Patagonia - Day #7

Patagonia- Day #7 - Friday, January 3rd

It’s 10:30pm - just back to the hut from another great dinner.  Each day we have been given a menu at breakfast where we select between 3 starters, 3 main dishes, and 3 desserts for the evening meal.   Tonight we had tuna and it was delicious.  Each night has been something unique - pretty impressive.  

Well - today we successfully completed the famous W-Trek in Torres del Paine National Park!!!   Outstanding!!   The whole circuit is 45 miles and roughly 9,400’ elevation gain.  Today we hiked the first leg of the W which brought us to this magnificent lake - with the mountainous towers (visible from EcoCamp) in the distance.  We stayed at the lake for over an hour - eating lunch and taking pictures. I think the pictures have turned out nicely - but sitting there was awe-inspiring.  This location, with the perfect weather we had today, is on a very short list of most scenic places I’ve been in my life. 

We started our hike at 7:15am — the earliest we’ve got out of camp this week.  It was a 6.5 mile out/back hike (13 total miles) - with the first 6.5 miles broken into 3 segments.  The first segment was a non-stop climb up this rocky, steep, highly exposed mountain slope. The 2nd segment was through the forest and consisted of rolling hills (my favorite segment of the day).   The final segment was a really steep, staircase -like mountain slope which brought us to the final prize - a pristine glacial lake with the 3 mountain spires in the distance. 

After all the pictures - we slowly made our way back to EcoCamp.  The hike we did today is the single most popular hike in this region.  Because of this, and because it was perfect weather, we dealt with hundreds of hikers on our return trek.  We had to stop and take turns down the treacherous steps - taking us longer to descend segment 3 than climb it.  

We stopped at a Refugio about half-way down the mountain where some of the team decided to partake in drinks.  By this time in the trip - the guides know us pretty well - so they’ve given us some leeway.  Greg and I really wanted to continue hiking - so we finished the last 3 miles on our own.  I wanted to get back and check-in on my messages and upload my blog entries. 

I spent 2 hours at a cafe down the hill from EcoCamp getting caught up on some things.  We then had our team briefing at 7:15pm - followed by our 8pm dinner.  Dinners are pretty late here - but I think it’s fairly common in South America

Tomorrow is our final active day on our tour.  We’ve completed the W-Trek - so tomorrow we will do a driving tour and a picnic lunch followed by a short hike.  The itinerary has this last day to provide some flexibility if the weather was really bad early in the trip - we could have flip-flopped days if necessary. 

We get to sleep in a bit as well - with breakfast at 8am.  It’s a great feeling to have successfully completed the W-Trek - now we get to have a more relaxing day in celebration. 

It’s been an amazing trip so far - Patagonia has lived up to all my expectations- and then some. 

Good night from a relaxed, happy, and thankful feller!!

 

Patagonia - Day #6

Patagonia- Day #6 - Thursday, January 2nd

Another incredible day today.  We are getting very lucky with the weather.  Blue skies all day today.  We did have to deal with crazy wind gusts - but all good. 

Last night was rainy and windy - I didn’t get much sleep.  I ended up getting up before the alarm at 5am (was planning a 6am wakeup).  I got packed up and ready for the day.  Greg and I went over to breakfast early and grabbed some tea/coffee - awaiting the rest of the team.  

I made sure to eat a hardier breakfast today - as I was pretty weak yesterday. Today’s hike was 6.8 miles only - but had a fair bit of climbing.  The highlight of the day was seeing the Grey Glacier - a huge glacier at the northern end of the last leg of the W.

We completed the hiking portion of the day at the glacier - where we boarded a boat for a 1-1/2 hr boat ride which brought us up close to the glacier itself. Amazing!!  We spent most of the time on the outside deck of the boat - and the remaining time having a drink inside. 

We landed on shore and had a 30-minute hike crossing the beach and a walk through the woods.  The winds on the beach were the hardest all day.  You could barely move at times on the rocky beach. 

