Machu Picchu - April 2015

Well I'm back from our sojourn to the UK. This post however was written in or over at least three countries, started in England, continued in the UAE and finished off back home in Australia, there was even a bit of work done at 41,000 feet somewhere over the north western part of the Indian Ocean (hard to believe but they have free wifi on the plane), as I waited for my sleeping pills to kick in. Remember in my last post I mentioned the difficulty I was having writing about a trip in the Snowy Mountains of NSW I did years ago while I was sitting in a fluffy robe in London, well it appears that there is a bit of photographic evidence of me suffering bloggers block, thanks for that Sam. On a sadder note I said good bye to my old Scarpa boots in London, these boots had faithfully carried my porky frame everywhere from the freezing cold of Antarctica and Patagonia to the desert's of Australia, the mud of Stewart Island had effectively finished them off last Christmas though. After deciding that there would be no more overnight walks left in my old boots they then performed faultlessly as my 'around town boots', taking me safely through the urban jungle on any number of coffee drinking excursions. It was one of these missions in Soho that finally finished them off, somewhere between a bookshop and the coffee shop I noticed a strange sound coming from my left boot, hmmm.... On closer inspection it became obvious that I'd blown a sole, my boots were ambling their last few kilometres. Returning to our room I decided to leave my boots on the window sill of our room on the 43rd floor of the Shard so they could enjoy the view of London perpetually. Goodbye old friends.

Your blogger, hard at work in London.

Goodbye old friends,

Alright onto this post, I've clocked up another milestone, this is my 150th post. Seeing that its a milestone post I figured that I'd better come up with something half reasonable, Machu Picchu seems to fulfill that requirement I suppose. Now if that last sentence doesn't seem like a ringing endorsement then that's because it isn't, I have some conflicting memories of Machu Picchu. Once again in the spirit of truth in blogging I'll tell it like I see it, I was a little bit under whelmed with Machu Picchu. Now before I'm struck by lightning from the ghosts of the Inca's let me give you a few reasons on why I may have not been as gob smacked as I'd expected. The number one reason I think is that I was starting to get Inca'd out, we'd spent the best part of the last three weeks visiting one stunning Inca ruin after another, so a lot of what our guide was telling us about the site we had already heard on more than one occasion. The second reason was Choquequirao, having been to Choquequirao and spent the best part of two days wondering around the stunning site on our own, pushing through the massive crowds of people at Machu Picchu was a bit confronting, Choquequirao also let us explore in any direction that we wanted where as at Machu Picchu even where you wanted to walk was controlled to some degree. The third reason is probably because I was rooted tired, we'd just finish a fairly tough walk over almost two weeks and had crossed some seriously high passes, I was just ready for a bit of mental health time, by that I mean I just wanted to kick back for a day and relax and not have to think to much. 

Our first look at Aguas Calientes.

The cloud is slowly lifting to reveal the classic shot of Machu Picchu.

The round building is the Temple of the Sun.

These blokes had a harness attached to their ladders, but nothing attaching the ladder to the rock,  first stop would be the Rio Urubamba, 100's of metres below...... and then the ladder would land on your head! doh!

The City Gate.

We had walked into the ramshackle town of Aguas Calientes the previous afternoon after walking along the railway line from the Hydroelectric Station, the locals call Aguas Calientes 'Gringo Town' and we could see why, it appears that its whole purpose was to cater for tourists visiting Machu Picchu. Next morning we jumped on a bus and headed up the seemingly endless series of switch backs to the entrance to Machu Picchu, once at the entrance we were met by our guide for the next 2 hours, he was entrusted to shepherd us around the ruins. After using the toilets for the last time until we came back out of the site (there are no toilet facilities inside the park) we passed through the gates into Machu Picchu itself. It was very early in the morning so our guide decided to take us up to the lookout just above the City Gate before the crowds built up too much, this is the spot where you get the classic 'money shot' of Machu Picchu and we weren't disappointed today, with the cloud slowly lifting like a curtain revealing the ruins in all their glory.

The view down to the Central Plaza.

The Temple of the Sun.

The Temple of the Sun, check out the quality of the stone work.

I won't go into a blow by blow account of our tour (I'll label the photo's where I can) but it was an extensive look at the ruins. Along the way we visited the City Gate, Quarry, Temple of the Sun, Royal Quarter, Central Plaza and the Temple of the Condor among other significant sites. When the tour ended we where free to look around on our own for awhile, with the trail to Wayna Picchu full we decided to head up to the Inca Drawbridge. To get to the drawbridge meant that we and to climb up to the Inca Guardhouse, now the climb up the seemingly endless steps was hard enough but we were going against a sea of humanity coming down the steps at us. Registering at the start of the short trail we headed off along the trail cut into the cliffs, the airy trail seemed to have the advantage though of stopping a few of the punters and we enjoyed the Inca Drawbridge without the crowds, perhaps this is why this spot is the attraction that comes to my mind now when I remember my time visiting Machu Picchu.

