June 2001 

Trek Day 8 -- Portalchuelo de Huayhuash and Lago Viconga:   Although it was clouded over and raining the previous evening when we went to sleep, I woke up at 3am to see the most incredible sight -- an absolutely cloudless sky perfectly illuminated by a brilliant full moon.  The fluted ridges of Carnicero and the pyramidal summit of Trapecio were glowing in the moonlight and I sat outside for about a half hour in the cold just looking up at the peaks.  The morning was cloudless as well, and quickly warmed up after our coldest night yet.

We began our climb up to the Portalchuelo de Huayhuash, yet another 15,600' pass, and along the way met two women from (of all places) California's eastern Sierra Nevada.  One was from Bishop and the other from El Portal.  They were doing a half circuit, starting at Cacanampunta and hiking out to Cajatambo.  We had lunch with them at Lago Viconga, where the trail to Cajatambo breaks off from the main Huayhuash circuit, and tried unsuccessfully to persuade them to follow us (apparently, Val thought that Cajatambo was no place for two young women to walk into unattended).  After Viconga, we basically made a U-turn around a mountain and began to climb up towards our highest pass -- Punta Cuyoc.  We camped below the pass at around 15,100', our highest campsite yet.

Perfect blue skies greet our camp on the eighth day of the trek

East face of Trapecio

Part of the "town" of Huayhuash (where Val claims there is an ice cream shop).  Carnicero rises in the background.

Dana at one of the small lakes on the climb up the Portalchuelo de Huayhuash.  Notice the huge cliff at the left edge of the photo which had a huge waterfall pouring over it.

Looking south from the Portalchuelo.  Lago Viconga is visible below.

Rich resting just below the Portalchuelo de Huayhuash.  Southeast of this point the peaks of the Cordillera Raura meet the Huayhuash range.

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