More Machu Picchu pics. The sun came out about the same time as the daytrippers arrived. After the Inca Trail no one was going to climb the 1,000+ feet to Huayna Picchu, but Aislinn and I climbed the smaller Huchuy Picchu overlooking the city.

Tony,

Thanks for the pics.

My Wife & I were going to try to do Peru for our honeymoon, but figured we'd need 3 full weeks to do it right. As neither of us could get 3 weeks in a row off at that time (or even 2 - we ended up with 1 1/2 weeks in Costa Rica), we deferred this trip to the future.

How tough overall is the Inca trail? While I love hiking, without poles my knees no longer like down hikes over ~2K vert. After that, if I can't use poles/upper body to reduce shock & stress, my kness start locking up, etc... (yet no knee issues for me in skiing, biking, etc... whatsoever - only hiking).

I've had hiking issues in the past (sustained downhills), but fortunately did not on the Inca Trail. You can rent rubber-tipped poles for $10. I used them on the 1,800 vert downhill on the second day, but not at all on the 3rd day (1,000 before lunch, then 3,500 in the late afternoon) because Andrew was using them on uphills and was too far behind me.

The 3,500 is mostly Inca-built stairs; maybe that's easier on knees than a steep downhill trail.

There's also about 1,000 downhill going into Machu Picchu on the 4th morning. Total distance is 45km over 3 days plus a couple of hours on the 4th. Climb Huayna Picchu (probably the next morning if you stay overnight) and that would be another 1,000.

All the camping grunt work is done by your guide, cook and porters. Altitude (13,800 max hike, 12,000 max sleep) is an issue for some people, but I'm sure not for those who live in Colorado.

The 3,500 is mostly Inca-built stairs; maybe that's easier on knees than a steep downhill trail.

Not sure I really believe that given the rock stairs

And not worried about altitude issues. I've done a decent # of 14'ers (my wife has one under her belt) and for that matter can hike uphill indefinitely, or so it seems. So far it's just the downhills that get me.

can hike uphill indefinitely, or so it seems. So far it's just the downhills that get me.

That has generally been my situation also. It depends upon how steep the downhill is. I've done OK on steady grades like the Inca Trail and Mt. Whitney. The last one that really bothered me was the Vivian Creek trail down San Gorgonio, which is 5,500 vertical in 7 miles. Whitney is 6,100 vertical in 11 miles.

Mt. Whitney was harder than the Inca Trail, but a big part of that was carrying a 35 lb pack to 12,000 feet. In Peru you're only hiking with a day pack because the porters carry all the camping gear.