By Tiffany Thio, Reed College
One of my most vivid memories of this trip is Caroline standing in the hostel on our first day in Coyhaique, saying that she knows we’ll all be standing there again in the blink of an eye. And here we are, heading back there tomorrow! This semester has definitely flown by super quickly — but at the same time, I feel like it’s ending with a good sense of closure. Over these last three months, you could say we’ve had our fair “share of ups and downs”*. We’ve been freezing and sunburnt, bone-tired and restless, super hungry and absurdly full. We went from making awkward small talk in the airport lobby to teasing each other endlessly. However, one wonderful constant over these weeks was our group dynamic. In all my outdoor experiences, I have never (and most likely will not ever) have a group nearly as competent, cohesive, loving, and well-suited for each other. I’m so grateful for this family that I’ve been lucky enough to land myself in!
Unfortunately, the backpacking loop in Cerro Castillo we were planning for our final fun trip was too covered in snow to do after the massive snowfall this year. Instead, we spent our last week basking in the sun, eating loads of chocolate, and going on long, wonderful day hikes! The first of these was in the Chacabuco Valley, where we hiked 14 km in a loop up to a mountain (Tamangito) and were able to see as far as Cochrane! While staying in Parque Patagonia, we also got to briefly meet Kris McDivitt Tompkins, the conservation icon who – along with her late husband, Doug, first invited Round River to Patagonia. We then headed to San Lorenzo Mountain – one of the tallest mountains in the region – where we hiked up close to Glacier Calluqueo. This route involved crossing an icy river in the glacial valley, walking on scree, and bushwhacking our way through Magellanic rainforests. Finally, we drove up to Cerro Castillo and spent our last day in the backcountry hanging out and swimming in a lake with a sweet view of the crazy peaks!
Glacier Calluqueo
On our last night in the backcountry, we played one of our favorite games, called Salad Bowl. It works like this: we each write a couple of things (memories, phrases, etc.) on a piece of paper and drop it in a bowl. We then split into two teams, and each person takes turns explaining what’s on the paper without explicitly saying anything written on the paper. The team that correctly guesses what’s on the paper most wins. For this game in particular, we played it only with memories from the trip. Most of them were inside jokes, but here are some of our favorite experiences and moments:
- All 8 of us deciding to have a massive sleepover in one small room for several days when we were staying in an abandoned military barracks, right before our Pascua River expedition.
- Our epic snowball fight while hiking the Ruta Patrimonial by Glacier Chico, which involved hiding behind scrubby lengas, hurling snow at everyone within a 20 m radius, and trying to avoid the innocent plant team just trying to do vegetation surveys and getting caught in the crossfire.
- Seeing an endangered huemul deer under a double rainbow in the Pascua!
Huemul under a rainbow alongside a river that we are among only 30 or so people to visit!
- All of us trying to hang out and have fun on the roof of the boat during the 6-hour ride from Lago Chico to Villa O’Higgins, but getting seasick instead from the choppy waves and crazy wind.
- Eating ridiculous amounts of tortas (essentially, bread deep fried in animal fat) covered in manjar (caramel/dolce de leche) at Misael’s house after our backpacking trip along the Ruta Patrimonial. Apparently, gaining weight is pretty common on this trip—I wonder why.
- The gorgeous sunrise in the Tamango Reserve on our first overnight trip in September.
Tiffany, Caroline, Tessa, and Nathan enjoying a beautiful sunrise in the Tamango National Reserve.
- “Funny jokes that only we get because we were there and a part of that experience.”
- “Hey look—it’s clearing up…”
- 100 pushups for Tiffany (You just got Tiffany’d!)
It’s hard to believe that in three days I’ll be home in Oregon, and a week from now, I’ll be across the Pacific visiting my parents in Shanghai. The 8 of us have been together constantly for the last three months, and it’ll be a little strange not to have the support and comfort of our wonderful team. These last three months have been possibly the best of my life, and I’m so thankful for what it was—and for the adventures the 8 of us will have in the future!
*See the song My Sacrifice by Creed.