Renault
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,688
- Location
- Wilbarger creek bottom
MJ, congrats on your retirement!!
Well done!
R
Well done!
R
Finally we were there. I had expected to walk out onto it and get a picture, but they had it fenced off and I thought better about my plan when I saw the bridge in person:
We had reached the end of the trail and the only way out was the way we had come in. So we got the pleasure of seeing all that wonderful country again. I've never been on a hike that had such enormous elevations involved. It was a thing of beauty.
I think you're right about those steps, Moe, I hadn't noticed them before. I don't think this was a defensive set up, I think it was the only route through those very steep mountains, and they had no choice but to build a bridge somewhere. This was probably the best place for one.
Well done, HM! I had no idea. I'm glad to know how far that drop is, too. It was one of the coolest places I've ever been.Blackthorn
Did some research and found this:
"The Inca Bridge is actually part of the stone path that heads west from Machu Picchu. This spot was considered to have been of vital strategic importance for the defense of the citadel. Here the Incas left a twenty foot gap in the carved cliff edge. The space, gaping out over a 1,900 feet drop, was bridged by a pair of tree trunks. In times of danger, the Incas had only to withdraw the trunks to make this part of the citadel unassailable. "
As I figured it appears to be a defensive set up and with the missile weapons they had ( bow and arrow, bolo, slings, spears etc) they could have held off invaders at that natural choke point that allows for observation of a long portion of the trail system.