The Cordillera Huayhuash Circuit Days 3 & 4
The Road Chose Me Volume 2 OUT NOW!!
The Road Chose Me Volume 2: Three years and 54,000 miles around Africa
(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
Beautiful pix. When I was a kid, I remember watching a tv show about a caravan of Jeeps that made this journey. It must have been in the late 70’s or early 80’s. It seems like it may have been sponsored by Warn winches. I remember that they had SEVERAL large, corporate sponsors and that there were multiple Jeeps. I can remember thinking, even though I was a child, that I would love to try to do that on own someday. No corporate sponsors. No caravan. Just me & a Jeep. Congrats! It looks like you are doing it, bro! Wishin’ you all the luck!
Brad – when I dreamed of this adventure I really wanted to get out there on my own and show myself what I could achieve if I really wanted to. We don’t need sponsors with tens of thousands of dollars, or special training, or even expensive vehicles.
Jump in a stock Jeep, hit the road, and make your dreams come true!
Beautiful pics! Thanks for keeping us updated…How’s the Jeep running?
Hey Matt – Jeep is running great. Just had an oil change, tire rotation and a good look around at everything.
Couldn’t be happier with her.
love the photos dan
this trek is definitely going on my bucket list, thanks!
hope you’re doing well.
cheers,
bruce
Thanks Bruce – the trek is amazingly beautiful, clearly the number 1 trek I have ever done.
these pictures are amazing
Wow, these are great pictures. I can’t imagine what it must be like in person
Absolutely breathtaking.
It’s one of those places you can sit and stare for half an hour, then when you turn around it’s still a shock to see again.
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Stumbled on to your site while researching about the “Magic Bus”. Glad I looked at your other entries. These are just spectacular. I can only imagine the exhiliration of being there. Good luck in your adventures!
DAN!
These pictures are AMAZING! Your adventures always make me jealous.
Love reading all you entries. Thanks for keepin us all updated. Can’t wait till I get to hit the road again…my count down is aready on.
Safe Travels
No need to be jealous, get out there and have some adventures of your own! (I know you will)
Are you thinking the big continent starting with A? (not the island one, the other one)
A guy just rolled up here with stickers from there all over his 4×4 Mercedes van… oh yeah!
-Dan
Hey Dan! Nice pictures from Huayhuash circuit. I traveling there next month and looking for a lightweight tent. What was your tent during the trekking? Thanks
Hey Alessandro,
I just had a small one-man tent, I can’t even remember the brand now. Being light was important!
All the best, you will love the hike!
-Dan