From the Bottom to the Top…Peru 2017

2017 found us finally through most of the overdue stuff we needed to do to get the house in shape (which is more suitable for a future home improvement blog.) The time was ripe for another adventure but where?

We had considered doing the Alps this year but ruled it out for a number of reasons. Firstly, travelling to Europe is costly. Last time I checked, the Alps are in Europe. Until they move the Alps out of Europe these majestic mountains will likely remain a costly venture. The second problem is that the main languages spoken in most Alpine locations are French, Italian or German. Though we are a bi-lingual household, those languages ain’t either of them. Finally, there were serious questions in my mind about whether I was ready to attempt the serious challenge of Alpine trekking. My left knee, always problematic, has basically forced me to end my ‘shambling career’ (others know this as running) at least for the foreseeable future. It’s not easy to stay in shape if you can’t run; especially if you are, like me, a man who is ‘fond of food.’  And if the knee hurts running how will it stand up to coming down a mountainside?

At any rate, we weren’t ready for the Alps, yet. Not this year. Instead we decided to attempt something I had my eye on for some time: Colca Canyon in Peru. We had visited Peru in 2011 and 2015 and (see my blog entries for the Santa Cruz Trek) and these had been among the best things I had ever done; plus it’s an opportunity for Sylvia to visit her family in Peru. We did no major trekking in 2016 at all, but I was confident that we could both handle the challenge of Colca.

(photo By Cédric Liénart (Geoced) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25350521)

Colca Canyon

Colca Canyon, located near Peru’s second largest city of Arequipa, is the world’s second deepest canyon (the world’s deepest is also in Peru, actually a few hours drive to the Northwest of Colca.) It is one of Peru’s biggest tourist attractions. Sylvia had visited the canyon before, but not hiked into it. My research of the canyon removed any doubt that would were up to its physical challenges. The elevation of the rim, while not insubstantial, is far less than the worst we have done; the hike goes from hostel to hostel, so no tenting needed; and you can hike it with a very light pack. I did the Grand Canyon rim to rim in 2003 and found it to be within the ability of most hikers. All things pointed toward this being equally great adventure that the both of us should be able to do, no problem.

(photo courtesy Valentin)

MIsti – The Bigger Challenge

As we began the preparation of this hike, Sylvia asked me at one point…why not add a hike of Misit? Misti, if you don’t know, is the massive stratovolcano that looms ominously above the city of Arequipa. It is one of the most iconic mountains in the world, having that almost perfectly tapering conic shape that the mind assigns to the word ‘volcano’ (though in fact, few of them are shaped exactly like that.) It is also a BIG mountain and a formidable challenge. Though considered a walking peak (no mountaineering gear or training is required to summit) it is nonetheless quite challenging, mostly because of altitude. Misti stands 19,101 feet above sea level, making it by far and away the highest thing either of us have attempted to hike. In fact, it towers a thousand meters above the highest point on the Santa Cruz Trek…Punta Union.

After pondering it for a while, and pouring over trip reports, I decided that we could PROBABLY climb this mountain. The main issue was altitude; if we could master the elevation, the trail itself is not an issue. I have hiked volcanos before; all trail descriptions of Misti pointed to a surface of loose ash, quite steep in places; these are conditions not unlike what I hiked before at the top third of Mt. St. Helens (2007) and Haleakala (2014.) Sylvia did some investigation and after speaking with the travel company and procuring an itinerary, I was sold. The excitement was building…we would attempt to climb not only one of the world’s deepest canyons, but one of the world’s highest walkable peaks…all in one trip!

Nice little map tourist shows it all...

(Map courtesy Pablo Tour)

NEXT UP: The Build Up!