Thankful For Wine

Words cannot explain what we experienced in this last 11 day leg, but I will go ahead and give it a shot. When leaving the super small town of Villa O'Higgins, we were carrying our most unappealing food supply yet (thanks to limited options) but were in high spirits as we were about to embark on a stellar off-road hike through the mountains on an old horse trail. Little did we know that by trail, they meant a barely visible obstacle course sometimes designated by cairns -  or horse skulls, bull skulls, tin cans, kettles, or shoes in lieu of cairns - that may or may not cross rivers nearly every 10 minutes. It rained, hailed and snowed. A lot. We went from stuffed to starved to stuffed again. We fell in mud, slid down cliffs, and ran through rivers. We experienced the solitary "paisano" culture first hand - food included. Our bodies are bruised, cut, blistered and sore. We were exhaustingly challenged with nasty weather and rough terrain but equally rewarded with the most stunning views and vibrant sunsets. Here is the short list:


Day 1: We were on and off the trail for most of the day, complete with bushwacking through chest-deep thorny bushes. That night we camped outside the casita of the first Paisano, Ruen and were able to cook in his cocina on the wood-burning stove.

Lago Christie

Lago Alegre

Don Ruen's luxury cabin, note the solar panel!

Waking up with some puppy love!

Day 2: We left Ruen's around noon in a rather unsuccessful attempt to wait out the rain and hiked into the better part of the evening. While making dinner we discovered that the fuel (rubbing alcohol) we bought was not strong enough to maintain a flame - and everything around us was more than damp - so it was raw macaroni and cheese for dinner...yummy!!!


Day 3: A semi-dry environment greeted us in the morning and so we continued on the semi-existant trail after quickly stopping in to say "hola" to the second Paisano along the trail. Hearing about the "old wise man at the end of the lake" yet again, we took off in search of some guidance. In the late afternoon we reached the infamous third Paisano, Don Rial. We were quickly convinced to stay at least two nights while we waited out the continuing storm. Plus, the warm stove, sheep skin covered wooden cots, and hearty meals were too good to pass up. The evening was spent listening to Don Rial's stories over mate and warm, cooked food.

Don Rial's campo

Relaxing by the stove, hiding from the storms outside

Typical Patagonian food - fry bread and ribs

Day 4: Thanksgiving! In honor of our home country feast day, we prepared multiple gourmet meals and engaged fully in the expected gluttony. Breakfast consisted of decadent french toast made out of fry bread and served with rhubarb jam; lunch was another sensational beef stew; but dinner was the winner - a beef potpie with a crispy crust and rich gravy. It was a remarkably memorable Thanksgiving - and such a treat to not be munching on raw top ramen and crumbled poundcake!

Day 5: We were planning on leaving today but nasty weather kept us at Don Rial's for yet one more night. Again, we passed the day by the wood-burning stove, reading, journaling and cooking, while every now and then "helping out" on the ranch by getting water, gathering fire wood, or foraging for fresh mint. Rough, we know.

Don Rial telling us about his friend (and our acquaintance) Milenka from NOLS

Very typical Patagonian scene

Day 6: Finally our time at Don Rial's had come to an end. We were quite sad to leave him behind but so grateful for his unbelievable generosity and hospitality. He sent us off with a bag of harina tostada (our new breakfast obsession), two soup packets and bread. Furthermore, we received invaluable information and directions regarding the upcoming trek. Starting off on a trail and pointed in the right direction (along with being incredibly well fed) we felt good, with dry socks and shoes - which didn't last long. We got to the intended shelter without a hitch, and slept for half of the night under the stars until it started raining and we had to move inside and onto coffin-esque wooden platform boxes.

Wanted to sleep without the tent but needed misquito protection

No trail but we could see where we needed to go...

Day 7: Our goal for today was to make it to the bottom of the pass. Piece of cake, right? Not so much. We were on trail for the morning but upon reaching a rocky valley it disappeared out of sight...about the same time that it started to rain and hail again. This led to some intense bush whacking, river crossing, and cliff climbing. A rock slide assisted me down the side of one "small hill" (i.e. cliff) but luckily I just ended up with some bloody hands and ripped rain pants. We eventually made it to the bottom of the pass, after one final very cold and deep glacial river crossing, and camped on a tiny patch of tundra amongst a massive field of boulders and a plethora of waterfalls.

