Santa Cruz Trail

Aaahhh, the infamous Santa Cruz Trail!! The compelling reason for our foray into the north of Peru. The summit, Punta Union, sits at 4750m, and is reached by an arduous 2 day hike, followed by a 2 day descent through valleys surrounded by towering mountains and glacier-fed waterfalls feeding into rivers and lakes. Needless to say we were very excited and a wee bit apprehensive, but mostly excited. We took a few days to gather our supplies including equipment rentals and food purchases. Since we elected to do our own hike without a guide and donkeys to carry our belongings, weight was of utmost importance. Of course hot chocolate and deluxe camping dinners made the cut. We joined forces for the initial part of the hike with Toby from Germany, Yacob from the Netherlands, Taylor and James from the US.

The start of the Trail is reached by a five hour bus ride from Huaraz to Vaqueria. We had an auspicious beginning when a local tried to stuff a load of frozen fish in with our backpacks in the bus storage compartment, which would have made for a stinky start to our journey. Fortunately we convinced the bus operator to place our bags on top of the bus, and crossed our fingers during the bumpy ride through cliffhanging switchbacks.

It is impossible to capture the absolute splendor of the Santa Cruz Trail with a handful of pictures. It is also impossible to capture how difficult the trek was. To give you an idea, a few level steps at that altitude will leave you breathless. Now imagine ascending from 3600m to 4750m with a backpack complete with four days supplies on your back. Exhausting is too mild a word. Fortunately Ben is quite the gentleman and took the heavier items including 5 liters of water, tent, food and stove. What a guy!!

A typical day would consist of waking up around 5:30am to have a breakfast of porridge and coca tea. This would be followed by hiking with stops for lunch and snacks, and by 5:30pm we would stop to set up camp for the night. By 7:30pm we would hit the sack with every muscle in our body on fire. However, the views were so spectacular that we mostly had wide grins on our faces.

The first day consisted of a relatively easy trek through plains dotted by meandering streams and grazing cattle, mountains towering on either side. The second day was the most arduous, as we tackled the summit of Punta Union. The climate changed quickly from temperate to frigid, as grass was replaced by enourmous boulders covered in moss and glaciers appeared up ahead. Fortunately our previous climb up Laguna Churup had allowed us to acclimatize to the altitude so there were few negative side effects with the quick elevation gain.

Regardless, we were taxed to our very limit, and there were times that completion of the task was not a certainty. It was in this frame of mind that we reached the summit, which made the accomplishment all the sweeter. We celebrated with lunch in the sunshine at the summit. Ham and cheese sandwiches have never tasted so good!!

There was no rest for the weary, as we still had to hike down for two hours to reach the next campsite. The hike down the other side was spectacular, and the next two days were full of breathtaking views at every turn.

Since we are suckers for punishment the following morning in addition to the usual hike down we did a 1 hour hike up another mountain to see Alpamayo, altitude 5947m, which according to one German climbing magazine was voted the most beautiful mountain in the world. We agree!!

We parted ways with our original group, who had only three days to complete the trek, and joined forces with Laura, Boris and Niko, a group from France that we had met earlier at our hostel. Completing the trek in four days allowed us to have a more leisurely descent, and bond with the local fauna.

Our favorite afternoon consisted of setting up camp early enough to enjoy a siesta in our tent with a view up the valley of Punta Union. The next day we finished the trek, ending up in the town of Cashapampa where we took two rides to reach Huaraz, which by now feels like a second home. This was yesterday, and tonight we leave on an overnight bus to Lima. Tomorrow we catch a 21 hour bus!! from Lima to Cuzco, where we will prepare to do the Inca Trail. Until then!

Below please see the topo map that guided us on our way through the Santa Cruz trail. You'll see our route, camping locations and respective elevations.