May 2006: And the journey begins! I am to the right of the sign with Dave and my brother and his wife, Carrie are to the left of the sign. The trail head starts at 10,000 feet elevation.
Dave and I at the official start of the Incan Trail. We bought these walking sticks in Urubamba and they turned out to be lifesavers when hiking up or down the steep parts of the trail. 
The Porters are absolutely AMAZING!!! From this close-up shot, you can get an idea of the heavy loads they carry on their backs and the open-toed sandles most of them wore while the rest of us wore sturdy hiking shoes.
This is my brother Ryan passing by a water station for the Porters.
Our first day of the hike. Notice we all had smiles on our faces. That was about to change......
During our first (of 3) nights camping on the trail, Carrie and I got BRUTALLY sick. We spent the ENTIRE night with horrible nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Oh my gosh, we've never been so sick in all our life. We found out later (after we got back to the states and got tested) that we had contracted shigella, a brutal food born illness while eating in Cuzco. But we were stuck on the trail. We could hike up or we could hike down. But we had to hike either way, so we kept hiking up. Miraculously, we made it to the top of Dead Woman's Pass on our second day of hiking, stopping as needed to get sick. We were SO sick this second day. I honestly cannot believe we were able to hike. And it was very appropriate that we did Dead Woman's Pass, since that is exactly how we felt!
In our group, it was only the four of us, which was awesome. But, we had A LOT of help. Here we are with our porters, cook and our guide. All 8 of these people hiked the trail just for us and stayed with us the entire time. They helped to carry the tent and all the cooking supplies. And they cooked for us every night and tried their best to help us while we were sick. 
Dave got nailed during the second night, so of the four of us, my brother Ryan is the only one that escaped the horrible sickness. Luckily, at least the nausea and vomiting part of it started to subside by Day 3....
And miracle of all miracles.... we made it to the top! What a breathtaking, heavenly sight!
We did it!
Here is a picture of all 5 of us at the top. My sister Maret decided to do the Rainforest instead of the Incan Trail, so after her Rainforest adventure, she took the train up to the top.
Verdict: YES, YES, YES!!!! Admittedly, I wish I could have done this without being deathly ill, but this adventure was truly one of the highlights of my life. We all absolutely loved it. Machu Picchu is absolutely something everybody should see and experience in person. It is absolutely amazing. And to think that the trail and the "town" was built so long ago without any modern day machinery or technology is just unbelievable. And if you're able.... do the hike! Earn that view!
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