Calafate to Lago Viedma

Calafate is another bustling tourist town, though I noticed fewer english speakers than Natales. We only spent a day and a half, though were able to accomplish all our town chores, including laundry. It had been a month since we last washed our clothes in a washing machine, and man did they need it! I also bought a new camera and we resupplied. We did run into a problem when the ATMs were not working for foreigners, so we had no way to get cash. We talked with some people in town about it, and they seemed nonplussed, saying it happens all the time. Argentina is an interesting place monetarily, with the U.S. not even recognizing their money as a currency because of its volatility. Thankfully we could still pay with our bank cards most places, and our hostel owner had paypal. While in town, we also went to the forest service and were told we couldn’t do our planned route. Thankfully, one of the rangers came in at the perfect time and said it was a possible route, thanks (the first time) Boris!

Fidget cleaning her pot after dinner on our road walk

Crossing another valley. Yes, that is an iceberg.

Sometimes the 'trail' was sketchy....

.....Sometimes the 'trail' was a beach

Leaving Calafate was hot and dusty, good thing we were walking right along a glacial lake, Lago Argentina, so water wasn’t an issue. More road walking to the end of the road and then up a two-track that turned into an old cow path. Then that cow path turned into many cow paths and we were on our own to find our way across the multiple steep valleys to a tourist estancia. It was an interesting couple of days, going up one valley and then over to the next and up that one, sometimes getting a bit too close to the lake and having to climb back up into another valley. Thank goodness for maps and GPS! We arrived, mostly unscathed, at Estancia Christina mid-morning and proceeded past it, excited to find the trail we had been told about.

After another couple hours’ walk up to the valley we thought the trail was up, we ran into a couple camping there. They informed us that, no, the trail we wanted was behind us, and the valley we thought we were supposed to go up was steep and nearly impassible. Thanking our lucky stars (as they say) we ate some lunch, asked more questions, and headed back towards their directions. 

Glacier in the rain

Cerro Norte y yo

Alas, we found trail! Well marked and easy to follow, we followed it up and up to a very treed valley then promptly lost the trail. But we were where we wanted to be, going north along cerro norte. all we had to do was follow that valley and we’d go up over a pass and practically be in Chaltèn! Wrong. Following the valley up to the pass was fine, albeit muddy, rainy, and cold. The glacier on cerro norte was awe-inspiring, as was thinking of how the valley was formed as we clambered around giant boulders heading up the pass. The valley after the pass however, was a cluster(expletive deleted) of dense trees, fallen trees, and calafate along with other pokey-stabby brush thrown in. We fought the rest of the afternoon and evening through it, only to find ourselves about 2km down the valley. If you’ve never been up to your armpits in calafate shrubs, I highly recommend avoiding it at all costs. Exhausted and soaked (everything was damp from the incessant rain that day), we dejectedly ate our dinner and went to bed. To add to the solemnity of the end of the day, the satellite tracker we had fell off Fidget’s pack somewhere in the cluster (expletive deleted).

From whence we came. On trail again!

I slept soundly that night, and in the morning we packed up and moved on. The brush thinned out for a bit, but every time we went into a drainage area, it worsened. At one point I was trying to go uphill but the calafate was so thick, I began sliding downhill. Finally, we made it near the edge of another lake, Lago Viedma, and found a mostly-cairned trail, right where the couple from a couple days before had told us it would be. Oh the celebrating! We then promptly nearly lost the cairned trail about 5 times before we were able to stay on it and follow it the rest of the day. We walked into the end of the road at Estancia Holsingfors early the next morning, and they were more than helpful. Their current guests were american, so we were again questioned about our trip.  There was also a ranger station across the way, and who else was there but the ranger who told us we’d be able to do the hike, Boris! He was (again) super helpful, and remembered us from town (he only goes in once a month to get more supplies) We were also nearly out of food at that point, so the treats they offered us were well-received. I don’t know what we would've done without such kind souls.

Looking across Lago Viedma from Estancia Holsingfors

I feel like many of the lessons we’ve slowly been learning on this trip were strongly reinforced on this particular stretch, and am grateful that they didn’t involve any death or dismemberment. They just involved putting two hard-headed ladies at the mercy of Patagonia. Some lessons learned: Mother nature always wins, thankfully she’s gracious. Pay attention to the subtlety in life, it may be the only hints you get. Always listen to the locals. It will likely take you longer than you planned. ALWAYS be flexible with plans.

