hellopatagonia
Our Journey to Patagonia
Updates on our journey to the end of the world to run the race of our lives.
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Day 6: Hike to Lago Peohe
This part of the hike was my most favorite part. Because of time constraints and the fact that we didn’t have any camping gear and opted to stay in only the Refugios we had to hike a longer portion of it this trail. We basically hiked all the way to the end when most people hike to the Italian camp,explore the trail to the french base camp, then stay the night back at the camp before continuing to Lago Peohe. JP was on a different schedule and planned to stay in the camp. For a time Andy and I split up as I continued to Lago Peohe and he ran up as far as he could up to the French camp.
Here is where I say goodbye to JP! And continued the rest of the hike on my own.
This part of the hike I believe was the most beautiful because it was the most diverse of all the portions. This was a portion of the trail that got burned a couple years ago by a small campfire. You would walk through portions of the landscape that was healing. You could feel the trees in pain, burned and scarred by the fires that touched it years ago. It was so quiet, desolate, and eerie, especially since I was by myself with my thoughts and the sounds of my steps on this trail.
After walking through the skeleton of this part, all of a sudden I turn a corner and come across an amazing field and lake.
From scarred quiet landscapes to this beautiful view.
“I see colors like you hear jet planes” -Dave Eggers
I stopped for a moment to take it all in. To see the mountains we climbed in the background, with this wide open space in front of me. I imagined dinosaurs walking in these fields, large brontosaurus bending his neck down to eat a shrub. I felt so at peace here, standing here where once a dinosaur stood. While the earth ravaged through war and hate, I stood where the earth grew life.
I never would imagine years later this would be the place that would come into mind whenever someone would say “go to your happy place” I would imagine myself rooted in these hills on this trail. This is one of my favorite photos, after loading all my photos I found this on one of the images. I felt so compelled to capture the moment that I didn’t even bother to take the camera out of the wet bag around my neck. Resulting in this beautiful ghost image of a cross.
I arrived at Paine de Grande in the afternoon. Andy was still on his way back from the Italian camp. I took a chance to take an insanely cold shower, relax, and wait for Andy to come up over the hill. I came to the cafeteria for some food I came across our Rugby friends, rowdy as ever and seemingly drunk and arguing with one another. Apparently they were playing a game of “truco”
Turns out the language barrier was a very interesting element in trying to teach me the game. I ended up just yelling and screaming like the rest of them, and turns out that was just as fun. After trying and failing to play I retreated to this little corner to read while waiting for Andy.
Finally when he arrived we got some dinner and drinks with our new friends and went out to try to take some photos of the stars. Turns out they put their best face forward that night.
The last image shows a plane in the air as our shutter stayed open to capture the stars. It goes to show that when you take a moment to stop, ground yourself, and open your eyes and the world will open to you. That sometimes in darkness you can find some light, if you can shut out the glare and noise around you and let your eyes adjust to the natural rhythms of this earth you can see so much more.
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Day 7: Leaving Patagonia
If we had one more day we would have loved to hike up to Glacier Grey. We had a late morning ferry back to the park entrance and tried to do as much of it as we could without missing the boat. Sadly we didn’t get too far before we had to turn around and say goodbye. Next time we come back we are for sure going to stay just a little bit longer to see the glaciers. Luckily as we were waiting for our ferry our friend JP arrived from his hike from the Italian camp.
We said our final goodbyes to friends and mountains and took our journey back home.
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Day 5: Los Cuernos
Two things I forgot to mention. First, the refugio at Los Cuernos was what sold us on the hike to begin with, and you’ll see why. Second thing I forgot to mention was that the entire hike (from the towers till the end of the W Circuit) we were trying to outrun a team of burley, rowdy Brazilian rugby players.
Los Cuernos is one of the most beautiful and secluded places on the hike. Only accessible by foot or horseback. There was a small canteen there, and in order to buy anything with a credit card they literally had to hand radio in your credit card number to some post back near the hotel, and they had to in turn run the numbers through a computer to verify. How did we find that out? we bought their whole supply of red wine between us and the rugby players.
While back in Puerto Natales we decided to “upgrade” to a private cabin instead of the shared cabins that the rugby players stayed in. Why? because it literally came with a “hot tub”!
Our View from our bed.
Los Cuernos through the skylight in our room.
And the most amazing hot tub in the world. This is a view from the hammock next to the hot tub. See the metal box next to the pipe shooting out from the wooden tub? Its literally a box that they burn wood in to “heat up” the water. Here is the guy putting more wood into the stove for us.
Such a primitive but amazing place to relax especially after a marathon and a hike.
After some relaxing in the tub we went to the canteen for dinner where we ran into our Unruley rugby team. This is the view inside the “mess hall”
Before dinner we shared a few bottles wine with our new friends and enjoyed the view of the sun setting behind the mountains. We even got to witness and hear a beautiful avalanche. Mother Nature’s symphony, mixed with the chorus of drunken ballads of Brazilian men.
