Well, they promised the second day would be the hardest, and it certainly didn't disappoint.
We started at 6:45 - the porters knocked on the tent, with a steaming cup of coca tea. After finishing that, it was time for a very brief visit to the baño (not a place for the squeamish) and then breakfast.
The day was divided into 4 stages - the first was the ascent from the camping ground. For this part, we were following a stream up the mountain towards the pass. This section was quite steep, through mostly dry forest. Because we started so early, there were some amazing views of the valley as the sun came up, and the campsite was left behind.
The second section was through rainforest on the side of the mountain, and was probably my favourite for the day. The track continued to follow the stream, but inside the rainforest, there were a lot of waterfalls right next to the path. This section was just as steep as the first, although it seemed a bit harder as the path started to twist around in the forest, and the steps were a bit more slippery. The top of the second stage emerged onto a small moor nestled in between two peaks.
After a brief rest, we moved on again. At the end of stage three was Dead Woman's Pass, but getting there was excruciating. By this point in the day (around 11am) the weather had started to close in, so there was no sun. In addition, due to the altitude (around 4,200m) the temperature had dropped quite a bit, and we were struggling to breathe properly. Finally, this stage had the steepest ascent for the entire day, so the going was pretty tough.
Adam and I led the group, but we ended up taking very frequent breaks just to get there. At one point about 300m from the top, we decided we would finish the rest of the stage in one go. Four stops later, we finally made it to the top.
It was an amazing feeling to actually be standing on top of the pass. We could actually see our campsite from the night before as a small orange speck in the valley below.
At this point, mother nature decided to get in on the fun - the clouds dropped lower, so we couldn't see anything on either side of the pass. At the sane time, the wind came up, causing everyone to put on all their cold weather gear - I ended up kitted up in a long sleeved t-shirt, jersey, knitted jumper, windproof jacket, scarf and beanie (in addition to my felt hat).
By this point, the entire group had made it to the top and had taken a breather, so we started on the final stage for the day - the descent down the other side of the pass.
Thus was all quite steep downhill steps, and I was quite glad that I had a walking stick to assist - otherwise my knees would be non-existent! The landscape at the top of the pass (on both sided) was just like Wales, according to the people from the UK - lots of low, yellow grasses and granite rocks. At first, we were just walking down through wind and clouds, but rain started to follow soon after. Most of us had ponchos, which we put on straight away, but there were a few that didn't have them, or decided to rely on their waterproof clothes. Big mistake.
The rain almost immediately turned to hail, and stayed with us until we had descended enough for it to turn back into rain. The rain then stayed with us for the remainder of the descent (about another 1.5 hours). Since the trail also acted as a waterway of sorts, we were essentially walking downhill through a small creek, at about a 45 degree angle.
Everyone arrived at camp cold and miserable at around 2:30pm. Karl and Declan were particularly unlucky - Declan had struggled with the uphill sections, and was exhausted before she even got to the downhill part. Luckily, she had a poncho, but it didn't stop her legs, shoes and socks from getting wet. Karl, on the other hand, had accidentally packed his travel towel rather than his poncho, and had nothing to protect against the rain coming down. Consequently, they both arrived half-drowned and not very happy campers.
Due to the poncho, most of my clothes had escaped a drenching - just my gloves, the bottom 2 inches of my jersey, and (of course) my new felt hat.
Of course the porters had beaten us and set everything up, so we trooped straight in for lunch. It's amazing how a plate or 2 of hot food can revive everyone's spirits. We weren't trekking any further that day, so we had the rest of the day to ourselves.
After lunch, the rain retreated, so we setup some makeshift clotheslines between the tents to try and dry off people's clothes. We also got our first look at the scenery around the campsite, which was impressive. We were about half way up a valley - behind us were a ton of mini-waterfalls caused by the rain. In front and below us was a green valley, with clouds rolling up from there and over the camp every 5 minutes or so.
Unfortunately, because we were in a valley, we didn't see the sun again that afternoon. Also, the campsite had a lot of midges flying around - all in all, not the most pleasant way to spend a few hours.
We ended up back on the dining tent, learning how to make jerseys from tea bag packets from 300, and playing cards with the porters. Pretty soon afterwards, it was time for another amazing dinner (soup, spaghetti with meatballs, and vanilla flan) and then off to (a slightly damp and chilly) bed.