Cordillera Huayhuash Trek, how to plan by yourself + trek VIDEO

Hello steemians. Today I will talk about a 10 days trip I did last May in Peru. I traveled with a french friend I met in Vancouver.
I want to make a point in the way that trekking agencies aren't always necessary to plan a trip like this and it could save you some money. Moreover it is more rewarding to carry your own backpack all the way, cook your own food than being assisted all along. But be careful, you need to be in a good shape to do a trek and even more without a trekking agency.

These are a few tips if you want to do a trek without hiring an agency:

• Research websites and blogs talking about the trek to identify potential difficulties (access, elevation, weather, gear...)
• Find a GPS file of the trek and analyse the circuit.
• Cut the trek in parts that you can hike in a day and with places you can sleep. It could be refuges, campgrounds, villages...
• Define escape routes if possible. If you are not able to finish the trek, it is better to know where you can end it quicker.
• Find a topographic map of the trek that you can draw on it and carry with you.
• Define all you need for the length of the trek, add a few safety days of food and pack your backpack to try it. Try to find the best compromise between weight and safety.
• Get a satellite phone! Most of the time the only thing we could use to communicate in Peru.
• Make sure you have an insurance that covers you in the country you will be doing your trek.
• Plan all the logistic ahead: plane tickets, housing, transportation to the beginning of the trek, transportation back...
• Don't forget your camera. It is great to enjoy the moment while trekking but pictures also make great memories!

Here is the movie of the Cordillera Huayhuash Trek. As I said before, we were two friends from Vancouver traveling there, and we met a Swiss guy in the bus on the way to the city of Huaraz (city where most trekking agencies, hotels and stores are located, nearby Cordillera Huayhuash and Cordilliera Blanca) from Lima. He decided to come with use the day before the trek and it all went really good! My friend edited the video by the way :)