Ausangate Circuit July 2017

[Leap Frog]

A friend and I hiked the Ausangate Circuit in Peru from July 17-21. The scenery was spectacular, both during the daytime and at night. The hike presented new challenges for me, including a new personal elevation record (over 16,700 ft), obtaining route information for an unguided international hike, and logistics relating to transfers in Peru. A few thoughts/highlights:

• The Andes are high, and diamox served me well. The road to the trailhead topped out above 14,000 ft and traveled through a number of small Andean villages.
• Aside from the additional elevation, gear-wise my kit from the Wind River Range trip last September worked perfectly again. Temperatures got down to 18F, but rose quickly once the sun appeared.
• The days were short, and the temperature dropped precipitously when the sun set around 6:30pm. I was immediately in my quilt at that time.
• The lack of bears and other predators simplified food storage greatly.
• The weather was consistently clear with radiant blue skies. Glacial runoff provided plenty of water throughout the circuit, meaning very little water had to be carried.
• As it happened, we were there when the moon was almost new. The nighttime show was outstanding, particularly the night we camped within earshot of a calving glacier.
• There were hot springs at both the beginning and end of the hike. On the first night we took in the Milky Way and shooting stars while relaxing in the thermal bath.

Pictures can be found here (with photo credit to my photographer friend and hiking companion for many of them): https://goo.gl/photos/SvGxPcRjBzrMxAxX9

 

[Francis DeRoos]

great adventure Leap Frog! Your friends photos are fantastic. I love the one of the milky way and of the llamas. Thanks for sharing.

[Ben C]

Stunning.  I need to get to Peru.

[Author]

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