The Western Terraces perched high above the Rio Urabamba were used for agriculture.

The Llama's were getting a bit toey!

The Sacred Rock.

After finishing at the drawbridge just after lunch we decided that we were all a bit Inca'd out and decided to head back down to Aguas Calientes and grab some lunch in one of the many restaurants. That left what remained of the day to have another quick look around town before our Peru Rail train turned up in the late afternoon to take us to Ollantaytambo,  the first leg of our journey back to Cusco.

That's the road down to Aguas Calientes zig zagging its way down the mountain.

We've just finished our guided tour now we are heading up to the Inca Drawbridge, first up we have to climb up to the small building near the top of the photo, that's the Inca Guardhouse.

The Inca Drawbridge, a very impressive spot that wasn't overly crowded.

The Dirt.

If all I've written above seems a bit negative then I didn't mean it to, it was just a combination of circumstances that has left me feeling slightly melancholy about the whole experience. I kept on telling myself how lucky I was and what a special place I was in and both those things are undoubtedly true, but I'd be a fraud if I told you that I was totally feeling it at the time. Alright what you need to know about Machu Picchu, well the first thing is it will be crowded, think of big crowds trying to get out of sporting grounds and you'll get the idea. Second is that there are no toilets inside the park and that means that if you need to go you'll have to make your way out the entrance gate, which brings me to point three, its a big area with a lot of steep steps, it can take the best part of an hour to get from one end of the ruins to the other. So go early, plan your toilet stops around your visit, and break out the stair walker before your visit and you should be right.

The mysterious Temple of the Condor.

The wings of the condor.

Back in Aguas Calientes I wandered over to where the locals lived and caught part of a soccer match before we headed back to Cusco, judging by the amount of police at the game they must take it pretty seriously.

Mt Kosciuszko & the Main Range, Kosciuszko National Park - November 2006

Club Lake.

The Snowy River.

How's this for surreal, I'm typing up this post while I'm sitting in my room on the 43rd floor of the Shard in London in a white fluffy robe, gawking out the window at the Tower Bridge and Tower of London, with the Thames flowing by I'm struggling a bit to concentrate my mind on a walk on the Main Range almost ten years ago. This was the first time I'd walked on the Main Range so I wasn't to sure what to expect, I'd once again roped my mate Dave in for this walk, our plan was to spend two nights on the range taking in most of the easier to get to spots.

A few Brumbies on the drive in.

Day 1                          Mt Townsend                     9 kilometres
Yeah you read that right 9 kilometres for the day, I could of made the stats a little more respectable if I'd included the distance we spent sitting on our bums on the Crackenback Chairlift, but in the interests of 'truth in blogging' I couldn't do that. So we'll stay with 9 k's for the day, as I mentioned in the last sentence this walk started on a chairlift which basically took all the hard work out of the day taking us and our packs from around 1400 metres to around 1900 metres, hardcore bushwalking indeed. Things didn't get a lot harder when we started walking as we meandered our way along the extensive raised metal walkway, crossing the odd remaining snow drift on the way.

Looking towards Mt Kosciuszko.

After less then 2 kilometres of actual walking though we headed off the walkway and started off across country towards North Rams Head, the walking was across rolling alpine grassland which made it pretty easy. Stashing our packs we climbed up the jumble of granite boulders that is North Rams Head, the climb being easier than it appeared from the distance. Back with our packs we started off heading north along a broad grassy ridge to intersect with the metal boardwalk at a lookout above Lake Cootapatamba, with Mt Kosciuszko rising up to the north of the lake it's a pretty spot.

Dave, scrambling up North Rams Head.

Lake Cootapatamba.

Mt Kosciuszko was our next objective, so after taking in the view from the lookout we walked the last section of the boardwalk to arrive at Rawson Pass, from the pass we started up the circular summit track, I say circular as it feels as though you are going around the mountain like a cork screw before you arrive at the summit. We had the highest point in Australia to ourselves on this day, probably because we were there in the late afternoon as your very rarely lonely up here. After taking the obligatory summit photos we headed off to find a spot to pitch our tents for the night, from the summit we had our eye on the ridge leading up to Mt Townsend, there seemed to be a few flat spots in a saddle between Muellers Peak and Mt Townsend. Our camp that night provided a grandstand view over Albina Lake in one direction and down the valley of Wilkinsons Creek in the other.

The top of Australia.

Sunset from camp, day 1.

