Part Three: Cedros Alpamayo - More High Passes and Snow

Continuing from yesterday:  On the seventh day of the trip, we hiked up to Lake Jancarurish, which is a bright, cloudy turquoise blue lake sitting beneath Alpamayo Mountain.  The hike up the valley from our campsite was easy.  The trail stayed just above the valley floor and was mostly flat until we reached the terminal moraine that formed the lake.  Once there, we climbed steeply up a path to the top of it for a good view of the lake.  We took a break there and speculated on where the loud rockslide had been the night before. 

From there, we hiked up to an overlook with a view of Alpamayo, Santa Cruz Mountain, and the large waterfall on the river below us.  We took another break here for pictures.  There was a large boulder (a glacial erratic) that made a perfect chair on top.  The only sounds were the waterfall and the wind.  The plan was to return down the valley from there and hike to the next campsite.  Our guide asked if we wanted to continue up to another viewpoint and that sounded good to us, so he set off across the flat spot to the river.  He found a safe place to cross and then we continued up the slope on the other side.  There was no trail, so we were just following him.  The slope was steep and fell away a long distance below us, but there were plenty of safe places to step.  We stopped on the nose of a large ridge with a great view of Alpamayo and the lake below.  After a short break, we continued up to another flattish spot and then began working our way back down to the valley.  We finally picked up the trail again near the bottom of the valley, where we took a break for lunch.  While we were sitting there, we noticed two backpackers coming down from the pass we crossed the day before.

The trail from there to Ruinapampas, our next campsite, was gently sloping downhill and easy.  We took a break at the last view of Alpamayo and arrived at the campsite in the early afternoon.  Storm clouds rolled in on Jancarurish campsite, where we had stayed the night before.   It sleeted for a little while in camp, but then it stopped and we were treated to a rainbow up the valley.  Jesus (the burromaster) commented that we must be lucky, because the weather had been so good so far.  Late September and early October is the beginning of the rainy season in Peru in the high country and Jesus said it would not be unusual for it to rain for a little while every day.

Day 8:  All three of our Peruvian counterparts warned us about the passes on day 8.  All of them said it was going to be a long, hard day, since we had two really high passes to cross.  We got up early and ate breakfast.  We started hiking down the valley, which felt unfortunate, since we would only have to climb further to get to the top of the first pass.  After an hour of hiking, SSW Spouse asked Edgar (our guide) if we were about half way to the top of the pass.  Edgar sort of laughed and said, "I think not."  We finally made the top of the pass about an hour later.  We stopped and ate and the donkeys passed us while we were sitting there.  One of the donkeys laid down when he got to the top, while Jesus was adjusting the loads for the others.  As soon as Jesus came to adjust his load, he jumped up.  Apparently, he just likes to lay down when they stop (he was not mistreated or overworked). 

We could see the trail ahead of us across the valley.  We had to descend a long way before switchbacking up to what looked like the next pass.  Edgar quickly dispelled the notion that it was the next pass.  We worked our way down to bottom of a very high valley with a pretty campsite and began the climb up the other side.  At what looked like the top, the trail turned left and continued to climb.  There were three or four more false summits before we finally reached the top of the pass.  Finally, we reached the top and had a brief view of Santa Cruz Mountain.  Since we had eaten lunch after the last false summit, we didn't linger long on top of the pass.  We were also conscious of the looming dark clouds over the mountains near us.  Sure enough, within 100 yards of beginning our descent, it started snowing.  Just a little at first.  By the time we reached the overlook over Lake Cuillacocha, it was snowing pretty hard.  The good thing was, nothing was accumulating where we were.  The bad thing was, it was getting pretty cold and it was very windy.

Lake Cuillacocha was beautiful.  It is a deep cobalt blue in the deep areas and turquoise in the shallow areas.  The water is very clear.  Half of the lake was in the sun since it was only snowing closer to the mountains (and on us).  As we continued down, the snow moved further into the valley and followed us around the lake.  We stopped briefly near the outlet for the lake, but kept moving after a few minutes to stay warm. 

From the outlet, we had to climb high up over the other side of the valley.  All of a sudden, we were in the sun again and had to stop to take off our coats.  As we were climbing along the cliff face, we noticed a condor riding thermals below us.  It made lazy loops in the air, looking for food below.  We stood watching it for a while and it rewarded us by soaring right in front of us on its way out of the canyon.  When we finally reached the top of the hill we were climbing, Edgar pointed out rock art on the cliff face.  Someone, before the Incas, had painted small red human figures on the rocks.  They were about 12 inches tall and scattered about the cliff face. 

