Up to the Third Pass

This is the view back towards Chaquicocha, where we had camped the previous night. The place has great views when its clear, but given the amount of rain we had seen the previous day the campsite was a sea of mud. There are flush toilets but in our case you had to slog through the mud to get there so the convenience factor was low on that amenity. The porters did their best to make it more comfortable - spreading straw around and so forth, but it was still a sloppy proposition to get from the tent to the mess tent. 

I slept better than the previous night (getting more accustomed to the altitude I suppose). By the time I got up the next morning I was glad to see any signs of rain had disappeared and a beautiful view back toward Sayac Marca. 

Click Here for Guidebooks, Maps and More...

^ ^ The view at the top of the page is from the trail looking back over the campsite and towards Sayac Marca. (The white dots are tents.)

>> A small pocket of rain forest along the trail near the camp.

An interesting phenomenon along this part of the trail are the sections of rain forest that you will find yourself walking through. Apparently, even at this altitude, there are areas of microclimate that have a favorable combination of sun, moisture and warm breezes from the jungle below so that the type of vegetation that you would expect to see in the Amazon region can flourish. It makes for a nice walk under the canopy of trees. 

Further along the trail you revert to the more usual  vegetation you would expect at this altitude. The picture at left is typical of the climb to the Third Pass: a nicely paved path perched on the side of the mountain. Some places have an extreme drop and I can tell that were the weather more clear the view would be exceptional. (I'll post new pictures the next time I go!)

It only takes a couple of hours to reach the Third Pass from Chaquicocha... There is a large campsite there that I can't say much about since it was completely obscured by clouds when we got there.  Just beyond the pass are the ruins of Phuyu Pata Marca...

>> To the right, a small stream flowing over the trail...