Day 18: Trekking Rainbow Mountain and Red Canyon

Trekking Rainbow Mountain and Red Canyon

Day 18

January 15, 2018

Formed by the subduction of the Nazca plate, The Andes offers a highly varied landscape spanning the length of South America.  One of the geological marvels of the Andes Mountains is Rainbow Mountain, known to the locals as Winicunca.  The mountain is stripped with colors ranging from turquoise, lavender, maroon, and gold.  The mountain itself shows millions of years of geology and unique mineralogy that has been exposed by Andean rainy season weathering.  

This is what Rainbow Mountain is advertised as appearing
(*hint* this is not what it looked like when I was there)

Getting to the trailhead of the mountain at an early hour required a 3:00 AM wakeup.  The last hour of the three-hour bus ride winded through the mountains on narrow unimproved roads bordered by steep cliffs and hairpin turns still damp from last night’s rain too reluctant to evaporate in the thin air.  Even at this low-degree latitude, during the Southern Hemisphere summer the high elevation can chill the persistent rains into a fine powder of snow.  

Here I am at the starting point at 4,500 meters

Stepping out of the van, my toes could feel the cold of the ground.  Our premier pathway was paved by the myriad of colors worn by the local populations eager to cater to the daily waves of tourists.  At an elevation of 4,500 meters (14,760 feet), the scarcity of oxygen was evident, even on the portions of flat ground.  At this elevation, we were far above the tree line, and a tundra landscape spread across the view.  

The tundra landscape spread across the view.

Less adventurous "hikers" hire a horse to do the walking for them.
Climbing a mountain just isn't the same without all of the misery along the way.

We checked our tickets at the gate and began the climb: an ascent of 500 meters (1,670 feet) over 5 kilometers (3 miles).  Graded for pack animals, the incline was steady and gradual, punctuated by a few flat portions.  The dirt path grew muddier with the ascent, and the increasing altitude prompted a decreasing air temperature and air density.  Then we ascended into a cloud, dropping the temperature drastically.  

The ascent into the cloud.  It got cold quickly. 

I was still wearing no warming layers at this point, and was reluctant to stop and put them on, even when my hands were feeling the bite of the cold.  I believe it’s all mental.  Any skinny Marine who carried his bodyweight on his back across 20 miles and over three mountains in one day will tell you that the physical aspect is a small part.  The rest is all mindset.  I kept my focus and pressed onward, determined to fight the cold with my mind.  At 4 kilometers into the hike, I came to an elevation of 4,900 meters (16,070 feet), and the first snowflakes fell.  Within minutes, the snowfall increased and came in sideways.  I used my umbrella to block the weather and finished the last kilometer of the hike and last 100 meters of the climb. 

Climbing to the saddle at 5,000 meters.

At 5,000 meters (16,400 feet), I reached Winicunca.  Standing in the saddle where the climb crested, the clouds rushed through quickly, blowing rain and snow sideways.  Even at ten meters away, it was impossible to see the mountain.  No longer moving, I donned my Goretex, neck gator, and gloves and opened my Cusqueno Negra beer that I carried to the peak.  I chose to enjoy the beer rather than the view.  With my back to the onslaught of snow and my umbrella on my back, it was quite pleasant up there.  

Who needs a good view when you have good beer?

This sign lies!  We are only at 5,000 meters.

Occasionally, the clouds were blown clear just long enough to admire the bands on Winicunca.  After enjoying the 45 seconds of view time we had during the course of 45 minutes, we descended the opposite side of the saddle towards Valle Rojo, the Red Valley.  

This is what Rainbow Mountain looks like in the rainy season. 

At the entrance to the Red Valley, thick clouds blocked our view of the wide valley below.  The wind picked up, and the rain turned to snow, blowing entirely sideways.  Our viewpoint had a view of nothing, and we began our descent.  After fifteen minutes, the weather cleared, revealing a wide U-shaped chasm between two skyward ridgelines stripped with red sand and green tundra overgrowth.  The sudden panoramic view overloaded our senses, stopping us in our tracks.  We stood in awe for many moments before continuing towards the basin.  

The viewpoint with a view of nothing.  You can even see the snow going sideways.

The snow was ceasing, and the clouds started to clear.

Red Valley has the distinct U-shape that is common with glacial erosion.

The soft ground of the valley is easily eroded by the rainy season weather,
giving the landscape unique texture.  The runoff of mineral colored the basin's
river a dirty red-brown.

Our hike through Red Valley spanned 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) and descended 1,000 meters (3,280 feet).  At kilometer 7, a light rain transformed into a light hail, then increased to a downpour.  In a nearby pasture, all of the alpacas and llamas began a simultaneous migration, seeking unfound shelter from the hail.  Fifteen minutes more of walking increased the temperature enough to melt the hail into rain.  As we continued our descent through the valley, its width narrowed, likely due to melting of the glacier as it cut through the Andes eons ago.  The tundra landscape offered unique biodiversity from cacti to roaming rock fields until we descended low enough for the first tree to appear.  

Alpaca's fleeing from the hail.

Locals live here, and they travel by horseback!

Some of the beautiful scenery

The valley's width narrowed as we descended, likely due to melting of the glacier.

The fuzzy tundra cacti were in bloom.

I found this impossible rock with spherical shaped clusters on the inside.
Upon further inspection, the sediment layers were still very brittle. 

There were a few homesteads in the valley, a couple of them looking abandoned, but many of them active with rows of crops and pens of livestock.  Houses and fences were constructed from the nearby quarry yards created by past landslides.  

The locals used nearby rocks to build homes and fences. 
There were some of the first trees we saw.

Signs of civilization!  This farmer has been planting crops for the season.

At 2:00 PM, we finished the trek through the Red Valley, had a hearty lunch, and bussed back to Cusco in time for dinner.  At home, I was surprised to find my host family celebrating Edith’s birthday.  I got to practice my Spanish skills, as no one there was speaking English.  Exhausted from the day, I fell asleep as soon as everyone left, happily in anticipation of my journey southward the next day.