At this point, Edgar said we had about 30 minutes left for the day.  I have to say that I was skeptical about that.  He can hike so much faster than we can at that attitude, that I figured we must have about an hour.  We continued around the corner and there was the dining tent on the slope below us at Huishcash.  Twenty-five minutes later, we were taking our boots off outside our tent.  It took us 8 hours to hike 12 km (8 miles).  We took a lot of pictures, but climbing the passes just took us a long time.  The trail up the passes was steep and the altitude slowed us down a lot.

Day 9:  Our last day was all downhill.  We had seven kilometers (about 4.3 miles) to hike to get to the village of Hualcallan, where we would be picked up by the van.  We made it in about two hours.  The trail just zig-zagged back and forth down the mountain before it finally took us into the village.  There must have been 30 switchbacks. About 30 minutes after we arrived, the van arrived and about ten minutes later, the donkeys arrived.  Within ten minutes, everything had been loaded into the van, goodbyes had been said, and we were on the road.  Jesus still had a two day walk back to his village, Colcabamba.  The rest of us went back to Huaraz.

All in all, it was a great trip.  We would definitely do it again (and hope to someday).  The scenery was absolutely spectacular.  The thing that really made the trip great, though, was the professionalism of our guide, cook, and burromaster .  We learned so much about the area from them, were well-fed, and enjoyed their company.  It was a great opportunity for me to practice Spanish and learn a few Quechua words as a bonus. 

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Alpamayo Mountain

 Climbing up above Lake Jancarurish and the river below.

 Lake Jancarurish.

 Bootshot over Lake Jancarurish.

 Alpamayo from the Jancarurish Valley.

 Castilleja sp.  (Quechua:  Yawar taico, English:  Indian Paintbrush)

 Cactus flower.

 Rainbow from Ruinapampas campsite.

 The second pass on day 8. 

 One of the donkeys.

 Ruins below Ruinapampas. 

 Loasa grandiflora (Spanish:  Ortiga macho, Quechua:  Shinua)

 Muillacohca mountain (in an earlier post, I mentioned that cocha means "lake" in Quechua.  I'm not sure why this mountain has "cocha" in the name).

 Lake Cuillacocha in the snow.

 A large waterfall on the outlet stream from Cuillacohca. 

 Sunset at Huishcash.

 Looking down on the village of Hualcallan on the last day.

Lupinus sp (Lupine).

Part Two: Cedros Alpamayo - High Passes and a Rest Day

Continuing from yesterday: Day four promised a long climb over Llanajanca Pass (4,700 m, 15,400 ft).  After resting the previous afternoon, SSW Spouse felt much better.  The previous evening, Jesus (the burromaster) had expressed a little concern about the rain and the final climb over the pass with the donkeys, but the rain had stopped overnight and we woke up to a good view of the mountains.

We started up the steep slope leading out of Jancapampa Valley by 7 a.m.  We climbed for a while before the trail flattened and we had a good view of the high valley ahead of us.  We were quickly passed by two small boys going up to tend livestock. After a break, we started hearing a flute behind us.   It kept getting closer and finally, Edgar (our guide) said he thought it was our cook playing and that they must be getting close.  It continued to get louder and was pleasant listening.  Pretty soon, we saw a teenage boy on horseback playing to pass the time on his ride up to the highest valley to tend livestock.  He likely saw us ahead of him, but he was clearly just playing for his own interest.  When he got close to us, he stopped playing and then started up again after he was beyond us.

Jesus, Marco, and the pack stock soon passed us.  We took a break for lunch on a large glacial terminal moraine.  A small bull took a strong interest in SSW Spouse's lunch, pacing back and forth in front of him, eyeing his sandwich.  He did not act aggressive, just hungry for salt.  After we left the lunch spot, he sniffed around the area where we sat like a dog sniffing around the kitchen floor after everyone has eaten dinner. 

The pass was amazing, crazy, and beautiful, all at the same time.  No vegetation grows on the final 100 m of the ascent, so it is covered in fine gravel.  That wouldn't be a problem, except the slope falls steeply away from the top of the pass and the "trail" is little more than a goat path barely etched into it.  One wrong step would send a hiker several hundred feet down into the valley below.  I found myself trying to figure out if one can use trekking poles to self-arrest on gravel and I am not afraid of heights.  Fortunately, I did not have to try to find out.

The top was windy and cold, but someone had built a stone wall across part of the pass, which provided the perfect shelter for a break.  All in all, it took us five hours to reach the top.  The way down was more of the same in terms of steep, precarious trail, but it soon leveled out some and we made quick progress towards camp at Huillca.  Along the way, we passed through a small village and saw herds of alpaca (they are really funny runners).

