As we hiked out of the valley we saw vicuña on the ridge far above us in the distance.
We hiked up, up ,up. Today is one of higher days and the highest pass that we cross. We arrived at the basin below the pass and heard a noise like a hawk. Turns out it was a vicuña.
The Santa Rosa pass was snow covered and a bit hair raising to climb. I was making two steps for each one as I tried to kick in good steps so I wouldn’t slip and slide to the bottom. I probably wouldn’t have died if I slipped but I would definitely have been wet, bruised and maybe broken. Then I would have to climb it all again. I was definitely wishing for my microspikes the last two days. (Note: I was told that these were not necessary)
The views from the pass (16500ft) were amazing. (The image above is of our amazing guide, Ricardo, and I at the pass). There was a massive glacier and two turquoise blue lakes. The biggest of which was Lake Jurau. It started snowing on us in the way down so I was unable to take photos of the glacier that really show how impressive it was
We met an English guy and two Canadians who are backing it in their own. I am having a hard enough time dragging my body up these high passes much less also dragging all my equipment in my pack and equipment.
We arrived at the campsite early and helped set up camp. We had lunch which was a soy meat and rice dish with veggies.
Irene and I went to investigate a water fall and ended taking a trail which led to a view of Jurau lake from a different angle and a clearer view of the glacier. We also hiked over to a nearby waterfall to check it out.
When we returned we heard stories of local history. Cars were introduced here in 1970. That seems crazy to me. Prior to that people walked on the old trails including the Inca trails. We also heard about the communist Shining Path movement and how it helped communities by rounding up bandits and executing them. That was kind of odd with three Chinese Taiwanese. in our group.
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