Written By Alex Wuestneck (University of Vermont)
Team Condor
On March 28th, after saying a final goodbye to our brothers and sisters in Team Aguila and our beloved “mom and dad” (Shay and Adam), the Condors, minus Hannah P. and Maggie, left the nest for our last trip into the field. We were joined by Scott and Mateo, the director of Round River’s Latin American programs, and we began at the southern tip of Tamango National Reserve, just a five-minute drive away from our base camp in Cochrane. The walk north through Tamango was long and steep, but it offered amazing views of Cochrane, Lago Esmeralda and San Lorenzo in the distance. All of us were a bit worn out from our final late dinner with Team Aguila the night before, but that didn’t stop us from basking in the glory of our little home away from home. We were also grateful for, and somewhat disoriented by, the fact that we were walking on an actual trail – at this point, we’ve gotten used to bushwhacking through rainforests and sinking waist deep into bogs, and the trails on this trip were a welcome change.
On the 29th, we made our way through the rest of Tamango and, around lunchtime, began the steep descent into Parque Patagonia, nestled in the beautiful Chacabuco Valley. The valley sprawled out beneath us in all its majesty, and even in less than ideal weather conditions, we all looked down in awe at the winding river and rolling hills, bordered by jagged peaks on all sides. The descent was rough on the knees, and we began to envy our comrades who had skipped this leg of the trip – but alas, we made it down in one piece, and found Hannah, Maggie and Samara waiting for us and preparing dinner at the campsite. Separation anxiety had gotten the best of us after only a day and a half without them, and the reunion was truly a beautiful moment. I think it’s safe to say that none of us are ready to say goodbye on April 11th.
Cochrane from above. Photo by Alex Wuestneck.
That night, we camped at Los West Winds, a Parque Patagonia campsite and the fanciest place we’ve camped in three months. We felt like royalty, with a roof over our heads and running water just a short walk away. We spent the 30th exploring the Parque Patagonia campsites and headquarters, a complex of large, beautiful buildings with gothic “traditional Patagonian” architecture. I’m no expert on Patagonian architecture, but I will say that the Parque Patagonia buildings seemed a little out of place. Conservación Patagonica (CP), a US-based non-governmental organization, bought practically all of the land in the Chacabuco Valley in 2004 in order to create the park, an action that was followed by a slew of backlash and mixed emotions from locals. Cochrane and other nearby towns were founded as a result of ranching in the valley, and thus the valley is a huge symbol of the area’s history and local pride. It’s no surprise, then, that despite the fact that CP is working to protect the landscape, not everyone is pleased to see the valley owned and operated by wealthy Americans. In the afternoon, we drove east along the only road in the valley, to Casa de Piedra, another Parque Patagonia campsite.
On the morning of March 31st, we awoke to find out that the white gas to power our stoves had been compromised by condensation, and that we would only have less than half a liter of good gas to last 11 people for the next three days. After some failed attempts at bartering with other tourists at the campsite, we decided that we would just have to deal with eating cold oats for breakfast and hard pasta for dinner, and we continued our journey north into the Aviles Valley. However, when we arrived at what seemed like a good spot to camp that evening, we found ourselves next to a rocky riverside scattered with dry driftwood – in other words, ideal conditions and ample materials with which to start a fire. We cooked dinner that night over a blazing fire, with the Aviles Valley opening up to our north. As the sunlight dwindled, we sat around the fire, talking and watching the stars come out, and it quickly became clear that the white gas issue was a blessing in disguise. It seems to be a theme throughout this semester that, just when you think things are going wrong, everything turns out surprisingly well. The next day, April 1st, was a similar experience, trekking through the Aviles Valley through temperate rainforests, looking down on steep, narrow canyons below us and up at the colorful autumn leaves on the mountains above us.
Hannah P. cooking dinner in the Aviles Valley. Photo by Alex Wuestneck.
April 2nd was our last day in the field, and turned out to be one of the longest and hardest days of the entire semester. We left our Aviles Valley campsite around 9am, and arrived at our campsite in Jeinimeni National Reserve around 8pm. The day’s hike included upwards of 20 river crossings, a steep ascent over the pass between Hermoso Valley and Jeinimeni Valley, and approx. 23.6 km of total distance. By the time we got to the Jeinimeni campsite, our boots were soaked with water and our clothes were soaked with sweat, but our spirits were still high. As we dried off around a warm fire, someone said something along the lines of, “This fire is never going out,” and Hannah P. muttered under her breath, “Like the fire of our friendship…” Well said, Hannah. Needless to say, we were all pretty exhausted, and decided to have a little slumber party under a wooden enclosure at the campsite instead of setting up our tents.
In the near future, CP will be giving Parque Patagonia to the Chilean government, and these three areas (Tamango Reserve, Parque Patagonia and Jeinimeni Reserve) will be consolidated into a single national park. Our research in these areas, led by Hannah W. and Maya, was conducted in anticipation of the opening of the future Patagonia National Park. We were the first researchers to conduct a “megatransect” of the entire park, surveying plant and bird composition and diversity, classifying habitat types, and investigating for the presence of huemul deer as we hiked. I think I speak for all of Team Condor when I say that I felt an incredible connection with this place, and I can’t wait to come back to Chile and visit Patagonia National Park in the future.
Top Photo: Laguna Verde and Hermoso Valley. Photo by Alex Wuestneck.