By Sarah Jonathan (Macalester College)
After getting back from the fiords, spending a few days at base camp catching up on academics and taking some time off, we took an overnight trip into the Tamango National Reserve. The reserve is only about 2.5 miles from our base camp, and many of us had run up to its entrance in the past few weeks. However, we had yet to venture into the park itself.
We woke up early in the morning with the plan to leave base camp by 9:30, but as usual we were running on Chilean time. By the time that we got everybody to the trailhead with all of the gear and food, it was already around 11:00, and we were eager to go. Instead of our usual data collecting routine, our main objective here was to aid in CONAF’s beautification campaign, which is a nice way to say that we were picking up trash as we went. With garbage bags and plastic gloves in hand we set out on the trail. After weeks of backpacking in the fjords, we were amazed to remember how clear and dry trails can be. With only one night’s worth of gear and the trail extending ahead of us, we were actually free to walk at a reasonable pace. It was a hot day, and the promise of a swim at the end drove us on even faster to the campsite at Playa Paleta, on the shore of Lago Cochrane.
After walking under the relentless sun for four hours, we arrived at the promised beach. It took all of our willpower to set up tents and get organized before we ran into the lake. Although it was certainly cold, the lake felt warm when compared to the frigid river that flows past base camp. For the first time we were actually able to stay in the water for more than thirty seconds at a time, and we took full advantage of that opportunity. We even broke out the largest of the sleeping pads, which doubled as inflatable rafts, and floated around in the sun. Once we all had our fill of the water, we dried off in the sun and enjoyed the beautiful views across the lake.
Our improvised pool rafts (photo taken by Devan Pensinger)
As much as we would have all loved to stay there doing nothing, we eventually had to get up and do something more productive. We had a brief class on orienteering, but could not actually go anywhere to practice because our camp site was bordered by a lake and a forest. Instead, we took a few aspects of mountains that we could see and spent a while trouble shooting and trying to set the declination on all 12 of our compasses. When we had had enough of actually learning things, we switched our attention to preparing dinner and then eating.
The next day we hiked out on a slightly longer trail with much more uphill than our route in. The hike was just as pleasant as the day before, and it still felt great to really move and travel at our pace. We arrived back at base camp tired and hungry, but in good spirits. Although the whole trip was only one night, it was a much needed break from base camp and it gave us our first opportunity to explore a park that is so close to us.
The boys trying to catch us some minnows for lunch (photo taken by Rachel Ross)
In the next week we will still be at base camp, but we have many adventures planned within that time. We have been invited by our landlord, Gilberto, to visit the campo with him, where he will be tagging the cows owned by his cooperative. We also have our first visit to the Chacabuco Valley planned for in the next week. We have all eagerly been waiting to see the place where we will be spending so much time over the next few weeks, and the suspense has been building. We still have a full week before we will actually be back in the field for research purposes, but hopefully these excursions will keep us busy in the meantime.