Wake-up: Live the Dream

I said earlier that I would write more about the Yosemite, CA and Patagonia, Chile backpacking trips during the rest of August. I kept putting it off and I now realized there was a reason-there are some things that you just have to do for yourself. You need to live the dream and see these places from your perspective which will be very different from my perspective. I loved both the Yosemite, CA and Patagonia, Chile trips for different reasons. Yet they were both great trips and ones that I would highly recommend.

Chile tested my ability to hike in terrible weather conditions for multiple days.

Yosemite was an elevation roller coaster in the midst of endless blue sky.

See my previous posts on what clothing and gear to bring backpacking, how to waterproof your backpacking gear, our route and the lottery for the high sierra camps, and making reservations for the W trail in Chile.

I would be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding these trips so please email me or comment and leave your email so I can respond directly.

photo credit: Cayenne, Paine Grande Lodge (Ranger Station) on "the W" trail February 2009 and Tuolumne Meadows, High Sierra Camps Yosemite, CA July 2009.

Backpacking: Waterproofing your Gear!

One of the most useful things I learned while in Torres del Paine was the value of waterproofing my backpack. There are basically two ways to go about waterproofing. One is cheaper and easier in the short term but will add up over time and is just generally a hassle. The other is more expensive in the short term but well worth the investment if you plan to continue backpacking. Pick the one that best suits your situation!

OPTION 1: Trash Bags
Take two heavy duty black trash bags and situation them so they line your backpack. Pack all your lose items, by category, into gallon Ziploc bags and put into your backpack's large main compartment. Take your sleeping bag and line the stuff sack with a trash bag and stuff your sleeping bag into it.

OPTION 2: Dry Sacks
Head to your local outdoor store and buy dry sacks. My favorite brand is Sea to Summit and you can buy a number of their products at REI. I use one sack that goes in my top backpack pouch - this is easily transferable out to my REI flash 18 pack for day hikes. Then I use a several of the Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks to separate the smelly backpacking clothing (socks go into their own plastic bag) from the (less smelly) camp clothing. Lastly my down sleeping bag is kept dry in the eVent compression dry sack.
The third option is to buy a backpack cover and this works just fine if you are confident that your backpacking conditions involve only light rain and mild wind. This was not the case for Patagonia where a backpack cover would have just been a hassle but I'm sure it works perfectly in other conditions.

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February. I was distracted these past few months and am only now getting to post about my experience in South America. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

*images from REI website

Chile: The W Route

Our very last stop, Refugio de Los Torres, was next to the Hosteria Torres Del Paine which had a 3D model of the Torres del Paine Park, complete with the "W" route. In the top photo:

Day 1- We crossed Lago Pehoe on a catameran to reach Hosteria Paine Grande. From there we hiked north to Refugio Grey.
Day 2- We went on a day hike further north with spectacular views of Glacier Grey, stayed the night in the campground.
Day 3- Backtracked to Hosteria Paine Grande
Day 4- Headed east to Refugio Los Cuernos

Second Photo:
Day 5- Backtracked west and then headed north through Valle Fransaise another night at Los Cuernos (small yellow building on the north side of Lago Nordenskjold)
Day 6- Hiked from Los Cuernos to Los Chileano
Day 7- Ascended to the Los Torres, hiked back to Chileano and then took off for Refugio Torres del Paine
Day 8- Caught a midday bus (the earliest bus you can get) out of the park back to Puerto Natales, with only an hour to spare we checked email and finally boarded another bus to Punta Arenas.

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February. I was distracted these past few months and am only now getting to post about my experience in South America. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne 02.20.09

Fairbanks, AK: Combating Super Dry Air

I think I have mentioned here before that Alaska is a cold desert. The air is extremely dry. If you don't put lotion on every day, you will after only a few days in the frozen north. Having dry, cracking lips is quite possible the worst but I found that Kiehl's #1 Lip Balm fixes them right up.I have been a devoted user of Neutrogena hand lotion since high school. It is good for hands that get a lot of washing, so it really helps my laboratory-stress hands. I even like the new formula Neutrogena Norwegian Formal Fast Absorbing Hand Lotion (mentioned before here). I use the original formula for camping because it has NO smell, i.e. does not attact bugs, and you can use it both as general lotion and lip balm.
I'm still working on what to do for my dry-itching arms and legs. Suggestions?

Chile: Puerto Natales

We had about 12 hours in the small port town of Puerto Natales before we were to leave for the Torres del Paine National Park. We chose to stay at the Erratic Rock and the place is full of hostels and hospedajes so you should have trouble making reservations, even at the last minute.

