::: QUEST FOR PAITITI FIELD JOURNAL :::
ENTRY TWELVE (June 16, 2004) "UP"

We renewed our climb. Affluents of the Rio Yavero, which flows
west to the Alto Urubamba, were to our left; while tributaries of the Rio Timpia, which flows directly north then makes a great arc toward the west, entering the same Alto Urubamba many many
miles away, north of the entry of the Yavero, were flowing away
to our right. Behind us, to the south, were various snow peaks
piercing the clouds above the horizon. We pushed our way up, up
to the northwest, traversing the ridge. It rose precipitously, then leveled out onto a narrow peak. The peak was topped by another Incan platform, the strangest we had ever seen, as it was shaped like a pointed bullet, with five sides, and the point facing directly northeast, in the direction of the Incan trail that we knew--from our expedition in 1999--runs along the jungled hillsides that overlook the Timpia from the west. This was the platform of platforms, from its commanding location. It commanded a view of all around it, all the river systems, and the unexplored ranges that continued on in misty wave after wave to the north. One wall was 30 feet long, with the opposite wall being 27 feet, while the structure was 18 feet wide; the "bullet´s" asymmetrical point had one side that was 15 feet long
and another of 24 feet. Our altitude was almost 12,000 feet above sea level. We filmed and photographed and pondered the significance of this Incan vestige, furthest of any ever found directly to the north of Cusco, here at the outer edge of the Incan world. We pondered, as well our next move...

~ Greg Deyermenjian