Fidget, Boris, and I in front of the ranger station

Torres del Paine to Calafate

Leaving the W trek in Torres del Paine, we headed east along a dusty road, spotting the first guanacos we’d seen in awhile.  The road turned north and we walked up to Lago Azul at the edge of the park, a beautiful little lake that few people seem to realize is within the park limits. The park guard and the campground host, Victor, were friendly and helpful, you could tell they didn’t see nearly as many tourists. As we were making dinner and talking, Victor invited us to have dinner with a group of Americans and their guides who were also staying at the campground and were mountain biking through. One of the guides said, “It’s new year's eve, you should spend it with your people.”

We accepted their invitation and were able to meet an awesome group of friends, mostly from Tennessee, who were on a trip together - one of them even has a good friend from grad school who I know! It again became a small world as we discussed our trips and ate and celebrated. The guides were quite friendly as well as interested in our trip, so much so that Fidgit and I had to sneak off around 1 a.m. to get some sleep.

The next morning we headed off, after Victor made sure our bellies were full and we had made ourselves sandwiches for lunch. We walked and walked, following an older, unkempt road to rio Zamora which we had to cross. Fidgit found a decent place to cross, but it was still thigh-deep and strong. Thankfully, it was warm out. I decided to take my pants off to not get them wet and, stupidly, attempted to get the camera to Fidgit so she could get a photo in between giggles. I failed. We spent the next couple hours up to our crotches in fast moving fresh-glacial-melt water trying to find the camera to no avail. It has since been called ‘the unfortunate river crossing incident,’ and I’ve been working on not being stupid anymore.

What's out of the water is about  70 meters high

Perito Moreno in all its glory

We made our way into Argentina and were just in time to get out to Los Glacieres National Park and visit Perito Moreno glacier for the evening of my birthday. What a birthday it was! I’d never had a summer birthday before, so of course we decided to celebrate it by standing next to a giant hunk of ice and snow. It was amazing! Exhausted from the amount of road walking we did, we then made our way into Calafate to shower and sleep. The owner of the place we stayed was so kind, and when he heard it was my birthday he brought me a small dessert with a candle in it! I went to bed freshly showered and happy.

Happy birthday to me!

Puerto Natales through Torres del Paine

Road walking

We left Puerto Natales the day after Christmas, walking to Torres del Paine instead of joining the droves on the many buses that run daily from town. There was a nice bike path until we turned off the main road and onto a lesser-used side road. The first night, we camped in a field along the road; the second night, we had our first glimpse of the Sendero de Chile, a trail that allegedly exists down here. 

Almost there, and excited!

We followed the SdC for about 30 meters along the road before it turned into a muddy mess and we hopped back on the road and made ourselves a camp near the park entrance. Angelo, the guy we joined for Christmas, had dropped off our resupply at the park office, so we chatted with the park office girls while we repackaged our food bags before paying the entrance fee and walking into Torres Del Paine.  After watching the mountains grow  since Puerto Natales, I was excited to finally get to walk along them. The park was definitely overrun by tourists, with at least a third speaking English, or so it seemed.

Coming into the park along the Q route

We walked along the ‘tail’ of the Q route and then joined the masses hiking the W route along the base of the mountains. Despite the multitudes, I was able to avoid feeling overwhelmed by people and still enjoyed the beauty of the National Park I was in. 

Walking with new friends

Our first night in the park, we were approached by a couple, Rese and Jan, asking about our tent. They were trying to have lighter packs, and we talked about what kind of things they had done and offered them suggestions on what else they could do to lighten their loads. We then ran into them the next morning and proceeded to hike together the rest of the day, becoming fast friends as we swapped stories and thoughts. We parted ways in the evening with plans to meet the next morning at the base of THE torres, the spires of rock for which the park is known. At our campsite that night, everyone seemed amped up to see the torres for sunrise, though we were having none of that- get up ass-early? No thanks!

THE torres, in the morning

The next morning, Fidgit and I hiked up to the base of the torres, arriving mid-morning just in time for the clouds to part and clear for a spectacular view of the peaks. We were sitting there, admiring the view, when one of the sunrise cohorts from the night before popped up from behind a boulder, and after we called to him, he wandered over to join us. We asked how the sunrise was, “crap” was his response, which reaffirmed our choice to not get up. Soon after, Rese and Jan showed up, and we had ourselves a little new years day party on a boulder with some new friends. It’s always interesting to me how kindred souls find one another, even across the world.

