Torres del Paine is one of the world´s most famous hiking areas. For hikers its the equivalent to a trip to Mecca is for muslims (or for staunch GAA fans out there it´d be like a trip to see Cork win another All Ireland in Crokers or for the aussies out there a trip to MCG on boxing day ie its a big deal). For more detailed information have a peek here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_del_Paine_National_Park as I am too lazy to fill you in on all the details. In a nutshell it gets 100,000 plus visitors a year mostly in Jan/Feb and is on the checklist for most travellers to South America. The Paine massif is like a big M of mountains so imagine there´s a big cake and take a couple of slices out to make an M shape and you have the main range with its 2 main valleys. Surrounding this is the Southern Ice Cap to the west and north, the steppe to the east and to the south more mountains and lakes. There´s 250kms of trails including the famous W circuit which ventures along the bottom on the M, making side trips into the main valleys and then there´s the grand circuit (which we choose to do) which basically goes around the main range and includes the W as well. Most people choose to do day walks from the main access points or the W circuit which has refugios (huts that provide accomodation and meals) and doesn´t require camping altho you need to book these about 6 months in advance. Jan/Feb is peak season altho its allegedly less numbers at the end of February. This area is also infamous for its awful weather and terrible winds (called katabatic or williwaws which are gusts that blow off the icecap at 100kmph or more).
Day 1 : Laguna Amarga - Campamento Seron (15kms - 3.25 hrs hike)
We set off on the early bus from Puerto Natales at 7.30am (after our landlady had even supplied us with brekkie!) with all the other pilgrims heading to the sacred place. Its a 3 hour drive to the park (along with a stop in a little place called Cerro Castillo which has got nothing but some cafes for the tourists on the way to the park). It was a cloudy enough morning but we still got glimpses of the mountains rising up in the distance. Jumped out of the bus at Laguna Amarga where we paid into the park (US$30 each - ouch). There was tourists and buses everywhere so we decided to get a move on quickly. Our packs were pretty heavy, actually make that VERY heavy so we set off towards Campamento Seron at a slow but steady pace. Its a pretty easy 15km hike across the very gentle rolling grassy plain to the first night´s camp which follows the Rio Paine. Nothing much scenery wise altho from Laguna Amarga you can see the Torres ( the famous towers) altho we couldn´t as there was too much cloud. Met a few people on the way and the campsite itself only had about 20 tents that first night. Much more then we´re used to but not that bad considering. The campsite is set on a lovely meadow so easy for camping and chilling out in the lazy afternoon after the slog with the packs. Unfortunately we both got pretty violent and unbelievably rapid food poisoning on the first night. Spent about an hour heaving our guts up in the middle of a field near the campsite - at least the moon was up, the temps were good and the night sky was pleasant ;) Losing dinner was pretty bad tho as we needed all the energy we could get for the next few days. Figured out the milk powder we had in our hot chocs was the culprit as we had had dinner really early (at least 2 hours prior to hot chocs) - must have been pretty bad as it only took about 15 mins to make us both hurl.
Day 2 : Seron to Lago Dickson (19kms - 5hrs hike)
Set off slowly after a gross breakfast of congealed instant oats. Lesson 1 on instant oats here - dont add hot water as it makes a sticky glup that looks and tastes horrible. Still a bit shaky from the previous night´s pukes and not yet confident that it was the milk powder to blame we set off into the next day. We did weigh our packs at the hut tho and Dunk´s clocked in at 26kgs and mine at 21kgs. Ouch ;) This was another pleasant walk altho the first couple of hours was mostly a slog and nothing too dramatic. After that tho we started to get glimpses of Glacier Dickson that drops into Lago Dickson so that picked our spirits up a bit as well. Nice, fine day for walking too altho still quite cloudy. Reached the lovely campsite and hut about 4pm and called it a day as pretty tired. Cooked up a basic rice dinner (cumin, garlic, half a chorizo, stock cube and chilli flakes) as couldn´t face into pasta again. Also dried mushrooms have been removed from our diet as well as just sick of the taste (and retaste - yuch). Luckily everything went well that day foodwise and all stayed down so sat around chatting with the people we had met along the way and at the previous campsite. The lake is also very beautiful with the glacier dropping into it and surrounded by high mountains and lovely forest (and a few mandatory mossies cos if the wind isn´t blowing there has to be something else to get ya in Patagonia!).
Day 3 : Lago Dickson to Campamento Paso (21kms - 7.5 hrs hike)
Woke in much better spirits and full of energy (now confident that the evil milk powder was the cause of sickness and not any of the rest of our food plus knew we wouldn´t have to go back due to sickness). Decided to double up on sections and go straight thru Campamento Los Perros and on over the most difficult section of the John Gardner pass to Campamento Paso. The section between Lago Dickson and Los Perros hut is beautiful hiking - forest, mountains, streams and glimpses of glaciers on a gentle incline all the way. After about 3 hours (10kms) we reached the moraine from Glacier Los Perros near the hut which has amazing views back down the valley we had come up, up onto Glacier Los Perros (which drops into a little lake) and on up towards the John Gardner pass which was to be our task for the afternoon. Found a sunny spot for lunch and crossed our fingers hoping the weather would hold for the pass crossing. The pass is 1241m and infamous for the gales, snow, rain and cloud which can hit this area at any time without notice. The track up out of the forest is rough and muddy enough, despite being rerouted recently but we managed a good pace up and reached the scree where the going became easier as we could see our goal ahead. The view back down the valley was just immense and we had high mountains with glaciers on both sides as we headed to the pass. Nothing however prepared us for the view at the top. We had read and heard about how amazing it was but being well worn by over expectations (and slightly cynical about everything by now) we didn´t really know what to expect. It was just incredible tho - one of the most amazing sights I have ever hiked into. As we ascended into the pass we began to get glimpses of snow clad mountains in the distance and then as more of this was exposed to us as we continued upwards over the last 100m of the pass, glacier Grey suddenly appeared in all its glory. I cannot stress how big this glacier is. Any glacier I have seen to this point is like comparing a puddle with a lake - its immense and just blew our minds. Its 6kms across at the point we could see and probably we could see 20kms plus of length as it stretches from the ice cap into Lago Grey. We were speechless and ecstatic, the weather held and there was hardly a breeze (seriously this is so lucky - kind of odds like winning the lotto). Stayed there for maybe 20 mins before starting the descent which was also just incredible as more and more of the glacier showed. Mike and Rick (2 aussie blokes who did most of the walk in the same sections as us) were also there and all 4 of us were just hyper about the view. Its a long slog up from Lago Dickson but I dont think I have ever had a reward so fantastic as this on a hike before. The hike down is very steep and slippery altho not quite as awful as we had heard and feard. This pass has a reputation for danger and lots of injuries but Conaf (the chilean national parks admin) have done lots of good work on the clay, steep sections with steps and handrails. It would still be slippery as an eel on a wet day tho so we got lucky there too. Once into the trees, the hike to the camp was only about 45 mins. We did met one Chilean girl walking backwards as her knees were clobbered - it must have taken her (and her friend) 10 hours at least to get over this pass but they still were in good spirits. The campsite has a great view thru the trees over the glacier and we also found a lookout further down on a rock which was great for sunset too. Very small campsite and very relaxed night as everyone there was pretty high from the day plus by now we knew the other groups hiking pretty well. There was one bunch of idiotic young israelis who didnt arrive til 10pm in the dark (5 hours after us) as they didn´t leave the other side of the pass til 4.30pm and were very slow hikers. No wonder there´s people get hurt in Torres del Paine. These idiots were just a disaster waiting to happen (no torches, etc).
Day 4 : Campento Paso - Paine Grande (21 kms - 6 hrs)
Decided to double up on sections again as Paso to Refugio Grey was only 3 hours hiking. Another pleasant, warm day plus the views along the way were stupendously cool. We basically hiked down along the glacier edge (well above it) for 3 hours. The track here was rough enough in places as there were a number of steep, scree gullies but Conaf have put in ladders on the worst bits so its safe and easy going now. The old wooden ladders looked so dodgy! There´s another camping area just at the snout of the glacier where there´s a tremendous view over the glacier and you can see chunks falling off. We made it to Refugio Grey and the lookout back up the lake towards the glacier for lunch. We heard a massive thump from our sheltered lunch spot and rushed out just in time to see a massive 70m iceberg pop back out of the water - unfortunately we missed it falling off the glacier but it was pretty impressive seeing it float back out of the water. We were now in serious ´gumby´(Matt W´s term for people who have never hiked before) territory as this is night 1 on the W circuit. The number of people on the track was suddenly in the 100s (rather then the odd 2 or 3) but the scenery was incredible still as we hiked down towards Lake Pehoe. Didn`t take us long to click that saying "Ola" to everyone was no longer possible (unless we wanted to overtake them; Side rant: sometimes I wish hikers had rear view mirrors - if someone steams up behind you as you struggle up a hill slowly then let them by!! Coughing and further rude noises the longer the blocked path is held usually helps ;) ) Took us about 3 hours to reach that nights campsite next to the turqoise Lake Pehoe which has a great view of Cerro Paine Grande (massive, craggy, angry, black rock mountain range with its own little mini icecap on top) and Cuernos del Paine (the classic granite coloured mountains with black toppings of rock - so beautiful). The lake is stunningly turquoise as well (even if thats not my favourite colour - some people out there remember that with clarity!) Was a bit of a shock to the system to reach this camp as there´s a hotel there, probably 80 plus tents and people everywhere. Mike and Rick had saved us a great campspot next to them so saved us the hassle of trying to find one. Spent a pleasant night there watching the mountains and lake. Did a food swap with the lads too - 1 chorizo for them - 2 tins of tuna for us - bloody awesome for all of us (I have to throw in some aussisms to keep Dunk happy uploading photos as I not patient enough to do this). We now are so tired of eating the same food that tuna pasta was a treat (Dunk even said I cant wait to eat some tuna, I´m sick of eating chorizos). Another lovely day walking.
Day 5: Paine Grande to Campamento Los Cuernos including Valle Frances (29kms - 8.5 hrs)
Started this morning with rain (altho it held off long enough for us to pack without getting our stuff wet) and the first 3 hours to Campamento Italiano was a bit of a trudge thru the rain. From Campemento Italiano dropped our packs in a good potential campsite in case we decided to stay there that night and headed up into Valle Frances which is about 17km return side trip. We could also have camped at the head of the valley but at this stage our knees were beginning to feel the effects of heavy packs, hard long days and many long ascents/descents. As we ascended into the valley the clouds bgan to lift and clear and the most incredible views appeared all around us. Its a hard enough slog up but the sights are more then ample reward. Cerro Paine Grande and Glacier Frances dominates the west side of the valley, the head of the valley has Cordillera Paine with some astoundingly beautiful peaks and the eastern side is a row of peaks belonging to the famous Cuernos del Paine. Each in the their own would be an outstanding draw but all together its just unbeleivable. We hiked all the way up and past the mirador onto the scree and a little pass on the eastern side so the whole valley opened up in front of us. I know I might be repeating myselft here but omigod it was jawdroppingly beautiful (altho the gusts at the top were strong as hell and we kept a very watchful eye for any sudden weather changes). I will leave the photos speak for this section altho they dont really do it justice. Hiked back down and decided to do another 5.5km stretch to the next section as otherwise we would have to stay another night in the park and we were over eating crap food. It was a very peaceful section down into Camping Los Cuernos with very few people as it as after 6pm. Got to camp absoutely wrecked (biscuits and dulce fueled the last few kms!) so made a quick dinner and slept soundly altho our site had a huge slope. Incredible day and the gods of weather were on our side again.
