I went on the Santa Cruz hike through the Andes, specifically the Cordillera Blanca (White Range), which was quite beautiful, though I do think the Cascades are far more spectacular. The group consisted of 11 people and it was very fun to hike with them. Possibly in part because the guide company messed up so many things it was best just to joke about it. But I did survive and saw some beautiful mountains. Myself and 3 germans returned on the third day instead of the fourth, which introduced another layer of complexity the company had said would be fine but apparently was not equipped to handle. In any case, we went to the agency after returning to Huaraz and managed to procure a reimbursement for 1 day, which shocked me. The hike was great though, the first day is spent going up up up a hill which "tiene mucho caido" (is very steep). It was not too physically demanding, but was simply slow going having only arrived at 10,000 feet from sea level 24 hours prior. We hiked into a mountain pass which opened into a valley with a river where we made camp. Luckily the rain didnt hit until after we had made camp, which is pretty unusual for this time of year. The next day we continued to hike through the valley to a teal milky glacial lake into which I led the swimming charge. Then we went across a flood plane with a multitude of little rivers we had to hop-scotch across, searching long and hard for possible routes. Then we continued up to a glacial lake, with the glacier sliding down into the bowl. It was pretty amazing, and while there I saw/heard three avalanches. Hiking back we found some large boulders and some of us practiced climbing. With my reach I was the only one to succeed on the route, much to the local guide's chagrin. Then the rain hit as we hiked another couple hours, everyone being thoroughly drenched. I really should have seen this coming that when the Peruvian lady where I made the booking told me they have "all the gear you need included" and "the equipment is excellent", she meant that they would give me a smelly old sleeping bag and leaky tent. After already having paid, the size 48 hiking boots I was promised were proven to not exist, so there I was walking through the downpour in my mesh running shoes, oops. At this next campsite we were literally invaded and attacked by cows. There were 4 surrounding my small shared tent when I tried to go to bed, 2 with their heads (and horns) lowered right at the entrance eating the grass. I was able to scare them off by beating my poncho at them for just long enough to sneak inside. In the night a couple times they ran into our tent and tripped over the fly lines, pulling them out, worsening an already less-than-water-tight situation, haha. We could hear them running through the camp and simply hoped not to be trampled. The next day those of us leaving woke up at 3 in the morning to begin the hike back, the guide disappeared after about 100 yards and we ended up needing to take a taxi when the arranged transport never showed. But as I said, we made it, and afterall it was a pretty fun adventure.
Ive been importing all my photos (here's a tip, if ever you take a water-tight camera, such as the GoPro, to 14,000 feet, leave the case cracked open before you descend back to sea level) and will be attempting to sort them and post some more in the next week or two.
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