The power´s about to shut off, so a quick update:
Spent the last five days rolling fences in the eastern part of the park, 9 miles from the Argentine border. Beautiful valley with jagged, craggy mountains on both sides. Got to live in a house: yeah, you read it: a house. With a kitchen, bathroom, and a BED. It was downright weird to have so many amenities.
Highlight of the week was standing about 5 feet away from a tiny little pygmy owl. Pictures will be uploaded soon. You´ll definitely be jealous--he was a cutie. Oh, and we dissected the owl pellet he threw up. Apparently he likes mouse heads and beatles.
Tomorrow, Mack, Jon, and I are heading out on a 5 day trip to Valle Hermoso. Given that we´re not following any trail and are hiking for 5 days, it should be a pretty epic adventure. It´ll probably (okay, definitely) be the most remote place I´ve ever been.
Another update when I return! Sorry for the brevity.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Detox from the internet lifestyle
Where to start?!
Let me start by saying that I love being away from a computer for a week at a time. Yeah, it makes keeping in touch (and applying for possible summer jobs) exceedingly difficult, but it´s so nice not to have to worry about a phone, e-mail, etc. And it also makes for a very sustainable time period between e-mails--it´s so much easier to have meaningful e-mail conversations when both parties have a week or two of events to write about. So send me e-mails! And more importantly, leave comments! I´d love to know who´s reading this thing.
Last weekend, the whole crew went down to Cochrane for their annual festival/rodeo. It was a smallish affair featuring such events as: shearing sheep, killing sheep, eating sheep, and my personal favorite, riding sheep. Apparently, I now learn, riding sheep is how one gets into bull riding. I´m surprised Scotland doesn´t have more professional bull riders...
There was also quite a bit of wine, which helped to improve my spanish remarkably. Unfortunately, it also limits my ability to talk at length about Saturday evening´s events. Bummer.
We spent both Saturday and Sunday in Cochrane, and then drove back Sunday in the rain. Rain was, unfortunately, a recurring theme this week. We packed up Monday morning in the rain, drove out to our new site in the rain, and set up most of camp in the rain. Got a brief window of nice weather in the afternoon/evening to set up our tents, then a little more rain.
It poured all day Tuesday. Really gross. Oh yeah, and it rained Wednesday afternoon, too.
But besides for the meteorological downsides, our camp last week was the best yet. Both Mack and I had joked that our previous camps felt a little bit too much like New Hampshire. Not this one. The puesto was situated on the banks of the Chacabuco River in Valle Guanaco. All around were some big ass mountains, many of which were covered in snow each morning. Finally, I was in Patagonia.
There was a spectacular sunset on Tuesday evening that turned the whole valley an incredibly warm and vibrant yellow. It was as if, after so much rain, every rock and plant was glowing with appreciation.
One of the best parts about this camp, besides the scenery, was the food. On a few of the evenings, several of us went to a nearby stream (that parallels the Chacabuco) to fish for rainbow trout. On Wednesday, Mack and I caught four (Mack 3, Justin 1) that were fit to eat. They were beautiful fish, and it was really hard to smack their little fishy heads on the side of the bridge. Yes, I am officially a Murderer.
But boy, were they good.
Other notables: On Monday evening, Mack, Jon, and I crossed the Chacabuco and hiked up an overgrown red rock canyon that reminded me so much of the Southwest. Beautiful, but tough going. We were all glad we went on Monday, because the Chacabuco just about doubled in size after all the rain. It was amazing to see just how quickly it grew.
During the days, we worked to destroy a big field full of thistles. Tough, thorny work. But seriously, what´s better than standing in a field of flowers, looking up at a fragile dusting of snow on rocky peaks?
Best of all, yesterday, Mack, Jon, and I hiked up Tomangito. It was a six hour hike from the estancia up to the peak, and it was hot. It was a great hike though, and the views from the top were absolutely spectacular. Nothing like a 360 degree view from above the treeline. I´ll try to upload the video panorama I made next time I´m at the estancia.
The coolest part about being on the top of the peak, though, was that we were about 40 feet from a full-grown Andean Condor, flying. I think he could tell that we were tired, and most likely was hoping that we would keel over and die. He checked us out for about 5-10 minutes before flying off in search of less lively prey. Just awesome (in the true sense of the word).
So, in summary, Life Is Good. I´m so happy to be here, and feel so lucky that I can be having this experience. I do miss you all, though, and hope that things are well wherever you may find yourself.
Until next time!
