ALL PHOTOS (DAYS 1-3)
Helpful Vocabulary:
Arriero - Donkey Driver
Lago/Laguna – Lake
Nevado - Mountain/Peak
Quebrada - Canyon
Pampa – Grassy field, usually quite level
Paso - Pass
Pregame
Originally this was supposed to be just(!) a nine day trek. Just nine days spent meandering around the frosted alpine summits of the cordillera blanca. A here to there trek, starting in a small Quechua village of Hualcayan and then terminating in a small Quechua town of Pomabamba 56 miles later. I didn't want to spend just nine days by myself, at many times in the middle of nowhere, so I put up a flyer in a local cafe and sent out the word I was looking for trekking partners. Eventually, a crew of two Aussies, Dion and Tey, and one Frenchie, Rima, was put together. It was decided we would brave the steep summits and high routes backpacks and all rather than hiring donkeys to do all the hard work. I was the head trekking guru (official title) as I had done more trekking, orienteering, and mountain "stuff" than anybody else. Not that it really mattered, but I just wanted give myself a cool title like that.
Day 1 - Celebrities
Huaraz to Hualcayan
Busses, taxis, 3.8 mi walking, 1000 ft ascent/descent
We left early from Huaraz to reach the trailhead in time for what was supposed to be a big day: a near 5000 foot vertical ascent over 8.7 miles from 10,200 feet to 15,000 feet. At quarter to 6:00, however, Dion and Tey met us minus their backpacks, Tey having some stomach problems and not fit to head off. We decided to try and meet the next day, as there was a side trip planned and Rima and I would be in the same camp for two days, so they could catch up if they wanted to. So Rima and I headed up solo to start the trek, but the adventure would start before we reached the trail.
I should note here that trekking here in the Cordillera Blanca entirely different than in Patagonia. First, you are closer to the equator her than down south, so days follow a more 12 hour daylight, 12 hour night cycle, unlike Ushuaia in Argentina, where the sun rose at 5:30 and you had enough light to hike until 11:30 that night. And then there is altitude. This effect is twofold. One, it affects your hiking ability with the lack of 0-two consumption. You can get lightheaded, tired, sick, and the steep passes with a backpack are brutal. Two, the sun becomes much more important. At night, it is frigid, especially when the wind blows. The days can be quite pleasant with the sun out. In the morning you play the waiting game, praying the line of sunlight creeping down the mountainside would hurry the heck up. When the sun ducks behind the mountain tops, or even clouds, there is a noticeable chill in the air. But back to the trek.
So because it was late and the walk up was a beast, we instead decided to camp in Hualcayan, a town of not more than a handful of houses and people. The people were very friendly though, and the children very curious. Initially we received just the shy look out the doorway as we walked by, but soon they came up to just a few feet of us, eyes wide with curiosity. At first timid,
they gradually warmed up and were able to ask them questions and talk a bit with them. All were dirty, sick, and very cute. And I don't mean dirty and sick like "all kids" are; they had on their one set of clothes they always wore, had sores on their skin, snot running from their noses, were coughing, and Rima, who had volunteered with kids elsewhere in Peru, said it was typical of the poorer children here. We talked with the children and residents throughout the afternoon, learned some Quechua (local language) phrases in case people didn't speak Spanish up in the mountains, 
and witnessed the life of a slow mountain village of the Cordillera Blanca. Seeing as this was an extra day to our trip, and with only enough food and gas planned for the 9 days of trekking, we asked for some local grub and a lady cooked us some pasta with garlic sauce, a delicious and energy loaded dinner. We talked with her and her husband awhile before retiring to our tent. We had camped and a level grass section located next to a football field and watched a night game between the local men before heading off to sleep.Day 2 - Word of the Day: Up
Hualcayan to Laguna Cullicocha
5000 ft ascent, 8.7 mi
Late the night before an arriero, Hugo, came by our tent and asked if we would want donkeys. We eventually caved in and decided that for a day, the price was worth paying to have donkeys carry our packs up the 5000 ft ascent and be fresh for the days to follow. We were to leave at 7:00, but when we woke up, we found that our chosen campsite was flooded with water, and everything in my pack I had left outside the main tent compartment was drenched, never mind that it was in a trash bag on the ground. I didn't really consider a significant amount of water coming up from the ground; usually it falls from the sky, and with a extended rainfly and trash bag over the pack, I thought it would be fine laying horizontal on the ground under the rainfly. The site was dry during the day, but apparently at night the sun stops drying a small amount of runoff coming from a stream a hundred feet away, which collected, of all places, right where we had placed our tent. So we left an hour late as I unpacked everything left in my pack for the night to see what was wet. Food, clothes, a book...everything but my sleeping bag, the clothes I slept in, my camera (thankfully!) and my journal. Rima had put all her stuff inside the tent itself, and thus avoided my early morning surprise. Anyway, we finally set off with our packs strapped to Antonio, our donkey, with various items of mine strewn on top to try and air them out.
I made an unfortunate discovery that morning as well. Like I said, it is cold until the sun graces you with its rays, so you put on your warm clothes to head out of the tent. Except I couldn't find my beanie, anywhere. It wasn't dry in the tent or wet in the pack. I must have left it in the taxi when we set off. Great. I will be anywhere between 13,000 to 16,000 feet in the middle of winter without a beanie. I am going to return without ears. (They are actually quite resilient and are still on my head). The climb went surprisingly fast, and we were at camp 4 1/2 hours later, but all thanks to Antonio taking the hard work of carrying our packs for us. After some great views back into the canyon we climbed from, we arrived at the gorgeous Laguna Cullicocha with
views of Nevado Santa Cruz Norte and Chico. At the lake is a Duke Energy (yes, from the States) dam with a man operating a small cabin to take data and deliver it to main headquarters. All alone for 10 days at a time, his name was Javier, and we ate lunch with him and Hugo, making small talk about life in Peru and up at the dam. Hugo left in the afternoon, and after setting up camp we went and cooked dinner in Javier's cabin, complete with kitchen, bathroom, and living quarters. We were able to save some gas for our trip and enjoy some local company. The sunset that night was incredible.
Start of sunset to dusk.
We went to bed and had a cold night's sleep, but that would be something I would need to be getting used to, as all but one night on the trek I woke up cold in the tent.
Day 3 - Reunited
Laguna Yuraccocha Side Trip
650 ft ascent/descent, 5 mi
This side trip into a neighboring canyon would bring great views of the Nevados Santa Cruz, including the main peak, invisible from our camp. Following a canal, we avoided some steep up and downs on the main trail, but had a bit of an adventure at times, with steep mountainsides and drops of to the side of the canal with a very narrow and precarious "trail" at times. Along the way we saw Tey and Dion climbing up and stopped to 
talk with them. They went up to camp and rested the rest of the day, and we continued with our little hike. We never actually made it to the lake, as it looked like a bit more work than was worth it, especially since we came mainly to see the mountains, which were plainly visible and spectacular. After a lunch admiring the view, we returned to camp and hung out with Tey and Dion.
To be continued...
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