Sue Lach/Jeanne Blauner Exploring Peru - Inca Trail to Maccu Picchu and More! SUMMARY OF TRIP INFORMATION Exploring Peru - Inca Trail to Maccu Picchu and More! Leader Sue Lach Co-leader Jeanne Blauner Peru - Inca Trail and Lake Titicaca June 2, 2017 - June 17, 2017 Total # of days 16 Backpacking Bicycling-Mountain Bicycling-Road Title of trip Leadership Location(s) Dates Type of trip check all that apply Primary type of trip Number of participants (excluding leaders) Advertised cost Airfare range if not included When should the trip notice be published in AMC Outdoors? Do you wish to have your trip listed online before it is published in AMC Outdoors? Smaller trips and leader subsidization Camping Cultural Family Hiking Paddling-Canoeing Paddling-Sea-Kayaking Skiing-CrossSkiing-Downhill Snorkeling Country (Nordic) (Alpine) Trekking (e.g., hutWalking Other – please describe to-hut) Trekking (e.g., hut-to-hut) Select one of those checked above. Minimum 10 Maximum 12 $ 4356 Does it include airfare? Yes No $ 800-1200 Will leaders assist participants with flights? Yes No First Appearance: Month May Year 2016 Last Appearance: Month May Year 2017 Note: AMC Outdoors is only published in Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov. Yes No If yes, please list the approximate month and year when it should be posted on line. May 2016 Is this proposal for a small group trip – i.e., less than 14 participants and 2 leaders or 7 participants and 1 leader? Yes No If yes, why is a small group proposed? Backcountry experience is safer and better with smaller groups. If a participant fee increase of more than 15% is proposed, please explain why? LEADER AND CO-LEADER INFORMATION Leader name Leader address Leader email Leader phone Wilderness first aid training CPR training Prior leading experience Trip one Trip two Trip three Form Revised September 2015 Susan Lach 73 Amherst Drive, Manchester, CT slach@me.com Home 860-533-0219 Work Cell 860-712-7216 WFA AWFA WFR Expiration: 5/2017 (will recertify) CPR BLS Expiration: 6/2016 (will recertify) If this is your first Adventure Travel trip as a Leader you must be present at the AMCATC meeting at which the trip proposal is considered. Please list the last three longer (5+ day) trips you have led for the AMC including destination, type of trip, dates and number of participants. Feel free to list additional trips you have led, particularly if they demonstrate experience related to the trip you are proposing. Canadian Rockies Day Hiking August 2013; 14 participants Mongolia Eagle Hunting and Horseback Riding, November 2011; 12 participants Nepal Treking, November 2010; 12 participants Adventure Travel Trip Proposal Form, page 1 of 6 Sue Lach/Jeanne Blauner Exploring Peru - Inca Trail to Maccu Picchu and More! Other related trip experience Numerous other past AMC AT trips. Co-leader name Co-leader address Co-leader email Co-leader phone Wilderness first aid training CPR training* Prior leading experience Trip one Trip two Trip three Other related trip experience Scouting Have either of you led this trip before or traveled to this area? Languages Does either the co-leader or leader speak the local language? Couples Do the leader and co-leader have a significant personal relationship? Private trips Do either of you lead trips that are private - not sponsored by the AMC? Jeanne Blauner 509 Neck Rd, Unit 1, Lancaster, MA 01523 jablauner@comcast.net Home 978-202-5606 Work Same Cell (Not reliable) WFA AWFA WFR Expiration: 12/16 (will recertify) CPR BLS Expiration: 11/17 If you are a new co-leader you must submit an application to be an Adventure Travel leader or co-leader prior to submitting this application. Also, it is strongly recommended that you be present at the AMC-ATC meeting at which the trip proposal is considered. Please list the last three longer (5+ day) trips you have led for the AMC including destination, type of trip, dates and number of participants. Please indicate if you were the leader or co-leader. Jungfrau 2015; 10 participants Jungfrau (essentially identical trip to above) 2016; 10 participants AMC Boston Family Outings evaluated trips Feb 2014 Calumet, West Ossipee, NH, and March 2014 Gale River, Franconia, NH, as well as numerous additonal AMC Family trips. Week long Sierra Club trips include more recent family trips, two per year for the past 14 years, to Acadia, the Adirondacks, the White Mtns, and Cape Cod. International trips include La Traversee de Charlevoix Quebec X country ski Feb 2000, Dolomites B&B and Hut 1996, Dordogne France Aug 1992, Austrian Alps B&B Sept 1988; most recent Sierra Club trip - hut to hut in the Whites, summer 2015. Yes No If yes, please describe below: Co-leader: Yes No Leader: Yes No Not applicable: Yes No If yes, please list who has agreed to be your back-up in case one or both of you need to drop out. This is required for approval! Yes No If yes, please note that you cannot advertise AMC and private trips together unless there is a clear distinction between the two in any materials you send out. LOGISTICAL DETAILS OF TRIP Summary Please provide a description of the trip and the activities planned. If available, please include or attach an itinerary. Form Revised September 2015 Fly from USA to Lima, Peru; fly from Lima to Arequipa. Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru (850,000) at 7600 feet. Our time in Arequioa will be utilized to tour cultural sites. We will drive to Puno, on the shore of 12,500' Lake Titicaca, with a stop at nature preserve to view vicuñas (wild animals similar to alpacas). There will be a boat ride across Lake Titicaca to Taquile Island, where we will have a homestay with a local family for one night. Following the homestay, we will drive to Cuzco for a tour of culture and art. A Trek meeting will be held to review the trip, safety and gear. A tour of the Sacred Valley and visit to wool dyeing and weaving studio will be conducted. the trek will include a four-day trek on the Inca Trail with stops at archaeological ruins and cloud forest. By Bus we will travel to Aguas Calientes where we will tour Machu Picchu and climb Huayna Picchu. The train will bring the group back to Cuzco for shopping and exploring before we fly ly back to USA. Adventure Travel Trip Proposal Form, page 2 of 6 Exploring Peru - Inca Trail to Maccu Picchu and More! Accommodations Please describe your plans for accommodation(s) Meals: Please describe your plans for providing meals. If the budget includes any funds for leader meals not shared with the group please justify. Local Transportation Please describe your plans for local transportation Will leaders or participants be drivers of motor vehicles? Permits or permissions Does the trip require special permits or permissions? (required on many U.S. federal lands and national parks) Sue Lach/Jeanne Blauner Three-star hotels (double occupancy) will be utilized when not on trek. During the trek accomodations will be camping in 2-person tents. Trek days include all meals. Breakfasts are included at the hotels. Participants will be responsible for 7 dinners and 5 lunches on non-trek days. Soft drinks and water are not included with the meals. Welcome and Farwell Dinners are included. Internal flights from Lima to Arequipa and Cuzco to Lima are included in trip cost. All other transportation is by outfitter supplied vans along with the use of trains and local buses. Will leaders be drivers? Will volunteer participants be drivers? If so, MVR checks will be needed. See Appendix S1. Yes No If yes, please describe below what you will need to do to obtain them: Andean Treks will purchase the two permits for each member of our group: Inca Trail Trekking Permit and permit to Climb Huayna Picchu. If no, please describe the process you went through to find out that they were not required: Special equipment Yes No If yes, please describe below what type of equipment and how you Does the trip require special will ensure that people know how to use it: equipment? Participants will need to bring a 30 degree sleeping bag, or rent one from the outfitter. Special experience Yes No If yes, please describe below what type of experience? Also describe Does the trip require special how you will ensure that the participant has this experience? skills on the part of the Recent, intermediate hiking experience. Participants will be asked about their experience participant? on the application and in the interview. High elevation experience is not necessary. Pre-trip activities Yes No If yes, please describe below what you will do: Do you plan to get your group A pre-trip hike and/or dinner will give participants the opportunity to bond and ask together before the trip for an questions. activity or social event? Our Andean Treks guide has successfully completed a 5-year university program Conservation, education and involving history, archeology, language proficiency and related topics and will recreation How will this AMC-AT trip meet the share this educational information with our group. In addition, we will practice mission of the AMC? Leave No Trace and learn about the importance of preserving World Heritage www.outdoors.org/about/mission.cfm natural sites. The Lake Tikicaca experience with the home stay has been arranged to immperse the particpants in the Peruvian culture. TOUR OPERATOR AND GUIDE SERVICE INFORMATION This section should be completed if the trip will be using a tour operator, outfitter, guide service, travel agency or other such company or person(s) for a significant part of the trip or for the entire trip. Any person(s) or companies that are handling a significant portion of trip funds or arrangements need to be vetted. If there is more than one tour operator please provide this information about each such entity. Will this trip require a tour Yes No operator or guide service Please describe their services. If you are using a tour operator for the entire trip, during part of or for the please describe why you will be using them rather than doing this trip on your own: The main guide will accompany the group from arrival at Arequipa at start of trip entire trip? through return to Cuzco from Machu Picchu at the end. During the trek, we will have one guide per each 8 trekkers. Name of tour operator/guide Andean Treks, Inc. service http://www.andeantreks.com Tour operator website Andean Treks has operated commercial treks and tours in Peru since 1980. Their Safety record Please provide information passengers have suffered an occasional sprained ankle and comparable minor wear and Form Revised September 2015 Adventure Travel Trip Proposal