New friends 'us-y', as Fidgit says. Laughter abounds

Puerto Natales, aka: Christmas

Christmas at Erratic Rock

As mentioned, Puerto Natales is very much a tourist town. We may have arrived differently than most tourists (past the town dump, which is becoming the norm), but we were still inundated with outdoor clothing stores and a plethora of languages being spoken. We found a gift shop-esque place with wifi and food, and proceeded to look for a place to stay. We were directed towards the Erratic Rock Hostel, owned by brothers from Oregon. We sauntered over (it was on the other side of town) and were greeted by getting the last two spots in this busy hostel, breakfast included!

People were coming and going at all day, talking about whether they had been to ‘the park,’ what route they were doing, what not to miss in ‘the park,’ and so on. I looked on with detached amusement and intrigue as other gringos talked amongst one another, as if they knew Chile like the back of their hand. Given, there is a free talk every day at 3 p.m., and the guys of Erratic Rock have set themselves up as a jump-off to Torres del Paine, renting gear and all around being awesome. It’s just a part of South America I hadn’t experienced yet, and was, in the end, glad to see others traveling. Also we had been, up to now, talking with locals who actually knew the area like the back of their weathered hands. It was interesting and at times overwhelming to understand everything everyone was saying. I no longer had the ‘no entiendo’ excuse, though I didn’t mind for the most part.

As we spent the next couple days preparing to again go north, everyone was more than helpful and intrigued to hear about our journey. On zero day three, however, Fidgit and I were itching to go. It was then that we received a last-minute invitation from a local guide, Angelo, to spend Christmas with him and some friends at a nearby estancia. Unable to turn down such an offer, we said farewell to the hostel and Angelo picked us up to stay at his place. We headed to the estancia the next morning, as Christmas barbecues are an all-day event. I was feeling a bit ill, but was able to push through and find enjoyment in watching Rodrigo grill while Vania made sure everyone was enjoying their time. Josè Miguel and Fidgit talked about horses while Angelo taught Daniella about kayaking. A massive dinner was served, the sun set, a fire was built, the pisco and the beer flowed, and I went to bed full and happy.

Estancia Rio Verde to Puerto Natales

Avoiding Construction

The next morning we headed out of Estancia Rio Verde, and made it nearly to the end of the road. There was a lot of construction going on, as Chile is attempting to extend that road. We camped in an estancia’s woodshed so we wouldn’t have to deal with the construction worker’s stares or the dust their vehicles were kicking up.

Setting off early, again to avoid the construction, we finally lost the road and were relying on beaches and old dirt roads to take us around Seno Skyring towards Puerto Natales. We were also looking forward to meeting Manuel. As the evening approached- though here ‘evening’ is relative because the sun doesn’t set until after 10pm- we found Rio Pinto which is near Manuel’s estancia. After crossing the river, we sat for a snack and were postulating which direction the estancia building would be in. I heard a noise behind me and looked up to find a man on a horse surrounded by 6 dogs coming up along the fence line. He looked as surprised to see us as we probably looked to see him. He was even more taken aback when we knew his name- it was Manuel! "How did you know I would be here? I never come this way. The only reason I'm over here today is because a cow was lost."

Manuel kneading bread for dinner

Manuel invited us back to the estancia, where he and another man, Pablo, were preparing to leave the next week. As we approached, all of the horses and dogs came out to greet us and Manuel talked with Fidget about the countryside. The evening was spent talking about our planned route across the next valley, eating, and sharing thoughts and ideas. Manuel is a kind soul, a wanderer who spends most of his time with his animals, and we felt right at home with him in the middle of the Chilean woods. He told us about the valley we were planning on walking through being all turba, which is what they call peat bog-like ground here. 

