Finally after about a week of acclimation to altitude with a number of day walks we decided to head off to walk a 4 day tramp called the Santa Cruz . Didn’t want to commit to a larger group so with the help of our wonderful Huaraz agent , Luly , ( ANDEAN KINGDOM ) we contracted a local Cashapampa Arriero to provide his services for the 4 days . We had a deal , 2 donkeys plus his horse to assist with moving all our kit . Weight of a heavy backpack would have limited our luxuries and possibly have made it extremely difficult if not unpleasant to tackle this walk .

We arrived by taxi and met Julio our Arriero ( horseman) immediately both of us thought this man with his open honest face was a good omen for a great trip despite our almost zero Spanish and his zero English .

He set us off up the track to start the walk before finishing his securing of the various bags of our gear , and this was the pattern of each day. He moved very fast and soon overtook us . We would only see him at days end when we finally arrived in our camp .

Day one was a steady climb up this narrow gutted valley .Both is us felt encouraged that we were making better progress with regards the altitude stress , requiring fewer rests to get breath . Biting insects , black fly ( like our sandflies ) were vicious near the water , but like nz they disappeared as we gained altitude .

Julio had already set up the big cook tent and had all the bags inside and the table and our 3 chairs ready . We couldn’t converse easily but shared the camaraderie of a nice beer together. The donkeys allowed us the luxury of plenty of supplies and very importantly a place of refuge as the temperatures plummet from dusk and having a spot inside to cook and relax was very pleasant.

His face lit up when I cooked him a massive pork chop , a man after my own heart . Altitude dampens appetite however but all had good food and plenty of it .

Curious fact that these campsites that are all well used by many tour groups have no proper toilets . If one asked Julio about where to shit he would give a vague smile and wave his arm in a wide 360 degrees gesture to assure anywhere was good . Evidence of past trampers was accordingly everywhere .

Day 2 was a pleasant 500 metre ascent gradually up the valley that opened up with huge vistas of the incredible snowy peaks . We were up at 6 am and on the trail by 7:30 every day . Time to have a great cook up with bacon and eggs and sausages and prepare lunch for ourselves and for Julio , part of our contract with him . Bacon butties in local bread ( pita bread style ) were the order of every days lunch + various snacks

We took a small detour to a Mirador to check out Mount Alpamayo famous for being the iconic paramount pictures icon , said my many to be the most beautiful perfect mountain in the world . the peaks surrounding us are all about 5800- 6000 metre peaks and look frightening technical from the climbing perspective .

Finally arrived at our destination camp site Taullipampa 4250 which was our highest sleep night

Barbs two highest priority issues were safe water hence her flashy Grayl filter system and finding rocks big enough to squat behind and small enough to cover all evidence of said actions .

The views on this walk never got boring , hate to admit it but they are more spectacular than my favourite NZ STH Island routes in the southern Alps . Just the huge magnitude of valleys here , truly majestic.

Day three was the biggest day for use with a big climb up the steep zig zag sections to the Punta Union Pass at 4750 so a 500 metre climb . Our destination was Hauripampa down another valley at 3750 so a long 1000 metre descent .

Was a slow ascent , slow walking and taking a little pause on the zig zag corners , again the legs felt fine but the breathlessness frustrated progress . Happily reached the top and had a long break just absorbing the epic views .

The 1000 metre descent opened up another series of spectacular vistas .

Descending was easy on the system however it was pretty rough in places and amazing that pack animals can handle the terrain even if with difficulty in footing .

Had a last camp at Huaripampa at 3750 , the end of a long day for us . Cooked at a good feed and hit the sack early again with temperatures quickly plummeting. Barb was having to sleep with lots of warm cloths including puffer jacket and still complaining that she was cold . We slept very close to this narrow fast moving torrent of water which made something of a racket , but slept nevertheless.

Day 4 was a relatively short walk of about 7 km down for a while then a steep kick in the tail up to a small village of Vaqueria .

Julio had to face the return journey back over the Punta Pass to get home , in fact his fee included 5 days , one day to return which is a bit optimistic.

We had organised a private taxi to come all the way to Vaqueria from Huaraz, a 5 hour trip one way . Jacinto arrived on time and loaded us up for a truly epic crossing of the Portachuelo de Llanganuco Pass at 4800 metres . Just incredible scenery too much to take in . The road was an absolute horror , not seen a grader for decades it seems . Was happy to be in a smaller vehicle as the bus might have been pretty scary with switchback after switchback .

The end of a fantastic tramp , this trail has an ancient history with ample evidence of very old path ways and man modified structures . Was a pre Columbian pre Spanish trade route between these two massive valleys .