30/5/2013,12km up Huánuco road to camp at 4600m
D24, T3.19/6, Av7.15, Max31, Tot14753, 4689
No frost, Overcast, sleet, 8°C,
Waking up really early, we talked about the days ahead among other things. We then spent the next hour listening to inspirational music and discussing the lyrics.
Getting out of the tent, there was no frost and it was actually quite mild. There was a frog trying to get into our tent last night. I was wondering what sort of frog would be out and about in freezing conditions. The lack of frost answered this question.
The terrain was that of a long valley, air movement down this valley provided this frost free environment. That explained why a farmer was living on the desolate valley floor.
The road was a steady climb, some corners had so much loose rock present, walking was the most practical option.
We both were in a positive place and took all before us in our stride.
There were yurt type dwellings sporadically scattered all the way up the road. Farmers were seen in the distance moving sheep. It was lambing time with many bleating for food and their mothers enroute.
Most people up here speak Quechua
As we ascended, the weather deteriorated to the point where sleet was greeting us from above.
Stopping, we both donned all we could to keep the cold at bay.
For me this was water proof socks and my sandals, long water proof pants and raincoat. Heavy gloves were also bought out of a pannier.
We slowly moved on upwards, soon the country turned into a true alpine environment with only mosses, tussock and a few other flowering plants readily visible.
We had lunch at the turnoff to a mountain trekking area. A tourist bus was stopped to check on our whereabouts, taking the wrong road here would be doubly painful.
We were now getting within 1km of snow, altitude was about 4300m, we were both getting very tired.
The altitude was knocking me about big time. That and tiredness, saw rest stops every 150m. At 1500 we both decided we needed to find a place for the night.
There were no houses out here, infact there was little of anything. We had only seen about 4 cars all day.
The road even had grass growing on it at some points. Large boulders were in the middle of the road, where they had come to rest after gravity had dislodged them from above.
Coming up to a bend, a likely spot was found, one that was not just a mossy damp area.
It meant wheeling the bikes down off the road some 100m. It was as exposed as you could find, however we were fortunate to be here on a calm night. The views from the site were expansive, from that of nearby snow to distant mountains, framing a huge mossy valley dotted with small pools of water.
Setting up camp was done in slow motion, due to the altitude, neither of us had camped at this height, though Deirdre had been higher than this trekking in Nepal and around Cuzco.
We knew that when the sun went down this place would be tad fresh, on dusk this comment was confirmed then some. We had rapidly donned our warmest gear before the mountain to our west stole the little warmth on offer.
Following fried potato slices and a huge hearty feed of lentils etc.
We found ourselves in the tent at 1830, talk about the ultimate early night.
We both had altitude headaches, nothing bad, but more of an annoying nature, no medication was taken.
Sleeping for me, at altitude was found to be very easy, though waking up at midnight, the rest of the night was spent dreaming in vivid reality. One in particular, involved members from different unknown wedding parties getting killed in T bone accidents at intersections in Lima. My guess is my taxi ride in the city a week or so ago seeded this bizarre dream.
Deirdre slept equally as well, also actively dreaming.
We were both very warm, it is amazing how much heat the tent holds, the tarp greatly improves this.
We had to sleep with some water for coffee in the tent so it wouldn’t freeze.
On the health front, no eggs, no air!
D24, T3.19/6, Av7.15, Max31, Tot14753, 4689
No frost, Overcast, sleet, 8°C,
Waking up really early, we talked about the days ahead among other things. We then spent the next hour listening to inspirational music and discussing the lyrics.
Getting out of the tent, there was no frost and it was actually quite mild. There was a frog trying to get into our tent last night. I was wondering what sort of frog would be out and about in freezing conditions. The lack of frost answered this question.
The terrain was that of a long valley, air movement down this valley provided this frost free environment. That explained why a farmer was living on the desolate valley floor.
The road was a steady climb, some corners had so much loose rock present, walking was the most practical option.
We both were in a positive place and took all before us in our stride.
There were yurt type dwellings sporadically scattered all the way up the road. Farmers were seen in the distance moving sheep. It was lambing time with many bleating for food and their mothers enroute.
Most people up here speak Quechua
As we ascended, the weather deteriorated to the point where sleet was greeting us from above.
Stopping, we both donned all we could to keep the cold at bay.
For me this was water proof socks and my sandals, long water proof pants and raincoat. Heavy gloves were also bought out of a pannier.
We slowly moved on upwards, soon the country turned into a true alpine environment with only mosses, tussock and a few other flowering plants readily visible.
We had lunch at the turnoff to a mountain trekking area. A tourist bus was stopped to check on our whereabouts, taking the wrong road here would be doubly painful.
We were now getting within 1km of snow, altitude was about 4300m, we were both getting very tired.
The altitude was knocking me about big time. That and tiredness, saw rest stops every 150m. At 1500 we both decided we needed to find a place for the night.
There were no houses out here, infact there was little of anything. We had only seen about 4 cars all day.
The road even had grass growing on it at some points. Large boulders were in the middle of the road, where they had come to rest after gravity had dislodged them from above.
Coming up to a bend, a likely spot was found, one that was not just a mossy damp area.
It meant wheeling the bikes down off the road some 100m. It was as exposed as you could find, however we were fortunate to be here on a calm night. The views from the site were expansive, from that of nearby snow to distant mountains, framing a huge mossy valley dotted with small pools of water.
Setting up camp was done in slow motion, due to the altitude, neither of us had camped at this height, though Deirdre had been higher than this trekking in Nepal and around Cuzco.
We knew that when the sun went down this place would be tad fresh, on dusk this comment was confirmed then some. We had rapidly donned our warmest gear before the mountain to our west stole the little warmth on offer.
Following fried potato slices and a huge hearty feed of lentils etc.
We found ourselves in the tent at 1830, talk about the ultimate early night.
We both had altitude headaches, nothing bad, but more of an annoying nature, no medication was taken.
Sleeping for me, at altitude was found to be very easy, though waking up at midnight, the rest of the night was spent dreaming in vivid reality. One in particular, involved members from different unknown wedding parties getting killed in T bone accidents at intersections in Lima. My guess is my taxi ride in the city a week or so ago seeded this bizarre dream.
Deirdre slept equally as well, also actively dreaming.
We were both very warm, it is amazing how much heat the tent holds, the tarp greatly improves this.
We had to sleep with some water for coffee in the tent so it wouldn’t freeze.
On the health front, no eggs, no air!
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