Trekking: Cordillera Huayhuash Day 4

Fourth day: Friday

Huayhuash 4,300 m – Trapecio Pass 5,000 m – Guanacpatay (Elefante) 4,500 m

Distance: 12.2 km / Ascent: 908 m / Descent: 734 m

6:00 a.m.: Christina gets ready for breakfast while I turn over in my sleeping bag and enjoy a nap before getting up.

As I'm putting on my hearing protection, oh my goodness, raindrops are pelting the tent. Christina is already worrying about whether hiking in the rain makes sense or whether we should stay here at camp for a day.

First we'll have breakfast, then we'll see what happens, I try to reassure her.

After breakfast, Allende and Julio show no intention of staying any longer; they're already preparing the mules for the onward journey, even though the rain has gotten heavier. So we also pack our things and take down the tent.

In fact, the heavens are closing and we are blessed with a wonderfully sunny day for the new stage.

A young woman from the neighboring group's staff joins us and climbs with us to the Trapecio Pass. We pass through pastures of tall, coarse grass, past the small village of Huayhuash.

Then the climb gets steeper and steeper to the pass, where, just like the day before, we overtake the first group. We're having a great time; we're in a good mood, the sun is shining, and hanging glaciers and enormous seracs to our right delight our eyes.

As if in flight we reach the Trapecio Pass at an altitude of around 5,000 m.

Julio asks if we want to go further up to a viewpoint, which of course we immediately agree to.

So we climb another 150 m and can hardly believe what we see.

We are allowed to look into a glacial landscape the likes of which we have rarely seen before.

On the south side, the glaciers extend deeper into the valleys than in the north. We can now look down onto the cliffs instead of up at them.

(In contrast to the Northern Hemisphere, in the Southern Hemisphere the southern faces of the sun are longer.)

This means our trek has changed direction: From today on, we are on the back side of the Huayhuash range. The Huayhuash trek is U-shaped, beginning on the north side of Yerupaja, leading south around Trapecio, and ending back in the north.

We stay as long as we can in the wind and cold at a good 5,100 m near the glaciers and descend on a rarely used path towards the Guanacpatay Valley, where our next camp is located at around 4,500 m.

At an altitude of 4,800 m we meet the normal route again, where less surefootedness is required, and we happily hike down the valley, taking in the impressions we have gained.

A picture-book backdrop of rugged, brown, shapely mountains and brittle rock opens up to our left, while far below, lakes appear in a beautiful, vibrant turquoise blue.

This abundance of impressions seems to overwhelm me at the moment; it will take time before I can truly grasp this abundance and beauty.

We can already see the camp in the distance, get off the train, happy about the beautiful day, and enjoy the beer that Allende has chilled.