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Gear I Wish I Had Before Trekking Laguna 69 in Huaraz
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items Altitude sickness at 4,600 meters is no joke, and neither is showing up to the Cordillera Blanca with the wrong shoes and a cotton hoodie. I did Laguna 69 in Ancash with half the wrong stuff and spent the next trip fixing every mistake. If you're pla...
Sections
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Altitude and Hydration Survival Kit
Layering System for Cordillera Blanca Weather
Footwear and Traction for the Trail
Sun and Eye Protection at High Altitude
Daypack and On-Trail Essentials
Huaraz Base Camp Prep and Recovery
Altitude and Hydration Survival Kit
I got a splitting headache two hours into the trail because I thought a Nalgene and some ibuprofen would cut it. Spoiler: they did not. These kept me functioning above 4,000 meters on my second attempt.
Toss a tube in your daypack. I was cramping on the steep switchbacks until I started dropping these in my water every hour. Way better than plain water at altitude, especially if you sweat through everything like I do.
Nuun Sport Electrolyte Tablets Mixed Flavors
Get a prescription from your doctor before you fly out. I skipped it the first time and spent a full day in bed in Huaraz. Started taking it 24 hours before ascending and the difference was night and day.
Acetazolamide (Diamox): Uses & Side Effects
Bring this if you plan to refill from streams along the trail. Beats carrying three liters from the start. Lightweight enough that you forget it's in your pack until you actually need it.
Squeeze
Keep hot coca tea in this for the first half of the trek. Cold water at altitude made my stomach revolt, but warm liquids sat fine. The insulation held heat for about four hours even in the wind.
32 oz Wide Mouth Bottle
Pair this with your morning water the day before the trek. A friend who does ultramarathons told me about it and honestly, my energy on ascent day was noticeably better than round one.
Explore Liquid IV Side Effects
Layering System for Cordillera Blanca Weather
The weather swung from sunburn-hot to freezing rain in about forty minutes. I watched a guy in jeans and a hoodie turn around at the halfway point. Don't be that guy.
Wear this as your mid-layer and you'll thank yourself at the top. Laguna 69 sits in a wind tunnel between peaks, and this packed down small enough to stuff in my pack when the sun came out on the lower trail.
Men's Treeline Green Nano Puff® Jacket
Grab something waterproof that weighs nothing. Rain rolled in fast on both my treks, and this dried out in maybe twenty minutes once the sun returned. For anyone who hates bulky rain gear, this is the move.
Outdoor Research Helium Rain Jacket Review
Put this on under everything. Cotton was my first mistake. Merino kept me warm when wet and didn't smell horrifying after eight hours of hiking, which matters when you're sharing a colectivo back to town.
Women's Classic Thermal Merino Base Layer Crew
Use it as a neck gaiter when the wind picks up, then pull it over your ears for the final push. I also soaked mine in stream water and wore it on my neck during the hot lower section. One piece, four uses.
Buff Original Multifunctional Headwear
Switch to these if you've ever gotten blisters on a long day hike. The trail has rocky sections that punish thin socks. I wore the same pair three days straight in Peru and my feet were completely fine.
Men's Hiker Micro Crew Midweight Hiking Socks
Footwear and Traction for the Trail
Parts of the trail are loose scree, parts are muddy from snowmelt, and the last kilometer is basically a scramble. My running shoes were a terrible idea the first time around.
Try these if you want ankle support without feeling like you're wearing ski boots. The trail to Laguna 69 has uneven rock sections where I rolled my ankle in low-tops. These gripped wet rock better than anything else I tested.
Review: Salomon X Ultra 4 GTX review
Bring these if you're going between June and August when ice patches show up near the top. They weigh almost nothing and took me thirty seconds to strap on. Watched two people slip without them on the final approach.
MICROspikes® Footwear Traction
Swap your stock insoles for these before the trip. The descent is brutal on your knees and the arch support made a real difference over six hours. For anyone with flat feet, these are a lifesaver on long downhills.
Superfeet All-Purpose High Arch Support Insoles
Spray your boots with this a week before you fly. Snowmelt crossings soaked through my untreated boots and I hiked the last two hours with wet feet. Never again.