Day 6 : Los Cuernos - Los Torres (the end) plus Torres del Paine sidetrip (31kms - 7.5 hrs)
Woke feeling a little fatigued after the previous day plus the weather was damp. Dunk dragged me thru the hike to Los Torros as it was pretty boring, I was knackered and the spirits were down. There was one hilarious river crossing tho which was the best example of gumby carnage I have ever seen. It was a fairly fast rocky river but only knee height at most yet there was a people blockage and shoes, socks, hikers and people everywhere. We just took off our shoes (golden rule for us is one river then keep the shoes dry, anymore then just get the boots wet), carefully crossed, put back on our packs and off we went. It was funny watching some people tho. One girl took a cigarette break on the island half way across, other people were wading back in for better shots of the ´drama´, the 2 aussies told us they saw one bloke in water upto his chest - all in all quite comical to watch ;) Reached Los Torres camping at 12.30, set up the tent and had some hot soup and 6 day old bread, dulce and biscuits to get us ready for the 19kms (including 1.5km vertical ascent/descent) side trip to see what is the park´s most famous attraction - the towers. The weather cleared and the food picked us up so off we set up the big hill at the start. We reached the first hut on the hike in about 1 hour and then from there to the lookout in another 1.5 hours so not a bad effort altho the last rock scramble was tiring with fatigued legs. The view was very spectacular and despite the crowns of the towers being obscured due to some frantic cloudmaking, we had a great view of the lake, moraine and Monte Almirante Nieto. All in all tho we thought not really comparable in stunning factor to the Valle Frances. Wearlingly hiked back to camp and finished off our hike with a quick dinner and sound night sleep. We did get some ferocious wind gusts that night - the only time we really experienced the infamous winds of torres del paine - which hammered the tent, woke half the campsite but the tent held well so happy days for us. It really made us respect and appreciate the luck we had with the weather thou. Nothing like sitting in the dark in a tent hearing the massive roar of the next gust heading for your tent, not knowing what direction (as it seemed to change all the time) or even if it would hit at all (as sometimes the gusts swept off high above the trees).
The last word
The next day we just relaxed at Camping Los Torres waiting for the bus back to Puerto Natales. Had a massive steak and beers last night with Mike and Rick - all in all well deserved I think. We completed the grand circuit in 6 hard days (traditionally takes 8-10) so altho tired today, very happy and content.
This is an amazing place, truly better then what we expected and despite the crowds its a brilliant hike. We met some great people along the way which also made it good fun to share the tales and pain with and truly enjoyed the experience. The private campsites are managed very well altho some of the free campsites tend to be very crowded and not well managed at all. Some of the loos were awful - some people seem to forget their manners when they go hiking. We could have stretched the hike out over a couple of more days to make it easier going but found that we would have had some very short days if we did this and its not really what we like to do ;) We were also pissed off yesterday when we went to get our park pass extended as they only gave us a 2 day extension so if we want to go back next week (which we had planned) its another US$30 each which is a bit steep. There are a minority of people on the track who are muppets but mostly its a very friendly, sociable walk. The weather was incredible for us - once again we are haunted with good weather luck. The view from Glacier Grey is probably one of the best we will ever experience followed closely by Valle Frances. Its worth doing the walk anticlockwise just for that view over Glacier Grey - hopefully we will never ever forget it as there is no camera in the world can do it justice.
Quick note on our equipment and food
Dunk´s 9 month old Asolo boots are falling apart and he had to use gaffer tape to keep them together. They are now in the boots repair shop where the guy is hopefully working a miracle to glue them back together. We saw lots of people with new Asolos on this hike but funny enough no old asolos. Grace´s scarpas have a bit of sole wear at the heel (probably from scree slides and previous walks in central Australia) but other then that perfect despite being 2 years old. Our exped venus extreme tent rocks - stood upto rain and wind altho it does have condensation problems if we dont make sure its ventialated properly. We saw heaps of people with crap looking tents - dunno how they survived thos gusts but wouldn´t make for a good nights sleep. Our poles are knee savers!!
Our food was good but its very hard to get any variety here in Chile so we usually have rice or pasta with stock cubes, garlic and either cumin or oregano, lots of salt, protein (usually chorizo or tuna), always have plenty nuts, biscuits, soup packets, etc. Our bread held ok for 5 days but was pretty crap on the last day. The private huts especially the one on Lake Pehoe sell reasonably priced food for campers so maybe we should have carried less and restocked there. After 2 months of hikes we´re sick of rice and pasta so might have to move onto instant mash - ah ye gods thats bad!!!! Losing our milk powder (and dinner) on the first night was a beatch - no more hot chocs, black tea altho we did start adding milo to our instant oats and raisins in the mornings which drastically improved the taste (from no taste to milo taste!). Dulce de leche is like super quick energy for the exhausted ;)
Taking a break from hiking for a few days now to restock on protein and energy levels, fix boots and rest tired knees.
Some funny stories
These are some bits I have remembered in the last few days that deserve to be recorded.
Mike and Rick have named a new circuit - its the underscore ;) - its for people who do the `W`but are too tired, lazy, exhausted, sore, whatever to do the side trips to Valle Frances and Torres del Paine which are the 2 best bits of the W. Its a bit like going to the World Cup Final with a ticket but not bothering to go to the match as you just didn´t have enough `whatever`for the last bit. Might as well stay at home, save the cash and walk around the park really.
One guy did the circuit (assuming W) (we never met him but met 2 people yesterday who did) with a 35kg pack that had ALL his stuff as he was afraid to store his extra gear anywhere. This included carrying that same pack on all the side trips - where did he think everyone else left their stuff but in huts, tents, etc. I dont think I have ever heard of theft on Torres del Paine but maybe we´re naive or maybe or clothes just not worth stealing (actually their not - if they last the next 2 months then its staight to the bin for them) or maybe he had gold shirts or something. Nutter!!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Ushuaia to Puerto Natales
Left Ushuaia in an early morning or was that a middle of the night daze. The bus picks you up at anytime between 5.15 and 6am so nasty early start. 3 hours later we reached Rio Grande (very little to do or see there) spent another 1.5 hours waiting for the bus to Puerto Natales, then this was followed by a few hours on a rough gravel road thru the dry steppe of northern Isla Grande, the border crossing from Argentina to Chile in the middle of nowhere plus the obligatory 45 min lunch stop in the middle of nowhere also. After this another couple of hours to the ferry where we headed back across the Magellan straits. Saw a few Commersons dolphins (small, black and white) swimming and jumping out of the water near the ferry which was definitely the highlight of the day. From there the bus headed to Punta Arenas (another couple of hours across the interminable steppe) where we had to change bus again and wait for another 2 hours .... SIGH ... we had been told it was a 30 minute wait with no bus change. Eventually got to Puerto Natales at 10pm and thankfully had booked a Hospedaje ahead. Tiny room but very comfy bed, great showers, ample breakfast and very friendly owner so happy days.
Puerto Natales is basically the hub for going to Torres del Paine and is full of over priced camping shops, rental agencies for camping gear, tour agencies etc but you can get good food here. We did think about doing a 3 day kayaking trip to glaciers but at US$200 a day each had to pike on that idea. We could buy a kayak for that much money (altho not sure it would fit in our backpacks)!! Instead we booked the navimag ferry trip from here to Puerto Montt for the middle of march. More on that nearer the time.
Had a quick check of the weather (basically pointless as its impossible to predict the weather here) and decided to do a quick shop and head off on the 8 day Torres del Paine circuit the next day. Getting pretty good at packing/shopping for walks now plus its not like there´s much dietary choice on what ya can buy here - its rice, pasta or instant mash (haven´t resorted to this yet tho - I´m not sure I would be allowed back to Ireland if I eat instant spuds!) but more on that in the walk description in the next post ;)
Puerto Natales is basically the hub for going to Torres del Paine and is full of over priced camping shops, rental agencies for camping gear, tour agencies etc but you can get good food here. We did think about doing a 3 day kayaking trip to glaciers but at US$200 a day each had to pike on that idea. We could buy a kayak for that much money (altho not sure it would fit in our backpacks)!! Instead we booked the navimag ferry trip from here to Puerto Montt for the middle of march. More on that nearer the time.
Had a quick check of the weather (basically pointless as its impossible to predict the weather here) and decided to do a quick shop and head off on the 8 day Torres del Paine circuit the next day. Getting pretty good at packing/shopping for walks now plus its not like there´s much dietary choice on what ya can buy here - its rice, pasta or instant mash (haven´t resorted to this yet tho - I´m not sure I would be allowed back to Ireland if I eat instant spuds!) but more on that in the walk description in the next post ;)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Ushuaia - treks
Ushuaia is a very good base for hiking. There´s plenty here for all levels from nice gentle 3 hour coastal walks to not so gentle scree, bush bashing and route finding kind of stuff. We did a bit of both (intentionally and unintentionally).
The first hike we did was Sierra Valdivieso Circuit as described in the Lonely Planet Trekking Bible. Its described as 4 day hike but one of those days is only 1 hour so we decided to lose that day by adding it into the last day. Also we did the hike clockwise altho the book (and most people) do it anticlockwise. This was to avoid having to cross the biggest river Rio Olivia after rain (which we expected). Got a taxi out to the start of the walk, hiked thru the peat farm (just like a bog at home except they have funny drying/stacking shelves and cut the peat in bigger sections) and then followed a cattle track thru forest for the first 90 mins. Crossed the Rio Olivia after that in bare feet as it was sandy and wanted to keep the boots dry if possible. Went well except the water temperature was literally feet numbing - coldest water of the trip so far. After that it was 3-4 hours up the valley Valle Carbajal as far as the valley that comes down from Paso Valdivieso. Most of this was across moors and bogs of spongy sphagnum moss which is fun and bouncy for awhile then just pretty tiring as the pack weighs down on the body from all that bouncy walking. Also had to circumnavigate big areas of felled trees which is caused by the north american beaver - 64 pairs were left go from a farm in the 60s, have now multiplied and gone forth (a bit like the bible told Adam and Eve - didn´t know beavers were catholic tho) and damaged large areas of valley with their dams and tree felling. These little fellas can seriously chew down some big trees and their dams are really impressive ( I think Cork Corporation should have borrowed some for the building of the tunnel under the Lee cos some of the dams were definitly bigger, longer and stronger). At about 6pm decided to set up camp before the uphill climb to the first pass the next day. The sky was closing in, the wind picked up and we thought that was going to be a very wet night. Instead it blew itself out and we had a pleasant altho disturbing night sleep as we camped on that sphagnum moss and no matter which way we slept always felt like we were sleeping with our heads on the down side of the hill!
Next day we packed up lazily and headed up the hill towards Paso Valdivieso. Got lovely views over Valle Carbajal as we climbed and the vegetation got more alpine and sparse. Passed the Laguna Paso Valdivieso and over the pass where we spent a little time sitting on a big hill admiring the stunning view over many lakes, mountains and forest. There was a couple of glaciers too but not very big ones. Its also pretty cold in this area - mostly cos the wind is just freezing all the time. Lunched at Laguna Capullo before heading up towards Paso Mariposa. Described as a steep pass above a rock and scree filled basin we headed in the direction the map seemed to indicate. It should be noted also that the topo map for this region is farcical - its a satellite image (1:52000) but doesn´t have contours for many areas - hahahaha a topo map with no contours - seriously I do not jest. The LP 1:170000 map with contours was more useful. Anyways after about an hour of up and up and trying to figure out which part of the ridge/mountain ahead was a pass we just went for the most obvious and hey presto we were wrong. It was a cliff with a snow topped edge on the other side. Very impressive views (which we watched for about 30 seconds before the wind got too cold to bear) over a huge area of Tierra Del Fuego. Found a slightly more sheltered area back down the scree slope for a quick map/compass reconsult then headed back over towards the area we had seen another potential pass. We should have lined the pass up with the valley that was perpendicular to it - might have been easier to find! Also had to shout at the 2 Israelis who either were following us or had the same instructions as us to head back. Dunno what they did tho cos think they were also having a little spat. Found a pass which had incredible views altho a pretty steep downward slope. The rocks on the top were amazing as shaped into wafer thin slices from I presume continous snow/frost/wind action all year around. Slithered (and cursed) our way down the steepest part then it was easy going to Laguna Azul after that (which was stunningly beautiful). As we looked back up the valley we figured out we had basically just climbed over the ridge of the mountain and missed the pass completly as there was a much easier pass further south. Ah well thats hindsight for ya. From there we had a rough bash down (and occasionally back up) a steep ridge as far as the Rio Torito where we camped in a lovely sheltered area near the Salta del Azul (waterfall). Loads of beaver handiwork in that area again but really fantastic day of walking over 2 high passes and well above the treeline most of the day. The weather was superb too (well for that region) so once again counting ourselves very lucky.