Day 8: We awoke to what we first thought was rain but turned out to be very wet snow. Thus, the higher we climbed on the pass, the drier and heavier the snow became (ice clinging to the straps of our gaiters). We crossed an even colder river in the middle of the snow storm before post-holing through knee-deep snow. The almost blizzard-like conditions at the top of the pass caused us to turn, ever so slightly but ever so crucially, down the wrong valley where we hiked for an hour before realizing we made a giant U. Trekking back up and through massive avalanche-prone snowfields we eventually made it to the correct valley then down another boulder field to diminishing snow pack and partially clearing skies. Here we found a trail - inciting temporary glee - that inevitably led us down into a canyon which furthermore turned into a waterfall. After a brief discussion, we decided to simply scale the canyon wall - which became an on-all-fours, dirty, gritty, heart-pounding type of feat. Wandering around on safe ground, we, alas, found a legitimate trail! After twelve long hours, we spent the night camped by a shelter - exhausted and starving but safe and warm.

Numb feet after crossing the glacial river first thing

Stunning alpine lake

Making our way through the clouds and snow over the pass

Getting a glimpse of the amazing peaks

Savoring some nibbles off a chunk of cheese.

Day 9: The day started out wonderfully - we had a good trail, clear sky, sun, warmth, and semi-dry shoes. We trekked along on a clear trail for a few jovial hours before being startled by a herd of cows in the middle of our path. When a bull charged, Shelley fell crossing a river via a log, Trinity and I opted to run straight through it, and we ended up far off of our trail - bushwacking through a muddy marsh with dense, prickly trees. After many hours of looping around to avoid the angry bull that was now stalking us and trudging through the muck and mud we found a fence that led to a gate which "halleluja" led to a trail. We weaved in and out of the trail, hiking in our flipflops for a while due to the ridiculously numerous river crossings, when the trail vanished. Again. However, this time when we hiked around looking for it, not only did we find a trail, but we also found a gravel road!! A mini-celebration ensued and we hiked until dark, being calmed by the scene of the setting sun glowing across a magnificent glacial mountain range with an Andean Condor sailing serenely through. Ahh, peace.

Day 10: Today was perfect despite the fact that we were hungry. And not just a little hungry, but hungier than I have ever been in my life - the ready-to-dig-down-and-eat-a-bug type of hungry. The adrenaline of the past few days had kept us from noticing the fact that our daily calorie consumption was hovering around 1,000 while we were hiking close to 12 hours per day. Famished, we stumbled upon a military base where we asked to buy some bread. This miraculously led to a full four course meal and three extremely happy girls. Thirty-seven kilometers later, we watched another breath-taking sunset and laid our aching, battered bodies to rest.

We were very happy to find a road!

San Lorenzo provided the most unbelievable sunset while re-entering civilization

Day 11: We limped our way into Cochrane where we are currently recovering over wine, showers (albeit cold), and veggies. Our Israeli "Trail Angels", Naama and Tal, provided us with a delicious meal and cultural insight - much appreciated after a helluva journey.

Additional things we loved: 
- Cuddling with Ruen's 1 month old puppy.
- Drinking fresh warm cow's milk in the morning.
- Hearing that the carabineros (park rangers) would start a search and rescue for us if we didn't check in with them in Cochrane after our anticipated 6-day journey.
- Being so happy with our fry bread (aka torta patagonia) and homemade rhubarb jam...and then having Don Rial unearth a massive hot loaf of bread he baked in a heaping pile of hot ashes. Pure delight.
- Being dry and warm inside while the crummy weather roared on outside.
- Experiencing the true paisano, gaucho (Patagonian cowboy) culture.
- Everything and more about Don Rial - his generosity, stories, food, affiliation with NOLS, kindness. Plus, he most likely saved our lives on multiple levels - note calories and directions.
- Having an unexpected delicious and extremely satisfying Thanksgiving dinner.
- Seeing horse poop on the trail! (signifying we were on the right trail)
- Going from 1 to 2 to 3 nights with Don Rial without a blink.
- Cooking the best looking (and tasting) piece of meat I have honestly ever seen.
- Foraging for mint in the pasture and then making hot mint tea.
- Seeing blue sky after multiple days of gloom.
- Being able to hike until 10:00pm (since it's light as day well past 9)
- Waking up to a rooster instead of an alarm (okay, there are times when this isn't so pleasant...)
- Feeling like we walked from the depths of winter straight into summer.
- Being legitimately in the middle of stinking nowhere.
- Witnessing the most impressive, brilliant sunsets.
- Seeing our first lupins! And then, like the guanacos, seeing them everywhere....
- Getting Chileno pesos through sketchy money exchanges on the sidewalk and in the grocery store.
- Finding out that the guards didn't say we could have a "morsel" but rather "almuerzo" (lunch) - what a glorious surprise (for me) when that heaping bowl of stew was set down! That's why Shelley and Trinity didn't have a third roll with butter...
- Gazing up at Orion's Belt - and knowing that we are all under the same sky no matter where we are in the world.

