It was still wet out with low clouds when we woke up, so I never really got to enjoy the mountain vistas around Haines. Oh well … maybe some other time.

We headed back north into Canada, this time stopping for a hike in B.C. – following a valley into the Tatshenshini-Alsek Park to view Samuel Glacier. We hiked just over 21 km, getting a great view of one of the glacier’s snouts from across the valley. The hike didn’t have much overall elevation gain, but there were a number of hills to go over, the trail was pretty muddy in spots, and there were a few streams to cross (mom and dad have waterproof hiking boots, but I got wet feet in mine). The last part didn’t even have a trail – we just trudged across the hills trying to avoid the low areas to get to the view point. We camped again at Million Dollar Falls Campground, but no fire this time, only reading, sorting pictures, and playing a few games.

King's Throne

Today’s hike was King’s Throne. While the views were nice, the climb was hard – up steep scree! We took a short rest at the “seat” of the throne before tackling the summit. We only got about 1/3 of the way up before turning back – going up the scree and getting to the summit wouldn’t be a problem, but coming down would be hard! So, we took a few pictures from where we stopped, and then started back down again. It was hard work not to go rolling down the side of the mountain! Once we got down, we drove farther south to Million Dollar Falls, just before the B.C. border. We had taken some abandoned chopped firewood from a site at Kathleen Lake, so together with all our scraps of paper and the small logs that were left at the site we picked, we had a nice fire.

Haines Junction

We spent the day relaxing in Haines Junctions. We found a bakery where mom picked up some coffee and an apple-cinnamon bun, watched a pod-cast sermon (since it was Sunday), and hiked along the Dezadeash River before driving down to Kathleen Lake. After finding our campsite, we walked down to the lake and looked across at King’s Throne – our hike for tomorrow.

Sheep Mountain

Our first big hike in Kluane – Sheep Mountain/Tachal Dhal Ridge. Most people drive down the gravel road to the parking lot at the bottom of the mountain, but dad didn’t want to try get the RV down there, so instead, we parked at the start of the road and walked 2.5 km to the parking lot. The hike was awesome – we broke out of the trees pretty quickly and had great views down some of the valleys. The trail was pretty good, then we started to climb up to the summit on a “route”. The trail lasted for a while, but soon started to disappear or split into multiple trails. It wasn’t too hard to find the trail back though – keep going up! Once we got on the ridge leading to the summit, the views were spectacular. It also got pretty windy and cold! After a lot of hard work, we finally got to the top and were able to enjoy the views of Kluane Lake. The way down was also hard, but this time on our leg muscles instead of our lungs. And the last bit where we walked down the road back to the RV seemed to go on forever! In total, we hiked almost 22 km and climbed around 4000 ft!

We spent the night in Haines Junction at an RV park just outside of town, relaxing after a tough climb.

Grizzly Creek

We had an easier hike this morning – following a real trail up the mountain north of Grizzly Creek. The trail started as a wide gravel path which changed to dirt fairly quickly, and then the climb began. Near the top, we were hiking up a path of loose rocks. Distance and elevation were roughly the same as Mt. Adney, but the hike was much easier because of the trail. The views from the top of Mt. Monolith were amazing! We made lunch back in the parking lot, then headed back down the Dempster. At the end I tried to write “Did the Dempster” in the dirt on the back of the RV, but it ended up having to etch it in using my nail. I was wearing thin plastic gloves for the job, but my nail broke through and I got quite a bit of dirt under my fingernail! I eventually got it etched in, but had forgotten about the picture under the dirt … all that could be read was “Did the Dem” :( I took a few pictures of us crossing the final bridge, and then we drove the last bit to Dawson. This town looks really cool, but is really touristy too! A lot of the buildings in the downtown area look like they would have during the gold rush … with a few modern bits added on. We did a few groceries, went to the visitor information centre to plan our next day, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Mt. Adney

Our first hike of the trip and it was a hard one! No trail, so we were bushwhacking the entire way … and it really was through the bushes sometimes!

