Day 0
Declared a part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978, some 242,242 hectares of protected land bordered by the Southern Patagonian Ice field makes up Torres Del Paine National Park. Despite the notorious weather, this is known to be Chile's most impressive natural environments with its jagged peaks, waterfalls, valleys, and glaciers, its guanacos, pumas, and Andean condors.
My original intention was to plan a day excursion, but after a conversation this changed.
*
The wooden staircase creaks. A small woman enters the common room in Patagonia Adventure Hostel. Her hair is matted and dusty, her eyeglasses balance on her nose, one side missing. She’s smiling.
“Hola,” I say, from above my laptop.
“Hello”, she responds. She sits down with a plastic bag. She starts taking items out – toilet paper, two half-eaten rolls of cookies, a half-bar of dark chocolate, hand sanitizer, and powdered soup. “I won’t be needing these anymore, feel free to take them.”
“Have you just returned from the Park?”
She nods, smiling.
“How was it?” I close my laptop and sit on the floor near the cookies. The question-assaulting begins.
She patiently answers the plethora of questions, even answers the ones which are asked multiple times, such as, “Really? 'Cause I don't even know how to build a tent. Really?”
She repeats the same answer, “It’s so easy. You’d have to be an idiot to miss the trail.”
*
Things to take into consideration when making a decision to trek and camp some 70km in Torres del Paine alone:
1) The person who has inspired your decision has broken his or her glasses while on the trek.
2) The person talks about hiking the Canadian outback where there are no trails and hungry bears.
3) The person talks about a heavy bag.
What stood out when making up my mind -- the so, in “it’s so easy”.
*
Filled with renewed optimism, it's decided to trek the W and spend 5days camping in the Park.
TDP trail map
*
(2/27)
3PM Lecture at Erratic Rock Hostel:
• All water in the park is potable.
• What is white gas?
• Trails are easily defined, weather is not.
• Wind flew a woman with her tent like a kite. She broke a few ribs.
• Plenty of garbage bags to waterproof belongings
• Don’t bring 3 of anything
• If it starts to rain, just keep walking
• If you get cold, walk faster
The remainder of the afternoon is spent researching and practicing how to set up and break down a tent.
Evening -
The cracking of pistachio shells, the powder of dried coconuts on fingertips, the golden glow of the late evening sun. Seated cross-legged with the smell of sweet dried fruits and rustic wood. This trail mix shall be named Sunny Sabado.
After making sandwich bags of dried fruit, nuts, and granola, I squish things into my backpack, tie the tent and sleeping mat to the exterior, and learn what all the dangling straps are used for.
Inventory:
one 1-person Lippi tent
one -4 to -10°C sleeping bag
one Red Cross first aid kit
one SAS Survival Guide Book (J. Wiseman)
one detailed map of Chile
one set of contacts
one pair of glasses
one headlamp
one leatherman
one carabiner
one big empty bottle of water
one small full bottle of water
one bottle of white gas
one small stove top thingy
one pot
one spoon
one thermal cup
one lighter
one camera
one ipod
one extra camera battery
one extra memory card
one parka
one fast dry shorts
one silky
one leggings
one mosquito repellant
one roll of toilet paper
one disinfectant spray
one intense moisture cream
one chapstick
one hat
one pair of sunglasses
one scarf
one gortex turtleneck
one half-box of mint tea and sugar packets
one jar of peanut butter
one bag of raspberry jelly
one bag of bread rolls
trailmix
soup packets
cereal bars
cereal cookies
big black trashbags for rain-proofing
and
three big bars of chocolate
I'm hoping to make Mo proud when she finds out I've used all the weird gadgets she gave me before I left -- carabiners, a Leatherman, and neon flares(* correction by Captain Aimee, the latter are called chemlights *). I weigh my backpack, 35lbs or 1/3-a-me. Sounds good, Captain Aimee hikes with a 30lbs rucksack. A good shower and off to bed.
...at the moment, Hostel Palanuk?, Bariloche.
clock beeped 1am, seated in the empty dining area of a lovely hostel. Faint raggae music is heard in the distance, out the window the white crest of waves crashing. Monkey is going cross-eyed looking at the laptop screen, was hoping to finish all the TDP blogs tonight, but nope. Mo comes tomorrow, can't even express how happy I am to be with my big sister!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment