Tuesday, Nov. 25th, 2008. It’s Day 149 on The Big Trip.
Today we're catching an overnight bus - is there any other kind in Argentina? - to Buenos Aires! We'll be there for up to a week, or so we prognosticate. A quick update of our goings-on in Bariloche, Argentina would not be sufficient without noting a nice Sunday bike ride around Circuito Chico, just outside of Bariloche. The views were - dare I say - Patagonian?
In other news it's nearing December. That means a few things. It means a December (birthday) in warm Patagonia. It means February is soon upon us, which means I need to find the cheapest month-quantity of food and thereby determine whether I can afford a month in Valle de Cochamó. Most of all, though, it means a chance to make new family memories!
Bariloche 2
Cochamó, Puerto Varas
Now in Bariloche, Argentina, it's time for the brief blog post about the past. On the way to Valle de Cochamó from Bariloche, Argentina and back, there are some places and things that you missed. For instance, we stayed in Cochamó and Puerto Varas both ways. Also, what you perhaps don't know is that for the first border crossing we took an expensive one-price-option bus. For the return border trip we had the pleasure of sharing the trip with Daniel Seeliger and NPR, who drove us all the way, even taking us the scenic route back through Cochamó and backroads! What is to follow is a briefly narrated picture account of our activities and locations visited thus far unaccounted for in this blog. I hope you enjoy and are curious about what else is being left out!
Nathan in Puerto Varas, after hiking to the skirt of town for a better view of the lakes and sideline volcanoes.
Alisa practices cooking meat in Puerto Varas by making deliciously simple hamburguesas con queso, lechuga, y tomate.
Alisa walking down to Hostel Edicar in Cochamó town with its cute grandeur in the background.
Nathan going for a walk by the water in the town of Cochamó.
Alisa enjoying an ice cream walk in Puerto Varas after our valley excursion before returning to Argentina.
Nathan and Alisa share a churrasco and a hamburguesa streetside in sunny Bariloche for a cheap and juicy lunch!
Back in Bariloche
It's now Friday, November 21st and we're in Bariloche, Argentina. That's Patagonia! I haven't written about all of our trip. For instance, I have not mentioned in pictures or enough words the towns of Cochamó, Puerto Varas, or Puerto Montt. So soon to come will be a little picture blog entry for a few snapshots into our trip that you've missed!
For now we're job-hunting and house-hunting in Bariloche. Wish us luck! Yesterday we took a brief break from this race for comfort and hiked up nearby Cerro Catedral and found an incredible view. I'm still incredulous about it! Check out the video from atop, below:
That's all for now! -Your landescaper, n8
Cochamó Valle Day 4
La Junta: Valle de Cochamó
DAY 4: Same New Route & Return to Cochamó
Saturday, November 15th, 2008. It’s Day 139 on The Big Trip.
It’s Saturday! Unfortunately, we’ve planned to leave Cochamó today in order to get a start one day ahead of Daniel, who is also returning to Bariloche, Argentina. If you haven’t heard the story yet, here it is: Valle de Cochamó, with its near limitless opportunities for climbing and enjoyment for me, does not offer an income, which I desperately need. Also unfortunately, neither does the town of Cochamó. And since Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt don’t “strike our fancy”, we’re headed back to Bariloche, which has skiing, climbing, and hopefully a lot more to offer for jobs.
Daniel Seeliger is also headed to Bariloche, planning to cross the border on Monday from Puerto Montt. So, we’re thinking that today we’ll leave the refugio a day ahead of him to snatch up some long lost internet and get in touch with our parents. I hope they haven’t yet bought the plane tickets to Puerto Montt’s airport (PMC) yet, although it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to rent a car for a 5-hour PMC to Bariloche drive. Plus, they’d get some passport stamps and beautiful Cordilleras de los Andes scenery! Although it’s cheaper if we can fly them direct to Bariloche! Enough said on that subject!
