Hiking at high altitude with a fever
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011Day 206 Thu 24/3 Huaraz
Arrived at Huaraz after a 8.5 hour bus journey. At the bus station, I was met with many offers for tours and hostels. I had already decided on which company to use and where to stay (it is always good to get info from other travellers), so I politely turned them down.
After checking in and bfast, I enquired where I could get some fruits. The owner of the hostel took me down to the local mareket, where, of course, I get local prices for a change. The owner Rosa is so welcoming that one sure feels at ease.
Once back at the hostel , the hostel bell rang, but since I couldnt see anyone else at reception, I opened the door. One could have knocked me down with a feather. Who should be waiting to walk in, but a friend with whom I had done a 4 day trek ages ago in Chile. I had also run into him in a couple of hostels I stayed in, before the trek. He was on his way to Trujillo from Huaraz, but since the bus didnt leave till night, we spent some time together, walking around a bit, having lunch and catching up.
There is not much to do in Huaraz, but it sure is sourrounded by lovely mountains. The weather was sunny in the mornign and changed quite quickly in the afternoon. I arranged my tour and then managed to get my siesta. I had managed to catch a cold/fever my last day in Lima and figured I could use all the rest I needed before headng to the mountains.
Day 207 Fri 25/3 Santa Cruz trek day 1
Day started at 5:00 am, since I had to be down by the agency at 6:00. The tour consisted of me and an Australian couple (both journalists, who had been living in Canada and had biked across USA in 3 months on a mountan bike), and our guide, Ricardo. We stopped at Yungay for breakfast and arrived at Cashapampa, where we would start our hike. Cashapampa stands at 2973 m above sea level (or 2973 msnm – metros sobre nivel de mar).
We hike along a beautiful valley for 4 hours and reach our camp Llamacorral (3760 msnm). Easy hike of 4 hours. All the equipment (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, food, stove, plates, etc) was carried in by a team (well, 3) of donkeys. We sit in the kitchen tent, which was set up by Reinaldo, the “donkey-driver”. Ricardo proves to be a great cook and an early dinner at 18:30 and the knowledge of an early start to the day inspires us ll to head to bed at 20:00.
I have a bad night and didnt sleep well at all. I had been bitten by some sort of a fly (not a mosquito) and my left hand and my right arm managed to swell up during the night. The discomfort and my cough kept me up during the night. It also rained during the night and parts of my tent was wet. To make matters worse, I managed, in my confused, weakened state to drop my torch in the latrine (which is nothing more than a hole in the ground!). However, the sky at night was amazingly beautiful, lit by a half-moon and stars, that I was able to forget the loss of the torch for the 2 minutes it took me to walk from the latrine to my tent.
Day 208 Sat 26/3 Santa Cruz trek day 2
Wake up groggy and tired. After breakfast and mate de coca, it was time to hike to Taullipampa (4250 msnm). It is not a difficult trail, but I am tired and even walking on level ground takes effort. The rain that greets us as we start the trek doesnt make it easier. However, before the rain, we got some glorious views of the mountains and the valley. Always good to have a reason to torture oneself…
After about 3 hours and lunch, I felt better. Which was a good thing, since we had a bit of a climb ahead of us. We arrive at camp to find Ricardo waiting for us with some hot tea and some mate. It rained so heavily after we arrived, taht we invited a couple who were stranded on the trail into our tent to warm themselves up and wait for the rain to stop. I took a nap of an hour and it helped revive my spirit. Dinner again at 18:00 and bed at 20:00.
I slept great during the night. Luckily the Aussies had an extra torch and they graciously lent it to me. A grand gesture, considering that I had consumed well over 2.5 litres of liquid during the day! Needless to say, I had to make a few trips outside my tent duing the night.
Day 209 Sun 27/3 Santa Cruz trek day 3
Breakfast again at 6:30 and some mate. Today we would get up to the highest point (Punto Union at 4750 msnm).
I was feeling great and the climb up to the pass went by fairly quickly and I found it easy. What beautiful views. We were lucky that the clouds hadnt quite made a kill before we managed a peek. Magnificient snow-capped mountains, bewitching valley and even a few clear lakes. When I looked over the pass, I was quite discouraged. It was snowing on the other side of the pass and extremely cloudy! Again, luck was on our side as the clouds cleared enough to give us, while not a complete view, a view good enough to hold attention.
