April and May in South America- Part 1

Here we go!

We took the train down to Portland the day before our departure so we wouldn’t feel rushed, staying in an airport hotel with a free shuttle for our 2pm flight on Monday. It was a smart idea. We have become those people who exercise at hotels because we just feel better, especially before a long day plus of traveling. We were able to work out Sunday night and Monday morning which helps me feel less disgusting after having to eat airport food. Our flight from PDX was easy, and we ended up picking up about 15 minutes on the way to ATL, which turned out to be a good thing, as when we arrived in ATL and made our way toward our gate, we heard the final boarding call for Santiago- whew!  On the train down to Portland, we decided to upgrade our seats for the nearly 10 hour trip to Santiago- 4" extra of leg room!  Turns out that was a wise idea as the guy in front of me went full recline for the duration of the trip. Look, I get it, but come on, can’t you meet me half way- maybe recline some but not all the way into my lap?  Well, he couldn’t, and I’m not above being petty, so each time I moved or adjusted, bam, oops!   Also, the vent?  Yep, aimed straight at the top of his stupid head.

The more you pack, the more you have to lug around for a month!

We arrived in Santiago and went through customs and baggage check which was pretty seamless before posting up in the waiting area for about an hour until our hotel shuttle arrived. Once at the hotel, I thought the first thing I did would be shower then eat. It turned out to be nap for three hours, then shower, then eat. It’s rare food comes in third for me, but there’s a first time for everything.
We got an Uber into downtown Santiago looking for food and a tripod since I inexplicably left mine in WA (major facepalm). Found a tripod pretty similar to mine and enjoyed our first empanadas of many to come. Santiago was interesting. Dirtier than I thought, but I also get the impression we were in the Times Square of Santiago, so I will reserve judgment till we go back again.

I'm sure there are nicer parts of Santiago, but this was enough for me

First of many empanadas

The next morning we were on the 6 am shuttle back to the airport, leaving for Puerto Montt on the way to Puerto Varas. Another smooth flight and easy transfer to our hostel, Casa Azul, and a major weight was off our shoulders. Traveling to South America takes a certain type of will and endurance. You get a lot, but dang it is a long way.

Our accommodations in Puerto Varas

Our first day in Puerto Varas was mostly cloudy with some intermittent peaks at the base of the Volcan Osorno, but on days 2 and 3, we got the full view.  It is truly a beautiful city, and while there are tons of buses that go all over, there isn’t much of a timetable, and they don’t run early enough for hiking at our preferred hours. We spent our first day and a half recovering though still with a fair amount of walking, but decided we wanted and needed to get out and stretch our legs on some dirt!  We arrived early to the bus stop bound for Petrohué where we had planned a 9 mile hike to Paso Desalacion. When the bus arrived, it was standing room only, meaning we had to leave our backpacks in front next to the driver, atop the pile. I was not crazy about because my camera was in my backpack and not in any hard sided, protective case, but I decided when in Rome.  We made two more stops to pick up passengers, still within Puerto Varas, meaning more bags thrown atop the pile and cramming us further into the back of the bus- Shaun and I both decided it was now or never, and we decided to hop off. Neither of us were looking forward to the 2 hour bus ride in those conditions. It was a huge bummer, but honestly, it was miserable. It’s how they do things here, which is fine, but that doesn’t mean we have to do things that way. Soooo, another day wandering around PV.  We did stumble into an artsy, more upscale neighborhood, which was fun to see, and also there was this amazing piece of cake.

Park and church in Puerto Varas

Doggo sleeping in front of Lago Llanquihue and Volcan Osorno

After we bailed on the crazy bus ride, we walked by this Lutheran church

Just a doggo playing in a fountain

Street art

Here, here!

