Bales Geneology

Well, here it is... where the rubber (hiking boot soles) meet the (Inca) road. I heard somebody say that this was the hardest thing they had ever done... I don't know that I would go that far, but I would say that the combination of altitude and physical strain do make this HARD. There's also the weather to contend with and it can change from minute to minute (which is both a good and bad thing!). So, while I won't downplay the level of difficulty or suggest its not a good idea to do some pre-trip preparation, I can tell you that (in my book anyway) its worth it! Hopefully you will get somewhat of an idea of what I am talking about by paging through even though the internet as a medium doesn't do much to convey the experience... (You won't see the milky way here, for example...)

In this section, the first three days of the trek each have more than one page associated with them in order to highlight some of the ruins along the way. The header page of each day has an interactive map (like the one below). Day Four is the half-day hike from the last camping spot through the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu, which has its own section. This section also has several pages devoted to Huinay Huayna, probably my favorite place along the trail. Guidebooks, Maps, Books, Music and more... Click Here
Start Here (at Day 1), click on the map above or skip forward by clicking the links below: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Huinay Huayna Day 4
	A Word about the Seasons... or, when to go. There are really two seasons here:  Rainy and Not Rainy... Basically the wet season is October through mid April and the dry season is May through September. The temperature throughout the year has less variation although in the middle of winter (July & August) the temperature at night can drop below freezing. There's a definite tradeoff here... Go when the weather is favorable and fight the crowds (I've been told that you might have a hard time getting a space at even the larger campsites like Pacamayo), or take your chances with the weather. In our case, we went at the very end of the rainy season...

If you ask me we had pretty good luck as far as the weather is concerned - we only had one day (Day Two) that it rained hard and steadily. Otherwise, the main problem we had weatherwise was mist and sporadic light rain at the higher altitudes. (A word of disclaimer: others in my party who may feel like they never got out of their rain slickers may have a different spin on the weather!) Bonus points for our choice of schedule: It definitely wasn't crowded - on our first night out we had the campground to ourselves and in general did not encounter many people along the trail. Secondly, everything was really green and the Wildflowers were everywhere... So, while all this might sound like the result of intelligent planning, it really was a function of dumb luck and convenience of the schedule... For more pontifications about trip planning look Here...

Glad to be at the campsite after the long first day's walk...

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Inca Trail

  The Trek to Machu Picchu