Next Up -- Torres del Paine, Chile

We're off to celebrate New Year's (and Rosemary's 35th birthday) on a 10-day trek in Torres del Paine National Park, in Chile. This will be the longest backpacking trip either one of us rangers has ever done, and we're really looking forward to the immersion in the unique landscape of Torres. Have a happy new year and we'll post again in 2007!

Perito Moreno Glacier, Calafate, Argentina

The grandest glacier of them all, Perito Moreno stands about 55 meters tall, stretches 5 km at its snout, and extends about 30 km to reach the Hielo Sur (southern continental icefield). We are looking at its terminus in Lago Argentina. We could see about the first 14 km of it.Images of the glacier.It is one of the most acitve glaicer around, meaning that it is frequently calving (icebergs breaking of and falling into the water). The glacier itself is static, which means that it is neither growing longer, nor shrinking like many other glaciers are. Below is an image of one of the larger chunks of ice crashing off into the lake below--quite a sight to behold, and especially to hear. It sounds like thunder.

Flores 3 -- Fitz Roy, Argentina

These are some of the fun flowers from our Fitz Roy hike. Below is what looks like another orchid. Latin name: calceolaria uriflora, if anyone wants to check it out.
Diminutive white heather, growing in the higher heath-like terrain. Smaller than our heather.



A wonderful, tiny white flower (different than the heather) that smelled as sweet as a hundred spring mornings. It perfumed our hikes.

Hail Mt. Fitz Roy!

After disembarking from the ferry, we bused back over the border into Argentina and headed into Los Glaciares National Park. The northern section of the park is home to two of the more famous peaks in the world of mountaineering: Monte Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. We planned a three-night / four-day trek in this popular area.

Our spirits were about as low as the clouds, however, as we headed on the bus towards the mountains. After the rough seas and mostly poor weather on the boat ride, we were starting to lose hope of seeing Patagonia´s famous scenery. As our bus pulled into the visitor center at Los Glaciares to hear the obligatory five-minute introductory talk from the Argentinian park ranger, we were depressed to see a sign out front pointing out the names of the mountains we could theoretically see, if only the clouds were about 10,000 feet higher. The ranger sensed the dire mood of the crowd and assured us that we shouldn´t worry too much about the weather, because the forecast is always wrong, the weather can change quickly and, regardless, all those glaciers are only there because it rains and snows a lot, so we are actually seeing the park in its most common state. Everyone laughed at this, including myself, until I realized that her little speech was almost word-for-word what we say in trying to cheer up visitors at the Wilderness Office in Marblemount who are about to head out into the rain for a week. I knew from personal experience what she was really thinking was: "These sad souls, they´re going to head out into the park for days and get soaked, shiver in the cold and not see a thing! I sure am glad I´m not them and I can wait until the weather gets nice!¨

Well, our fears were right and wrong. The weather was awful and then wonderful, wonderful then awful, repeated about 20 times. The weather seems to change in Patagonia every 2 hours, no exaggeration, and we would go from sideways snow and winds so strong we literally could not hike, to warm summer sun and stunning views.

We managed to see the famous peaks, if somewhat fleetingly, but more than anything, we stood in awe of the tremendous forces of nature that exists in so narrow a geographic space: the mighty Pacific, its westerlies continually thrashing the windward side of the Andes, dumping enough snow to create the largest glacial ice field outside of the polar regions. This landscape of ice and rock quickly dissipates from west to east, as lush forests and broad valleys dominate the leeward side of the range. And moving slightly further eastward, towards the endless plains of Patagonia, there is an arid desert-like landscape very similar to Utah or Wyoming, all moisture captured in the glaciers high above. We saw this entire range of conditions visible from one spot, looking just a few miles in either direction, from glaciers to desert. But the land´s wildness is actually felt more than seen: the incessant winds of Patagonia start as air masses super-cooled by the massive ice field which then explode down the valleys. More than the beauty of the terrain or the grandeur of any one peak, I am sure it will be the winds that we will remember most.

