"And at once I realized I was not magnificent." - Bon Iver
This is the abridged story of my Patagonian adventure as I remember it. It wouldn't be right to say that these pictures or descriptions would ever ever do it justice. In our 12 days of travel the five of us spent 10 days, 9 nights and over 95 miles on the Torres del Paine Circuit carrying all of the food and gear. I can assure you that it's one adventure I shall never ever forget.
The real journey began at the end of a long dusty road in Puerta Natales, Chile....give or take a couple days of frantically navigating the chilean transportation, spending the night dirt cheap hostels, and meeting these gems in the Santiago airport.
How did the paparazzi sneak that one in? They were the best. Eat it Folgers.
Anyway, after getting off the bus at a place called Laguna Amarga we started off towards Campamento Serón with our four new Israeli friends that we had met on the last bus ride.
{left top: Drew, Tzachi, Kobi, Sara, Bailey, Iris, Lauren; bottom: Lauren, Jaclyn; photographer Dan}
A nice six hour stroll later, the nine of us arrived at our first Campamento. The way it was set up it felt a little like we were camping someone's backyard. We spent the evening eating dinner with our new friends, watching the sunset and meeting some of the other travelers--many of whom we ended up seeing many more nights along the Circuit.
Patagonia has this thing where the skies are enormous and pink every morning and night.
Sometimes I accidentally buy chunky tomato paste instead of pasta sauce for dinner.
Look at that champ taking one for the team. What doesn't kill you makes you awesome.
Day 2:
The next morning we awoke to another day of perfect weather. Drew made breakfast, we packed up camp like it was our job and I taught Jaclyn how to spit toothpaste the environmentally friendly way. Ask her about it if you want. Or don't.
The choice is yours.
The beauty of the trail grew 5 times and so did the difficulty. We got our first views of the glaciers and towering mountains that make you want to cry or faint or pee your pants.
Some moments along the trail we'd just be silent for an hour or so. There's something to be said about solo time in a place this incredible. It gives you time to really process everything. Moreover, it gives you time to marvel in the face of raw beauty. I deliberately left every inclination to think about schoolwork, job applications and home behind. Ultimate freedom.
I remember thinking God, thank you for letting me be alive right now!
I will NEVER forget the first we had of Lake Dickson coming into our first refugio. I could not have dreamt up a place like this if I tried. We had an ariel view of turquoise lagoon nestled next to a glacier, big open field and towering snow capped mountains at it's heel.
That evening we cooked dinner by the lake and hung out by the shore until the sun went down.
Beautiful friendship. Beautiful Lake Dickson.
That night the guys that worked at the refugio invited us back to their cabaña and boy was it a night to remember.
Chilean life lesson #26: As it turns out it's pretty easy to get free wine with blonde hair and gringa accents.
Chilean Life Lesson #27: As it turns out it's also pretty easy to get away with basically anything with blonde hair and gringa accents.
Day 3:
I woke up to this staring me in the face. Try and have a bad day after that.
We started the morning hiking with our new friend Ivan, a 19 year old from Alaska who had been travelling the world for the last year and was attempting to do the entire Circuit in 5 days. Needless to say he ditched out on us after about an hour.
We had a pleasant day on our own despite the drizzle.
and ate second lunch next to this glacier. yum. yummo. delicious.
We had only a 6-mile day that day-- by far the shortest of the trip. Chump Change. Lot's of panoramas, river valleys and waterfalls of the bright turquoise variety.There's also no need to buy another postcard or set a desktop background because at this point I've already lived inside them all.
Our home that night, Campamento Perros was a pretty hip place nestled along a river in thick Aspen-like trees.
There was also a slack line set up, which led to many funny moments like this one:
Let me emphasize one more time how much we love these guys.
Day 4:
The next morning I awoke cuddled up to Drew in the tent. I was trying really hard to look really pitiful and cold.
Okay, okay I didn't have to try, I just was.