Let me start by saying that I love being away from a computer for a week at a time. Yeah, it makes keeping in touch (and applying for possible summer jobs) exceedingly difficult, but it´s so nice not to have to worry about a phone, e-mail, etc. And it also makes for a very sustainable time period between e-mails--it´s so much easier to have meaningful e-mail conversations when both parties have a week or two of events to write about. So send me e-mails! And more importantly, leave comments! I´d love to know who´s reading this thing.
Last weekend, the whole crew went down to Cochrane for their annual festival/rodeo. It was a smallish affair featuring such events as: shearing sheep, killing sheep, eating sheep, and my personal favorite, riding sheep. Apparently, I now learn, riding sheep is how one gets into bull riding. I´m surprised Scotland doesn´t have more professional bull riders...
There was also quite a bit of wine, which helped to improve my spanish remarkably. Unfortunately, it also limits my ability to talk at length about Saturday evening´s events. Bummer.
We spent both Saturday and Sunday in Cochrane, and then drove back Sunday in the rain. Rain was, unfortunately, a recurring theme this week. We packed up Monday morning in the rain, drove out to our new site in the rain, and set up most of camp in the rain. Got a brief window of nice weather in the afternoon/evening to set up our tents, then a little more rain.
It poured all day Tuesday. Really gross. Oh yeah, and it rained Wednesday afternoon, too.
But besides for the meteorological downsides, our camp last week was the best yet. Both Mack and I had joked that our previous camps felt a little bit too much like New Hampshire. Not this one. The puesto was situated on the banks of the Chacabuco River in Valle Guanaco. All around were some big ass mountains, many of which were covered in snow each morning. Finally, I was in Patagonia.
There was a spectacular sunset on Tuesday evening that turned the whole valley an incredibly warm and vibrant yellow. It was as if, after so much rain, every rock and plant was glowing with appreciation.
One of the best parts about this camp, besides the scenery, was the food. On a few of the evenings, several of us went to a nearby stream (that parallels the Chacabuco) to fish for rainbow trout. On Wednesday, Mack and I caught four (Mack 3, Justin 1) that were fit to eat. They were beautiful fish, and it was really hard to smack their little fishy heads on the side of the bridge. Yes, I am officially a Murderer.
But boy, were they good.
Other notables: On Monday evening, Mack, Jon, and I crossed the Chacabuco and hiked up an overgrown red rock canyon that reminded me so much of the Southwest. Beautiful, but tough going. We were all glad we went on Monday, because the Chacabuco just about doubled in size after all the rain. It was amazing to see just how quickly it grew.
During the days, we worked to destroy a big field full of thistles. Tough, thorny work. But seriously, what´s better than standing in a field of flowers, looking up at a fragile dusting of snow on rocky peaks?
Best of all, yesterday, Mack, Jon, and I hiked up Tomangito. It was a six hour hike from the estancia up to the peak, and it was hot. It was a great hike though, and the views from the top were absolutely spectacular. Nothing like a 360 degree view from above the treeline. I´ll try to upload the video panorama I made next time I´m at the estancia.
The coolest part about being on the top of the peak, though, was that we were about 40 feet from a full-grown Andean Condor, flying. I think he could tell that we were tired, and most likely was hoping that we would keel over and die. He checked us out for about 5-10 minutes before flying off in search of less lively prey. Just awesome (in the true sense of the word).
So, in summary, Life Is Good. I´m so happy to be here, and feel so lucky that I can be having this experience. I do miss you all, though, and hope that things are well wherever you may find yourself.
Until next time!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Pictures! (with Abby Esparza captions)
The view from our most recent camp, taken from the little canal where we caught rainbow trout for dinner. Just spectacular.
Some crazy little kid riding a sheep at the rodeo. Hang on, buddy!
Our last morning at Camp 3. Have I mentioned that the lighting here is always dramatic? Seriously, it´s like living in a National Geographic.
The lake that we hiked to from Camp 3, led by Rene the puma-tracker. Spent the afternoon basking on the beach in the sun (which eventually came out).
Caterpillars! Thankfully we´ve managed to avoid them recently, but they were all over the place at Camps 1 and 2.
This is a view down to the lake where we had our second camp. You can actually see my tent (it´s in the lower right hand corner). This camp was pretty rustic--no building, and only a log seat for a toilet. That being said, it was nice to be able to swim every day after work. I managed to stay significantly cleaner because of it (which my co-volunteers likely appreciated).
Camp 3. This was one of two different buildings on the site. We made and ate most of the meals in this one. Mack, Jon, and I found a sweet place to pitch our tents with beautiful, thick grass. It was almost as good as a real bed. Kind of.
Here´s everyone rolling up fences. With 20-something volunteers, we made crazy progress on the fence and finished sooner than expected.
