Trail but there are shorter hike options as well as train and bus routes that get you to Machu Picchu without having to do all the fun stuff. I realized when I decided that I was going to take this trip I wouldn't have been satisfied in just riding a train to the site so I really didn't have an option to go the easy way. I am sure that I really don't understand how strenuous all the climbing is going to be but I am also fairly certain that I will be able to survive it and enjoy it.

As it is I have already started doing more strenuous workouts in preparation for the trip. On weekends I am trying to walk significant distances while carry somewhere in the tune of 40 lbs of books. It is certainly not happy on back and I have to be a bit careful about it but it does get my lungs and legs tired which is what I am looking for. The backpack I carry will be significantly lighter than these books and also have a much more comfortable feel on my back I am sure. I really need to find some stairs to climb as well. Gone are the days of working in the Prudential where I could climb from the 3rd to 25th floor in one run.

I gained weight coming out of Denmark due to the beer and food but I am sure I will not be gaining weight in Peru.