Rainbow Mountain

This place has a few different names: Vinicunca, Montaña de Siete Colores, Mountain of Seven Colors, or Rainbow Mountain. 

For 80 soles ($25-ish USD), I waited for a bus in Cusco's city center and was picked up at 4 or 5 a.m. I met my group, and was bussed out of the city towards Rainbow Mountain. It's a three hour drive there, and three hours back. We stopped for breakfast and had another meal around 2-3p.m. (before and after the hike), which was included in the price. Both were very hearty meals, but I recommend bringing snacks for the hike itself, too. I was dropped off by the bus around 7 p.m., so to say this was an all day affair is an understatement. 

(pictured above: my new friend Abraham attempting to call a llama over to him. The llama is seen running away here). 

Locals had donkeys, horses, and other livestock - they would ask if you wanted to ride up on the animal to the top. It was extremely expensive to do that from the bottom, but got cheaper as people were closer the top, of course. I thought this was a ridiculous thought at the bottom of the mountain when we started, but my thoughts soon changed. (also, note this local's footwear. It literally snowed the day I was trekking, if that gives you any indication of the temperature. All locals wore the same exact type of sandal seen in this photo. I couldn't believe it, but my guide said they're all acclimated to it.)

As you can see, several people took the locals up on their offers. Why? Well, I consider myself relatively in shape, but this was the single, MOST DIFFICULT hike I've ever attempted in my life. You start out around 14,000  feet and finish up just over 16,500 ft. That's a lot of UP. The pace people are moving at by the time you get up to the top is almost laughable. It's a struggle to get one foot in front of the next - it's like watching slow motion hiking. 

And...yep, that's me, on a horse. There was absolutely no way I was buying one - it felt like letting the mountain "win." With this stubborn attitude, my new friend Abraham secretly bought one for me after telling me for an hour or so that I needed one. I disagreed until I actually got on the horse (pony? Donkey? I don't know...). I only rode about 5-10 minutes up before we were at the top, so I ALMOST made it on my own. But I think that animal (and Abraham!) may have been my saving grace. If you're wondering why I look ridiculous, it's because I didn't pack properly for this hike (or trip in general, honestly) and had to buy a lot of scarves, hats, sweaters, and layers!

Finally...THE TOP! 3 or 3.5 hours later, our group made it up. According to my iPhone, which tracks all kinds of data about my movements, I hiked 7.4 miles, walked 18,119 steps, and climbed the equivalent of 126 floors that day.

Shaun, Abraham, and I can say we made it to the top of Rainbow Mountain! We got encouragement from each other, our tour guide, people in our group, and random people passing by on the trail. We were all in it together. 

These photos have an edited filter on them, making the colors brighter than the were in real life. The photos from above are what they look like in reality - despite Photoshopped photos you see on the internet. They're both pretty in different ways, to me! 

A day for the books (blog).