Fabric & Leather Proof - Footwear
Keep scree and mud out of your shoes on the lower trail sections. They look ridiculous but they work. The dusty stretch before the first river crossing filled my shoes with gravel until I started wearing these.
Dirty Girl Gaiters
Sun and Eye Protection at High Altitude
UV at nearly 5,000 meters will cook you faster than you think. I got sunburned through cloud cover and my eyes were watering for two days after. These fixed both problems.
Get Category 4 lenses for high altitude. Regular sunglasses aren't dark enough when you're surrounded by glacial ice and snow. My eyes were red and irritated for days after my first trek with standard shades.
Julbo Spectron Lens Technology | Julbo Eyewear USA
Slather this on every thirty minutes, not just at the start. I reapplied twice and still burned on my nose and ears. The reflection off the laguna and surrounding snow basically doubles your UV exposure up there.
Sun Bum SPF 50 Premium Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion
Wear something with a full brim and a chin strap. Baseball caps leave your ears and neck exposed, and the wind at the top will rip off anything that isn't secured. Learned both lessons simultaneously.
Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure UPF 50+ Hat
Keep this in your chest pocket where you can reach it. My lips cracked and bled on the descent because I forgot lip protection entirely. Altitude plus wind plus sun is a brutal combo for exposed skin.
Aquaphor Lip Repair Ointment
Use the stick format for your nose, cheekbones, and ears. Cream sunscreen ran into my eyes when I started sweating on the steep sections. The zinc stays put even when your face is dripping.
Mineral Sunscreen Stick SPF50 (Reef Safe)
Daypack and On-Trail Essentials
You don't need a 50-liter pack for a day hike, but you do need the right stuff organized so you're not digging through your bag while gasping for air at 4,500 meters.
Carry this instead of a giant backpack. It fits all your layers, water, snacks, and camera without bouncing around on the steep sections. The hip belt actually distributes weight, which matters more than you'd think at altitude.
Talon 22 - Men's Ventilated
Bring poles if your knees have any history of complaints. The descent from Laguna 69 is steep and relentless. I was skeptical until I watched my knees swell up after the first trip without them.
Distance Z Trekking/Running Poles
Toss this in your pack if you're using your phone for photos and GPS. Cold drains batteries fast at altitude. My phone died at the laguna on trip one, right when I needed it most.
Anker Power Bank, 10000mAh Portable Charger
Keep your phone and extra layers in this. Unexpected rain soaked through my pack on the way down and everything inside was damp. Costs almost nothing and weighs even less.
Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Bag | REI Co-op
Snag a few packs for the steep middle section where your appetite disappears but your body needs fuel. Solid food felt impossible to eat while breathing hard. These went down easy and kept my energy steady.
CLIF BLOKS Energy Chews, Salted Watermelon Flavor
Huaraz Base Camp Prep and Recovery
Most people fly into Lima and bus to Huaraz overnight. You need at least two days to acclimatize before attempting Laguna 69, and what you do in town matters as much as what you carry on trail.
Spend your acclimatization day here drinking coca tea and planning your route. The owner is super knowledgeable about trail conditions and helped me figure out which colectivo to take. Great coffee too, which helps after a ten-hour bus ride.
Cafe Andino
Book through a local operator instead of the hostel desk. They picked me up at 5am, the driver knew the road well, and the guide actually waited for slower hikers. Some of the cheaper options just drop you at the trailhead and disappear.
QUECHUANDES
Stay here if you want to skip the predawn drive from Huaraz. It's closer to the trailhead and sitting at a higher elevation, so you get extra acclimatization just by sleeping there the night before.
Llanganuco Mountain Lodge | Travel Wisdom
Rest here your first two nights in town. Clean rooms, hot showers that actually work, and they serve coca tea in the morning. Nothing fancy but exactly what you need after the overnight bus from Lima.
CORDILLERA HOTEL, Huaraz: Hotel Reviews
Grab a huge lomo saltado here the night before your trek. You need real calories, not hostel toast. The portions are massive and it's where a lot of local guides eat, which told me everything I needed to know.
Trivio Resto Bar