Tinkerblue

Inca Trail Day 1

• The classic Inca trail is 29 miles/40 kms long
• The weather averages between 8c and 20c, but can drop to freezing and go up into the 30's
• 500 people are permitted to start the Inca Trail each day, 300 of those are guides and porters
• You need to book about 6 months in advance, your pass is not changeable
• Average trekking time for the 4 days is 21 hours.  We took longer.
• 8% of all hikers are Canadian, 9% are Australian
• The highest point is 13,776 ft (or 4200 metres).
• Altitude sickness may begin at 8000 ft
• Our little group was 12 hikers, 2 guides, 2 cooks and 12 porters. Quite the number.  Much larger than the 6-8 hikers we had been expecting.

 

Okay so that's it for random information.  We've been back from the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu for almost a week now and it's taken me that long to put it into words.  It was amazing. One of the highlights of my life.  So here goes...

 

The bus picked us up from our hotel at 530am.  Neither Michelle or I slept much the night before.  Apparently the thought of hiking for 4 days at altitude, sometimes going straight up made us both nervous.  We threw back some coca tea before the bus arrived but neither of us could stomach much in the way of breakfast.  Not good when we were supposed to start the day with a carb and protein rich breakfast.  Oops.  There was one more stop after us to pick up the last of our group and then we were on the way to Ollantaytambo.  A village in the Sacred Valley where we stopped to have some breakfast.  Well everyone else did, Michelle and I had more coco tea.  Oh I think we may have had a banana each.  At least we don't have totally empty stomachs.

Next stop, on the other side of Ollantaytambo to pick up the extra guide and the extra porter. 12 hikers means we needed more people.  Now we are all staffed up and ready to go. Nobody is doing much in the way of talking, introducing ourselves for just acknowledging each other. I think everyone is tired and maybe they're as nervous as we are.

I nap the rest of the way to km 82, which is where we start hiking.  Everything comes off the bus and is divided onto two tarps. The bigger tarp is all the gear that the 12 porters and 2 cooks will carry. 7 sleeping tents, a cooking tent, a dining tent, 14 camp stools, a camping toilet and it's tent, 14 wash buckets, all the cooking equipment, all the food, the bigger first aid kits (the guides also carry 2 smaller first aid kits) and all Michelle and my gear.  We had paid for a porter to carry our sleeping bags, sleeping mats, and clothes so all we had to lug was our daypack with water, coat, snacks and cameras.  Best decision ever.   The second tarp is for our daypacks and the packs of the rest of our group who are carrying all their own gear.  Why?

 

 

We have a quick briefing with our guides, Lizandro and Nestor.  They tell us that today we will hike about 11km's, it should take between 6 and 7 hours, today is and easy day, no steep climbs or descents, and the stop for lunch should be about 4 hours into the hike.  Hmmmmm. They make sure everyone has water, is wearing sunscreen and insect repellent and has their passports and immigration cards with them.  I can't help but think it's worse than rounding up a guide unit. Once everyone is organised we take the obligatory photo at the Inca Trail sign

 

 

and go through the checkpoint to have our tickets and passports checked.  My ticket says I'm 41, it's given me back a good 5 years.  Woohoo.  But Michelle's says she is male.  Don't think so.  The checkpoint was not too concerned though, they were mainly checking passport numbers and names and photos.  We passed.

 

 

Then we cross the bridge over the Rio Urubamba and we are officially on our way on the Inca Trail. Notice it starts with an up hill?  At least it's a gentle slope and it's a dirt path not a staircase or a rock lined path. Let's start us off nice and easy, lull us into a sense of I can do this.

 

 

The morning was all fantastic views, gentle climbs, quick breaks for everyone to catch up and "hey we're actually doing this"s. We stopped for a break and a history lesson at a small ruin that I think was called Willcarakay, of course I would be making that up.  

 

 

Willcarakay overlooked another Inca site - Llactapata.  Llactapata is believed to have been a rest stop for the Incas on the way to Machu Picchu and also home to the soldiers who would have staff the fortress we were stopped at. I don't fancy that commute to work and back every day.   Llactapata is some distance below us.

