Hello everyone. We´ve been trying to get more pictures and entries up, but the internet this far south is so expensive and the connection is crap. Plus, the majority of the last two weeks have been spent backpacking some of the most wild and remote sections of Patagonia: the Fitz Roy range in El Chalten, Argentina, and Torres Del Paine, out of Puerto Natales, Chile.
Both are located on different sides of Heilo Sur, the southern section of the largest ice field in south america. These parks are famous for their jagged, craggy peaks that spring from nowhere and are covered in glaciers and pristine lakes. We hiked all over both parks, doing most of the classic ¨W¨ circuit in Torres (only cut short one day due to rain and 95km wind) and the majority of the trails in Fitz Roy. Both were 5 day trips.
We left Chalten yesterday morning and spent the rest of the day in El Calafate. Today we rented a car and drove to one the of the worlds most famous glaciers, the Perito Moreno. This amazing chunk of ice is 60km long, 5km across and 60 meters high. However, despite it´s size, the most impressive aspect about the Perito Moreno is that it´s fast moving (up to 2 meters a day) and is constantly advancing. Because of this, you´re able to watch (and listen to) huge slabs of ice crashing into the water as they finially lose their battle with gravity. The largest iceburg we witnessed was a five-story-high tower that fell with a booming thud. Extremely impressive.
Tonight at 3am, Katie, Amelia, and Rowan have a bus to Ushuaia, the farthest southern city in the world. We lost a crutial part of Team Ustedes in El Chalten when Brendon stayed for some more trekking. Tonight Leslie will be leaving as well, heading north for 5 months all over the south american map. We will most certainly miss both of them and wish them the best on their continued travels.
Hopefully we´ll have better access to internet over the next few days to get some of these amazing pictures posted. We can´t wait to share them and all the stories. Until then...
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2 comments:
¡Hurra!
You made, it or nearly so as I type this from norte americana. Can't wait for more details. Would love to see a map of all the trekking paths, should have sent you down with my old gps so I could find my way back there later. Sorry to hear your team is parting ways for now but what an adventure! You'll have to develop more details online later to reconnect everyone. Looking forward to seeing you guys soon.
Love ya, DaD
I forgot to ask if you saw any sign of the thousands of beavers that are expanding northward towards Chile after being introduced near Tierra del Fuego in the 1940s. They are apparently devastating the native beech forests which didn't co-evolve with these furry engineers. The trees don't grow back from the damage caused by beavers and there are huge areas that have lost the forest. A big trapping program will be tried next...
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