Reddit mentions of Peru's Cordilleras Blanca & Huayhuash: The Hiking & Biking Guide (Trailblazer)

I did the huayhuash unguided and found it to be pretty easy. Obviously you end up with a large backpack but most hostels in Huaraz will let you leave some stuff there during a trek and organize transpo for you. Just make sure to acclimatize plenty in and around Huaraz before you go. It’s a good opportunity to do laguna 69 and churup and a few other hikes in the area that are fantastic. Here’s the guidebook I used

Hi!

We had a tight acclimatization schedule (about 5 days total before day 1), so we took Diamox. We also have experience trekking over 10,000 feet (PCT thru hike and lots of climbing volcanos in the Pacific Northwest) and knew that we generally handle altitude well as long as we stay hydrated. I did feel generally tired, and the second day of the trip I just felt bad (no nausea or headache, just tired and irritable) so we rested that afternoon and I felt better later. But overall, it didn’t hinder our trip.

Logistics:

We went without a guide but many people choose to use local guides and arrieros (mule packers). Though I think guided trips don’t typically take this route. Guided trips aren’t our thing, and they’re not required, so we chose to go without.

We flew to Lima, then took a night bus to Huaraz after a few days acclimatizing in Cusco and Machu Picchu. Then we did an acclimatization hike outside of Huaraz. Transportation is very cheap, and Huaraz is a fun base camp city.

Finally on the first morning of the trip we took two buses to a village called Pocpa. Then we walked a road to the beginning of the trek. Most people spend the first night at the campsite at the beginning of the trek. We actually were able to hitchhike with mining trucks so it took us until around 12:30 pm to get to the start of the trail. We chose to eat lunch and keep moving.

Like I mentioned, we were able to finish the trail in 8 days. I wouldn’t have wanted to move any faster than we did.

There were 3 other people doing the trip without a guide at the same pace as us. There were a few other groups that were large and guided. But camp never felt terribly crowded.

Overall it was 8 days of jaw-dropping hugeness and feeling like I was on another planet. The landscape makes you feel tiny. There are lots of challenging alternate routes that require routefinding and map reading skills. We loved these routes compared to the mule route.

My pack baseweight is about 14 lbs right now. I’d say total weight was about 35 lbs with food and water. We didn’t measure though.

We carried enough food for 7 days and then resupplied in Huallapa, a town on day 6. It wasn’t much of a town. We were there at the end of hiking season so most places were closed. There was very little lightweight hiking food, and while our guidebook said there was a restaurant, we ended up asking the only people we met in town besides the innkeeper if they would make us food and they served us eggs, rice and potatoes in their backyard for about $3 per person. I was glad we overpacked food.

A couple more things: the route passes through around 7 communities land, and you pay a fee to each community to use their land and camp. It cost about $3-10 USD per community.

Also, our guidebook can provide much better info than I can. Here it is.