Chilean Adventure

---

This is the trip report from my trip to Chile back in 2004, before I started blogging everything.

Cliff Notes

Chile is a country of spectacular scenery, friendly people and excellent food. My three
weeks there were quite amazing, and I hope to go back. I will try to describe in words and
pictures the adventure, but it really can’t be done. I expected Patagonia to look a lot like
Alaska. Simply stated, I was correct. However, when I was taking in my surroundings I
never thought: “yeah this looks like Alaska”. One main difference is the number of fjords
in Chile—many more than I saw in Alaska. Other than that the differences are almost too
subtle to explain. So you should go to both and compare.
Chile does have an abundance of wildlife, mostly birds. I saw many on my travels: swans,
ducks, owls, woodpeckers, and parakeets. Unfortunately, I only saw a couple of condors,
and they were generally not very close. I did see several Nandu (ostrich like), and guanaco,
lamas. But, I only saw them from a bus. Nothing cool like a puma or even any type of
small mammal. Though several people did complain about mice getting into their food
bags. People in general didn’t hang food… no bears. I also saw dolphins, penguins, and
sea lions while paddling (sorry, no whales).
The people are extremely nice and friendly. The waitress at the bar in Santiago was very
patient in repeating what she said in Spanish and English so that we could try and learn. In
Natales, and other places the term Spanglish was bantered about. At one place I where I
was trying to make travel arrangements, it was determined that he spoke bad English and I
spoke bad Spanish. The response was that was ok. He would practice his English, and I
would practice my Spanish, and somehow we would meet in the middle: Spanglish.
Everyone seemed more than willing to help and laugh at my pathetic attempts to speak
Spanish. It is also commonly noted that the Chileans speak very bad Spanish and much too
fast. Just ask anyone from Argentina (actually Chileans admit this also). Despite the
language barrier it seemed like everyone was always smiling, helpful, and friendly to us.
Shoot, some of them even tolerated hanging out with me.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the food. It was excellent, and quite
cheap, relatively. Chile is known to have very good beef, and they do. I had several Bones
quality steak dinners for the price of Long Horns. (I’m just guessing, I’ve never been to
Bones). They also serve these awesome little steak sandwiches; well little is probably the
wrong term. These things are much better than steak-umms, and probably better than a
good homemade burger. If you want vegetables though, you pretty much have to order a
salad. They aren’t served commonly with any meal. Chile also has very good fish and
seafood. In Punta Arenas I got fresh king crab. It had been too hot most of the summer to
get safe shellfish. And a light bulb definitely when off when the guy on the plane
suggested that I try the sea bass. The chocolate in Chile was incredible also. I bought
some common chocolate bars in the supermarket, and they were awesome. Better than
almost anything that we get here, except for maybe some of the specialty chocolates. As
far as drinks, well the wine was much better than the beer. Lots of good wines.
One last tidbit, or lack of a tidbit, I forgot to look into the toilet to see which way it spun
when I was down there. Oh well, just one more excuse to go back.
That is the Cliff Notes version of Chile, if you want to know in detail what I did, read on.

The Adventure

The adventure started with a small bit of panic and fancy footwork. Snow in Dallas had
cancelled my flight from Atlanta to Dallas, where I was to meet mi amigo, Lou, and catch a
flight to Santiago. Luckily I was able to get rerouted through Miami. All I had to do now
was try and tell Lou and hope that he made it to and out of Dallas. Despite all the initial
concern and panic, we both arrived in Santiago, and were able to meet up in the baggage
claim area before going through customs.
Our first stop was about a half day in Santiago. We weren’t sure if this would be enough or
what we were going to do. From the reactions we got from the Chileans that we met, we
didn’t miss much. Most of them were actually shocked that we mentioned touring Santiago
as something we had done. Santiago itself is pretty big, about 6 million people. It’s mostly
a modern city, with some historical sites spread across downtown. We spent most of our
time touring Cerro Santa Lucia and sitting in a bar learning Spanish and watching people
juggle in Parque Forestal. The most interesting thing though may have been riding the
subway. We could barely pronounce the stop we wanted. I just handed the lady in the
booth some money, she gave us tokens and pointed us in the right direction. Overall
though, it was a pretty uneventful day. We didn’t even get lost. I guess the only thing we
really missed was the nightlife, but we were tired and the true part of the trip was to start
the next day.

