By Tessa Samuels, University of Puget Sound
The morning of September 27th, the alarms went off at the early time of 6:30am. We spent the last morning in Cabañas (cabins) in Cochrane cooking eggs to the backdrop of a spectacular sunrise that lit up the morning sky, and confronting the Tetris puzzle of placing eleven backpacks and a month’s worth of food into two already crowded trucks. The air was full of laughter and excitement as we started our journey even farther south to Villa O’Higgins.
We drove through mighty Lenga forests with 30 meter high Coigues and rows of Chilean Firebush and the snowy passes and peaks of the Andes. While driving up a particularly windy path our instructors Scott, Valeria and Adam pulled the trucks over to point out three Condors circling over the jagged peaks and swooping into the deep valley. The Condors are massive scavengers with a wing span of 3 meters, the tips of their wings look like long dark fingers stretching out.
A condor sweeps past us as we look over the Carretera Austral. Photo by Will Greene.
We took an hour long ferry ride through a fjord; all eight of us students stood out on the balcony chatting with a YouTube group called Overland Adventures that was filming – driving the rugged landscape of Patagonia; while talking we looked out at the clear water and felt the cool wind on our faces.
Around 4 pm we pulled into the chilly Villa O’Higgins, a town of 500 and the only settlement bordering Lago O’Higgins and Lago Chico. Villa O’Higgins immediately struck us with its charm and kindness. A cheerful and gentle man, Humberto, from the municipality ran out to meet us and give us a tour of the small church. The old church is now a museum which Humberto proudly showed us, as he chattered proudly in rapid Spanish of the history of this quant place. Later, while the instructors were meeting with the mayor on where we were going to stay for the next couple days, Humberto gave the eight of us students a tour of the library and lent us a book of “Chilenismos,” teasing me for my broken Spanish.
For the next three days we stayed right outside of Villa O’Higgins in the Centro Costumbrisa (Cultural Center), the village meeting area/fairground. We held classes and hiked La Bandera (The Flag Trail), a small mountain overlooking the town with the Chilean flag located on the very top. We did practice run of the procedures that we would be administering while hiking the Ruta Patrimonial (National Heritage Trail) in the week to come. To prepare, we had an Orienteering class, where we used compasses to find hidden trinkets in the cow-infested lands of the Centro Costumbrisa while Southern Lapwings flew at us to protect their ground nests.
Team Zorro with Instroctor Scott Braddock and Program Assistant Valeria Briones at the top of La Bandera Trail. Photo by Adam Spencer
On the morning of the 30th , our alarms beeped at the drowsy hour of 4:30am. After spending the previous evening packing and storing food down at the docks, the morning was not too rushed but it was dark and cold and rainy, and the group held a soft, sleepy presence as we loaded up into the two trucks. The dock was rainy and dark as we ate cereal and waited for the locals to arrive. Round River has made connections with many locals in the Villa O’Higgins region which allowed us the privilege of taking the local boat rather than the tourist boat to our destination.
There were work dogs chained to the front of the boat. The eleven of us stood out on the top deck to look out at the vividly blue glacial water that had an intense contrast to the grey rocks that lined the shore. I watched in silent wonder as we passed large icebergs that had broken off from Glacier O’Higgins and continued cruising by the green hills of Lenga forests at the base of the snowy peaks of the Andes. Waterfalls cut through the steep rocky mountainsides, and the mist from the rainy day added to the magic.
Lago O’Higgins. Photo by Kait Libbey.
We made stops along the way to drop off supplies, mail, and people to the isolated shores of Lago O’Higgins. After five hours on the boat we came to our destination, a small zodiak made trips back and forth from the boat to the shore to unload the eleven of us Round River team, guided by our host Misael, his girlfriend Nicole, their four dogs, and our supplies for our several week stay.
Here at the bottom of the world, in the tiny peninsula separating Lago O’ Higgins and Lago Chico, Misael and Nichole make their humble home at Estancia Ventisquiero Chico. From the rocky shore of Lago O’Higgins, it is about a kilometer walk up to the small, hundred-year home and yard filled with fruit trees and a lovely greenhouse. It was exhausting hauling all the gear and food, in weirdly shaped containers, over the rocky landscape. Tiffany told me stories of her happiest memories and listened intently to my stories as we encouraged each other along the longest kilometer, weighed down with our backpacks and bulky dry sacks. We set up camp in Misael’s yard, befriending his very drooly cat.
