Inca Trail, Day 3

[What you need to know before you hike the Inca Trail]

Day 3 – Pacaymayu to Wiñay Wayna (16km/10mi total. It was 500m/1640ft elevation gain to the 2nd pass, then lots of steep downhill, descending 1250m/4100ft which wiped me out.)

Starting out before sunrise, climbing up to the 2nd pass.

Runkurakay

I love how calm and worry-free I feel while hiking. There’s nothing to distract me from the beautiful views. Being temporarily out of contact with the rest of the world has a way of making my problems seem insignificant. It can all wait.

The 2nd pass (500m/1640ft elevation gain from the previous night’s campsite)

Sayaqmarka

This was a very scenic portion of the hike.

Phuyupatamarca

Last sunlight before arriving at Wiñay Wayna a couple hours after sunset. We descended 1250m/4100ft which really tired me out. Being the third day in a row also made me a bit slower. I was using my headlamp for the final hour. I saw so many shiny black spiders that were definitely NOT out and about during the day. We had a filling dinner and settled in for a very short night’s sleep, as wakeup would come at around 3:30am.