Hazen Audel Instagram – It was a full day of walking the ridges & through the high elevation valleys. At 10,000 feet working our way through the #Andes. Most of the route was carved into the mountain sides or even layed w/ stone cobbles & ancient steps. They were the routes of the Great #Inca Civilisation & civilization before. The Family I came across were moving their herd of #Llamas to lower elevations to evade the harshest of winter that was pending.
We took refuge under a rock overhang/shallow cave. And the 300 or so llamas were corralled in a natural existing basin surrounded mostly by unclimbeable cliff side. The areas w/out the steep Cliffside were blocked off w/ crude stone walls- just enough to keep the animals put for the night.
This convenient location to end the day was a location used by this family’s relatives for long before any possible idea of # of generations. I could see by broken pottery shards around that this was a resting place for people for thousands of years. It would be highly likely even in the tens of thousands.
As this family makes this 100 mile journey twice a year (once going down, then returning back to higher elevations the following spring) They already had some soot stained aluminum pots & things hanging under the rock ledges ready for some hot tea to be boiled up w/ some potatoes afterward. A few old wooden palettes were there for the finishings of their shelter. Surprisingly, there was an old defunct refrigerator there as well, used as a mouse proof closet for some of their other belongings. It must had been carted on the back of one of their strongest llamas some years earlier.
The night was bitter cold. The family all slept together under a bed made of Llama hides & piles of Llama wool blankets. For myself, I felt like I barely made it through the night w/ my bedroll & llama fleece that I was carrying w/ me tied to my pack.
This location was one of many as they made this annual migration.
A beautiful thing to see the morning sun. The frost was heavy on the backs of all the llamas. The older folks were already up & giving their salutations to #Pachamama. #natgeo #adventure #travelblogger #kühl #trecking #expeditiontravel #hazenaudel | Posted on 03/Feb/2023 14:45:58
