Hola.
Hola, buenos dias from Vaqueria, the start of the Santa Cruz Trek.
So, phew, phew, the air is thin up here.
I woke up at about 4:30 a.m. in Huaraz, where I began my day, and frantically looked for
a colectivo to take me to Yungay, where I caught yet another colectivo, all up through
the mountain passes to come here, in Huascaran National Park.
I was here yesterday to do the Laguna 69 hike, which was brilliant, absolutely beautiful.
And today, it snowed overnight so it was a really hairy drive getting here, like, probably
in the top three scariest of my life.
There was a few times when the driver had to back up down a blind curve on an icy road
to get enough momentum to go up again, and I saw, like, crosses on the side of the road
next to us where, obviously, some people had not made it.
So, that was interesting.
I mean, it was gorgeous though, one of the most dangerously beautiful drives of my life.
And then, this town is really picturesque and cute.
And I've got four days ahead of me with this turtle shell.
I've never hiked at altitude with weight, and this is the first time that I'm doing
a multi-day trek on my own.
There's a lot of firsts happening right now, and I'm really excited, and I've heard nothing
but good things.
So, let's get started before I use all my breath talking.
Did not take me long to make my first wrong turn.
I just...
There's a sign right behind me, I just didn't even see it.
So, thankfully some locals figured out that I was probably going the wrong way and told
me.
It was all for show.
All right, little update here.
So, this is already an amazingly beautiful trek.
I am so impressed, and I'm not even to, like, the famously beautiful part yet.
So, just having a little snack now.
My appetite's not what it usually is when I'm hiking, so I'm just kind of making myself
eat some pizza that I got in town last night.
It is steak pizza, so this is a little awkward.
I'm sorry, but thank you.
The really cool thing about this trek so far has been going through the little villages.
The people are really, really friendly and really sweet.
And some people are conversational, and I'm doing my best because my Spanish is super
basic, but I am actually trying to learn.
It's gotten a lot better in the last few days because I've been on my own and not with the
group anymore, and so I'm kind of forced, and that is the best way to learn.
So far, update from the trail is I'm liking it.
That sucks.
Oh, just got through kind of an unavoidably muddy part and sunk all the way down to my
calves in the mud.
Damnit, it is what it is.
All right, good afternoon, or buenas tardes, from Paria, which is usually the first place
that you would camp for the night.
I started around 11:15 in Vaqueria, and now it's 2:30, so I definitely have time to keep
going, after a Snickers.
These are all the things that are not allowed here.
No fishing, no picking things, no drinking, no littering, no swimming, no hunting.
That's important, it's up there twice.
Phew, finally made it.
That last two hours was tough.
Man: Yeah.
Kristin: Yeah.
Woman: She was vlogging.
Kristin: I met some people on the trail, so I'm not by myself.
This is, like, an unofficial campsite, but I got a blessing from the camp ranger, the
ranger guy, to come up here, and it's so pretty.
And I think I'm gonna be really glad to not have that extra climb tomorrow.
Enough talking, time to set up my tent.
It's almost 5:00.
Good morning, if it is a good morning.
No, it is.
It, like, rained and snowed all night last night.
You can actually see the snow up there.
The fine tent I rented has a leak in it, and I was just like, why do I even do this?
But, I don't know, then I woke up this morning and I was like, oh yeah, this is why.
It's so beautiful.
So, I needed to get up bright and early to do the pass.
The sun is rising right there.
And then, I'm making some breakfast over there, just gonna eat up and go.
All right, made it to the top.
As you can see, it's not exactly clear.
That is just how it goes sometimes.
We made it all the way up to Punta Union, 4,750 meters.
I'm proud of us.
I thought this was pasta sauce, but it is, like, really spicy.
And I really like spicy, but whoa.
I got a whole bowl of it, this is hard to eat.
This is why I'm learning Spanish.
Today was kind of a wet start to the morning, and then ended up just being so beautiful,
in this valley just surrounded by peaks and glaciers.
And tomorrow's supposed to be, basically, the best part of the trail.
Fingers crossed for good weather, I really cannot wait to see this.
See you guys tomorrow.
Woohoo, we made it to Lake Laguna, Arhuaycocha.
Is that right?
Kaylin: Arhuaycocha.
Yeah, close enough.
Kristin: This is Kaylin, by the way.
We met on the trail.
Kaylin: Hi.
Kristin: We both started on our own, but then we decided to join forces.
Kaylin: Much better that way.
Kristin: Yes, much better that way.
And this is, like, kind of, one of the crown jewels of the trek.
Let me just catch my breath.
Snack time, while we wait for the clouds to clear.
Pro tip: If you're not with a group, you can get the lake all to yourself.
D-do-do-do, do-do-do, do-do-do.
This is so crazy.
We were just up, like, at this glacial lake, and now we're in this desert.
There's, like...
You can see behind me where we just were, and now I feel like I'm in, I don't know,
Utah or something.
It's warm, and it was, like, pelting down snowy rain up there.
This is crazy.
So, Kaylin and I made it to our third and last campsite, and we've been pretty good
at avoiding all the other campers so far by just going to, like, the lesser known, non-tour
group campsites.
We're doing some stretching.
Muy importante.
Bye sun, bye.
All right, time to pack up and go.
That's how it's done.
Let's go.
We made it. Woohoo, nice.
Man, we actually, like, powered through today.
Kaylin: We really did, we're proud of ourselves.
Kristin: Yeah, we did a good job.
Yeah, I was a little bit worried that the altitude would be a factor, but it really
wasn't.
It was all good.
Kaylin: Yeah.
Kristin: So, yeah, it was a beautiful four days.
It was really nice to meet you.
Kaylin: Yeah, thanks.
So great to meet you as well.
Kristin: Yeah.
If you like this video, share it with your friends, give it a thumbs up, and I'll see
you next Wednesday.
Bye.