Form, page 3 of 6 Sue Lach/Jeanne Blauner Exploring Peru - Inca Trail to Maccu Picchu and More! about their safety record. Insurance Do they have liability insurance? Emergency response Please describe the outfitters’ response plan in the case of an emergency. tear, but no serious injuries over this time period. The most common health & safety problems fall in two areas: gastro-intestinal problems, and insufficient acclimation. Liability? Yes No Maximum amt: $ $2 million Are they willing to list AMC as an Yes No additional insured? For the first half of the itinerary, we would turn to private medical clinics in Lima, Arequipa, and Puno. On the trek, the guide carries a comprehensive medical kit, including inflatable splints, oxygen, and stretcher. Porters are enlisted to effect the evacuation, accompanied by a member of the trek staff. The guide always carries a cellphone; in areas where cellular coverage is patchy, the guide carries a satellite phone. After stabilizing the situation, the guide makes an incident report to operations base in Cuzco, where we have a 24-hour incoming line. Evacuation off a trek route is usually accomplished using just the resources of the trek crew (we carry a collapsible stretcher as standard equipment). In consultation with the operations base, if additional transportation or other support is required, it is organized out of the Cuzco operations base. Most cases of minor H+S problems can be attended to by the medical staff in regional centers such as Machu Picchu. For more serious cases we evacuate to Cuzco, where we have a long-standing relationship with the well-equipped Clinica Cima, Avenida Pardo 987, Cuzco, tel. (51-84) 255-550. Most of the passengers who complain of minor ailments receive treatment at the community health clinics in either Aguas Calientes or in Ollantaytambo, the two communities nearest the end and the start of the Inca Trail route. RISK ASSESSMENT Please assess the risks and hazards of your trip. Carefully consider each area of risk and how it may affect your trip. Devise a plan to prevent each hazard and to respond to it if it becomes necessary. Please be very specific for each section if applicable. Trail conditions, river crossings, weather, wildlife (bears, snakes, etc.) Climate/terrain Potential hazards This is a challenging high-altitude route through mixed terrain. While the trail is maintained in good condition by Machu Picchu National Sanctuary staff, there are some patches of loose gravel and steep Inca-built stone staircases where careful attention to your footing is required. There are few stretches of the trail where trekkers are exposed to any vertical drops; in these few areas the trail is at least a meter wide, and so by taking normal precautions, the risk of falling off the trail is negligible. We trek only during daytime, never at night. Altitude presents some risks, which we deal with by building acclimation days into the program. The tropical sun is strong and will burn any passengers who do not follow well-known precautions (hats, sunscreen etc). While some venomous snakes have been reported at the elevation of Machu Picchu, these anecdotal reports are rare. Andean Treks has never had one of their passengers encounter a snake on this route. Response Participants will be advised to bring sunhats, sunscreen and rain gear. On arrival into Cuzco, our guide engages the group in a trek orientation meeting, in which the guide carefully reviews what passengers may expect on the trek. H&S issues as related to packing and preparing for the trek are a top priority. We schedule the orientation meeting so that passengers have time to purchase any items they may have forgotten to bring or lost en route. Political concerns, crime, language translation, terrorism Foreign Country Potential hazards Street crime largely consists of pickpockets and bag slashers. Some incidents of taxi robberies have been reported in both Cuzco and Lima. In late January 2013, the U.S. Consulate in Lima reported a risk of kidnapping of U.S. tourists, based on intercepted communications from a terrorist cell operating in the rainforest zone of northern Cuzco Departamento. This warning was rescinded a couple of weeks later, and since then there has been no hint of any kidnapping plots. While English-language ability is common among hotel receptive staff, elsewhere there will be situations where language barriers increase the risk of problems going unresolved. Form Revised September 2015 Adventure Travel Trip Proposal Form, page 4 of 6 Sue Lach/Jeanne Blauner Exploring Peru - Inca Trail to Maccu Picchu and More! Response Transportation Potential hazards Response Participants Potential hazards Response Other Potential hazards Response We counsel our passengers to leave their valuables in the hotel safe and carry only spending money when in the streets. The guide reminds passengers to use radio-taxis when returning late to their hotels from dinner. Common-sense traveler precautions seem to be sufficient for preventing all but occasional incidents of theft. We chose robust hotels which have a good record for safety and security. Our guide is available to trouble-shoot problems as they occur. Road conditions, drivers, insurance Roads through mountainous country and heavily populated areas, road travel at