I was certain that Day Two would break us; it's the most dreaded day of the hike.  Not only is it the longest and hardest day, but it's the only day that doesn't include any stops at Inca sites.  None.  That means there are no real reasons to stop other than your standard fifteen second pit stops every 100 steps or so.

The start of day two brought us through some lush vegetation -- some parts looked like a scene out Lost.  If I hadn't been so focused on my breathing I'm sure I would have been worried that the smoke monster was out to get me.

The Inca Trail (or Camino Inka) is undoubtedly one of the most famous hikes in the world.  The standard four-day/three-night hike is twenty-six miles long starting at Kilometer 82.  Thought twenty-six miles doesn't necessarily sound like much when you spread it out over four days, the real killer is, you guessed it: the altitude.  The maximum altitude reached on the second day of the hike is about 13,500 feet above sea level.  And while climbing vertically isn't that awesome, to begin with, going in the opposite direction is even worse -- especially down the 1,300 plus wet and slippery stone steps.