Salkantay Trek, 2.2, Descent

Mountains make their own weather…

Although the rain was light and the wind only moderate, the trail became increasingly more treacherous. Thin rivulets coursed down the pathway, the rocks became more loose, the traction less secure. Rain suits and pack covers handled the weather just fine and the scenery was no less amazing.  

Down is just harder…seems like it’d be the opposite right? Less strenuous, gaining more oxygen with each step. Except old basketball knees are constantly concerned about rolling, twisting or tearing, so the entire lower body begins to tighten up, straining against momentum and gravity. 

In 2020 an avalanche off of Salkantay Glacier careened into the adjoining lake, destroying the natural dam and sending a massive wall of water down the Salkantay River valley. The valley was scoured clean almost a half mile wide. Three villagers downstream were killed. 

The side of the Salkantay Glacier that calved and the edge of what used to be the moraine dam…

A side view of the failed moraine dam and the beginning of the devastation. Would estimate that some of the boulders are the size of my Sequoia. 

The downstream path…

Stops were just as important during the descent…stops on the ascent are primarily for the lungs, which even in this air can recover relatively quickly, in a few seconds or minutes. Stops on the descent are for the legs, which can take significantly longer to recover. 

Then, voila, in a few hours descending about 2,500’ over approximately 4 klicks, you’ve gone from glaciers to the beginning of the Amazon Jungle!

The rain may not lessen, but it sure starts warming up!

With some warm food in our bellies, the summit achieved and 11 kilometers behind us, we still had a long wet descent remaining to our next base camp, 7 km and nearly 3,000’ down the mountain…