Sea Kayaking, Pumalin National Park

The sea kayaking started with a 5am wake up call so that we could catch our 8AM flight to
Puerto Montt. From here it was a short bus ride to Puerto Varas where we would meet
Juan Fe and the rest of the group for the sea kayaking adventure. There were going to be 8
people for this portion of the trip: Juan Fe, the guide or El Maestro, Juan Antonio,
Benjamin, Gloria, Ben and Jenny, Lou and myself (4 Chileans, 2 Brits, and 2 gringos). We
then piled in an old van to travel the 5 hours to Cholgo, where we would start and end the
kayaking portion of the trip.
Let me say that while sea kayaking was the main goal for this part of the trip, the van ride
may have been the more adventurous undertaking. I guess it was really just typical Chilean
or South American driving; breakneck speeds down a one lane gravel road, with a horn
honk every now and again to warn everyone that something else crazy was about to be
done. Along the route are several small “communities.” These communities don’t have
stores or shops, maybe a school. Most people either grow everything they need, or have to
take a bus back the dirt road, across the ferry all the way to Puerto Montt. The very nice
family that put us up in Cholgo just got electricity in the last year.
In Cholgo we stayed on the farm of Senor Luca and Senora Nora. The hospitality extended
to us by this family was incredible. Senora Nora cooked meals for us the whole time we
were there. The food was excellent and extremely plentiful. I never left the table hungry.
We had lamb, and fish, and I have no idea what else. Senor Luca was our tour guide,
showing off his farm and the surrounding area. I don’t think they ever quit smiling.
On the first night we arrived at their farm very late due to a long ferry line. The next
morning we were treated to the sight of a fresh fish being brought off the boat. Lou agreed
to help them clean this, not sure he knew what he was getting into. Today was scheduled
to be an easy day. In the morning we got a tour of the farm and surrounding community.
We met the neighbor and her 92 year old grandmother. The two ladies live alone. They
grow their own food and to make some money they weave wool. Mostly into blankets I
think, but I’m sure they could make anything. In their garden we were treated to a flower
that only blooms one day a year, and today was that day. For some reason I felt lucky or a
sucker.
In the early evening we finally got in the water with the boats. Tonight we would paddle
about 1-2 hours over to some hot springs and then come back in the dark. The main
purpose of this was to get used to the boats, spend some time in the hot springs, and see the
bioluminescence in the water on the way back. Sorry: while the bioluminescence was
extremely cool, I couldn’t get any pictures of it - believe me I tried. We also practiced wet
entrance/exit of the sea kayaks and I gave rolling a try. Empty sea kayaks aren’t really any
different to roll than whitewater boats, except that they roll much slower.
The next day we started our kayaking journey to Cahuelmo Fjord. We would rise at 4AM
(as we did every morning that we paddled). The early rise was driven by two factors, one
being the open channel that we would cross, and the other being the tides. The tides in
these areas are quite large, with tidal flows/pools in the order of several hundred meters
long. For us the high tides were occurring somewhere around 3AM and 3PM. So to leave
and arrive at our campsites at these times was designed to reduce the distance we would
have to carry boats. Sounds good in theory. Not sure if its really worth getting up at 4AM
for though. The other reason and maybe the stronger reason was concern about the winds
and surf in the open channel. As the day gets into afternoon the winds would usually pick
up. Juan Fe really wanted to be in the safety of the fjords by this time.
So there we were, up at 4AM in a misty, light rain. Yippee, what fun. We would leave the
safety of Cholgo, head past the opening of Quintupeu fjord, and then through the channel.
We went in 5 boats, Juan Fe and myself in solo kayaks and everyone else was paddling a
double kayak. This might have been just as well because I spent the day practicing Spanish
to myself. By the end of the day, even I was tired of hearing me say “Izquierda (left),
derecha (right)” as I paddled.
The first stop was “Salvation Beach”. So named because it is the first hospitable beach,
once you leave Cholgo, and it’s about a 4 hour paddle. Even in the rain, there were still
some great sites to see on the way to Salvation Beach. We were all excited to find sea lions
surfacing around our boats. We even saw several penguins swimming in the water. The
ones I took pictures of, I was convinced they were trying to lead me out to sea. I was
trying to paddle up to them slowly and get a good picture; they would dive and come up
again about 10 meters further away so I would follow. Eventually I was happy with my
picture, which was a good thing because now I was farther from shore than I really wanted
to be, but at least I wasn’t out of sight of everyone yet.
After leaving Salvation Beach we headed across the entrance of the fjord. Here there is a
whole sea lion colony. It was interesting to watch them as we approached. Some paid us
no, never mind. Other groups came out to meet us, though I think in reality they were
trying to drive us off. I would guess that there were at least 100 sea lions sitting on these
rocks if not more.
The paddle up the fjord was just a lazy, relaxing paddle. The walls of the fjord are covered
in trees, and are extremely steep. Not canyon wall like, but nothing I would want to hike
up either. The campsite was at the end of the fjord. At high tide you would never know it,
but there is really a river here. At low tide though, the water in the fjord is a long way
away and there was definitely a river channel. For reference the campsite in Cahuelmo
Fjord is in the northern section of Pumalin National Park. It is also conveniently located at