The dry east-side of the Andes, stretching away and known as the Patagonia Steppe.

Mt. Fitz Roy, named for the captain of one of the first European exploration ships, which also carried Charles Darwin. The native name is Chalten, which means "peak of smoke¨ (they must have meant the clouds). Rosemary in the foreground, after we had scrambled up about 3,500´from our camp in the valley below.

That´s us with our friends Mike and K.B. These are not friends we just met down here, but friends from back home. Mike and I were in grad school together at Western and shared an office. Incredibly, we ended up in Patagoina at the same time on exactly the same schedule. We ran into them a couple of weeks ago in Bariloche, and then again here in Los Glaciares. We actually think they are stalking us.

Cerro Torre is the tallest pinacle on the left. It is considered one of the hardest climbs in the world. An assessment I heartily agree with after attempting to put in a new route. Unfortunately,we forgot the compressor drill and couldn´t get past the trail.

We´ve grown accustomed to glaciers at North Cascades; but there are glaciers and then there are GLACIERS. This one, below Cerro Torre, knocked us off our feet.

Har, sailors we´re not, matey

The Navimag experience was an interesting one. There are many ways to get from central to southern Patagonia, but this seemed like it would be the most rewarding. It was that, but also pretty darn challenging at times. The good-size ferry made its way through endless fjords through a remote, completely unpopulated landscape -- for three and a half days! While the trip had it´s travails, as you´ll read below, it was a great way to travel (maybe just once) to the far reaches of the southern hempishphere. We met some very nice people, played lots of cards, and saw some amazing stuff.

The bow of the boat smashes down as the waves surge under it, producing an exciting spray many meters high that washes over the first deck (we are watching from the fifth deck). This was fun for the first hour of the open crossing, until the general wooziness of cresting 6 meter waves began to lose it's charm. After that, we took to our bunks like three-fourths of the rest of the ship, and spent the next 10 hours generally curled in the fetal position, while slowly sliding back and forth as the ship listed from side to side. The ship reached the protection of the fjords again by 2 a.m., and the worst was past. In the morning, while (not) eating breakfast, the ship's crew gave us the run-down on the open passage: the aforementioned 6 meter (that is almost 20 feet) waves, and seas that reached a 7 on the Beaufort scale of 1 - 12 (12 being the worst...is this the point at which the ship breaks in half? We are not sure, but we know a 7 feels ooogy, so a 12 must be pure hell.) I rated our own performance as a 3, on a scale of 1 to 5. Five = the people who needed an IV and tranquilizers to survive, 4= losing your lunch, 3= spending 10 hours in the fetal position (that's us), and 1 and 2 being those annoying people still reading, watching the movies, eating dinner (!!!), and being generally perky the next morning. But, since neither of us had ever done an open water crossing like this, we were both glad to know how our bodies react, so that next time we can take the drugs like everyone else!

Having fun, damn it. What amazed me most during the many times of wind and rain along the ferry route was the propensity of people (not just Michael and I) to continually venture forth from the warm common rooms of the ship onto the wind-swept deck, cameras in hand, and take pictures of more rainy vistas. In case anything had changed.

Glacier Pio XI, sweeping down to the fjords from the Hielo Sur (Southern Icefield). This icefield is the largest of any, outside Antartica. We knew we were getting closer to the glacier because the water changes color, from inky blue to milky blue-white, as more and more glacial flour pours in. That and the little icebergs that started to float past us.

Michael savors the calm as we pass through the English Narrows: at only 80 meters wide this is the narrowest passage of the journey. The waters were placid, dolpins were playing in the currents, and the sun was out. There is even a rainbow. It was as if the fjords were trying to make nice, given that it was our last day on board. It was still not enough to convince me to eat breakfast, or any food, until we were on land.