Upscale neighborhood garden and house

Some people like fancy coffee with their cake, I like milk

Osorno Volcano

Calbulco Volcano

Closer up view of Osorno

We’ve become incredibly adept at moving on and not dwelling on disappointments, which is something I’m incredibly grateful for along this journey. We did decide to head for Bariloche a day earlier than expected due to much better access and bus service (I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t experienced it first hand). Puerto Varas has charm but is a little too far removed from the mountains and seems better suited as a summer destination given so many of the activities are centered around Lago Llanquihue. It would be ideal to have a rental car if staying in PV or even Puerto Montt- now we know.
We took the bus from Puerto Varas into Bariloche which included driving through the Andes to cross the border into Argentina. You get off the bus to turn in your immigration card in Chile and then drive about 15 miles through no man’s land before actually getting into Argentina, where you get off the bus again to go through Argentine customs and have your bag x-rayed, or if you are lucky, like me, searched 😂 Truthfully though, it was a much smoother and efficient process than the airport, and after about 45 minutes, the entire bus was loaded, bags and all and en route to Villa la Angostura and eventually Bariloche, our first stop.

Coffee available on the quick at one of the bus stations along the way from Puerto Varas to Bariloche

Some beautiful river along the bus ride

Fall colors.  It was so tough to be on the bus and not be able to hop out and take actual photos

Lago Nahuel Huapi

We stayed at Las Marianas in Bariloche, where we stayed four years ago on a snowboard trip with Powderquest, and it was great to be in familiar surroundings where we knew we would receive top notch service.  Also, there is an annual chocolate festival on Easter weekend, so combine that with delicious food, friendly people, and street dogs- I think you know where I’m going with this!
After being somewhat frustrated with the accessibility in Puerto Varas, we were eager to get out and hike around Cerro Catedral, about 20 km outside of Bariloche. On our first trip to Argentina four years ago, we had some great skiing up there and were excited to see the peaks from a different perspective. Las Marianas was so flexible with us, providing us with an early breakfast (an hour and a half early) so we could catch the 7:20 am bus and beat the crowds to up to the extremely popular Refugio Frey. From the parking lot at Catedral, it’s about 7.5 miles to the refugio. There is an option to get a lift assist at the ski area and take a different route to the refugio, but the earliest that is available is 10 am, and we wanted to be well ahead of that crowd. So, we walked down to the bus stop to catch the bus, and given that it was Easter Sunday and a holiday, there were hundreds of 20 somethings still out partying at 7 am- it was kind of awesome but also really made me appreciate being old and in bed by 10 pm haha.  A solo hiker, Brit, was the only other person to set off on our course at that time. As we traversed up the trail, we admired the sun rising, casting a fiery orange glow on the peaks (sunrise down here was about 7:30) as the moon set behind a couple of towering formations. For the first 5 miles or so, the trail was either mild ascents or periodic steep ascents followed by a leveled pitch. The last mile and a half was basically straight up over giant boulders- not so much fun, but we were spurred onward by the burst of scenery- reds, oranges, and yellows adorning the mountainside- as well as the prospect of our chocolate treats we packed for lunch. Once at the refugio, we found a few groups camped and even more groups of climbers readying their equipment for ascents up the prominent rock face just adjacent to the refugio. There was an asado going, and while it smelled delicious, we remained commited to our peanut butter sandwiches, apples, and alfajores. The lake was completely still, creating a surreal reflection of the gothic spires of the cirque. We found a nice level spot to make our lunch and soaked in the warm sun, now fully risen and casting light upon the whole area. Once we had eaten, peeked in the refugio, and watched the climbers make steady progress toward their objective, we decided it was time to make our way back down to the parking lot. Saying goodbye, we set out and dropped into the forest in half the time it took us to emerge, despite having to negotiate the boulder nemeses. We passed hundreds of people ascending on our way down- I know I have harped on it many times, but GO EARLY or at least earlier than everyone else!  We reached the parking lot with sore knees and hungry bellies once again where we caught the bus back to Bariloche, and it was there that the tradition of post hike empanadas was born!

