Solo Ausangate Bikepacking Part 1 - Route A
this is jeremy for incanexpeditions.com and this is bike packing through the andes from austin gate to rainbow mountain welcome to another adventure this time i'm up in the mountains for a journey around cuzco's highest peak al sungate but i'm not hiking i'm bringing the bike and all the suffering that comes with it from the never ending uphill battles to broken up single track downhills and double track dirt roads the pain is great but so are the rewards such as the pristine lakes wild and domestic animals along with the scenic views this is a solo trip which means i'll have to go back and get that camera every time i'll also set up my bike shelter and put it to the test for high altitude weather and enduring the frigid temperatures and then i'll cross that path at over 16 000 feet this is also got a bike packing just now leaving the town of pachanta and it's going to be hike a bike on and off all day today this turned out to be more like bike pushing with a few sections of flat and downhill riding last night i stayed in a little hostel in the town of bakchanta which sits at 13 800 feet it took a three hour car ride from cusco to the town of tinky and from there i had some trouble getting around road construction which set me back a day i'm back and forth between pushing the bike uphill until i can pedal again and trying to gain speed on the downhill so i can make it further up the next incline before i have to get off again [Music] meanwhile i'm already enjoying the views i'm also passing by fellow hikers sometimes they're passing me up i'm slow due to the weight and time spent on setting up the camera nobody has any idea why i'm bringing a bike up the hill i guess we'll find out [Music] there are some advantages to the bike for example i can ride right through this flooded path my goal today is to reach laguna asukocha a lake which sits at the foot of asangate's peak the trail splits off to the left and right side and you can see painted on the rock that i'm headed in the right direction i'm beginning to feel the strain of uphill pushing and i'm thrilled to find any flat or downhill sections but they're short-lived and i go right back to pushing having the mountain in front of me lets me see my goal and keep it in mind i stopped for a rest and looked back to where i came from and there's the cayenne gate peak and there's the aosangate peak you bike packers have heard of the click stand well here's my diy version i call it the stand okay that's where we're going and we're getting closer with the steepest uphill push yet today not only is it physically difficult but it's the lack of oxygen and that's coming from someone who lives at 11 000 feet normally cairne city you can find rock cairns all over the world either used as official geographic markers or for personal passage these are obviously left by hikers and they go against the policy of leave no trace it's lunchtime so i find a little rocky chair facing the lake the good thing is it's all downhill to get there and here we go okay let's speed it up [Music] skip ahead okay take a break skip more that's where we're going let's go fast you can see a couple people live here and they've staked out their claims with rock walls okay let's slow it down and here's a nice little creek skip ahead and here's a man-made bridge skip again okay let's get there [Music] all right that's enough of that we've arrived on the southwest corner of the lake at about 15 000 feet to one side of view of the water and to the other a view of the mountain well here we are laguna asucocha and i'm going to put together my bike shelter first i take off the front wheel and i set the bike down on the fork then i pull out the handlebar end plug and save it for later next i pull out the tent stakes in line from both sides and stake them down this little ugly stick is not necessary but it keeps more of the tarp off of your head this stick is necessary and becomes the front of your modified a-frame be sure to put that end plug on it unless you want a hole in your tarp and there's no better time to explain it all than when it's blowing like crazy find the middle of your tarp and get it to stay on the pole and cap i'm using an attached bungee loop fasten that down first then at the back find the second loop from the edge not on the edge you have to have a fancy top for this pull that down and why not throw in some hail well at least i got it up in time well here it is and i'm gonna have to go into details another time it happens in a flash well that's mountain weather for you there's where the wheel goes right under that loop and here it is wind proof pull down those loops tight but if you're hot and want more ventilation grab that edge loop at the back and use the line from the other loop there you go at the front i use a rain poncho for the door it works well here the corners just need to be tucked in in the afternoon i sneak up on some viscachas in the chinchilla day family they look kind of like rabbits but they're rodents and they're all over up here on the lake i find a pair of crested ducks they're not very common and on the little nesting island is a giant coot these coots are monogamous and they reuse the nest they build the fog rolls in and it blocks my view of the mountain there won't be any stargazing tonight the next morning it clears up and i get my last views of the mountain and lake today we're headed up to the left side of that peak i begin with a rocky stroll around the south side of