Major Pre – Machu Picchu Trek Test 3rd April 2019
Rainbow Mountain
Within days of booking the Machu Picchu trek in April 2018 my eldest son, Scott, contacted me in Cambodia and strongly suggested we do The Rainbow Mountain trek considering its world-renowned photographic nature. On checking the availability and location to Cusco it seemed a no-brainer, hence I booked it at $112AUD! Nothing else came to mind other than for in 12months we were doing it.
Being a one day outing our trip calendar gave the best days in early April with our Machu Picchu trek due on the 8th April 2019. Seems OK; I guess? In understanding slightly, the unknown level of risk to us in regards to High Altitude Sickness it was recommended for at least 4 -7 days prior to acclimatise to this Machu Picchu trek altitude. High Altitude Sickness can affect anyone, any age & any fitness level and can be quite serious; if not fatal.
Jumping forward now to the days we actually arrived in Cusco; April 2019 we became acutely aware of the height of the Rainbow Mountain Trek; a whopping 5,031mts .. 16,506ft thank you very much!!!! That’s so much higher than the Machu Picchu Trek set at 4,200mtrs; 13,776ft! Our trek briefing for Machu Picchu was set for 1st April, albeit it went for 10m minutes however, the guide said it will be good for us to do the Rainbow Mountain trek prior as a good test and show the results of such to us in time for the Machu Picchu Trek. With this reassurance, all was ‘a go’!!!
The Rainbow Trek was booked through Trip Advisor/ Viator. The afternoon prior I contacted the tour organisers to reaffirm our pick up time at our hotel. Originally, 4am. Finally, I received a phone call through the hotel reception at 9pm. We were already in bed, so I had to get dressed and take the call in Reception (3 floor stairs down). The guide stated there is a bridge labour strike set for the morning shift so would I consider postponing? Our calendar being full there was no alternative. After much bargaining the trip was going ahead however, the guide insisted on a 3am pickup to slip past the 7am work strike. With agreement, I walked back up the stairs to search for the agent of sleep. Alarm set for 2.30am, ultra-fast awakeness.
As the universe usually works, I was awake at 1.10am precisely. Thanks to my brain not switching off!! To be fair I woke Scott at 2.15am and at a good pace we tip toed down the noisy stairs to Reception at 2.55am. Of course, the guide arrived at 3.50am! Arrgghh!!!! We walked to the bus to find the bus 75% full so with another 8 or so people to pick up we had a full bus. Seems like the people didn’t postpone either. Cynical; I know but when we reached the bridge construction site at 7am the workers were actually working.
The route is quite winding and 138klms; 3.5 hrs long to Rainbow Mountain SE of Cusco. The area received some rain last night and this made it quite nerve racking in places. The bus almost bogged once and at times the back wheels slid toward the cliff edge trying to get the grip. The driver was excellent though. Very competent for such a narrow and very winding mountain ‘road’. The road can virtually change overnight with some areas prone to landslides.
We stopped for breakfast at a tiny village and awkward side road. We had 20mins to be ready again which was quite easy considering we had a strange liquid ‘porridge’ in a cup … not sure what it was but it was OK; some tea and some bread with margarine. Yes; that was breakfast and included in the tour cost! With our full stomach … sarcasm … we only had 30mins more of bus travel to reach the mountain site. The road was worse from here.
Climbing out of the bus with our smaller backpacks we immediately noticed the very brisk air and heavier breathing. We later found out that whenever you climb out of a bus/ van and at an altitude it takes some 15minutes to re-acclimatise again. The guide pointed to the horses and mules if anyone needed that assistance for $9USD. They were in high use however; the handlers would only take their animals to about 75% of the way which is probably around 4200mtrs at best.
As usual, the first 15mins is literally breathtaking … very steep stairs and rock steps to the only landing with some stalls of souvenirs, food, drinks, etc adjacent. Lungs and heart working overtime before they both become accustom to the rigors required (short term body shock). Of course, Scott has momentum and then realises Dad is semi-struggling. A photo opportunity provides a couple of minutes respite and then it was small & slow steps to the incline ahead. A brief lookup you can see the enormous mountain scape ahead with snow/ ice caps & with a bit of focus you can see ‘ants’ walking along its ridge (people wearing bright coloured hiking gear). OMG!!! All the way up there!!! … remembering the Guide stated 1.5hrs up and 1 hour back. Yikes!!!!
With each step, you’re trying to keep your posture; spine straight to allow your lungs and body muscles to work like a tuned engine. The problem being, your head needs to look down to ensure every footing is precise … remember: you own every step .. even in the city too. Inclines require slow small steps otherwise you are doing the gym lunges and this will quickly stress you.
I’m not kidding: the incline is quite strong .. no relief areas .. just keep going … you can make it .. your mind starts talking to you .. don’t be afraid to take respite often .. your body needs it. In these brief respite periods, you notice the porters (horse/ mule handlers) running back to get another payload of trekkers … yes … running downhill. They are male/ female/ young and old and after maximum revenue. Some trekkers are catching them downhill and now paying the full price after walking 50% of the trek to get the relief.
Now at some point the air is even more thin, the mountain is still inclining and Scott is doing it easy .. I’m not that unfit but the high altitude takes a good strain on anyone. I’m not in distress as I’m managing my relief periods often. My breathing is heavy, my heart still pounding but I’m still edging upwards. Scott, now talks about the book he has almost finished. I listen, as I cannot speak; ensuring maximum oxygen intake is achieved. The book is an autobiography of one of the most decorated and most admired US Navy Seals, Mr David Goggins “You Can’t Hurt Me”. As I’m writing this blog, I am reading this extraordinary achievement book and highly recommend everyone over 18 to read this. A truly amazing individual. Scott informs me on the trek that Mr Goggins believes most, if not everyone only uses 40% of their capacity/ capabilities through life. A massive shortfall to many lives. Scott refuses to accept any comments regarding my age and with this in mind I take a few more stanzas in walking.
