Day 5 - Llaca Valley

Today we packed up all of our gear and headed out. We carried our day packs for another acclimatization hike as our big packs were driven up to the campsite we were headed to. We met our guide for the day, Willie, and loaded up in the van. The van took us to the trailhead and dropped us off at about 12,000 ft. We were soon hiking up to enter Llaca Valley.

It was an extraordinary hike with water falls in a high alpine meadow, huge rock faces on both sides of the valley, and amazing boulders littering the lower stream bed.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch that Willie prepared. We saw many cows and even a herd of horses. The local farmers bring them up into the valley to graze on the lush vegetation.

We eventually made it to our campsite and were greeted by our cook and his assistant and the sight of all of our tents already set up! We rested for a bit and made ourselves at home then enjoyed hot chocolate, Nescafé, and tea along with garlic toast.

After a good rest break we hiked a short way out of camp to take in the lake and glacier above. It was a gorgeous emerald framed by imposing peaks. I couldn't take my eyes off of it.  I even spotted a viscacha, a small alpine rodent.

Shortly after returning from our excursion we sat down to dinner in the dining tent.  Our cooks presented us with a hot bowl of a type of chicken noodle soup. We stirred in the local pepper sauce and it was so delicious we all had at least a bowl and a half. Then much to our surprise the cook brought out the main dish of chicken corn potatoes and rice. A traditional Quechua meal usually baked under hot stones.

Again it was wonderful and we all ate as much as we could.  Afterwards we sat around the dining tent drinking more hot drinks and chatting before we finally drifted off to our tents.  Tomorrow we move to 16,000 feet!

Day 4 - Laguna Churup

Day 4 started off fairly interesting. Ian and I left early in search of the bus station and his bags. A taxi driver was dropping off the the fresh rolls for breakfast so we grabbed some and headed out to look for the cab that was scheduled to take us to the bus station. By 7:15 no other cab had showed up so we asked the driver who dropped off the rolls to take us to the bus company we rode in with. After a google translate conversation we learned that the bags were not with that company, then it was off to the next company down the street. We were in the process of trying to communicate what we were looking for when I received word from Jenn at Skyline Adventures that the bag would be delivered later that day. So we hopped another taxi back to Olaza's just in time to grab some breakfast before we departed. It was definitely a lesson in how little Spanish we really understood.

After an hour long ride we arrived at the trailhead with our guides Sam and Ruben to begin our trek.  The trail was step and tough but beautiful. I will let these pictures speak for themselves.

We made it to the lake in about 3 hours, and were treated to a beautiful site and another great lunch.

Dylan and Oscar even went for a swim in the lake!

It only took us an hour to hike back down and another hour to return to the hotel. Ian was quickly whisked away to fetch his bags and was ecstatic when he finally had all of his equipment.

Another great dinner in town, and tomorrow we head into the mountains for a week.

Day 3 - Pukaventa

Let the fun begin today. We started the day with breakfast on the roof top at Olaza's guest house where we are staying while in Huaraz.  A beautiful way to start the day.

After breakfast we met our guide team, the other climbers in our group and went over what to expect and did gear checks for the group. The other climbers in our group are Juan, a 36 year old doctor from Colombia, Angela, who does forensics for the NYPD, Oscar a student from Denmark, and Jamie a recent college graduate from the UK. Our guide today was Sam, originally from the east coast of the US.

After we geared up we headed out from the hotel for a hike up to Pukaventa at around 12,000 ft. It was a rough trail that headed up an old wash through a narrow canyon. We only got lost once for a short while, but eventually found our way back to the real trail.

It was great to be able to walk from our hotel through the town and see a little more of Huaraz.  After the 2000 foot climb we found a nice spot to take in the views and have a delicious lunch. 

We followed a dirt road back to town and then headed over to Skyline basecamp to sort out any other gear needed for the trip. The whole group headed downtown for dinner together and a chance to get to know each other better. Tomorrow we are headed to Laguna Churup for another acclimatization hike. Buenos Noches!

Day 2 - Lima to Huaraz

Day 2 started way too soon after the end of day 1. We were up by 6:30 for a desayuno (breakfast) at the hotel. We had a little time to venture out and get a few soles (Peruvian money) and look for some clothes for Ian. Of course early Sunday morning no stores were open. We did manage to get some cash at an ATM after a few tries. And it seemed the taxi drivers all wanted to stop and offer us rides. On the walk back to the hotel we saw a man dressed as batman riding in the back of a truck waving to everyone.

 We made it back to the hotel just in time to meet our taxi and one of our team members, Juan from Medein Columbia. A short trip to the bus station and a cup of café on leche and we were ready to travel.

