The Final Diversions

El Chalten

I originally came to El Chalten with the plan to take a few days off to work on my blog and quickly get back on the road, ignoring the beautiful peaks that loomed over the town. Ushuaia felt so close, and I was so eager to arrive. I wasn’t necessarily anxious to finish and get this trip over with, but I felt an immense motivation to ride hard and finish a goal I’ve had for so long.

Thankfully, a few cyclist friends in town helped convince me that it was worth it to hike up to Fitz Roy. I was so blinded by Ushuaia that I almost forgot the most important part of this trip: It’s not the destination; it’s the journey. Yes, a cheesy and overused phrase, but it is the underlying mantra of this trip. I don’t care where I’m heading, I’m here to experience everything in between. And Fitz Roy is right here in between.

Unfortunately, my decision to stay and hike happened right when there was a weeklong forecast of rain and wind, but the promise of beautiful clear skies afterward. I had a few blog posts I could catch up on, so I spent a week resting and working until the storm passed.

If I was going to do the hike, I was going to make the most of it. I wanted to start at 3 a.m. to arrive for the sunrise, the most beautiful part of the day, when Fitz Roy would drastically changes colors as the sun rose above the horizon.

With only a few hours of sleep, my alarm rang, and I began the 12km long and 900m elevation gain hike to the lake full of energy. On the final climb to the lake, I looked back at the pitch black valley behind me and saw dozens of other headlights following the trail up. About three hours later, I arrived at the lake. I turned off my headlight, and the massive towers of rocks surrounding me appeared right in front of me, along with the bright stars still in the night sky. All those days waiting and hours of hiking were going to be worth it; now I just needed to sit and wait.

As the sun slowly rose, the peaks began to show themselves. Every 15 minutes that passed brought a completely new appearance and color.

The moment came for the highlight, alpenglow. A fleeting moment when the sunlight hits the tips of the mountain and gives it a stunning red glow. I rarely take photos of myself, but I couldn’t resist setting up my camera to take some self-portraits with the incredible backdrop. I’m very happy with how it came out.

I spent the next few hours enjoying the warmth of the sun and taking in the rest of the views.

The time came to begin the long hike back. I had felt so strong on the way up, but as I started descending, the pain in my body began to emerge. Thanks to cycling, I have really strong legs and an unwavering mentality when it comes to moving nonstop for hours. Hiking, however, uses a few muscles that cycling doesn’t, and those muscles are severely under-utilized and have now been pushed to their limits.

My hike back slowly turned into a hobble as my ankles and hips felt the extreme impact from the day. At least now I could see all the views that I had missed in the darkness on the way up.

After a week of being stir crazy and ready to bike, I was planning to return from the hike and hit the road, but my body was in shambles. I hadn’t hiked this hard in a long time, and my body needed to rest. I extended one final night and spent the rest of the day in bed.

The road leaving El Chalten had one of the most incredible mountain bike drops of any road I had ridden so far. I could understand why the famous outdoor company Patagonia uses this mountain range for its logo.

The beautiful mountains were behind me, and ahead lay La Pampa, an endless flat grassland that covers most of southern Patagonia. For the past few months, I had been feeling the wind get stronger and stronger. I kept telling myself that I was finally experiencing the true Patagonian winds, but then they would keep getting stronger. Now, I knew for certain I was in the land of the crazy Patagonian winds. Every day, all day, there were winds of 30+km/hr. There was no break in the nights. It was important to plan to find shelter to spend each night.

I had met another cyclist, Tiles, at a refugio. He was a cool Brazilian world traveler, and we decided to share some of the road as we braved the horrible wind.

We stopped at one of the many famous abandoned buildings used by cyclists. The walls were covered with names and drawings of previous cyclists, some dating back over 10 years. Tiles had brought a box of wine, which we shared while we cooked and shared stories of traveling.

The next morning, I departed from Tiles, as he was dealing with knee pain that would slow him down. I followed the road the rest of the way to El Calafate.

