Chiloe Island

Spent 16 hours on three buses yesterday. Bariloche to Osorno to Puerto Montt to Quellon. Almost 2 hours in border crossings... The argentinean and Chilean border stations are about 30 minutes apart. Very inefficient. Said yes I had food on the form we had to fill out. All the luggage was taken out of the bus. First on the argentinean side then again on the Chile side. Waited in line for my passport to get stamped....on both sides of the border. Dogs ran around sniffing all the luggage. Never did get asked about my food. Big waste of time. And now it's cold and rainy. Doesn't look that great for hiking here. Last night we spent in a big fancy hotel. Luke warm shower. I guess you don't get what you pay for! Probably switching plans again. Gotta stay flexible. Will bus up to the town of Castro today. Will stay at a hostel. Much more our style. Seems like we are the only foreign tourists here. Pretty cool. I'm sure this place would look different with some sun! Bus is in 2 hours. Would usually be out walking but don't want to get all wet.

Nahuel Huapi National Park

I just finished five intense days hiking in Nahuel Huapi National Park. Stunning and butt kicking. Just the way I like it. Returned to Bariloche last night. Spent the day planning and deciding on where to go the last 2 weeks down here. So many choices. I need more time. High season has arrived and reservations are becoming more important.

Sorry this blog has been a bit of a bust. I'm loving just being here much more than writing about being here.

I managed to add some photos to Picasa or Google plus but i'm not sure of the link. So someone figure it out and post the link here!

Happy New Year!

Cerro Torre

Hola from El Bolson, Argentina

22 hours in an air conditioned bus with seats that partially reclined and had foot rests. That's what I signed up for. I got 24 hours with no air conditioning on the sunniest day yet. The foot rests were a joke. I was so hot and sweaty. Plus I couldn't see out that well because so many passengers pulled the curtains closed.

The day started out great. The clearest day yet. From the town of El Chalten you can see both Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. Kind of a bummer to be leaving today but we had to buy our tickets a few days ago. Plus there is lots more to see. And i'm too tired to hike today. It was a nice farewell.

The bus ride definitely showed what a vast country this is. Barren empty sameness for hour after hour. Guanacos. Rheas. 2 rheas tried to race the bus. They lost. Funny. A few huge lakes. Gorgeous clouds. And more sameness. Some paved roads but mostly dirt. And dusty. By the time we got back to the mountains it was dark.

Today was spent wandering around the town of El Bolson trying to recover from the bus ride that got us here at 6:30am. Another hiker in Torres told us about this town. Said a bunch of hippies lived here and there is a lot of craft beers. Definitely no hippies. But lots of beer. Not many tourists either which is kind of nice.

I'm trying to figure out if I have a head cold or allergies. I breathed in so much dust yesterday.

Fitz Roy, The Magnificient

Phone calls with my mother, some of my siblings, emails and messages from my friends plus some time to reflect on the wonderful life of my father has made me feel at peace with staying here.

Laura and I left Bee in Puerto Natales. Bee was great to travel with and I will be forever indebted to her for getting the ball rolling on this trip. She is now back in California.

Next stop was El Chalten....home of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. Fitz Roy is the most magnificient mountain I have ever seen. We got so lucky with the weather. The first day started out windy and cloudy but was still beautiful with the mountains playing hide and seek with us. We hiked up to the viewpoint at Piedra Blancas Glacier with Fitz Roy behind it. Magical. In the afternoon we got to Poincenot Campground, set up our tents and set off for the 1000 meter hike up to the viewpoint. Fitz Roy was out in all his glory, no clouds and no wind. The sun was setting behind it. So different weather than the morning. Hiked back down and ate dinner at 10pm while it was still light.

3:45 the alarm went off. Packed up day pack stuff and took off to repeat the hike of the afternoon before. The full moon lighted our way. We got up there in plenty of time to watch the show. To the east the sky turned red and pink. Fitz Roy slowly lit up to a bright red. Amazing. Inspiring. Captivating. A perfect place to think of my father. And then a cloud came, blocked the sun and the light show was over. But Fitz Roy was still there standing tall looking magnificient. I sat up there and boiled water for coffee. It was the best cup of coffee ever! I didn't want to leave.

Later we hiked over to Laguna Torres at the foot Cerro Torre. While walking there the top of it's spires were completely visible. Later clouds blocked the tops. It is also a beautiful mountain but I think my head just couldn't absorb any more beauty. I walked back to the town of El Chalten.

My head feels like it's going to explode from what I have seen. I didn't think anything could top Torres del Paine but Fitz Roy did it.

12/13/13 My Father

12/13/13. My Father

Fighting fierce winds and rain we made our way back to Las Torres Hotel and thus completed the circuit.

I was able to get WiFi and then learned that my father had passed away 3 days earlier. Did I ever feel like I was at the end of the world. We had a short time there before we got on the 2 hour bus ride back to Puerto Natales. I had a window seat. I stared out into the rainy barren world alone with my thoughts and memories.

I am so fortunate to have had my wonderful father around for almost 61 years. I wish everyone could be so blessed.

12/12/13 Valley Frances

12/12/13
Campamento Italiano to Refugio Los Cuernos
20.5 K

Rain last night and fierce wind but the campsite was protected.
Left at 7am with daypacks for the out and back hike up Valle Frances and immediately put on raincoats. Low clouds shrouded the peaks but I was still snapping pictures. A rainbow appeared. It rained, hailed, and snowed intermitantly. Then the sun came out for awhile.

The views constantly unfolded and morphed as the clouds blew around. The glaciers on Paine Grande, the various peaks associated with Los Cuernos and then more mountains and glaciers to the north. I passed thru Campamento Britanico then another 2K up to the lookout. The lookout was the top of a minor peak, nothing manmade. 2 others were already there. I climbed up the rocks and took in the view. I sat there and soaked up the grandeur. It kept clearing up more and more. Gorgeous. 5 others showed up. We all just sat silently watching the show.
Finally I started making my way down. I stopped at places I had taken photos on the way up. Now it looked completely different with more sun and less clouds.

I got back to Campamento Italiano, packed up my tent and we were off. Lago Nordenskjold in the distance was a beautiful glacial blue green. The wind picked up and got intense as we walked along the shoreline. At one point I slipped and fell. One of my poles snapped and I banged up my shin. I need both poles to set up my tent. We were already planning on sleeping inside the refugio if there was space. Luckily, we got bunks. It always works out.

Refugio Los Cuernos is in an awesome setting. Huge windows look out over the lake and mountains. Ate dinner there. Tough beef over mashed potatoes. Yum! The wine and conversation were good.