The first part of the hike was across a tussock plain. Plain makes it sound easy, but it’s anything but! It was like walking of cut up mattresses – some firm, some soft, some dry, some wet, some sturdy, some ready to tip over as soon as you put your foot down! We also had to cross a stream. Dad and I managed to hop from rock to rock with no problems, but mom hesitated and landed in the stream. Thank goodness for hiking boots and gaiters – she only got a bit of water on her ankle, not a totally soaked foot! The climb up the mountain didn’t get any easier. We were climbing through low bushes, high bushes, over rocks, etc. But the view from the top was definitely worth the effort! Going down went much faster and the soft sections were awesome – nice and cushiony for the knees. Dad went a bit ahead and found a better spot for mom to cross the stream, this time, jumping across the deep water into shallow water on the other side. We made some good splashes, but didn’t get wet. Getting back in the RV, we made our way to the Tombstone Campground and after finding a spot (unlike last time when we stayed in the parking lot), we went to the information centre to look around. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the RV.

Benjamin Field Study

We had an early start this morning, meeting the bus below the Jaffa Gate at 7 am. We headed east out of Jerusalem, down the Ascent of Adummim on the road to Jericho, and got off the bus at Wadi Qelt. This is where the story of the Good Samaritan took place. Before starting our hike down the wadi to Jericho, we spent a while focusing on the wilderness. The hike down the wadi was hot, dusty, probably not the safest path (slip on the loose rocks and you'll be at the bottom), but was amazing! I'm so happy we were able to do it! The hike ended at Herod Archelaus' palace in "New Testament" Jericho.

We then took the bus to the Tel of Old Testament Jericho. It was much smaller than I expected it to be and with fewer ruins. It makes you wonder how the Israelite army had room to march around - they would have been spread all over the hills! After Jericho is destroyed, Joshua places a curse on the city, saying, “At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.” In Judges, the story of Ehud tells us that Eglon, King of Moab had taken possession of Jericho (called the City of Palms in this story), so obviously the curse did not affect him. The curse eventually falls on Hiel of Bethel when he rebuilds Jericho during the time of the divided kingdom.

Leaving Jericho, we headed back up into the Judean wilderness via the "TOE" route (Tayhe Ophrah Ephraim, the names of the town along the route). As we climbed out of the Jordan valley, the views behind us were amazing. We could also see a number of Bedouin settlements and many small crop fields. Looking at the fields - their small size, with plenty of rocks and thorns around - makes the parable of the sower come to life ... I can now visualize what the crowds would have been thinking about when Jesus told them this parable.

We stopped at a lookout to place the towns we were able to see with the towns we had been focusing on in our map work and during class yesterday. Two interesting ideas were presented there. First, the story in Judges about the near annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin. The story may have been written during or just after David's reign, putting a whole new political spin on the story. In the story, the father-in-law in Bethlehem (David's hometown) is made out to be super-hospitable, as opposed to rape and murder of the concubine in Gibeah (Saul's hometown). So, in a way, the story raises up David's credibility while destroying Saul's.

The second topic was the story in Genesis where Abraham and Lot divide the land. In this region, people orient themselves towards the East, so when referring to left and right, they could also be referring to North and South. In that case, Abraham is asking Lot whether he would prefer the north or south half of the promised land, Lot chooses something he wasn't offered - the East (the fertile Jordan valley). In this way, Lot abandons Abraham and leaves the promised land.

Next stop was an unusual overlook of the Central Benjamin Plateau - King Husein of Jordan's unfinished palace! I found it really useful to be able to compare what I'm used to studying on a map to what it really looks like - the plateau isn't as flat as the name makes it sound, but it is much flatter than the surrounding hills and sharp valleys. We also made a quick stop at Nabi Samuel to look over the plateau from a different angle. Looking over the area, it's easy to see why this was such a strategically important area.

We continued our field study exiting the plateau to the west and visiting Tel Gezer - one of the largest archaeological sites in Israel (I would guess at least 4 times the size of Jericho). Gezer controlled the Aijalon Valley, the entrance into Benjamin via the Upper and Lower Beth-horon and Kiriath-jearim ridge routes. Not much is written about Gezer in the Bible, but that is generally the case with important political sites - the more important, the less it's mentioned. During Solomon's reign, Pharoh conquered Gezer and gave it to Solomon as a wedding dowry. Solomon then fortified the city.

Since we spent the day in the West Bank, we got to see a lot of the wall the Israelis built around it. We had no problems driving through, but cars with Arab-looking occupants were getting searched.

