Huayhuash Trek (Part 3)

Introduction

This is the final of 3 blog posts on my 11 day trek in the Cordilla Huayhuash region. The highlight would be a spectacular large ridgeline walk which boasted impressive views all around. This period would also supposedly include easier leisure days, but since this is Huayhuash… there are simply no easy days. Additionally, I will adopt a more somber tone during a section of this blog post as I talk about the dangers that the trekking community faces at high altitude.

Day 8

The eighth day involved a long descend in the morning before a long ascend in the afternoon. Along the way, we used a community path and thus enjoyed seeing locals for the first time. While not a day filled with events or highlights, I did enjoy the warmer temperatures and peaceful walk. We also started to encounter more trekkers, as several routes in the region converged. As such, I witnessed multiple trekkers being carried down by horses, all victims of our common enemy, the altitude sickness. Most these groups would be seeking shelter in the nearby towns, hoping for a swift recovery in order to continue the trek afterwards.

Day 9

The ninth day featured the best ridgeline walk I have ever done. To start, we needed to do another high pass but then proceeded to walk the ridgeline for more than an hour. Close up colorful mountains and lakes on one side, while a full range of mountains were on the other side. I loved every moment of it and it totally energized my mind. Which of course was vital as every high point is followed by a torturous drop. In this case, we faced our steepest descend - it felt like a 70 - 80 degree drop on the slopes, and was a truly painful experience for my knees. I have no idea how I survived it...

Day 10

This was supposedly our easy day off, but we instead went for a long adventure. Along the way, we scrambled up forest slopes, tortured our lungs as we tackled more long slopes and had a very long path back down to camp. Nonetheless, mother nature did us a solid and gave us a double rainbow in the evening! Also, the people at our camp set up makeshift goal posts to play football within the midst of our tents. To me, the ability for sport to transcend cultures and even language barriers always fascinates me.

Unfortunately, at night, we begin to hear confirmation of bad news that had been filtering through in the past few days. During the time we were in the region, 1 other person (from another group) had to be evacuated via helicopter while another had died. Both had been suffering from altitude sickness, and the news casted a long shadow over us. It further emphasized the dangers and risks that we faced during our time there and added a human spin to what we do. Thinking back, I really do question my own motivation to risk health and life to attempt the trek. While obviously, a multitude of factors were involved in each incident, but I still struggle to weigh the benefits and risks associated with trekking.

Day 11

The final day saw us making a relatively straightforward but seemingly never ending hike out of the mountain range and back into town. The last part of the day was especially tough as the sun bore down on us with full force, while the landscape turned sandy and dusty. We had to zig-zag down and detour around to get to town, which thus challenged our weary minds.

After 11 days of not showering, heavy walking and generally some degradation of my body, I was really relived to make it back to town and to get to bathe. I found myself completely exhausted and requiring a full day of rest after the trek.

What’s Next

After my time in Huayhuash and Huaraz, I headed next to Cusco to do 2 other multi-day treks. Stay tuned to find out how they went!