the lake and spot a flock of andean geese this is another species which can only be found in the altiplano range never below 9000 feet i'm now leaving laguna asukocha one of seven lakes in the area which make up a popular day hike circuit for tourists after about a half an hour of uphill pushing i find a little section of single track and after more uphill i find the next lake called otorongo this would make a nice little camping spot right there on the left [Music] there are two lakes called ottorongo one being the male and the other female ottorongo macho and otorongo embra before i continue on i get a drink i really believe this water doesn't need to be filtered at all i'm just being cautious with all the weight i'm carrying on the bike i'm unable to carry water uphill besides there's always a lake or creek around the corner i'm able to get a little more riding okay let's speed it up okay and the other ottorongo lake now the uphill battle starts to get grueling the bike wants to veer off to the right side while i'm starting to slip on the loose rock underneath me i'm finding out that i get better traction by walking on the short and stiff papa grass which borders the trail while the bike stays in the dirt i'm having to breathe through my mouth to get enough oxygen which is starting to dry out my lips i'm not a big chapstick person but i could sure use some of that now there they are otorongo macho and otorongo embra what a couple they make i continue uphill now resting more often you have to push as much as you can then grab the brakes to keep your bike from rolling back downhill if you want to take a longer break you can use either velcro or a strap to lock your brakes in place this is also usually needed when you use a click stand type of kickstand you've got to make sure everything is tied down right you see that little tripod flipping around that's just not going to work and there it goes [Music] [Music] and there i go time for another water break i wouldn't trust this water as much as the lake down the hill since this spot is popular with these alpacas bottoms up look at this dr seuss looking alpaca on the far right side looking straight at me he actually came up behind and followed me i thought he was gonna bum rush me or spit on me i finally have my goal in sight just up ahead which is the humpback pass maybe i can just ride right through it fingers crossed i'm thinking this single track will take me right down through it you see the real pass is at my same elevation you can see that right [Music] there it is sorry my friend it's higher up well the the pass is up there it's like some kind of i almost went rogue i almost went off the trail to go down through the real pass but it was a complete gamble i don't want to get a mile in and have to turn back this is the steepest it's been all day and i can only do about 10 to 15 feet at a time before squeezing the brakes to catch my breath the bike was just about to slide backwards even with both brakes engaged i guess there's a dozen quotes about how we conquer mountains with one step at a time but who cares this sucks and i'm completely dehydrated i should have brought at least a little bit of water with me so this part's a little dangerous this i hope is the end of the subita as you can see it's a little dangerous over here so i had to take my bags off the bike and transport them separately so i put my bags on that side and now i'm going back for the bike and here's the view that was awful i wouldn't wish that on anyone there's no room for a mistake here but at least it's flat [Music] i don't think at this point that the trail is going to go any higher but there's no way to know i'm finally at the official pass at 16 700 feet or 5100 meters the abundance of cairns just gives it away i'm so relieved to see the trail leading down and around every corner i'm looking for any sign of a waterfall crevice or depression where i can rehydrate i'm debating whether to park the bike and walk up to get some snow it's completely dry [Music] i'm just gonna have to wait it out and look for water further down the mountain [Music] it starts to turn into that short prickly pompa grass and i'm looking to make sense of the single tracks down below so i cut back and head down to it [Music] i'm now racing down the hill in search of water i'm hoping that one of those circular boggy depressions would even have just a shallow little puddle the few i do find are moist but not wet enough to squeeze any water from i've just got to get down the mountain i decide to hang on and get down into the valley [Music] my dirty front brake lets out a piercing squeal and sets a pack of yamas and alpacas into flight mode i've got him on the run it reminds me of the dinosaur stampede in jurassic park i don't think they've ever seen or heard anything like me before never once a gringo on a mountain bike i finally pass them and begin to see the bottom of the valley i'll have my water soon but here we are in the krampa valley with the beautiful mountains in the distance we've got the yamas and alpacas up on the hill a nice little flowing creek i'm working on the bike shelter and it's all downhill from here until we reach the bottom down there and then uh it's uphill again i think so here we are tonight i was it was turning into an emergency up there because there's no water i can't carry water with all the weight so i was up there and i just was looking to get water it was muck it was solid solid muck until i finally got down here got chased out by