The 3rd day walked up the Rio Torito to its source to Paso Beban East and West (which were so freezing cold). This was a long hard slog probably 4-5kms uphill to the passes. Its a relatively easy walk tho altho have to avoid more beaver dams plus some very boggy areas. The area approaching the passes is all scree and exposed and the view from the first pass isn´t great. The view at the far side tho over to the Paso Beban West and down the Valle Beban and onto the Three Picos is very good thou. Once again it was freezing at the top with a really sharp wind blowing so we didn´t delay. The descent out of the second pass is down steep chute of shale/slate but tremendous views of mountains, side valleys with glaciers and nothing else. As we descended into the valley and looked back to where we came from the pass itself just looks ridicouosly steep (but its not since I managed to get down without screaming in fearof heights even once). It was much easier to navigate thru these passes as there was only one option! From there we headed back into the main valley where the Rio Beban flows, followed the river flats for awhile (dodging more beaver dams) and found the little refugio Bonete(hut). The walk out from there was easy enough althou the last hour was a slog along a 4wd track. Managed to get a lift back to the edge of town after 2 minutes of hitchhiking and then a bus from there.
All in all a superb walk over high alpine passes, beautiful forest and moor walking and even tho it lacked the tremendous drama of the previous walks the actual route finding, wilderness, lack of people and walking itself was much more enjoyable. Would highly recommend this walk but saying that we were very lucky with the weather and got no rain at all. Would imagine it would be miserable and very hard work in less favourable conditions.
The next trip we did was a day out to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. This is a really pretty area with walks for all levels. We went on a sunday so it was full of daytrippers but still managed to not met that many people on the walks. There´s a camp ground out there too which is nice but pretty packed. Also feeding the wild animals here seems to be the norm - not sure the national parks in Aus or NZ would be so impressed. The first walk we did was to climb Cerro Guanaco (1092m). It started at Lago Roca (sea level) which is shared between Chile and Argentina and meandered along the shoreline for awhile before ascending steeply up a ridge for about 2kms. Just before the edge of the tree line there´s a really nice lookout. We kept going from there out of the trees and from there its about 2kms across a boggy bit and then onto slate scree with a very good track all the way to the top. The views are immense. All the way to Isla del Navarino, the Beagle Channel, back towards Chile and into Ushuaia as well. Itsvery exposed tho and we even got a shower of snow which was so light the wind was blowing the flakes up the mountain. Were tempted to stop for lunch at the top but it was too cold. Going down retraced our steps back into the wind so we were pretty frozen for awhile. Really nice walk which took about 3 hours.
From the bottom we headed back along the Sendero Costera which is along the coast thru lots of forest with lovely views. Meanders up and down a few little hills and is about 8km in length. Met a few very tired people on that part all of who asked us how far more was left to go ;) Lots of birds like steamer ducks, comorants etc as well.
The only down side of the trip to the national park is the cost. Its 35 pesos (about 8eur - you would get a good meal out for this) per person on the bus plus 30 pesos (7eur) into the park for foreigners. Its only 7 pesos for argentians - imagine if we did that in Europe or Australia! Lets charge the Argentians 20 euros for a pint of Guinness the next time they come to bet us in rugby - see if they like that!!. Its not like there´s any facilities aside from a few tracks and a good clean toilet block. A night camping probably makes the expense better value. The bus is a complete rip off as well as the park is only 12kms outside of town. Our bus company never turned up for the return trip so we ended up sitting in the cold for about 70 minutes until another bus company took pity on us and brought us back. We should have hitched!! We did attempt to get a taxi out there in the morning but they wanted to charge us 250 pesos - hahahaha!! He kept saying "Its only 80 US" - obviously lots of rich tourists come here, pay for everything in dollars and think this is a bargain.
There´s plenty other day walks and over night walks as well from here. Plus you can make the trip to Puerto Williams which is very near (but stupidly expensive US$110 each way per person). We should have done a bit more but combination of sleeping in, hassles with flight changes back to europe (I hate Iberia now) and laziness held us up a bit. Would defo recommend this area tho and probably enough to keep ya going for 10-14days and thats just on hiking.
The first hike we did was Sierra Valdivieso Circuit as described in the Lonely Planet Trekking Bible. Its described as 4 day hike but one of those days is only 1 hour so we decided to lose that day by adding it into the last day. Also we did the hike clockwise altho the book (and most people) do it anticlockwise. This was to avoid having to cross the biggest river Rio Olivia after rain (which we expected). Got a taxi out to the start of the walk, hiked thru the peat farm (just like a bog at home except they have funny drying/stacking shelves and cut the peat in bigger sections) and then followed a cattle track thru forest for the first 90 mins. Crossed the Rio Olivia after that in bare feet as it was sandy and wanted to keep the boots dry if possible. Went well except the water temperature was literally feet numbing - coldest water of the trip so far. After that it was 3-4 hours up the valley Valle Carbajal as far as the valley that comes down from Paso Valdivieso. Most of this was across moors and bogs of spongy sphagnum moss which is fun and bouncy for awhile then just pretty tiring as the pack weighs down on the body from all that bouncy walking. Also had to circumnavigate big areas of felled trees which is caused by the north american beaver - 64 pairs were left go from a farm in the 60s, have now multiplied and gone forth (a bit like the bible told Adam and Eve - didn´t know beavers were catholic tho) and damaged large areas of valley with their dams and tree felling. These little fellas can seriously chew down some big trees and their dams are really impressive ( I think Cork Corporation should have borrowed some for the building of the tunnel under the Lee cos some of the dams were definitly bigger, longer and stronger). At about 6pm decided to set up camp before the uphill climb to the first pass the next day. The sky was closing in, the wind picked up and we thought that was going to be a very wet night. Instead it blew itself out and we had a pleasant altho disturbing night sleep as we camped on that sphagnum moss and no matter which way we slept always felt like we were sleeping with our heads on the down side of the hill!
Next day we packed up lazily and headed up the hill towards Paso Valdivieso. Got lovely views over Valle Carbajal as we climbed and the vegetation got more alpine and sparse. Passed the Laguna Paso Valdivieso and over the pass where we spent a little time sitting on a big hill admiring the stunning view over many lakes, mountains and forest. There was a couple of glaciers too but not very big ones. Its also pretty cold in this area - mostly cos the wind is just freezing all the time. Lunched at Laguna Capullo before heading up towards Paso Mariposa. Described as a steep pass above a rock and scree filled basin we headed in the direction the map seemed to indicate. It should be noted also that the topo map for this region is farcical - its a satellite image (1:52000) but doesn´t have contours for many areas - hahahaha a topo map with no contours - seriously I do not jest. The LP 1:170000 map with contours was more useful. Anyways after about an hour of up and up and trying to figure out which part of the ridge/mountain ahead was a pass we just went for the most obvious and hey presto we were wrong. It was a cliff with a snow topped edge on the other side. Very impressive views (which we watched for about 30 seconds before the wind got too cold to bear) over a huge area of Tierra Del Fuego. Found a slightly more sheltered area back down the scree slope for a quick map/compass reconsult then headed back over towards the area we had seen another potential pass. We should have lined the pass up with the valley that was perpendicular to it - might have been easier to find! Also had to shout at the 2 Israelis who either were following us or had the same instructions as us to head back. Dunno what they did tho cos think they were also having a little spat. Found a pass which had incredible views altho a pretty steep downward slope. The rocks on the top were amazing as shaped into wafer thin slices from I presume continous snow/frost/wind action all year around. Slithered (and cursed) our way down the steepest part then it was easy going to Laguna Azul after that (which was stunningly beautiful). As we looked back up the valley we figured out we had basically just climbed over the ridge of the mountain and missed the pass completly as there was a much easier pass further south. Ah well thats hindsight for ya. From there we had a rough bash down (and occasionally back up) a steep ridge as far as the Rio Torito where we camped in a lovely sheltered area near the Salta del Azul (waterfall). Loads of beaver handiwork in that area again but really fantastic day of walking over 2 high passes and well above the treeline most of the day. The weather was superb too (well for that region) so once again counting ourselves very lucky.
The 3rd day walked up the Rio Torito to its source to Paso Beban East and West (which were so freezing cold). This was a long hard slog probably 4-5kms uphill to the passes. Its a relatively easy walk tho altho have to avoid more beaver dams plus some very boggy areas. The area approaching the passes is all scree and exposed and the view from the first pass isn´t great. The view at the far side tho over to the Paso Beban West and down the Valle Beban and onto the Three Picos is very good thou. Once again it was freezing at the top with a really sharp wind blowing so we didn´t delay. The descent out of the second pass is down steep chute of shale/slate but tremendous views of mountains, side valleys with glaciers and nothing else. As we descended into the valley and looked back to where we came from the pass itself just looks ridicouosly steep (but its not since I managed to get down without screaming in fearof heights even once). It was much easier to navigate thru these passes as there was only one option! From there we headed back into the main valley where the Rio Beban flows, followed the river flats for awhile (dodging more beaver dams) and found the little refugio Bonete(hut). The walk out from there was easy enough althou the last hour was a slog along a 4wd track. Managed to get a lift back to the edge of town after 2 minutes of hitchhiking and then a bus from there.
All in all a superb walk over high alpine passes, beautiful forest and moor walking and even tho it lacked the tremendous drama of the previous walks the actual route finding, wilderness, lack of people and walking itself was much more enjoyable. Would highly recommend this walk but saying that we were very lucky with the weather and got no rain at all. Would imagine it would be miserable and very hard work in less favourable conditions.
The next trip we did was a day out to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. This is a really pretty area with walks for all levels. We went on a sunday so it was full of daytrippers but still managed to not met that many people on the walks. There´s a camp ground out there too which is nice but pretty packed. Also feeding the wild animals here seems to be the norm - not sure the national parks in Aus or NZ would be so impressed. The first walk we did was to climb Cerro Guanaco (1092m). It started at Lago Roca (sea level) which is shared between Chile and Argentina and meandered along the shoreline for awhile before ascending steeply up a ridge for about 2kms. Just before the edge of the tree line there´s a really nice lookout. We kept going from there out of the trees and from there its about 2kms across a boggy bit and then onto slate scree with a very good track all the way to the top. The views are immense. All the way to Isla del Navarino, the Beagle Channel, back towards Chile and into Ushuaia as well. Itsvery exposed tho and we even got a shower of snow which was so light the wind was blowing the flakes up the mountain. Were tempted to stop for lunch at the top but it was too cold. Going down retraced our steps back into the wind so we were pretty frozen for awhile. Really nice walk which took about 3 hours.
From the bottom we headed back along the Sendero Costera which is along the coast thru lots of forest with lovely views. Meanders up and down a few little hills and is about 8km in length. Met a few very tired people on that part all of who asked us how far more was left to go ;) Lots of birds like steamer ducks, comorants etc as well.
The only down side of the trip to the national park is the cost. Its 35 pesos (about 8eur - you would get a good meal out for this) per person on the bus plus 30 pesos (7eur) into the park for foreigners. Its only 7 pesos for argentians - imagine if we did that in Europe or Australia! Lets charge the Argentians 20 euros for a pint of Guinness the next time they come to bet us in rugby - see if they like that!!. Its not like there´s any facilities aside from a few tracks and a good clean toilet block. A night camping probably makes the expense better value. The bus is a complete rip off as well as the park is only 12kms outside of town. Our bus company never turned up for the return trip so we ended up sitting in the cold for about 70 minutes until another bus company took pity on us and brought us back. We should have hitched!! We did attempt to get a taxi out there in the morning but they wanted to charge us 250 pesos - hahahaha!! He kept saying "Its only 80 US" - obviously lots of rich tourists come here, pay for everything in dollars and think this is a bargain.
