Lessons Learned on the Inca Trail
Lessons Learned from Inca Trail
I had the incredible opportunity last month to hike the Inca trail up to the Sun Gate overlooking Machu Picchu. I wanted to do something challenging for my birthday- something once in a lifetime. I have never been a mountain person but there are no words to describe the serenity of these surroundings. Little did I know I would learn or relearn lessons for my personal and professional lives!
For those who are unfamiliar with the hike, it begins at Chachabamba, Peru and ends 1614 feet higher at the Sun Gate. Now that elevation is not one straight shot but rather a roller coaster of fun along the 7.5 miles. Sometimes there is a path, other times there are very tall and narrow stone steps. Sometimes there are walls to climb like a spider, other times there are so many tree roots and uneven rocks that every step is an act of faith.
Those steps, some more precarious than others, left me with these lessons:
1. You can never be too prepared. I can’t say that I trained really. I work out and am generally in good shape. However, altitude was not something I knew how to prepare for. I had planned some drives to hike in higher elevations, but life got in the way, and I never did them before the trip. That was a mistake. I should have prioritized those trips not only to ease my experience on the Inca trail but also to have relieved my brain of any lingering doubts of my ability to complete the hike. These days we often confuse preparation with inauthenticity, but they are not the same. Preparation allows you to show up as your best most authentic self.
2. Know your boundaries (and others’) and respect them. My travel companion did not join me on the hike. We had discussed it before the trip, and I knew she was nervous. I was not upset with her. I knew my boundaries and shared them with her: train and do the hike with me or don’t attempt the hike at all. The only option off the table was to not train at all, attempt the hike and require helicopters to medvac us off the mountain. She chose not to attempt the hike and when our guide tried to change her mind, I defended her choice before she could. No one should be pressured to do something they are truly uncomfortable with especially regarding their health. We each spent the day doing exactly what we wanted and then had lively dinner conversation sharing those experiences!
3. Be your own cheerleader. No one can feel the soreness in your joints or muscles but you. No one can hear your heart pounding as you vacillate between elevations. No one can feel your lungs may burn or overwhelming thirst that grips you. No one can make you still put one foot in front of the other when you see that the next set of steps will be climbing rather than hiking. When your inner voice says I can’t, scream back “YES I CAN!” Only you can overcome your own obstacles so change your inner dialogue to supportive.
4. Not everything is a competition. One of the most fun aspects of the day was the back and forth of groups passing each other. I met a woman who shared my birthday albeit she was 20 years my senior. We often took our breaks together or chatted as one of us stopped and the other started anew. I cannot tell you how many times our group passed another, or they passed us again. It didn’t matter. I have no idea who finished the hike first, but I hope they enjoyed the experience as much as I did. Complete strangers encouraged each other when they saw someone struggling. No one begrudged having to go around people who needed a rest a few moments after the last rest. Everyone was rooting for each other to finish, to enjoy themselves and because of that we did.
5. Setbacks happen-Listen and learn from them. Like others before me, I started off too fast. I was terrified of being one of those stories my guide would tell future clients of taking an obscene amount of time to complete the hike. With my head tilted down to watch where I was putting my feet, even when we encountered steps too tall for my short stature, I plowed forward. After our brief lunch, when we reached the terrace steps 45 minutes or so from the Sun Gate, I vomited. Yes, you read that correctly. I was completely mortified.
I looked at my guide and said, “Well I guess you have a new story to tell clients!”
He smiled and shook his head. “I have seen much worse. Let’s sit and breathe a minute,” he said as he nudged my vomit underneath some brush with his toe. “We are close so let’s take our time for the last bit. You may have started off at too fast a pace and this is where it caught up with you.”
When we resumed our hike, I intentionally stopped pushing myself. I knew I would finish the hike at this point so there was nothing to left to prove. I could enjoy these last moments in one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. I finally understood why people describe mountains as majestic.
6. Hire an expert. My guide was incredible, and I couldn’t have (and shouldn’t have!) done it without him. He prepared me for what was to come, supported taking breaks when needed. And given that I have balance issues, even kept me from falling off the mountain a few times! He couldn’t tell you how many times he had taken these steps before, so his advice and encouragement were paramount to my success. No matter how much I had read about the hike ahead of time, nothing could replace the experience and knowledge that he brought.