It's gonna be cold tonight I reckon Dave.

It's time for the sleeping bag.

Day 2           Snowy River             22 kilometres           31 kilometres Total
Well yesterday was pretty cruisey but today we cranked it up a bit. First up this morning we headed up to the summit of Mt Townsend, last night had been particularly cold and we found ourselves crunching through a few ice covered puddles on our way to the top. There's a school of thought that Strzelecki mistook Mt Townsend for Mt Kosciuszko when he was the first European to discover the area, his description of a jagged mountain seems to match the rugged Mt Townsend a lot more than the gently rolling slopes of Mt Kosciuszko.

The weather on day 2 was looking good again.

Dave scrambling up Mt Townsend.

Mt Townsend.

Looking back towards the more rounded Mt Kosciuszko from Mt Townsend.

Looking back towards last nights camp from the top of Mt Townsend.

Looking towards the north out over Lady Northcotes Canyon, from Mt Townsend.

Returning to camp we grabbed our packs and headed off along the spine of the Main Range, this is a great section of track as it walks the steep slopes high above Albina Lake towards Northcote Pass and Mt Lee. While it was a sunny day the wind was bitingly cold so we dropped off the ridge above Club Lake to give ourselves a bit of a break from the buffeting we were getting. After thawing out a bit we dropped down off Carruthers Peak to a track junction, leaving Dave to snooze in the sun out of the wind for awhile I grabbed a camera and some water and headed off to Mt Twynam on a side trip. The route out to Mt Twynam follows very old management track, its very faint a grassy in places but still pretty easy to follow, off to my left I could see the rugged ramparts of Watsons Crag, something that I've filed in the deep dark recesses of my mind for a future visit. After getting a photo at the old trig point on top of Mt Twynam I retraced my steps back to catch up with Dave.

It was a little chilly last night.

Lake Albina flows into the rugged Lady Northcotes Canyon.

Club Lake.

The Main Range snaking its way northwards.

Looking back towards Mt Townsend from near Mt Twynam.

The old trig on Mt Twynam.

The next objective for the day was Blue Lake where we enjoyed a late lunch at the lookout. After finishing lunch I once again left Dave basking in the sun while I headed down to the lake shore, Blue Lake is a stunningly beautiful spot, with huge rocky cliffs crowding the lake to the north, the cliffs hold snow late into the year, it's these cliffs that also provide one of the only viable ice climbing venues in Australia over winter. Climbing back up to meet Dave at the lookout we then headed down the paved pathway to our intended camp on the Snowy River just below Charlottes Pass, arriving with a couple hours of daylight left gave us some time to relax in this idyllic location and rest our tired feet.

Blue Lake.

Blue Lake is a stunningly beautiful spot on a nice day.

These cliffs above Blue Lake provide one of the few viable ice climbing spots in Australia over winter.

Our camp on the Snowy River near Charlottes Pass.

Day 3             Thredbo                   13 kilometres               44 kilometres Total
Today was a bit of a road bash, after climbing up to Charlottes Pass we followed the old summit road all the way back to Rawson Pass. If you have to walk on a dirt road though this is the kind that you want to walk on, its long closed to vehicles and slowly and effortlessly gains height through some beautiful alpine scenery. The main interest on the climb was the residual snow drifts at the crossing of the Snowy River, they were a reminder of how bleak and inhospitable this place can be. After crossing the Snowy River on the concrete bridge we headed around the edge of Etheridge Ridge to have our second breakfast at the shelter provided by Seamans Hut.

The Snowy River near the Summit Road crossing.

Etheridge Ridge behind the Snowy River.

Suitably refreshed we headed off on the last stage of our walk, initially we climbed a little more up Summit Road until we arrived at Rawson Pass. From Rawson Pass we once again headed off down the raised metal walkway, this time down towards the Crackenback chairlift. The walkway not only provides for quick walking but it allows you to look up and take in the extensive views as you stride along. After once again crossing over a tributary of the infant Snowy River and passing our last lookout to Mt Kosciuszko, the top station of the Crackenback Chairlift came into view and we were being being whisked down the mountain slopes to the bright lights of Thredbo.

Time for our second breakfast at Seamans Hut.

That's the top station of the Crackenback Chairlift that has just come into view.

The Dirt.
This walk is a little deceptive, in fine weather its an easy stroll along good tracks. If the weather deteriorates the walking can get very serious very quickly though, people have perished up here, some in the not very distant past, so it pays to treat this area with a lot of respect. We used John Chapman's notes from his Bushwalking in Australia and carried the Perisher Valley 1:25,000 topo map. I suppose that I'd rate this a medium walk, although only really because of the possibility of bad weather.

Club Lake from high up on Carruthers Peak.