The road chose me

(This story begins here: The Cordillera Huayhuash Circuit Days 1 & 2)

Day 3 – 570 meter ascent / 960 meter decent / xx km / 9 hrs
Up early. Less ice on tent. Away at 6.50am. 2hrs 20 mins to top of pass (4685m). Pack feels better – lighter and re-arranged. Take short-cut, arrive at Laguna Mitacocha, finish for day, at 11.30am. Decided not to cook lunch from now on, possible fuel shortage. F**k it, keep going. Another pass (Carhuac 4650m), 4 more hours. Extremely slow. Arrive at Laguna Carhuacocha after 9 hours, setup tent in rain / sleet. Crawl inside, wet, muddy and exhausted & find big bloodstains on both socks.
Damn.
Old boots rubbing badly. Eat two Oreos to cheer up. After fixing feet (wash, dry, disinfect, cover, dry socks) eat two more.
Oreo ration for tomorrow gone.

There's a hotspring in this valley... somewhere

The cloudy campsite at Laguna Carhuacocha

Day 4 – 500 meter ascent / 200 meter decent / xx km / 7.5 hrs
Heavy rain overnight & very overcast morning, slow start. Away at 8am. Walk down valley with most active glaciers I’ve ever seen, cracking and avalanching. Sounds like a jet flying overhead. Past beautiful lakes (Lagunas Siula & Quesillococha) to highest pass yet (4800m). Extraordinarily slow going up, am proud to be only 5 mins behind guys wearing day packs. Mind-blowing views of Yerupajá (6634m) and Siula Grande (6344m). Beautiful sunny spot for lunch (still no cooking). Can walk almost normal speed now on flat, still painfully slow up and down. Soak in afternoon sun at Huayhuash campsite (3.30pm). Throughly warm up & dry out. Sunset unbelievable.
Feet same.

Enormous Yerupaja (6635m)

Laguna Siula

Laguna Siula HDR

Another enormous glacier

Loving the glacer views

Glaciers, glaciers everywhere

These glaciers are very active

Sunset over Huayhuash

Sunset over the Huayhuash campsite

-Dan