The auditory elements of Ventisquiero Chico were equally striking as the visual, it was so quiet yet at the same time so filled with noise. The waterfall that ran down the mountain side next to Miseal’s campo – which was snowmelt that we drank from and bathed in – constantly in ear shot and the sounds of countless birds echoed throughout the day and night. I instantly fell in love with the still, yet constant motion of the natural world. As someone who normally loves writing about natural beauty, I honestly do not have the words to capture the grandeur, the colors, smells, sounds, or simple magic of the region. Nichole and Miseal’s hospitality and knowledge of the land added to the surreal wonder.
The rest of our first day at Ventisquiero Chico was spent organizing food and gear for our coming up backpacking trip, taking classes, and finishing off a kilo container of Manjar – the local Dulce De Leche that we are all addicted to. In the evening Nichole brought out Sopapias, which is dough that is fried in animal fat. This quickly became a new favorite food, and jokes about the consumption of Sopapias and Manjar were quick to occur.
With Tiffany looking out across Lago Chico. Photo by Kait Libbey.
The group left early the next morning for a day hike up to Carmela Pass, heading North East away from Glacier Chico, hiking along the Ruta Patrimonial. We have come to set up baseline studies to monitor the trail’s carrying capacity, as the town of Villa O’Higgins is increasingly becoming an ecotourism boom town, and this breath-taking National Heritage Trail that connects three glaciers is one of the town’s main attractions. Tourism operators are predicting that this year will see a significant increase in trail use, as the Chilean Forestry Service (CONAF), Chilean Military, and Chilean Southern Ice Field Institute are all working to develop the area to facilitate access to the Patagonian Southern Ice Field. It’s part of an economic effort to develop tourism opportunities for Chilean companies, but also a nationalistic mission, as Argentina disputes national ownership of a large portion of the Ice Field nearby, and Argentine tourism operators are passing through the region and making a lot of money guiding tourists on the Ice Field from the ecotourism mecca town, El Chaltén, doorstep to the famous mountain Fitz Roy.
We divided into four groups. The Plant Team (Caroline and Zach) did transects at every kilometer along the trail, calculating plant species compositions in square meter plots to set a baseline for the amount of invasive plant species along the trail. Will and Nathan were on the bird team; they identified all birds and their calls as we hiked along. Tiffany and Kait were on the Huemul team. Huemul is a deer that is critically endangered and is also a national symbol featured on the seal of Chile. On the Huemul team, Tiffany and Kait were always on the lookout for Huemul and at every kilometer they would walk a 500 meter transect off trail looking for scat, tracks, or other signs of the Huemul deer. Emma and I worked on our semester final project analyzing trail conditions and the carrying capacity of the Ruta Patrimonial. We analyzed the width of the trail, downed trees, stream and bog crossings, and at any point that we lost the trail. Emma and I also analyzed campsites.
Looking out over Lago O’Higgins. Photo by Kait Libbey.
The goal of our project is to help Misael develop sustainable tourism in the area. Currently he makes his living through raising cattle, which requires burning the Lenga forests to make agricultural grazing lands. This is not sustainable and is causing a loss of biodiversity and giving room for the growth of more invasive species. The growth of sustainable tourism for Misael would allow him to augment his income without needing to continue burning.
Misael and Nichole looking out over Glacier Chico at the Agostini Mirador. Photo by Kait Libbey.
After the windy day’s hike administering our research protocols, singing Moana on trail, and being stunned by the views of the pass, we were more excited than ever to get on trail the next day to start our six-day adventure along the eastern shores of Lago Chico.
Team Zorro hikes towards Glacier Chico. Photo by Adam Spencer.
For the next three days we backpacked southwest, heading towards Glacier Chico, through beautiful rich Lenga forests and sections of brutally windy post-agricultural burn sites that were dominated by the spikey shrub called Chaura. We stopped every kilometer to record our protocols. As we wove in and out of the temperate Lenga forests we would capture views of Glacier Chico which extends back into the Southern Ice Field, which looked endless from the Ruta Patrimonial trail. The glacier is located in the valley surrounded by the high peaks of the Andes, including Cerro Punto which was the most drastically sharp point of a mountain. All covered in snow. These Southern Andes are actually small mountains, most only rising about 6,000 feet in elevation; but they start from such a low elevation that they are extremely impressive.
