Holy smokes, we bought our plane tickets!!!
We're flying to Lima, then to Cusco. We'll stay there 2 nights to acclimatize, then begin our 4-day Inca Trail trek in late August, to celebrate two graduations. Hubby finished his BA and I'll finish my MA.
We gotta start training!!! The 4 day Inca Trail hike is "only" 26 miles. Cusco is at about 11,000 ft, whereas Machu Picchu is at 8,040 ft. There are mountains between there. The highest point of the trail is over 13,000 ft. Criminy.
Interestingly, training for Peru will also help my project for my Action Research class this semester. It's all about getting in shape.
I figure if I can train the for 3-Day in the summer (with hubby's help), then we can train for Machu Picchu in the spring and summer. August is pretty much the grossest month here, so we should be well conditioned by then. We're planning to head up in altitude as much as possible and just hike as much as possible between now and then. We'll start close to home and then go farther up in elevation as the temperatures rise for the year.
I did the stairmaster at the gym for 20 straight minutes today without passing out - or realizing I'd gone that long. I thought I set the timer for 10 minutes, but the next time I looked down, the readout said 20 minutes. That's exciting.
Holy COW we're excited!!!