Actun Tunichil Mukal Cave

This morning, most of our group got up early and went to the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) cave. We were the second van to get to the parking lot, but started the hike before the other group and raced down the trail to the cave. The hike took about 20 minutes was pretty nice, except that 2 minutes into it we had to ford across the river and, well, waterproof boots don't just keep water out, they also keep it in! So, we sloshed the rest of the way to the cave, crossing the river two more times along the way, just to make sure out feet stayed wet. The opening of the cave was really pretty - crystal clear water, lots of greenery, small fish swimming everywhere. We loaded up the dry-bag with our cameras, put on our helmets and head lamps, and got in the water. The water is about 5 metres deep at the entrance, so we had to swim the first few meters into the cave. It was the first time I had ever swam while wearing hiking boots - not recommended for speed or endurance! We hiked, climbed, and swam about 600 metres into the cave, then climbed up a ledge to the dry part of the cave. From here on, we where in socks to protect the rocks from wear and from the oils on our feet. Just past where we left our shoes, we came to a massive chamber filled with broken pottery, left there broken by the Maya almost 2000 years ago! There was nothing to prevent us from touching or accidentally stepping on items, just a piece of orange tape on the ground to mark out a path.

Further into the cave was a chamber filled with sparkling stalagmites and stalactites. Finally, near the end of the cave, we climbed up a shaky aluminium ladder (tied in place) to the place where the "crystal maiden" lays - a calcified skeleton of a women sacrificed over 1000 years ago!

Leaving the cave we passed a lot of groups making their way in and were really grateful to have been the first visitors this morning and having had the cave to ourselves - the darkness and silence unspoilt. We had lunch at the exit of the cave, then made our way back to the hotel. I spent the afternoon relaxing in my cabin (I had my own room this time) and doing a bit of laundry. It was too hot to do much more exploring, though some people went of to see more Mayan ruins. We had supper in town and I went to bed early - too many early mornings!

Antigua - Villages and Volcanos

We visited a women's collective this morning for a demonstration of weaving (cloth and reeds), coffee and corn grinding, tortilla making, and were served a traditional meal for lunch - gallo en chicha!

It was interesting to learn the story of their village and how they have been in debt to the same coffee plantation owner for more than 200 year. Because of the interest, they will never be able to pay it back, so the men have been working for him 2 months a year for the last 200 years for free. The money that the women raise selling their handicrafts they use to buy books and supplies so they can send the village children to school.

After returning to Antigua, most of us met up with another guide (who spoke no English, unfortunately) and group of tourists to climb Pacaya Volcano. The climb up was hot, dusty and tiring - and every time someone stops for a break, a guy with a scrawny, sad looking horse would appear beside them saying "Taxi? Taxi?"

The "taxi" guys only went part way up the volcano, quitting when we got to the hardened lava (from an eruption in 2004 or 2006, I can't remember which). It was a different experience walking on the lava - it had the same rolls as a pile of cow manure, with lots of loose and jagged rocks. Walking over the lava tubes, I could hear the hollowness as my walking stick knocked the rock, and feel the heat rising out of the cracks I had to step over.

I had heard and scene pictures of the top of the volcano where we could stand right beside flowing rivers of lava, but for some reason the day we were there, there wasn't any lava! There were a few glowing red vent, so were were able to roast some marshmallows which got a nasty sulpher flavour.

It had rained on us a bit as we hiked up, but we dried within seconds from the heat, but hiking down the hill a massive thunderstorm rolled in. The hike down was not fun at all - it was pitch black, pouring rain, the dusty trail had turned to mud, and the horse manure had turned a lot of it into a river of poo. Yuck!

We got back to our hotel late, only having time to quickly change before meeting up for our final group dinner.

(That evening D told us that a few days before we did our hike, a tourist fell through one of the lava tubes and lost their leg, and less than 2 months after our hike, the volcano erupted, killing at least 3 people)

Inca Trail - Day 4, Machu Picchu!

We were woken up at 4:30 am this morning, had a quick breakfast, and raced to stand in line (in the dark!) at the checkpoint at 5 am letting us onto the final two hours of trail. Four of us were in the bathroom when our guide lead the other four to the checkpoint to save a spot in the line for us, and another guide got pretty mad at him when he led us to where the rest of our group was waiting for us! His group ended up RUNNING to Machu Picchu so they passed us pretty quickly. At 5:30 am the checkpoint opened and the "race" to the Sun Gate began.