Before we leave Valle de Cochamó, we have some thanksgiving to do. Thanksgiving to Daniel for letting us get the first two ascents of the route he made that he let me help name! Here’s the naming bit: Daniel tells me I should name it. I say, “What?!” Because it’s his route, really. He should name it, or am I wrong? Either way, I enjoying silly creative pressure points such as naming a climbing route on the La Luna wall. So I come up with “Where the cow jumped over.” I don’t remember what nursery rhyme scheme this came from, but Alisa does. It’s goes like this:
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon, the little dog laughed to see such sport, and the dish ran away with the spoon.
Daniel liked it and chose, I believe, the first three words of the rhyme, which of course will logically lead anyone with knowledge of this rhyme to the part of the rhyme that references the moon! Plus, hey diddle diddle does sound cooler than where the cow jumped over, and it won’t have people sniffing the air for fear that they’re standing near a cow carcass!
Although this climb puts us behind schedule for catching the bus from Cochamó town to Puerto Varas; although this climb will precede a hefty, minimally five-hour trek; although it’s early and Alisa hasn’t had her Yerba Mate yet, this climb will be a mixed 5.10b FA (first ascent) on a dirty route! What isn’t there to love about this opportunity! We start out on the trail that we now know and giddily approach the wall. The dust lines from where the rock has been drilled and bolts placed are still very evident. This is awesome! We get set up and I start leading. Thankfully Daniel made sure I had enough gear before I left. I was about to leave with only 4 large cams when he added about 7 smaller ones to my rack. Thank goodness! I’m placing pieces wherever I can find crackspace without dirt crammed in it still! It’s nice to see a route mature in its cleanliness. Soon the route will be able to wipe itself, but for now, we’re still picking dirt out of its cracks. The route is a cool trad route for six placements or so when you hit a small tree and begin the four-bolt sport section. It’s nice to yank and balance and twist again! I feel like there should be music on, until I look around at my surroundings and hear the noise of the streams colliding behind me! Come to think of it, one would-be route beside me is clacking softly with each drip!
After both of us sharing this nice, will-be-classic climb, we head back to the refugio, sign the registration book, say our goodbye-for-now’s, and start trekking our trek. Alisa makes a contagiously simple song we sing, “Here come Chains and Bandit, we’re Chains and Bandit, Bandit and Chains!” This helps pass the time going down the trail that now can be done comfortably in shoes. We make it down in 3 hours and 40 minutes! However, we still have 12 kilometres until town so we begin our dirt-road hiking and hitch-hiking with families to get back!
More to come on this adventure back to Bariloche from your landescaper, n8!
Cochamó Valle Day 3
LA JUNTA: VALLE DE COCHAMÓ
DAY 3: Pared Seca & New Route
Before you read this post you should meet the wonderful family that we’ve been staying with at the Refugio Cochamó: Daniel, Silvina, and Zenon Seeliger! We had nothing but great times with these very friendly, hardworking folks and I really hope to get back to them and the valley for more excitement and adventure! Just hearing about their stories and the way they’re living their lives in three countries every year is inspiring and encouraging! So thanks!
Friday, Nov. 14th, 2008. It’s Day 138 on The Big Trip.
Again we set out. This time we know what trails to follow! Follow the horse chunks! Not really. The trail to Pared Seca, literally “Dry Wall” passes some pretty waterfalls on a rickety bridge and finally plops you down by this shaded, bolted wall that is – believe it or not – dry. It’s also very cold right now. We use the matches we borrowed from the Seeligers to light a fire. The fire is a nice smoky blue and a welcome warmth to our cooled bodies.
Enough firesitting, the fire’s no baby! Let’s get climbing! We hop on a really nice overhanging 10b flake-filled route that I have to dispatch with speed before 1) I get too pumped to finish it and/or 2) my fingers get too numb to bend (over the holds) to my will!
After we both manage this route, I try a 12a in hopes of toproping a 12 c/d or 13a or something with an awesome dyno! To my somewhat expected dismay I can’t finish it and have to down-climb the half I climbed to rescue Daniel’s quickdraws!