Mack, Jon, and Jey looking out across Lago Cochrane. A beautiful afternoon hike up the ridge from Camp 2, in which Jey decided it would be a good idea to wear sandals. The stick in the foreground is the same one (above) covered in caterpillars. The little buggers were everywhere.
Check out Mack´s blog for more pictures! A longer update is coming soon!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Back to "civilization"
I´m back at the estancia after another long week working out in the middle of nowhere. This time there was a much bigger group, which changed the atmosphere pretty significantly. Gone were the days of the five of us cooking manjar pizza and playing games around the stove. In were the days of getting as much food as you could, whenever and wherever possible. It was like dinner with a ginormous familly comprised of 20 ravenous 20-somethings. We ate a lot of food.
Since I last wrote, we´ve worked at two different sites. The first was a pretty bare bones camp (read: the toilet was a hole in the ground with a log for a seat, the stove was half an oil can with a pathetic excuse for a chimney, and the "hut" didn´t have walls or a roof). So it was pretty much camping, pure and simple. We did have a beautiful lake right next to the camp, which meant that I managed to remain significantly more clean (ie- still Very Dirty).
Work consisted, of course, of rolling lots of fences. Made a lot more progress with 20 people, though.
On one of the evenings, Mack, Jon, Jey, and I climbed up the nearby ridgeline. Absolutely spectacular views down to the lake, to Lago Cochrane, and to the Northern Ice field (pictures coming soon). The craziest part about the hike were the caterpillars...they´re everywhere here, very similar to when tent caterpillars take over the northeast every few years. The only difference is that these babies sting. Poor Jey made the unfortunate mistake of wearing sandals--there were so many ´pillars that he couldn´t stand still.
The second camp was significantly more posh--two shacks, a stove, and an outhouse. Rolled fences for a day, collected bunchgrass seeds for another day, and took an awesome hike up the valley to a much bigger lake. We hiked in silence because Rene, one of the staff here, was trying to take radio readings of the pumas in the area. Totally awesome to know that there´s a mountain lion 1500 meters ahead of you, heading your way.
The day to day, as you can tell, is pretty monotonous. It consists of waking up, devouring breakfast, rolling fences, devouring lunch, rolling fences, and waiting anxiously for dinner. And then trying to eat as fast as possible in order to get seconds. And then hanging around for a bit before going to bed.
The particulars, though, are spectacular. Hiking down from the ridge as the sun was at its warmest and most dramatic, illuminating beautiful lakes, cliffs, and mountains. Diving into the lake after work, feeling like my lungs had collapsed from the cold. Coming through a narrow valley and getting our first view of the big lake (the one that we took the day hike to), then spending the afternoon lying on the beach. Watching the full moon rise over the ridgeline through a worn wooden window, its light illuminating the marble white cliffs below.
And then driving back to the estancia yesterday afternoon in the back of a caged-in pickup truck. I thought you only got to do that in southern Arizona...
Since I last wrote, we´ve worked at two different sites. The first was a pretty bare bones camp (read: the toilet was a hole in the ground with a log for a seat, the stove was half an oil can with a pathetic excuse for a chimney, and the "hut" didn´t have walls or a roof). So it was pretty much camping, pure and simple. We did have a beautiful lake right next to the camp, which meant that I managed to remain significantly more clean (ie- still Very Dirty).
Work consisted, of course, of rolling lots of fences. Made a lot more progress with 20 people, though.
On one of the evenings, Mack, Jon, Jey, and I climbed up the nearby ridgeline. Absolutely spectacular views down to the lake, to Lago Cochrane, and to the Northern Ice field (pictures coming soon). The craziest part about the hike were the caterpillars...they´re everywhere here, very similar to when tent caterpillars take over the northeast every few years. The only difference is that these babies sting. Poor Jey made the unfortunate mistake of wearing sandals--there were so many ´pillars that he couldn´t stand still.
The second camp was significantly more posh--two shacks, a stove, and an outhouse. Rolled fences for a day, collected bunchgrass seeds for another day, and took an awesome hike up the valley to a much bigger lake. We hiked in silence because Rene, one of the staff here, was trying to take radio readings of the pumas in the area. Totally awesome to know that there´s a mountain lion 1500 meters ahead of you, heading your way.
The day to day, as you can tell, is pretty monotonous. It consists of waking up, devouring breakfast, rolling fences, devouring lunch, rolling fences, and waiting anxiously for dinner. And then trying to eat as fast as possible in order to get seconds. And then hanging around for a bit before going to bed.