Day 5 was a rest day with an optional day hike to the Safruna Lakes.  SSW Spouse opted for rest since he was feeling a bit unwell again.  Edgar and I hiked up to the lakes.  The first challenge involved crossing the river as there was no bridge at the head of the valley.  Foolishly, I left my sandals at the tent.  I was prepared to cross barefoot, but Edgar did not like any of the crossings.  He eventually found one that was narrow enough for me to jump across, but had I missed, it was very, very deep.  And fast.  I just jumped before I could think too much about it.

Andean Gulls were fishing on the lower lake, so we took a break and watched them for a little bit before continuing on to the upper lake.  Upper Safruna Lake is deep cobalt blue, which means it must be very deep.  It was overcast, so there was a perfect reflection of the surrounding mountains and glaciers on the surface of the lake.  We sat up on the terminal moraine that formed the lake, a few hundred feet above the water.  A small avalanche crashed down the mountain across the lake from us.  On the way back, we saw an Andean Condor soaring low across the valley, looking for food.  These birds are huge, with wingspans up to 3 m.  This time, I opted to cross the river barefoot at a really wide spot with no large rocks - a much safer option than trying to jump.  

Back at camp, Edgar broke out a deck of cards and I had the opportunity to learn a whole new set of Spanish vocabulary words.  He taught Jesus, Marco, and I a game called El Presidente.  I taught them Hearts, with Edgar's help translating some of the more complex rules. It was a great way to pass the afternoon and learn more Spanish.  

Day 6 was our first two-pass day.  We had a pass that was not too far above camp and then one of our highest of the entire trip, Cara Cara Pass at 4,830 m (15,850 ft).  The first pass did not take us long to cross and it was not a very dramatic pass.  After crossing it, we dropped into a valley and began gradually ascending to the head of it.  The trail was about as easy as we would find on the whole trip, the ascent was so gradual that it felt like we were hardly climbing at all.  The donkeys passed us while we were having lunch and we watched them make the very steep climb at the end of the valley.  Then they disappeared over an edge that we thought was the top.  We reached that edge after much effort, only to find ourselves on a wide bench with 150 meters of climbing still above us.

We finally reached the top, though, and it was windy and cold.  Unlike the previous high pass, there was no place to really escape the wind, so we did not linger long at the top.  We could see Alpamayo and the Santa  Cruz Mountains ahead of us and, as we descended, we were able to see Lake Jancarurish.  It was one of the more spectacular views of the trip so far. 

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Sunrise at Jancapampa

Brachyotum rostratum (Quechua:  Chinchi)

 The small bull that wanted SSW Spouse's lunch.

 Climbing up to the top of Llanajanca Pass.

Another view of the trail on the way up.  The faint line extending from the lower right diagonally up toward the middle of the photograph is the trail.

 Sitting on top of a small spine of rock at the top of Llanajanca Pass.

 Folded rocks at from the top of the pass.

 Looking toward Huillca from Llanajanca Pass.

Unidentified white flowers.

The river on day 4 in the rain.  This is the river I crossed on day 5 by jumping over a narrow spot.  I did cross upstream, but it was still a decent sized river.

An alpaca herd in the Huillca area.

 Day 5 - Bootshot over Safruna Alta Lake.

Castilleja sp. (Quechua:  Yawar taico, English:  Indian Paintbrush)

 Day 6 - Santa Cruz Mountain from Cara Cara Pass.

 Gentianella nitida (No common name found)

Day 6 - Sunset over Pucajirca Mountain. 

Part One: Cedros Alpamayo Trek - 9 Days in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

We spent 9 days walking approximately 80 miles in the Cordillera Blanca in the Ancash region of Peru.  It was one of the more amazing hikes I have ever done.  It was also completely different than anything I've ever done.  I'm going to take a few blog entries to write about it because there was so much to see.  A note on names:  Cocha is the Quechua word for lake.  Pampa is the Quechua word for floodplain.  I've tried to use the map and remember what our guide told us for the geographic names, but I am sure I don't remember all of them correctly.

We started out by taking a van with our guide, Edgar, and cook, Marco, for 5 hours from Huaraz, Peru to Vaqueria, a little village on gravel road just over the spine of the Andes.  Along the way, we stopped at the Huascaran National Park entrance, where I bought two pieces of fry bread from a woman selling that and a drink made from quinoa.  We also stopped at some lakes and near the top of the pass.

We were met by our burromaster, Jesus, in Vaqueria along with five donkeys and a horse.  That's right, our party would consist of the two of us, guide, cook, and burromaster and we would have 5 donkeys and a horse to carry gear.  We were handed our lunches and just like that, we were off.  We carried day packs and trekking poles, but most of our gear would be transported by the donkeys.  We made our way down to the river on the hot, dusty trail from Vaqueria and then back up through a couple of villages.  It was a Wednesday, and elections were being held on Sunday, so we met several campaign workers along the way.  Soon, we left the villages behind and entered the national park. Right about that time, the donkeys, Marco, and Jesus passed us.