Always nice to be welcomed by a bottle of Argentine wine

And even better to have a slice of Mariana's delicious dulce de leche cake (yes for breakfast)

Best steaks in the world.  Hands down.

Yeah this was terrifying.  What is the Easter version of Krampus?

Chocolate Fest!!!

Early start means glowing clouds

Watching the moonset

The first refugio along the way to Frey, not currently in commission 

Refugio Frey

Happy to rest!

Surreal panoramic scenery

So glad to have made it before the winds picked up and ruined the glassy reflection 

Beautiful fall colors

Some of you may know, but I have terrible knees (torn both ACLs and both menisci in the R knee), and as life goes on and I continue to pursue activities such as snowboarding and hiking/backpacking long and steep distances, I am needing more and more time to recover.  Shaun and I share that in common as well, so after a long day to Frey, we elected to indulge in a rest day complete with meat, alfajores, and ice cream, though it should be pointed out that when in S America, you do a lot of walking, and there are a lot of hills, so even a rest day involves some low level cardio!

After our day of rest we set out early to fish the Limay River with Martin Outfitters Patagonia and our guide Facundo.  The brown trout in Argentina grow legendarily large, and while normally one would love sunny skies sans wind, when fishing for these easily spooked beasts, it is not ideal.  In some areas the water was 20-25 feet deep but so clear we could see the fish resting on the bottom.  So if we can see them, they can definitely see us.  So needless to say, fishing was tough, but we did not leave empty handed.  Scenery was worth the trip, but we both managed a fish- I got a small rainbow, and Shaun landed a fat brown- the whole reason we booked this fishing excursion.

Getting the boat ready.  No, the chicken did not go with us

Trophy brown

The thumbs up means I caught a fish, but it was so small the guide just threw it right back into the water haha

Having lunch on the river bank 

Facundo cooked up some delicious meat for lunch

We floated about 10 miles along the Limay River

Yeah I have allergies but who cares?

After our day of rest, we decided it was time to hit the trails again, this time to catch the sunrise from atop nearby Cerro Llao Llao, about a half hour bus ride from Bariloche. We made a dog friend on the way to catch the bus at 5:55 am.  I truly believe dogs are magical creatures. It is fascinating the lift a dirty, mildly feral street dog provides at that ungodly hour. As we sat down at the bus stop, the dog found part of a sandwich and then laid at our feet, crossing his paws over Shaun’s right foot. Had I been more awake, I probably would have cried. Arriving at the famous Llao Llao hotel, it was about a 30 minute street walk to the trailhead- I absolutely loathe walking on the road to get to trailheads, but since it was so early and so dark, the stars were still out which was a nice distraction from the uphill trudge. The trail to the cerro is short but steep, and in the dark, it adds an extra element of suckery. We stepped over two piles of puma poop (forgot about those things!) and finally crested the summit with about 20 minutes to setup tripods, etc. we were positioned on the the north-northwest side, which meant more of an alpenglow sunrise than bright ball of fire, but sometimes I enjoy those views more. With each pixel of light, the landscape detail becomes further exposed, revealing the enormous depth of the Andes.  After packing up the tripod and camera gear we decided to head down and instead of doing an out and back, we elected to make a loop, traversing partly around Lago Nahuel Huapi through Villa Tacul back to the hotel. It sounded like a good idea, but it was very long and required even more road walking. The silver lining was getting to observe two huge woodpeckers and the autumn colors lining the street. Once back on the bus, we headed straight for El Chiringuito for a late lunch, our favorite dive steakhouse, then back to Las Marianas to sleep for several hours.