some more hot springs. While not quite as commercial as the ones the night before, still
quite nice.
The sun in Chile is quite bright. I understand that the ozone layer around southern Chile is
weaker than we are used to, that hole in the ozone thing. I even heard that the cows in
Patagonia often go blind from cataracts caused by the sun, though I think this might be
urban legend. I think that explains why I was able to burn my feet within about 30 minutes
of getting to camp. This is really important because I think the ozone fact is interesting,
and it made it impossible for me to really enjoy the hot springs. I believe I ended up
wearing socks the rest of the trip (yes it looks funny).
That night I did my best to improve cultural relations. After dinner we are all sitting on out
on the rocks, drinking vino and watching the stars. I decide to practice some more Spanish.
My intention was to ask everyone if they thought the red star was the planet mars or a not.
Well some how I screw it all up, and say something to the effect of “the red planet is
Australia”. While this sounds stupid now, and it sounded stupid then, for the rest of the trip
I was teased about Australia, that is until I did something else even dumber. We were able
to find the constellation Orion. It was upside down.
The next day was another rest day. In the morning we went for a hike out in the tidal plain.
It actually turned into a swim on the way back as the tide moved in quite fast. We then
took the kayaks up the river for some exploring. In the afternoon, at the next low tide we
went for another hike/swim up the river.
In the morning we are once again up at 3AM for a paddle back out the fjord, through the
channel to Quintupeu Fjord. There are some advantages to starting your day before
sunrise. You get to watch the sunrise; you can see some pretty amazing stars. You can
also see satellites streaking across the sky. Other than that there wasn’t much to report of
the paddle towards Quintupeu…. Until we got close.
As we got close, I decided that a really cool picture would be of all the kayaks heading into
the fjord. I remembered from the first day that the entrance to the fjord was narrow with
distinct walls. So while everyone was staying close to the shore and working their way
towards the entrance, I started heading out so that I could have a good view of them
entering the fjord. Oh yeah, I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. As I got even with the
entrance I turned to get lined up for the shot. Wouldn’t you believe it; the sun was just now
high enough that I couldn’t see shit. I could barely make out the rock cliffs of the entrance.
But I sure couldn’t see anyone or anything else. Well these pictures aren’t going to
happen, I guess I just paddle into the fjord. Wish I could see everyone else. I guess at this
point I’m about 500-1000 meters from the fjord entrance, farther than I intended to be, and
there is a nice wind blowing straight out of the fjord. The paddle in wasn’t fun. I did
manage at one point to catch a glimpse of a shadow of the other kayaks entering the fjord,
so at least I know they went that far, and I did see some dolphins swimming around the
entrance. I’m shocked when I do finally make it into the fjord and no one is there. But I
think I see a glimpse of them up ahead rounding another corner, I would have thought they
would have waited. Later they said they did, I think it just took me longer to paddle into
the fjord than I thought. Anyway, at this point I’m too tired to chase them very quickly, so
I just start paddling slowly, still scanning the shores incase they had stopped at a beach. It
was then that I notice Juan Fe paddling the other way, out the fjord, and I’m sure that he
saw me. But he keeps going. I assumed he was going to take a picture, and he was too far
away for me to tell him otherwise. So I decided to stop and wait for him to come back, it
couldn’t be more than 10 minutes or so. 30 minutes later, where did he go? I paddled back
out to the entrance of the fjord, but I don’t see him. Hmmm what to do? I decided to go
and find the rest of the group, maybe Juan Fe was headed somewhere else for something.
So about 15 minutes or so later I find them on a beach. Only to find out that Juan Fe has
been out looking for me for the last hour. They were even asking people in boats and at the
salmon farms to look for me. Well luckily, I’m safe, and we were able to communicate
with Juan Fe via marine radio. All of this, and I didn’t even get a good picture, and of
course the group decides that I owe them all pisco Sours. This truly is an adventure.
The rest of the time in this fjord was ultimately uneventful. This fjord is steeper and has
more granite than the previous fjord. It also has a really cool waterfall that you can sort of
paddle under. Towards the top of the fjord the water turns a very distinct green color. In
the stream by our campsite, we sat around and watched small crabs fighting, and Black
Necked Swans swimming.
Guess what, the last day of paddling also started at 3AM and we managed to be back in
Cholgo by 9AM or thereabouts. Along the way we decide to have kayak races, which
surprisingly I managed to win one of. Not really sure how that happened, I would have
thought the doubles would smoke me. We also saw several schools of dolphins swimming
around the shore. Under the heading of it pays to know people, Juan Fe was able to flag us
down a ride back hanging onto a small fishing boat.
That night in Puerto Varas I fulfilled my pisco sour obligation, much to the chagrin of all
involved. Most of the crew headed home early, claiming to be tired or early morning or
something. I’m not sure; I was still trying to figure out why I couldn’t buy a whole pitcher
of pisco sours. Juan Antonio had decided that we needed piscola at the casino. Lucky for
us, he doesn’t know the rules to black jack and I couldn’t read the table card well enough to
figure out the house rules, so we manage to keep all of our money while in the casino.

