Along the JF Trail: Huayhuash

Over the Easter holiday, my mom and her friend, Lynn, came to Peru to visit. They arrived in Lima, and we immediately got on a bus to head north to Huaraz. After an acclimatization day, we got on a bus at 5 am, drove 5 hours to the town of Pocpa, and started walking.

Our group consisted of 7 people, the three of us and two couples from England and Switzerland, plus two donkey drivers (Jose and Ronald), a cook (Sammy), and a guide (Hector). The trek was 9 days, completely circling the Cordillera Huayhuash. We camped every night above 14,000 feet, and went over high passes (between 15,500 and 16,400 feet) almost everyday, sometimes twice.

I don’t have much to say except that it was easily the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in my whole life. We were constantly walking through what should be scenes from Planet Earth, except in place of David Attenborough’s narration, we had Hector’s constant encouragement and repetitions of “Lento y seguro” (slow and steady).

Photos can’t possibly capture the vastness of a place like the Cordillera Huayhuash. A picture does not show the majesty of the endless mountains or portray the smallness one feels while standing at the edge of a glacial lake, watching an avalanche crash into the water below. Nevertheless, here are some photos, so maybe you can get some idea of the incredible beauty that we were fortunate enough to walk through for 9 days.