24.09.09 Second Day of Inca Trail - Dead Woman’s Pass

We are awoken at 5.30am this morning with a hot cup of coca tea, freshly brewed by the SAS porters cum chefs. I didn’t get a great night’s sleep because the tent was pitched on a slight slope and I continually slid down my sleeping bag. It rained just as we were getting up but fortunately stopped when we set off. It wouldn’t have been fun to walk in the rain.
The hike is intense. It becomes so that I am only concentrating on my breathing and pulling myself up the steep stone steps using my trusty walking poles. Previously I’d been sceptical about the usefulness of walking poles but since starting the Inca Trail, I’ve changed my mind about them and have begun to rely on them to take at least 30% of my weight.
Dead woman’s pass is swathed in mist. It is a dip in the crest of the mountain line and represents to us the uppermost point of our trek today. We pass an Inca lookout point, circular in design with many small rectangular windows facing both valleys. It was discovered in 1915, four years after Machu Picchu had been uncovered from the onslaught of jungle vegetation.
Over the crest of the mountain we descend down steep stone steps through clouds of mist to our campsite for lunch.
After lunch, we’re informed that we are travelling on 60% original Inca pathways. They constructed the trail by building supporting walls along the cliff face, filling the gap with soil and creating a stone path on top using locally sourced rocks. This trail is one of two to Machu Picchu. It is the longest and was built as a way of pilgrimage for the Inca to journey to the sacred temple, cleansing their souls as part of the ritual. The second trail is known as the ’commercial’ route and is much shorter, used by messengers and for trading purposes.
Also we learn of the significance of the Southern Cross constellation in Inca culture. The Southern Cross indicates the position of the South Pole and the Incas adopted the four point cross as an emblem for their spiritual beliefs. In between the points they added three steps to represent the Inca Trilogy- the three spiritual worlds, the world of the living, the dead and the afterlife, which were also symbolised by the animals puma, snake and condor respectively. These three steps appear regularly in the Inca temples as altar places.
As we again climb uphill through clouds of dense fog, I can’t help but wonder how many pilgrims have taken these steps, including those who had to carry the Inca’s litter.

We visit some more ruins, just off the trail which are eerie in the thick fog. They are perched on a hilltop, another lookout most probably. Corey, a member of our tour, plays a trick on us by throwing a stone from behind a doorway. She hides while we try to decide where the rock came from, then jumps out much to our surprise. It’s like a set from a horror movie up here in the mist.
Evening darkness descends and we have to significantly pick up the pace to our campsite if we’re to make it before it gets pitch.