Day 7: Colpapampa to La Playa to Santa Teresa

 Since we weren't used to sharing the trails with others, we got an early jump on the day to avoid the crowds.

After a brief walk down the road, we veered off onto a trail that led us into a highland "jungle" - often called the eyebrow of the jungle.

This trail followed the road, with a river between us and the road.

Periodically, we would see a plley bridge that allowed the villagers to cross the river.

Some of the plants along the trail...

The trail was mostly dry, with the occasional muddy spot or waterfall, and had gradual ups and downs.

After about two and a half hours, we passed through a village where we could buy snacks. We saw these turkeys on the outskirts of the village.

After about 2 more hours of hiking, we were met by a car and driven the last 2-3km down the road to La Playa, where we had a delicious lunch.

After lunch, we said goodbye to our horsemen and were then driven to our last campsite in Santa Teresa. After quickly setting up our tents, we took a taxi to the Santa Teresa hot springs. 

The hot springs had just been rebuilt after a devastating flood the prior year. I found the warmest spot and let the hot water soothe my aching muscles. It felt wonderful! After about 2 hours of soaking, we hired a car to take us back to the campsite.

After having tea and a light meal at the campsite

We headed into town to explore a bit, before heading back to the campsite for the night.

Trail Stats:

Distance: 11 km / 6.8 miles

Duration: 4 hours

Elevation gain: 40 m / 131'

Elevation loss: 810 m / 2657 '

Camping elevation: 1550 m / 5085'

Day 8: Santa Teresa to Aguas Calientes

Today was the last day of actual trekking. 

We walked to the Hydroelectric station.

Then we walked along the train tracks to Aqua Calientes, where we spent the night in a hotel. 

Today we walked 10.5 miles in 5.5 hours, with little elevation change.

Day 9: Machu Pichu

Today was our last day together as a group. 

We were bussed to Machu Picchu and Arturo served as our tour guide. 

He gave us a 2-hour tour and we had an additional 3 hours to explore the site before heading back to Cusco and saying our goodbyes.

Humphrey's Peak, Flagstaff AZ

A few friends and I decided to skip the hiking group and organize our own hike up Humphrey's Peak on Sunday. Brian and I had both hiked this mountain before, but it was a first for Bree and Ellen.

We started at the trail head with beautiful warm sunny weather.

After hiking the connector trail through a nice field of flowers under the Snowbowl ski lifts, we reached the actual trail for Humphreys Peak.

Bree signed the log book for the group.

One of my favorite landmarks up the trail is the big field of boulders from a rock slide. It's about 1/3 of the way up and a nice place to stop for a snack. Plus it has some spectacular views. I enjoyed this spot more today than I did in June when it was cold and had spots of snow.

Finally we reached the saddle. On the way up, a few people said the wind was really strong as you tried to approach the summit. We decided we would wait for Ellen to reach the saddle before heading to the summit.

I used the waiting time to enjoy the great view.

And then I just had to break out my hula hoop.

Dark clouds started rolling across the mountains as I hooped it up.

The wind picked up and it started raining.

Brian and I hid out in the "cave" a bit of a rocky outcropping that provided a nice wind break and shelter from the rain. The "cave" only had room for two, which left Bree out in the cold rain. She didn't seem to mind, as she was trying to entice a chipmunk to visit with her.

She was successful at getting one out of hiding (the peanuts in her trail mix helped a lot with this!!)

Finally the weather cleared up, but we decided not to risk the weather by heading to the summit. Plus, Ellen wasn't at the saddle yet when we decided to start down. We ran into her shortly after we started our descent. Brian went back up to the saddle with her and Bree and I headed back down.

The 11,4oo' elevation sign is another favorite landmark of mine on this trail.

Since we were waiting for Brian and Ellen, Bree and I took our time going back down the trail. We had fun climbing on trees, hiding in holes, and just goofing around.

On the way up, we noticed this tree in the field of flowers and thought it would make a great place to take pictures. There were several people with the same idea, so we decided we would catch it on the way down.

Bree and I decided to wait for the others so we could take a group picture here. While we waited, I decided to hoop for a while. It was fun hooping up and down the trail, and trying to convince other hikers that I was hooping the entire trail (rather than a 40' section near this field).

While waiting, I was able to really enjoy all the wildflowers...

....and all the bugs on them!

Bree and I waited so long that we fell asleep!

Finally they showed up and we could take a group picture.

As we walked across the final field, there was a spectacular shot of rain in the background, with beams of light shining between the clouds.

We didn't see much wildlife on the hike, but Ellen spotted this deer near the road as we headed back into Flagstaff for dinner. While I didn't really get the chance to push my physical limits and use this as a training hike, all in all, it was still a fun hike with a great group of friends!

Additional photos can be found HERE.

Trail Stats:Distance Round Trip 10.25 miles
Trailhead Elevation 9320 feet
Elevation Gain 3313 feet
Avg Time Round Trip 5 - 6 hours