The particulars, though, are spectacular. Hiking down from the ridge as the sun was at its warmest and most dramatic, illuminating beautiful lakes, cliffs, and mountains. Diving into the lake after work, feeling like my lungs had collapsed from the cold. Coming through a narrow valley and getting our first view of the big lake (the one that we took the day hike to), then spending the afternoon lying on the beach. Watching the full moon rise over the ridgeline through a worn wooden window, its light illuminating the marble white cliffs below.
And then driving back to the estancia yesterday afternoon in the back of a caged-in pickup truck. I thought you only got to do that in southern Arizona...
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Off to work again.
We´re headed out this morning for another week of work, this time with a much bigger group (16 or so volunteers, versus 5). Hopefully there´ll be more time for photos and updates when I get back!
Hope you´re all doing well!
Hope you´re all doing well!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Ahora mas sabor!
Translation: now more flavor! (This title goes out to Mack and Jon, who have had to deal with just how bad I smell after 7 days without a shower)
Wow...I have not had nearly enough time to catch you all up on the trip thus far. Last time you caught up with me, I was sitting in an internet cafe in rainy Coyhaique. Quite a bit has happened since then, so I´ll try to fill you in on all the highlights.
Coyhaique to Entrada Baker
The bus trip from Coyhaique to the park didn´t look too far on the map, but the whole trip followed the Carretera Austral--a tiny little highway running through Patagonia. I use the term highway pretty loosely, because about an hour into the trip, the pavement disappeared and the road got sketchy. Think narrow dirt road twisting and turning through the mountains, often with precipitous drop offs on one side or the other. It took us 7 hours to arrive.
The Park
The bus dropped us off at a road junction in the absolute middle of nowhere. When you don´t speak Spanish and haven´t ever been to a place before, this can be a little disconcerting. Particularly when the nearest town is at least 18km away. Thankfully, shortly after we arrived someone from the park came to pick us up. On the ride in, we saw our first herd of guanacos and a baby skunk waddling alongside the road. He was pretty adorable, and probably smelled better than I do now.
Work
You can barely make out our camp in this picture.
Shortly after arriving, the park staff drove us further into the middle of nowhere to our first work camp. It was a quick turnaround, and I wish I had had more time to relax and decompress after arriving. The lack of decompression time was made up for by the fact that, as soon as we arrived at camp, the staff put on the first of what I hope will be many asados. For those of you that don´t know, an asado is a traditional Patagonia BBQ. In short, they build a big, smokey fire, and skewer a whole lamb carcass in front of it. The lamb slow cooks over several hours, and the result is absolutely DELICIOUS. You can see a picture on facebook.
Our camp was a grassy clearing in the middle of an open hardwood forest with an outhouse, the smokehouse, and a roughly 10´x30´shack, furnished with a cast iron stove. We carried water from the stream a few hundred yards away and cooked all of our food over the wood-fired stove. In short, it was Life, Little House on the Prairie style.
Work each day consisted of taking down and rolling up miles of fences. Taking them down isn´t the hard part; it´s rolling them up that kills you. Try rolling something, made out of heavy wire that doesn´t want to be rolled, over difficult terrain. I am going to have massive forearms by the end of this.
Highlights
First of all, it´s amazing to be in a place that is so far removed from humanity that you can´t hear cars or even airplanes. I struggled with the fact that I was in Patagonia at times, just because there were so few indicators to clue me in to that fact. The forest we were in looked remarkably like the northeast, the folks we were working with were mainly english speakers, and Mack was there (and Jon is here now). But then Mack and I went on an awesome day-long hike, and it became pretty clear that we were in Patagonia.
Other highlights: they have parrots here! Crazy green parrots that flew around our camp every morning, and foxes, skunks, and guanacos. And apparently that only scratches the surface of the area´s fauna. The group of 4 others that I worked with for the past week have been fantastic, and the food (albeit cooked over a cast iron stove) has been delicious.
Life is pretty darn good. I´m trying to figure out how to share the photos that I´ve posted on facebook--hopefully those will be up soon.
And thanks for leaving comments! It´s really great to hear from you all.
Wow...I have not had nearly enough time to catch you all up on the trip thus far. Last time you caught up with me, I was sitting in an internet cafe in rainy Coyhaique. Quite a bit has happened since then, so I´ll try to fill you in on all the highlights.
