At 4:45AM I am shuttled from my hostel to the center of town where a small bus (van) is waiting to take my trekking group to the starting point of our climb in the town of Mollepata. With each sharp right or left hand turn (of which there are many) the front tires rub on their fender wells under the weight of 12 passengers and all their gear (strapped to the roof). I was sure one of the tires would burst just as we rounded a cliff edged curve and found it hard to relax during the two hour drive. To my surprise, we arrive without incident. We sat down for breakfast during which I meet the other members of our trekking group. There is one unmarried couple in transition from Dublin to Barcelona who have been travelling through India and New Zealand, two Israeli soldiers who have just completed their military service and have been travelling through South America for months, 2 Spanish speaking women travelling together (did not get to know them too well because of the language barrier), a woman from Atlanta and one from California travelling alone through South America for months and doing charity work, a man from Manchester, England fresh off a trek in Nepal and a man from North Dakota who had just completed 4 years living in China. Of the ten, none are married, have children, or a job and the average age is less than half of mine. Each one to be admired for their journeys and acts of service. Despite sticking out like a sore thumb the group embraced me from the first minute and this would become my family for the next four days.
We climb for 7-8 hours today, covering a distance of about 11 miles. I have hired a horse to carry my photo gear (the best money I have ever spent) and can access my tripod, lenses, and gear as needed. As we climb progressively higher, the lush vegetation and fields give way to a more rocky terrain, and the temperature drops noticeably with each hour of ascent. Soon we can see the glaciers which cling to the mountain tops, creating for me a nice motivational target for the ongoing ascent.
We break for lunch at about 1 PM, enjoying tea, soup, and chicken with rice. Despite my diet, I eat everything in sight to help sustain my energy. Having come from sea level just 2 days earlier, I am being very careful to control my climbing pace. So far, no problem keeping pace with the youngsters as we spend the afternoon climbing to our campsite at Soray Pampa (8,600 feet). Our campsite has a shelter constructed of tarps over a wood pole frame, which provides shelter from wind and rain for both our tents and our dining area. With the sun rapidly setting, we get an up-close view of the Salkantay glacier, which we will climb past tomorrow.
Sleep comes quickly for me in the sub-zero temperatures, but with the lack of adequate padding, I found myself awake just a few hours later and had to settle for closed-eye resting in place of more sleep.