It was pouring rain. Just in time too because this was supposed to be our most difficult day. For the sake of my camera and my life I didn't take many pictures but Day 4 part 1 was definitely the most beautiful yet.
The next three hour window of my life that followed was truly unforgettable. Sixty mile and hour winds and pouring rain meant that we had to crouch down and hold onto branches more than one time to keep from toppling over. The best part was the self inflating trash bags covering mine and Jaclyn's packs that liked to hit us in the face and act as parachutes in the wind.
We barely noticed how steep it was because of how fast we were booking it to get over the pass. I don't think I've ever felt so in the zone. Unfortunately, when we got to the top we could barely see our own bodies, much less the view.
Lots of lots of downhill sliding down muddy switchbacks on the seats of our pants (into the same German tourist three times in my case) later we arrived at a not so quaint little camp sight they like to call Paso.
Thank you God for keeping us safe.
Wet clothes. Wet food. Smells like eggs. No problem. It was good to see some friendly familiar faces and that's all that seemed to really matter.
It's amazing what a belly full of burrito will do for a soul.
{Lauren, Kobi, Sara}
Day 5:
The morning was good to us when the sun came out to say hey. We decided to hike with our friends and it was probably one of my favorite trekking days. Have I said that before?
We had our first real views of Glacier Grey and it looked nothing like real life.
ahhhhh. I wish you could know.
{Drew, Kobi, Dan, Jaclyn, Lauren, Tzachi}
{5th consecutive day of rainbow}
We arrived that night at Refugio Grey, which was kind of like camping for posers. Then when I realized there was hot water, a fancy lobby and couches for snoozing and I was okay with being a poser.
It also marked the official beginning of the 'W' section of the circuit, which meant going from 3 or 4 groups of travelers to 15 or 20. As overwhelming as it was, it was truly special to meet people from literally all over the world. We have plans to meet up with many of them again in Chile.
Here's most group squatting at the Refugio until they kicked us out.
Day 6:
We started hiking early that day in the rain through the
burned section of the park. The day only got drearier when we had to split the group up due to injury. Lauren and Jaclyn stayed behind at Refugio Paine Grande to take the ferry to a Hostelería and we made plans to meet up again in 2 days to climb the Torres. Our new friend Iris, who caught up to us with her group 45 minutes also decided to accompany them last minute leaving Drew, Bailey and I with the three boys. It was a bitter feeling to say goodbye to part of the team knowing that we would not be able to finish all together. Nonetheless, we pushed through the second half of the day and saw this:
The entrance to Campamento Italiano was a swinging bridge seated next to a towering glacier topped mountain.
Here is what I would look like if I hiked all day then stood on a bridge trying not to get knocked into a river by the wind.
Campamento Italiano was the most crowded of all the places we had stayed as it was one of the main stopping points for the French Valley and crossway into the 'W.' It was pouring rain that night and people were crowded into the small shelter cooking their dinners. I was so thankful that there hadn't been this many people the whole trip as wonderful as it was for that night. I got to know some interesting people from around the world: Finland, Australia, India, Argentina, Canada to name a few of my new buddies. I had know idea how many people dedicate months, years, maybe more of their lives just travelling the world. I was captivated.
The best part was that had no other focus or distractions outside of the pursuit of this adventure and the community of travelers. We all came from different places but shared this love for adventure and beauty-- I couldn't think of anything more unifying.
So many people were interested to hear an American's perspective on Obama, economics, Chilean politics, peanut butter. The usual.
The saddest part bar none was saying goodbye to our Kobi, Dan and Tzachi who would be continuing on to Campamento Torres the next day. They sent us off with big hugs and pearls of wisdom. I sat by the river next to where we were camping that night for a couple hours that night reflecting on the pure beauty of this journey hence far.
