Huaraz and the Melting Glacier

I wanted to add a little shot of the lodge, which could easily have been a house in Black Butte. It was really nice, despite the toilet situation, although composting toilets are great, but you know, the smell, and it got internet too, way the hell up there. It also has Scrabble, so I took the opportunity to cream Gillian one more time! No book exchange, damnit, but there was a great one in town so we are well stocked for a few more weeks.

We started off the hike already in the whole. Gillian didn't sleep well or eat much an neither of us were fully acclimatized...

So, we went ahead and took a break right away! They gave us a big thermos of coca tea. that helped a bundle.

There is another dot person looking after her goats and whatnot. We stopped and took a picture of a lamb at one point and some guy came outa nowhere and demanded money. I said fuck you with my eyes and sorry with my words. I understand not taking pictures of people without asking, but random wandering animals that may or may not have even been his. In the end, he received no money! (but I deleted the picture)

It was neat to have the glacier always in the foreground, growing bigger and bigger, like a zit on our nose you can't let be. Only I guess it have to be a beauty zit or something.

After a bit, we came alongside the river that flows from the lake that flows from the glacier.

Cool huh?

We stopped for a second and then all of a sudden this guy was there. I almost shot him, but then I realized it was just a donkey.

I waded across the river for a better shot. We gave him a banana and he wanted the peel too. I hope we didn't kill him.

I'm not even gonna go there with this one!!!!!

There is no way I can say something about ever picture. Umm, this hike was day 2 of 4 up here in the mountains. There. How's that?

The lake is to the left. Here is a lodge for training guides and for trekkers on their way through.

Ah, the glacier. Ah, the lake. Ah, lunch.

There wasn't any wind, just a lot of gel.

The whole hike was about 7 1/2 hours, but man, walking on rocks for that long, even with my thick shoes, can cause some problems.

Lunch gave us a second wind (and third if you will allow another fart joke, but seriously altitude combined with the water does some strange things to your system).

Rainy season was just beginning so there were all these impromptu waterfall out and about. 

This is kinda what some of Cajas looked like (that national park near Cuenca, Ecuador that we forgot our camera for) only in Cajas you could really sing from tree to tree. I did at least.

Gillian crawled the last 30 minutes, so I did a lot of this. Now I know why it's hard to play the Nuggets in Denver.

We weren't charged for this one, though I would have paid. Good shot Gillian! (You can see how people can hike around here for a week and constantly be amazed, eh?)