Survival: we are still standing as Puerto Natales, Chile, comes into view. The question now is--where in the hell are we? Looking out at the strange, wind swept, treeless landscape, we knew we had finally come to one of the far corners of the earth. While in Bariloche we kept remarking how similar it felt to the North Cascades. Now as we stood on the deck watching Natales come closer, we turned to each other and said as one, "We're not in the Cascades anymore!" Is this what Alaska is like? We have never seen anything like it. The ferry journey took us over 800 kilometers and 10 degrees of latitude south, to 52 degrees south. That is something different. We´ll tell you more about it as we explore.

Michael salutes our nemesis, I mean, the honorable S.S. Magellenas Navimag ferry, from the safety and solidity of dry ground as we disembark in Puerto Natales.

Heading south: Puerto Montt to Puerto Natalas abord the Navimag Ferry, Chile

We´re writing from the bustling port town of Puerto Montt, Chile, awaiting the sailing of our vessel, the Navimag, which leaves today at 4 p.m. It is misting lightly, and right now the water is very tranquil. We will sail four days through the Chilean fjords, and when we disembark we will be much farther south, and we will be heading into the heart of Patagonia--Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine.

A map of the ferry route, pictures from past (suspiciously sunny) journies, and the "entertainment schedule" (!! necessary in case of lots of rain, I think) are here.

Biking the Circuito Chico, Bariloche, Argentina

The Circuito Chico is a 35 km loop around Penninsula Llao Llao (pronounced Jau-jua), featuring spectacular views of the many lakes in the area, as well as interesting side hikes and landscape. Below is Michael in the lenga (a type of southern beech) forest.Yellow lupine--another oddity!The moutain cemetery, with one of the many alpine-themed headstones below. This tiny cemetry is set in a high pass, against a backdrop of mountains and waterfalls, and it looks out over one of the lakes. Many of the graves are marked with stones and planted with minature gardens, and also have depictions of climbing or moutains. According to the local Argentine we rented our bikes from, you don´t have to be a mountaineer to be buried here, you just have to love the mountains and want to be close to them..

A beautiful sculpture creates a stained-glass-like frame of one of the famous views of Lago Perito Moreno, with Lago Nahuel Huapi and the Andes in the background.

Look--it is Scot´s Broom (the yellow flowers) gone nuts! Yes, Washingtonians will recognize this exotic species, and it is exotic down here as well (blame those European settlers who always wanted to re-create home wherever they went). But it was ridiculously pretty, as every branch was drooping with bright yellow flowers at the height of their bloom.

Flores 2 - Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi

For all you flower and plant people, here are some of my favorites from the flora of the national park. If anyone can identify them positively, please add a comment. Otherwise I will just go with my own conjecture (i.e. make things up). This was my favorite. It looks like an orchid to me! Check out those green veins in the leaves!

This one grew very high, in otherwise completely barren areas--very rocky talus fields. It was only about two inches high--and half of that is the flower, as you can see! This was also in the area where Michael and I were getting sand and ice-blasted from the wind! What a tenacious pioneer.

An alpine rock garden!

Definitely from the wild pea family. Almost (!) rivals our cultivated sweet peas at home. (Michael says I cannot say they are prettier than our sweet peas, since he loves them. I´ll let you decide.)

Not sure if these are native (one Argentine I talked to whose wife works in a native plant nursery thought they were native) but around Bariloche are some of the most gorgeous displays of lupine I have ever seen. This is at the very start of the trek, which was also a ski area. White lupine!

Trek 1, Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, Argentina

It looks like they forget a few of the planks! Not as bad as it looks, though. This is about half-way up our hike to Refugio Frey in the Cerro Catedral area of the Lakes District of Patagonia. The hike starts about 45 minutes outside Bariloche. We went in for two nights / three days.

Since real estate is so expensive in the U.S., we´ve decided to buy some property and move down here. How about this little place? Actually, this is a small refugio (hut). It is built entirely up against and under the huge bolder above it. Inside is a little wood stove, some pots and pans, and a wooden platform that would sleep about eight.