We turned north and passed the tents for a large party hiking the Santa Cruz Trek.  Shortly after than, we began passing the trekkers in that party, including one guy who was seriously suffering from the altitude.  That made us grateful that we had spent time in southern Peru acclimatizing.  About an hour before we arrived in camp, it got cold and started to rain.  The temperature must have dropped by 25 degrees (F).  By the time we arrived in camp, I was freezing and hungry.  We arrived to our tents already set up and hot tea waiting for us in the dining tent.  Since we started in the afternoon, a three-course dinner followed shortly after that.  The food was very good. By the time dinner was over, it was really cold, since it had mostly cleared off. 

We woke up the next morning to a breakfast of pancakes and hot coffee.  It just doesn't get any better.  We had 4,725 m (15,500 ft) Pucaraju Pass to tackle first think in the morning (our campsite was at 3,800 m [12,400 ft]).  We started up the pass at 7 a.m.and made our way up the switchbacks very slowly.  We broke out into the sun right at the top of the pass, which made a perfect opportunity to take a break.  We had a great view of Huascaran and Taulliraju mountains.  From there, we slowly descended into the valley.  We were soon passed by the donkeys, cook, and burromaster.  We saw a number of flowers and Andean Geese.  As the valley turned east, we came Lake Huercucocha.  When we reached the east end of the lake, we climbed a goat path high above the valley floor.  The path was about the width of one of our boots and took us into the next valley.  We reached camp by about 1:30 in the afternoon and our burromaster commented that we had made good time.  Considering he had made it at least an hour before us (having left more than an hour after us), I took that as a complement.

They valley where we were camped that night was full of sheep, cattle, goats, and horses in addition to our pack stock.  Grazing is allowed in the national park and we would see animals every day we were out.  We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun.  They only insects that would bother us on the trip, tiny flies, made a feast of my feet and ankles.  In the evening, villagers from further down the valley drove their sheep past our camp on their way home.  A large thunderstorm blew threw just after we went to bed and it rained for part of the night.

In the morning, the sky had cleared and it was cool.  SSW Spouse woke up feeling under the weather, so we were a bit late in getting started.  We only had one pass to cross and it was a bit lower, so he felt like he could rally and get through the day.  Our guide assured us that it would be a relatively easy day.  We made it up to the top of the pass just ahead of the donkeys.  From there, it was a long walk down to the Pishgopampa Valley.  We passed through the village of Pishgopampa on the way down.  The valley is very pretty and green, much wetter than the previous valleys in which we had camped.  The water table was so high that in places, the ground squished underfoot.  Our campsite, at the end of the valley, had a great view of the Pucajirca Mountain, its glaciers, and the waterfalls below them. 

A quick note on human waste disposal:  At each campsite, a toilet tent would be set up over a pit.  When we were leaving camp, the hole would be filled in.  Basically, this is the same thing as digging a cathole in the backcountry (the most common practice for dealing with solid waste while backpacking), just on a slightly bigger scale.  At this particular campsite, since the water table was just inches below the ground, the pit filled with water to about six inches below ground level. 

SSW Spouse spent the afternoon in the tent resting.  In the meantime, a parade of villagers from Pishgopampa came by to sell things:  Two boys with beer, a girl with leaves for tea, and an older boy with two large bags of hay for the donkeys.  Marco bought the leaves and Jesus bought the hay.  Jesus also put the younger boys to work helping with the toilet tent and the older boy to work retrieving the horse, which had wandered far away.  No one was in the mood for beer, though, so the younger boys would have to wait for the next party to sell it.

Cold rain came in by dinner time and SSW Spouse felt quite a bit better, which was good since we had a really high pass on day 4.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 The river below the village of Vaqueria.

The river in the Huaripampa valley.

The trail beneath Polylepsis trees. 

The mountains and storm clouds on the first day. 

The peaks south of our trek in our first afternoon on trail.

 Sunrise on the second day.

Glaciers at the top of the pass on the second day.

Lake Huercucocha on the second day.

Lupinus sp.  (Eniglish:  Lupine, Quechua:  Tallwish, Taulli, Spanish:  Chocho Silvestre)

 I'm not sure what this flower is, but it was pretty.

Gentiana sedifolia (Quechua:  Penqa Penqa, Spanish:  Vergonzosa)

The donkeys coming over the pass on Day 3.

One of the donkeys at the top of the pass on day 3.

Gentianella tristicha (Quechua:  Oqi Maqa)

Mountains on Day 3.

Oputina flocossa (Quechua:  Warqu).  This is a small, extremely spiny cactus.  The fruit is, apparently sweet and edible.