Now if you want to stay at Erratic Rock (ER) then I suggest you follow their reservation policy of only taking reservations one week in advance because this place is always full. ER is truly a full-service hostel for those heading to and from Torres del Paine. They can rent you all kinds of camping equipment, lead a tour for you, and arrange for your bus tickets. In fact the daily bus to the park stops at Erratic Rock making the 7 am pick-up just a little bit easier.

The owner of ER is also the publisher of Black Sheep newspaper and blog. He has a very useful info session on backpacking The W (and the circuit) at 3pm next door to his hostel - anyone can attend. You could do no planning and bring NO equipment, then show up in Puerto Natales at ER for the 3pm info session and be set to leave the next morning for the park with everything you need. If you want to tent your route this system works just fine.

On the other hand, if you want to experience the refugios along the trail then you need to do some planning and request those reservations a few months in advance. We made our reservations about 1.5 months in advance of when we were going to need them. Reservations for Refugio Grey and Paine Grande Lodge can made through Vertice Patagonia and for Albergue Los Cuernos, Refugio Albergue El Chileno, and Refugio Las Torres see the Fantastico Sur website.

If you have questions regarding planning a trip to Patagonia please comment. The next several posts will detail the W route we took and give you a little glimpse of the refugios. You don't need a guide to hike the W and the trip is appropriate for a wide range of age groups. I recommend the book Trekking in the Patagonian Andes, a Lonely Planet publication.

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February. I was distracted these past few months and am only now getting to post about my experience in South America. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne 02.12.09

Chile: Patagonian Fjords

I have given you a little tour of the Navimag ferry that we lived on for 4 day as we sailed through the Patagonian Fjords. Now here is a little taste of what we saw on our journey and what you can look forward too if you venture this far south. LMD likened the scenery to the fjords of Norway and our new friend EM said the terrain was similar to New Zealand. Just go to Chile people, it is much cheaper!
The majority of the trip it rained. Some of that misty stuff and the straight-up downpour type. We walked the decks anyways to take pictures and breath in the fresh air. Since the weather changes every 10 minutes in southern Chile we were constantly running outdoors to catch the 20 seconds of rainbows (I've never seen so many in a 4 day period) and the beautify cloud patterns. Most lasted just long enough for you to pull out your camera and hurriedly snap a pic before they disappeared.
Near the end of the trip we passed by this serene glacier. The wind blew a bit colder and the water turned a frosty grey as we neared the glacier. We froze standing on the deck in the hopes that some large shard of baby blue ice would calf into the water below. No such luck but I've seen much larger glaciers calf in Alaska so I was not too upset over the seemingly stationary state of this Chilean glacier (no idea what the name was called).

Cayenne (left) and LMD (right) gazing at glacier

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February. I was distracted these past few months and am only now getting to post about my experience in South America. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne and LMD 02.09.09 - 02.12.09

Chile: Navimag Ferry

We boarded the Evangelista (see Navimag Ferry and our route through the Patagonian Fjords). where we met up with our roommate from Hosteria ¡école! and our roommate from Hospedaje Rocco. Traveling internationally can prove to be a very small world indeed. After a celebratory Austral Negro (really good dark beer made in Punta Arenas, Chile) on the sunny upper deck we headed to check out our bunks (pictured below).
The C berths are definitely worth the ~500$ passage fare to sail from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natalas. In the C berths you will find all the backpackers and pretty much everyone under the age of 40. It took us almost the entire trip to figure out these green signs. We think they meant "gather at the lifeboats" pictured to the right. I spent a lot of time journaling and looking at the beautiful mountains and islas from the large windows of the cafeteria or bar area (occasionally from the deck if it was not raining too hard). The second afternoon and evening was spent trying to gauge when to take the Dramamine because we were entering the golfa de pena. In all I ended up taking 1 kids bonine and 2 real-sleep-inducing Dramamines. Regardless I was up from 2-6am because of the rocking boat. At least I did not feel sick myself and that our bunks were not near the bathrooms where plenty of other people were feeling the affects of the rolling open ocean. I spent the rest of the trip drinking wine, playing bananagrams, and reading my only book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I highly recommend this ferry trip with the following tips:

1. bring tea and hot cocoa - hot water is always available

2. bring your own wine + wine cork + cup (wine/beer are expensive when purchased on the boat)

3. save your money and just buy a C berth (A and B berths are not much better) 4. arrive when they tell you to for checking in - this helps you get a berth that is on the starboard or port sides (not in the back with the noisy generators) and not near the bathrooms.

5. bring plenty of Dramamine!

