hiking

After finishing the Carretera Austral, Ushuaia felt closer than ever before. In a brief moment of misjudgment, I almost ignored all that was around me, with an intense focus on arriving in Ushuaia as fast as possible. Thankfully, after reconnecting with my priorities, I realized I needed to slow down and explore some of the incredible beauty that Southern Patagonia was home to.

This border crossing is iconic for people cycling South America for reasons of wild beauty, adventure, and necessity. It is the only way for cyclists to continue from the end of the Carretera Austral or to get to it for the rare people riding north. I will be telling my experience as a southern rider. This will be a shorter blog, as it's focused on providing information about my experience crossing this border, in the hope that it will be a valuable resource to future cyclists looking to take on the challenging hike a bike.

The night before Zach and I left El Bolson, we were still discussing which route we were going to take to Chile. I wanted to take a hiking trail that would take us near the start of the Carretera Austral, but Zach wanted to bike much further south and cross later. I knew the hiking trail would be a greater, but more rewarding challenge. After enough convincing, Zach agreed.

The time had finally come to start the Peru Great Divide. I took a popular alternative near the beginning to take me to a town near Huayuash National Park where I wanted to hike for a few days. From there, I continue climbing mountains, physically and mentally. I find myself unexpectedly in Lima for some bike repair and some tough decisions.

After two months back in the States, I was more than ready to get back to Guatemala and finally continue my journey south. I had been dreaming of the biking life for a while. I wanted to go back to the daily adventure with the excitement of not knowing what lays ahead. To push my body and my mind further and further each day.

Volcano Tajumulco is the tallest volcano and point in all of Central America, standing at 4203m (13659ft). Argo and I had been wanting to climb this one for a while and when a new volunteer, Kirk, came along, we decided it was finally had a good crew to do it with.

Since I have been in Santa Cruz working, I spent more time each day admiring the three beautiful volcanoes across from me: Atitlan, Toliman, and San Pedro. I had already climbed one volcano in Guatemala, and I knew I needed to climb these as well. This blog contains two trips: the first is an epic three-day hike to Atitlan and Toliman, and the second is a quick day hike up San Pedro.