Race to the Sun Gate

Last night we returned from a spectacular journey down the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu. It was an incredible four days of amazing views of the Andes, Inca ruins and history lessons, perfect weather, delicious food, and many laughs. The trail begun at kilometer 82 and went approximately 44 kilometers to Macchu Picchu. The guides and the porters were some of the best I´ve encountered, and the food we had was the best since I´ve been in Peru. The porters basically take your bags, tents, sleeping bags, food and race to the campsites to have everything set up for you upon your arrival each day. They do the trail in sandals and come racing past you, a truly amazing group of people. About every 5 to 10 kilometers there is an Inca Ruin, many temples, ¨doctor´s offices¨, agricultural terraces and homes. They were truly amazing in there construction. During the entire hike we were surrounded by the beautiful Andes mountains. the trail passes through high passes (4200 meters) and into a cloud forest and finally a rain forest, where Macchu Picchu is nestled on a mountain surrounded by taller mountains.

The ¨race for Sun Gate¨was the last day of the trek. Everyone camps at the same site the last day and you wake up at 4 AM to be first to the check point. We were first to the check point, arriving at like 4:45. They open the check point at 5:30 and then it is a race to get to the Sun Gate to see the first view of Macchu Picchu before any other tourist have arrived. The trail is a rocky, up and down trail which is supposed to take an hour and a half. We had to do 75% in the dark, but our group made it first in about 30-45 minutes practically running down the trail. It was crazy! From there we went into Macchu Picchu, after taking about 100 pictures of the famous view, and saw the ruins and the temple sites. Then it was another crazy hike up Waynu Picchu (the peak you always see in the background). At the top is nothing but rocks you have to climb around and slide down. It was steep and hairy at times, but worth it. Basically the entire experience was amazing and so far the highlight of my trip.

I´ve got to go board a plane for the Amazon right now, but hopefully when I return to Cusco I can post more about the trail and about Cusco, Ollyantambo, and the Amazon.

Also, congratulations to Ben Curtis for winning the Booz Allen Classic!