Torres del Paine

Sunday started with a little ‘para gato’ caused by a few too many adult beverages from the
night before. Luckily today is just a plane ride to Punta Arenas, and then a 3 hour bus ride
to Puerto Natales. We arrived, the jumping off point for our trek into Parque Nacional
Torres del Paine. Our plan was a ten or so day trek of “The Circuit” around Torres del
Paine, with the appropriate side trips up all the legs of “The W”. For reference “The
Circuit” and “The W” are the trail names for the two most common multi-day treks in the
parks.
In the morning we hastily got ready for our trek. We toyed with the idea of sending our
gear from the sea kayaking back to the states, wouldn’t that make a nice present for
someone to open up… “just what I always wanted-- stinky paddling gear”, but it was too
expensive. So we just stored all of our extra gear at the hostel. As far as food, well we still
had to buy most of that. In Puerto Natales, this involves shopping in several stores that
really aren’t much bigger than a QT. But we eventually found all/more than we needed,
and so managed to catch the 2:30 bus to Torres del Paine.
The Hosteria Los Torres runs a shuttle from the entrance of the park up to the Hosteria.
This is only really worth noting because recently a glacier up river had done something and
the bridge/causeway was flooded. We were lucky enough to watch one of the shuttle
vehicles run itself off the causeway and get stuck in the river. Not a big deal but funny to
watch. The main bridge across the river is so narrow, that the vans have to fold their side
view mirrors in.
From the Hosteria, Lou and I planed to hike an additional 2 hours up to Camping Chileno.
This way we would be close enough to make the hike up to the base of the Torres for
sunrise. I think we made it to camp in 2 hours, but it was a long 2 hours. My pack was
much heavier than I expected, and I was in much worse shape than anticipated. The trail
was mostly uphill following the Rio Ascencio. Nice whitewater but I wouldn’t want to
hike my kayak up here for it. The best site was from the top of the hill looking down at the
Refugio. Tonight we would eat whatever dinner we thought was the heaviest. Tonight I
also “saw the Southern Cross for the first time, I understand now why I came this way”.
We did manage to be up and hiking by 5AM the next day. This part of the trip was done
without packs, just water and a camera. Which was nice especially considering the last 45
minutes are spent scrambling up a boulder-strewn moraine. Today there would be no
spectacular sunrise on the Torres mastiffs. Doesn’t matter, the Torres del Paine were still
quite spectacular. Three dominant shapes rising from the moraine, and flanked on either
side by granite ridges. Quite impressive!
Around one, after a much needed nap, we were ready to head out of Chileno back towards
Los Torres and on to Camping Seron. According to the map, today’s trek should be about
six hours. I think that is what it was, but it was six long hours. The sun had come out, and
there were very few trees along the route. Actually throughout most of the park there are
very few trees. The landscape is dominated by granite peaks, and ridges. Most of the
vegetation is low growing scrub and grass. There are a several places where the trees grow
tall, but these seemed few and far between, especially today
Torres del Paine is believed to stand for the blue towers. I was relieved to find out that
Paine didn’t translate into pain. Though on day 2 of our trek, I wasn’t so sure. This day
proved to be longer and more exhausting than anticipated. There were several times I
questioned what I was doing. Next time, I’ll plan and train better for my excursions. I also
kept telling myself that I was going to see some really spectacular things that very few
people ever saw, and I kept trudging along. We eventually made our way to Camping
Seron. Both of us exhausted, with blistered feet.
The next morning Lou decided he had enough. His knees were giving him trouble; he had
blisters on his feet, and quite frankly didn’t feel the need to undertake some foolhardy
adventure for the fun of it. I wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t the smarter one, but with no
other plan in site, I decided to continue on. We sorted through the food, throwing out
probably ¾ of what we had brought. We really had packed too much food for the trip. Lou
had a 4-5 hour hike back to the park entrance, and a bus back to Natales, I had a 6 hour hike
to Refugio/Camping Dickson, and we parted ways.
The hike to Dickson was once again exceptionally hot and sunny with no cover. I realized