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February. I was distracted these past few months and am only now getting to post about my experience in South America. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne and LMD 02.10.09

Chile: Puerto Montt

After 4 days in Pucon and our amazing adventure up Volcan Villarica we jumped on a bus heading further south to the port town of Puerto Montt. We had a restful night of sleep at Hospedaje Rocco just a few blocks from the Navimag Ferry terminal. We had check in at the ferry terimal for our ferry that was going to take us south through the Patagonian Fjords for the next 4 days.
After we checked in at the ferry and dropped our bags and 3+ bottles of wine and snacks for the trip, we took a stroll through the fish market. Wool yarn was everywhere. I still don't know what is hanging in that top picture - maybe seaweed or dried fish.
Later in the afternoon we boarded the Navimag ferry. Fortunately, we were on the boat in the back, not the foreground. :-)

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February. I was distracted these past few months and am only now getting to post about my experience in South America. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne 02.09.09

Chile: Volcan Villarica

In retrospect the funnest and most exciting part of our trip was the day we climbed Volcan Villarica. The beautiful white topped volcan, pictured above, looks huge from town and it felt tall as we were climbing it too. The climb started in the wee hours of the morning where we met our guides and fellow climbers at the Aguaventura Office in downtown Pucon (just a few blocks from Ecole). Everything was up in the air at this point. It has poured rain two days previously and climbing the volcan is contingent on the weather being good.
Even when we got out to the base camp the guides reassess and conferred with the other climbing groups. The weather was clear and sunny so we were off! the first hour was on gravel and followed the ski lift path, which sometimes is operating and can shave an hour off the hike. Around the second hour we had to put on crampons and learned how to use an ice axe to stop us from slipping if we fell. From this point on we were climbing on a small glacier, i.e. ice, hence the crampons.
We continued upwards and crossed a terribly windy ridge where I almost got blown away. It was after this treacherous climb that I expressed my desire to proclaim this point my "top." My "too windy" excuse was immediately determined to be not-a-good-excuse by our french/chilean guide. The rest of the ascent I was right behind him so that I could grab his backpack if it got too windy. He was right, it never got that windy again though looking down would take your breath away.

Just 30 minutes from the top we were able to take our crampons off and leave our backpacks so that we could quickly reach the top and come back down. Volcan Villarica is still an active volcano so it spews smoke and ash continuously. Obviously, ash is not good for your lungs so we covered our mouths with bananas and continued on.
Climbing without crampons made me really nervous but I just focused on putting one foot after the next, not looking ahead, and not looking back down. Just like the whole journey of earning a PhD this trip had its ups and downs, its challenges, and points when I just wanted to quit.

When we reached the top, I was thankful that I was forced to continue on. The air was calm, the view was impressive as we could see the lakes and other volcanos in the area. Reaching the top was just half the battle.
I was surprised to find out that we were going to SLIDE down the volcano on small plastic saucers. TERROR!! I managed to brake with my ice axe all the way down. Unfortunately, since we were trying to not fly off the side of the volcan we have no pictures of the descent. If a hiking challenge is your type of thing, don't miss the opportunity to climb Volcan Villarica in Pucon, Chile.

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February. I was distracted these past few months and am only now getting to post about my experience in South America. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne and LMD 02.06.09

Chile: Hosteria ¡école!

I stayed at this fantastic little hosteria a few blocks from downtown Pucon in the Lakes District of central Chile. ¡école! is centrally located off the main drag in Pucon but close enough to walk everywhere you might want to go in town. The vegetarian restaurant makes the atmosphere a bit more formal than the traditional hostel, meaning there is no communal kitchen or lounge areas outside the restaurant. The rooms were clean and cozy.

This is the perfect ecolodge to spend a few days and use as a basecamp for all the fun to be had in Pucon: hiking in the Cani Forest Sanctuary, climbing the steep ascent up volcan villaricca, soaking in the many local termas or hot springs, or mountain biking.

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February. I was distracted these past few months and am only now getting to post about my experience in South America. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne 02.05.09

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Happy St. Patty's Day! The weather in the Patagonian region of Chile was terribly fickle. It changes every 10 minutes and is normally some combination of rain, wind, or snow. On a bad day you have 2 of the 3 going on at the same time. The bright side is that we got to see a ton of rainbows. I took this photo aboard the Navimag Ferry traveling south through the Patagonia Channels.

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February and will be posting about my experiences there throughout March. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne 02.12.09

Chile: Termas Geometricas

It was raining when we arrived in Pucon, Chile and the rain continued all the next day. The logical solution to prevent being cooped up indoors was to drive about 2 hours to the TERMAS! Our Hosteria, Ecole!, already had an organized trip on the board and we just happen to have good timing in the morning. Despite the long drive through muddy, bumpy, unpaved road the hot springs were gorgous and the perfect way to spend a rainy day in Chile.

