The first group of Road Scholar hikers has finished the program successfully!
WOW! what a great bunch of hikers! This is a shot of the main group making the pass at Abra Warmwañuska, Dead Woman's Pass, 13,774 ft. This is no easy feat and they made it ahead of schedule! Drink lots of water this day, pace yourself, stop briefly to get your breath but not for long periods and you will conquer this beast! Of course, adrenaline is going to help a bit but hiking up hill all day is going to take some pretty serious training on your part. You begin this day from the valley in the background for an elevation gain of approx. 4,200 ft in less than 4 1/2 miles. When you have conquered this pass you have completed the most difficult part of the Inca Trail!
There were 11 participants that made the hike and the average age was 67! We also had successful May and June groups with 11 completing the hike in May and 10 participants completing the hike in June. Our September departure has 12 and October has 19 participants enrolled!
The night before the hike begins your guide will feature an orientation of the hike with the group, going over the elevations and conditions that are covered each day. It's a great chance to see pictures of the trail again and discuss any questions or concerns you may have. The guide will pace you and advise you along the way as to stops and how long each leg of the hikes will be, etc. The scenery is fantastic so be sure to keep your camera handy if you want to document the trek. I used a small SeaLine drybag waistpack and kept this around my waist just in case of showers but many of our group used point and shoot cameras and kept these in the waistpocket of their daypacks.