once again how out of shape I was. I also spent most of the day in reflection as to what I
was really doing. I wasn’t sure I would be able to hike as far as we had intended. Thus I
wouldn’t be able to do as many side trails as I/we had originally planned. Finally at some
point in the afternoon, after hours and hours of plodding along in a daze, I decided I needed
a break. I found a nice grove of trees and sat down, then lay down and took a nice little
nap. This is important because this actually proved to be the turning point for this trek. Up
until this point, the trek had been pretty miserable. I was hot, tired, out of shape, blisters,
pack was too heavy and the list goes on. While laying in the shade of these trees gazing at
the glacier-covered peaks, I had an epiphany. I was here to enjoy what I could. It didn’t
matter if I saw everything in the park; make sure that what I did see, I really saw. I wasn’t
in a race. I didn’t have to skip campsites so that I could get farther. Take your time, take
breaks, and enjoy where you are. Sounds simple but I think it really changed the focus for
the rest of the trip.
Not to say that by the time I reached Dickson, I wasn’t thoroughly wiped out. I could
barely walk from the pain/blisters in my feet. But all that was about to be fixed. First off I
resorted my food again and got rid of some more stuff. I also decided to make some new
friends and finish off the Captain. Nice comfort but I didn’t really need to be carrying that
glass bottle around. I also fixed my boots. Before embarking on this excursion I had
bought some “better” footpads for my boots. Well these pads were tearing my feet up.
How else would you explain blisters on the tops of your toes? So I took the “better”
footpads out, and just went with my “crappy” original pads. I also quit wearing polypro
sock liners. All of this helped to improve my foot condition immensely. The worst blister
now was the one I had given myself on top of my ankle, due to the tape job to protect my
heel. How ironic. But by the end of the trip, my feet had actually begun to heal.
Tonight I would also treat myself to a shower. All but two of the places where I camped
had running water and a store. Several of them also had refugios, or bunkhouses, and a
kitchen. Trekkers are required to camp in designated campsites. This means that you tend
to see the same people each evening that you saw the evening before. I think this is very
similar to the experience along the AT. Even though I was hiking alone, I really wasn’t as I
kept seeing and camping with the same people. I had already met two other gringos, Jenny
and Jeff. Though at this point, they were just Wisconsin, which was fine because I was
Georgia. Tonight, I would also meet La Val, El Val, Pablo, and Magnhild. I would meet
Gloria and Natala the next night at Los Perros. I met many other people on the trail but I’m
awful with names. It is interesting to note that English is probably the most spoken
language by trekkers in the park. There were actually very few Chileans trekking. Most of
the people were probably European or Australian. It is also interesting to note that many of
the Chileans commented on how expensive this area of Chile is.
In the morning I embarked for Camping Los Perros, supposedly a scant 4 hours away.
Today I really began to enjoy the park. The views of Lago Dickson and the glacier at the
top of Lago Dickson were awesome. The whole day was spent in an old growth forest.
Every now and again you would come out of the forest to a spectacular mirador (view
point). I was treated to waterfall, and some rather interesting looking bridges. One of
which had remnants of a recent repair job. I wouldn’t have wanted to be the one that broke
those boards. The last part of the trail is a scramble up a moraine dam to look down on a
small lake filled with icebergs. Then I was at Los Perros. Tonight I actually had time to
rest, socialize, and take care of my feet. It was really nice to not feel like I had to hurry to
make dinner and set camp before it got dark. This was good because the next day I had to
tackle the toughest stretch of trail in the park.
The trip from Los Perros to Campento Paso was not really terribly long, I don’t think. The
guidebooks say that it should only take about 4-5 hours. Of course that is walking, it
doesn’t include resting, which you do quite a bit. This section of trail goes over “The
Pass”, Paso John Gardner. The pass is only at about 1200 meters, the highest point on the
trek. I guess the biggest problem is that both campsites are at about 500 meters. But I
