Running an ultra-marathon, and raising some funds for a fantastic cause. What more could you want.
Pridding Posts
The complete beginners guide to the Salkantay Trek
A trip to Peru wouldn’t be complete without hiking in the Andes and a visit to one of the 7 Wonders of the World, Machu Picchu. But perhaps like me you have an aversion to planning anything 6 months in advance, and it turns out all of the tickets to trek the Inca Trail have been sold out. Fear not, for there is another, arguably better route you can take that will see you tackle glacial lakes, mountain passes, jungles and more – all with the infamous Inkan city waiting for you at the end – the Salkantay Trek!
This guide aims to give you all the information you need to be properly prepared for the trek; from how to book the tour in Cusco, to clothing and what else to pack to make your trip a highlight of your time in South America!
And so I’m on that train. The keys have been handed back, the rooms cleared and deep cleaned, the suitcases packed. Those 3 running people on the platform left for dust by the mechanical might of the Swiss railway. It all points to one thing – it’s over.
The refugee crisis. The boat people. Those bloody economic migrants. These are all words we’ve heard so often that they’ve lost their meaning and impact, and we’ve lost sight of what is actually happening just a short flight away from our shores.
I find myself once more sat in a wooden mountain hut, several thousand metres above sea level, with the calls of Marmottes battling against the incessant jingle of cow bells. The windows in front of me are rattling in the breeze, and I feel I’m in some bizarre Western-cum-Heidi extravangza, with the senses overwhelmed by the gentile and settled environment going about its daily business. This stands in stark contrast to my own mind which feels like it is tearing around the mountains like some daredevil BASE jumper, cahooning between gullies and trees, and generally behaving in a questionnable manner.
I’m not sure why I feel the need for every blog post to either be a pun, or some witty comment. Forgive me.
In my journey across North America, I had thus far made it from New York to Chicago, a solid 800 miles thrust into the centre of this continent.