Happy with our newfound tiredness for the day – a sign of accomplishment in the valley, we head back to the refugio to check and see whether or not Daniel and Silvina made it out climbing with all of the work on their hands. We find Silvina hard at work beyond the greenhouse they’re building. Of course, Zenon’s there, too! Silvina tells us that Daniel has headed out to clean a new route that he’s been looking at on La Luna. That’s all I need to hear! I pack up the bag again and head out running down the trail to La Luna. I find Daniel happily hucking chunks of dirt and branches off of La Luna, about 26 meters off the ground.
I’m very interested in making new routes and hope to be able to do so in Cochamó, so I observe him carefully and ask any questions that come to my mind! Soon I get to belay Daniel as he climbs and cleans, even hauling a massive rock off of the halfway point of the route! Yikes! Then he bolts the anchors so that we can toprope it. It’s dirty, but it’s undoubtedly grande! 10b he thinks. Mostly trad with a sporty few last meters where he’ll bolt. It’s clear that Daniel has made routes – lots of routes – before this. The route flows and is definitely clean enough to start climbing even after this relatively short hard workout/cleaning session that he’s done! I would definitely enjoy doing this!
After we each have our run at it, he puts four bolts before the anchors. And tells me I can get the first ascent in the morning if I like. If I like?! Is he serious?! I assume that he’ll come with me since it’s his route, really! You’ll have to stay tuned to see!
[If you have any tips for jobs in the Bariloche, Argentina area or jobs that can be done via computer from there, please do share!] - Your landescaper, n8
Cochamó Valle Day 2
LA JUNTA: VALLE DE COCHAMÓ
DAY 2: La Luna & Wetsuit Bouldering
Thursday, Nov. 13th, 2008. It’s Day 137 on The Big Trip.
Last night we drew up plans. For the plans we need climbing gear from Daniel. Lo and behold, Daniel goes over the top to provide us with what we need. I wanted to check out the climbing wall nearby called La Luna (The moon) and also the boulder in the middle of the river that already has a few DWS (deep water solo) routes on it. For all of this, Daniel gives us the following: a set up stoppers, a set of cams, a set of quickdraws, a rope, a nice Metolius bag to carry all of this in, and a wetsuit for my DWS desires!
The sad part of this otherwise non-sob story is this: we got lost on the way to La Luna. I mean really lost. We were hacking and pushing and ducking (all with heavy packs on) through thick patches of bamboo mixed with pricklies. For a few hours! Only to give up and begin returning to the Refugio when I spot a bolt on the rock wall that we had passed by hours ago noting how dirty and uncouth it seemed for it to already have routes on! I am biting my tongue while swallowing my words for that!
Rejoicing takes the form of looking up each route and climbing one. I lead the route. Alisa topropes it. She mocks me because her arms don’t get pumped (tired and permanently flexed) on it, saying that it must only be a 5.9 or so. Later at the refugio we look in the comprehensive guidebook that Daniel has compiled over the years from climbers’ notes to find that we climbed Amber, a 5.11 a/b! Alisa’s first! That’s a great way to start climbing in Cochamó!
But first, before we return to the refugio, I have other “business” to attend to. Namely, the Roca Island. To do this we find a beach of white rocks from which we can spot the rock island. Sadly, it’s too far away for a starting point given the frigid quality of each and every lasting water molecule between the island and myself. So, we hop back up through the brush to the path and find a place further upriver that offers a more proximate approach that also happens to be shallower. I put on the wetsuit to find that it’s a knee-high, armless wetsuit – a muscle wetsuit. After readying myself for this stunt, I push myself into it, jumping as far as I can from the boulder to avoid the stronger and deeper part of the current that runs right by the boulder. When I hit the water, I steady my legs and try to hurry onwards knowing that each moment that I am in the water I am weakened.