hadn’t gotten that far yet. The day started by moving through a stunted forest broken up by
patches of very thick, boot stealing mud. This continued until I got to an interesting little
river, that it appears to be best crossed by wading through knee deep, ice-cold water. The
best place to wade across the river appeared to be just after the river comes out of a very
narrow canyon. The river is only about 3 meters wide at this point. Once across the river,
you say goodbye to the trees and mud and start the long trek up the rock-strewn path to the
pass. The trail wasn’t bad. Up ahead was granite, snow covered peaks and the pass, while
behind was the whole valley I had just hiked up through. During the steepest sections I
kept myself going by only letting myself take short breaks while I was at a cairn marker.
Sometimes this was easier than at other times depending on the distance between the cairns.
Sometimes I also had to take breaks because I wasn’t sure where the trail/next cairn was -
well that was the excuse I told myself
After several hours of trudging, I reached the top. Upon reaching the top I let out an
involuntary yell/cheer. This was from a combination of excitement at being at the top and
probably more importantly from the sheer beauty of what I saw. All the way up to the
pass, gray, granite peaks surrounded me. Now I stood between two granite peaks, while
before me a blue glacier stretched completely across my view. Behind the glacier was
another complete mountain range. This very well may have been the most aw inspiring
moment of the trek. Oh yeah, and I felt really good at this point.
I was also lucky in that the winds at the pass were unusually quite calm, so I was able to
simply rest and enjoy the scenery.
Now time to start the trek down, and down it was. The first 45minutes to an hour is not
bad. It’s a very steep, but a straightforward trail, through the rocks. However, once you
reach the tree line the trail changes form. It now seems to become much steeper. It is also
no longer a simple hiking trail. You often are taking huge steps over tree roots and
boulders, holding onto the tree trucks to keep from falling. At times it seemed to almost
border on climbing. Ok, not really that bad but you get the idea. I really felt sorry for the
people hiking up this way; glad I wasn’t going in that direction. I was amazed at how far
down it was to the glacier. From the top it didn’t look that far, but it sure seemed as though
I was just going down and down and down. Today was also the day that I would abandon
my guidebook. I had been using the Lonely Planet trekking in the Patagonian Andes book.
Well it mentions that you end up going down a very steep section, “almost directly down
hill” and then the campsite is there. Well let me tell you that once the trail flattens out, I
still had to hike another 30 minutes to the campsite. Thanks for getting my hopes up.
Campamento Paso was the first campground that I stayed at that didn’t have flush toilets. I
don’t want to say it didn’t have any facilities, because it did have an outhouse sort of. A
pipe had been placed in the stream to divert a small amount of water into this building. The
building had a concrete floor with about a 4” hole in the center. The concrete around this
hole was in the shape of a funnel about a meter in diameter and several inches deep. The
water from the pipe was trickling down through this funnel. I guess the idea was that you
squatted over the hole and took aim. It was apparent from the amount of toilet paper
around that campsite that not many people actually used this outhouse.
This was of course one of the few places that I made sure to filter/boil my water. Most of
the other campsites had running water that was safe to drink. Though I’m sure it was
coming straight out of the glacier fed lakes and streams. But I didn’t have any problems
with it, and I don’t know of anybody that did.
The next day was probably the day I that caused me to be the most nervous about being by
myself. The day before on the pass, I was happy knowing there were people behind me on
the trail. But I never felt like I was really in any real danger. Today however, the trail was
measurably more exposed. The trail tended to cling to what seemed like a cliff face as it
worked its way down valley. To my left, I could lean into a rock/gravel wall, to my right
was about 100 meter or so drop off, and under my feet a trail less than 1 meter wide. I just
kept thinking that if I slipped and fell, I was going to be in a world of hurt. Several places
there were actually ladders that I had to scramble up. Yes, I realized how much faith I was