 

 

We hiked a bit further along to the lunch site. Our porters were already there and had the cooking tent, the dining tent and wash basins all set up for us.  We all just strolled in, washed our hands, ate our lunch and took a quick nap.  At this point in the day I stopped taking photos, I don't know why. I wish I had taken lots more.  I don't have photos of the set up for lunch, seriously every lunch time the porters set up two large tents, cooked lunch, washed up and then broke down the whole set up.  Every lunch time.  Lunch, in fact all the meals were all very good.  Lunch and dinner alway started with soup, then a rice or quinoa dish, a potato dish (did you know Peru has over 3000 types of potatoes), a veggie dish, a platter of sliced tomatoes and cheeses, and usually two meat dishes.  Oh and some bread. There was a lot of food.  We never went hungry.  And it wasn't typical camp food.  You know... boil in a bag, or rehydrate or mac and cheese of Chef Boyardee, but actual fully cooked meals.  The cooks and porters did an awesome job.

After lunch we continued climbing switch backs up, up and up.  Most groups will camp at Wayllabamba at 3000 ft depending on the number of trekkers, campsites, permits etc.  But not our group. We kept going. For another 3 kms or so to Yuncachimpa at 3300ft.  This climb from lunch to camp was where Michelle and I started to really fall behind.  Up until lunch time we'd always been about 20-30 minutes behind the main group.  But by afternoon Michelle wasn't feeling so good and we were about an hour behind.  It was also when Nestor, the second guide, started hiking every step of the way with us. This first day he was very quite and probably very bored. But we appreciated that he stayed with us and let us hike at our own pace and didn't rush us. 

 

Arriving into camp we had time for a wet wipe shower, to set up our sleeping mats and bags (the porters having already pitched the tents) and to sort our bags out a bit before being called to the dining tent for happy hour.  No wine and cheese, no beer and pretzels, no cocktails and peanuts.  But we were served popcorn and hot chocolate.  I am not a fan of popcorn, but popcorn never tasted as good as it did then. We ate it all.  By we I am all 12 hikers and 2 guides, not just Michelle and I.  Dinner was served at 8pm, and by 9pm after a quick briefing for the next day we were all in bed. Umm our tent is pitched on a slight slope, so I keep rolling onto Michelle's side of the tent.  Oops.

 

And with that, Day 1 is complete.  1 down, 3 to go.  1/4 of the way there.  At least that's what Michelle and I kept telling each other.

 

 

MacGyver Style Fly-In Camping

This weekend is the Abbotsford Air Show. Hubby flew in yesterday morning because our plane is on static display (parked under a B52!) and he's working the CASARA booth. I had to work at the train station yesterday morning so I resorted to driving over.

Barb and Jerry, our friends from Quesnel, have flown down for the air show and are camping on the field. We decided on Friday night to join them. So when Hubby left yesterday he packed all the camping gear in the plane.

Well almost all. He forgot the tent! He packed the poles and the pegs, but no tent. How do you forget the tent? Kind of the most important part of camping.

His first suggestion was that I drove home and get it. Yeah, no! So Hubby and Jerry MacGyvered a tent.

A bright orange tarp, some bungee cord and a few pegs, all borrowed from Barb and Jerry and my car = a tent.

Of course it was a hot day yesterday, but once the sun went down it was chilly. I used my yoga mat for a bit of extra padding between me an the ground and a picnic blanket for extra warmth. My work fleece was also still in the car, I wore it over my pajamas. There is something to be said for leaving random items in the car.

It was comfy and we slept well. So all's good in the end.

Oh, did you notice that Hubby's sleeping mat, sleeping bag, and t-shirt are all safety orange to match Jerry's tarp? Hubby may be forgetful but at least he matches!

Happy Canada Day

Hubby and I flew down to the Oregon coast for the weekend. We're camping with our friends Fred and Joanne, Doug and Aline, Kim, Joanna and Deka.

We spent the afternoon hanging out at the campground, reading, telling stories, riding our bikes, reading...

And the evening sitting round the campfire, drinking wine and roasting marshmallows.

We may not be in Canada (we're camping in Oregon), but it's been a great Canada Day.

Randomness - Manzanita and Nehalem Bay, Oregon

Getting ready for the 4th of July:

 

I love a town and a campground that are dog friendly:

 

Beer bottles should all be twist tops:

 

Because if they're not, it's a lot of hard work just to get a drink (especially when you can't find the bottle opener, which is probably at home with the lantern!)

 

 

 

But had they all been twist off, then we probably would have drunk more and then there would have been more empties to pack out.

