Rain and Donkey crap dont mix

Well the next morning started out as a beautiful clear day and we decided to go for the summit after a coin toss said that we should. I had my reservations, but the coin does not lie. The campground had filled up the night before with a few other groups of guided trekkers. You know, the ones smart enough to not carry all there gear up the side of a mountain themselves and the ones whose tents probably don’t leak. The trail started straight up the mountain and then got worse. We were very quickly fatigued and had not gone very far. To say it delicately, Cindy was not at her best because of a certain reoccurring visit from a friend of hers who was sapping all her energy. I toyed with the idea of turning back but Cindy would have none of it. We walked up and up only to see more switchbacks and no end in sight. We finally crested the pass 3 hours later in the snow and mud. Our shoes are light weight hiking shoes, not water proof and were soaked. But we were higher than either of us had ever been without the use of chemicals.
The clouds where so dense that we could barely see the path down the other side of the pass. Lucky for us the weather turned evil and started to hail. Cindy did not believe me when I said that at least it was better than rain. The rest of the hike down was pretty uneventful. Slipping and sliding down a wet hail covered rocky moraine. It got better once we got to the valley floor and were able to walk on the trail / river. Did I mention that our shoes are not water proof? The mixture of mud, rain, donkey, and cow shit was treacherous. Falling and landing in the muck was not an option. After a brief lunch of more vegetable risotto, we walked on endlessly for 3 more hours until we had had enough. The tent was pitched, ponchos laid out and ditches dug. It was a good day. Or at least now that it is over and I have my rose colored glasses on it was. Later that night listening to a cows tail swish up against the tent we were happy. I thought it was Cindy making the noise and she thought it was I. We poked our heads out of the tent and saw Betsy happily chewing her cud and attempting to crap at our front door.
We were not sure how long the last day of hiking would be but knew that the hike ended on an uphill somewhere down the valley. What we did not know was that the end was another 1,000 to 1,500 ft. straight up from the valley floor. When we got to the top, all of the hikers were there waiting for a bus that never showed. Some had been there for three hours. When a mini bus finally did show, we crammed the prerequisite 20 people into a vehicle designed for 12 or less and headed home.
Tonight we take a night bus to Lima and then are off to Cusco for more abuse. Let you all know how it goes.