Day 7:
It felt a little strange and empty to get up that morning and pack up camp, our group having shrunk from 9 to 3 in less than 24 hours. The day hike into the French Valley meant we got to leave our packs for the day. They were not missed.
God is pretty good at doing his thing.
Day 8:
We packed up camp that morning in a downpour about to embark on our longest day of hiking (about 15 miles we later estimated). Thank God the sun came out after about an hour and low and behold another beautiful day in the Patagonia. It was getting pretty ridiculous at this point how unreal everything is.
{Drew and Bailey at Campamento Cuernos}
The best part of the day was reuniting with Jaclyn and Lauren Chariots of Fire style.
That's right we got the gang back.
Summoning every ounce of inner strength we had, the five of began the steep three hour ascent into the Valley of the Towers holding and making it to camp just before it got dark. Unbelievable.
We talked about hiking the last 45 minutes up to the towers from camp for sunset that night but decided to pass out in a pile o' sleeping bags instead.
Good joke though.
Instead we enjoyed our cups of dry pasta and soy-meatish thing and made plans to get up at 5 AM the next morning to watch the sunrise over the towers. I will never forget that dinner we had with one of the Chileans working at Campamento Torres.
my personal favorite:
Fernando: (to the Japanese man sitting next to us) Do you eat rice, like, every night?
And then you have to know, nothing is worse for your Spanish than sleep deprivation and hiking 10 hours:
Fernando: So, how long have you guys been here?
Lauren: About a week
Bailey: About a month
Sara: In July
Jaclyn: No, my gloves are still wet.
Drew: Up in the hills.
You get the idea.
Day 9:
The next morning against all notions of good and decency 5 o'clock rolled around and our big open blue skies turned into yep. a blizzard. I desperately wanted to stay and wait it out but we decided it would be most beneficial for the group to hike out that morning right away. We packed up camp like no one's business and got to lower ground fast.
Heartbroken.
For five years I had dreamt of seeing the real Torres del Paine. And here I was living in Chile thousands of miles from home on this great journey of triumph and personal growth craving to stand bewildered and humbled at the face of one of what may be the most beautiful spots on earth. I wasn`t till we were on the bus back to Natales and my friend from Campamento Italiano showed me his pictures from the night before that it really registered.
My heart sank five feet into my chest.
It made me think of something that our Israeli friend, Tzachi had said a couple nights before. No matter how many times you lose something: whether it be a wallet, a romantic relationship or even a friend who dies it will never prepare you for the next thing you have to lose. There is no way to equip or prepare yourself for loss. Okay I can't help but laugh at myself and this weird crush I have on the mountains. A little obsessed perhaps? Probably. I believe being in the wilderness is one of the most authentic things we can experience as humans. In all honesty, in that moment, missing out on the Torres felt like such a loss. It was then I realized what it means to let go of something. I thought about my own life-- about saying goodbye to the river at the end of a Kidder Creek summer, seeing best friends go time after time, boldly passing into a new phase of life. It's easy to look back with regret and longing. In regards to this fixated expectation, just like so many other things, I had to learn to let go. I have to believe that there are greater things ahead than any left behind. With every new experience I learn to detach myself from the worldly treasures, or at the very least give them to God. With every new phase of life I recognize that everything real on this earth--every ounce of glory, every beautiful moment, relationship and towering mountain top is a reflection of a deeper beauty that I do not own.
I grew so much more as a person in those 12 days than I ever could have in the week and a half of school that I missed.
I'll never forget sharing my life story with a group of had-been strangers a few short days ago, watching the sun rise over Lake Dickson or that first view of Glacier Grey, staying up late laughing and talking about the rest of our lives, learning the passions, dreams, hopes and struggles of people from around the globe. I may not have gotten to see the towers but my days in Patagonia were richer and more abundant than anything I could have conceived in my own anticipation.If there is one thing that Chile has taught me it is how BLESSED I am for opportunities as these.
"The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
-Into the Wild
Here's to Now,
Smo.
'
