by Ben Comai, University of Vermont
After our return from Puerto Eden, Team Huemel was feeling a little bit restless about getting to do some backpacking. Our experience in the fjords was incredible, but due to planning difficulties we weren’t able to go on the 4-day hike that was originally scheduled. Thanks to our instructors who were able to shuffle around the schedule when we returned to Cochrane, we had the chance to spend a night hiking in the foothills of the San Lorenzo range. The San Lorenzos are a collection of breathtakingly jagged peaks located south of Cochrane about an hour and a half drive from base camp. As we approached our starting point a panorama view of the range appeared and the car was filled with “oohs” and “ahhs”. It felt like I was looking at a photograph out the car window and realized that this was the image of Patagonia I came here to see.
We parked where the road became impassable by car, put our packs on and hiked about a kilometer further up the road through cattle pastures alongside a steep ravine. Once we reached the crossable portion of the river we stopped for lunch and admired the incredible peak before us. We relaxed under sunny skies and I found it hard to look away from the towering spire of rock in front of us. The memory card on my camera started to fill up quickly with the same image, but I just couldn’t stop snapping pictures in an attempt to somehow do justice to the impressive view. After lunch we hiked another hour and half through open Lenga forest, which was home to a herd of cows that became especially interested in our group. They followed us upslope to the open pasture where we intended to camp and made multiple attempts to join our group. Unfortunately, we hadn’t brought enough food to share and we decided to move further up the hill where we found a perfect flat area to set up camp. A short hike further upslope and around the ridge gave us a glimpse of the Glacier Cayuqueo at the base of the towering peak, which melts out into a turquoise lake.
Photos by Ben Comai
After returning to our campsite we had a delicious, cheesy pasta meal and an acrobatic yoga session with an incredible backdrop. Half of us planned an early morning hike and I fell asleep thinking about how lucky I was to be in such an incredible landscape.
Photos by Ben Comai
My alarm woke me up with a start at 6:04 a.m. the next morning and I crawled from my tent to meet Kadin, Alex, and Margaret for an early morning excursion. We scrambled up the surprisingly steep and exposed slope above our camp in an anxious attempt to get a full view of the glacier and jagged spires at sunrise. By 7:30 we were high-fiving at the top of the lookout and eating cold, leftover pasta while watching the sunlight slowly make its way over the mountains. It was well worth the early morning wakeup for an experience none of us will soon forget.
Photos by Ben Comai
We rejoined the group later in the morning and hiked back to the cars together, thankful for getting the chance to backpack in such a picturesque landscape. Back in Cochrane, we finished up some homework and readings, and began to plan for another one night backpacking trip in Tamango National Reserve. Team Guanaco returned from their trip to eastern Chacabuco Valley the next day and we finalized our plans to complete an overnight hike with both groups and two high school students from the school in Cochrane, a total of 26 people. We departed basecamp the next morning and began hiking towards Lago Tamangito with what looked to be a small army. Twelve kilometers later we marched into a flat area on the shore of Lago Tamangito and set up camp with a spectacular view of Mount Tamangito.
Photos by Ben Comai
Cooking for 26 hungry hikers is no small task, but somehow we pulled together a delicious pasta meal that seemed to satisfy everyone. The chilly weather meant bedtime came as soon it was dark, and when we awoke for early morning bird surveys our tents had a fresh coating of ice, which made it even more difficult for me to crawl out of my sleeping bag. After bird counts and a bowlful of oatmeal we packed up camp and began our 18-kilometer hike back to the cars. Along the way we conducted plant surveys, stopping every 250 meters to record plant abundance of our personal assigned species. Our small army of field scientists was able to coordinate accurate data collection throughout the day while somehow making it to the cars before dark. Back at basecamp we did some homework and then enjoyed a very entertaining Halloween party with both groups.
Photo by Ben Comai