The final big trek of our year off was the one that had been
on our wish list the longest – Ausangate. The trek winds around the mountain of
the same name. Ausangate is the highest mountain in southern Peru at 20,945’ and is a sacred mountain or Apu, in
Incan mythology. When we visited Peru
back in 2008 we heard about the hike just southeast of Cusco, but didn’t have
the time to do it. We brought home a topo map though, and finally made it there
in 2015.
We were rapidly running out of time, so we caught a flight
from Huaraz to Lima, then another onto Cusco. We spent a day in Cusco buying
food for the hike, then were up early the next morning to catch the 6:15 bus to
the small town of Tinki, just over three hours away. This was the lowest point
on the trek at 12,437’.
As the dirt road gently climbed out of Tinki, the houses
thinned out and the rain started. A black dog hanging around the back of a
house spotted us and began following us, then shortly after that, another dog
joined us. Despite out best attempts to shoo them both away, we remained a
foursome for the rest of the day.
We enjoyed a bit of sun in the afternoon, and managed to get
our tent set up and cook dinner near the tiny village of Upis before the rain
and darkness arrived. We completely ignored the two dogs’ hungry looks and
figured the lack of food combined with the cold rain would discourage them from
sticking around. We were half right.
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The little village of Upis, with Nevado Ausangate in the distance. |