Saturday, June 8th, 2019.

Day 8 of Trekking the Huayhuash Circuit by G-adventures

Todays plan:

“Cordillera Huayhuash to Huanacpatay, 8 hrs

Continue the trek upwards to the highest point of the trek, Trapecio Punta Pass. Continue on to the camp for the night below Mt Puscanturpa.

Trek to the highest point of the trek at Trapecio Punta Pass (5,000m/16,404 ft). Enjoy breathtaking views of Mt Trapecio and Mt Puscanturpa in the south. Descend down to the grassy camp at Quebrada Cuyoc (4,600m/15,092 ft) below Puscanturpa peak.”

06:30 am Sunrise over the wash place.

The mountains over the small toilet house, max. headroom 1,65, brings the mountain to glow.

First fellow hikers crawl awkward, deeply wrapped in goose dawn out of their orange tents.

As the sunbeams hit the other tents more movement gets visible.

The horsemen already prepare the plastic plane for the duffle bags, to keep them from the wet and frozen grass.

There is a cloud over the mountain.

The Llamas are neck to neck warming up and unwillingly awaiting their load. It is art to load a Llama. They can kick with their back legs sideways up. Everything is loaded and fixed with one rope. When I first saw the horsemen tie the load onto a Llama, I was afraid it will ot be able to breath anymore.

My heartrate goes up easily. The altitude is not a pain, but I feel it in breathing and in the heartrate. If I sprint at home, I can never reach a heartrate as crawling out of the then on 4.500 masl. Yet in the night, I easily go down to 42.

Breakfast.

Huayhuash Campsite, 07:30 am, 4.395 masl
10°19’41.4″S 76°50’36.0″W
Jesus, 10530, Peru
Google Maps

Lucy’ “Vamos”, and we walk out of the campsite and slowly up. 40 min later we stop and get rid of some of the 5 to 8 layers we wear.

First break, 08:12 am, 4.469 masl
10°20’21.4″S 76°50’57.9″W
Jesus, 10530, Peru
Google Maps

Further up. We drop the backpacks, leave them with Karina and hike up a viewpoint to a glacier lake. At 10:00 am it is really hot. We get off next layers.

Second break, glacier lake, 09:59 am, 4.807 masl
10°20’59.5″S 76°51’48.6″W
Jesus, 10530, Peru
Google Maps

Now it gets steep. We hike up Trapecio Punta Pass. The rest of the group is far behind. I follow Jeff, the calf (if you walk behind him and watch is calfs uphill, you get depressed) to a further up viewpoint. 5.120 mask and an awesome panorama.

The Pass, 11:30 am, 5.120 masl
10°20’52.4″S 76°52’26.5″W
Peru
Google Maps

I walk back. The others are coming. Lucy has a Pulsoxiometer, same as the Garmin Fenix 5X+. Everybidy tries. The group is 90% medics. I have got 73 % at evening, 83 % while hiking. They say it is alarming. I breath faster.

We start to go down to lunch.

Lunchplace, 13:20 pm, 4.858 masl
10°21’59.0″S 76°52’51.9″W
Cajatambo, 15195, Peru
Google Maps

After lunch Lucy asks who wants to walk to another viewpoint optionally. I do. 4 others do. Lucy starts running straight uphill. We others follow heavily breathing, we cross a till and cross a slippery, stony mountainslope on a pecuña path. In view of our Campsite down in the valley we see a wild pecuña family.

We stay on the same altitude level and cross a another rocky slope until we reach the path up to San Antoinio pass. We walk up slowly. It is a little bit exhausting and gets very cold to the top. From the pass we see the Jarancocha Lagoon and the Nevados Jurau Glacer massive with its 6.000 m peaks.

Optional viewpoint, 15:45 pm, 5.174 masl
10°21’16.6″S 76°53’39.0″W
Cajatambo, 15195, Peru
Google Maps

Heavy withs from the glacier make us put all layers on again as quick as possible. We do a lot of photos, panoramas, boomerangs, … and start the decent to the campsite. 36.000 steps and 250 floors up I reach the camp.

campsite quebrada cuyoc, 17:20 pm, 4.523 masl
10°22’32.4″S 76°53’36.4″W
Cajatambo, 15195, Peru
Google Maps

After some minutes rest – 72 % oxygen saturation in my blood. I donot feel it. All well, but alarming.

We will sleep at 4.500 masl.

I get everything out I have and put it on. I am tired. Sun goes down quickly. Immediately after dinner I get a hot bottle of water for my sleeping bag and go to sleep.

Todays hike:

Accomodation: Quebrada Cuyoc Campsite