We are two days into our high-altitude trek through the Peruvian Andes before our little band of travelers sees any other sign of human life.
Until then, a herd of llamas, two donkeys, our slightly eccentric guide, a chirpy band of porters, a mule driver and a chef have been our only company on a trek through splendid, snow-capped isolation.
The absence of tourists is a relief, given we are in Inca territory, just days’ walk from the popular tourist site of Machu Picchu. There is not a lot of life in the moonscape of rugged mountain passes, craggy peaks, turquoise tarns and tufts of yellow grass.
The silence is as spectacular as the scenery. Every sound, from a boot crunching on rock to the eerie gurglings of the stand-offish llamas if you get too close, is magnified as it bounces off mountain ranges stretching in every direction.
It’s this lack of people that has brought us to this remote part of Peru in the first place. We are not walking the classic Inca Trail but in a more remote region east of the famous archaeological site.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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