Goodnight for now Patagonia!
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Day 5: Hiking to Los Cuernos
Today was the day we had to split up our Team Nandau. While Joao Paulo, Andy and I continued to hike the rest of the W circut, we had say bye to Caio and Hanna as they went home. We packed up all our gear and put the tres hermanos behind our backs and began our journey to Los Cuernos. Our friends joined us in the beginning of the hike until we got to the lake.
Here is where we say goodbye to Hanna and Caio!
The one thing I loved about the W Circuit was the ever changing landscape with each turn of the corner. At one point it was alpine desert, one turn later was swiss alps, here in the beginning reminded me of some Irish Moor. It was such a peaceful and beautiful hike. The lakes would change colors from deep emerald green to a bright opal blue.
There were helpful little “trail maps” along the way to track our progress along the circuit.
The trail was made up of small gravel rocks sometimes only a foot or two wide. At one point we crossed a river, and I tried to step on what I thought was a moss covered rock, and instead stepped on moss covered...water. And of course gravity took over and I fell in the river. Broke my faithful walking stick, and had to walk the rest of the hike soaking wet.
We stopped above for a quick snack and just an overall break to admire the beautiful landscape. The water in this particular lake was so surreal, so blue and milky. The air was perfectly crisp and had a way of making you feel so alive.
2/3 of the way there!
You can see in the photo above how the path was flooded and we had fight our way through the brush.
Fun Fact: “Cuernos” means Horns in Spanish. The unmistakable characteristic of these peaks are the black sediment tips of each peak. Like a pen dipped in ink, caused by a beautiful choreography of the earths plate movements and volcanic eruptions.
There was really nothing better than this view, but you know what could make it better? A hot tub. Now where can we find one out here.....
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Day 4: Mirador Los Torres, The Base
Its incredible how amazing this place is. The reward of being able to be in the presence of such beauty was worth all the pain we endured on the way up. We spend a good hour here taking photos and marveling in the scenery. I only wish we had a few more hours to stay here, just so we can continue to be in such beauty.
This time of year the lake was completely frozen over. Since this hike I have seen photos of this at springtime when the lake was melted. I actually prefer the stillness of the frozen lake and the sound of the avalanches falling from up high. I think its a lot more beautiful than the photos I've seen with it thawed. Its like the ice makes the place more quiet, more peaceful,
Now we are contemplating on how peaceful it really can be...Can we walk on it? (please excuse my bad photo of my feet)
walking: good.
Now we make Caio jump, success!
And then he falls into a hole in the ice:
Just kidding!
So now we are brave and "team nandau" wanders out for a group shot. These are some of my favorite photos of the trip.
We ran out of water on the way up. So I suggested we do better than Evian and drink Los Torre's finest:
Freezing cold melted glacier water. It tasted awesome. It tasted just like water that fell from the sky, froze up for years in a huge ice formation until the sun broke it down to melt and flow through the cracks and crevices of the towers, under the frozen lake, and down river to my cup.
We then hung out for a while longer, fueling up on snacks and just exploring and taking it all in. No one wanted to begin the journey home, but knowing that we only had a few hours of daylight left and not wanting to hike in the dark we had to leave at some point. But for now, we have fun hanging out with new friends in a beautiful place.
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"You are an ocean in a drop of dew,
all the universes in a thin sack of blood!
What are these pleasures then,
these joys, these worlds,
that you keep reaching for,
hoping they will make you more alive?"
-Rumi
Today is Sunday, the Lords day, but not a church to be found. Yet somehow this place we find ourselves in is so Spiritual, is so existential.
Someone once said that Mass is the threshold of Heaven. Even though we could not attend Church today, I still felt like I was at that threshold. The entire way up the mountian (and throughout the race yesterday) I had been going between asking God to help me through this next mile, this next hill, and simultaneously thanking Him for that next mile, and that next never ending hill. And at once this place makes you pray. Not by kneeling or reciting words, but by moving, by being alive. That is how the Love and Worship of God should be. Not priority on a list of things, but your entire being, every step, every rock, every stream, and every sky.
Somehow walking on that frozen lake made me feel the presence of Him. To fear him and at the same time marvel in His work. To be able to create something like this and to allow me to be a part of it, I felt like I was in his presence. To me those aren't the towers of the three brothers, that day, and my life leading up to it, lead me to see the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost watching over me as I walked across His waters.
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Day 4: Hiking to the Base of Los Torres
“The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.”
The day after the marathon us and "team Nandau" decided to go together on the hike to the base of Los Torres. We were told that it would take about 4 hours up and 3.5 or so hours down, so with our marathon (and ultramarathon) legs we decided to get up (relatively) early to begin our hike.