El Calafate

El Calafate was a surprising town to visit. It is the hub for people around the world to fly in and visit El Chalten and Torres Del Paine, where there is some of the best hiking in the world. Because of this, it was a busy and rather expensive town, but full of nice restaurants and cool shops.

It was a bit off route to come here, and my main reason for coming here was to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier, a massive glacier that you can get close to. The only problem with a day trip to visit the glacier is that it is ridiculously expensive for a traveler like me. The bus there is $40, the entrance fee is $45, and the bus back is another $40. Most travelers share common hacks to save money, and the best one here is to fake a student ID and hitchhike there and back, making the total cost go from $120 down to $7, a pretty substantial savings.

The glacier was very busy but amazing to see. You could feel the icy cold breeze as the wind came from the glacier, along with the warmth of the sun on your back. The glacier was massive, as tall as 70m (230ft). It was entertaining to sit and watch the glacier, waiting for a piece to fall off and make a large wave.

Leaving Calafate, I finally got to feel the wonder that is having Patagonian wind on your side. For most of the day, a strong 30km/hr wind was pushing me along and up hills. After only 4 hours of riding, I had already made it 100km and climbed over 1000m, which would normally take me around 6 hours.

I still had 20km to go to reach my destination, an abandoned police building in the middle of nowhere. For the final 20km, I had to turn away from the tailwind into a crosswind, and it was tough. Gusts of wind would threaten to knock you off the bike, and it was nearly impossible to maintain a straight path. As bad as crosswind was, I’d take it any day over a headwind. This shelter was also full of the names of countless past cyclists, all taking shelter here. It’s a cool feeling, thinking of the history a seemingly simple building can have.

The next morning, I woke up to my alarm at 5:45 a.m. after a rather sleepless night. The abandoned building wasn’t as abandoned as I thought, and countless mice ran around, keeping me up. I don’t like waking up this early to bike, but it was the only option to avoid a terrible headwind in the afternoon.

It was a cold morning on a horrible, slow, and bumpy gravel road. Joy was nonexistent, but I continued on.

At the end of the gravel road, a handful of cyclists all happened to arrive around the same time. Two Germans going north, two Aussies who had slept in the same building as me, and a Spanish guy who had started a bit further away than the Aussies and me. The typical cyclist meet-up ensued, comparing gear and sharing route information.

As we left, Guillermo, the Spanish rider, pulled out with me, and we began riding together. I’m not sure why he chose to ride with me, as I was in a rather sour mood from my lack of sleep. We rode alongside each other while talking, even though I just dreamed of solitude and my podcast to distract me until I arrived at the next town to a hot shower and a warm bed.

Soon, we got our first view of Torres Del Paine, my next destination. I have to say, from back here, I was a bit unimpressed by the mountain range. It looked like any other mountain range, definitely not a world-class destination. Maybe it was my cranky mood talking, but either way, I would have to get closer to see.

After the arduous morning, I was thankful the final 15km to cross the Argentinian / Chilean border were downhill and easy. This was my fourth time crossing between these two countries, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Gary and I descended to the border town of Cerro Castillo, both of us exhausted and looking for a hotel room to share. We found the cheapest we could and spent the rest of the day resting and properly talking, now that my mood had improved.

The next day, Gary and I hesitated starting for a few hours because we knew that a terrible headwind was waiting for us. After realizing there was nothing else to do, we started for the headwind. It was about as bad as it could be while still being ridable. We pushed hard, only going about 7km in an hour before we got to the junction where we would split up, as he was skipping the park since he had already visited it, while I was making a long detour to ride through the park. I was a bit sad, as now I had come to enjoy his company very much. I’ll see him further south, at least.

Torres Del Paine

Back on my own, I only made it a few kilometers further till I decided enough was enough. At this rate, it would take me all day to pedal the final 30km. Sometimes, it’s just not worth it, and hitchhiking is the answer. Very quickly, I found a ride from two Chileans who worked in the park. As I was approaching the park and the mountains came into view, I was stunned. My initial impression from far away was entirely wrong, and the closer I got to the mountain range, the more magnificent they got. A great benifit with riding with workers, was that we got to go past the park entrance without stopping and paying, saving me quite a bit of money.

