marigross

Wow Cold!!! What an amazing report.

I would so love to do the hike but as another VC person, I'm trying to decide if this is just too scary for me to attempt.

I have worked very hard to overcome my fears and I'm very proud of my progress. I can even do stadium stairs without breaking much of a sweat, so I'm tempted. Really tempted!

colduphere

Hi Marigross - I don't think I mentioned in my report that if at any time I felt I couldn't make it past a steep drop-off, I am certain our guides would have stood between me and the cliff. You could discuss that with any potential guides in advance. These guides face this situation all the time and are incredibly helpful.

You'll make the right decision.

colduphere

Or Marigross, the other strategy would be to go somewhere worse first. We are going here in August:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preikestolen

I am already yelling at the teenagers that they will NOT GO NEAR THE EDGE! So I suggest you do the Preikestolen first (feet over the edge) and then the IT will feel like a breeze.

mlgb

Or perhaps Angel's Landing in Zion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_Landing

althom1122

Hi cold. Just wanted to make your day.

oopsy

Thank you for such an amazing trip report. I am seriously considering a late November trip, including the 4 day IT hike (with Llamapath). Reading your report, I kept moving between "Oh I must, must, must do this!" and "There is no way in hell I can do this." At 45 (46 by the time November rolls around), I am reminding myself that it is not likely to get easier.

The adventure sounds amazing. And I like what you wrote about the synergy of the emotional, intellectual, and physical satisfaction of making the trek. I have also written down your wife's words: "it's not like you're out there thinking this is terrible. You're thinking this is amazing. You just feel shittty when you're thinking it." A good perspective, I think.

colduphere

Hi Oopsy (great name) - I was hiking with a friend today and then in a meeting. I managed to work the Inca Trail into both conversations. The whole family does the same thing. We can't stop talking about it.

I really hope you give it a go.

oopsy

Let's just hope the name doesn't become too fitting should I do the hike. Oopsy...I dropped my toilet paper next to the squat toilet. Oopsy--that wasn't boiled water. Oopsy-I turned my ankle. Oopsy--she fell off the path...

I am giving it very serious consideration. Checking flights. Putting together a budget. Making pro/con list about traveling solo v. with friend.

oopsy

I have my spot with Llama Path booked for a November trek! Thanks for the encouragement via your trip report, colduphere!

colduphere

Oopsy - that's great. It's such an amazing trip. The guides will make sure you have fun. I really look forward to your report.

oopsy

Hi colduphere,

I have no idea if/when I will get to writing up a trip report, but I did want to pop in here and give you a bit thank you. I did the trek at the end of November with Llama Path. It was absolutely amazing. Just amazing. Breathtaking scenery at every turn. Amazing trekking companions (I went on my own, so that was such a benefit). Incredible guides and porters and service and food from Llama Path. Challenging, fantastic, beautiful.

Your trip report helped push me to take the plunge on the trip. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was an incredible trip. Four weeks after returning home, I am still sporting my, "Oh my god I went to Peru" silly grin.

colduphere

Oopsy last week I was wondering if topping my own trip report would catch your attention so I could hear how things went. It is so wonderful to hear you enjoyed it. It is exactly 2 years ago that we were waiting in Cusco for our trip to start. Two years later we still wear those silly grins from time to time.

Thanks for reporting in.

dwdvagamundo

Just reading this for the first time. Great report! The reason for the yellow hats on New Years is that you're supposed to wear something yellow (my Peruvian friend says yellow underwear) on New Years.

colduphere

Thanks for that info Dwdvagamundo. I didn't know that. It is possible the guides explained that to us but our first night was spent in the most beautiful campsite with an incredible view back down the valley. Our minds may have been wandering.

Some of us saved the yellow underwear experience for this year's hike in Scandinavia. Very frightening at times.

Kathie

I stumbled across your report as I have just started the research for a trip to Peru for November. We will not be hiking the Inca Trail - fortunately you did it and wrote about it so beautifully that now we don't have to.

colduphere

Thanks Kathie - I am taking the same approach with your reports about Thailand, Burma, Kathmandu etc. We would love to go this year, especially to Kathmandu, but too expensive for five of us with two kids in university now. So we will keep reading.

Kathie

Cold, it sounds like you need zillions of frequent flier miles to take all of you to Kathmandu. Do you have a credit card that earn miles? Can you put college tuition on it?

No question, 5 tickets to Kathmandu would be expensive, even though it would be pretty cheap once you got there.

colduphere

Kathie I have enough Air Canada points for two tickets. Supposedly. By the time they stop adding fuel charges and other fees we are really only saving half the price of the ticket. In the end it is not just about money. Part of the magic for us has been that it has always been the five of us. That gets harder to do especially with summer jobs. But when your toughest problem is how to organize vacations you have a pretty good life.

Kathie

Good luck - I hope you will have more adventures with the five of you!

Grindeldoo

Cold - I've just discovered your report and so much of what you wrote about brought back memories. I walked the Inca Trail in October 2011, shortly before you, as part of a 10-week trip to South America. A retirement/65th birthday present to me from me, it really was a trip of a lifetime. Walking the Trail was one of the toughest things I've ever done, both physically and mentally, and one of the most memorable. Like your wife I'm a slow up/fast down, walker, so set of some days with the early group (I travelled the Peru section of my trip with G Adventures - most of the group were 35-40 years younger) and ended up walking through the cloud forest totally alone, with nothing but birds to keep me company. No sight of anyone else, no sound from anyone else. Truly magical. Thank you for reminding me why I did the walk, and why I keep thinking back on it.