The Termas Geometricas were nestled in a deep ravine that was all misty from the combo of colder rain and hot steamy water. I loved the bright pink and purple flowers and green foleage surrounding the many small pools at Geometricas.

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February and will be posting about my experiences there throughout March. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne 02.05.08

Chile: Pucon, The Lakes District

Our first stop, for more than a day, was in Pucon. Pucon has it all: mountains, lakes, rivers, and hot springs. This small walkable town is bustling and full of young people. There are plenty of things to do and we ended up spending a day at a beautiful hot springs called termas geometricas, climbing volcan villarica, and doing a bit of mountain biking on country back roads to some waterfalls. My time in Pucon turned out to be my favorite in all of our Chilean travels.

{recap: I traveled to Chile during the month of February and will be posting about my experiences there throughout March. Click here to see all my posts about this fantastic Ph.D. Trip}

photo credit: Cayenne 02.10.09

Chile: The Route

On February 1st, I embarked on a 3-week trip to Chile, followed by a week stop in Panama City, Panama. I had been hoping to blog as we went along but the internet in most hostels was terribly slow and we just did not have the time to spend longer stretches of time in internet cafes. So I am going to share my experiences in Chile with you this month. I suspect that the recipe/food posting, unless it relates to Chile, will be minimal.

The Route:

Week 1: Pucon, Chile - Central Chile in the Lakes District
Week 2: Navimag Ferry - started from Puerto Montt in central Chile and traveled through the Patagonian Fjords to southern Chile
Week 3: Torres del Paine Park - Hiked the "W", traveled into the Tierra del Fuego region to the town of Punta Arenas to see penguins!
Week 4: Panama City, Panama - seafood, carnival, the canal, the rainforest, reading, and relaxing.

photo credit: map of chile (click to enlarge) from ChileDiscover

Weekend: Zen Space

I am organizing and trying to find my zen space this weekend. It has been a jolt to jump back into work after a month of traveling. I feel more tired after an 8 hour work day then I ever have been before. This weekend I am trying to get my backpack unpacked. Have a great weekend!

photo credit: TEB 03.01.09 Wind and Sea Beach, La Jolla CA

Welcome Back: Breakfast

After 7 hour flight, over a hour wait for immigration, and a 2.5 hour drive home I was exhausted. I had only slept about 5 hours but the sunshine was keeping me awake. TEB made a delicious french toast breakfast with some old, dense bread. It felt good to be back in San Diego with its mild weather, sunshine, and ocean breezes. The jasmine plant was blooming and it was the perfect morning for a porch breakfast. Thanks for the welcome home breakfast TEB!

photo credit: Cayenne 03.01.09

Weekend: Startup Disk Full!

Startup Disk Full?!? Good thing I am going on vacation for the month of February. I most likely will not be blogging during the month of travel but check back to find snippets on my whereabouts. Have a good February!

photo credit: my hard drive space as compiled by Disk Inventory X. See the big green square...that is the kung fu panda movie.

Weekend: Practice Packing + Hike

I don't even know where to start on this crazy inaugural weekend. First, I did not even realize it was a three-day weekend, not that it matters much in the work that I do. Tomorrow I am heading out on a practice hike (Mt. Cowles at Mission Trails) to test out my fully loaded pack for the patagonia trek. I have a lot of packing to do before we set out tomorrow morning. It is now 14 days till we depart.

Have a good weekend!

photo credit: Universal Camping by Fort Photo

Patagonia: February 2009

I have had several inquiries about whether I am in Patagonia now - I am not. I apologize for being unclear. The trip is planned for February, the entire month actually. We are just in the second stage of planning: looking for hostels in the small towns where there is only one place to stay; going through the gear lists and making sure all the equipment works; and trying to finish our work goals because we both have big projects that we want to be done before heading out of the country for a month.

photo credit: PUERTO MONTT by FOTO_RAC/ROBERTO

Ph.D. Trip: PATAGONIA!

I just cannot keep the Ph.D. trip quiet any longer (read about the foiled NZ trip here and the short list here).

LMD and I are going to PATAGONIA!! The trip has been planned for months (plane there and back anyhow) and now we are close enough to actually plan the trip a bit more.

We fly into Santiago, Chile for a few days before jumping on a bus down to Puerto Montt. From Puerto Montt we are taking a ferry through the fijords to Puerto Natales. P. Natales is the starting point for those individuals hiking the W circuit. We are going to hike half the circuit (the easier half) going from hut to hut. The actual hiking should take about a week and then we fly back to Santiago and onto Panama City, Panama. It just so happens that we arrive in Panama for the start of Carnival! 5 days in Panama City before flying back to the States.

We will be gone the entire month of February, all in the name of earning the Ph.D. :-)

photo credit: Torres del Paine by Madra Rau