Our wake-up call for Day 2 was at 6am. The plan for the day was to climb, and to keep climbing, so after breakfast I tried chewing on some coca leaves to help with the altitude. I didn't like them, so I gave up after a minute or two. The minute we left the campsite, we started uphill. The morning was chilly, but by 7:30, I had already worked up a pretty good lather, and was breathing pretty hard. The goal was to ascend 1,000 meters in only a few hours. It was pretty brutal. I was hot while I was walking and freezing when I stopped (which we had to do pretty often). I was also hungry every hour due to the amount of energy I was burning. Every time I looked up, I got pretty discouraged. It was so high. And far. And steep. Armando advised me not to think about the future, though, only the present. But it was really hard not to keep looking up. Around noon, I finally made it to the summit, at 4,200 meters. Finally! Five hours of going straight uphill in serious altitude isn't as fun as it sounds. As I reached the top, the Brazilian guys from our meal group were already there and cheering me on. I felt like I should make a speech. (First, I'd like to thank my walking stick, without which I wouldn't be here. I'd also like to thank my guide, Armando, for his words of encouragement and advice. Finally, I would like to thank Kris, for retrieving my water out of my unreachable pocket whenever I asked for it. Thank you all.)
From there, it was literally all downhill. Downhill is a bit rougher on the legs, but at least I didn't feel like I was going to die with every step. It started raining about halfway down, though, making the rocks a bit slippery, which of course means that I slipped and fell. I have a nice gash on my right knee to show for it. After that, Armando was constantly begging me to be careful.
We arrived at the second campsite a little after 1pm, and were done for the day. Good thing, too. My legs were too tired to go any further, and it rained the rest of the day. Along the trail, the bathrooms at the campsites didn't actually have toilets, but holes in the ground that required hovering or squatting over. Luckily, the second campsite actually had toilets (but no seats, of course), for which my very tired legs were extremely grateful.
The rest of the day was spent in the tent, listening to the rain and playing cards. We played several rounds of Tic, the official Rowedder family game (and the only game I really know) and I learned several Norwegian card games. Between our 5:30 tea time and dinner, we taught the Brazilians how to play "Spoons." (Okay, so I know 2 card games). While playing, we acquired an audience of Peruvian porters, who were fascinated by the fast paced game. After the first round, the Italians joined us, along with their guide. Spoons with Italians and Brazilians is a very, very loud game. But oh so much fun.
Tommorrow: Inca Trail, Day 3: Disaster strikes in the jungle. (I'm getting good at these teasers, aren't I?)
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