some dogs i think i'm far enough away from the dogs and tonight this is home using an inflatable mattress inside my sleeping bag and another thin foam pad underneath that the peak behind the tin on the right is hattun huma also known as trespicos as there are three peaks to climb with its highest summit at over six thousand meters or twenty thousand feet that night i thought i was seeing stars from underneath my tarp but it turned out to be ice i missed the jungle already you can see the frosted poncho door and outside it's all frosty and so i won't be getting up until the sun hits me that's for sure and soon it does and it's a welcome glow just can't get enough heat up here one of the benefits of using a tarp as opposed to a tent is that you can take the top off to get to all your stuff inside and if i do it quick enough it won't drip all the condensation that froze over there's your wonderful mess of a home in fact when you set up you could lay everything out all your gear nicely your sleeping bag and then put the top over so you're not climbing in and out of it all the time first things first melt the ice out it's time to move on but today should be much different than yesterday's grind i'm hoping for smooth downhills all day and all the way if you look closely in the background you can see a hiker countering me on the other side of the wall he's headed up to that pass and it's not smooth at all in fact there's no real trail it's more like a rubble wasteland even the pompa isn't smooth there are a couple of little crossings and some more traily sections which can be fun but mostly bumpy and difficult [Music] there's also some wide open wet areas where you're free to roam by now i'm ready for a change something has to open up where is the real trekkers trail [Music] i'm still beat up from yesterday and could use a nice flat path i see my salvation in the distance it's the beginning of a road [Music] it must be only a kilometer away until they get down to this bridge and then that leads over to that [Music] so i got to the bridge and ran into a dilemma it's not really a bridge at all it's basically two poles laying next to each other the creek's about five feet down from the pole so i can't push the bike while standing in it i could hike a bike but wait how about this straighten out the handlebars and push from behind if the front turns you just lean the bike to the opposite side which then turns the front wheel to the same side i guess it's not rocket science but it didn't occur to me right away [Music] i interrupt a flock of puna ibis in the distance a waterfall all right now we're talking i found the road and i'm going to make quick work of this valley okay let's speed it up [Music] let's skip let's skip again and again hold on we've got more traffic [Music] i'm riding the yama wave just keep jumping off the cliff there's always one black one [Music] and they don't want to move in addition to human sacrifice the incas used to sacrifice the black yama it's true all right okay let's go really fast [Music] looks like i'm almost to the end of the valley and to the town of chileka [Music] and how many points do i get if i take out the little [Music] i'm sapped sunburned and dehydrated and still pushing the bike uphill that's the town of chiefka on the right [Music] that's a very curious vicuna on the right i don't think he's ever seen a bicycle either i don't think it's because i'm a gringo i'm over the hill and heading down again but completely exhausted i've been trying to explain my route to the locals but haven't really connected and i don't have confirmation that it's possible much less on a bike the crossroads are just ahead do i chance it and continue up or have i had enough and continue down the road i spent that night and the next morning in a windy and frozen valley the steep sides prevented the sun from shining in the late afternoon and early morning and the canyon funneled the wind right through me i just sat there waiting for the sun to hit me once again well i'm about two or three miles down the road from the last town and i tried to convince everybody i talked to that it was possible to get to rainbow mountain from behind that mountain there and they didn't know what i was talking about then again nobody spoke spanish it was all quechua so then but then a couple of them said no you have to come in through the tourist room which is here it goes up this way and switchbacks and it goes way up and it's about two hours walking and i decided this this is not going to work it's not what i'm looking for i want to come down to the rainbow mountain not come down like we did yesterday and then go back up i'm done pushing the bike uphill so we're going to call this part one route a let me explain okay this is el sangate and this is the rainbow mountain i came in through chantha i stayed a night then i went and then through the other lakes then i hit the kampa valley through the pass and i took the valley this way yesterday and then i made my way down to the road and i'm somewhere in here next time for part two and route b i'll come in through tinky and i'll go through oopies and lake asangate and make my way downhill to the mountain so that'll do it for part one make sure you don't miss part two and thank you for watching well the story's over but here's about four hours of downhill sped up into six minutes for anyone interested thanks for [Music] watching [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] do [Music] [Music] [Music] you
2021-06-27 17:57
