By Lucca Sterrer of University of Vermont
As we embarked on our first backpacking trip, a mix of emotions were running through our heads. Our apprehension, anxiety, and fear were all trumped by excitement. This first trip marks the beginning of the time we will spend in the backcountry together. The plan was to be ready to leave basecamp around 8:00 in the morning, with our tents down, and ready to pack the vans. However, our instructors planned for an hour or two of leeway because our group is notoriously late for everything and, lo and behold, 9:30 rolled around and we were still packing our bags and leaving extra gear in the bodega. Finally, around 10 A.M., we embarked into town to pick up the last of our fresh produce and baked bread. Around 11 A.M., we reached the Tamango sector of Patagonia National Park and began our trek!
The plan was to hike 10k to the campground on the first day, do a short 2k hike to the second campground by the lake on the second day, and then the remaining 9k on the third day to make it back to the van. Amongst gear readjustments and stopping to catch our breath, we quickly realized the 10k would be a lot harder than expected.
As the title of this blog suggests, our first day was filled with lots of bird watching, many instances of buzzy burrs, and our friend Bert, pictured above. We split up into two groups, one was fast and hiked ahead while the other hung back and stopped every so often to observe birds and pick the burrs off of our pants. Buzzy burrs are spiky orbs about the size of a pea that grow on the sides of the trail and spread their seeds by attaching themselves to anyone and anything that passes by them. They rapidly became a common frustration on this trip and a trend for our study abroad. Patagonia is spikey.
Upon arrival to the first campground, we set up our tents, made dinner, and began our readings for class the next day. The campground was so pristine and beautiful and there was a true sense of serenity amongst us as we settled into the environment. We were awed by the natural silence of the wind whistling through the Ñirre trees. We finished the readings for class before the sun set and settled into our beds.
The next morning, we got up and took a field methods class to learn about some of our equipment. Following the class, some of us did a short but steep hike around camp, while the rest of the team stayed behind to work head on the readings we had for class the next day. When the group got back, we ate lunch and began the short 2k hike to the second camp. This campground was positioned on a beautiful lake overlooking the snow capped mountains in the distance. We quickly set up camp, made a delicious quinoa dinner, and had class so we could watch the sunset over the lake. Many laughs were shared and group pictures taken as we wound down for the final night on our first backpacking trip.
The next morning brought shocking cold and bittersweet emotions as we packed up camp and headed down the trail. The first backpacking trip was over, we were tired from our heavy packs, and excited for a few days of rest in Cochrane. The last day was an amazing 9k hiking back to the van. We went over a couple steep sections, but none of us seemed to mind because the scenery was so beautiful. Seeing the van at the end of the trail was a sight for sore eyes. The van ride back to Cochrane was filled with all of us belting to some classic tunes out of pure joy and exhaustion. I think we all could agree that although we were tired, we couldn’t wait to see what was more to come.