A Stone's Throw: Machu Picchu: Mystery Solved!

The sound of my beating heart drowned all others. The mist swirled and parted before me to reveal the ancient stone steps, lodged as they had been for centuries, in the steep hillside. The way was dark, but the faint light that filtered through the thick foliage allowed me to pass on. Further up. Faster. I was determined that I should be at the front of the pack for this day, and nothing would be allowed to sway that determination. I stumbled out of the dark path, into the modernity that surrounds the entrance to the citadel of Machu Picchu. I was the second person up for the day. I could live with that.

I shook hands with my (unknowing) competitors and watched as people slowly began to emerge from the same steps I had just taken. The line slowly began to fill with tired looking tourists, eager for the park to open. Once it did, I raced ahead of the group in order to take a picture of the city at first light, absent of wandering tourists. On the way back down I loudly exclaimed to a group of passing tourists, "What a let down, its just a bunch of rocks, I'm goin home!"

Apparently I was the only person who found this even slightly humorous haha.

I made my way back to my trekking group, where we enjoyed a 2 hour guided tour of the city before being allowed the rest of the day to explore. By 10am, I was lined up at the entrance to Whyna Picchu mountain (famously in the background of every Machu Picchu shot, ever.), with my friend Tracie. Unfortunately, the stairs up to Machu Picchu were just a taste. The stairs up this mountain were far more taxing. After about an hour, we made it to the ruins precariously perched on the mountainside near the peak. We stayed there until we were ushered off the peak by park officials, closing the area due to a tourist who fell off the peak. Apparently he survived, but I have the feeling he will have an extreme fear of heights for the rest of his life now.
The rest of the day I spent with my friend, exploring the ruins and basking in the rewards of our journey. As we explored, the real reason the city had been abandoned revealed itself to us. Its so simple. They just got tired of walking all those cruel stairs, and that combined with the winnowing process the steep hillsides and narrow paths must have had on the less coordinated members of Incan society, must've just taken its toll over time till they just threw their hands up and moved to a more logical location. You're welcome Discovery Channel, I finally solved the big mystery.
When it was time to close the park we left. We wearily climbed back down the steps, had a nice dinner before collecting our luggage, and then made our way to our late night train back to Cusco. It was a long day. It was one of those Disneyland days, where you're up way too early and just have way too much of a sensory overload for the day. That being said, visiting the ruins of Machu Picchu was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and walking there made it a journey not just a tourist pit stop. I felt like I had earned it, and that made the taste of success so much sweeter.

Pre-dawn along the stairs up to the city from the valley below.

Reconstructed huts emerge from the mist as I race to the top of the city to snap a picture without any people in it...

Machu Picchu first thing in the morning... empty as it was 500 years ago.

The sun peaking over the mountains ringing the valley.

So that big misty mountain there is Whyna Picchu.

This little guy wanted a piece of the action for all his hard work keeping the grass trimmed here.

What you can't really see from this pic is the drop of several thousand feet from the top of Whyna Picchu that awaits you at your first misstep on these stairs.
Safety: Apparently there was no Incan word for this...