In the Shadow of Giants

Santa Cruz Trek

http://www.huaraz.com/santacruz/english.html

The trek was absolutely amazing, rain, snow, hail and sun. We were trekking with 2 Brits, 4 Israelies, and 2 German-Belgians and we started off at 600am on Saturday morning. We drove the 3 plus hours, winding up mountain passes and twisting behind the highest mountain in Peru, Huascarin. Then we dropped back down again and wound and twisted our way down a valley towards the trailhead in Vaqueria.

Time wasn´t wasted at the trailhead, and we didn´t even see our packs off the van and onto the donkies before we were heading off down the trail. The trail initially winds through farm fields and past mud-adobe houses with thatched roofs. Locals working the fields or in their houses remain stone faced until we greeted them with "buenas dias," and then they smiled and said "hello". Children say hello and sit waiting for candies from the trekkers. The trail was pretty leasurely for us, however the rest of our group did not find it so.

We spent the afternoon travelling a scenic 13km, winding our way through valleys surrounded by towering, dry desert mountains. Cows, mules, sheep, goats and horses mostly roam free over the land, and every possible scrap of grass has been consumed. We arrived at our first campsite in Puria (around 3800m) at a crossroads between valleys. Glaciers hang from the mountains to the west and north around the campsite and provided a stunning backdrop.

The campsite itself was a huge wakeup call. September is the beginning of the rainy season here and with it, the slow season. Donkey, cow and horse droppings are all over the ground. Litter is thrown and left by groups in the streams, on the ground and in the outhouses. The outhouses themselves are no more than holes inthe ground under decaying structures. Litter and garbage are left in them. People thus don´t want to use the outhouses and their guides opt to either dig pits, which they never fill in, or let people go all over what little trees there are. Toilet paper is everywhere. But then again, you are lucky for that because we saw many people peeing into the rivers and streams which they take water from later. It really makes you appreciate how much Canadians care for their wilderness. The land and the wild here in Peru is absolutely breathtaking, but the people are not always trying to preserve it for future generations, but merely for their own. I guess in part that has something to do with the money we are able to throw at keeping our wilderness clean and also the education we receive about preservation.

We went to sleep with stars overhead and awoke the next morning to thick cloud having snuck in through the night. We set off that morning through a drizzle that soon turned to rain. As the morning progressed and we climbed higher. Throughout the day, we decided to slow our pace, in part because we were now well over 4000m and it is hard to keep a good pace going, and in part because we were hoping it would clear. We soon found ourselves at the back of our group of people and also rewarded. Around noon the clouds started to burn off and the towering Mnt Taullijaru (5830m) soon began to poke through. As we ate lunch a Condor also flew over head.

Not long after lunch we made it through the pass of Punta Union at 4750m. We were surrounded by huge glaciers and towering mountains on both sides of the pass. It was late enough in the afternoon and so on the way down we were lucky enough to observe several avalanche-glacier slides. It was a long day as the sun was really hot, the altitude high and hard to walk in, and the distance covered was long. Our campsite for the night was Taullipampa.

Night falls here in Peru at 630pm, and we all have dinner around this time. Our guides set up a eating tent and cook for us. Dinner usually consisted of soup (fresh) and a dinner of rice, meat and a vegetable. Lunches, leave something to be desired, and were not much more than a piece of dry bread with either a piece of cheese or jam and a few candies and snack bars. Breakfast is bread, jam and tea. We spent the nights playing ¨Yanif¨ taught to us by the Israelis and everyone went to bed early.

The following day found us once again chocked in clouds. We were supposed to go to a lookout to see the Mnt Alpamayo (called by the Peruvians one of the most beautiful mountains in the world). Everyone opted not to go, but Chris and I figured that we would get to the next camp by noon, and that we may as well take the detour. We were not rewarded for our actions, although the clouds were lifting when we left. As we rounded one of the steep switchbacks to get back to the trail we were shocked to discover a dead horse. He couldn´t have been dead very long at all, and it was quite surprising. But as you go through this trail you begin to see more and more that it is not just garbage left behind. A lot of animals and their bones are left behind. Some of the trails have a lot of loose boulders and rocks, making it quite easy to stumble or break a leg. All pack animals are just turned out at night to find their own grass, and because it is all picked over, there isn´t much. These animals are carrying very big loads, and probably not going on a lot of nutrition.

The final day out of the trek to Cashapampa was somewhat of a slap in the face and it was insanely sunny and warm. We passed through towering cliffs, echoing with water crashing down through waterfalls. Our ride was waiting for us, and aside from a flat tire we made it back to Huaraz by 3pm. We hung out in Huaraz and caught the 930pm bus out to Trujillo.

Going with a group was a lot of fun, and being with a guide definetly made life easy. Not having to carry anything but water and a camera is nice while getting used to the altitude, as well as coming to camp and really not having to cook. You end up with a lot of time to observe the surroundings and life around you. But somehow it seems not having to do anything takes the fun out of it. Cooking and camp chores, in hindsight are a lot of fun, and are integral to our experience. Also, seeing some of the guide´s attitudes it is a little hard to believe you are paying to promote some of the things they are doing. In hindsight, I think we will try to be arranging more of our trips ourselves.