One Last Climb, For Old Times’ Sake

The mountains rise up around Machu Picchu like colossal green pillars of a shrine, supporting the massive, ethereal, dome of the sky above. This is hallowed ground, which we enter solemnly, humbled by the spirits of the people that labored here. In simple human terms, Machu Picchu is less than 600 years in age, but […]

We Hike To Escape The Rain

Sometime in the night, the rains came and woke me. When they died down, the furious din of the frogs returned with renewed fervor and I slept some more. When morning came we found a world saturated with water, and the sunrise for which we had hoped didn’t come, replaced by a dense brume that […]

A Day In The Clouds

There’s something about waking up among the clouds. You look out of your tent and see the clouds spread out around you in big puffs of cotton. It’s mystical. And when you spend the day in the clouds, there is a feeling of sublime anticipation. The day is never quite the same, as minute to […]

The Day Things Got Personal

The last 500 feet up were brutal, which is saying a lot because the entire ascent to Warmiwanusca, or Dead Woman’s Pass, was grueling to the extreme. As we reached the summit, the air grew thinner, the oxygen sparer, and our footsteps heavier. We worked our lungs to their maximum capacity, our hearts pounded violently, […]

Butterblogger Goes Glamping

In one sense, the hike to the Machu Picchu began long ago, but last night it all came to a head. We had a limited allowance of weight for the porters to carry, at 5 kg, or 11 lbs. The rest would have to be carried by us. Despite all of my preparations, I was […]