There´s plenty other day walks and over night walks as well from here. Plus you can make the trip to Puerto Williams which is very near (but stupidly expensive US$110 each way per person). We should have done a bit more but combination of sleeping in, hassles with flight changes back to europe (I hate Iberia now) and laziness held us up a bit. Would defo recommend this area tho and probably enough to keep ya going for 10-14days and thats just on hiking.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Ushuaia - the end of the world (almost)
So we have reached Ushuaia - the end of the world - as its sold here by all the tour companies, except its not the last town in the world as there´s a little one across the water on Isla Del Navarino (in Chile) which is further south ;) Still tho makes for good selling of tours so everything here has that label - plus we are in Argentina so as far as Argentians are concerned Chile doesn´t exist anyways!!
Its a pretty decent town with lots of shops, cafes, bars, etc with one entire street dedicated to tourists but everything else is pretty much ordinary so we can actually go to a decent supermarket! Its really cold here - highs in the summer reach 15C during the day and at night somewhere much lower. There´s constant heating and in fairness all buildings (except in some of the outer poorer suburbs) seem well insulated and heated. Its a nice setting as well with views over the Beagle Channel onto Isla del Navarino and on the northern side mountains with little patches of snow on top.
Getting here from Rio Gallegos was a painful 12 hour bus ride with one section of ripio (gravel)that seemed to be pure mud and go on for hours. Also involved 4 border crossings ie Argentina-Chile and then back to Argentina which is always time consuming. The scenery for most of the trip was flat (except for the odd sheep, guanaco or rhea breaking the skyline), grey, dreary and very uninspiring. The ferry crossing the Magellan strait onto this Isla Grande (where Ushauia is) broke the monotony and we saw heaps of penguins and a brief glimpse of a small black and white dolphin which I cant remember the name of. The last couple of hours was more interesting as well altho very foggy but at least there was trees and hills.
Stayed in a really super B&B the first night but then had to leave as they were fully booked but found a good hostal (called ABRA) which is cosy, reasonable (the price of accomodation here is a bit mad as its high season) and a good kitchen so we can actually cook our own food - wahooo such a novelty!! Been here now for over a week except for one 2 night walk we did (which I will blog in a different post). Have spent a lot of time hiking (Sierra Valdivieso for 3 days, Tierra del Fuego for 1 day), and lots of painful time trying to figure out where to go next. Originally had planned to go to Puerto Williams on Isla del Navarino to do the Dientes circuit there (4-5 nights) and then continue on the ferry to Punta Arenas (36 hours and sounds pretty cool). Unfortunately we couldn´t get ferry tickets and also after completing the Sierra Valdivieso circuit here (which was really good) decided to save ourselves nearly US$500 and not go as the scenery doesn´t look hugely different from here. Also suffering a bit of travel-trekking lethargy now - think its cos we had such a buzz going for the last 6 weeks we just had to crash sometime and its happened.
Went to the maritime muesum as well which is well worth a visit. On friday night turned into a session, we bumped into an Aussie guy called Darren (well he recognised Dunk from uni and is good mates with Brett) who is crewing on a yacht (more like a cruise ship I think) for some really rich people who just fly in to places like this, do a cool cruise then jet out again (on their private jet of course) to leave the crew move the boat to the next fab location. Unfortunately port security was too tight for us to go onboard so instead we stayed in the pub for a very long night (and a consequently very quiet saturday) discussing the merits of crew life versus backpacker life (not sure what the conclusion was). We also tried to do a glacier/ice course here but that also fell thru about 3 times as they are short of guides. Today (monday) we have finally managed to make a plan and we are heading to Puerto Natales on wedneday morning at 5am on a 15 hour bus journey - bring it on NOT!
Did the quick 4 hour tour on the Beagle Channel. Turns out the 4 hour trip is even quicker then that and is only 2.5 hours and there was no hiking on some island as advertised (false advertising seems to go a long way here) and yes it was a tourist trap but hey when in Ushuaia gotta go see the Beagle channel! So for 135 pesos (about 40 euros) each we got a good view of the beagle channel on a calm day. The wind still nearly cut us in 2 thou but we got to see loads of albatross (not sure what kind but pretty big ones), comorants, some penguins, seal lions and lots of other nesting birds at very close quarters on some of the little islands in the channels. Not sure what the birds thought - made me think back to what its like in work in the ´Big Pong´ last year - always some one rushing up for a close view of your personal quarters, squaking away at ya like I knew what was going on (only messing bigpongers - I loved the daily harassment hahahaha)! Got super views of the mountains too as the clouds cleared slightly - altho not off the Chilean ones in the west. Dont think its ever cleared in the west in the last week.
So one more day left at the end of the world and then we´re heading to Puerto Natales, Chile on a 15 hour bus trip to start planning our trip to Torres del Paine. Looking fwd to moving on again now and maybe some slighter warmer weather (it snowed on a mountain on us yesterday!) .
Its a pretty decent town with lots of shops, cafes, bars, etc with one entire street dedicated to tourists but everything else is pretty much ordinary so we can actually go to a decent supermarket! Its really cold here - highs in the summer reach 15C during the day and at night somewhere much lower. There´s constant heating and in fairness all buildings (except in some of the outer poorer suburbs) seem well insulated and heated. Its a nice setting as well with views over the Beagle Channel onto Isla del Navarino and on the northern side mountains with little patches of snow on top.
Getting here from Rio Gallegos was a painful 12 hour bus ride with one section of ripio (gravel)that seemed to be pure mud and go on for hours. Also involved 4 border crossings ie Argentina-Chile and then back to Argentina which is always time consuming. The scenery for most of the trip was flat (except for the odd sheep, guanaco or rhea breaking the skyline), grey, dreary and very uninspiring. The ferry crossing the Magellan strait onto this Isla Grande (where Ushauia is) broke the monotony and we saw heaps of penguins and a brief glimpse of a small black and white dolphin which I cant remember the name of. The last couple of hours was more interesting as well altho very foggy but at least there was trees and hills.
Stayed in a really super B&B the first night but then had to leave as they were fully booked but found a good hostal (called ABRA) which is cosy, reasonable (the price of accomodation here is a bit mad as its high season) and a good kitchen so we can actually cook our own food - wahooo such a novelty!! Been here now for over a week except for one 2 night walk we did (which I will blog in a different post). Have spent a lot of time hiking (Sierra Valdivieso for 3 days, Tierra del Fuego for 1 day), and lots of painful time trying to figure out where to go next. Originally had planned to go to Puerto Williams on Isla del Navarino to do the Dientes circuit there (4-5 nights) and then continue on the ferry to Punta Arenas (36 hours and sounds pretty cool). Unfortunately we couldn´t get ferry tickets and also after completing the Sierra Valdivieso circuit here (which was really good) decided to save ourselves nearly US$500 and not go as the scenery doesn´t look hugely different from here. Also suffering a bit of travel-trekking lethargy now - think its cos we had such a buzz going for the last 6 weeks we just had to crash sometime and its happened.
Went to the maritime muesum as well which is well worth a visit. On friday night turned into a session, we bumped into an Aussie guy called Darren (well he recognised Dunk from uni and is good mates with Brett) who is crewing on a yacht (more like a cruise ship I think) for some really rich people who just fly in to places like this, do a cool cruise then jet out again (on their private jet of course) to leave the crew move the boat to the next fab location. Unfortunately port security was too tight for us to go onboard so instead we stayed in the pub for a very long night (and a consequently very quiet saturday) discussing the merits of crew life versus backpacker life (not sure what the conclusion was). We also tried to do a glacier/ice course here but that also fell thru about 3 times as they are short of guides. Today (monday) we have finally managed to make a plan and we are heading to Puerto Natales on wedneday morning at 5am on a 15 hour bus journey - bring it on NOT!
Did the quick 4 hour tour on the Beagle Channel. Turns out the 4 hour trip is even quicker then that and is only 2.5 hours and there was no hiking on some island as advertised (false advertising seems to go a long way here) and yes it was a tourist trap but hey when in Ushuaia gotta go see the Beagle channel! So for 135 pesos (about 40 euros) each we got a good view of the beagle channel on a calm day. The wind still nearly cut us in 2 thou but we got to see loads of albatross (not sure what kind but pretty big ones), comorants, some penguins, seal lions and lots of other nesting birds at very close quarters on some of the little islands in the channels. Not sure what the birds thought - made me think back to what its like in work in the ´Big Pong´ last year - always some one rushing up for a close view of your personal quarters, squaking away at ya like I knew what was going on (only messing bigpongers - I loved the daily harassment hahahaha)! Got super views of the mountains too as the clouds cleared slightly - altho not off the Chilean ones in the west. Dont think its ever cleared in the west in the last week.
So one more day left at the end of the world and then we´re heading to Puerto Natales, Chile on a 15 hour bus trip to start planning our trip to Torres del Paine. Looking fwd to moving on again now and maybe some slighter warmer weather (it snowed on a mountain on us yesterday!) .
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Los Glaciers NP - around Mt Fitzroy
Woke up with minor hangovers (how can we have a 3 beer hangover - disgrace - am blaming the stuffy house we stayed in, someone will surely die of carbon monoxide poisoning there) but the sun was shining and Mount Fitzroy was towering above El Chalten (btw this town is built with the sole purpose of servicing tourists who come and see the mountains -they should have a shrine and say morning prayers of thanks to all the money it attracts there).
We decided to try and do a very quick turn around and start trekking that afternoon so we managed to buy food for 4 days trekking before the afternoon siesta, get our stinky clothes washed, eat lots of food (ahhhh fresh fruit, empanadas, pastries, yoghurt, drooooooollll) and book bus tickets to Rio Gallegos for friday morning. We made a brief attempt to check email and weather but failed as the connection was crap beyond belief.
Headed off around 4pm towards Laguna Torre and Campomento Agostini. There was some brief cloud around Mt Fitzroy but it cleared as we got nearer to the campground. The walk itself is medium uphill for an hour before reaching a stunning mirador of Mt Torre (which is like an obelisk of granite -very impressive), surrounded by more massive mountains ... and guess what more glaciers. Walked along the valley and reached the campground after about 3 hours, a little tired as the previous days 25kms with full packs had taken a bit of a toll. The campground is actually pretty nice considering how many people camp there. There was a stack of people (day walkers) walking out against us which was a shock again after the isolation of the previous 5 weeks hiking but all in all very beautiful and pleasant walking. Sat around for awhile above Laguna Torre (which is just above the campsite) after the sun set behind the mountains but was too cold to sit for long. The Israeli guys also joined us in getting out of town asap and all decided to rise for sunshine early the next day.
Sunrise is at 7am but we got up (stupidly) at 6.30am so had to wait until nearly 7.45 for the famous red fire effect to happen on Mt Torre. It was very spectacular once it happened tho and worth the wait and frozen fingers. The view and reflection across the lake was outstanding. Once again we´re in mind blowing scenery and its almost difficult to take it all in. The previous day we had been sad to think we were leaving the Carretera Austral and all that faboulous scenery but now once again we were in an area thats just stunning.
Headed off across the pass towards Campomento Poincenot once we had brekkie and packed up everything. Its about 10kms to the next camp site and very pleasant walking past 2 lakes which then becomes (once again) stunning scenery as Mt Fitzroy pops (as if something that big and spectacular deserves such a pathetic word) into view. Its just unbeleivable. Like we would walk 10 metres and want to stop and take a photo. Just unreal. Got to the campground which was packed and full of people (why as it was a beautiful day -they should have been up a mountain or something) and signs (toilet paper and poo everywhere plus loud, obnoxious ghouls) that muppets inhabited the region. We even saw a girl pee in the river despite signs everywhere not to pollute the waterways as they are good to drink and free from guardia etc. I seriously wanted to strangle her but its not my country (or my spanish isn´t proficient enough to ask "do you always pee in other people´s drinking water) so I restrained myself. We were well careful about where we got our water from there.
