The staff at the Rumi Punku already had the fire going when we came down a little after 4am.
Today is the day for Rainbow Mountain and we wanted to stay ahead of the crowds.
It’s the thing that caught Patricia’s eye in the Odyssey. And our last major hike of the trip.
Rainbow Mountain has an interesting story. It was only ‘discovered’ around the year 2000, when the changing climate melted what was perennial snow and ice, revealing the colorful minerals underneath. Since the number one income generator for Peru is mineral extraction, the companies were lining up to take advantage of the opportunity.
The local indigenous people were none too happy and launched a protest to keep the heavy industry out of their villages. Surprisingly, the government gave the mountain over to them so that they could manage it for tourism, the second largest income generator in Peru.
In 2016 or so, the four communities on the way to Rainbow Mountain improved the road, built restroom facilities, parking areas, and trails for the climb. And what I think was a smart move, created a horse trail parallel to the hiking trail on the lower slope. This allowed the locals to run a horseback taxi service to the base of the peak and, with the horses being on a separate trail, kept the footpath in good shape and enjoyable. It’s obvious that the endeavor has become an important income stream for these remote communities.
Of course, with the new revenue comes consequences. The extra income has increased the use of sugary foods and the young people are losing their teeth by age 20!
Before we left Tennessee, our hygienist daughter Karen helped us gathered a big duffel bag of dental products including nearly 100 toothbrushes. On our first day in Cusco, we passed these on to Ruben and Alpaca Expeditions, but hadn’t heard anything.
Now, while having breakfast at one of the small community centers, Ruben introduced the community leader and he thanked us for our help. They would be bringing in someone to show the villagers how to use everything properly.
A nice way to start the day.
The mountain drive to the upper parking lot was bare dirt but nicely maintained and graded. No guard rails here! As we rolled up through the fog and clouds, we popped out under a winter sky. It had snowed during the night above 15,000 feet and the scenery was simply breathtaking.
The picture is linked to a short video pan of the valley below Rainbow Mountain.
It was a cold morning but many of the locals were wearing sandals.
We were able to reunite with a Utah family that we met for the Short Inca Trail. And we’d probably follow our Pied Piper Ruben anywhere.
In fact, David had met Ruben about five years ago and had requested him for their guide on this trip! I mentioned how great he has been for us and how he completely changed our expectations.
“Oh, so you know Ruben?” David asked me.
“Oh yeah, Ruben and I go way back,” I replied.
“Really? How far back?”
“Saturday.”
We both laughed, but it certainly seemed like a long time now. And according to him, we were his Champion Team!
Oh the sky, the sky.
The morning sky and mountain snow were blinding without sunglasses. And the high ice crystals refracted the sunlight into an unbelievable display. I’ve seen ice halos before, but never like this! And it was changing quickly.
The Sun is sitting at the center of two halos. The circular one is a 22-degree halo. But the flattened one around it is called a circumscribed halo and it is tangent to the first at the top and bottom. The big arc that passes through the Sun is a parhelic circle. If you ever see the bright spots that are on either side of the Sun on a wintry day, they’re called Sun Dogs because they dog the Sun. They would be at the intersection of the parhelic arc and the 22-degree halo in the picture.
But there are two more that I’ve never seen. The rainbow arcs in the lower corners of the picture are called infralateral halos, and I think are pretty rare due to the meteorologic conditions required. These two were bright enough to reveal rainbow colors, and arced away from the Sun. So Rainbow Mountain has rainbows all over it!
And even higher in the sky, it looks like I could see the entirety of the parhelic circle, something I’ve never seen.
Now, there’s another arc, called the circumzenithal arc, that forms around the zenith, the point straight above you in the sky. I’ve only seen the little piece of that arc where it touches the 22-degree halo.
But here, I see the hint of the entire circle, which is very cool.
Heading for the Top!
It’s a little over 2 miles and 1,000 feet of climbing to the top. Patricia has almost recovered from her illness, but the altitude is a real deal. I don’t know how many travelers that I’ve talked to that have been surprised with its affect.
So she decided to take the ‘taxi’ to the base of the mountain and then do the remaining 1/2 mile to the top.
Which, of course, is the steepest part!
Once again, it all seems to be in our favor! The beauty of the morning snow is melting away, and it’s just a gorgeous day.
Patricia started the climb before I caught up to her. The local ladies operating the taxis can hustle along!
I watched the red jacket working its way up the steep slope with the crowd. Even though the snow was melting, we were all packing it into ice and it was getting a bit treacherous! Several workers were attempting to clean off the path.
It was a special moment at the top when we came back together. The literal high point of our trip and just a glorious day. And it marks a turning point in our odyssey. It’s been pretty challenging here in the Andes and we’ve had to work hard, adapting to the situations as they come.
Ah, the mountain energy! Can you feel it?
We made our way down to the trail junction to Red Valley. This was another option included in our odyssey that most don’t do, I think partly because of the effort required for the Rainbow peak. I’m feeling pretty great though, and Patricia decided to take the ‘taxi’ down close to the buses while Ruben and I and a young man from New York chose to go see it.
It was less than a mile along the mountain side to Red Valley, not a bad grade at all. There was a stone gate at the ridge where the locals were collecting tickets. As we crossed the ridge, I’ll have to say, the Red Valley was pretty stunning in the remaining snow.
As always, the Pied Piper had his flute. The picture is linked to a video pan of Red Valley, with Ruben’s flute accompianment.
This spot overlooking Red Valley was a special place to him, and we all gave thanks using the coca leaf tradition we had learned this week.
A great way to reflect on our blessings and melt into the mountains.
Every part of the day seemed to be eventful, and the ride out was no different. While it’s impossible to describe the high mountain roads, the picture is linked to a short video that might give an idea.
There’s a treat at the end…
Yet another stellar day among an unending stream of stellar days! Tomorrow we become legitimate tourists, hopping on the bus for an 10-hour ride to Puno on the banks of Lake Titicaca.