Recommendations for hiking the Inca Trail

If you have come across this blog while researching hiking the Inca Trail here are some recommendations. They are based on my experience, obviously. I am 60 years old. I live in a very flat part of Canada. Although active I could never call myself athletic; I walk, bike ride, do yoga, sail but none of it to excess. I used to run (well jog) and ran a few 5km races and I used to horseback ride. Fitter than some my age, not as fit as others.

Training; unless you are one of those athletic and active people I would recommend you train. Walk a lot at a fast enough pace that you are out of breath (you might as well be used to the feeling because you will be out of breath). If you don't have steep hills to train on then at least do stairs, lots of them. You cannot train for the altitude, no-one knows how they will react to it.

Leave time to adjust to the altitude; I had 4 days in Cusco before starting the tour. The first day I had the headache and light headedness. I never really got over the breathlessness and increased heart rate with walking up even a slight incline. I didn't regain my appetite til I got home. I made myself eat but rarely finished a meal. I met one gentleman who arrived the day before he hiked the Lares Trail. He had to be given oxygen and took a break riding the "emergency horse" that accompanied that tour.

Try out your equipment; Break in your hiking boots and do some practice hiking with what you plan to take in your pack including your water. Some people had the camelback bladders in their packs others used bottles. I had thought that the folding plastic bottles would be nice and light but they were not tough enough for the constant bumping and ripped off the clips. Some people had the really cheap ponchos and they were fine as we were lucky with the weather and didn't use them much but if we had had the rainy weather that was forecast they would not have held up. A poncho is better than a raincoat as it covers the pack as well. Clips on your backpack are useful to hang various things off. I had a mount for my camera that fixed to my backpack strap when I wasn't wearing pants with big pockets it made it easier to take pictures on the go.

Clothing; Layers of course. If you are going with a tour the porters will carry your clothing but 3 kgms is not much. The other 3 kgms is the sleeping bag and mattress and the duffle bag itself. Changes of socks are essential. Light, wicking shirts are good. The cargo pants which zip into shorts and have lots of pockets are also good. There is no opportunity to shower so you just accept that everyone smells a little and focus on comfort rather than wearing something different every day. If you can, think out ahead of time what you would like to take on the 4 day hike and then weigh it. Remember it can be hot and humid, cool and damp, raining then sunny, all within an hour. If your clothing gets really wet you will be really uncomfortable so you need at least one full set of clothes to change into.

Snacks; On a tour you are given snacks on the first day to last you all four days. You might want to add some light weight snacks that you know you will like; nuts and fruit, chocolate bars (though we were warned this might cause diarrhea and you really don't want that!), cookies etc. Remember you have to carry it.

Sunscreen and Bug spray; At high altitudes the sun is much stronger and you are outside all day, exposed unless you are in the cloud forest. I don't tend to burn but I did in one day without sunscreen on. A hat and bandana (round your head for sweat or over the back of your neck for sun) are also essential. We didn't notice many bugs so I didn't use the spray that I had been advised to bring but Christine hiked in capris one day and in the afternoon noticed blood running down her legs from lots of bites. She didn't feel a thing when being bitten. At Machu Picchu I noticed some people whose legs were covered in bug bites. Better to be safe and spray it on.

Toilet paper and Wet Wipes; Essential. Enough to last 4 days. The toilets are "squatters" over a hole in the floor. So having the toilet paper already separated into "single servings" is useful. Wet wipes are great for washing hands after snacks, bathroom or just sweating while hiking. Just have to remember not to litter, all garbage has to be carried out with you.

Medication; I took Ibuprofen (anti inflammatory) 3 times a day as did the rest of my group. For me it was preventative and I was very pleased at the lack of pain every night when I went to bed. The other thing that I now swear by is Moleskin. This was recommended by my foot doctor and I think everyone in my group used it at some point or another. It is sticky backed felt and you stick it to your feet wherever a red mark is developing (before it becomes a blister). It is great stuff. I didn't get any blisters. One of our group used it on the palm of his hands where the hiking poles rubbed.

Hiking Poles; Some people where doing the trek without these poles but most were using them. They help in terms of support to your joints (hips, knees, ankles mostly) and steady you on the uneven stairs. It helps to practice using them before you go as it takes a little time to get into the right rhythm and to be comfortable with using them on stairs. Shorten them when going up, lengthen them when going down. They can be rented in Cusco. They must have rubber tips on them and I bought extra with me which I used as it was not unusual to find a tip had gone missing while hiking.

Extra shoes; These are heavy so will eat into your duffle bag weight allowance or you have to carry them yourself. I took a lightweight pair of hiking sandals and it was lovely to take my hiking boots off at the end of the day and slip them on. They wouldn't have been useful though if it had been raining and muddy so I'm not sure whether to recommend that or not.

Headlamp not a flashlight; I don't get up in the night to go to the washroom so figured I didn't need a headlight and just took a little flashlight. Well on the last day you are hiking in the pitch dark! You need a headlamp that's the only thing that is really going to work for those circumstances.

Your pace; Everyone says it "Go at your own pace". My pace was very slow and I worried that I wouldn't get there before dark or that I was holding up my group or that I was inconveniencing our guide. After a while I realized that my body wasn't giving me any choice but to go at my own pace and worrying about it was just effecting my enjoyment of the trip, so I gave it up. There is no hurry, the trek has been set up so that it is manageable within the time frames that your guide outlines. He has seen people slower and people faster and will make sure you get to the points you need to get to.

Last minute things; If you are with a tour they will probably rent you a sleeping bag, air mattress, hiking poles and Cusco has lots (and I mean lots!) of camping shops to buy or rent what you might have forgotten.