Heading into the valley of doom

Leaving the next morning I was in good spirits, feeling like we were going to crush these next couple of days through the turba. We got to an abandoned house at the end of the valley and made our plan, to go along the lake and then head generally northwest from there, following the valley and seeing where we could get. The turba around the lake and for the next couple of kilometers was harder ground than I had expected, and it raised my spirits more. Then we hit the tough area- at the end of a swampy area, where we picked our way through high grasses and scrubby trees, then the turba became the soft, sink-into-your-shins-every-step kind. We then went into a span of trees that was nearly impassible, thick brush under standing and fallen trees. That was a wake-up call and commisurate to what we experienced the rest of the valley, which took two long, wet, hard-fought-for days. The turba we sank into, like trying to walk through a field of different-firmness of damp mattresses. Fidget deemed it ‘turba-tory’, after purgatory. The trees we pushed through while getting scratched on the legs by scrub and whacked in the face with branches, usually taking us about 20 minutes to get a quarter of a kilometer. At the end of each day we were exhausted and ready for a huge dinner and bed. Thankfully we were able to find good campsites both nights or it could’ve been much tougher.

Turba up close. It even looks like wet carpet

Coming out of that valley, we followed Seno Obstruction north and found the other end of the road Chile is allegedly building to go through the valley we had just come through. We talked about why they would need a road to go through such an untouched wilderness, also how the hell would they do it? We eventually decided the road’s just going to sink into the turba, and mother nature will reclaim her lands.

Coming out of the valley of doom across the bog.

 From the road, it only took a day to walk into Puerto Natales, Chile, which is the jump-off the Torres del Paine National Park. We (of course) walked past the dump to get into town, and were immediately aware of the differences tourists can make. Outdoor shops and hostels abound in this town, and it seemed as though everyone wandering around town was wearing a backpack.

Punta Arenas to Estancia Rio Verde

Punta Arenas, Chile is a large port city along the Strait of Magellan.  It was a bustling metropolis to us, coming in from being solitary for about a week. The number of people, for me, pushed me towards small errands and then the want to get out of town. We did meet (through friends of friends, of course) a man who was able to help us with planning the next section of our journey. He also introduced us to a map maker who gave us- yes, for free- his maps of the area up through Torres del Paine National Park. It is hard to find good maps here because everyone just knows the area they live in so they don’t use maps. We were also able to get more information for a route to Puerto Natales that wasn’t more road walking (yes!).

While in Punta Arenas, we did get the chance to go with our new guide friend to  a provincial park near the city- you could tell the way he shared with us how much he cared about the land and its future, thanks Matias!

Heading out of town, we walked and walked until pavement turned to gravel turned to dirt, then continued along a 4×4 road westward. The weather went from sunny and warm to cold, windy, and snowy. As they say down here, “4 seasons in one day.” During the windy snow, we got turned around and were trying to right ourselves. We ended up backtracking for over an hour to a wrong turn we had taken. Once righted, we made dinner and were trying to get some more kilometers in, pushing against the gusting wind, when Fidgit noticed her water bladder was leaking- profusely. Thankfully, we found a stand of trees to protect us from the wind and set up camp so we could both warm up and get some sleep.

Waking up the next day to freshly fallen snow was not expected, and our wet, muddy shoes were less pleasant than usual to put on. We trudged on and the skies cleared up a bit, though the wind perpetuated. As we neared a bahìa, we noticed an estancia in the distance. We came down a cowpath to the estancia, and decided to ask for some water, as the bahìa was salt water. Fidget approached the gentleman standing outside, and he ended up inviting us in for coffee.

Coffee turned into a plethora of food being set before us by the man’s wife, Diana, and the man, whose name is Marcos, insisting that we put our soaked shoes into the oven to dry out. We were taken aback by their kindness and generosity, though it seemed completely natural to them. They plied us with food and drink, and filled us in on many aspects of an estancia, including how climate change has been affecting their plants. They also suggested a different way to get to the penguineria (a protected area for penguins), that we planned on walking to that evening, and they knew the people there. We parted a few hours later after they made sure we had enough water and had filled our bellies with enough food. Again, I was reminded of the amazing kindness of strangers.

The wind was strong, as was our determination as we crossed along the bahìa towards the penguineria. Every building in the distance we would go towards with high hopes, only to find an abandoned barn or house. Then we finally came into a fenced-off area with a path down to the water- a lookout for the tourists to see the penguins. We were so glad to be out of the wind, we sat and took a break before heading over to meet the owner, who happily chatted with Fidgit about how the trip was going so far. Unbeknownst to us, the employees and owner were conspiring, and we were soon shown a small out building with 2 beds and a heater to stay in for the night- wow! It was just the kind of rest we needed after a cold, blustery day of walking.

