INCA TRAIL HIKE

Here is our group of ten hikers at the trail head of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru. There were a couple from Ireland, three from Australia, two from Germany and the three of us from Billings, Montana. I was the oldest of our group, and am quite sure, the oldest on the trail the four days we hiked.

This is our camp the first night. It was the most private as far as other hikers is concerned, but awful toilet accomodations! Did get a good night's rest, which was good since the next day was a killer...went from about 10,000 to 14,000'.


This is the view of where we've been from
Dead Woman's Pass, and yes!
I felt like that at the end of day
two! The name actually is from the
view looking up, like the Sleeping
Giant outside Helena, Montana. You can see the porters resting in the foreground. These hard-working primarily young men carry loads of about 70 pound and usually wear rubber type of sandals, often running up/down the path.


And this is what the way down on the other side resembled. We encountered lots of actual rock stone steps. Very seldom was there a level dirt path to walk on. The Trail is now restricted to 500 persons per day, including support persons (porters, etc.) and there were people on the trail picking up litter. This governmental interference has only taken place in about the last five years or so and became necessary as there were thousands of people on the trail, and the situation became totally out of control.