putting into those small logs and wires holding them together. Of course this also provided
some really amazing views of Glacier Gray, Lago Grey, and unnamed rivers as they flowed
off the mountains into the glacier or lake.
About this point on the circuit, I started to get the feeling that I was coming back into
civilization. Day-trippers started appearing. Refugio Grey is probably the furthest
campsite for those doing the “W”, and it’s pretty easy to get to. It even has a M*A*S*H
style signpost giving distances to all the other popular campsites along the circuit.
At Refugio Grey, I felt so good I considered going an additional 4 hours to Pehoe. But in
the end, I decided there wasn’t really a good reason to. Besides, its Saturday night and
most of my friends are staying at Grey tonight. We decided that what we needed was some
Gato Negro, red wine sold in a box at the refugio store. I think we actually drank more
white, neither were very good. We went up and sat on the mirador point watching the
glacier as it feeds into the lake. Oh yeah, we had our vasos for drinking warmed red wine.
While Pablo was preparing the wine, most everyone else was in some conversation, in
Spanish. Everyone was amused at how quickly I joined the conversation, when Val asked
for vasos, indicating that it was time to drink. Once again my comprehension of the
Spanish language saved the day. Seven liters of wine later they were still making fun of
me for only knowing the Spanish word for glass.
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of rain on the tent. Oh well, not bad, no rain until
day 7. That was 6 more days without rain than I was told to expect. I guess this summer
was the driest, warmest summer in Patagonia for a very long time. The rain and low-lying
clouds hid many of the vistas and surrounding countryside. Though even in the rain, it was
surreal and amazing. Today I saw lots of flowers in bloom. I also came across a small owl,
not more than 3 feet from me. I also saw French people hiking with umbrellas, which I
thought was just ridiculous. I made it to Campamento Italian, at the base of Valle Del
Frances; just at the rain was tapering off. I was quite happy to be here also, as for the last
two hours, since leaving Pehoe, I had been dreaming of hot soup. In the morning if the day
clears up, I’ll day trip up the French Valley, and if it’s crappy, I’ll just relax in the tent.
Not sure, which I was hoping for more.
In the morning, the day was clearing. Wow, what a view up the valley. The hike up to a
mirador at the top of the valley took us about 1.5-2 hours. I felt like I could run, it was so
nice to be hiking without my big, heavy pack. There were some truly awesome views as
we hiked up the valley. I saw glaciers calving off the side of the mountain. I’m also sure
that I probably took pictures of the same glaciers and peaks multiple times. I would round
a bend and go, wow look at that, snap. Another 100 meters or so, wow look at that, snap.
When people talk about Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, they mention the actual Torres.
I think that Valle Del Frances is more spectacular. The Torres are awesome in a very
singular sense. You see then and are like Wow! But Valle Del Frances is incredible in the
panoramic sense. There is no singular site that is as inspiring as the Torres. But every
direction that you look, North, South, East, West, is a view that is incredible. Boy was I
glad it was a beautiful day.
My time in the park was now almost over. I still had 4 days before I had to start heading
home, but I now had other plans. I had heard many people talk about Argentina, and
specially Perito Moreno Glacier in El Calafate. Well, I decided to go ahead and get out of
Torres earlier than planned so I could make a side trip to see this glacier, plus I’d get
another stamp in my passport. Tonight would be my last night, Lago Pingo and Rio
Serrano would have to wait for another trip.
I spent my last night at Camping Los Cuernos. A short 2-hour hike from Italiano and a
scant 4 hours from Hosteria Los Torres and the busses. The hike was actually quite
peaceful. It took me about 3 hours but that was mostly because I sat down on the shores of
Lago Nordenskjold and watched ducks and the sunset behind Valle Del Frances. It rained
Monday night for only the 2nd time on the trip, but Tuesday was bright and sunny. Around
noon, I crossed Rio Ascencio on the same bridge I had taken the Monday previous when I
started my trip. I was now back at Hosteria Los Torres. Time for a bus ride back to Puerto
Natales and pizza!!!!!