Coyhaique to Entrada Baker
The bus trip from Coyhaique to the park didn´t look too far on the map, but the whole trip followed the Carretera Austral--a tiny little highway running through Patagonia. I use the term highway pretty loosely, because about an hour into the trip, the pavement disappeared and the road got sketchy. Think narrow dirt road twisting and turning through the mountains, often with precipitous drop offs on one side or the other. It took us 7 hours to arrive.The Park
The bus dropped us off at a road junction in the absolute middle of nowhere. When you don´t speak Spanish and haven´t ever been to a place before, this can be a little disconcerting. Particularly when the nearest town is at least 18km away. Thankfully, shortly after we arrived someone from the park came to pick us up. On the ride in, we saw our first herd of guanacos and a baby skunk waddling alongside the road. He was pretty adorable, and probably smelled better than I do now.
Work
You can barely make out our camp in this picture.
Shortly after arriving, the park staff drove us further into the middle of nowhere to our first work camp. It was a quick turnaround, and I wish I had had more time to relax and decompress after arriving. The lack of decompression time was made up for by the fact that, as soon as we arrived at camp, the staff put on the first of what I hope will be many asados. For those of you that don´t know, an asado is a traditional Patagonia BBQ. In short, they build a big, smokey fire, and skewer a whole lamb carcass in front of it. The lamb slow cooks over several hours, and the result is absolutely DELICIOUS. You can see a picture on facebook.
Our camp was a grassy clearing in the middle of an open hardwood forest with an outhouse, the smokehouse, and a roughly 10´x30´shack, furnished with a cast iron stove. We carried water from the stream a few hundred yards away and cooked all of our food over the wood-fired stove. In short, it was Life, Little House on the Prairie style.
Work each day consisted of taking down and rolling up miles of fences. Taking them down isn´t the hard part; it´s rolling them up that kills you. Try rolling something, made out of heavy wire that doesn´t want to be rolled, over difficult terrain. I am going to have massive forearms by the end of this.
Highlights
First of all, it´s amazing to be in a place that is so far removed from humanity that you can´t hear cars or even airplanes. I struggled with the fact that I was in Patagonia at times, just because there were so few indicators to clue me in to that fact. The forest we were in looked remarkably like the northeast, the folks we were working with were mainly english speakers, and Mack was there (and Jon is here now). But then Mack and I went on an awesome day-long hike, and it became pretty clear that we were in Patagonia.
Other highlights: they have parrots here! Crazy green parrots that flew around our camp every morning, and foxes, skunks, and guanacos. And apparently that only scratches the surface of the area´s fauna. The group of 4 others that I worked with for the past week have been fantastic, and the food (albeit cooked over a cast iron stove) has been delicious.
Life is pretty darn good. I´m trying to figure out how to share the photos that I´ve posted on facebook--hopefully those will be up soon.
And thanks for leaving comments! It´s really great to hear from you all.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Be jealous.
After a 12 hour bus ride from Santiago, Mack and I arrived in Puerto Montt. The bus was significantly nicer than any public bus in the US--reclining seats, a showing of Iron Man, and breakfast. Yes, they serve food on buses here. They barely do that on US airlines!
Puerto Montt was a smallish city, with all that one could expect from such. It did have a very nice beach, which Mack and I sat on all afternoon drinking very good wine. Very good wine which cost about 2 bucks. I could definitely get used to this.
This morning we flew down to Coyhaique. It was only an hour-long flight, but it was seriously one of the most scenic flights I´ve ever been on. For just about the entire flight, we were right over the Andes, looking down on aquamarine lakes and huge snowfields. Then it opened up to high steppe, with a gorgeous earthy palette of browns and greens.
Took a bus from the airport (literally in the middle of nowhere, one runway) with a bunch of gringos and have spent the afternoon wandering around downtown Coyhaique. The central plaza here is shaped like a pentagon, which, for all you urban planners out there, is a novel but horrible idea. Think malfunction junction, but times 9.
We´re headed to the park tomorrow, and I can´t wait. It is absolutely gorgeous here. My kind of place.
Puerto Montt was a smallish city, with all that one could expect from such. It did have a very nice beach, which Mack and I sat on all afternoon drinking very good wine. Very good wine which cost about 2 bucks. I could definitely get used to this.
This morning we flew down to Coyhaique. It was only an hour-long flight, but it was seriously one of the most scenic flights I´ve ever been on. For just about the entire flight, we were right over the Andes, looking down on aquamarine lakes and huge snowfields. Then it opened up to high steppe, with a gorgeous earthy palette of browns and greens.
Took a bus from the airport (literally in the middle of nowhere, one runway) with a bunch of gringos and have spent the afternoon wandering around downtown Coyhaique. The central plaza here is shaped like a pentagon, which, for all you urban planners out there, is a novel but horrible idea. Think malfunction junction, but times 9.
We´re headed to the park tomorrow, and I can´t wait. It is absolutely gorgeous here. My kind of place.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)