@noellejeanseward: South America Journal: Entry 40 ••• ↟ 40: Huayhuash Circuit, Day 3 ↟ Every day out here is a new high. I mean that literally – today, I hit 16,484 ft (just over 5,000m). This morning, I ate cookies for breakfast and had a morning dance party. I’m shocked with how much energy I had today considering barking dogs kept us up all night.  When we got to the hot springs, there wasn’t much of a pool at all, so we spent the next couple hours digging and building it out. Come to find out, there was a more man-made version at the camping village nearby, but honestly, I preferred that we were in the mountains and unaccompanied.  Today’s ascent was the most difficult yet. As we approached the highest point of the day, it began to aggressively hail. We needed to clear the pass and get down in elevation as soon as possible. Just as we were getting nervous about the worsening conditions, the orange mountain dog appeared out of the fog. I swear this dog is our spirit guide. It’s been more than 24 hours since we last saw him, and we’ve seen no hikers since the last campsite.  At the pass, the fog was so thick all we could see were the outlines of rock formations coming in and out of focus in the distance as the air shifted moment to moment. We followed the dog down the mountain all the way to camp, his orange fur a gorgeous contrast with the grey backdrop. I let him sleep in my vestibule again to get out of the freezing rain. The locals managing the camp offered us hot water, so I got to have a warm meal tonight. It was the first time on this trek that I didn’t cold soak my food, and I was so grateful. The way I’d eat cold mashed potatoes and have cold wet feet for a good view… The mountains are my happy place; there’s no doubt about it.  Tonight, we camped at 14,827 ft, and I can tell. What they don’t tell you about altitude are the sometimes gnarly effects it can have on your stomach. I call it the alti-toots (air bubbles in your stomach expand at altitude). The dehydrated dinner I ate caused major problems. It was honestly a miracle I made it through the night without pooping my pants. All part of trail life, eh? •••

Noelle Jean Seward

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Monday 18 May 2026 23:00:22 GMT