Perito Moreno

To get to El Calafate, Argentina to see the glacier I had several options. I could take a one
day bus tour from Puerto Natales. This didn’t sound like much fun to me, since El Calafate
is 6-7 hour bus ride from Natales. I liked the idea of spending the night in El Calafate
anyway. So how about a two day bus tour. That would work, or even better how about a
flight. In Torres I had gotten a scoop about a single flight a day between El Calafate and
Puerto Natales. The six seat Cessna leaves Puerto Natales every morning at 9AM, and it
leaves El Calafate at 10AM. Sounded too good to be true, and it almost was. The plane
could only fly in good weather. “You just had to take the chance,” the man told me, as it’s
pouring down rain outside. What the heck, if it didn’t happen, I could still do a one day
tour on Friday. I just hope I don’t get stranded in Argentina.
Luckily the rain cleared and it was an enjoyable ride over the Andes, even with all the
“Alive” jokes, good thing I’m small. El Calafate is to Argentina what Jackson Hole or
Gatlinburg are to the states. I guess this is the most expensive corner of Argentina, and its
still cheaper than home. It didn’t take me long to fully explore this tourist town and pick
up some souvenirs.
From El Calafate it was still a two hour bus ride to Parque Nacional Los Glaciares and
Glaciar Perito Moreno, I slept most of the way. It seems lack of sleep was starting to catch
up with me. Let me just say the Perito Moreno Glacier was a truly amazing site. You are
able to get within several hundred meters of this advancing glacier. Sit long enough,
usually less than 30 minutes and you can watch it calve into the lake. I really can’t
describe in words the beauty and aw.
The glacier itself is continuing to advance out of the Southern Andes ice field. As it comes
out of the mountains it advances across a narrow channel in Lake Argentino, effectively
splitting the lake. The one side of the lake now has no drainage, and it just rises and rises.
Eventually, there is enough pressure that it breaks through the ice damn and the whole
process starts over again. Previous to my visit the last fracture was in 1988. I don’t know
when the glacier last closed the channel, but it was closed when I was there on March 4,
2004. This date is important because the next fracture started on March 11, 2004 and
ended on March 14, 2004. Dang, so close. That would have been a spectacular show.
When the lake fractured the difference in water level between the two splits was about 20
meters.
On the way back to El Calafate, we were treated to a very beautiful sunset over the Andes.
I believe that the mountain range to our west was in Torres Del Paine, in Chile.
Apparently, it’s only a 7 hour hike from the road into Torres Del Paine from here. Back in
El Calafate, I treated myself to a top of the line dinner, a bottle of wine, potatoes and rack
of lamb. This was by far the best lamb that I ever had, and with tip less than $20. I really
wish I wasn’t so tired, but I finally just crashed.
Friday was an uneventful plane ride back to Natales. The views were even better than the
day before. In Natales, I simply finished my souvenir shopping and travel arrangements for
the next day. One more day in Chile and it was set to be a travel day from hell.

Punta Arenas and Home

Saturday morning was set to start with a 3-hour bus ride to Punta Arenas airport. Of
course, I’m sure Val y Val thought I missed the bus - we had been out late the night
before. The lady that ran the Hostel where I stayed was the coolest. I practically had to
beg her to let me pay her. I didn’t even have to settle up my tab when I was gone for the
day to Argentina. Anyway, instead of me having to walk over to the bus station to catch
my bus, she just called and they picked me up at her door. This completely rocked because
I think I had 75 lbs of shit.
In Punta Arenas, I had a 4-hour stop over. I had planned it this way, so that I could see the
town. That was really all I needed. In town I ran into Natala and Gloria, which was
surprising. We went to look at the statue of Magellan. Then they had to go and catch their
boat to see the penguins and I went to see the cemetery. This was actually one of the
biggest attractions in the town. It is laid out in long, straight avenues. Many of them lined
with perfectly groomed trees. The tombstones and mausoleums all were ornately carved
with some interesting statues.
Ok so 4 hours was really more time than I needed, even counting lunch. Punta Arenas
really is a bleak little town on the north side of the Straits of Magellan. Oh well, back to
the airport for my 4-hour plane ride to Santiago. Then my 9-10 hour ride to Dallas and
then 2 or so hours to Atlanta. I found it interesting that as soon as I passed through security
in Santiago, it was like I was no longer in Chile, but now I was back in the States. All the
shops and restaurants now had prices quoted in USD. They actually had to get out a
calculator when I told them I wanted to pay in Pesos. Also the chocolate and candy that
had been so good throughout Chile, was now just cheap US crap. Oh well. I did get the
skinny on an expedition to Antarctica…. Next Year.

References:

(More for my memory than anything)
500-600 Chilean Pesos = $1
3 Argentinean Pesos = $1
Place to stay in El Calafate: Hostel Calafate,
Places I stayed in Puerto Natales:
Lady Florence Dixie - Nice but expensive
Casa Dickson - cheap, clean and the lady was very nice. This is where I stayed when I got
back from Torres and El Calafate.
Concepto Indigo - seems nice, good restaurant. Didn’t actually stay here because it was
full, but it came recommended from Ben and Jenny.
Busses Fernandez to/from Natales
Latitude/Longitude comparisons
Mirador Torres: S 50.9, W 72.9 Punta Natales: S 51, W 72
Punta Arenas: S 53 Puerto Montt: S 41, W 72
Santiago: S 33, W 70
Juneau, Al: N 58.3 W 134.4 Seattle, WA: N 47, W 122
Picture links:

Santiago (some pictures from the Capital City)

Pumalin Ntl Park (sea kayaking portion)

Torres Del Paine Ntl Park (backpacking)

Perito Moreno (Glacier in Argentina)

Punta Arenas (town in southern Chile)

---