We threw off the packs and headed up to Laguna Los Trece. This is a steep climb above the campground which took us about an hour but the vista that unfolds as you walk is (ok I´m getting repitive) fantastic. This is just about as good as scenery can get. The lake is below the glaciers that form below MtFitzroy and surrounded by mountains on 3 sides and an open view of the valleys towards El Chalten on the other side. You can see for miles and its just so impressive. We lunched there as Mt Fitzroy and its slightly less high companion mountains towered above us. On the south side you can see down to Lake Sucia which is a deep blue and has waterfalls cascading into it from the glaciers down steep rock walls. We even had a few condors glide over and check it all out. There was lots of people but heaps of space for everyone.
From there, we headed back down to the campground and headed on (just not a pleasant atmosphere there. Seems like lots of (mainly Israelis) camp there for a few days and just seem to sit around being noisy. The wind picked up a lot ie into a gale so it was a hard enough walk to the next campsite (outside of the national park) at Piedra Del Frail. We followed the Rio Blanco down to the end of the valley over a rough enough river track which was a pain as the wind kept unbalancing us. From there headed up the valley Electrico along the Rio Electrico on a very easy slightly uphill track. Got into camp around 6.30 after about 26kms and about 7 hours walking so pretty tired.
Piedra Del Frail is a good sheltered campsite (altho way overpriced at 25 pesos per person even if there is a hot shower) which is necessary as the wind howls down that valley most days of the year. Some of the trees have no growth on one side! The next day we headed upto Cerro Electrico which is an 8kms, 1500m ascent/descent. This is probably one of the best day walks we have ever done. As we climbed (its damn steep), the mountains and southern ice cap just started to show more and more. The first highlight was reaching the glacier under FitzRoy (opposite side to the day before). Awesome and I just cant describe how amazing it was to be there. From there, we had to walk up scree for the second half of the walk. This was quite difficult, slow going as it was steep and a bit unstable but we got most of the way up under the wedge shape of the top of Cerro Electrico (or what we think is Cerro Electrico) for lunch. We could see Fitzroy, the southern ice cap, glacier marconi, all the way back up to Chile and the valley with Lago del Desierto, lakes, forest, down to the campsite (which was very very small). Got that tremendous buzz from being in such a fantastic place. After lunch, I sat around for awhile gathering my scattered brain thoughts (it wasn´t the best place to be if your afraid of heights) as Dunk carried on up the last 500m of scree. He got to the ridge on the top under the wedge but could go no further as it was glacier on the other side but we dont have crampons etc. All the dulce de leche (sweet, carmel spread with loads of sugar) got to my head so I ploughed (or whatever it is you do when going up scree) on for another bit and joined Dunk about 200m from the top on his way down. That extra bit made such a difference and I will never forget the feeling of almost like flying but so surreal of the view that spread in front of us.
From there it was downhill all the way, which was much easier and faster then going up - lots easier to jump out of unstable scree when going down then up. The poor ole knees weren´t happy at the bottom but we were but high from such an incredible day. Even writing this up and thinking back on the day is giving me a buzz (wow thats how cheap is that!!). Met a few climbers on the way down and wow I just cant even think about how incredible they must feel after climbing Fitzroy etc.
On the last day, we got up early ish -noone else in camp was up at 8am yet we often saw people hiking in or out of camp late in the evening. Darkness kicks in here at 11pm so the day is so different then from our trips in Australia. Walked up to see Laguna Electrico and then got curious so had to walk around the corner, up and over the boulders to look at the Rio Pollone - another stunning view up the side valley and also over towards Glacier Marconi. Took us 90 mins and didn´t have enough time to do more but would have been great to spend an extra day hanging around exploring that area. Headed back to camp around 11 where everyone was finally getting up. Headed back the way we walked in towards Campomento Poincenot. Stopped at Glacier Piedra Blanca and the lake at the bottom for lunch (Dunk had looked down on this glacier the day before from the ridge at the top). From there headed back to town via Laguna Capri which has probably the best views over Mount Fitzroy and the glaciers etc. Really beautiful. Could have stayed there for the night as it had a ovely camp spot and would have been fab for sunrise but had a bus to catch. Slogged it back into town for about 7km after another 25kms day. Stayed in the same hole as too lazy to move as we had to be up at 4am for the bus anyways. Got more steak and beers and loads of empanadas too so happy out.
Los Glaciers NP is incredible. Just when we thought our travels couldn´t get better, then once again they did. Despite the large number of people and the expense of El Chalten (make sure ya bring plenty Argentine pesos, euros or US dollars not Chile pesos as no way to get cash) its well worth going there. We have been truly haunted (for the aussies, in Cork lingo this means `your bloody lucky mate`) by the weather. We have had no rainy days since basically the start of January now in an area of the world which is renowned for rain, wind, awful summers and where your lucky if you get a glimpse of Mt Fitzroy. Instead we got sun, few clouds, a little wind and mostly perfect walking conditions. Our heads are overloaded with stunning images, great walking and very happy days for the last 6 weeks so we´re taking a break for a few days to take it all in.
For that we´re in Rio Gallegos (where there is nothing to see or do except eat fantastically cheap, tasty food) and heading to Ushuiua in Tierra Del Fuego tomorrow to the end of the world!! The weather there is rainy and cold ;) so we´re in for a shock.
We decided to try and do a very quick turn around and start trekking that afternoon so we managed to buy food for 4 days trekking before the afternoon siesta, get our stinky clothes washed, eat lots of food (ahhhh fresh fruit, empanadas, pastries, yoghurt, drooooooollll) and book bus tickets to Rio Gallegos for friday morning. We made a brief attempt to check email and weather but failed as the connection was crap beyond belief.
Headed off around 4pm towards Laguna Torre and Campomento Agostini. There was some brief cloud around Mt Fitzroy but it cleared as we got nearer to the campground. The walk itself is medium uphill for an hour before reaching a stunning mirador of Mt Torre (which is like an obelisk of granite -very impressive), surrounded by more massive mountains ... and guess what more glaciers. Walked along the valley and reached the campground after about 3 hours, a little tired as the previous days 25kms with full packs had taken a bit of a toll. The campground is actually pretty nice considering how many people camp there. There was a stack of people (day walkers) walking out against us which was a shock again after the isolation of the previous 5 weeks hiking but all in all very beautiful and pleasant walking. Sat around for awhile above Laguna Torre (which is just above the campsite) after the sun set behind the mountains but was too cold to sit for long. The Israeli guys also joined us in getting out of town asap and all decided to rise for sunshine early the next day.
Sunrise is at 7am but we got up (stupidly) at 6.30am so had to wait until nearly 7.45 for the famous red fire effect to happen on Mt Torre. It was very spectacular once it happened tho and worth the wait and frozen fingers. The view and reflection across the lake was outstanding. Once again we´re in mind blowing scenery and its almost difficult to take it all in. The previous day we had been sad to think we were leaving the Carretera Austral and all that faboulous scenery but now once again we were in an area thats just stunning.
Headed off across the pass towards Campomento Poincenot once we had brekkie and packed up everything. Its about 10kms to the next camp site and very pleasant walking past 2 lakes which then becomes (once again) stunning scenery as Mt Fitzroy pops (as if something that big and spectacular deserves such a pathetic word) into view. Its just unbeleivable. Like we would walk 10 metres and want to stop and take a photo. Just unreal. Got to the campground which was packed and full of people (why as it was a beautiful day -they should have been up a mountain or something) and signs (toilet paper and poo everywhere plus loud, obnoxious ghouls) that muppets inhabited the region. We even saw a girl pee in the river despite signs everywhere not to pollute the waterways as they are good to drink and free from guardia etc. I seriously wanted to strangle her but its not my country (or my spanish isn´t proficient enough to ask "do you always pee in other people´s drinking water) so I restrained myself. We were well careful about where we got our water from there.
We threw off the packs and headed up to Laguna Los Trece. This is a steep climb above the campground which took us about an hour but the vista that unfolds as you walk is (ok I´m getting repitive) fantastic. This is just about as good as scenery can get. The lake is below the glaciers that form below MtFitzroy and surrounded by mountains on 3 sides and an open view of the valleys towards El Chalten on the other side. You can see for miles and its just so impressive. We lunched there as Mt Fitzroy and its slightly less high companion mountains towered above us. On the south side you can see down to Lake Sucia which is a deep blue and has waterfalls cascading into it from the glaciers down steep rock walls. We even had a few condors glide over and check it all out. There was lots of people but heaps of space for everyone.
From there, we headed back down to the campground and headed on (just not a pleasant atmosphere there. Seems like lots of (mainly Israelis) camp there for a few days and just seem to sit around being noisy. The wind picked up a lot ie into a gale so it was a hard enough walk to the next campsite (outside of the national park) at Piedra Del Frail. We followed the Rio Blanco down to the end of the valley over a rough enough river track which was a pain as the wind kept unbalancing us. From there headed up the valley Electrico along the Rio Electrico on a very easy slightly uphill track. Got into camp around 6.30 after about 26kms and about 7 hours walking so pretty tired.
Piedra Del Frail is a good sheltered campsite (altho way overpriced at 25 pesos per person even if there is a hot shower) which is necessary as the wind howls down that valley most days of the year. Some of the trees have no growth on one side! The next day we headed upto Cerro Electrico which is an 8kms, 1500m ascent/descent. This is probably one of the best day walks we have ever done. As we climbed (its damn steep), the mountains and southern ice cap just started to show more and more. The first highlight was reaching the glacier under FitzRoy (opposite side to the day before). Awesome and I just cant describe how amazing it was to be there. From there, we had to walk up scree for the second half of the walk. This was quite difficult, slow going as it was steep and a bit unstable but we got most of the way up under the wedge shape of the top of Cerro Electrico (or what we think is Cerro Electrico) for lunch. We could see Fitzroy, the southern ice cap, glacier marconi, all the way back up to Chile and the valley with Lago del Desierto, lakes, forest, down to the campsite (which was very very small). Got that tremendous buzz from being in such a fantastic place. After lunch, I sat around for awhile gathering my scattered brain thoughts (it wasn´t the best place to be if your afraid of heights) as Dunk carried on up the last 500m of scree. He got to the ridge on the top under the wedge but could go no further as it was glacier on the other side but we dont have crampons etc. All the dulce de leche (sweet, carmel spread with loads of sugar) got to my head so I ploughed (or whatever it is you do when going up scree) on for another bit and joined Dunk about 200m from the top on his way down. That extra bit made such a difference and I will never forget the feeling of almost like flying but so surreal of the view that spread in front of us.
From there it was downhill all the way, which was much easier and faster then going up - lots easier to jump out of unstable scree when going down then up. The poor ole knees weren´t happy at the bottom but we were but high from such an incredible day. Even writing this up and thinking back on the day is giving me a buzz (wow thats how cheap is that!!). Met a few climbers on the way down and wow I just cant even think about how incredible they must feel after climbing Fitzroy etc.
On the last day, we got up early ish -noone else in camp was up at 8am yet we often saw people hiking in or out of camp late in the evening. Darkness kicks in here at 11pm so the day is so different then from our trips in Australia. Walked up to see Laguna Electrico and then got curious so had to walk around the corner, up and over the boulders to look at the Rio Pollone - another stunning view up the side valley and also over towards Glacier Marconi. Took us 90 mins and didn´t have enough time to do more but would have been great to spend an extra day hanging around exploring that area. Headed back to camp around 11 where everyone was finally getting up. Headed back the way we walked in towards Campomento Poincenot. Stopped at Glacier Piedra Blanca and the lake at the bottom for lunch (Dunk had looked down on this glacier the day before from the ridge at the top). From there headed back to town via Laguna Capri which has probably the best views over Mount Fitzroy and the glaciers etc. Really beautiful. Could have stayed there for the night as it had a ovely camp spot and would have been fab for sunrise but had a bus to catch. Slogged it back into town for about 7km after another 25kms day. Stayed in the same hole as too lazy to move as we had to be up at 4am for the bus anyways. Got more steak and beers and loads of empanadas too so happy out.
