The Outside Life: April 2012

After the Andes to Ocean trip we headed into the town of Chaiten, located just south of Parque Pumalin and the recently active Volcan Chaiten. In 2008 it erupted without warning, blanketing Chaiten with over a meter of ash. Below the still smoking and smouldering volcano an uneasy reconstruction of the town is on going, the damage still very visible.

I purchased some supplies, said goodbye to the rest of the group, and headed north towards Parque Pumalin. As the sun began to set I found a beautiful beach to camp at and watched sea lions cavorting around, jumping clear out of the water. The dorsal fins of dolphins also appeared, moving with purpose, perhaps hunting for dinner. Behind me was the constant chatter of territorial hummingbirds chasing eachoher around bushes covered with bright red flowers.

Cloudy skies and a light mist greeted me the next morning. I ate a breakfast of oatmeal and freshly picked blackberries from behind my tent and began hitchhiking north. The uncertainty of hitchhiking in Patagonia can be a mental challenge but is quite rewarding with a mindset of not needing to be anywhere but here. A short wait rewarded me with a ride for 9k and then I started walking in the rain. Nalca plants, with giant green leaves grew mixed with ferns and other shrubs comprising a dense understory. Full advantage of the edge environment created by the road is taken here.

Pumalin
Parque Pumalin, (http://www.parquepumalin.cl/content/index.htm) was one of the first conservation projects undertaken by Douglas Tompkins in Chile. A controversial project, it follows a similar story to the development of Grand Teton National Park. In order to keep prices down, parcels of land were purchased under different names and through the Conservation Land Trust. A large public outcry resulted when it was discovered that a wealthy American was purchasing a massive parcel of land stretching from the Argentine border to the Pacific ocean. Since then the Chilean people seem to have settled more or less in favor of the project; it awaits donation and designation as a National Park of Chile.

The park is 3,250 km² encompassing glacier covered volcanoes, long fjords, beautiful crystal clear rivers, giant Alerce trees (South American Redwoods), and Tompkins trademark farms, many accessible only by boat or airplane. The farms are aesthetic masterpieces, and also strive to be ecologically sound examples of sustainable agriculture. Unfortunately, due in part to distance to the market and lack of demand for fresh organic produce the farms are struggling. Despite this, they are an inspiring example of the possibilities of quality work and environmental stewardship. I spent over a week exploring the park and easily could have spent another, it is an incredible place.

The sights were many so I've included a journal entry from my hike up Volcan Chaiten and pictures to tell the rest of the story. Enjoy!

Volcan Chaiten
The trail to Volcan Chaiten climbs through a graveyard of trees, the soil buried in ash. I walk past ferns, bamboo, and shrubs, all growing only in refuges provided by the skeletons of uprooted trees. Higher up on the trail I am enveloped by fog, and the bleached tree snags become ghostly. Less and less vegetation grows as the land becomes enveloped in ash. I climb higher. A patch of blue appears in the sky, a few minutes later I can see mountains behind me to the west. I am above the fog, and here one can see entire mountainsides of dead trees. It is but a momentary glimpse however, as the mist quickly rises up to meet me. Upward I climb. The trail gains a sharp ridge with ash coverd slopes dropping downward on either side. It is silent up here, lifeless too, save an occasional bird winging through. I climb higher. Out of the fog again, I see steep bronze slopes, with patchy white clouds coming off of its flanks; smoke rising from the sleeping volcano. A deep canyon lies below, the remains of a nashen river filling up the floor. It is cut by hundreds of small arroyos, trails of the some 20 meters of rain that falls here each year. At my feet I notice fairy circles of orange mushrooms; fungus is often one of the first pioneers to recover a devastated landscape such as this one. The fog closes in once again and the lonesome cry of a small back hawk echos in the canyon below me. Not so lifeless after all.

Volcan Chaiten

Life returns amongst the ashes.

Volcan Chaiten - the dragon sleeps

Lava inspired fungus

Gregor hiding behind a giant Nalca leaf

Glacier near the summit of Volcan Michinmuhida

Nalca Flower

Glacial runoff from Volcan Michinmuhida

Hand crafted wooden stairs at Cascadas Esconditas

Nothing like a refreshing frigid dip with two Europeans - Gabrielle and Gregor

Big Trees - remnant Alerce forest in Parque Pumalin

The view of Michinmuhida from the south in Sector Amarillo

Glacier Amarillo

Patagonia what have you done to me!

Looking south from Glacier Amarillo

After a lengthy reroute around the protests occurring in the the Aisén region, I was able to make it north into the town of Futaleufu, home of some of the best whitewater on the planet. As fortune has it, my friend Betsy Moyer from the Teton Science School also happens to be living there, teaching English for the winter. The house she lives at is right across the street from Expediciones Chile (www.exchile.com) so I stopped in to say hi. Olympic Kayaker Chris Spelius pioneered the Futaleufu in 1985, founding ExChile. The turquoise blue waters of this river, and its powerful IV/V/V+ rapids make it a remarkable place, and I was fortunate to get on one of his raft trips and a 5 day Andes to Ocean sea kayak trip.

The one and only Betsy Moyer demonstrating proper planking technique along the Rio Espolon.

Whitewater and greenhouses for local food production!? I can get behind that idea! - at ExChile Headquarters in Futaleufu

About to run some class V on the Futa

The Futaleufu River comes out of Argentina where it flows through the infamous Infierno canyon and on to the south west before terminating into Lago Yelcho. The Rio Yelcho then picks up at the opposite end of the lake and travels out to the Pacific ocean from there. We followed this path for 5 days, starting just past the last rapids on the Futaleufu.

The clear blue-green waters of lago Yelcho are situated below massive glaciers and steep tree covered mountains. The lake is over 200 meters deep, with its clean, clear waters disappearing into the oblivion. As we paddled along its shores we passed numerous cascades, tumbling down the steep mountainsides straight into the lake. There are few places to land here, and where land meets water, it is quickly consumed by impenetrable forest. Water is life and here in the temperate rainforest it feeds lush vegetation that occupies every possible piece of real estate.

Fantastic weather with absent wind allowed us to make quick progress across the lake. As I paddled I needed only to dip my bottle beneath its surface for a drink of pure water, as of yet untarnished by pathogens and pollution. On the third afternoon we passed underneath a suspension bridge, carrying traffic along the Careterra Austral and entered the Rio Yelcho. Its current quickly carried us past fishermen presenting giant flies to the massive trout lurking below submerged logs along its banks. We made camp below another glacier. Sitting around the fire that evening a loud crash of ice falling high above us provided a reminder of how small we all really are. A short fourth day on the river paddling around large snags led us to our final sun kissed campsite. The starry skies of the night were replaced by an eerie fog blown in from the coast in the morning, and we set out through the mist. Our trip ended a short ways from Chaiten, the thick ocean fog preventing our passage in the ocean.

The land down here is in good condition simply due to the absence of people, it can handle the present amount of pollution and exploitation. I'm reminded of an Aldo Leopold quote; "Man destroys everything he loves, and so has the pioneer done to wilderness." How will Patagonian Chile fare as its population grows and pressure on its natural resources increases?