This week it was back to the land. First we went on a long day hike to acclimate to the altitude here in Huaraz. We went without a guide and only got a little lost, which is pretty good for us. It happened when the trail was heading towards a second mountain pass and we thought, there is no way we have to climb up yet another hill, there's got to be some mistake.We tried diligently to find another trail but finally had to concede that up the mountain was in fact the right way. Much huffing and puffing later (up around 16,000 ft.) it paid off with the perfect picnic spot alongside a turquoise glacier lagoon.

Having survived this first hike with only minimal altitude sickness we signed up for a 3-day trek into the Cordillera Blanca. Choosing the trek was tough because there are so many amazing options here. One route especially draws crowds for its view of Alpamayo, the most beautiful mountain in the world according to many. But as a result the campsites are overrun with hikers so it's you, the mountains, and 50 other tourists the entire way.

Instead we decided to head out into uncharted (well at least less-charted) territory on a hike called Quilcayhuanca; or as we refer to it, the hike that starts with a Q and has a long name. It was perfect. We had a beautiful trek and never saw another soul for 3 days except for 3 guys out in the fields herding their cows.

We got to know Ivan our guide and Rodger (pronounced raw - hair) our porter pretty well over the 3-day period. We were sooo glad to have them especially the day we climbed over snowy peaks to just over 17,000 feet!

Along the way we had some fun talks about politics and family. We learned that Ivan apparently isn't a big fan of his mother-in-law whom he lived with for the first 7 years of his marriage. He said that when she dies they'll bury her face down so if she wants to get out she'll just head further down. Woah… Don't cross this guy.

They thought our city-slicker fascination with the wild cows and horses was charming until Josh fed one of them and they wouldn't leave our campsite alone. For the most part any cultural differences mostly came out in terms of food: namely they eat a lot of bone-in fishy tuna and we're more can-variety folk. But overall they were great company, giving us lots of space and spoiling us so I never want to go camping on my own again.

The best part was the solitude that brought out the energy and tranquility in the mountains. To butcher a line from Thoreau, I truly never feel more like myself than when I'm out in nature. Hopefully this will inspire us to do more hiking and get out of the city more often once we get back home!