By Deniz Kelemet from the University of Puget Sound
Hellooooo Round Riverrrrrrr! For those of you who don’t know (I’m assuming…the entirety of this readership), my name is Deniz, and I will be your tour guide/author for the coverage of our introductory backpacking trip.
A quick overview: The trip lasted from February 1-3 and consisted of a 6(ish) kilometer hike from Cochrane to Playa Paleta. Participants included seven students (listed in order of shortest to tallest: Emily, myself, Kate, Eve, Maddy, Robyn, and Peter) along with our two incredible instructors, Cal and Jose. Got it? Okay, buckle up folks, here we go.
The day started as most do for our group: 30 minutes late. Well, that’s not necessarily fair, technically we had all awaken at a perfectly appropriate time, we had simply severely underestimated the amount of time it would take to cook and eat breakfast, roll up sleeping pads and bags, pack up tents, divide up group food and supplies into nine piles, and THEN somehow miraculously fit all that into a 65L backpack. So we struggled. And we laughed. And we left an hour later than anticipated.
Once we arrived at the trailhead though, it was pretty smooth sailing. We quickly checked into the park (well…as quickly as a group of 9 possibly can) applied one last layer of sunscreen, and were on our way. Now I personally have never hiked with…based off how it felt, I can only assume roughly a billion pounds on my back? But safe to say there was a steep learning curve. It was made slightly easier by our frequently taken mini-breaks during which Cal and Jose would teach us about the local flora and fauna. Our first stop was at a ñirre tree near the head of the trail. We took care to learn the shape of its leaves, the feel of the bark, its scientific name (Nothophagus antarctica). As we continued, we learned about and observed many more species…the striped woodpecker, Misodendrum punculatum, Flor del viento (a personal favorite of mine, its seeds are soft and tickly). We also walked through a variety of landscapes…there was an arid and rocky portion at the beginning, interspersed with ñirre. From here we followed the contour of Lake Cochrane (in unbelievable shades of turquoise and peacock blue) which eventually gave way to a more prarie-like valley. We stopped for lunch in a nice shady spot where Cal taught us the principles of LNT, and when I tell you that a can of tuna had never tasted so good…
The rest of the afternoon went off smoothly! There was a steep descent down the trail to Playa Paleta and we suffered a few minor slips, but luckily this group is well versed in the art of falling gracefully. We arrived at the beach later in the day, enjoyed (quite ravenously) a spaghetti dinner and were asleep not long after. We had a big day to come.
Day two! Our first, and sadly only, full day at the beach. Based off the several wet heads sitting around the breakfast circle (oatmeal, of course) it seemed that some of my peers were braver than I and ventured into the lake for a morning dip. Hard to blame them of course, the water at Playa Paleta is crystal clear, relatively calm, and sloped into a steep drop off not twelve feet from the shore. Warm up first, I told myself, swim later. What a rookie mistake! My new guiding philosophy is swim at any and every opportunity presented.
After breakfast we had a day of exciting classes. I found orienteering challenging (who knew there was more than one North??) but with the patience of my peers and instructors, I can now (semi)confidently use a compass. Much to our excitement, after orienteering class we went birding! I think about what a privilege it is to be in a place where the first time we go birding, we saw a pair of parakeets and a woodpecker all within the span of about 30 minutes (my birding-enthusiast friends in the Midwest could only dream it) And as a side note…I think it was the longest our group had gone withouttalking.
We then had some free time, which was naturally filled by lunch and swimming. We had more classes in the afternoon considering natural history, as well as a discussion of storytelling and its role in conservation. I particularly enjoyed this lesson; as an exercise, we each wrote a story of our own…one constructed around a key memory of ours in nature, one that connects us to it. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about my new friends (recall their order by height) and their experiences which eventually led us all here. After hearing their stories, I can also confidently say that each of them possesses a beautiful gift for expression and storytelling…these are going to be a good couple of blogs entries!
Our second night at Playa Paleta I remember with incredible fondness. We ate dinner on the beach together (perfectly seasoned lentils and rice; complements to the chef) and watched the stars slowly appear. There was, I think, the feeling of an impending sadness that we would be leaving such a beautiful place the next morning, but also great joy for us to be experiencing it together. I can certainly say as much for myself.
Surprise surprise! We got a later start to Friday than expected. A mark of progress though; this time we were only approximately 40 minutes behind schedule (just wait till’ April, we’ll be leaving for trips right on time). Something I noticed was how much more frequently we stopped during the walk back. No, not just because we were tired and it was 1 trilllion degrees outside. I think it was rather because of how our experience in class the previous day piqued our curiosity. Every bird call was now an invitation. Every thorn in our calves not only a painful annoyance, but now an invitation. Hello there. What’s your name? Cal and Jose’s knowledge of all the plants and birds we passed was astounding…Look at this! And this, and this and this. That’s Azerella prolifera, this over here is red crow berry, on and on and on. Their patience at our perpetual butchering of Latin names was equally awe-inspiring.
When we finally reached the base of the trail again, it was with some reluctance. We huddled around the same ñirre tree we had congregated about on our first day. Ever sweatier, ever dirtier, more blistered and more tired, and more content. And the lingering sentiment: Thank you. That was incredible. What’s next?