Three days hiking in two posts – the Quarry Trail continues…

This set of pix is from day two. Amazingly, the crew of porters & horses would leave later than us, pass us on the trail, then set up for lunch. Do it again, and set up for dinner at our campsites (including setting up all our tents, the kitchen tent, and the dining tent. The narrow tent is the outhouse tent! Included: various vistas, looking down at the Sacred Valley, and the majestic Mt. Veronica…

Wild flowers – tiny & delicate. Lupins like us. Gourmet grub. Nature up close…

At the end of the Inca Trail, before descending to Machu Picchu, there’s remote “Sun Gate” through which rays and tourists pass. Near the end of our Quarry Trail is an alternative (perhaps lesser, more remote) “Sun Gate” or window on the mountains, another view of Pacha Mama. It was at the end of the long, hard second day, or campsite within view, so Veronica wasn’t thrilled about an extra trek, but it was beautiful and so worth it…

Right next to our second campsite was another ancient Inca settlement, perhaps only for a few families. Of course I explored it, and eventually the sun set over the mountains…

Day three was a killer. Not only was I tired from the length and height of day two, this bit was all downhill, particularly hard on my almost 60-year-old body. Importantly, this is where the Quarry Trail gets its name – the quarry that likely served Ollantaytambo and the Sacred Valley. Lots of unfinished carved stones. Also, a burial site and some burial structures. By the time we got back to town I was ready to be buried myself…