I am not an athlete. I never liked gym class. I had a bike but found it a chore to ride it. When I was 30 I was tired all the time. In college, however, I took a weight training class and really liked it. I wasn’t sure what to do with it as gyms weren’t on every corner at the time and they were more geared towards the male body builders. Much, much later I was reacquainted with strength training using the Super Slow technique from Strength Fitness in McHenry. It was addictive. Between that and my natural inclination to learn about nutrition and its effect on exercise performance, a goal was born: We were going to conquer the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
I spent 3 years dreaming and thinking about the trip (my husband wasn’t initially on board with this adventure, but he was a good sport), 8 months planning every detail and training my body for the physical rigor of a 4-day, 26+ mile hike at elevations above 8,500 feet.
In an earlier blog, I went into detail about a lot of the things I did to prepare for the challenge, and it was encouraging to see that my body responded exactly as I had hoped. (For more on that, check out our blog, Secrets To Summer Goal Success: My Plan to Tackle the Inca Trail).
Turn out I did a LOT right — including my training protocols and the use of specific adaptogens to help our bodies acclimate to less oxygen at altitude. (There’s also some great information about adaptogens and training here). To my great relief, I had zero issues with oxygen and breathing, nor did I experience any of the severe symptoms of altitude sickness that threaten to wreck the vacations of many who visit here from lower elevations. I was fortunate that thanks to my knowledge & application of traditional Chinese medicine, training protocols and food as fuel (thanks to an arsenal of fabulous Purium products!), I didn’t have any overt reaction to the altitude or to the rigor of the hike.
And it wasn’t easy — 4 days in a row of hard work is tough on any body. In some places the stairs were as tall as my kneecaps. The third day was by far the toughest as we conquered 3 summits before resting under the stars in an amazing cloud forest. Even at night, the views were incredible.
Here’s a map of the trail showing its many ups and downs. The first day was 5 hours of hiking, day two was 7 hours, the third day was our toughest and longest at 8 hours, and the final day we hiked 7 hours.
And we didn’t do it alone. We were grateful for the unwavering company of our crew, including our cook, assistant cook and 6 porters. We worked with Explorandes and would highly recommend their service to anyone considering a similar trip.
The food at every meal was truly incredible. Explorandes had worked with us and a nutritionist to ensure we got exactly what we needed to nourish our bodies based upon our work load and altitude.
And who says you have to have a state of the art kitchen to make incredible meals?
We made it to the first major pass over the course of 2 days. Day 2 we ascended 3,601 feet — the equivalent to more than 3 1/2 Sears Towers! Day 3 we ascended the last 1181 ft….a little over 1 Sears Tower!
We made it to Warmiwanuska Pass! What a feat and what a view! 13,779 feet up!
And back down we go. Day 3 we ascended and descended over 6000 feet!
But the Inca’s believed in working with nature so they even built a circular staircase in the trail.
Some llamas along the trail. The llamas didn’t mind all the campers. They just blended right in.
Arrival at the Sun Gate signaled that we had made it and offered our first views of Machu Picchu.
It was surreal and a trip of a lifetime!
The majesty of it all, and the mystery and energy behind Machu Picchu and the Incas is still very much present today.
Do you have a physical goal in mind? Let Nature’s Balance help you tackle it. We can customize a program based on traditional Chinese medicine, all-natural nutritional strategies, and other body therapies to help you maximize your efforts and reach your goals.