This was our basecamp for the two nights of our trek. You can see our little blue tent sticking out of the rocks on the left side of the picture (remember, you can click on any of these pictures to see a bigger version). The hut is Refugio Frey, where people with brains spend a few bucks to have a bed out of the wind! Actually, we were pretty happy in our tent and we were able to use the kitchen facility in the hut. There were many other trekkers braving the conditions in tents around us. It seems that there are huts everywhere down here and many people just go hut-to-hut, and travel light. It´s a very European style of backcountry travel.

The view from our campsite right before sunset. The big peak is Cerro Principal.

Michael works on tightening the guy lines for the tent - a frequent activity. Luckily, our knots held and neither the tent, nor we, blew away.

Rosemary either praising the beautiful scenery or hoping to take flight in the strong gusts.

Michael channels warm thoughts, while lying in the tent reciting the entire Ballad of Sam McGee. The tent was one of the few places to escape the relentless, and very cold, winds.

Just above camp we could easily scramble into the heart of the crazy spires and rock towers of the large mountains above the lake. The area reminded us of a mix between the North Cascades and the crazy rock formations of the desert southwest.

Scenes from Bariloche, Argentina

The park ranger´s office in Bariloche. Very cautious people! They told us the trail we had just been on was closed (due to snow).

The main square of Bariloche, looking down toward Lago Nahuel Huapi.

This is the lake the town of Bariloche, Argentina, sits on. In the distance are the Andes, where we hope to be trekking in a few days time.

Puerto Varas, Chile from bike track

Looking south over Lake Llanquihue, to the town of Puerto Varas, where we stayed a few nights. This is a sporty region: lots of hiking, biking, kayaking, rafting, sailing, etc. and is part of what is called the "Lakes District" of Patagonia. (There are a lot of lakes. Pretty crafty name, no?)

Flores 1

Biking to Puerto Varas, Chile. Here are some wildflower shots for mom and others craving some color. Amazingly, lots of flowers are the same as we have in WA. These flowers were growing along a gravel track behind some very wealthy houses. It is notable to see wealthy houses just out in the countryside, like you might find in the US. It is not something you see so much in a lot of Latin countries that are poorer. Chile is definitely a richer nation than others we have travelled in, as also evidenced by the better roads, newer cars, less trash, less chaos, etc.

Knee high by the 4th of January?

This is during our 27 km bike-ride back to our hostel in Puerto Varas from Frutillar.

One of the most amazing things about the trip so far has been to step off into spring. We have travelled to the tropics before, where the weather seasons are hot and hotter, but to land in springtime is something else. It is fresh and lush and green and it smells just like spring in WA (this is almost the same latitude south as Marblemount is north). And people are planting their gardens and crops, just like we would be in June (note the corn seedlings in the background).

German kuchen y torta!!

Pies and the prettiest cakes you have ever seen!

The Lakes District of Patagonia, both the Chilean and Argentinian sides, have been heavily influenced by German immigration. Apart for boasting spectacular views of volcanoes, it also has some very cute villages that look like something more out of Europe. This is in the town of Fruitillar, which was a colorful town of distinct wooden German architecture. It is a real delight to find great baked goods. I have to say, the Germans have that down pretty well! We biked from here along Lago Llanquihue (we can´t pronounce it either, and we´ve heard it spoken many times--part of the indigenous heritage is in a lot of un-pronounceable names) back to the town of Puerto Varas where we stayed. Two volcanoes dominate the skyline across the lake.

En route to Puerto Montt, Chile

We flew from Seattle to Dallas to Santiago, Chile, went through customs then got on ANOTHER flight to Puerto Montt. Long trip but all went well. Here are two of the 50 some-odd volcanoes in Chile, as seen from our flight to Puerto Montt.

Baby Kitten inspects our packing job

Cartographic aid

Hi all! Here's a map to help keep track of our trip. Click on the map to open a much bigger version which makes the text much easier to read. This map should always be at the bottom of the blog for easy reference.