Los Glaciers NP is incredible. Just when we thought our travels couldn´t get better, then once again they did. Despite the large number of people and the expense of El Chalten (make sure ya bring plenty Argentine pesos, euros or US dollars not Chile pesos as no way to get cash) its well worth going there. We have been truly haunted (for the aussies, in Cork lingo this means `your bloody lucky mate`) by the weather. We have had no rainy days since basically the start of January now in an area of the world which is renowned for rain, wind, awful summers and where your lucky if you get a glimpse of Mt Fitzroy. Instead we got sun, few clouds, a little wind and mostly perfect walking conditions. Our heads are overloaded with stunning images, great walking and very happy days for the last 6 weeks so we´re taking a break for a few days to take it all in.
For that we´re in Rio Gallegos (where there is nothing to see or do except eat fantastically cheap, tasty food) and heading to Ushuiua in Tierra Del Fuego tomorrow to the end of the world!! The weather there is rainy and cold ;) so we´re in for a shock.
Border crossing Villa O Higgins (Chile) to El Chalten (Argentina)
This border crossing is pretty unique as you have to get the ferry from Villa O Higgins (VOH), then walk (or get a horse) 25kms across the border to Lago del Desierto from where you walk or get another ferry to the road on the southern end of that lake. There´s no roads or any kind of mechanised transport plus the scenery is pretty awesome.
Once the ferry dropped us we decided to camp at Candelaria Mancilla for the night altho the 2 Israelis (Roy and Edan) were tempting us to continue and do a side trip the next day. It was 5pm tho and being old married folk we had had enough excitement for one day. The campsite is really nice and grassy overlooking Lago O Higgins and surrounding mountains plus the added bonus of being sheltered from the wind. The lady that runs the little hospedaje there is very sweet so we didn´t steal any of her delicious looking raspberries altho we were so tempted. 2 German cyclists started up a fire which kept the cold at bay and spent a very pleasant evening chilling out there.
Next day we decided to rise early and try and walk the whole way to the end of Lago del Desierto and avoid the expense of the ferry. Headed off at 8am, got our passports stamp for exiting Chile at 8.05am and headed onto Argentina. The first hour (5-6kms) of the walk was a medium grade uphill which we tore into as was a perfect, fresh day for walking. The chilean side is pretty destroyed and eroded as they have burnt all the trees to allow "farming". Dunno what kind of farm animals eat rocks and stones tho cos we just saw a few horses and nothing much else. From there we walked and hit the border crossing around 11.30 - its basically a sign from each country saying "welcome to my country". There is a really good horse track all the way on the chilean side and apart from one part where there is a bridge down (to avoid this retrace your steps to the previous bridge and just dont cross that but follow the river til the track joins again)over a fastish river is was fast and easy going.
The argentian side is much prettier walking (altho terrible if your pushing a bike) as its single track thru lovely forest and past a nice lake. Got to the Argentian passport control and north end of Lago del Desierto at 1pm Chilean time which was 2pm Argentian time. Decided that we would not continue walking as we had only 4 hours to walk 15kms around the lake so as to get the bus to El Chalten on the other end. At that stage we were starving as well as had walked about 23kms in 5 hours with full packs. Met the 2 Israeli guys and hung around with them waiting for the 6pm ferry. Sometime around 4pm the police from the passport station decided to head off on their boat. The Israeli boys sniffed (as professional hitchhikers) that there was a chance of free lift down the lake so legged it down and asked if we could go on the police boat ... and sure enough they said yes. Wahooo 40 pesos each saved (which is bloody loads if you dont have very many pesos and there are no ATMs or money exchange in El Chalten). We piled onto the boat, were warned by the senior policeman to sit down and that we would get wet. The main ferry down the lake takes 1 hour. We took 10 minutes and it was so much fun -massive power in the police boat and just absolutely incredible scenery again as glaciers and mountains on both side of the narrow lake.
From there we had to get a bus but the bus driver told us there was only 3 seats left but there was 4 of us. Time for some more hitch hiking but first a cup of tea was brewed. As we drank tea, a dump truck (the ones that carry sand, gravel, earth, etc) drove in with a load of people in the cab and 3 backpackers in the back. The Israeli boys just looked at each other and smiled and said there´s our lift to town!! And sure enough after some polite asking the truck driver was happy enough for us to go in the back into town. He (along with dodgy mustache, best day out pink shirt unbuttoned to belly button with a hairy chest godzilla would be proud of on display -he looked like a cross between George Best and Freddy Mercury)was out with his wife and 5 daughters (all sitting the cab - lots of flesh on display here too) for a trip to the lake for the day.
Up we piled into the back and honestly if I was back again I would sit waiting by the lake for the next empty dump truck to appear. What an incredible view all the 37kms into town. The valleys, forest, mountains and glaciers (ya ya I know more glaciers and still cant get enough of them!!) were just outstandingly beautiful in the evening light. There wasn´t even that much dust on the road.
Mount Fitzroy showed later that evening when we got to town. El Chalten itself was a shock to us all after the Carretas Austral. There´s a free campground on the edge of town where there must have been 100 tents (we hadn´t seen that many in total in the previous 5 weeks), people and restaurants everywhere. Took ages to find a place to stay and was beginning to consider the free campground when we got directed to a tiny Hospadeja Naveta - its was 35 pesos each for a bunk bed, extra for sheets and the rooms were so small we had to take turns standing in the room. Anyways we got a shower, cleaned up and went for a couple of beers to the microbrewwery (awesome beer and empanadas) and then went for steak ... ohhhh droool ... real food. No insult to anyone who feed us in Chile cos we got some very good food (especially the hostal in Cochrane was exceptionally good) but the steak and empanadas and fries were just sooooo tasty. Its like the difference between eating a quick home cooked dinner after a long day in work on a tuesday night (altho we usually do better then lots of what we had in Chile where everything is super processed) and eating in a fine dining restaurant on a saturday night. Different grades.
So in summary this has to be the most interesting (and one of the more scenic) border crossings we will ever do. What a day of hard, fast walking followed by power police boat trip and 360C panormic dump truck views wrapped up by simply great food.
On the down side, El Chalten was a shock to the system - expensive and crowded but sure thats what we get for being in the sticks for so long ;)
Once the ferry dropped us we decided to camp at Candelaria Mancilla for the night altho the 2 Israelis (Roy and Edan) were tempting us to continue and do a side trip the next day. It was 5pm tho and being old married folk we had had enough excitement for one day. The campsite is really nice and grassy overlooking Lago O Higgins and surrounding mountains plus the added bonus of being sheltered from the wind. The lady that runs the little hospedaje there is very sweet so we didn´t steal any of her delicious looking raspberries altho we were so tempted. 2 German cyclists started up a fire which kept the cold at bay and spent a very pleasant evening chilling out there.
Next day we decided to rise early and try and walk the whole way to the end of Lago del Desierto and avoid the expense of the ferry. Headed off at 8am, got our passports stamp for exiting Chile at 8.05am and headed onto Argentina. The first hour (5-6kms) of the walk was a medium grade uphill which we tore into as was a perfect, fresh day for walking. The chilean side is pretty destroyed and eroded as they have burnt all the trees to allow "farming". Dunno what kind of farm animals eat rocks and stones tho cos we just saw a few horses and nothing much else. From there we walked and hit the border crossing around 11.30 - its basically a sign from each country saying "welcome to my country". There is a really good horse track all the way on the chilean side and apart from one part where there is a bridge down (to avoid this retrace your steps to the previous bridge and just dont cross that but follow the river til the track joins again)over a fastish river is was fast and easy going.
The argentian side is much prettier walking (altho terrible if your pushing a bike) as its single track thru lovely forest and past a nice lake. Got to the Argentian passport control and north end of Lago del Desierto at 1pm Chilean time which was 2pm Argentian time. Decided that we would not continue walking as we had only 4 hours to walk 15kms around the lake so as to get the bus to El Chalten on the other end. At that stage we were starving as well as had walked about 23kms in 5 hours with full packs. Met the 2 Israeli guys and hung around with them waiting for the 6pm ferry. Sometime around 4pm the police from the passport station decided to head off on their boat. The Israeli boys sniffed (as professional hitchhikers) that there was a chance of free lift down the lake so legged it down and asked if we could go on the police boat ... and sure enough they said yes. Wahooo 40 pesos each saved (which is bloody loads if you dont have very many pesos and there are no ATMs or money exchange in El Chalten). We piled onto the boat, were warned by the senior policeman to sit down and that we would get wet. The main ferry down the lake takes 1 hour. We took 10 minutes and it was so much fun -massive power in the police boat and just absolutely incredible scenery again as glaciers and mountains on both side of the narrow lake.
From there we had to get a bus but the bus driver told us there was only 3 seats left but there was 4 of us. Time for some more hitch hiking but first a cup of tea was brewed. As we drank tea, a dump truck (the ones that carry sand, gravel, earth, etc) drove in with a load of people in the cab and 3 backpackers in the back. The Israeli boys just looked at each other and smiled and said there´s our lift to town!! And sure enough after some polite asking the truck driver was happy enough for us to go in the back into town. He (along with dodgy mustache, best day out pink shirt unbuttoned to belly button with a hairy chest godzilla would be proud of on display -he looked like a cross between George Best and Freddy Mercury)was out with his wife and 5 daughters (all sitting the cab - lots of flesh on display here too) for a trip to the lake for the day.
Up we piled into the back and honestly if I was back again I would sit waiting by the lake for the next empty dump truck to appear. What an incredible view all the 37kms into town. The valleys, forest, mountains and glaciers (ya ya I know more glaciers and still cant get enough of them!!) were just outstandingly beautiful in the evening light. There wasn´t even that much dust on the road.
Mount Fitzroy showed later that evening when we got to town. El Chalten itself was a shock to us all after the Carretas Austral. There´s a free campground on the edge of town where there must have been 100 tents (we hadn´t seen that many in total in the previous 5 weeks), people and restaurants everywhere. Took ages to find a place to stay and was beginning to consider the free campground when we got directed to a tiny Hospadeja Naveta - its was 35 pesos each for a bunk bed, extra for sheets and the rooms were so small we had to take turns standing in the room. Anyways we got a shower, cleaned up and went for a couple of beers to the microbrewwery (awesome beer and empanadas) and then went for steak ... ohhhh droool ... real food. No insult to anyone who feed us in Chile cos we got some very good food (especially the hostal in Cochrane was exceptionally good) but the steak and empanadas and fries were just sooooo tasty. Its like the difference between eating a quick home cooked dinner after a long day in work on a tuesday night (altho we usually do better then lots of what we had in Chile where everything is super processed) and eating in a fine dining restaurant on a saturday night. Different grades.
So in summary this has to be the most interesting (and one of the more scenic) border crossings we will ever do. What a day of hard, fast walking followed by power police boat trip and 360C panormic dump truck views wrapped up by simply great food.
On the down side, El Chalten was a shock to the system - expensive and crowded but sure thats what we get for being in the sticks for so long ;)
Lago and Glacier O Higgins ferry trip
On Saturday, we headed off on the ferry trip around Lago O Higgins. We decided to do the full day trip as its 33k pesos (about 50 euros) for the full trip and 20k pesos for the basic trip which lasts a couple of hours and drops you at Candelaria Mancilla so pretty much better value for the full day. There was some drama with the minibus to the ferry (I think this happens every time the ferry runs) as there was too many tourists to fit in the bus so the guy had to do 2 trips. Not very difficult or you would imagine complicated but the guy with the minibus and the travel agent who books the ferry tickets dont coordinate this so ends up being this hilarious saga - presume they just do it to create some drama as there´s not much else to do in VOH.
Lago O Higgins is a pretty big lake (I´m sure I could find out exactly how big but couldn´t be bothered) with 5 arms out from the center. We headed down the first arm of Lago O Higgins and it was very pleasant, altho cold. Lovely views and good for photos. We rounded the corner into the center of the lake and got hit by a massive blast of wind. Half the people up top got drenched and everyone made for the covered in seating area downstairs where we all stayed til we reached Candelaria Mancilla (CM) and dropped the first installment of people who were heading for Argentina (see the next post for more info on this). The little harbour is beautiful and very well sheltered. From there we headed back out into the lake and more winds altho the boat was heading into the wind now rather then being hit from the side so we could go back above board.
