best backpack for inca trail
FREE Ground Shipping $49+ See Details FREE Ground Shipping $49+ See Details Travel hacks for smart travelers. Time to make adventure happen. What to pack and how to pack it. Chase adventure, but be prepared. Our people, products, and what we believe in. June 12th, 2014 Hiking the Inca Trail: How to Plan and What to Pack The Do's and Don'ts of Thailand Photo Journal: Denver By Foot Photo Journal: My Adventure in Yosemite National ParkThe 15-18 things you need to hike This slideshow requires JavaScript. Each morning on the trail I cast a sidelong glance at yesterday’s SmartWool socks, which were festooned with a frieze of sweat and blood. I inched them on with the alacrity of a new dad changing his first explosive diaper. Clever though hiking footwear may be – some brands even claiming to last 3 days without need for a wash – no sock is a match for the Trail. As you fill your pack, consider carefully whether you want an extra candy bar or extra socks in addition to the following items.
Follow the llama and pick up alpaca wool in Cusco. 7. Warm pajama pant or jeans (1) for night. Leggings you can layer are ideal. I’m obsessed with these light cashmere ones. 8. Hat for sun and light rain. If you opt for a less nerdy baseball hat just remember to cover your neck (lots of hikers brought bandannas for this).
black mcm stark backpack 9. Underwear (4 pairs) and (1-2) sports bras if applicable. 10. Waterbottle – Hikers with water reservoirs were particularly happy and hydrated because they could drink without pausing. If you enjoy taking breaks, like we do, bring water bottles. 12. Camera – You’re going to want a camera of some sort. Many bring high-quality equipment, which can fill a whole daypack; 2 other hikers in our group were kind enough to share their high-res pictures with us. 13. Snacks – Nuts, dried fruit, candy bars. You can restock from locals who sell for reasonable prices on the trail.
14. Money – About $100. You’ll spend $35-$40 on tips, pick up water and snacks along the way, and it never hurts to have a little extra on hand. Capacity: Dave and I shared a 45 liter pack, which was ample, as porters carry everything except what you need during the day. (Porters carry up to 20kg in addition to your camp gear and sleeping bag and charge about $45 for the trip. Key Features: We love the packs engineered to suspend off your back (reducing the sweat factor), like this one from Deuter. It’s important to have convenient apertures for your water reservoir or bottles (this won’t be hard to find), and it’s nice to have an alternative opening so you’re not forced to unload from the top down. Fit: If you have time, it’s best to go in store to try the backpacks on. Any major outdoor sporting store (like REI or EMS) will spend time fitting you. This is particularly important if you’re not an average size – many brands design backs just for women and a couple models even have a swiveling hip piece that’s meant to move with you.
Lightweight Trick: We HIGHLY recommend sharing one pack with a partner. Dave and I took turns carrying our single pack and quickly became the envy of everyone else on the trail. 16. Walking stick – Key for downhill; the 3rd day includes over 3000 feet of decline. You can buy metal or wooden ones at the foot of the trail for a few bucks. 17. Poncho that covers your pack. Great when it pours and you’ll definitely want one if you bring a fancy camera. 18. Iodine – For water purification. This was the one thing we packed and didn’t use, but it’s an emergency item so that’s a good thing. Things you brought for the rest of your trip – Most if not all Cusco hotels will check your luggage for the duration of your hike. Please write if you have any questions. This entry was posted in Experiences by Country, Peru, South America and tagged backpack features, hiking gear, Inca Trail, perrin bailey, sistersbailey, What to Pack. In the Andes Mountains of Peru, one of the world’s most interesting and popular hikes meanders along a trail used by the Incas in their heyday.
Hikers pass ruins of fortresses and towns that can only be accessed from the trail. The climax of the trip is the spectacular site of Machu Picchu at sunrise. The Inca Trail is not easy— the idea was for the passage to go through easily defended areas: steep slopes and through narrow passes. Every bend in the path leads to another impressive vista and it’s easy to burn through several memory cards on a digital camera. If you want to set off on this 4-day adventure yourself, here is a rundown on what you need to know.The Inca Trail has become much more restricted and expensive in recent years, but for good reasons. Campsites are now designated, permanent toilets are in place, and rules prevent open fires and littering. Permits are limited to 500 people per day, with around 300 of those being porters and guides. So the actual tourists on each section of the trail are generally around 200 per day. Reservations are required, often several months in advance. (When I departed in mid-June, most tour companies were already booked up through mid-September.)
Independent trekking is not permitted: you must go with a group. Any reputable company will have a stated maximum group size, usually 12 to 18 people, so be wary if one is not listed. Competition is intense among the agencies, so prices don’t vary a whole lot— around $280 to $350 total. Pick a company based on reputation and how it conducts its operations. The Inka Porter Project offers guidelines for trekking in Peru here. We used Peru Treks and Adventure because they are very transparent about how they operate and they put a lot of money back into the community. For a rundown on different operators, see Andean Travel Web.Most agencies will have you wire a deposit by Western Union, then you will be required to show up a few days before the hike and pay the rest. You should get to Cusco at least 72 hours before departure. The city sits at over 11,000 feet (3,300 meters) and you climb to almost 14,000 feet on the second day. I saw a few poor souls struggling with altitude sickness and it was usually because they hadn’t allowed enough time to acclimatize.
I packed light for Peru, taking only an , so I had to make sure I thought through the gear choices. I left my waterproof shell at home, figuring I could always buy a cheap plastic poncho in Cusco if needed. I did buy one for $1 the day of the hike, but it never came out of the package. During the rainy season it would be useful. In high season however, from May to September, rain is rare. I hiked with a North Face Pamir windblocker fleece, which was an excellent choice. At the high passes, the wind whipped around wildly but that model kept me toasty. It was ample at night over a few layers. With some broken in hiking boots and four pairs of SmartWool socks, I didn’t get the first hint of a blister. At my wife’s insistence, we hired a personal porter to carry our belongings ($35 each) and just walked with daypacks for water, a camera, a fleece, and snacks. I did the whole Annapurna circuit in Nepal carrying my own gear but I’ll admit I was glad I listened to her on this one. This is in no way an easy hike and day two requires five or more hours of uphill trekking at high altitude.
Then it’s two hours of steep downhill on stone steps. Everyone carrying their own pack looked exhausted and drenched with sweat. My detachable day pack worked fine, though a day pack with a mesh part separating it from my back would have meant a drier shirt when it got hot. The temperature changes are extreme here, so it is important to carry layers. In the high season, it gets close to freezing at night; long underwear, a warm hat, and a good fleece came in handy. (If you come up short, you can buy inexpensive woolen or alpaca hats, gloves, sweaters, and socks locally.) During the day, however, it is sunny and can reach the high 70s Fahrenheit, so a t-shirt and shorts are more fitting. Many hikers made good use of zippered convertible pants that turn into shorts.The sun is intense at this altitude; bring good sunscreen, lip balm, sunglasses, and a hat. You can buy bottled water along the way sometimes, but all the plastic is taking a terrible toll on the local environment and any garbage has to be carried for days on the trail.