We next took a 1hr 45 min shuttle back to Exocamp.  We stopped twice at 2 scenic lookout areas - which providdd unreal scenery

Back to EcoCamp at 6:40pm- rechecked into our same hut - grabbed a shower - and met with  the group for our briefing and dinner at 7:15pm.  This trip has been really great - but we haven’t had a lot of downtime - we’re always on the move

Finished dinner st 9:30.  It’s 10:30pm right now - I’m finishing the blog and ready for a much needed night of sleep in a proper bed.  The past 2 nights were in a tent and I didn’t sleep well either night.  

Wake-up call is 5:40am and breakfast at 6am.  We’re planning to be on trail at 7am. Tomorrow is the toughest hike of the journey, and if all goes well, we complete the famous W-Trek tomorrow

Good night from Patagonia!

Patagonia - Day #5

Patagonia- Day #5 - Wednesday, January 1st

It’s 10:40pm on Wednesday, January 1st.  A big hiking day today - roughly 18 miles with a ton of vertical.  We only completed the hike about 7:45pm. 

It was a tough day out there - but we still saw some absolutely incredible sites.  So amazing to pass hikers all day saying:  “Happy New Year!!” 

We are hiking the famous W-Trek in Torres del Paine National Park.  Today - we hiked the middle leg of the W.   This involved a steady climb up the French valley - which ultimately brought us right up against some amazing mountains/glaciers.  There were 2 separate lookouts - we hiked to them both.

The weather held up as we ascended into the valley and started raining as we descended the same path (we did an out and back up the middle leg of the W).  The rain created pretty treacherous conditions- which slowed our pace a bit on the return.  We made it down in good shape, however.  After getting to the bottom of the W we hiked another 3-1/2 miles across the first lower section of the W.  This trail was very flat and allowed us to make really good time

We rolled into camp at 7:45 - just in time for a nice buffet dinner.  Everybody was pretty beat up after the long day - so we all dispersed pretty quickly after our meal.  I grabbed a shower and I’m sacked out in my tent right now.  Tonight and last night - we have stayed in elevated tents.  Tomorrow we’ll go back to EcoCamp to our really nice beds in the dome huts.

Gotta get some shut eye. Good night from Patagonia!!

 

Patagonia - Day #4

Patagonia- Day #4 - Tuesday, December 31st

It’s 10pm on New Years Eve.  I’m currently in an elevated tent at Refugio Cisneros in Torres Del Paine National Park.  I’m going to write an outline of today’s events right now - but will go back and add some details later

First off - what an absolutely amazing day!!  If the trip ended after today - the journey was so worth it.  The weather in Torres del Paine is generally highly questionable - with clear viewing days a pretty rare occurrence. Well - we had 5-star, incredibly beautiful weather today.  The pristine, blue glacier fed lakes with huge granite peaks in the background make this a famous hiking destination - today they showed off for us. 

The day started with a 8am breakfast followed by final packing and checkout from EcoCamp. Due to the remote nature of this camp, we don’t have wi-fi available in camp or electrical sockets to charge devices. After breakfast - Greg and I walked down the hill to a coffee shop, purchased wi-fi for 8 dollars, and sent messages to family (and I uploaded 1 blog).  We hurried back up to camp for our 10am departure. 

Today’s hike was around 9 miles with some elevation up/downs - but overall fairly tame hiking conditions.  Nearly the entirety of the day was positioned on a trail between this amazing blue-tinted, glacier fed lake and this iconic mountain range with glaciers visible to the eye.  Stunning, unreal, worth the price of admission - just a fantastic hiking day

We had plenty of breaks today - eating lunch over this river that fed into the glacier lake.  We crossed several swing bridges that crossed over rivers and streams.  The guides educated us how the mountains formed and how the distinct layers in the rock developed with time

With all that said - probably my favorite part of today was coming together as a team with our group.  We have 12 people:   The 2 guides:  Pablo and Jean, Greg and myself, Walter and Ellen (a couple from  Albuquerque, NM), Doug and Michael (a father (Doug) and son (Michael) team.  Doug is retired and Michael is a junior in college at Texas.  Next, we have Mia and Simon - a couple from Brisbane, Australia.  Finally, there is Lauren and Brendan - a couple from Singapore - formerly from Australia (friends of Mia/Simon)

We completed the hike today around 4:30pm.  We all cleaned up with a shower and met back at the community bar where we indulged in beers/wine for 3-1/2 hours before our 8pm dinner. So much fun.  One of the reasons I love traveling is to meet really interesting people.  Today - was the perfect definition of this.  We told stories for hours of various trips/places we’ve been and where we want to go next.