The next couple of days passed similarly, the wind became less after we crossed to the northern side of the bahìa, and we began walking along a dirt road, passing an estancia every 10 kms or so. Road walking can sometimes be hard on your soul because it becomes tedious, though not this time because the road we followed was along a beautiful body of water and there were few cars to bother us.

We walked into Estancia Rio Verde and two kind caretakers took us in and gave us some information on our planned route, including the name of the man who worked at the farthest estancia- Manuel. We also realized at Rio Verde that we didn’t have enough food for the stretch, so we would have to sidetrack into the tiny town of Telhuiches for some supplemental food. We walked for a couple hours towards Telhuiches then ran into a few people moving cows from their winter area to their summer area. The boss (we found out later) offered to give us a ride into town, where we were able to resupply and come back out. The resupply consisted of mostly more snacks, since we had so many kind souls share their dinner with us along this stretch.

Crossing Tierra del Fuego

Dani spotting Fidget on a pass descent

For months, Fidget and I had planned on going to Ushuaia, finding our way back across the Argentina/Chile border, and walking northward on the Chilean side of South America. Upon arrival to Ushuaia, however, we were nearly immediately told that crossing the border would be much harder/impossible.  As learned travelers, we began coming up with alternative options of hiking across the island of Tierra Del Fuego.  We ended up meeting multiple helpful people who gave us different ideas.  Through connections, Fidget and I met a man named Dani who had traversed the island and he shared his route with us. This may not seem like a big deal to US citizens, but down here they have an unwritten edict that if you give another person information about a route, then you consider yourself responsible for their safety along that route.  He was basically trusting us to not be stupid. Thanks, Dani!

After planning for so long, we were definitely antsy to begin our walk. We headed out eagerly, with Dani joining us for the first day across the mountains.  We made it about 20km, across 3 passes and past many beautiful vistas.  The next day was similar, with only 1 pass and an afternoon of slogging through and around a beaver dam-filled valley. We arrived at Lago Fagnano on day three to get our resupply that had been sent with another new friend, Hernan, to his company's (Canal Fun) refugio along the lake, and ended up running into him and enjoyed an afternoon of catching up.

Looking out at Lago Fangano

Day 4, we decided to try and figure out a way across the lake, because going around it seemed to be a pain in the butt, adding four days onto our trip.  We walked over to a small fishing camp to see if we could find a ride across, and the camp host, Jesus, said it would be nearly impossible, but invited us in for  mate and we ended up staying the rest of the day meeting his wife and learning about these giving and caring people.  The next morning we were sitting by the dock and Jesus walks up grinning, saying he got us a ride to the other side of the lake with one of the fishermen!  We load into the small boat with three men and one of their sons, and are dropped off across the lake to continue following our (Dani's) set route.

Fidget checking out an abandoned house.

The wind dies down and there is no trail other than wild llamas, aka Guanaco, so we wander along with our GPS and maps out. Dani's route is much easier at times than we anticipate, though there are many downed trees and open marshy meadows along the way. Taking all the wilderness in is a pleasure, giving me moments of sheer joy knowing at least one fellow adventurer wanted to share this with us.

A lake among the forest of downed trees

The bridge is out! Road walking into Rio Grande

We make it to an Estancia, or giant ranch, and find a dirt road that will take us most of the way into Rio Grande, where we'll be able to resupply.  Food is running low so we push our pace up, doing our first (and thus far, only) 42km day.  The hard packed dusty dirt roads are tough on our feet, mine are sore and sensitive, Fidget's are being torn up by her shoes being so stiff. The wind also picks up again as we got into more open lands again. We walked into Rio Grande and immediately got a pizza and Fanta so we could think clearly while figuring out what's next.  Another connection, Marcello, opened up his apartment to us and we readily agreed. He was kind and helpful host, driving us around to run errands and answering our questions.

After a much needed rest day, we headed forward again, along the road to San Sebastian. Marcello called some friends, so we were welcome at 3 of the Estancias north of Rio Grande. This road walk was long and boring, but we received encouragement in the form of honks of passers by as well as seeing some cyclists. When we reached the border crossing, the wind was raging across the steppe.  We were able to cross into Chile successfully though, and Dani (who we now call Coach, because of his unending educating and encouragement) and his wife Elena picked us up and took us to Punta Arenas.  We're finally on the mainland!

I found this rock in my pocket after carrying it for half a day- woops!