A lot has happened during
BarnabyJack's break these past 20 days. We hiked a total of 90 miles
through the Patagonia mountains of Chile and Argentina, met lots of new
friends, exchanged vows in El Chalten and explored Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
This is more of a personal post, but here is what I have been doing while BarnabyJack was closed...
Our journey started in Punta Arenas, Chile which is only 600 km to the edge of Antarctica. Punta Arenas is a cute little town. We didn't get to spend a lot of time there (only one night), but we did have some excellent sea food there (which is a Chilean specialty).
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| A long way from home |
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| overwhelmed with excitement on the bus to Torres del Paine |
Next we passed through Puerto Natales (ate a delicious lunch) and drove through large valleys where we saw lots of Patagonian wildlife including Zorros (foxes), Rhea's (large ostrich like birds), Guanacos and Caracaras. And of course, our destination, Torres del Paine, in the distance.
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| view from lunch spot at Puerto Natales |
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| Mike feeling whimsical in the valley's before Torres del Paine |
I should also mention that we got lucky with weather. Our guide/friend, Andres, said that if there was one word to describe Patagonia it would be
viento , which means 'wind' in Spanish. We also know that Patagonia is infamous for it's dramatic weather changes. You can go from warm and sunny to cold, dark and rainy within a day. They say to always expect all four seasons in a day in Patagonia. The entire time we spent at Torres del Paine we had sun, warmth, a bit of clouds and one sprinkle of rain.... no wind. So happy.
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| A small herd of Guanaco's with Torres del Paine in the background. |
Our first hike was a big one, 14 miles up to los Torres (the three great towers of Torres del Paine). A tough but beautiful hike through canyons, forests and streams, and a very rewarding view of the Torres at the end.
The next day might have been my favorite. We walked 8 miles into Torres del Paine towards los Cuernos (another towering peak in Paine). This was THE most beautiful hike I have ever been on, walking through a thick green forest with a beautiful lake on one side and towering glacial covered mountains on the other.
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| Beginning of our hike towards Los Cuernos. This lake was on our left the entire time. |
One thing I love about Patagonia is how the landscapes are always changing. You can walk a few miles in any direction and notice stark changes in vegetation, colors and land formations. We walked through dense forest on the eastern side of Paine by a lake, but the other side of the lake (this photo) is dry grasslands and hills.
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| little bonsai trees everywhere |
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| The day started a bit cloudy, but the sun came out later and illuminated everything. |
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| our trail stuck to the coast of the lake where we had amazing views of the peaks. |
Our hike eventually lead us to this Refugio at the bottom of Los Cuernos. A refugio is a small camping station in Paine (there are several scattered throughout the park). You can camp, share rooms, or sleep in a private cabin. We were traveling with a group for Mike's job so we got the privilege to stay in the cabins for the night.
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| very cozy cabins at Refugio Los Cuernos |
The next day was a 15 mile hike into Valley of the Frenchmen. This is when the weather got very foggy and dark, but still no wind. It made the hike ominous and mysterious which was perfect because on approaching the canyon you can hear thunderous avalanches from the hanging glaciers at the tops of the peaks. It literally sounds as loud as thunder or even a jet plane.
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| a peak of the mountains at Valley of the Frenchmen. |
The peaks were covered by the low hanging clouds for most of our hike until we got to the top of the trail, then once we were there, the clouds cleared up for just a moment so that we could see the amazing peaks. It could not have been better timed.
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| the clouds cleared |
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| the fog came back on our way down. |
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| beautiful fall colors in the valley of the frenchmen |
We continued down towards our next refugio, crossing over draw bridges and a part of the park that suffered a wildfire a few years ago (which was started by some kids that built a fire in an unregulated camping spot) it was sad but beautiful nonetheless.
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| a rare shot of los cuernos with a perfectly still lake reflection |
The refugio we get to is right by Paine Grande. You can't see it on my face but I was happy to finally arrive to a refugio filled with lots of other hikers and campers. There is nothing better than spending a day hiking and ending the day with a warm spot by the fire, a cheese plate, Patagonian beer and great company.
The rest of my journey coming soon...
