Day 21: Ruts

June 3, 2025

4300 feet of vert

8.5 hours camp to camp

Camping at 14,700 feet

We woke up to a very foggy morning. Lucky for us, since we slept at the bus stop, we were dry! The seats of our bicycles, on the other hand, were glazed over with ice. It was a luxury to be able to have a covered place to cook and sit in the morning. Our oats were PACKED today - oats, milk powder, PB, sugar, dried fruit, nuts, and granola - courtesy of great shops in town. It was hard to get moving and warm up because of the fog. We woke up naturally before 6, partly because of all the loud trucks rolling by us. We figured there must be mining nearby, and we were right! The most busy times on the road around here seem to be between 5am and 6:30am.

Despite the cold, we still rolled out of camp around 7:45am, dressed in all our layers, singing for the sun to come out. It took an hour or so, but it eventually peaked out and we warmed up! We passed by a lovely older Peruvian woman with barking dogs. She came out to greet us and ask where we were going and coming from. She also reiterated how it was mucho frio! Sí!

Like most mornings, we started to climb right away. It was great gravel and a gentle grade - it barely felt like we were at 16,200 feet at the first pass. Then we descended and got to the supposed unmaintained road that was flagged on the app iOverlander. We began our ascent up this gnarly trail (can’t even call it a road) to the top of the next pass (16,300, our highest point of the route!). We could ride a little bit in the beginning, and then we just committed to pushing the whole way. The worst part was the HUGEEE ruts that could swallow our sweet tandy. We were pushing and pulling and lifting the heavy tandem over loose rocks and sand above 16000 feet, which was really hard!! We had to take our pannier bags off to better maneuver the bike. We ended up hiking around 2.5 miles and 1000 feet of vertical. We finally made it to the top, and we had an inkling the descent would also have huge ruts. We were right. We walked the tandem down the descent and over more ruts, having to remove our pannier bags again. Then, we finally reached a more maintained (?) road, where we plopped down, exhausted, and had our peanut butter, jelly, and granola wraps for lunch. We got to have peanut m&ms for dessert (along with our usual Sublime chocolate). Felt like a taste of home! We’ve also discovered a trail mix that tastes exactly like Costco trail mix. The list of foods that we want to eat when we’re home keeps growing.

Hiking the pannier bags. You can’t tell, but it’s steep!

We began our descent, which was still quite rugged and bumpy. We reached more mines and then started climbing yet again. We headed up our third pass of the day. It was steep at first and really challenging. Gradient really matters! But it got better. The highlight of this pass was seeing an older Peruvian woman come down the hillside herding her llamas/alpacas for the evening. She must have had over 100 of them, along with four dogs. We got stuck in an alpaca jam waiting for them all to pass. The woman came over to shake our hand and ask where we were going, then she continued on with all her animals. We continue to be in awe of the people who live off of this land, and the kindness they show us as we pass through.

We finally reached the top of the pass and descended down to our camp spot for the night, after being chased by three dogs. They must have run a quarter of a mile to reach us. We set up camp, enjoyed a few minutes of evening sunshine, and had a delicious pasta dinner with lots of spices. Yum!

Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 589 miles (948 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	8
Comment on this entry	Comment	1

Joanne ChristensenGreat picture of all the alpacas! You really have their attention.
Reply to this comment
4 weeks ago