Hardwear Sessions

It's absolutely fascinating to learn about the Inca culture and witness the way they live. The Peruvian Andes are absolutely stunning, dizzying, actually. There are still millions of highland Indians who still speak the ancient tongue of Quechua and maintain a traditional way of life. On their smalled terraced farms, they sit with their llamas and young. It's hard to not be tempted to photograph them.

The Perurail and the Inca Trail coincide in a couple of spots. You see the train from a camp right on the Urabamba river. There are countless ruinas (ruins) along the way. Here is a virtual tour of the Inca Trail which breaks down the trail points.

The weather was mild and misty but no real precipitation. We used the Women's Phantom 32 and the Phantom 15 (my hiking partner is prone to getting colder, faster) both bags were super snug and kept us warm and dry all night. We were super stoked to have these. Not that 5 layers of Alpaca blankets aren't warm, but they are HEAVY. And if they were to get wet, the weight would multiply to something unbearable. The Phantom bags are the light, cushy and ridiculously cozy.

Reaching the colorful and uniquely elevated town of Aguas Calientes, we chilled in this gateway to Macchu Picchu. From here, you can hike or catch a bus to the top.

The hike up to Macchu Picchu (means "old mountain") from town takes about an hour. It cuts through and straight up the road, which hairpin turns consecutively about eight times. Aside from it being an archaelogical and architectural phenomenon, magical is the only way to describe this one of the Seven Wonders of the World. There are endless layers of carved out craggy peaks and billowy clouds. Roaring rapids far below...areas surrounded in luxurious vegetation, it's jungle-y. There is an undeniable amount of spiritual and metaphysical power that takes hold of you, as it sits on one of the Earth's major magnetic fields.

Just down the tracks is a breathtaking hike at Putukusi. Putukusi is the mountain on the opposite side of the Vilcanota River to Machu Picchu. Awesome views of Machu Picchu from the top and a most memorable trail up containing six sets of heart pounding ladders (one 70 plus feet) that go straight up.

We also traveled to Isle de Amantani and Reed Islands in Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America and about 12,000 ft above sea level.

We trained back to Cuzco and grabbed another different train the next day to Puno/ Lake Titicaca. We made a conscious decision to skip the more touristy island of Taquille in Lake Titicaca and do a homestay on Amantani Island, about a 3 hour boat ride in from Puno.

Our hosts El Capitan and Sarafina were most gracious, cooking for us and providing a place to stay. The furnishings were rustic and underfinished. At the higher elevation it got mucho frio and again, we were so pleased to have our Phantom bags on hand and slept toasty and tight through the night. The kitchen was an earthen floor, mud walls with a table, benches, stove on the ground. All the ingredients for the meal were harvested, picked or grown on the island. Sopas that were unbeatable and a plate that contained sweet papas, regular papas, carrots and thick fried queso. Wash it down with munio (mint) herb tea. El Capitan encouraged us to climb to the top of the island before sunset. The sun rises at 5 and sets at 5. We had to have climbed at least another, 2,000 ft to the top. Across the way was Bolivia and the Cordilla Real mountains. Along the path were these stone archways that are sustained entirely by gravity.The climb was steep, long and lung deflating with every step, but again the panoramic from the top was exquisite. You could see the enormous Lake Titicaca in every direction. We caught a gorgeous sunset near the bottom on the hike down that made us pause in our tracks to reflect on the journey as a whole to that point.