I’ll be honest; I had a very bad preconceived idea of Torres Del Paine. It is widely known as one of the most expensive National Parks in the world, and most people have to make reservations months in advance to hike the park, two things that are difficult for the average bike tourer.

My feelings for this park were immediately proved correct as soon as I was dropped off at the welcome center. Obnoxiously loud house music was playing while I scanned the gift shop and cafe, offended by the extreme prices. Nothing compared to the prices charged for wifi, starting at $10 for 1 hour. I would later learn that people pay upwards of $300 a night for food and camping on the famous multiday hikes in the park. Everything in these National Parks is privately owned and run completely for profit, finding the absolute maximum tourists are willing to pay and the minimum they can pay their employees.

I tried to push my opinions aside and enjoy the immense beauty that was the national park. I went to the main campground, where I found out it normally costs $45 to pitch your tent. They gave me a discount of $20 to pay in cash, and I begrudgingly accepted. The facilities at the campground were at least very good.

I was originally planning to skip the hike to Lago Torres, the most famous hike in the park that goes up to a viewpoint of the iconic towers, but as I entered the park, I was overwhelmed by the mountains and knew that I must do the hike. The local chilean, Bastian, who picked me up when I was hitchhiking, told me that I had to do it for sunrise as well. For him, I will do it.

Another 3 a.m. wake-up call and another 3-hour hike in the dark to the base. Unfortunately, there were a few clouds in the sky so I didn’t ge the dramatic alpenglow as Fitz Roy, but it was still a breathtaking view, and would be the only view for the day as clouds would cover the peaks for the rest of the day.

I thought my body would handle the hike better than last time, but again, I was in pain when I reached the bottom and spent the rest of the day resting in my tent. I learned that nobody working checks tent reservations, so I happily didn’t pay for the extra night.

While resting in my tent, I peeked out and noticed a puma entering the campground. I quickly grabbed my camera and got out to try and capture some photos. I had known that they frequent the campgrounds and are uninterested in people, so I didn’t feel in danger approaching the puma to get a good look. They walked right past me, only a few meters away. It was extraordinary, they are beautiful animals.

The next day, I woke up more than excited to get to explore the rest of the park’s road. I would be riding alongside the famous mountains, getting to see each one at many different angles.

This sign signals that there is high wind, and I can confirm that there was high wind. I was slowly pushing through headwind the entire day. That, combined with the steep hills, was a challenge for the current state of my bike. I have used the same drivetrain this entire trip, and it was long past needing to be replaced. Due to this, the chain skips a lot when I climb steep hills, which adds to the difficulty. It’s too late now to replace it all, and it must survive until Ushuaia.

I couldn’t believe the views. I took my time on this section, not wanting to rush.

I stopped and hiked each chance I got. Seeing all this park had to offer.

After a full day, I had only made it 33km, and that was more than okay. I stopped at another campground, and with my knowledge that no one checks the campsites, I didn’t pay again. While I sat and enjoyed my rice and lentils, I watched the sunset on the mountains across the lake.

I had noticed some mice around the campsite, and this time, I tried a new strategy. Instead of having them dig around my bags all night, I left out a pile of oatmeal. If they are going to get to my food anyway, I may as well make it easier for both of us. It also allowed me to get some nice photos of these adorable creatures. I’m happy to report that the mice enjoyed their meal, and I enjoyed a quiet night’s rest.

I woke early to enjoy a very special sunrise. It was special for a few reasons, the obvious being the tremendous colors on these incredible peaks, but the other was because now, my mind was on Ushuaia. From here, nothing was left between me and my destination except a couple hundred kilometers of cold and windy pampa. I had enjoyed these last few highlights, but it was time to accomplish my goal.

I left the mountains behind me, feeling stronger and more focused than ever on this trip. My mentality was unbreakable, and my legs were unstoppable. 800 kilometers to go.

Thank you all for reading along. Stay tuned for the final blog on my journey to Ushuaia.