4 Min read

Salkantay Trek

Wonder of the World

What the mountains teach you

July 4th — HAPPY 250th BIRTHDAY USA

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The visit expanded my sense of geography, how it affects the psyche, the cultural influences and stories. I tried on this other life, if only for a few days, and that has enriched my own. When you leave home, you see things that are different and you begin to see yourself more clearly.

Raising Athena, p. 232

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I am just back from a trip to Peru with my family where we hiked the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu. This is a longer and higher altitude route than the traditional Inca Trail and took us over the Salkantay Pass on day two.

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Savage or Wild Mountain is the translation for Salkantay. It lived up to its namesake not long after we reached the pass. A plume of dust and snow the size of city blocks shot toward us with a sound like the earth rendering. After the avalanche rolled into the ravine, I could see the snow spilling down at the top, like sands moving through an hourglass. Here’s a link to a video of an avalanche last year.

There were moments when I wondered about the trekkers sitting on the overlook when the avalanche started. Shouldn’t they stand, run, and shouldn’t I do the same? Instead they took out their cameras to capture it. I think the whole lot of us were too much in shock, and I had it in the back of my mind — if I’m gone, I’m gone.

If you want a sense of your place in the world, go for a hike. Walking in the Andes Mountains gives you the true meaning of the word, AWE, and the humble and pitiful place humans rank next to nature and the elements. Climbers do not attempt to summit the savage mountain after an expedition of 12 died in the 2000s from an avalanche. During COVID, a Salkantay avalanche destroyed a nearby village, flattened it to rubble, which we later walked through.

Our guide, Wilfredo or Will, is Quechua and paid homage to the three mountains, entreating us to join him: to Humantay the sacred mountain or mother, to Salkantay the savage mountain or father, and to Machu Picchu the old mountain. We each held three coca leaves and whispered a prayer then set them beneath a large rock and added stones on top to make a cairn of sorts, to mark our offering.

And, that sure beat the Incan ritual of sacrificing a young girl. What I found curious, was that Will is a Catholic as is his family and he had no problem, he explained, making space for Quecha beliefs and Incan heritage.

The FIFA World Cup was blasting on screens and on the radio in rapid-fire Spanish throughout our trip. We sat by the food stalls and boticas after a well-earned visit to the mineral springs on day three. Tourists cheered and yelled at the players. Futbol is a way of life in the world and Wilfredo was an elite player at one time, with a chance to go pro. The corruption in Peru’s system made it prohibitive with officials extorting players with roster spot bribes.

During a break on the hike, along an outcrop with flat grass, my kids and Will kicked around a soccer ball. They passed it to him and he lifted the ball with his foot, kicking it up a dozen times.

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Back home now in the states, I watched the music video of a new release by Jason Stills, Welcome to the Land of the Free, which is going viral about the World Cup. And I can’t help but think about Peru, Wilfredo our host and guide, how much more we are alike than we are different.

On this July 4th — 250 years ago — a battered and fledgling group of colonists declared themselves free of tyranny and usurpations.

Happy Independence Day, dear reader.

Thank you as ever for reading TreeHouseLetter.

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The visit expanded my sense of geography, how it affects the psyche, the cultural influences and stories. I tried on this other life, if only for a few days, and that has enriched my own. When you leave home, you see things that are different and you begin to see yourself more clearly.

Raising Athena, p. 232

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FOOTNOTES

*The athletes in the US playing in the World cup will perhaps have the same feelings I had, seeing their homes more clearly after they return.

* I am just back from the theater where I watched Young Washington today, which seemed fitting for the 4th. Lasting and informative – learned a lot about the man and his early trials. Makes me also consider the hand and role of Providence in the making of America.

*Salkantay Trekking organized the hike and all the lodging, permits, and details; they are a top tour operator in Peru. We took the four night and five day route, 45.5 miles or 73 kilometers. Day two is long and challenging, 14.6 miles and 2900M elevation. That day took us 12 hours of walking time, maybe more.

*Please look for me on NBC News Daily on Tuesday, July 7 with anchor Vicky Nguyen. Likely around noon or 1230 pm to discuss my book, Raising Athena.