We had first class seats on Cruz de la Sur which was very nice and quite relaxing. Overall it was a great way to see the city and country as we gained elevation on our way to Huaraz.

The city streets were busy on a morning and we made a quick stop to pick up more passengers and a little Inca Kola.

As we left the city we passed through desert and mining areas and even caught a glimpse of the pacific.

  

We had a lovely lunch with chicken and rice, peas, and potatoes

Stopped for a smoke break
Played bingo on the bus.

We enjoyed a little Mate de Coca to help with the altitude,
And eventually made it to Huaraz around 6.  Once we got settled in to the hotel it was down the street for some dinner and shopping.  Tomorrow starts our first acclimatization hike.

Day 1 - Planes and planes

It was a long day of flying yesterday.  Dylan and I left Little Rock around 9:00 am and took a short bumpy ride to Houston.  There we had the pleasure of touring Houston Bush Airport for 4 hours while we waited for our next flight. Ian came in on a later flight and Matthew went Delta through Atlanta. In spite of a slightly late departure, we made it to Lima on time with a fairly uneventful flight.   However Ian's luggage was not as fortunate. It seems his duffels went to Fort Brag and some poor soldiers arrived in Lima. But Ian took it very well.

He was not even visibly shaken when the drone he had carried on was confiscated until he could get the necessary permit, which of course was not possible on Sunday. We eventually made it to the Hotel Senórial and hit the sack about 2:00 am. Day one in the bag.

Athens-Big Fork and Eagle Rock Loop

A couple of years ago I hiked the Eagle Rock Loop with my friend Brad. We had a good time and enjoyed some of the prettiest scenery in Arkansas. Now, by a strange twist of fate I was presented with a beautiful weekend in January and three days to do more hiking! I had been working on plans with Brad to hike the Buffalo River Trail, but he was stuck working and wasn't going to be able to make it. So I did a quick change of plans and decided to revisit the ERL. But this wasn't just a recreational trip, I also planned to map and survey the trail, campsites, and all the features for the Arkansas Hiker app. I finished the Ouachita Trail for the app last year, and it was time to add more to it.

So I left home Friday morning and made the drive down to the Athens-Big Fork trailhead. But not just along the ERL, I started off another 1.4 miles away at the ABF northern trailhead.  My goal for this trip was to map all of the trailheads and side trips, along with river crossings and campsites. It was a great day for hiking and I hit the trail with just under 20 lbs on my back.

My plan for the first day was to get all of the hills out of the way first. Which is no small task on the Eagle Rock Loop. By taking the Athens-Big Fork trail from start to finish, and back to the Viles Creek Junction; I managed to cross 8 high ridges including crossing one of them twice! It added up to nearly 3000 feet and 12.7 miles for the first day.

I found an astonishing amount of trash at the campsites I visited and did my best to haul out what I could. But when I came across a large blue tarp, rope, blue jeans, and a tent fly I had to draw the line. I did take the tent fly with me and found a few other stakes along the way. At the top of one hill I actually spotted the tent body that would have gone with the fly. I would love to know what happened on that trip. I hiked all day in beautiful weather and didn't see another person for the entire day. Of course that luck wouldn't hold out over the weekend. I found a nice campsite near Viles Branch and settled down for the night listening to coyotes.

Day 2

14.3 miles today.  Viles branch was gorgeous.  Hiked to Viles trail head and found great swimming hole.  Took a dip. The water was so clear I could see at the bottom clearly at least ten feet down.  Watched a turtle swim to the surface.  Plenty of traffic around winding stairs.  Too many people to count.  Saw two solo women but no solo men. One woman doing the loop.  Three guys from Texas also.  Warm day and no clouds.  Nice camp by Little Missouri. I was able to dump all the trash I've been picking up at the Winding Stairs trailhead. I picked up two water bottles I've been using tonight to store water at the campsite. It seems that I busted one part of my water treatment last night so I've been drinking from springs as much as possible and boiling water while in camp. 9 miles to go tomorrow.

Day 3. 9.46 miles. The weather wasn't as spectacular today. The humidity was up, and the clouds moved in; rain is definitely on the way. I started the day with a crossing of the Little Missouri, one of three for this trip. About a mile from the intersection with the ABF I ran into Mark from the Backpacking Arkansas forum. We talked as we hiked last mile to his truck. The first conversation I had for a few days. Just to make the trip complete I found a tick crawling up my pants leg when I stopped for lunch. I finished my hike just after 12:30 on Sunday with the final pack weight down to 14.15 lbs. I still had 1/2 pound of food left and a half liter of water. A great trip!