Hannah Phelps, Middlebury College
January 31st – February 18
Along with learning all about the Patagón culture and ecotourism, Team Condor also went on two backpacking trips during our three-week stay in Río Turbio. On the first trip, we spent three days checking out the Río Turbio valley, hiking with Marcelo, Misael, and Nati to Glacier Turbio and enjoying a whiskey on the rocks with glacial ice, a cultural tradition. We ran transects along each hike, taking note of the abundance of all plant and bird species along our path, and any signs of huemul deer scat or prints. Our walk to the glacier and back was a long one, but we all got to rejuvenate that evening over an asado (Chilean barbeque) at out campsite in an old growth forest, thanks to our amazing hosts.
Our tireless guide, Misael, lines up with Team Condor on the Turbio Glacier. Photo by Adam Spencer
After a long day hiking to the Turbio Glacier, Marcelo and Misael talk over mate while waiting for the lamb asado to finish cooking. Photo by Adam Spencer
When we got back to our basecamp at Marcelo and Nati’s house, we said goodbye to Misael and met Charlie, an energetic CONAF guardaparque who was definitely a mountain goat in a past life. He and Marcelo (and of course Marcelo’s horse, Pajarito, who carried all of our food) lead us up through a mountain pass, and then down into the Río Condor valley, again taking note of the plants, birds, and huemules. We split up on top of the mountain to look for more huemules, and both groups were able to spot one or two of the endangered deer.
A beautiful bog view over the Rio Turbio Valley welcomed Team Condor on the top of the pass. Photo by Adam Spencer.
A male Huemul deer roams amongst the talus slopes high above the Rio Turbio Valley. Photo by Adam Spencer
The first day in the Río Condor valley was spent hiking through and old growth forest, climbing over many downed trees and up moss-covered hills to reach an old glacial moraine, where we enjoyed the view of Glacier Gaea against a bright turquois Lago O’Higgins while condors repeatedly soared very close over our heads, probably attracted us fellow condors (Charlie said it was because we all “smelled like death,” but I’m inclined to believe the former).
Team Condor hikes through the old growth Lenga forest. Photo by Adam Spencer.
We headed out in a different direction the next day, and had lunch in the shadow of Glacier Isabel, an incredible wall of ice rising up seemingly out of nowhere. We all enjoyed a quick dip in a frigid lake at the base of Glacier Isabel before heading back to camp, and then rested at Marcelo’s house over the next two days.
Glacier Isabel reigns at the head of the Rio Condor Valley. Photo by Adam Spencer
Marcelo took our group to the edge of possibility, wandering along a knife’s edge pile of rocks scraped together by Glacier O’Higgins, now receded beyond view. Photo by Adam Spencer
We returned to what had become home for us to find Nati awaiting us with fresh bread and delicious homemade soup, which we enjoyed after another quick bath in Lago O’Higgins (trying to remove that “death” smell that Charlie teased us about). We spent the last two days in the rain catching up on school work and hanging out with Nati and Marcelo. We even got to share a little bit of our American culture with them, in the form of Nutella, onion rings, and cheese curds. The boat came on the 17th, and after many hugs and thank you’s we left Nati waving us goodbye on the shore of the lake, telling all of us to make sure we come back and visit sometime.
Marcelo and Nati’s homestead on Lago O’Higgins. Photo by Adam Spencer
When we got to Villa O’Higgins, we found that there was a town festival happening – the “Fiesta Costumbrista” or Traditional Festival – with events including a full cow asado, a rodeo, axe competition, and a pig chase in which Adam, Maggie, and Ally almost won us a piglet to raise.
We spent the day eating fried food at the festival, and then had our own a hot tub party at our hostel, in a wooden tub that was heated by fire. That evening, after receiving some killer dance lessons from Sam and Charlie, most of us danced the night away at the “official dance party” in the center of town with the residents of Villa O’Higgins, learning some new Latin dance steps to chamame and ranchera music. We headed out the next morning for the eight hour return drive to Cochrane, which was naturally dotted with slightly comical detours; for example, the man who runs the only gas station before Cochrane overslept due to the festivities the night before and opened two hours late. However, as is becoming habit in Chile, we adapted our plans last minute and made it back to basecamp with plenty of time to prep for our next adventure, a sphagnum moss survey in Tortel.