After about 30 mins we got our first glimpse of Glacier O Higgins and also Glacier Chico which is less spectacular as covered in volcano dust. Its a very spectacular cruise upto the glacier as chunks of ice float past and glaciers from the edge of the southern ice cap tip over the side of the mountains. Very beautiful plus good fun too as we got blasted by the wind heading upto the glacier. The glacier is something like 60m high and about 1km long and stretches back 18kms into the southern ice cap. Little chunks were falling off and making thunderous noise. A chunk of ice about the size of a football made a sound like a gunshot when it hit the water in the lake. We also got to sample some ´whiskey´and ice from the glacier (I dunno what brand the whiskey was but it tasted pretty bad) which is allegedly 1000 years old. Cruised around in front of the glacier for a couple of hours then headed back to CM where we got dropped off. A really great day and despite being quite expensive, worth the effort since we had never seen a glacier so big before.
Lago O Higgins is a pretty big lake (I´m sure I could find out exactly how big but couldn´t be bothered) with 5 arms out from the center. We headed down the first arm of Lago O Higgins and it was very pleasant, altho cold. Lovely views and good for photos. We rounded the corner into the center of the lake and got hit by a massive blast of wind. Half the people up top got drenched and everyone made for the covered in seating area downstairs where we all stayed til we reached Candelaria Mancilla (CM) and dropped the first installment of people who were heading for Argentina (see the next post for more info on this). The little harbour is beautiful and very well sheltered. From there we headed back out into the lake and more winds altho the boat was heading into the wind now rather then being hit from the side so we could go back above board.
After about 30 mins we got our first glimpse of Glacier O Higgins and also Glacier Chico which is less spectacular as covered in volcano dust. Its a very spectacular cruise upto the glacier as chunks of ice float past and glaciers from the edge of the southern ice cap tip over the side of the mountains. Very beautiful plus good fun too as we got blasted by the wind heading upto the glacier. The glacier is something like 60m high and about 1km long and stretches back 18kms into the southern ice cap. Little chunks were falling off and making thunderous noise. A chunk of ice about the size of a football made a sound like a gunshot when it hit the water in the lake. We also got to sample some ´whiskey´and ice from the glacier (I dunno what brand the whiskey was but it tasted pretty bad) which is allegedly 1000 years old. Cruised around in front of the glacier for a couple of hours then headed back to CM where we got dropped off. A really great day and despite being quite expensive, worth the effort since we had never seen a glacier so big before.
The end of the Carretera Austral
We left Cochrane on Tuesday after a very chilled out monday recovering from the previous week. We flukily managed to get the last 2 seats on the minibus to Caleta Tortel. The bus driver sat us up the front of the hiace so we had the best views and honestly he was more like a tour guide then minibus driver. Chatted away to us at a million miles an hour so we caught lots of information (and missed a stack more), put names on all the mountains, lakes and glaciers that have names, stopped at the scenic spots for us to take photos (we were the only gringos so I´m not sure what the other locals thought of us!) and regaled us with stories of what its like to drive this section of the Carretera Austral. He does the return trip 4 times a week all year round no matter what the weather. This is snow chains territory for 3 months of the year and there is no road-snow clearing done - probably as there´s only about one car/van/bus a day. His "best" story was getting stuck in 2 metres of snow for 16 hours before somehow being rescued (our spanish didn´t get that part).
We past some fantastic scenery -huge snow capped mountains, glaciers, forest, many lakes and of course the massive Rio Baker which is just a very HUGE river, the mouth of which is just at Caleta Tortel. I cant remember how much water flows out there but its enough to change the colour of the water in the sound near Caleta Tortel to a kind of pale greeny blue.
Caleta Tortel is famous for its 5kms of cedar wooden walkways. Its situated about 20kms off the main road between Cochrane and Villa O Higgins. There´s no roads just a little carpark above the town (which has only been built in the last couple of years -before then you had to walk 2.5kms from the airstrip via a wooden walkway) and from there the only access is via boat or on the wooden walkways. Its very strange but novel and very cute for us tourists but it must be so much hassle living there as its freezing cold or wet most of the year there. When we were there they had the best summer they have ever had so it was very pleasant walking around. Saying that its like a continous session of up and down steps. Maybe thats why they have no gym there ;) altho we did see many very untoned, large butts around so not sure what happened them. Maybe they never leave home?
Aside from walkways, the main attraction is boat trips to either Ventisquero (glacier) Jorge Montt or Steffan. We tried in vain to find someone to take us out but there wasn´t enough other tourists around so we failed as the only way was to pay $US400 for a boat just for us. A tad out of our price range. Instead we spent the time strolling about and (enforced cos nothing else to do) chilling out. Walked all around and on the tourist track above town which has lovely views. Stayed in Hostal Costanera where the lady who runs it is very sweet. She made divine jam - gooseberry one morning and rhubarb the next (not as good as my mum´s tho!!) and her bread was good too. She also gave us some raspberry pie as we charmed her with our praise of her jam and the pie was even better!!
Eating in Tortel is an adventure in itself. The 2 minimarkets are ridiciously overpriced. I know they have to carry everything in but wow labour isn´t that expensive in this part of the world. We ate out twice. There´s no menu just whatever is being cooked that day or night. The first meal was a great feed of spuds and boiled beef and the second place was just hilarious. Its obviously new (think its called El Mirador) and has a stunning view over the harbour (altho it didn´t occur to the owners to open the blind until after everyone had finished eating). They ran out of beer as the German invasion had happened (more on this later) -we were not very impressed!! The food was good (well for this part of the world), altho the salmon had been fried to the point where there was hardly any pink colour left at all!! We also found a great place for empanadas which was just some woman´s house - the apple ones were really good. Aside from that we stuck to what was by now our staple fall back in Chile - bread (dry and tasteless after about 4 hours out of the oven), ham (well salami or mortadello or whatever was in the roll in that particular shop) and cheese (2 varieties, first sliced and tasteless, the second comes in a squeezy tube and is like easy singles but kind of creamier - hunger the great palate leveller!).
After 2 nights in Tortel (including an aborted attempt to get the bus back to Cochrane which was full so we couldn´t) we decided to get the hell out of there as there´s only so much chilling and bread one can stomach. On Thursday, there was a minibus south to Yungay which is about one third of the way to Villa O Higgins and we knew there was a bus to Villa O Higgins (from here on VOH) leaving from Cochrane at 2.30pm so we decided to risk it and hope the bus wasn´t full. The drive south was stunning again -amazing forest. I think its some kind of special area as its really wet so lots of stuff grows there. Also supposed to be able to see huemul (rare deer) but we didn´t see any possibly cos the creaking suspension in the minibus had scared the crap out of everything for miles around. Incredible scenery all the way. From Yungay to Rio Bravo there is a free ferry (no road built there yet and probably wont be for a long time) 3 times a day. Very scenic also. We met 2 Israeli guys we had chatted to about hitching the day before - they had got 20kms the day before so weren´t too happy. Anyways our minibus driver continued on for about 30kms south of the ferry to a little farm in the middle of nowhere where he collected the farmer and returned to Tortel. Beautiful setting - in other countries this place would sell for millions. Isolated but surrounded by mountains and a glacier at one end of the valley. We ended up sitting there for 8 hours. 3 cars passed us ALL day. We knew the bus was due around 7.30pm as the last ferry was in at 7pm. It finally arrived as the rain started to drip and we were well and truly blasted after 8 hours in the wind (nothing is good enough to stop the wind in Patagonia). The driver got out and said the worst words ´no asientos´(or something like this which translates to NO SEATS) hahahaaha very funny except we werent laughing as the prospect of spending another 2 days waiting for the next bus was suddenly very real. We did have enough food it this happened but not sure about enough mental strength. Anyways turns out there is little seats down the aisle of the bus and we could sit on them if we wanted. Of &%$ing course we wanted them. Did he really think we´d prefer to sit in the middle of nowhere in the wind and rain for 2 days rather then 2 hours on a slightly squashy seat????? Am still baffled by this question. I would have strapped us to the roof if we had to!!
So on we went to VOH much happier and relieved. Got in around 10pm after another stunning drive albeit in low cloud we still got superb glimpses of mountains, glaciers etc. In VOH, there was a slight accomodation crisis as the German invasion had happened there too. We stayed in a little Hospedaje Cascadas next to where the bus stopped and got fed there. Turns out half the bus ended up there. The rooms were tiny tho -literally space for 2 single beds in each and that was it plus you could hear everything from the toilet (and other rooms) next to us. Not the best alarm clock in the world.
In the morning (friday) we got up early to try and book the ferry to Candelaria Mancilla (more on this below) which we knew was going to be hard to get tickets for as the Germans were on the boat already. We should have known better - at noon we finally managed to get tickets after wandering about aimlessly in VOH for the morning. The travel agent didn´t bother to open til 11.30am. It was frustrating as we wanted to do a hike up to Glacier El Mosco but didn´t have time then. We still walked to the refugio (hut) below the glacier which was a very pleasant stroll (well about 4 hours) thru nice forest with good views of the glacier. That night we ate at the Cafe Patagonia (or some name like this) on the way into town. It was a really nice wooden building and good food too -we even had a choice of beef or chicken on the asado (basically a bbq) plus by now even tinned fruit was tasting good! VOH is a surprisingly nice little town altho some of the houses just look like they must be freezing in the winter (or anytime of year) as they are skinny, no insulation or wind protection of any kind, and very small. We could have probably spend another day wandering about there but the ferry was leaving the next morning so headed on.
So thats the end of the Carretera Austral for us for now. We´re hoping to make a brief return maybe in March but this depends on funds at that time. Its been an incredible 5 weeks of scenery, trekking and travelling with every day bringing some new WOW factor. The people are very friendly but the tourist infrastructure is still very limited which is great in some respects as we were the only gringos for miles in some places but not so great when we needed to get transport. It would have been much better to have had our own transport in the southern part of the trip (so we didn´t get stranded so much and could stop and camp and take photos whereever we wanted) but saying that it added to the adventure by not having one ;) The hiking was superb and we have plenty more ideas about more we could do if and when we come back. The food is basic but sufficient and the incredible scenery just blows your mind all day long everyday.
And finally to explain the German invasion. A group of 14 retired Germans (I think we talked to them all at some stage) planned a trip down the Carretera Austral for 2 weeks and left a trail of full towns, no beer and no space left for the rest of the tourists behind them. They were lovely people and truly well organised (well except for the horses over the border disaster for them explained in the next blog entry) but since the tourist infrastructure is so limited they used up all the resources around!! Seriously we met people who kept saying things like ´we couldn´t do X, Y, Z cos of the Germans´eg they drank all the beer in Tortel for us ;), they booked all the ferry/horses/cabins/restaurants/etc in other places so became quite infamous with the rest of the tourists. I dont think they were even aware of the chaos that they caused. Hehehe anyways that just shows how few people this area expects or can cope with.
Good bye for now Carretera Austral - its been the highlight of our travels so far and would HIGHLY recommend to anyone as its very safe, relatively easy altho time consuming, and just beautiful.
We past some fantastic scenery -huge snow capped mountains, glaciers, forest, many lakes and of course the massive Rio Baker which is just a very HUGE river, the mouth of which is just at Caleta Tortel. I cant remember how much water flows out there but its enough to change the colour of the water in the sound near Caleta Tortel to a kind of pale greeny blue.
Caleta Tortel is famous for its 5kms of cedar wooden walkways. Its situated about 20kms off the main road between Cochrane and Villa O Higgins. There´s no roads just a little carpark above the town (which has only been built in the last couple of years -before then you had to walk 2.5kms from the airstrip via a wooden walkway) and from there the only access is via boat or on the wooden walkways. Its very strange but novel and very cute for us tourists but it must be so much hassle living there as its freezing cold or wet most of the year there. When we were there they had the best summer they have ever had so it was very pleasant walking around. Saying that its like a continous session of up and down steps. Maybe thats why they have no gym there ;) altho we did see many very untoned, large butts around so not sure what happened them. Maybe they never leave home?