We then had a great dinner which brought us to 9:30-10pm and my nightly recap of the day’s events. I do these blogs to capture my emotion at the time of the entry - when I read these in the future- it brings me back to this very place in time. 

I only spent 30 minutes to write this tonight - because the words were just flowing.  I’ll go back and tighten things up tomorrow

In 1-1/2 hours it’ll be 2025.  I can’t believe it!!  What a memorable place to start the new year.  I’m always reflective this time of year.  I hope this year brings good times and good health to everyone.  Here’s to living a life filled with adventure, exploring the unknowns, and uncapping dreams that never seemed possible. 

Happy New Year!!!!!

Patagonia- Day #3

 Patagonia- Day#3 - Monday, December 30th

It’s 11:15pm - 1st night at EcoCamp Patagonia - in Torres del Paine National Park.  It’s been a good day - and I’m worn out.  

Our flight into Puerto Natales from Santiago was smooth and on-time.  We arrived at 12:30pm and met our shuttle driver right away.  We shared a shuttle with 4 people from Australia- that will be joining us on our 7-day trek.  We were transported to the EcoCamp Tour office where we finalized our registration. 

Next we headed for lunch at a real nice restaurant in town.  We had a 3-course, pretty fancy meal with lamb chops and potatoes as the main dish.  It’s safe to say we will not be going hungry on this trip.  We met up with 4 additional people for lunch (10 of us total).  Greg and I sat by the new group - a family of 4 from London.  They had been traveling for a couple of weeks already throughout Chile and Torres Del Paine is their last stop. We had a really nice and interesting conversation over lunch. 

After we finished eating, we met up with the shuttle driver again for our 3pm departure to EcoCamp.  The 2-hour drive was really scenic - with mountains and lakes punctuating the landscape.  We arrived at EcoCamp around 5pm. 

EcoCamp is basically a camp made of dome huts.  There are 5-6 main huts for registration, dinner, and incredible sitting area with comfortable couches/chairs and an awesome bar.  They even have a yoga hut where they have complementary yoga sessions each morning.  The huts are connected to one another by a wooden walkway that is lined with chicken wire to help with traction/footing.   The camp is at the base of this incredible mountain with 3 defining spires (will learn more about these tomorrow). 

Everyday between 4-6pm they have a free happy hour with snacks, tea, coffee, etc.  We indulged in this - then met our 2 guides - Pablo and Jean for a 7:15pm briefing.  This was followed by dinner/drinks.  The night ended with some packing - as we store our big duffles at EcoCamp for the next 2 days - as we’ll be staying in Refugio’s (huts).  The guides will carry a dry bag for us, we’ll carry our backpacks, and our big duffels remain at EcoCamp. 

The night ended with a shower from the bathroom hut. Not bad - actually had hot water.  Good night from EcoCamp Patagonia!!

EcoCamp

Dome huts

Mountain behind camp

Trail leading out of camp

Registration hut 

Behind our dome

Nice weather day

3 spires behind our dome

Patagonia - Day #2

 Patagonia- Day #2 - Sunday, December 29th

Coming to you live aboard LATAM Flight LA01 - heading to Puerto Natales (Chile) from Santiago, Chile.   It’s 9am local time on Monday, December 30th.  We have a 3-hr flight ahead of us.  In good spirits after a restful night in Santiago.  Ready to get our excursion started today.   Tonight - we’ll end our day at EcoCamp - in Torres Del Paine National Park. 

Sunday, December 29th was a pretty massive travel day.  We ended up delayed for nearly 6 hours at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.  Our 8:10pm (Sat, Dec 28th) departure turned into a 2am (Sun, Dec 29th) departure.   The 9-hr flight went as good as expected.  I got maybe 3-4 hrs of sleep - in 30-minute segments.  We arrived into Santiago around 12:30pm local time on Sun, Dec 29th.  We made it through customs and took a $30 cab ride to our hotel (Courtyard Marriott).  Note - conversion rate for money is roughly 100,000 Chilean equals $100 US dollars - pretty simple to just drop the numbers after the comma.  Prices seem a bit more affordable than the US - but not by a great margin. 

