Mac and Jenny go to Peru: Santa Cruz Trek

Hola amigos! We have successfully completed the Santa Cruz trek! It was a 4 day trek which covered 36 miles, passing through the Huayhuash National Park, which is home to the tallest mountains in Peru- many over 20,000 feet high. At the highest point of the trek we were at 15,583 feet above sea level, which is over 1,000 feet higher than the tallest peak in the lower 48 states- there was a definite lack of oxygen up there. I am getting ahead of myself though- I shall start from the beginning. We started with a 3.5 hour ride from Huaraz to the little town of Vaqueria. I must say that it was the most terrifying road I have ever been on. There was switchback after switchback on a ridiculously bumpy road that dropped off straight down several thousand feet. Sorry Mom! I couldn´t help but think how much you would not approve me being on that road. At any rate, we survived the journey to the Vaqueria and started our trek. The first day was realitively easy so everyone on the trek got to know each other. We were 2 of 5 trekkers on this trip- two of the others were a young couple from Israel, and the other was a lady from northern England. All very nice people. We made it to the first camp and I decided to get sick from the altitude for a few hours. Let me tell you altitude sickness sucks- think being REALLY hungover without the fun of booze. A few ibuprofens from my favorite pharmacist, some cocoa tea, and a few hours later I was cured (thank goodness)! It rained hard that night so we all went to bed early. The next day we had to ascend over Punta Union Pass which tops out at 15,583feet- we all celebrated (in the snow and sleet) with pictures and lunch at the top of the pass looking over glacial lakes and the surrounding peaks. After a brief celebration we headed down to the next camp which sat right in the middle of this immense valley with mountain peaks covered in glaciers. The weather was poor so we couldn´t really see all of the peaks. The camp sat at just under 14,000 feet so it was a COLD night (after that night I have decided it´s time for a new sleepingbag). We awoke to perfectly clear skies and excellent views of the surrounding peaks- many of the pics on this post are from that morning. One peak is the mountain in the Paramount Pictures logo! After breakfast and a lots of shots on the camera we headed of to see a glacial lake that was below Alpamayo (which is continually ranked as the most beautiful mountain in the world). Sadly, the clouds moved in as we approached the lake and Alpamayo, but we still got a few shots of it from afar. We hung out at the lake for a bit and headed to the 3rd camp (which was really really far away). We spent the last night next to a creek on in a huge canyon with walls thousands of feet high- unfortunately the pics don´t do it justice (but everyone knows that). The last day was a quick walk out to the tiny town of Cashapampa followed by yet another death ride, followed at last by a shower and a nice meal out on the town with all the fellow trekkers. Jenny wanted me to say that she is feeling 100% again and didn´t get sick at all on this trek! I suppose it was my turn for that :-). Anywho, we are headed to Lima today by bus to spend our last two nights in Peru before heading back to the states. As promised, I put up a crap load of pics because I have been slacking on that. Normally, I would add a caption to all the pics, but it´s getting late and we need to pack for this bus journey. I hope you all enjoy the pics and if anyone wants to know about the pics just comment on the blog and I´ll get on that! Alright, gotta run. Enjoy!