Aside from walkways, the main attraction is boat trips to either Ventisquero (glacier) Jorge Montt or Steffan. We tried in vain to find someone to take us out but there wasn´t enough other tourists around so we failed as the only way was to pay $US400 for a boat just for us. A tad out of our price range. Instead we spent the time strolling about and (enforced cos nothing else to do) chilling out. Walked all around and on the tourist track above town which has lovely views. Stayed in Hostal Costanera where the lady who runs it is very sweet. She made divine jam - gooseberry one morning and rhubarb the next (not as good as my mum´s tho!!) and her bread was good too. She also gave us some raspberry pie as we charmed her with our praise of her jam and the pie was even better!!
Eating in Tortel is an adventure in itself. The 2 minimarkets are ridiciously overpriced. I know they have to carry everything in but wow labour isn´t that expensive in this part of the world. We ate out twice. There´s no menu just whatever is being cooked that day or night. The first meal was a great feed of spuds and boiled beef and the second place was just hilarious. Its obviously new (think its called El Mirador) and has a stunning view over the harbour (altho it didn´t occur to the owners to open the blind until after everyone had finished eating). They ran out of beer as the German invasion had happened (more on this later) -we were not very impressed!! The food was good (well for this part of the world), altho the salmon had been fried to the point where there was hardly any pink colour left at all!! We also found a great place for empanadas which was just some woman´s house - the apple ones were really good. Aside from that we stuck to what was by now our staple fall back in Chile - bread (dry and tasteless after about 4 hours out of the oven), ham (well salami or mortadello or whatever was in the roll in that particular shop) and cheese (2 varieties, first sliced and tasteless, the second comes in a squeezy tube and is like easy singles but kind of creamier - hunger the great palate leveller!).
After 2 nights in Tortel (including an aborted attempt to get the bus back to Cochrane which was full so we couldn´t) we decided to get the hell out of there as there´s only so much chilling and bread one can stomach. On Thursday, there was a minibus south to Yungay which is about one third of the way to Villa O Higgins and we knew there was a bus to Villa O Higgins (from here on VOH) leaving from Cochrane at 2.30pm so we decided to risk it and hope the bus wasn´t full. The drive south was stunning again -amazing forest. I think its some kind of special area as its really wet so lots of stuff grows there. Also supposed to be able to see huemul (rare deer) but we didn´t see any possibly cos the creaking suspension in the minibus had scared the crap out of everything for miles around. Incredible scenery all the way. From Yungay to Rio Bravo there is a free ferry (no road built there yet and probably wont be for a long time) 3 times a day. Very scenic also. We met 2 Israeli guys we had chatted to about hitching the day before - they had got 20kms the day before so weren´t too happy. Anyways our minibus driver continued on for about 30kms south of the ferry to a little farm in the middle of nowhere where he collected the farmer and returned to Tortel. Beautiful setting - in other countries this place would sell for millions. Isolated but surrounded by mountains and a glacier at one end of the valley. We ended up sitting there for 8 hours. 3 cars passed us ALL day. We knew the bus was due around 7.30pm as the last ferry was in at 7pm. It finally arrived as the rain started to drip and we were well and truly blasted after 8 hours in the wind (nothing is good enough to stop the wind in Patagonia). The driver got out and said the worst words ´no asientos´(or something like this which translates to NO SEATS) hahahaaha very funny except we werent laughing as the prospect of spending another 2 days waiting for the next bus was suddenly very real. We did have enough food it this happened but not sure about enough mental strength. Anyways turns out there is little seats down the aisle of the bus and we could sit on them if we wanted. Of &%$ing course we wanted them. Did he really think we´d prefer to sit in the middle of nowhere in the wind and rain for 2 days rather then 2 hours on a slightly squashy seat????? Am still baffled by this question. I would have strapped us to the roof if we had to!!
So on we went to VOH much happier and relieved. Got in around 10pm after another stunning drive albeit in low cloud we still got superb glimpses of mountains, glaciers etc. In VOH, there was a slight accomodation crisis as the German invasion had happened there too. We stayed in a little Hospedaje Cascadas next to where the bus stopped and got fed there. Turns out half the bus ended up there. The rooms were tiny tho -literally space for 2 single beds in each and that was it plus you could hear everything from the toilet (and other rooms) next to us. Not the best alarm clock in the world.
In the morning (friday) we got up early to try and book the ferry to Candelaria Mancilla (more on this below) which we knew was going to be hard to get tickets for as the Germans were on the boat already. We should have known better - at noon we finally managed to get tickets after wandering about aimlessly in VOH for the morning. The travel agent didn´t bother to open til 11.30am. It was frustrating as we wanted to do a hike up to Glacier El Mosco but didn´t have time then. We still walked to the refugio (hut) below the glacier which was a very pleasant stroll (well about 4 hours) thru nice forest with good views of the glacier. That night we ate at the Cafe Patagonia (or some name like this) on the way into town. It was a really nice wooden building and good food too -we even had a choice of beef or chicken on the asado (basically a bbq) plus by now even tinned fruit was tasting good! VOH is a surprisingly nice little town altho some of the houses just look like they must be freezing in the winter (or anytime of year) as they are skinny, no insulation or wind protection of any kind, and very small. We could have probably spend another day wandering about there but the ferry was leaving the next morning so headed on.
So thats the end of the Carretera Austral for us for now. We´re hoping to make a brief return maybe in March but this depends on funds at that time. Its been an incredible 5 weeks of scenery, trekking and travelling with every day bringing some new WOW factor. The people are very friendly but the tourist infrastructure is still very limited which is great in some respects as we were the only gringos for miles in some places but not so great when we needed to get transport. It would have been much better to have had our own transport in the southern part of the trip (so we didn´t get stranded so much and could stop and camp and take photos whereever we wanted) but saying that it added to the adventure by not having one ;) The hiking was superb and we have plenty more ideas about more we could do if and when we come back. The food is basic but sufficient and the incredible scenery just blows your mind all day long everyday.
And finally to explain the German invasion. A group of 14 retired Germans (I think we talked to them all at some stage) planned a trip down the Carretera Austral for 2 weeks and left a trail of full towns, no beer and no space left for the rest of the tourists behind them. They were lovely people and truly well organised (well except for the horses over the border disaster for them explained in the next blog entry) but since the tourist infrastructure is so limited they used up all the resources around!! Seriously we met people who kept saying things like ´we couldn´t do X, Y, Z cos of the Germans´eg they drank all the beer in Tortel for us ;), they booked all the ferry/horses/cabins/restaurants/etc in other places so became quite infamous with the rest of the tourists. I dont think they were even aware of the chaos that they caused. Hehehe anyways that just shows how few people this area expects or can cope with.
Good bye for now Carretera Austral - its been the highlight of our travels so far and would HIGHLY recommend to anyone as its very safe, relatively easy altho time consuming, and just beautiful.
Partial Circuit of Cerro Castillo
This is a 4 day walk partway around Cerro Castillo. It offers spectacular mountain scenery including virgin forest, hanging glaciers and lakes, is easily accessable, and navigation is simple (track all the way).
Access
To get to the start of the walk, catch a bus from Coyhaique heading south, and ask to be let off (see Route Description) - the bus driver will probably know the place, and it is marked with a sign showing a walker. It should take about 3 hours to get there (but our bus broke down, so I don´t really know...). Don Carlos busses run every day except Sunday - other companies may run on Sundays.
From the end of the walk at Villa Cerra Castillo, busses head north every day except Sunday, and south every day. We hitched as we didn´t want to wait until the middle of the next day for a bus, and Villa Cerra Castillo isn´t very exciting. Rio Tranquillo is a couple of hours drive south, and a much nicer place to spend the night.
Maps
Route Description
Access
To get to the start of the walk, catch a bus from Coyhaique heading south, and ask to be let off (see Route Description) - the bus driver will probably know the place, and it is marked with a sign showing a walker. It should take about 3 hours to get there (but our bus broke down, so I don´t really know...). Don Carlos busses run every day except Sunday - other companies may run on Sundays.
From the end of the walk at Villa Cerra Castillo, busses head north every day except Sunday, and south every day. We hitched as we didn´t want to wait until the middle of the next day for a bus, and Villa Cerra Castillo isn´t very exciting. Rio Tranquillo is a couple of hours drive south, and a much nicer place to spend the night.
Maps
- If you are not a novice walker, you could complete this walk using the map in the Lonely Planet.
- Conaf publishes a 1:90000 topographic map with the walking route marked. This map includes sufficient detail to complete the walk. You should be able to get this at the CONAF office at Laguna Chiguay (6km from the start of the walk described in the Lonely Planet). We got ours at the new refugio CONAF are building, from the guy who was doing the building...
- Lago Elizalde (Section I, No 132)
- Balmaceda (Section I, No 133)
- Villa Cerra Castillo (Section J, No 10)
Route Description
- As provided in the Lonely Planet.
- This route is very well trodden, and not at all hard to follow.
- When we did the walk (January 2008), CONAF were building a hut at the entrance to the Reserva Nacional Cerra Castillo (LOnely Planet map shows reserve boundaries), not far from the Rio Turbio.
- CONAF have constructed 3 camp sites on the route which have toilets, picnic tables and fireplaces. The first of these is a few hundred metres up the track from where it enters the Rio Turbio valley. The second is near the confluence of the Eastern and Western branches of the Estero del Bosque, and the third is at Campamento Neozelandes. All sites are located in the bush rather than in the open.
- On the descent from the pass above Laguna Cerro Castillo, there should be no need to descend all the way to the Estero Prada before climbing to Campamento Neozelandes. You will pass a cairn and rock painted with 2 arrows (one pointing straight ahead, the other to the right). There is a high route to the right which from what I hear follows a line of cairns above the forest to the camp (this is shown on the CONAF map). The route straight ahead (shown on the CONAF map and in the Lonely Planet) is a rough and shitty scramble along the edge of a narrow valley until you reach the main track up the valley to the campamento.
- Laguna Duff, near Campanento Neozelandes, is well worth seeing. To get here, skirt the forest along the swampy clearing above the campamento until near its end, then pick a creek heading up to your right (there are a few), follow this and then climb the rocky slope to and obvious valley. There are a few cairns on the rocky slope, which are more helpful on the way down.
- A short version of this walk could start from Villa Cerro Castillo, head up the horse track to Laguna Cerro Castillo and down to Campamento Neozelandes, and then back to town the next day. This route gives a good taste of the scenery the 4 day route has to offer.
Walking in Chile and Argentina
This is the first in a series of entries I´m writing to describe the walks we´ve done in Chile and Argentina. I´m going to try and provide information that would be helpful for anyone planning a walking trip here, as we didn´t succeed in finding much information online before we came...
Sources of information
Some general points
Walk descriptions
Sources of information
- "Trekking in the Patagonian Andes", Lonely Planet, 3rd Edition. This includes route desriptions for many of the walks we´ve done.
- "Chile & Argentina", The Bradt Trekking Guide, 5th Edition. This includes some route descriptions, and much insipiration and information that is of use for planning walks.
- The Chilean IGM. Buy topographic maps online, or from their shop in Santiago. They deliver overseas, and within chile using Lan Courier - it is possible to have maps delivered to a Lan Courier office for pickup (this is how we bought most of ours). Lan Courier office addresses are available on their website. Delivery within Chile seems to take around a week.
- Condor Explorer. This is an excellent outdoor shop in Coyhaique that stocks and sells IGM maps for popular walking regions along the Carretas Austral and a very useful selection of hiking and climbing gear. They speak excellent english and are will order in IGM maps on request.
Some general points
- The Chilean IGM are the only publisher of topographic maps for most areas of Chile. It is almost impossible to find shops that stock their maps, although I have noted the shops I´ve found that do stock them above.
- Topographic maps by other publishers are available for popular walking areas (eg. Mt Fitz Roy). The Zagier and Urrity map we have of Mt Fitz Roy is unsuitable for serious navigation.
Walk descriptions
- Partial Circuit of Cerra Castillo
- Lago Jeinmeni to Cochrane via Paso Leones and Reserva Tomango
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