Doggo escort

Overlooking the Lakes Region from Cerro Llao Llao 

These little birds joined us at the summit shortly after sunrise

We hated to leave Bariloche, but it was time, so we caught a mid-morning bus to Villa la Angostura, another place we visited last time. After getting settled into our hotel, we began making plans for the next day’s hike.
In Villa la Angostura there is another parque nacional called Arrayanes, which is full of a special tree, the Arrayan. We decided to visit there rather tackling another summit as my knee was still pretty sore from our first couple of hikes. Theme of the trip, a road walk to start. The guide said about a 20 minute walk... make that 45 😂 but hey. When we arrived, we decided to take the catamaran to the point and walk the 11 km back to the starting point. Given we are used to hiking early, we arrived at 9:30, but had to wait until the first boat left at 11:15, so we hung out with some street doggos and had some coffee/hot chocolate. The ride out gave us a great look at some of the mountain foliage. There’s a teahouse near the catamaran dock and a 1km boardwalk through a grove of Arrayanes before walking the remaining 10km... and then the extra 45 minutes back. We hit up the first restaurant we saw and enjoyed some empanadas.

Beautiful grounds in Villa La Angostura

Tea house surrounded by Arrayanes

The start of our 6 mile walk back

The next day was a terrible weather day, so we slept in, ate breakfast, took a nap (ha!), and then spent some time nailing down logistics for our return to Chile.
As it turned out, going directly from Villa to Pucón was virtually impossible with the bus timetables, so we opted to spend the night in San Martin de los Andes and then catch the early, direct bus to Pucón the next day.  We ended up with only a few hours in the evening in San Martin, but it is definitely a cool town which we would like to visit again. We snowboarded at a resort there called Chapelco, four years ago, but given the season, we couldn’t see much. This time, however, we were treated to amazing views of the Andes and the fall colors.  We went to bed knowing 5 am would come early, thankful for a wonderful stay in Argentina but eager to get to our next destination.

The drive from Bariloche to Villa la Angostura 

Lovely blurry bus ride photos

March- how is it month 9??

We started our March out doing something we’ve done frequently over the past couple of months- standing out in the cold and not catching many fish!  We visited Rocky Ford, a spring creek just outside of Ephrata known for its hefty rainbow trout. The forecast called for minimal wind, unusual in the barren landscape of Central WA, and sunny albeit cold temps around 29.  The sun was pretty finnicky, and of course a stiff breeze decided to accompany us. It was tough fishing, but Shaun managed to get a couple fish in. I was shut out, though I did hook into several and enjoyed seeing the last one leap from the water, fully, as it broke my line. You win some, you lose some. It was still a great day being on a tranquil spring creek with amazing scenery, including this weird bathroom along the way home.

Does anyone else see a problem here?

Apparently we have Pelicans now?

Yep, that's floating ice

Fishing the Crooked River

So long little Crooked Rainbow

Deschutes rainbow

Deschutes rainbow

Deschutes rainbow

With the persistent slab avalanche danger finally stabilizing and a sunny day in the forecast, we decided it was time to hit up our favorite touring spot- the Tatoosh Range in MRNP. Our friend Frelan accompanied us, and after negotiating my nemesis, the avy slope above Narada Falls, we were to Reflection Lake in no time, ready to ascend to the saddle between two peaks known as Pinnacle and the Castle. We made pretty good time, despite some variable snow conditions creating some challenging spots for kick turns. When splitboarding, you are to make frequent observations as you climb, both visual and more tactile such as stamping the snow with your poles, running your pole through the snow, and paying attention to how the snow feels under your feet- supportive, hollow, inconsistent or particularly shallow in comparison to other areas, etc. These observations are little clues into what lies beneath, which is the crux of avalanche education and safety. The tests you do in the field are meant to corraborate the homework you have done before you ever arrive and set ski on snow. We monitor weather forecasts frequently and spend the night before looking at weather graphs, plots, and point forecasts as well as reading the avalanche forecasts put forth by the Northwest Avalanche Center (NWAC).  For instance, if I wake to frost on my windshield in Gig Harbor, I am already suspicious about a hoar frost layer developing on the snowpack surface in the mountains. Basically, that hairy looking frost creates a potentially very unstable interface between the top layer of the snowpack and any additional snow that may fall during the next storm cycle, which is what we snowsports enthusiasts all live for- snowstorms (not hoar frost)!!  As snow piles up on that weak layer, it can fail under the weight and fracture, causing the new snow to slide, aka an avalanche!  There are many different kinds of avalanches and scenarios, this being just one, but snow study and avalanche forecasting is really quite fascinating, and truthfully, if you are going to play in the mountains, you should seek out this education to keep yourself safe (and alive), but also to protect others who are recreating in the backcountry.

