Hurray! My first trek down here was a huge success. I did the Paso de la Oveja (Pass of the Ship) trek in the mountains behind Ushuaia. Part of the trek was in the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego so I had to register with their park service. The trek was about 26 km.
I left in the morning on 2/2, sharing a taxi with another trekker starting from the same point, but going to a different destination. The start of the trail wandered through pastures of buttercups with a few snowy, glaciated mountains in the distance. I followed a jeep track for awhile until it turned into a trail through coigüe (a tree that looks like overgrown evergreen huckleberry) forest catching more glimpses of the snowy masses above as I walked along. There were clear and cold mountain streams, reddish peat bogs and highland geese that scolded me loudly as I walked by. I also saw some pretty little flowers that looked exactly like a trillium and orchid mixed together. As I gained elevation, the forest changed to lenga trees (these are a species of beech that look like alders with miniature leaves) and the views of the mountains became more frequent. At about 11:30, all the clouds suddenly disappeared and it got nice and sunny and warm. About 1 mile from the lake where I camped, the trees gave way to steep grassy fields spotted with dandelions and daisies. On one side the mountains were rugged, rocky, dry and brown. On the other, across a deep forested valley, the mountains were rugged and heavily glaciated (the Cordon Vinciguerra)- one of them actually looked a like Mt. Shuksan with a summit pyramid and huge snowfield/glacier. This was also the first time all day I saw people, but they were headed out, so soon I had the trail all to myself again. I traversed under some cliffs through the grassy fields down to the lake. Oh the lake! It was that beautiful turquiose glacial blue with views of the Corgon Vinciguerra and grassy little meadows leading down to the shore. I set up camp in a stand of lenga trees and then sat in the sun for a few hours (oh it was so nice) watching a little fox sniff about lookng for food. Having had several bad experiences with a theiving fox on Mt. Adams, I hung my food from a tree. I then decided to do for a quick day hike up to Laguna Superior and Valle Superior up above where I was camped. I walked along a river through tundra-like landscapes below cliffs with rocky, snow-dotted mountains ahead (they looked like a minature Brooks range from AK) and green green slopes leading down to another beautiful turquoise lake. There were huge flocks of highland geese floating on the lake and taking flight at times. It must have been a breeding area cause I found some empty nests and lots and lots of their feathers on the shore. I wanted to continue past the lake to the Valle Superior, but what my trekking book decribed as "narrow, sort of exposed ledges" looked like perilous scrambling across a cliff to me so I turned back. On my way back to my campsite, I saw another couple setting up camp. Like clockwork, the little fox showed up to check out their camp too. After a bit, a British couple came and the fox returned, attempting to drag the man´s thermarest stuff sack off. He then bee-lined for my camp and climbed part way up the tree to get at my food! I yelled at him to get away. He hopped down and looking at me out of the corner of his eye, tried to chomp part of my tent and when I yelled at him for that, he ran over and bit one of my backpack straps and then ran away. Naughty little fox! It got really really cold around dinner time so I only made it until about 8 before I had to get in my tent.
In the morning (2/3), I woke up at about 6 and rolled over and saw snow on the side of my bivy. Snow? I unzipped the door and it was DUMPING outside. It seriously looked like a blizzard! Oh no oh no oh no! I chatted with the Brits and we decided to wait a few hours and see if it melted. I knew I shoudln´t stay a whole other night, because the next night was supposed to be colder. At about 10, it stopped snowing, got sunny and we decided to go for it. It was so beautiful! All the surrounding mountains were covered with snow! I found out that the Brit couple were from just outside of Kingston upon Hull where I studied for a few months in 2006! Small world yet again. As we headed up towards the pass, the snow got a little deeper with more consistant coverage. The plants altogether disappeared and the serrated peaks, took on a more sinister look with the snow emphasizing their sharp ridges. When we reached the pass, the Brits stopped for a coffee break and I was getting cold, so I continued on alone. On the other side of the pass, huge cliffs with waterfalls flowing from hanging valleys down to bright green grassy slopes dominated the view. The valley back down to Ushuaia was the perfect glacially-carved U shape. The trail continued high on a scree slope above the boggy, marshy valley bottom. Eventually, I began to see the Beagle Channel and the mountains of the small islands beyond. After several hours, I dropped down into the forest. The going was easy for awhile until there were hundreds and hundreds of trees down over the trail- I had been warned about this and actually the trail was still easier to follow here than in some other places since someone had gone through with spray paint and flagging marking the way. I think the trees must have been ripped out by avalanches from the mountain above last winter. It seemed like every single drainage for about 2 miles had slid! After about 1.5 hrs, I came out of the forest to private land and pastures. My trekking book said simply "follow the grassy farm track to the SW, past shacks with nervous guard dogs to a locked gate the the road." Well...there were a bunch of grassy farm tracks headed SW and I passed the shacks with huge mean dogs. There was a gate there, but there was NO WAY I was going onto that property with those dogs. So I kept going, had to crawl under three barbed wire fences, came to road with really big dump trucks flying past, kicking up enough dust to choke on. After about another hour I saw a road sign for Ushuaia and then finally a taxi, although the taxi ride was only about 10 minutes at that point...I had almost walked all the way back into town (my trekking book said there would be several buses I could flag down to back into town- did see a single one). So anywho, I made it back! And it was a WONDERFUL trek! So many mountains and so pretty with the snow. Unfortunately, my trail runners did not survive- I should have paid more attention to their condition before leaving...I lost some tread yesterday and there are huge holes, but they sell them for the same price here as at home so I got some new ones yesterday. Everything else- including my new bivy, raincoat and titanium pot/mug worked great.
Well, that´s it for now! This evening I join with the Intrepid tour group and maybe, maybe tomorrow I will see penguins! Love you all!