Poor Simon had woken up feeling really bad and worse still, was hit by altitude sickness, which made it an extremely hard climb for him. Apparently one of us in the group had to suffer each day!
An hour into the descent (a 5 hour hike from the pass to the camp at Cachinapampa at 3600 msnm, mostly downhill and lavel ground), I found myself extremely tired again, much like the previous day. I managed to slip while walking down a steep slope. (I had missed the trail and chosen the toughest way to descend!)
A re-union with another friend beside a lake managed to cheer me up for a while, but the effect did vanish quickly. Maybe the effect would have lasted longer if it were some pretty lass. However, my friend is a Kiwi lad, who had travelled for a while with the other friend I had met back in Huaraz. He is also headed to Trujillo and we promise each other that we would catch up in Trujillo. 4 re-unions in 3 weeks in Peru. I cannot remember anything vaguely resembling this ever happening in my life before.
The hike was through a spectacular valley and a bit of a forest, but I was so tired that I had to force myself to look around and take it all in. However, I knew that I couldnt stop for more than a few seconds or else I would have trouble continuing.
As if it werent bad that I was tired, the hike was, like on the second day, made more difficult by the wet ground. It takes quite an effort to miss all the mud, not to mention the horse, cow and donkey dung. While one is glad that donkeys help reduce one’s burden, there is but no way to resist feeling a bit miffed at te amount of waste they produce. I can only imagine the cattle I see on the hike belongs to villagers living next to the Huascaran national park. It was a novely seeing horses and cattle in a national park the first day, but the novelty wore off quickly, especially as they leave presents for us hkers to avoid.
After 8 hours of hiking, I arrive a broken man at the camp. Mate de coca and a snack helps revive me and I am almost my normal self again. Simon was feeling so bad that he headed off to bed, without dinner. I too couldnt eat much and was glad to head to bed at 08:00 pm.
Day 210 Mon 28/3 Santa Cruz trek day 4
We sleep in a bit and leave camp at 08:30 am. It is a 3 hour hike, with a descent and an ascent to get to Vacqueria, which is at the same altitude as our base camp, Cachinapampa. We exit the park shortly and then it is a walk trhough 2-3 villages, where the locals greet us and the children hold their hand out for candy. I even see more than the occasional genuine smile! I take it slow down the descent, thanks to an old dodgy knee, but am able to walk up quite quicky. However, all that the 3 hours of easy hiking gets us is a 3 hour wait for the mini-van to take us back into town.
When the mini-van arrived, we found ourselves offering a lift to more people. Two girls who had missed the public bus back to Huaraz and a group of 4, who had started their hike 2 hours ago to find that their guide had managed to get himself drunk in the 15 minutes they stopped at the village before their hike. They decided the best thing to do was to get back to Huaraz and try get their
money back from the agency. I was quite happy that I had managed to get recomendations from other travellers. There but for the grace of God, etc…
Simon had recovered and was now almost his normal self and managed to hold conversations with the others. The batteries in my camera had died and I was sitting glued to the window, trying to imprint the images in my retina and brain. We are denied a view of the top of Huascara, the tallest peak in Peru, by the clouds., but the Llanganuco lakes are a delight. Since we left late, we dont have as much time to stop and enjoy the viwe. What a pity!
Arrive at 6:30pm. First item on the agenda is the purchase of a ticket to Trujillo. I had decided to rest a night and day in Huaraz and take the bus on Tuesday night. I had also hoped to get a cama, but the best laid plans of men and mice being what they are, I got only a semi-cama. I could have procured a cama if I wanted to travel Monday night! Hah, life sure has a sense of humour and knows how to screw with my head!
There is nothing better than a hot shower after a trek. The shower brought back memories of the W in Chile. After shower, I decided to join the Aussie couple for dinner. Time then to hop on the world wide web and jump into the arms of Morpheus.
Day 211 Tue 29/3 Huaraz
A day of rest. Some time on the internet, an expensive (by Peruvian standards at USD 10) and filling lunch, a short walk and sitting on the sofa reading. Also time to ctch up on the blog.
I have another 4 hours to kill before my bus. A siesta or a book? I cant decide! My fever hasnt quite subsided, and I am a bit apprehensive about the 10 hour ride in a semicama. Oh well, Trujillo is supposed to be warm and there is even a nice beach within minutes of Trujillo.
Damu