THE MOONSTONE TREK

DON'T FORGET TO CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE :))
Heather was still doubled up on her bed at the Tika Wasa hotel in Cuzco, she said "Dad u go walk around the city I will be alright",  her pale face told me otherwise. What to do....,  tomorrow is the start of our Moonstone Trek with a 15,100' pass. We started her on the wonder drug Cipro, with the hope she could fight her way through this. Of course throw in a 5 hour windy van ride up through valleys  & mountains to our trailhead, and u have the start of another great adventure.

FANCY TRANSPORT IN THE
LOCAL VERSION OF A TUK TUK
CALLED A MOTOR TAXI.

SHOWING OFF HER SHEEP HEAD

We first stopped at the quaint city of Anta for a quick view of the local market, get water, and a  Coca tea infusion for altitude, as usual the market places our fascinating.... Sheep head soup to start the morning- yummy!

MOONSTONE

MOONSTONE TREK: As we learn in life there are many paths to the top of the mountain. The Moonstone trek is an alternative to the Inca trail, higher at 15,100', with many Inca ruins, and no less daunting.

NOTCHED AREAS FOR MUMMIES

MUMMIES IN RESTING
FETAL POSITION
INCA MUSUEM PIC

We stopped the van at the little visited Inca ruin, Quillarumiyoq, where 500 years ago the Inca temple towered over the valley. The intricately carved symbol em-blazed on the rock is the moon, the wife of the sun, and very important to Incan spirituality. The carved out nooks in the temple are where the royal mummies were placed in a fetal position with their prized possessions, so they could take them on their next journey- of course the Spanish conquistadors pillaged these along with the burial caves to steal any gold they could find.

ALTITUDE SICKNESS

BRICE PULLING FROM WITHIN

DROP OFF: The van dropped our group off on the side of a hill where the trailhead started, and we met our 5 horse wranglers who would carry our gear. Elevation 9,000' no problem, ending pt. today 12,000' no problem. Unless of course u are from Texas where everything is flat. Brice our congenial ranch hand with movie star looks had just stopped smoking the day before, and was about to begin his vision quest adventure of a lifetime.

Most of us on the trek carried 15 lb packs, with mucho water, Brice had what felt like a 30 lb pack,  a half liter of water, and no hat. At 12,000' feet, altitude hit like a brick wall, and Brice was rolling around on the ground trying to figure out where the truck had came from. Dizzy, couldn't eat, and disoriented he was having the time of his life. Jesus and Nemo our wonderful guides, were huddling around Brice to figure out what to do...Jesus said, "Brice how about taking the rescue horse down, and go back to Cuzco", no way in hell! mumbled Brice. With a little coca candy, and some Advil,  I had in my pocket (800 mg), he rallied to tackle the next section.

WASA RUINS

LOCAL SCHOOL

WASA RUINS -12,000': Next to our lunch spot we explored the Wasa ruins a pre-Inca civilization called the Wari, who lasted from AD 700 to 1100.

HEATHER PASSING OUT
SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO LAURA
AND ROSA

 JUST BELOW ACCOCCASA PASS  15,100'

DAY 2 CHILLIPAHUA VILLAGE- TO 14,000 FEET. We started our morning handing out school supplies we had brought to the local mountain village. Last year a road was built, but before that the village was pretty much cut off from the rest of the world. The teacher used to drive up from Cuzco, hike in 8 hours teach all week, and then hike back down on Friday to his car and back to the city. After lunch, the  ACCOCCASA PASS: at 15,100' was looming in front of us and begging to be climbed (more Coca tea please). On the trek we had a delightful couple from Minnesota, via a Russia state, Natalie and Alexander. Alexander a marathon runner, was leading the pack but he too was now feeling the effects of altitude sickness. Food sounded terrible to him and he was fighting thru the symptoms in his own way. Heather in the meantime had a full recovery from Cuzco, and was impressing her father with her resilience, determination and hiking abilities.

DAREDEVIL HEATHER,
WHERE DID SHE GET THAT FROM

She was conquering a 15,100' pass, which is higher than any mountain in the continental US. and tackling it like a season pro and with no Diamox. Our other 2 stars were the sisters from back east, Becky (another marathon runner) a high school Spanish teacher, and Amanda, who is attending med school in the fall.

SUNSET AT 14,000'

At the end of the day we settled into our camp for the chilly night, our adopted trekking dog, Maddy was hanging for dinner but now she was off back down the hill.  The cooks were preparing a traditional lamb roast cooked under rocks, as we watched the sunset fill the sky, does it get any better? RISE AND SHINE: With our teeth chattering from the gripping cold night,  the morning hot tea was slowly bringing us back to life. Another 8 hour hike ahead to the slopes above Oilantaytambo for our final night. The first thing we did was drop into what looked like a cross between Zion and Fern gully notched in a valley at 13,000' with melting ice drops from ledges and bromeliads perched in the air. From there we broke out onto a hillside trek with spiraling views of Mt. Veronica.

TRAIL W/ MT. VERONICA 

CLIMATE CHANGE: Just like everywhere else I had visited in the last few years, climate change is apparent. After a conference with the guides and wranglers, they pretty much agreed the mountain had lost close to 25% of its glacial coverage over the past 20 years. And just a few years ago a large glacial chunk broke off on the right side, slid down and crushed the village below.

NATALIE WAS KNOWN FOR
HER POSES AND HUMOR

INCA WIND GATE

There is no better  word that can describe the ancient "Gate of the Wind" than Stunning. The gate sits on the cliffs overlooking the Sacred Valley with Mt. Veronica in the background. This site may have been used for religious purposes, or as an astrological calendar, nobody really knows. Day 4: Waking up on the slopes above Oilantaytambo, we had our morning goodbyes to our ranch hands and cooks & gave them their tips.

OUR 2 GUIDES WERE ON THE ENDS

Afterwards we headed off to the rock quarry to explore where the Incas found their massive stones. These massive rocks were chiseled out of granite and then rolled to the Inca city of Oilantaytambo below--it had to be at least 5 miles, unbelievable. 

ROCK QUARRY IN FOREGROUND
AND OILANTAYTAMBO 4,000
FEET BELOW

A ROCKY TOMB FOR THE
MASON CUTTERS

ROLLING STONES, ALWAYS
WONDERED WHERE THEY
GOT THAT NAME

THESE WALL OR BRIDGE
PILLARS WERE ROLLED DOWN

THE LAST STRETCH

The  25 mile trek was winding down and the camaraderie of accomplishment was settling in. Down to the city we go and then off to Machu Picchu to enter the mysterious lost city of the Inca Empire-------Part 3 coming up. How in the heck did they build Machu Picchu?