Santiago is the 6th largest city in South America - with 6.7 million people.  Top 6 cities in South America:  (1) São Paulo, Brazil - 21.7 million. (2)  Buenos Aires, Argentina- 15 million. (3). Rio de Janeiro- 13.4 million.  (4). Bogota, Columbia - 10.6 million.  (5). Lima, Peru- 10.4 million.  (6) Santiago, Chile - 6.7 million.  

Greg had stayed in our hotel in Santiago previously with work - so we had some good intel on the location.  We only got to the hotel around 2pm local time.  We crashed for about an hour in the room and then decided to walk around the area.  Temperatures were warm - 80+ degrees F.   We found a mini-mart to grab some snacks for our upcoming hike and got some money from an ATM.  We then had a pretty awesome steak at a nice restaurant in this huge mall complex in the northeast area in Santiago.  English-Speakers are hard to find in Santiago.   Spanish is the language primarily.  We did our best, with an assist from Google Translator, to place with our order. 

Chile is my 64th country I’ve visited so far in my life - the 5th in South America (Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay).   One cool thing we found out - Acongagua (22,000ft), the highest mountain in South America and one of the 7-Summits, is only 50 miles northeast of Santiago.  There are mountains surrounding the city - impressive site.  We couldn’t actually get a visual of Acongagua however.  

After dinner we went up to the top balcony of our hotel.  There was a look-out area where we caught a great sunset around 9pm.   Exhaustion setting in - we called it a night to catch up on some much needed rest leading into our hike.  

Travel is a necessary evil to get you to the best places in the world.  Grin and bear it - because the best things in life don’t always come easily.   Heres to making new memories!!   

Just listening to this older song.   St Elmo’s Fire.   One of my all-time favorite versus in a song:   “Just once in your life - a man has his time.  And my time is now - I’m coming alive.”    If you’re looking to get inspired - pull up this song.  

Patagonia - Day #1

 Patagonia- Day #1  —  Saturday, December 28

Coming to you live from the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia - the busiest airport in the world.  It’s 8pm - our international flight to Santiago, Chile continues to get delayed.  A previously scheduled 8:10pm departure has now been pushed back to 11:05pm.  

My buddy Greg and I are headed out for a 2-week adventure in Patagonia.   Patagonia is a region in the southern-most tip of South America - which lies in the countries of Chile and Argentina.  Patagonia is known for its glaciers, pristine lakes, and granite mountains.  It’s also known as one of the best hiking destinations in the world.  We have a 12-day itinerary setup with 2 separate excursions:   7-days on the famous W-Trek in Torres del Paine National Park and 5-days on the Fitz Roy Trek.   

Patagonia is an extremely remote destination.   Thereby - it’s not an easy place to get to.   Our journey started in St Louis - with a 1pm departure earlier today.  From Atlanta, we fly to Santiago, Chile - set to arrive at 10am local time on Sunday, December 29th.  We’ll stay in Santiago on Sunday and then fly to Puerto Natales, Chile on Monday, December 30th.  We have a guide service picking us up at the airport in Puerto Natales around 5pm on Monday afternoon - starting our 7-day Trek in Torres del Paine.  

For the duration of our trip, we’ll be in a time zone that is 2 hours ahead of the Eastern Time zone in the US.  It’s 8:37pm now in Atlanta - it’s 10:37pm in Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina.   

We’ll hike 45 miles on our 7-day trek in Torres del Paine and around 30 miles on the Fitz Roy Trek.  Seasons are flipped in South America - but we’re prepared for cold, rainy, and windy temperatures.  We’re told that weather is highly variable - so layering is critical.  

It’s been over a year since our hike of the Tour du Mont Blanc in Europe.  I’m pumped to get it going again.  Hoping to have some incredible scenery and meet some interesting people.  I’m going to blog daily and post when I have internet.  Let’s get it started!!