Jeff Nation: Machu Picchu!

Time to relax

I've been home now for about a week.

During that time I've had Thanksgiving, 'Peruvian Drink Night,' and lots of time to think. Our trip to Machu Picchu is by far the most amazing outdoor adventure I've experienced. It's awakened an old but familiar longing to essentially get outside. Further, I'd say it's the sort of experience that makes me wish to live a thousand lifetimes; to see the world from every possible vantage point. I don't know that I'll ever experience anything else quite like it, although I now know I intend to try. A few years may pass before I can afford to get away for such a long time again, but I'm definitely looking forward to the next opportunity to disappear into the mountains for a few days.

All told, we hiked somewhere between 40 and 50 miles through elevations ranging from 7,000-15,000+ feet. Our efforts were rewarded on the last day by a bus ride up to Machu Picchu itself. We arrived early and beat the crowds and were further rewarded with sunny skies; great for taking pictures.

First view of Machu Picchu

While Machu Picchu was amazing to behold, many of the people in our group felt the hiking was the most rewarding element of the trip. I think two factors contributed to this. First and foremost, I think we learned to appreciate the simple pleasure of unexpected beauty waiting around every turn along the trail. There's really something to be said for not quite knowing what's coming next. Otherwise, I think the crowds and more generic tourists at Machu Picchu itself sort of detracted from the experience. Many of us were eager to leave the ruins after the guided tour, seemingly not ready to deal with large amounts of people quite yet.

Across the span of the entire trip, the only real negative events concerned air travel. I don't think any leg of our flights to and from Peru were executed without issue. We encountered delays, flight cancellations, downed airplanes, and of course a number of irate passengers. Luckily, we had some extra time planned into the trip.

Some people have asked what steps I took to prepare for the trip. Basically, I walked and walked; hiked when I could. Keep in mind that hiking in Texas (at least northern central Texas) is barely above sea level and offers very minimal changes in elevation. For the first several weeks, I just tried to make it a point to get outside and walk every other day. Some days I walked 1 mile; some days I walked 3. Over time, I added to the mileage, until I reached an average of about 20-30 miles per week. I occasionally went to the gym to use the elliptical, but that was a rare event. Should I have done more? Probably. Could I have? Well, possibly, but I had to balance training with work, family, online gaming...you know, priorities. ;)

Overall, our trip to Machu Picchu was a 'once in a lifetime' experience. I still find it difficult to really express the trip through words. As a part of this final post on the topic (well, might be one more as I receive additional pictures from our group), I thought I would share my favorite pictures from the trip. I'm looking forward to whatever life event compels me to write on my blog again, but for now, I expect posts to slow.

With that said, thanks for reading!