The hike took us across a steep mountainside through lush, humid cloud-forest of giant ferns and broad-leaf vegetation. Suddenly we crossed the stone threshold of Intipunku (Sun Gate) and encountered an unforgettable sweep of natural beauty and human artistry – a backdrop of twisting gorge and forested peaks framing the magical city of Machu Picchu. It was amazing to see it - I think it helped that we had put so much effort into getting there!

The Sun Gate was crowded with people waiting for the sun rise. It was pretty misty though, so it was hard to get pictures without some clouds in the way. We stood there for a few minutes, then took off down the trail again. We completed the final leg down the royal flagstone walkway, past outlying shrines and buildings and into the heart of Machu Picchu, where we spent the rest of the morning exploring Machu Picchu. It was a much different atmosphere once we got through the gate, probably because we started meeting people coming up the trail towards us ... people who didn't have four days of dirt, sweat, and bug spray on them! A few times I heard their guides tell them that we (the dirty people carrying backpacks and using hiking poles) had just hiked for the last four days - most of them looked suitably impressed.

V met us as we entered the city (K, L and H were already on a tour of the site) and took our pictures with Machu Picchu in the background - the picture every tourist takes. I was amazed that that picture is actually taken in the middle of the ruins! I always thought that they were standing on an over look and the whole site was behind them.

After exiting the city, getting a final stamp in our passports, and giving our poles to V to deal with (they aren't allowed on the site), we rejoined our guide for a tour of the city. It was interesting to learn about how they constructed the buildings (splitting stones, attaching grass roofs, etc.) and see all the temples and alters to the various gods. After two hours with him, we took off on our own to meander through the area a bit more.

C, D and I were pretty exhausted (day 4 is the hardest!), so soon took a bus down to Agua Calientes. There wasn't much to see in the town, so we found a coffee shop, relaxed, and checked our emails. We were supposed to meet the rest of the group at 1 pm for lunch, but by 1:30, no one had shown up! We finally called V and figured out that they were just getting on the bus heading down from Machu Picchu. Lunch was in a chifa (Chinese restaurant), then it was to a different restaurant to collect our duffels and onto the train back to Ollantaytambo. The train ride was impressive, rolling through the Urubamba valley with great views of the rapids. We were met in Ollantaytambo by our bus driver who brought us back to our hotel where we could finally scrub off some of the grime - those showers always feel fantastic!

Inca Trail - Day 3

Today's hike was the longest on the trek - about 16 km. That wouldn't be too long a hike normally, but when it's a lot of ups and downs at high altitude, it's a lot of work!

We started the hike picking up an Inca stairway and ascend again past the small Inca site of Runkuracay. As we reached the second pass, the landscape opened onto spectacular new views to the snowpeaks of the Pumasillo range. We descended to the ruins of Sayacmarca (Inaccessible Town), an intricate labyrinth of houses, plazas and water channels, perched precariously on a rocky spur overlooking the Aobamba valley. The Inca trail, now a massive buttressed structure of granite paving stones, continued along the steep upper fringes of the cloud forest through a colorful riot of orchids, bromeliads, mosses and ferns. At the third pass (where we stopped for lunch), pinnacles topped with Inca viewing platforms overlook the archaeological complex of Phuyupatamarca (Cloud-level Town).

Pausing to explore the wondrous maze of Inca stone towers, fountains and stairways that spill down the mountainside here, we began a long descent through ever-changing layers of cloud forest. An Inca stairway partly cut from living granite (as in, it was there and carved, not put there when they built it) lead us finally to our camp by the ruins of Wiñay Wayna (Forever Young), the largest and most exquisite of the Inca Trail sites.

This day was the day filled with Inca ruins and awesome views - my favourite day of the trek! We were given a small snack bag in the morning and had our lunch about one and a half hours past where everyone else was stopped. This meant that for that piece of the trail (a REALLY nice piece of trail!), there were no other groups around and no porters running past us on the trail!

The campground was again terraced, but this time the terraces were narrower and separated by trees and shrubs as well as the drop. There were showers, but no one in our group wanted to wait with the 100+ other hikers waiting to pay to use two showers, instead, we scrubbed down with our buckets of warm water. There was also a bar at this campsite - it's amazing what some people will pay for a bottle of beer and some chips (it was at least 4 times as expensive here). We were at the bottom level of the campground and had a great view of the valley, it was also the warmest (and lowest) of our campsites. The stars that night were amazing!