True wilderness
This time we really got ourselves into an adventure. A fellow traveler had left a book in the common area of our campsite in Ushuaia with the story of two locals who spent weekends and holidays over the past many years exploring a previously unknown valley. The book, written in Spanish just to make it real fun, outlined the possibility of making a circle around a chain of mountains by connecting three valleys via two passes. This sounded like the perfect recipe for a true adventure.
We headed out Sunday just before lunchtime. The plan was to hike a short section of the route in the afternoon before setting up camp for the night. The first section of the route was very well marked and follows a clear path towards a more frequently visited mountain lake. As you pass the exit to the waterfall and continue deeper into the valley the game steps up a level or two. From here you’re either stomping through muddy peat or crawling through thick forest.
The marks indicating that you’re on the right track can be anything from a small reflective sticker on a tree to three branches on the forest floor giving you a general direction of travel. The further you wander into the valley, the fewer markers you get. In some places you’re happy just to see an old boot imprint in the mud ahead of you. At least someone else walked here once before.
In one place a bridge had been made in order for you to cross a river. Impressively it’s mainly built from materials found in the forest. In most places though, a few half-rotten pieces of wood will have to do for an improvised bridge. Mostly, that works out just fine as long as you’re wearing waterproof boots. While crossing one of these improvised bridges I used my hiking pole to try and keep my balance but in a misjudgment of the stability of the ground next to me the pole disappeared into the nothingness of the peat and a split second later I followed. Waist-deep in peat. Not an optimal situation to be honest. After a few moments of thinking this must be the least glorious way to die we started working on an escape plan. Backpacks off, camera off, hiking pole out of the peat. While Britt worked on finding safe ground from where she could help, I felt the chilling water soaking my trousers and filling my boots. Getting out of peat can be a truly tricky maneuver especially if you’re on your own. Getting out while still wearing your boots? An art form in itself. Luckily Britt was there to the rescue. After a few minutes of fighting against the peat I was free. Free but muddy and wet, and in this climate that meant wet boots for days. As I said, not an optimal situation. But well… Adventure.
Wednesday was the defining day for our week-long adventure. Whether we managed to reach the first pass around lunchtime would determine if we would be able to make the full circle around the mountains or if we would have to retreat the same way as we had walked in. After a lot of hard work we reached the pass at around 13.00. One last check with each other. Do we think it looks doable from here? Once we committed and went over the pass it meant that we had to finalise the circuit in about 48 hours. Otherwise, we’d be cutting it close with our food supply and our already planned onward journey. Luckily the view from the pass gave us the confidence that it would be doable. It’s a go!
As soon as we crossed the pass, the descent back to the valley floor began. After an additional four hours of descent through a burned-out forest, we reached the valley on the other side. Now it was just a question of finding a suitable spot for our tent. Pitch the tent, make the beds and prepare the culinary masterpiece consisting of polenta, soya chunks and vegetable broth. The key to this marvel of a dish is its simplicity… Or our hunger. Who knows… It was a very unique experience sleeping in a burned out forest. There’s something strangely eerie about the whistling sound of wind blowing through leafless trees.
After a somewhat windy night we set off for the last pass early in the morning. From where we slept it looked quite straightforward. As we approached the pass it did indeed turn out to be an easy scramble at a relatively pleasant incline. Just huffing and puffing until the top. At the top of the pass we were faced with a slightly more challenging descent. The descent didn’t require the use of climbing gear or any actual climbing but the route passed through multiple snowfields and down a few short sections of rock which required the use of both hands and feet to navigate safely. After reaching the valley floor on the other side it should be a pretty simple walk out back to the trailhead.
On the way out we spent one last night in the most idyllic little clearing in the forest next to the river and a huge beaver dam. Throughout the whole trip we have been passing by beaver dam after beaver dam. Impressively large and complicated marvels of engineering built by someone the size of a small dog! Some dams consist of one pool while others are built like a series of interconnected pools.
I had been hoping to make a photo of one of the beavers all week but so far without any success. As this was the last chance, at least for now, I was determined to wait by the dam for as long as needed or until it was too dark to photograph. The tricky thing about photographing beavers is that they leave their houses only just before it gets dark. I was sitting on the brink of the pool waiting for a beaver to hopefully show itself when I heard a massive splash of water. In the other end of the pool, some 150 meters away, a beaver presented itself. With its characteristic whip with the tail, sending water high into the air, the beaver dove under the surface looking for fish. After a few minutes the beaver decided to try its luck in the end of the pool where I was sitting. What a show!
After having made a handful of photos and the beaver had started to move back towards the other end of the pool, I ran back to the tent to get Britt and tell her to come join me for the spectacle. To get to the beaver dam you had to cross a smaller river. Not huge, but big enough though that it needed to be done by taking your shoes off and walking through the knee deep water. In my excitement to share the news with Britt I neglected to put my shoes back on on the other side of the river and just ran barefoot to the tent. Unfortunately stepping on a particularly nasty little bush with tiny thorns in the process. The outcome was a smaller medical procedure performed in the tent trying to get the thorns out of my feet.
Friday morning we set off for the final stretch of our circle and back towards civilisation. At the trailhead we managed to get a ride from two lovely Filipinos living in the US. During the ride back to Ushuaia we exchanged stories about our experiences in and around Ushuaia. It’s always fascinating to hear other people’s perspectives on the same place.
After a good night's sleep we jumped on a bus Saturday morning towards Punta Arenas in Chile. On our way out of Ushuaia we passed the trailhead for our adventure. The valley looked calm and peaceful, not the battlefield it had been in our struggle against the muddy peat. After all, I guess we are just guests in the true wilderness.