After 11 days on the trail and not feeling the best, Sarah gets handed this message from a random guy in Cochrane

Additional things we battled: 
- Swarms of gnats and thirsty mosquitos.
- Chest-high thorny bushes.
- Mud. Of all forms and all depths.
- Cold, uncooked meals from pasta to soup.
- Ravenous dogs eating Trinity's snack rations for day 3 while we were inside the casita of Paisano #2.
- Running out of the camera battery after day 4 (luckily the tablet had enough battery to snap a few pics for the remaining days).
- So. Much. Snow.
- Obstacle courses instead of trails...or just no trails at all...
- Ubiquitious river crossings at quite inconvenient times and places, i.e. during snow storms or in canyons by raging waterfalls.
- Slippery logs and slick rocks.
- My propensity for falling...
- Horseflies.
- Cold showers...oh the simple things in life...
- Potential PTSD from the angry bull...every time I hear a loud "moo" shivers run down my spine.
- The Cochrane carabineros not having even heard about us.....
- Not having much cash and finding out that the ATM doesn't accept VISA.
- Slow internet and random afternoon power outages

It's still hard to believe we have already been on the road for two months, but then again the long summer days are only just beginning. We are happy, generally healthy and ready for more...just so long as ferocious bulls stay far, far away. As soon as our blisters shrink and our aches diminish we will be heading up to Chile Chico, but for now we are off to another asado with new friends and plenty of wine.

Border Hopping

El Chaltén is a mecca for climbers and outdoor enthusiasts. This quaint town is cradled below massive granite walls. Its dramatic skyline is featured in the Patagonia logo. We knew Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre were a must see on our itinerary, and they did not disappoint us. Although El Chaltén was only established in 1985, you cannot help but be enchanted by the natural history - notably the spires and numerous glaciers (it is after all called "Glacier National Park"). We were able to get views from every angle on several short backpacks, returning to town in between to get our fill on cheesy explosion empanadas, homemade yogurt with pumpkin jam and many of the 40 varieties of tea at Mathilda's House of Tea. To our luck, we met Dave and Molly (an American couple living in El Chaltén who fed us a delicious home cooked meal) and many guides at Hostel del Lago who provided great advice, hopsitality and wine :) With the season just getting started, we were very tempted to stay through summer.

Clear view of Cerro Torre and Mont Fitz Roy

Hard to imagine what the first expedition to summit these were thinking...

Hearing of a gas shortage in Calafate and El Chaltén, we are elated that our fuel consists of chocolate and cookies, and not petrol. This advantage also allowed us to cross the border at Lago del Desierto and Lago O'Higgins, a station with no road access that is only open in the summer. After seeing a half-destroyed man resecuring his luggage to his bike after the 14km trail through the woods (and mud and fallen trees) and learning it had taken him 2 days, we affirmed that we prefer traveling via foot to bike as well.

We are always stunned what beauty we find on our daily hikes...

Glacier Grande, great place to take in the view

Since no one in El Chaltén knew the schedule for the obligatory ferry to cross Lago O'Higgins, we took off knowing we would find out when we got there. On Sunday we found out it runs once a week on Saturdays. Oops. We were very happy to have the extra food we packed and the good company we found on the trail: Carlo at Estancia del Lago, the hilarious former announcer who's bravado and search for suitable bachelors kept us cracking up; The Argentinian border guards who 1) were expecting us, due to a heads-up from our friend Graham 2) provided us with two free meals and lots of Quillmes, and 3) took Sarah and Trinity on a sunset horseback ride (I prefered to read and do yoga than take my chances facing my fears on narrow, steep trails); Our Aussie cycling friends Alex, Andrew, Jason, Peter, and Stephen (in alphabetical order, of course) who travelled with us for two days while waiting for the same ferry but left us in the dust once they hit dry land.

Looking back towards El Chalten over Lago del Desierto and missing it already

Glad the bikers don't travel "ultralight" and therefor could bring a guitar for around the campfire

Moments of goodness:
- Trinity mindlessly putting preventative bandages on the wrong toes
- Getting to talk about gear and demonstrate our popcan stove
- Multiple days of clear skies for amazing views in El Chaltén, locals say this is a rare thing
- Sitting, reading, listening and relaxing by massive glaciers
- Sleeping under the starts without the tent
- Reading in a hammock and listening to reggae in El Chaltén, clearly not a beach town but definitely just as laidback
- Seeing flamingos in a mountain lake
- Trinity and I trying to learn a card game in Spanish. A little too much was lost in the communication gap when 2s beat most, but some 1s and all 7s beat everything and the suits are swords, gold, cups, and clubs
- Jorge at Hostel El Mosco had excellent detailed topo maps for our next trek to Cochrane
- Finally getting to sit around bonfires! (glad to smell like smoke as per the alternative...)
- Taking in the scenery from the ferry across Lago O´Higgins: amazing green water, blue icebergs and Utah-type plateaus all adding to the many layers of color
- Thinking we look normal in flip flops and down pants, our fashion sense totally gone
- Not needing to filter the fresh glacial water
- Southern hemisphere star gazing with Sarah's Google Sky app on her tablet

Sunset horseback ride at Lago del Desierto

Things we have learned, accepted and grown from:
- Do not expect anyone to have information on the other side of the border between Chile/Argentina.

- Molly explaining how she broke her leg after getting tossed 20+ft by the Patagonian wind

- Though it is ultralight, we do not have the most aerodynamic tent

- Both Trinity and Sarah have had bugs crawl in their ears while sleeping, now I always sleep with my hat on

- After discussing dangers in South America, our friend Peru noted "Southern Argentina is dangerous too... we have the holes in the ozone" (Sarah, wrapped up in the excitement of summer, got a little burnt)

- At a bonfire with a local highschool group, it appears international campfire songs still consist of Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana and ... Jason Mraz??

- The "dred-mullet" combo is the fashion in Argentinian climbing communities

- Some clothing is starting to form massive holes from constant wear (mostly Sarah's...)

- Our sleeping pads (still) fly away easily in the wind. After a valiant effort to save mine, Sarah's flew away never to return. Luckily, Jorge has extras left from previous travellers!

Making notes of where our clothes are wearing most

Hoping the water dries up soon! Some of the trails are still a bit muddy

Lago O´Higgins

 After exchanging all US$ and AR$ we have left for Chilean pesos, we bought enough food for the week's journey to Cochrane through the mountains via the old horse trail (pre-Carretera Austral which was built 12 years ago). Villa O'Higgins does not have an ATM nor any stores that accept payment by card. Supposedly Cochrane has stores which accept cards but their ATM does not accept Visa cards. We realize now we should have diversified not only banks but our cards a bit more. From Cochrane, we will head to Chile Chico, then on to Coyhaique in time for Christmas. As the holidays get nearer it pulls on our heart strings to be so far away from so many family and friends. Although we can't be there, we are definitely thinking of you all. Eat some green bean casserole (my fav!) and pumpkin pie for us this week and we will be sending fresh mountain air for the patience and tranquility needed when you are shopping with all the crowds for presents this month.

We were able to get some photos uploaded to a dropbox album this stop (it's been difficult to back up photos lately with computers and good connections fewer and farther between). See our photos page here.

Torres del Paine

This leg we hiked by: Aquamarine-colored lakes flanked by soft green cliffs with red flower bushes - Hawaii?? Icebergs and glaciers - Antartica?? Grassy plains sweeping up to jagged rock towers - Wyoming?? ...Then a gust of wind would knock us off-balance and we'd remember, we're in Patagonia! (c: If we weren't in love with Patagonia before, we definitely are now. Put Torres del Paine on your must-see list because it is truly majestic.

