At 3:30am, the alarm went off, signaling the beginning of the 4-day trek to Machu Picchu via Salkantay pass. Our company: Salkantay Trekking. Our guide: the amazing Jimmy.

We were the first people to be picked up by the shuttle, so we rode around Cusco and picked up the rest of our group. It was early and most people didn’t get enough sleep so it was a quiet start. After a couple of hours and a stop for breakfast, we made it to the beginning of the trail. Our team from Salkantay prepared the horses with all of the stuff we would need for the next four days, including our personal belongings that were not suited for our day packs. Thankfully, we didn’t have to carry everything. They took care of food, tents, extra clothes, and a host of other things for us. We just had to carry rain gear, snacks, water and whatever else we wanted.

The first day was a pretty short hike to get to our camp. We took it pretty slow — slow enough that it was tough for me because I like to walk fast and cover ground. It took a little while but I did enjoy slowing down a little and taking in the Andes and all their unique plants and whatnot.

Pretty quickly, we reached Soraymampa, where we would make camp for the night.

We got settled in our “huts”, and then it was time for lunch.

I wasn’t expecting much in the way of meals, at least not lunch… man I was wrong.

After lunch, we had the opportunity to hike up to Humantay Lake, which was beautiful. I think it was around 45 minutes up… I know I went pretty quick because we got to go at our own pace this time, and I had a lot of energy to burn from that giant lunch!

After the hike, I got back to the camp (just before dark) and got a fantastic, clear view of Salkantay Peak, which stands at 20,574 feet! We would head through the valley and over the pass to its left, which still stands at 15k+ feet, in the morning.

We had dinner (eating again already) and then everyone turned in for the night. Having gotten up really early, and with another early start ahead (5:30am), everyone was ready to get some rest.

I slept like a champ (mostly).