night. We charter our vehicles, rather than using common carriers. We use transport subcontractors who are in full compliance with all statutory safety and insurance regulations. These include carrying liability insurance for every passenger; seatbelts at every seat; and drivers with all current licensing and documentation. Level of fitness, screening concerns, experience with equipment or activity Difficulty with long-distance trekking, inadequate boots, lack of poles. Participants will be screened for recent intermediate hiking experience. Leaders will recommend that participants maintain excellent fitness in the months prior to departure. Participants will be encouraged to purchase travel insurance. Conditions unique to this type of trip High Altitude Sickness Encourage particiants to drink lots of water. Participants can get Rx for diamox from their doctor prior to trip. EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN Please describe your plans for dealing with emergencies. Give as much detail as possible and list any special communications equipment you may need to ensure the safety of your participants. DO NOT LEAVE THIS BLANK Guides will carry satellite and/or cell phone. On the Inca Trail, the worst-case evacuation Emergency communication Phone contacts, language, can be achieved in about 12 hours (out to either Aguas Calientes or Ollantaytambo documentation, distance from Community Health Centres). Elsewhere on this itinerary, we can usually reach a emergency services professional medical center in 3-4 hours from any point in the itinerary. The US Embassy in Peru is at Avenida La Encalada cdra. 17 s/n Surco, Lima 33, Peru Telephone: (51-1) 618-2000 Fax: (51-1) 618-2397. Leaders will carry first aid kits. Guides will use cell or satellite phones as appropriate for Emergency equipment What sort of emergency first the various locations on the trip. Guide carries a comprehensive medical kit, including aid or communication inflatable splints, oxygen, and stretcher. equipment (satellite phone, two-way radios) do you plan to use, if any? Porters are enlisted to effect the evacuation, accompanied by a member of the trek staff. Evacuation Please describe your plan for Those needing evacuation will be walked out if possible. Most problems related to evacuation from the altitude are easily remedied by going down. backcountry location if applicable? In serious cases, the Clinica Cima in Cuzco is (51-84) 255-550. Most of the passengers Medical care Please describe the medical who complain of minor ailments receive treatment at the community health clinics in care available in the area(s) either Aguas Calientes or in Ollantaytambo, the two communities nearest the end and the where you will be traveling start of the Inca Trail route. and list names and telephone numbers for these facilities. COST AND BUDGET DETAILS Foreign currencies For int’l trips list each foreign currency, the current $US dollar exchange rate and what contingencies you have if that rate changes. If Form Revised September 2015 A 4% contingency is included in the price. Most costs are fixed, such as the payment to the outfitter in US dollars. Only a few items could change, like the airfare from Lima to Arequipa and from Cusco to Lima. Adventure Travel Trip Proposal Form, page 5 of 6 Exploring Peru - Inca Trail to Maccu Picchu and More! a tour operator or agent is being used, what currency is the agent to be paid in? Group Trip Deposits What deposits will be required from you by airlines, hotels, tour operators, etc., and when? Group Trip Refunds What is the latest date you can cancel and still receive a full refund of any deposits? Participant deposits What are the initial deposit and your schedule of payments by participants to you? Cancellation policy What will be your cancellation policy for the participants? Minimum numbers Will you still run the trip if you do not get the minimum number? Reference web links: AMC-ATC Home Page: Forms: Deadlines: E-Mail Addresses: Club House: AMC-ATC Chair: Form Revised September 2015 Sue Lach/Jeanne Blauner Current exchange rate as of March 24, 2017 is: 1 Peruvian Nuevo Sol = $.30 US $350 per person non-refundable will be provided to the outfitter by Dec 21 so they can buy trek permits, etc. Final payment is due to outfitter 60 days before departure. Domestic flights will be purchased once we have the minimum number of participants (10). Dec 9, 2016 $1000 due with application, no later than Dec 9, 2016. Balance is due in 2 equal payments on Jan 9, 2017 and March 9, 2017. The final balance is due to the Andean treks by April 3, 2017 Cancellations after Dec 9, 2016 will lose their $350 deposit. Any additional refunds will only be made if it does not raise the cost of the trip to the other participants or leaders. There is a possibility that participants may not receive any refund. Once permits are issued for the Inca Trail trek, they cannot be changed or transferred. Participants will be encouraged to purchase trip cancellation insurance. Yes No If yes, please describe conditions: Minimum 10 participants. http://snebulos.mit.edu/orgs/amc/ http://snebulos.mit.edu/orgs/amc/application/ http://snebulos.mit.edu/orgs/amc/committee/proposals/ nholland@outdoors.org scohen1234@gmail.com Adventure Travel Trip Proposal Form, page 6 of 6