The journey began on the 1 mile "walk of shame" from our refugio (where the poor hikers like us stay) to "Hotel Las Torres" where the women in Uggs that own and use hairdryers go, this was also the end of the race from yesterday, and here is where we begin another journey.
Even though we did not all run together (Andy was with me, Caio was kicking butt by himself, and Jon Paul and Hanna were basically racing each other throughout the marathon) we still felt like we all endured something great which made us feel like we've known each other for years already. This hike was one of the first things we got to do as a group, and almost to the point where we crossed the bridge from passengers in a van, to Chilean friends for life.
The first part of the ascent was KILLER. I mean I thought I wasn't going to make it, I was in such pain, my legs were burning, and I promptly shed all my layers down to my short sleeves I was sweating so much. Then I remembered we signed up to climb UP the mountin, somehow forgetting how much climbing UP that entailed...
But somehow your body likes to forget pain that you felt, like some kind of chemical seems to make you forget that your legs are on fire and makes you turn around to see where you came from to see this view:
So upward and onward. You can kind of see the winding path in front of Andy going through the Valley.
This whole hike can make you feel so small and so insignificant. Its amazing to think how long these mountains existed before we did:
Is staying "on the trail" really necessary? haha yes it is...
about 3km up there is a "base camp" where we were hoping to get a cup of tea and some snacks for lunch. Unfortunatly it was closed, but fortunatly we had our lunches packed, so we ate lunch outside as the Gauchos were readying their horses for the hike down with supplies from the camp. These horses had everything between trash and wood, to propane tanks and plastic containers. I thought about stealing one of these horses for the remainder of the trip up.
The first signs of snow! And trees as well! This hike was pretty cool because within 3-4km we had various kinds of scenery, desert, african like, rocky, snow, and riverbeds
This whole area is so alive Its the only way I can describe it. The moving path, to flowing streams, to trees reaching up to the sky. You can see where people touch the trees and wear down the bark to this deep red color. It happened on my walking stick too. Its like the trees are truly living, and this is their flesh.
So we have very little photos of us walking through the snow, because quite frankly it felt very dangerous. If it wasn't a rock it was snow, and under that snow could have either been more rock and solid ground, or a hole or a gap. There were times when I would step on what I thought was solid snow, only to find my leg up to my thigh in the snow. In my mind all the holes were deep and dark and would make you fall straight to the center of the mountain, so needless to say I was a little worried.
But no matter how much you worry, how scared or tired you may be, or how much pain you feel, nothing beats the reward of a good hike.
Here we begin to see the tip of the towers...
and then all of a sudden before you know it...
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Day 3: End of Marathon Day
Goodnight Patagonia. Until tomorrow
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Day 3: MARATHON DAY!! FINISH and CELEBRATION!
Guess who's a first time marathon finisher?
And Guess who's STARVING! Good thing we see a huge pig slaughter/BBQ for all the finishers complete with all you can eat bbq lamb, potatos, salsa, and most importantly...beer.
We couldn't have asked for a better view either. What a perfect day!
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Day 3: MARATHON DAY!!
More photos from the race and a view of our awesome friend Hannah!
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Day 3: MARATHON DAY!!
Today's the day! Finally time to see if all the training will help me make it through this amazing race through one of the most beautiful places on earth. Andy was interviewed by a local news team. Watch the video and check out the awesome translation of "Nguyen"
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Day 3: MARATHON DAY!!!
Good morning Patagonia! Let's get to know each other a little better while I suffer on your hills and marvel at your beauty.
An early morning start to the marathon. Here is our "breakfast" of "champions", a few slices of bread, butter, sugar, a bowl of corn flakes, and milk....Oh and of course Hot tea since I'm still feeling very very sick :(
let's do this!
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Day 2: Patagonia Tour: Grey Glacier and lots of photos of ice
Our last stop was to the end of Grey Lake where the bits and pieces of the glaciers from Grey Glaciers float down to melt. Here we see some really "cool" things: glaciers and our new friends, Jon Paul, Hanna, and Caio!
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Day 2: Patagonia Tour: Grey Glacier fun
Messing around and being cool as an iceberg.
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Day 2: Patagonia Tour: Waterfalls and fire
Here was our short "hike" to a waterfall in the park. When I say we had perfect weather, we had the most perfect weather ever. We were even blessed with a rainbow right into the waterfall. It can't get anymore perfect than this.
Sadly we had to walk through the first remnants we've seen of the huge fire that spread throughout the park in 2012 when a tourist set fire to his toilet paper and didn't properly put it out. It is so hard and heartbreaking to see the devastation that one small act caused.
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Day 2: Patagonia Tour
HA! Here is a photo to prove that we were there and did not really just take photos of postcards. But yes we did step into a national geographic documentary. Morgan Freemans voice is constantly in my head as I look at all this natural beauty.
ps. You can see our AWESOME friend Hanna in the back in the blue :) She is seriously the most badass woman you will meet :)
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