I hit a patch of rocks that I can hop on, avoiding the water patches. At the end of this rock hopping section lies another small water channel that I ford to get to a would-be beaver-dam. From there I can hop onto the boulder without a problem. I wait for Alisa to run around on the path back to the white rock beach. From there she can watch me boulder and fall! While waiting I can’t help but notice that there are now clouds in the valley, some of which could very well contain globules of anti-fun. I pray for Alisa to hurry so I can get this boulder problem underway! 
Soon I am climbing, and happy. That is, until I realize that my climbing will be short-lived thanks to wet, fungi-loved rock, wet climbing shoes, and an ever-closer section of the boulder traverse that is difficult for its small foot holds. So you can imagine me pretty accurately if you picture in your minds eye a person in a black wetsuit with yellow climbing shoes and bare legs and arms yelling, “I don’t want to fall” across freezing waters, hanging onto wet holds on a boulder in the middle of Valle de Cochamó, in the middle of granite peaks, in the middle of crystalline waters, in the middle of a fearful but enjoyed experience of uniqueness. Yup.
Cochamó Valle Day 1
LA JUNTA: VALLE DE COCHAMÓ
[More Videos and Pictures Pending]
DAY 1: Arcoiris Trek
Wednesday, Nov. 12th, 2008. It’s Day 136 on The Big Trip.
As if one day of sudden uphill hiking isn’t enough, we take Daniel’s advice to do the Arcoiris (Rainbow) trek, which he forged and maintains. To get to the base of the trail you must cross back over the river. Weee! Why aren’t more transportation services comprised of harnesses, cables, and pulleys?
Daniel crosses with us and gives us more specifics for what we can expect on our 4-ish hour ascent and 2-ish hour descent. The 2:1 up:down time ratio means that the trek will be steep. The trek starts out in the forest and continues to edge up to the side of the ridge opening views to more of the valley. Cresting the tree line happens at about the same time that the trek encounters fixed ropes – some with knots, some without – that you utilize to make going up (wet) rock easier! The views at this point are nothing less than stunning on a sunny day.
When you think the hike is over at the snowy top, you are wrong. For the somehow better vistas, continue trudging through snow to the real top, further along. Proceed with caution if you are entering the summer because the snowmelt runoff beneath what the eye can see in coordination with softening snow makes burying a leg possible.
We make it to what we think is the top and record a vlog entry with stunning backdrops. All of this granite is making me incredulous to the fact that I’m in the Valle de Cochamó but still haven’t climbed! What am I thinking? I suppose I trust the weather and the ability to stay long enough to get my fill of climbing. Regardless, this is a gorgeous spot to hike and well worth the second consecutive day of hard hiking for us! Unfortunately, before hitting the real peak of this trek from which you are supposed to be able to see the sea and much more, our very hungry stomachs call us back down.
I start running down through the steep snow banks. My feet are soaked anyways at this point, so there’s no reason to go slowly down semi-steep rock to save me from wet socks. This reminds me of sand-boarding. It also reminds me of playing around on the snow-topped steep roof of our house and barn in Winthrop, Maine with my brother way back in the good old days! The scenery for this snow-running is really nice. And we’re putting the first steps into this snow up here, it seems. I’m guessing that in December, January and February there will be many more steps and perhaps even other people trekking along with you! It’s nice to be the first guests at the Refugio – which includes getting some quality time with the Seeliger family and friends! What a treat!
Soon we’re back down and ready to cross back over the river. But what is this? Daniel has finished yet another one of his busy-day tasks: he put up the cart on the cable! We don’t need the harnesses and pulleys because we can just sit in the cart and pull ourselves across the river. Or Alisa can sit in the cart while I pull from one side! It’s not nearly as fast as swinging on a pulley for most of the way, but it requires less of the traveler!
After eating a massive dinner for 4 – Sean, you’d be impressed! – we hang out and hit the sack, ready for tomorrow when we’ll get to check out some of this amazing rock that we’ve heard all about and that I’ve dreamed about!
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