At approx. 80% done; another stop; to look at the enormous landscape before me. Just breathtaking … pardon the pun. At this point I divert my thoughts somewhat to the list of items the company insisted we bring especially when the weather can turn in an instant. Every item is a weight to carry and I’m thinking my small backpack is around the 7kgs mark and appears far heavier than other trekkers. I’m also carrying 2kgs of water in our backpack bladders. Some people are carrying nothing and simply walking. One thing the company omitted was walking poles … now they would have been handy. Not on the list so we left our brand new ones in the hotel.
Not much more to go is the mindset (talking to myself more often now as a clear motivation). We are now into a steeper incline and notice there are timber poles approx. 80mm dia stuck into the ground and a loose rope barrier in place. I can’t see any purpose for this as it is not feasible to pull yourself up on it and it doesn’t serve much of a barrier to prevent falling, etc. Onwards and upwards regardless … small steps and a bit more heavy breathing and notice my strong heartbeats. Seems like everything is working like a good diesel motor.
Scott turns and says “almost there”. Why isn’t he puffing? There!!.. my last push to the rocky earth platform full of trekkers where I seek out a clear space for me to gasp for a decent breathe and to start calming my body down. The clouds were coming in and going out just as fast and in between the cycles I could see the famous 7 colours of the Rainbow Mountain. What a view but the light is not giving off the strong colours. Now the clouds come in and I see a lonely rock asking for me to sit down for a while and with pleasure I sat. From sitting down, Scott noticed another ridge to the left with trekkers so I warmly said “off you go and stay safe”. With the trekkers all exclaiming the arghs and oos I remembered the 40% rule Scott said from David Goggins. I stood up to see where Scott went and noticed trekkers were coming down from the ridge in droves so I put my feet back onto climbing mode and ventured up onto the ridge which was really a 25m vertical elevation on a rounded hilltop, not a level surface anywhere. The ice caps started in small blobs and getting bigger. Now watch those .. extremely slippery and no substantial bond to the mountain surface. One slip and see you later .. for good. No barriers .. no nothing until you get to the round top and see a small pole with a sign “Montana Winikunka 5,031mtrs” in between the trekkers. At that moment I notice Scott was about to return to the platform below. With a yell from my puffing lungs he just hears me and turns around. He is so surprised to see me and yells out he is so cold with pain coming from his fingers in his half gloves (fingerless type). I then noticed with all the happenings around me I still have my full gloves in my backpack. How could I forget my gloves … I shiver when I open a fridge and here I am 5,031mtrs up with ice around me. Scott quickly finds blood in his fingers and retrieves my gloves for me followed by a couple of rushed photo shots, etc. I looked around and could only see clouds now encompassing us and vision of a very low few metres.
With our last expected photo, the weather turned immediately sour. The announced temperature at the top was -5C but now with the wind chill factor thrown in we were now experiencing at least -10C easily. We were nearly blown off the rounded hilltop with 60knot winds buffeting us. Both Scott & I experienced 80knot winds in NZ at Sunday Mountain South Island where they built the Edoras castle in The Lord of the Rings so we know what wind strength we are now experiencing. Without much more thought we descended immediately, dodging the ice caps and other trekkers with ultimate safety in mind. The temperature plummeted to an insane coldness but found some good relief in the earth platform below behind the small rock wall. A few minutes later we were able to start our descent for good.
Somehow and it would be proven much later that for some reason I can descend without much energy used. I don’t have knee or cartilage issues either so that’s a real bonus. Apart from a view or photo opportunity both Scott & I descended without stopping. I could not help but notice the poor trekkers still in climbing mode as we descended and the stress shown on their faces… even when they were coming off the horses and mules. We were definitely not the last to the bus. Overall, we made very good time even though I would possibly be one of the last to the top.
Once in the bus Scott showed me his prized photo of the main Rainbow Mountain. It was a beauty. He had taken it when I was on my way to the very top before the clouds came in. Suffice to say I saw only clouds when I reached him. If I had the chance to look back over the top of the earth platform slightly below us in a Northerly direction (I think) I would have seen the real Rainbow Mountain .. not the sister one that I and the other trekkers were looking at. Oh! For a directional sign!!!
With everyone back onto the bus we proceeded down the same winding slushy road to the same place we had breakfast .. Oh what a joy!! Sarcasm again however, the late lunch meal was a huge improvement. The sad part of this story now is even Scott noticed the exclusion of us from the rest of the bus group. All the young ones stuck together, some with their own language group and we were shunned to the outer table yet again as for breakfast. Of course, I was having none of that and to Scott’s amazement I squeezed into the 2 seats of one table and had my lunch. Still no conversation on their part but I was able to get them to share the butter, jam, etc. “Don’t push the older people” Haha!!!
Finally, after quite a few hours we arrived back into Cusco albeit the tour dropped us off at a different square to our hotel. Scott & I used Google Maps but with the poor internet it kept malfunctioning so after say 2.5klms more trekking we managed to do our bag drop off at our hotel and head off to our favourite eating location “Jack’s Place”. Highly recommended although it is already extremely popular.
As a summary, I would highly recommend the Rainbow Mountain one-day tour on the premise firstly, being high altitude acclimatised and know your health & fitness levels. It sure is a trek and one you’ll remember for life!!! Our success on this trek now has us highly confident for the upcoming Machu Picchu Trek in a few days. What a test!!!!
BH Life Travels 