We passed nine days and eight nights in and surrounding the awe-inspiring Torres del Paine national park in Chile. Muchas gracias to Erratic Rock in Puerto Natales who facilitated the long leg with two food drops for us at the park entrances - keeping our packs nice and light!

Highlights:

• No paved roads! We hiked a combination of back dirt roads, trails and off-roading.
• Surviving another herd of cows with calves (we really need to learn cow etiquette/behavior)
• Coming upon our first "refugio" in the park expecting a ranger station of sorts... instead, we found a modern backcountry lodge with a hotel, paid camping (yet we were too cheap for it and continued onward for the day), convenience store, and public windowed kitchen gazebo (so you can enjoy the view without the wind... brilliant)
• Discovering the power behind pound cake
• One full day without wind! It was glorious. Although we experienced some high wind gusts on this leg, they paled in comparison to Tierra del Fuego's wall o' wind.
• Blue icebergs
• Camping near a glacier at sunset
• As we were filling our water bladders, we heard a deafening boom from the mountains above us. We witnessed an avalanche whose plume covered the entire peak (think the size of Long's Peak in CO) and whose aftermath poured snowfalls looking like water over its steep cliffs
• Moving fast and light in the park... comparing ourselves to tourists with gargantuan packs out for only a few nights - our packs are tiny and include everything for the year!
• At the park hotel (exiting the park), we found someone's forgotten, opened (but hardly eaten!) bag of quaker oat squares sitting on a railing. We inhaled them.
• A warm shower and veggie-full salad after nine days in the backcountry (unfortunately, Shelley, who showered first, had a cold one because they forgot to turn the hot water on)

Lowlights:

• Wind
• The first segment of Chile's official trail system "Sendero de Chile" (think Appalachian Trail) was unimproved trail and partially on (or immediately next to) a dirt road
• We fall asleep to what we've dubbed the "creepy birds" that make a really weird, creepy noise at dusk. Shelley and I worked up the energy and guts to crawl out of the tent into the dusk sky to catch a glimpse of them. Sarah stayed in the warmth and safety of her sleeping bag. We could hear them screaming and flying overhead but could not see them - even creepier!!! Bats??
• The park won't let you leave trash at the park buildings on the park perimeter (yet there are at the refugios within the park?)
• Shelley's sleeping pad flew away at the alluvial fan beach of a glacial lake... she chased it for about half a mile over the beach and through a shallow stream to retrieve it where it finally got caught on the opposite bank of the stream (this was a lowlight for Shelley but a highlight for Sarah and me watching her run after it)
• Realizing we are not packing enough calories - we revisited NOLS Cookery on my kindle and it confirmed the fact that it takes a few days for a backpacker's appetite to kick in. I'm pretty sure we would have starved without the convenience stores at the refugios in the park.
• Sarah getting reprimanded by our waitress for filling up her titanium cup with water in the bathroom (trying to save a bottle since they don't serve tap water) - we really have become dirty hippies
• We didn't realize we'd be learning so much about the history of computers... internet and technology is getting worse as we move north. Hopefully we can continue to share lots of pictures.

Pictures can't say everything but here's a shot:

The bay near Puerto Natales, Chile.

We loved the scenery of this leg from the first day. The grasses were bright green, mountains blue and snowcapped, clouds were dramatic, waters were glistening in the wind...

Purifying water from a pleasant dock we came across.

Getting closer to Torres del Paine National Park!

Woo-hoo! Better view of the park we're about to see! PS: We are really into jumping now since we've received support from SheJumps.org

Yes folks, that's an iceberg from the glacier at the other end of this very long lake (refer to later pic of glacier). We couldn't resist taking off our clothes for a weather-appropriate photo shoot.

New friend.

Hawaii maybe?? Minus the jagged peaks...

This photo was taken from our campsite. It does nothing to show the magnitude of this amazing glacier.

Home sweet home.

Hmmm there's something wrong with this picture. Oh just kidding... I was confused because there's NO WIND!
Perfect day.

We woke up at 4am to facilitate watching the sunrise over Torres del Paine (the towers of Paine - the feature attraction of the park). No luck - it was socked in, windy, snowing... we only caught cloudy glimpses of the towers until, of course, we descended back down to camp and it cleared up.