 

All up it was an awesome weekend. Thanks to Fred and Joanne, Doug and Aline, and Kim, Joanna and Miss M for joining us. Hope we can all do it again sometime soon.

 

Places to Fly - Manzanita, Oregon

The nearest town to Nehalem Bay State Airport and Campground is Manzanita. A 20 minute walk or a 10 minute bike ride from runway to main street. We've done both. All 7 of us rode into town on day 1 to pick up some groceries etc.

 

Day 3 we took a leisurely walk into town along the beach. It took longer because we stopped to watch the surfers, kite fliers and baby seals taking a nap.

 

In town there's a grocery store to stock up on steak for the barbie, salads, bacon and eggs, beer and wine, and icecream.

And two, yep two, Mexican restaurants. We've eaten at both of them. At the top of the hill is Left Coast Siesta Mexican Food. Hubby and I ate here last year. 

 

 

 It's all about burritos and enchiladas mainly. It's cheap and cheerful and the portions are big.  There's a patio which makes for great people watching.

 

 

At the beach end of the main street is El Mariachi Loco. It's a bit more expensive that Left Coast Siesta. 

 

 

But it has a larger selection of menu items, including some of my favourite Mexican dishes. Like Tacos al Pastor, Sopitas and Flautas.

 

They also win my vote because they serve Negra Modelo. Nom nom nom.

 

 

If you don't want to camp at Nehalem Bay State Park, you can always stay in Manzanita. There's quite the selection of cottages, motels and resorts. I could spent several days just enjoying the sunshine.

 

Places to Fly - Nehalem Bay, Oregon

 runway straight ahead, campground to the left, Pacific Ocean to the far left.

When we flew down to the Oregon Coast both last July and this year, we flew into and camped at Nehalem Bay State Park. Nehalem Bay is south of Seaside and north of Tillamook. 

 

There is a huge state campground. Seriously huge. 265 campsites, 18 yurts, 17 primitive sites at the horse camp and another 6 primitive sites at the airport. There's an amphitheatre where they run junior ranger programs during the day,  Shakespeare or other entertainment in the evening , plenty of showers, firewood for sale, a playground, beach or bay access, a 2 mile bike loop and over 20 miles of horse or hiking trails. It's an awesome place to camp.

 

There's one runway. And then a grass taxiway. Make sure you don't confuse the ditch for the taxiway. That could be embarrasing. 

 

At the airport there is one port-a-loo/honeybucket/whatever, but the main toilet blocks are not that far away. There's running water, so you can cook, clean up, brush your teeth, wash your face. Just remember the water is cold! 

 

We take our bikes with us. So we can ride over to the showers. The showers are clean, hot and free. At least they were when we were there.  Besides exploring the campground and the bay, we used our bikes to get into the nearest town - Manzanita. It's about a 20 minute walk away. But only 10 mins on our bikes. 

 

 

There are six campsites at the airport. Each has a picnic table and a firepit. The sites are large. Plenty of room for our two man tent. As it was a busy weekend we shared our campsite with Kim, Joanna and Deka. Lots of room for both tents, 3 bikes, the firepit, and our camp chairs. The 6 sites were all full the July 1st/4th weekend. More and more planes kept arriving. They just pitched their tents under their wings. Camping is only $8.00 a night. Pay up. It's cheap enough and we don't want general aviation to lose the privilege of camping here.

 

 

Pack your insect repellent. Mosquitos are plentiful, but only around dusk.  The sunsets are spectacular. Worth the hike down to the beach.

 

Places to Fly - Oliver, BC

 

Oliver is located at the southern end of the Okanagan Valley.  It sits in the only desert in Canada and is referred to as the Wine Capitol of Canada.

Oliver Municipal Airport is a nice airport. We've flown here many times. We like the clubhouse, with a clean bathroom, power, BBQ and in colder months it's warm.

 

 
  

The town of Oliver is about a 5-10 minute walk from the airport. Once in town there are several places to eat and if you have bikes (or are a keen walker) there are several wineries within cycling distance. I take no responsibility for the hills.  They are killer.

 

We've come here at least once a a summer for the last couple of years. Sometimes just for lunch, sometimes for a night or two in a nearby hotel, our most recent trip we camped.  Oliver airport allows camping at the airport.  You could probably camp on the nice, flat, green grass right near the clubhouse but we pitched our tent under the wing. It was a tad chilly the night we camped, so we made good use of the clubhouse, sitting inside having a beer before heading to bed.