WALKING THE WILD: Trek 265 miles of the Qhapaq Ñan in the Peruvian Andes, with David Burdick

Join adventurer David Burdick for this 24th Walking the Wild event at 7PM on February 15, 2022, featuring yet another extraordinary adventure on foot across the wilds of the world - a 265 mile trek through the Peruvian Andes on a UNESCO world heritage trail, the Qhapaq Ñan.

The Qhapaq Ñan is a Quechua term meaning ‘beautiful road’. This 25,000-mile network was constructed over a 2000 year period, from 500 BC to 1500 AD, and spanned seven modern countries, from Columbia to Chile. The road, in some cases 60 ft wide, was so well-maintained that Inca relay runners could get a message from Quito to Cusco (1,250 miles) in little over a week! It is said that 25% of this system still exists although much is under vegetation.

Intrigued by his experience in Nepal hiking remote heritage trails, David hired local guides to explore a 330 mile section of the Qhapag Nan with him. This trek followed a GPS route supplied by Simon Debois, who hiked 3000 miles of this trail in 2013.

David will share his 23 day thrashing adventure on this legacy trail, said to be the wildest, most remote portion of this Inca road. A story filled with wonder and challenge as his entourage travels 265 miles along the Peruvian Andes in May of 2021, at an average elevation of 12,000 ft with a total accent of 76,000 ft., on a recently replaced hip, in a country with 20% of its population testing positive with Covid!

In this Walking the Wild event you’ll hear David's stories, see his photos, and get lots of useful information to plan your own adventure.

The presentation will begin promptly at 7PM and end at 8:30PM with time for Q&A at the end. The event will be held on zoom. An advance ticket will be required to receive the zoom link to join the presentation. Tickets for this event go on sale at the end of our December 2nd Walking the Wild presentation event.  

GET YOUR TICKET HERE!

You can attend for free, but we hope that you will purchase a $10 or $20 ticket which will help The Mountaineers continue to deliver its volunteer-led hiking and backpacking programs, including events like this one! We hope you will join us!