Day 5: Camp Pampa Khawana

The weather this morning is completely unpredictable. After what seemed like a break in the clouds yesterday evening, we awoke at 1am to the sound of heavy rain pelting our tent which continued thru our designated wake-up time of 5:45am. Not encouraging at all (especially if you were thinking of sending any wifi messages overnight from outside your tent).

Evidence of rain all night (and Big Agnes secret Peru branding)

Fortunately, by the time we put on our hiking clothes, packed up (keeping those rain coats handy), and had our hot water/beverages delivered to our tent, the rain stopped and the skies momentarily cleared as we gathered for breakfast and our daily briefing. As expected, the breakfasts on the trail are Explora-level delicious – featuring porridge, fruit, granola, and yogurt, plus Matt’s personal boring favorite… bran flakes and milk.

What rain???

Before we started hiking, the staff checked on Nan’s condition. Unfortunately, she was still feeling pretty bad. With the advice of the guides, she decided she would try to walk a little and use the horse to get to the lunch spot and decide what to do from there. She has experience riding, so this seemed like a good option.

Nan decides to give it a shot

The day’s hike was planned for 15k further north and higher into the Puna region, including an extra kilometer or two at the start before we pass the original night one campsite (Acopia, which was too flooded to stay at). At the start, the clouds and fog were constantly moving about, drastically restricting visibility one second, then briefly clearing up.

Weather will be an uphill battle today

We had a few brief glimpses of Salkantay to the west as we climbed in elevation. We kept our spirits up by asking Brai questions, goofing around with animal bones, and identifying obvious Korok locations with our nifty monoculars.

Quick! Look! Salkantay!

Puna fashion accessory

Take a picture, it will last longer

From this point forward, the battle for decent weather became a decidedly one-sided affair, as banks of mist rolled in from below us, the sky darkened above us, and varying forms of precipitation started again. As Brai warned us yesterday, “Everything is Possible in the Mountains, but nothing is sure.”

13th Warrior vibes

Nothing (literally) dampens Jo’s sprit

Many portions of the trail were just completely mud. We did our best to avoid these portions of the trail and walk on the grass/straw plants whenever possible, but sometimes there wasn’t enough room, or the grass was just as wet and squishy. Muddy shoes it is!

Fortunately no one fell in the mud, just frequent slipping and questionable footing, which slowed our pace considerably. There were also two pretty steep sections where we completely disregarded the switchbacks and bushwhacked our way to the top. It was tiring, but it worked. By this point, Britt also utilized one of the horses to help him get up the steep path.

After we got to the top of a section Brai affectionately called “El Diablo,” the rain turned to sleet. Then snow. The trails were starting to get covered in snow and we couldn’t quite tell where exactly was trail anymore. Walking became very difficult without slipping — and Matt happily noted that micro spikes would have been extremely useful right about now.

Side note: Next week we are going to Inti Raymi in Cusco, but Inti is doing a really crappy job of converting us to his religion. We figured one of the main perks of worshiping the Sun God was you can actually SEE THE SUN.

White out

About six hours after leaving the campsite in the morning, we finally made it to the lunch spot at the “halfway” point. By now, the snow was really falling, we still had about seven kilometers to go, and the sun was going to set in three hours. Because they were on the horses, Nan and Britt made it to the lunch spot about an hour before the rest of us. But Nan was still feeling altitude sickness, so an evacuation plan was put in motion to get Nan and Britt off the mountain and back to the Explora hotel.

We later learned this operation involved horses, walking, AND motorcycles — which sounds kinda awesome (all things considered). Plus, the southern route they took was thru a valley with halfway decent weather.

Lunch time and decision time

Meanwhile, the rest of us gathered in the dining tent to warm up and learn our fate over another delicious Explora lunch — while the snow and rain continued. Brai and company were huddled outside putting the satellite phone to work. The simple bread and cheese sandwich appetizers hit the spot, but of course they also brought out trout pasta and dessert.

We were thinking, “Um, Hey! Maybe we should get moving!”, but the guides were certainly using lunch time to re-plan our route with the camp team and home office. So we ate lunch both leisurely AND anxiously awaiting the plan.

Ultimately, it was determined the weather was not clearing up. A runner from the camp team scouted out planned campsite (Wilke) and confirmed it was snowed in. Therefore, given the snow, the time of day, and the extreme sogginess of everybody’s “Peru Dry Season™” gear, the guides enacted Plan B: Get to lower ground, asap.

Instead of heading toward the snowed-in campsite to the east, we headed north, targeting a new campsite located at about ~3800m. The first portion of the new route was still at the ~4600m level so we braved the snow and cold for a bit longer. Brai literally lifted our spirits at our highest elevation by lifting a spirit – a capful of anais liqueur for each of us. Shots! We were energized and ready to go the rest of the way. Brai also made an offering to Salkantay (even though he was not cooperating).

Heading down

We were still trying to beat the sunset (“sun” being used VERY loosely there) and the precipitation, so we walked as quickly as possible without slipping. Luis’ bright yellow jacket was SUPER helpful to spot him when he was more than 20 feet in front of us. We got below the snow line, and the rain finally turned to mist.

Spotting Yellow things in the Mist, Part 1

Spotting Yellow things in the Mist, Part 2

We finally got to our campsite (just before dark!) called Pampa Khawana, meaning “flat viewpoint”. Lower in elevation, it was warmer than our lunch spot in the snow, but still quite cold. Plus, everything was soaking wet. Gortex can only do so much. It was such a challenging day that even Jo opted for a massage later at camp. Turns out they are good!

We’re Alive! And thankfully not the 1993 Movie!

Hike to Camp 2 details

Because of the change in plans, the camp team only arrived slightly before us, and they did a Herculean job to get all the essentials ready for us. Matt took a boiling camp shower to warm up and we laid out/hung up what we could in order to help things dry. But since the weather was still wet and cold, nothing was gonna dry.

We went to the dining tent for dinner of veggie soup, beef, potatoes, and a jackfruit dessert. We also had more anise shots and were advised that if we wanted to order anis at a bar or restaurant, we have to ask for Anisado. Otherwise, they will try to give us the spice. I know we are aren’t fluent in Spanish, but I think we would probably notice the difference.

During dinner, the guides also told us about a fruit called lucuma that they all love, but couldn’t describe. It goes in smoothies, or ice cream, or plain. We will have to try some when we get back to Explora. They also mentioned Ochucutu sauce, which is a homemade spicy sauce. We also confirmed that Rocoto peppers (Peruvian name) and Locoto peppers (Bolivian name) are the same thing, so we are set with our Rocoto sauce at home. But here’s a new Rocoto Pro Tip! Chopped up green Rocoto peppers makes an incredibly tasty salsa. Alas, those might be harder to find in Chicago.

Guides relax (a bit) after a crazy day. Thanks guys!!!

After dinner, the camp team gave us warm water bottles to use in our sleeping bags to help keep us warm. Matt figured we could use them to make a “clothes panchamaca” and take a shot at drying some of our clothes. So… we wrapped our wet clothes around the hot bottle, wrapped that inside of a couple blankets, and put it in the bottom of the sleeping bag. Here’s hoping that we have somewhat dry socks tomorrow!