Originally Posted by jeffergray

I have recently retired, and as someone who loves history / archaeology / hiking / nature / landscape photography / and the early Indiana Jones movies, Machu Picchu is of course on my bucket list. And I'd always sort of assumed I would do the Inca Trail when I went. But on reading the itinerary for a Road Scholar trip (appropriately named, "Hiking the Inca Trail", https://www.roadscholar.org/find-an-...chu/itinerary/) that would enable me to cross off this item, it's hard not to be a little concerned by its very careful description of what the trip entails. In terms of the basic details, that breaks down as follows:

First Day: 8 miles / 7 hours / 9,800 feet maximum altitude.

Second Day: 5.5 miles / 7 hours / 13.880 feet maximum altitude.

Third Day: 5 miles / 7 hours / 12,800 feet maximum altitude.

Fourth Day: 7 miles / 5 hours / 2,000 steps down / maximum altitude 11,800 feet.

Obviously, going with an experienced tour operator that provides porters makes a huge difference. I'm in pretty good shape for my age, only carrying about an extra 20 pounds on a six-foot-plus frame, and as recently as last Saturday I spent a full day hiking around Sintra in Portugal and covered 8 miles and the equivalent of 70 flights of steps. On the other hand, hiking the "Path of the Gods" on the Amalfi Coast just about finished my wife and I in 2023, and that's barely 5 miles and maybe a thousand feet up. 12,000 -14,000 feet of altitude adds another element entirely, especially since most of my days where I live are spent between sea level and 700 feet.

Hence, I would very much appreciate hearing from others in a similar age bracket who have tackled the Inca Trail about their experience.