June 27, 2017
Our first day back on the road was a good one and we left the pavement for gravel roads that would become the norm for a very long time.
Cycling Stats & Travel Stats
Start Point: Catac, Ancash, Peru
Destination: Puya Raimondi Tourist Spot wild camp, Ancash, Peru
25 km, 7.1 km/h average speed, 26.5 km/h maximum speed, 4:54 time on the bike
795 meters gained, 128 meters elevation descend, 4210 meters maximum elevation
Route Description:
You continue on the paved road until you turn left at about 6.5K out of town. Then the road turns to gravel and you start a gradual climb in a big open valley with impressive views. You will reach the check point for the entrance of the park where you need to pay 10 soles unless you have an existing valid pass. We stopped for a wild camp near the Puya Raimondi tourist site.
Accommodations:
There are no accommodations along this section of the route. You might be able to camp at the park ranger station. We wild-camped.
What happened…
Andrew writes: If today was any indication of what I should expect for the next few days, then I want to go back to Huaraz and enjoy the creature comforts. The ride started out easy enough, with a lazy up-hill to the turnoff for Huascaran Nat’l Park. Actually, right at the junction we met a pair of French cyclists heading the other way. We all stopped for a few minutes. At times like this I wonder why we don’t all just park the bikes and pull out our Thermoses’ of tea and sit and enjoy life together. In any event, things went poorly on the new road. Maybe poorly is a poor choice of words; things went slowly. The condition of the road was pretty bad, and we slowly ground our way up to the ranger station. The ranger was really cool and we chatted a bit, and Amanda and I checked out the large interpretive centre that they have.
After our brief stop at the ranger hut, we continued on, but it was getting late and we were all getting tired. We decided after checking out the “agua gasificada” (bubbling spring) to find a place to camp. Most of the grassy area beside us was out because of the eons-old water trapped underground from an old glacier making everything pretty boggy. Soon enough though we came across the viewing area for the Puya Raimondi and there was a dry and flat spot for the tents. The trees themselves remind me of cacti, except taller, and bushier…so maybe nothing like cacti at all. They’re very unique.
Amanda writes: It’s interesting for me to read Andrew’s perspective of a days events. Yes the road was a bit bumpy but I really enjoyed the very gradual climb. No super steep grades and we were all just able to slowly plug away at it and make some progress. The vast open landscape was different from what we had been seeing recently. We all stopped together for a nice lunch and all four of us pulled out our instruments and we jammed for about an hour. It was really nice to collaborate and come up with something resembling music.
The aerial view of our ride: