My Inca Trail Journey (part 3)

Before I get into the last two days of the trek, I want to reflect a bit on the overall Inca Trail experience, particularly on the role of the porters. When I first signed up for the trek back in November, I wondered how necessary the porters would be. I thought, “Well, I guess it will be nice for them to carry stuff for me, but I don’t know that I need that luxury. I have been on multiple-night backpacking trips before. I am sure I could carry my own stuff.” I retract all of those thoughts now! The porters were a very integral component to our experience. Yes, I am sure I could have carried my own equipment and successfully completed the Inca Trail (some groups did); however, the altitude already made walking much more challenging  for me than normal. The extra weight would have slowed me down even more. But it is more than just whether or not I could carry my own things or set up my own tent. Watching the porters run ahead of us on the trail carrying 20kg packs, setting up and breaking down our camps, and cooking gourmet meals in an environment where it is least expected, all with smiles on their faces, is a very encouraging site.

We learned that the porters are also farmers. In that lifestyle, they are accustomed to carrying heavy loads through the mountains. We also learned that there is a tradition among the Quechua people dating back to the Inca times of messengers who would run  from Cusco to Machu Picchu to deliver important messages. Even today, people still compete to have that honor, although messengers are obviously no longer needed. We also learned there is a marathon where people run the Inca Trail, and that the current record is just slightly over 3 hours to complete! I can’t even imagine–the same trail that took us four days to complete in just three hours!! Anyway, the job of the porters seems to be in line with some of the traditions of the local culture. However, it is still a difficult job, and I am sure more can be done to improve the working conditions and the lives of the porters. When you book your trip, I would do some research into how the company you choose treats their porters. G Adventures seems to be very supportive of the porters in providing them essentials that they need, such as warm clothes. Some of us raised questions about the shoes, as many porters were wearing sandals. We were told that the porters actually prefer sandals over hiking shoes because they are more accustomed to wearing sandals on the farms, so their feet are less likely to blister. Some porters also go on to other jobs in tourism. Our guide, Mickey, was a porter prior to becoming a tour guide. Other porters love the job so much that they stick with it for years. The oldest porter was in his 70s!

 

Our guides did tell us that there are plans to make changes to the Inca Trail. We had wondered why the porters needed to carry some of the equipment like tents, and set them up and take them back down daily, only to have another group come in right behind. The guides told us that the government plans to build lodges along the trail. I have mixed feelings about this idea. On the one hand, it might make the porters’ jobs a bit easier by cutting back on how much they would need to carry. On the other hand, would this put some of the porters out of a job? Porters would surely still be needed to carry supplies to restock the lodges of food and other consumable items. Maybe some porters would be reassigned to different positions, like lodge maintenance crews or in-house chefs. Would there be enough jobs for all of the porters? I also feel like the existence of lodges would completely change the experience of hiking the Inca Trail. There would be more of a disconnect between people and their surroundings. I would only hope that wifi would not be available at these lodges! Call me old-fashioned, but part of the joy of this experience was in being able to completely disconnect from the outside world and only focus on the immediate environment.

Whew! My short reflection turned out to be much longer than the short paragraph I had originally imagined! I will have to leaving you hanging one more day on the conclusion of our trip!  I promise it will be worth the wait:)