Evan Wayne

Peru was absolutely insane. 🇵🇪

Started in Lima, spent a few days in Cusco getting used to the altitude, then took on the 4-day, 3-night Inca Trail to Machu Picchu with @trekwithalpaca before finishing the trip with Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley.

The Inca Trail was way tougher than I expected. For four days we were waking up before sunrise, packing up camp in the dark, and hiking through the Andes all day. Some mornings started around 3 AM, and every day felt like a never-ending cycle of climbing, descending, and then somehow climbing even more.

Day 2 was brutal. Dead Woman’s Pass sits at 13,828 feet, and getting there was a grind. Just when you thought you were close, there was another switchback waiting. The next day brought another pass over 13,000 feet, more climbing, more descending, and some of the craziest views I’ve ever seen.

The coolest part wasn’t even just Machu Picchu. It was everything leading up to it. Hiking through clouds one minute and sunshine the next, passing ancient ruins in the middle of nowhere, waking up every day knowing you had another mountain to get over, and doing it all with an awesome group of people.

Seeing Machu Picchu from the Sun Gate after four days of hiking definitely made all the early mornings and endless stairs worth it.

Huge thank you to Rolando, Carlos, Sergio, the porters, and the entire Alpaca Expeditions team. Couldn’t have asked for a better group to do it with. And thank you Mom for making this trip happen and for sharing an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

Definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Definitely one of the coolest experiences of my life.

Tupananchiskama, Peru. ⛰️