Cerro Punto from La Mirador. Photo by Kait Libbey.
On day two of the backpacking trip, we met up with Misael and Nichole, who guided us on the sections of the trail that were hard to navigate. We reached snow at around 900 meters in elevation and hiked through, doing our protocols and having snowball fights.
Cerro Pirámide as seen across the valley. Photo by Kait Libbey.
We dropped our stuff at La Bruna campsite at kilometer 15 later on in the day, ate lunch, and then continued on to bushwhack up to La Mirador de Agostini. Trampling through knee deep snow, we reached one of my newfound favorite locations in the world. La Mirador means “the lookout,” and what a lookout it was. It was snowy and windy up there but the view out onto the glacier and icefield extended forever. Every direction we looked the peaks were lit up with the afternoon light. After lots of photos and a mandatory beautiful-spot-dance-party we headed down, running in childish glee through the snow.
The group running through the snow at La Mirador. Photo by Kait Libbey.
As evening set and we sat around a roaring fire that Misael made, eating thai-inspired gato gato and drying our clothes, the world around us started to turn white. That night it snowed a couple of inches.
The snowy evening at La Bruna campsite. Photo by Kait Libbey.
The morning of our third day, we followed Misael and Nichole down to a forested area to camp. I recorded where the habitats changed on the trail, shifting between post-agricultural burned areas, Lenga Forest, and Mesophytic Shrubland.
View of Lago O’Higgins. Photo by Kait Libbey.
That night we camped in a cow pate infested forest in the rain. We held a restoration ecology class under a tarp, we drank hot powdered milk, and debriefed on the complicated effects of non-native species and the possible consequences of their removal.
In the morning we bushwhacked our way down the hillside, the steep and rocky landscape made for slow and tedious going. About 300 meters from the beach, I heard Scott from ahead of us exclaim “Huemul!” We got our first look at the endemic and iconic deer. It was a female Huemul, she was grazing, she seemed unaffected by our presence. The eleven of us sat and watched her for some time before she moved on and the “Huemul” team was able to take waypoints on the GPS of where she was located.
A pregnant Huemul along the shores of Lago Chico. Photo by Nathaniel Kiel.
The next day the students took notes for our Grinnell Journals. This is an intricate system of recording field data, and everything that we observe from weather to plants to cloud coverage to trail conditions to all birds and scat and tracks that we see from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to sleep. Though it is a time-intensive assignment, I have really enjoyed “Grinnelling” because it forces me to be extremely present and aware with my surroundings in a way that I have never been forced to be before and I feel that I have learned dramatically from the experience.
The next couple days were spent back at Misael’s farm catching up on academics, relaxing, doing laundry in the icy waterfall, sharing morning mate with our hosts, and learning from Misael how to make Sopapillas. On our second to last day we watched Miseal catch, slaughter, and skin a cow. And later on we ate the beef that he cooked for us. Being integrated into a different lifestyle and culture, and watching how Misael makes his living at the edge of the world, proved to be an extremely formative experience.
Nathan and Caroline keeping the laughs alive while trying to balance on the extremely rocky boat ride back. Photo by Kait Libbey.
Tiffany, Valeria, Nathan, Zach, Emma, Will, Caroline, and myself trying to prevent sea sickness by being on deck and laughing a lot as we tried to stay standing. Photo by Kait Libbey.
It was sad to leave the beautiful Lago Chico area but inspiration and excitement was high within the group as we boarded the boat home on a very windy day. This boat ride was the most memorable ride I have been on. We stood out on the deck, laughing as we would fall over in the intense rocking from the swells. Once the night got dark we dispersed out onto the chairs in the main cabin, trying to sleep and avoid feeling nauseous. We arrived back at Villa O’Higgins around 1:30 in the morning before taking a bus to get the trucks and our stuff, we finally arrived back at the fairgrounds at two in the morning. Sleepy, we all piled into the giant house there and quickly fell asleep.
The next day was spent writing up our Grinnell notes and moving to a local hostel where we enjoyed warm showers and fresh vegetables.
We drove back to Cochrane on Friday October 13th, back through the rolling hills and beautiful landscape. This trip fueled our inspiration, highlighted the complexity of the conservation we are trying to achieve, and incorporated the importance of hands on education. We are so excited for the adventures ahead of us and so thankful for the opportunities and experiences we have already had.