10 Lessons from Our Trek to Peru
I recently got back from an amazing 11 day trek to Peru with my teenage boys, 6 days of which were hiking the Ausangate trek at elevations of mostly 14,000-17,000 ft.
The trip turned out to be both extraordinary and challenging at the same time. A reminder that life can be extraordinary with all its imperfections.
It was extraordinary in the sense that we loved the magnificent views of the Ausangate glacial mountains, lakes, rivers and night skies. We were also delighted to see cute alpaca herds and the occasional wiley llama. It was all a feast for weary and nature-deprived NYC eyes, and we had it all mostly to ourselves. We also got a day trip into Machu Picchu and enjoyed the contrasting tropical microclimate there (despite the hordes of tourists).
It was challenging in the sense that we experienced a lot of physical discomfort during our backpacking trip, mostly due to altitude sickness and sleep deprivation thanks to freezing temperatures at night by the glaciers.
We got a lot more adventure than we bargained for and learned a lot of valuable lessons for our upcoming world travels (like how resilient we can be when needed). A gift in all this is that we bonded as a family and travel team, and learned new things about each other.
As I reflected on our varying experiences (there were differences between my 13, 16 and 48 year old self), I realized that my top takeaways were things that I monitor in my daily life: getting adequate sleep, hydration, nature, movement, sunscreen, self-care, and monitoring fears/thoughts that don’t serve me.
These are foundational pillars to our well-being. And it struck me how a little imbalance produced rather pronounced travel exhaustion on our trip.
Healthy happy living isn’t really rocket science. Most of us know what it takes. But for some reason, sometimes we let immediate needs and exceptions steer us away from the essential ingredients. And then we wonder why we are so exhausted and unfulfilled.
Below are my top ten takeaways (lessons learned) from our trip. You’ll notice they are applicable to our everyday lives as well.
So if you are interested in not just surviving but thriving, ask yourself on a scale of 1-10 how well you are prioritizing each of these lessons in your everyday life? 10 being you are rocking it and 1 being you are totally neglecting it.
And those that rank under 8, what can you do to change it?
Top 10 Lessons Learned:
Quality sleep is essential: After 4 days of seriously compromised sleep due to high altitude basecamps and freezing cold nights, my body aged about 30 years. No joke, I have the scariest pictures to prove it. Maybe one day I’ll have the guts to share them. The skin on my face collapsed, my eyes became narrow slits, bags developed under my eyes and wrinkles I never knew were possible exposed themselves prominent. Friends, do not underestimate the healing power of quality sleep.
Hydrate your ass off: It is key to keeping altitude headaches at bay, staying healthy, bowel movements, and to not withering into an old prune.
Slow down and build in adequate rest time: Being constantly ON and on ALERT is exhausting now matter how much fun you are having. If you don’t rest you’ll start feeling apathy towards the things you normally enjoy.
Eat healthy food: If you don’t eat healthy food you start feeling crappy. Cook more and eat out less so you can have more control over food (that means staying at a hotel/airbnb that has a kitchen). The thought that we had to eat local food all the time did not serve us.
Put sunscreen on lips and fingers: We thought we were prepared on this front, but we forgot our lips and fingers despite hats and full body coverage. We all got burn sores on our lips and peeling hands. My bottom lip even doubled in size. So sexy!
Don’t overpack: Heavy bags are not fun to carry and slow you down. You can pull a muscle too. I usually pride myself on packing light, but this trip I packed too much because I was embodying some new travel fears. We pack what we fear. In this instance it was a medicine cabinet, tampons, and too many clean clothes. I was afraid of hiking/sleeping in wet clothes and getting sick.
Beware of coffee addiction: I’m back on coffee and although there are dozens of articles that argue the pros of drinking coffee around the world (and I love good coffee), it was more of a curse than a blessing. I often wasn’t able to access good coffee before an addiction headache set in. I felt shackled, not to mention it is dehydrating and diuretic. This was the opposite of what my body needed while traveling at high altitude and struggling to sleep.
Build in self-care and adult time: I love my kids and I’m blessed to be able to travel with them. But boy did I need to take some time for myself. Next time I plan to go off on my own to a yoga studio, massage or take a bath or call my friends for some adult time.
Monitor your thoughts: I worked through a lot of thoughts that didn’t serve me in the lead up to the trip. But once I got there and was in a new environment, my practice of awareness waned. Some thoughts that didn’t serve me there were:
“This is a once in a lifetime experience, let’s make the most of it.”
“We have to be adventurous and cannot rest inside all day.”
“Kids aren’t reliable. It’s easier and quicker if I do everything. I don’t want to have to clean up their potential mistakes later.”
Take high altitude seriously no matter how fit you are: It is no joke. We’ve discovered that high altitude hiking is not our thing. But if we were to ever do it again, we’d allow AMPLE time to acclimate. We gave ourselves two days to acclimatize in Cusco, but we recommend 4 days or more if you don’t know how your body adjusts to it.
It all seems basic, but when we skimp 20-30% in each of these categories for various reasons, the impact on our bodies can be extensive.
Do any of these resonate with you? I’d love to hear what you are finding. Email me.
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