NWAC

Anyhow, back to the tour, and given the avalanche backstory above, we also observe for signs of wind transported snow that create instabilities in the snowpack. We observed what looked to be heavily wind affected snow in the saddle we originally intended to ride as well as evidence of a few slides, so we dialed back our objective to just at treeline, rather than ascending to a true alpine location which carried a higher risk of wind slab avalanches according to NWAC.  Much like we’ve had to do this whole experience, splitboarding involves meticulous planning but also plenty of mental flexibility to adapt your plan when you need to. We did our snowpack assessments and found where we wanted to ride and enjoyed the quick 10 minute descent- that’s what you have to show for 5.5 hours of work, a 10 minute glory ride!  Well that’s not exactly true, the views along the way are pretty spectacular, and the only encounters you have are with your own thoughts, breaths, and your partners, and the thoughts usually dissipate about the time the breaths become more frequent- thanks altitude! All that is what makes the suffer worth it- the riding is a bonus.

Ascending the dreaded Narada Falls face

Finally up to Stevens Canyon Road

Looking back at Rainier on our way up to the start zone

The Tatoosh is my favorite area of Washington

Snack time

Ready to head down

Frelan dropping in

Me!

Staying regional was the name of the game for most of March as we have been busy preparing for our trip to South America.  We did some more winter fishing on a trip down to Bend, fishing the Deschutes, the Crooked River, a first for me, as well as getting skunked on the Rogue.  If you're going to get skunked, I recommend getting skunked on a beautiful river, and the Rogue is just that.  We were hoping to sneak in some split boarding at Crater Lake, but as we entered mid March, winter just turned off like a faucet.  It was 55 degrees which makes for miserable touring conditions- mashed potatoes soaked with water.  No fun and not good for the skins.  I was able to check a few more waterfalls off my list, though I was doing it with my back-up camera, as I am looking to upgrade my old reliable Nikon d750.

Shaun fishing the Rogue

Literally no fish in here!

Hammock weather!

Southern Oregon waterfalls

Hiked down to these falls

Lovely morning

The tail end of the month was spent mostly packing, prepping, and planning, which can become quite monotonous, so we each tried to sprinkle in some time with friends and fishing as a break from routine.

An upper Yak rainbow

Now here we are, about to move out of the apartment and back into the van for two weeks for a short roadie prior to South America!  The plan is to head down to Utah and hit up Grand Staircase Escalante and Capitol Reef National Park as well as the Green River for some fishing, but as we learned this summer, all plans are weather dependent!

Our plans for South America are loosely planned other than lodging and transportation which we decided to lock in early.  It can be a bit overwhelming planning travels in such expansive countries.
We leave April 15th from Portland, flying to Santiago, Chile.  We'll be spending the first part of our trip in the lakes region saddling Chile and Argentina which is the northern Patagonia region.  Unfortunately due to weather constraints, we won't be going to southern Patagonia, but I am confident our second trip to South America won't be our last.  From the lakes region, we are going to head north of Santiago to the Atacama Desert, one of the world's best stargazing locations, and we will be there during the new moon- perfect Milky Way conditions assuming the weather cooperates.  From Atacama, we will head north to Peru and the Cordillera Blanca range for acclimatization before our trek to end the trip.  We fly back to the US on May 20 with one month left before it's back to the real world.

This has been an amazing experience, and we couldn't have done it without the support of our friends and family- friends who have received our mail and packages, treated us to dinner, or just simply taken an interest in our adventure and encouraged us.  You all know who you are, and we thank you!