Married 47 years with four daughters and eight grandchildren, Stan and Elke Barauskas visited Machu Picchu by hiking the famed Inca trail in August 2008. He is a propulsion and power systems engineer for the space shuttle Orbiter with Boeing in Huntington Beach. She is retired registered nurse in labor and delivery.
On the second day of their hike, Elke (left) and Stan Barauskas take a break on the Inca Trail. The elevation gain was 3,300 feet and they reached 13,700 feet with snow on the ground.
Here is their story in Stan's words:
My wife, Elke, and I are longtime members of the Sierra Club and have hiked the local mountains, the Alps in Switzerland and Austria and even the Black Forest in Germany.
Of these, the four-day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was, by far, the most challenging.
I signed on six months in advance, a typical advance reservation period since the Peru government limits access to the Inca Trail to no more than 500 people per day. That includes 200 tourists and 300 porters with no one allowed to do the trek without a guide.
In Cusco, the first impression one gets is that the Inca people were a hard-working, simple agrarian-based society. They worshipped the earth and the sun god, the moon, water, lightning, mountains and rainbows.
But after visiting the various worship sites and important structures, it was evident the Incas were proficient in engineering, architecture, astronomy, medicine and other sciences.
Their demise was partly their own doing. A major civil war broke out between the last two Inca kings, Huscar and Atahualpa. The war decimated the Incas and the Spanish took advantage of this during the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532 when they captured and ultimately killed the surviving king, Atahulapa.
Tough trek
The first day of hiking was relatively mild, only 7.2 miles and six hours of walking.
The range in age of the group was 18-69. Our fellow hikers were from England, Belgium, Canada, United States and Peru. We were accompanied by a support group of porters, Cheskis (runners) as they prefer to be called, and two local guides.
They carried all of our supplies for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and an occasional hot tea and sandwich break.
On the second day, the elevation gain was 3,300 feet, and we reached 13,700 feet. We were surprised by thunder and lightning accompanied by heavy rain.
We donned our rain ponchos and were on the trail by 7 a.m. The hike was rarely on a dirt trail. About 90 percent was on knee-jarring stones and rocks. As we gained in elevation, there was snow on the ground.
Elke and I brought thermal underwear and very warm sweaters just for this occasion. They served us well. The third day was advertised as being fairly light because the majority of the hike was downhill. This sounded great – at first. Then we found out that this day was to be the longest, both in distance and time.
Once again, we were up at 5:30 a.m. for breakfast and started our hike at 7 a.m. It was a nine-mile hike and was the first time we experienced the original trail as constructed by the ancient Incas more than 400 years ago.
Although it was true that the trail was generally downhill, it still presented some really challenging and literally breath-taking uphill sections. It was jokingly called the "gringo killer" – approximately three miles of knee-blasting downhill steps (estimated at 2,000) many of which were two-feet high with a minimum area for the foot to land on.
The younger group had little problem with these conditions. But we oldsters – and an injured young lady – made considerably slower progress. We were quite a distance away from camp when night fell.
Lucky for me, when my flashlight gave out, I had a spare bulb. There is no way I would attempt walking on a strange trail in the Andes Mountains without visibility.
With the aid of our guide, we finally arrived at our campsite after hiking approximately 12 hours. We were exhausted and ready for our hot meal, our last prepared by the faithful Cheskis.
After tips and thank yous, our guide mentioned that tradition requires that we leave the Cheskis with a song. For a moment we were all speechless. Then a quick-thinking archaeologist from Michigan suggested "Roll Out the Barrel." The Belgians, Canadians and Brits all joined in the song with gusto. It was a moment to remember.
One aspect that was not welcome for day four was the early rising, 4 a.m. The intent of the early start was to arrive at Machu Picchu's Sun Gate before the sunrise. But it started to rain, lightly at first and ultimately, a deluge.
Journey's reward
Nevertheless, we trudged on hoping for a break in the weather. Alas, it did not come.
This last portion was called a relatively mild hike, predicted to take about 2.5 hours and descending to the ruins most of the way. Although this was true, there were enough uphill portions to take my breath away and cause frequent stops.
At last, we reached our initial goal – the Sun Gate. But no sun!
The rain and accompanying clouds obscured the site.
Finally, we reached our destination – Machu Picchu. We thought our climbing was done. Far from it.
Machu Picchu is built on a series of terraces. We climbed up and down while our guide pointed out important areas. Several interesting facts were presented. One was that the site was completed by the Incas in 1460 and was the official site for Inca rulers for 100 years.
By far, it's not the largest village that the ancient Incas built – it was just the most publicized. Also, the population has been grossly overestimated. Rather than 4,000, a little more than 200 people occupied the area.
What started as a challenge and an adventure ended with my increased understanding of the Peru culture and a real appreciation for the spirit, endurance and fortitude of the Inca people and their descendants.
Rather than "conquer the trail," I learned to respect the people who had the imagination and will-power to construct such an amazing city.
Truly an experience of a lifetime.
David Whiting's column also appears News One Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays; dwhiting@ocregister.com.
Written by 2Machupicchu
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