Remember
when I wrote in our last blog post that we were told there would be too much
snow and wildfire damage for us to hike the circuit we´d planned? That area was
the Sierra Valdivieso, and despite the nay-sayers we went anyway and spent 5
glorious days there. We suspected a lot of snow had melted after the string of
warm days we experienced, and post-fire forests are landscapes we know well
from Alaska, so we weren´t too worried about the hike being too ´´ugly´´ (as we
were warned by many). The tourist info center warned against it whereas a local
guide and a local rancher told us to go for it, but all in all we couldn´t find
anyone who´d actually done the hike in recent years. Local knowledge is
probably the most valuable source of information we have here in this new
environment and we appreciate the folks who have shared what they know with us.
However, this trek was also a good reminder that hiking our way across
Argentina and Chile depends largely on our own assessment and knowledge of the
mountains. With our base of past experience, if we leave prepared and with
whatever information we can get, we should be well equipped to assess the
terrain and make our own decisions.
Okay,
enough about planning. Let´s talk about hanging glaciers and wildflowers and a
remote patch of earth just outside touristy Ushuaia where you can hike for days
without encountering another person (though you may encounter and pack out
their luggage tags, sunglasses, and broken trekking poles left along the trail :).
A couple hours into Day 1, near Refugio Bonete |
The Sierra
Valdivieso Circuit passes through peat bogs, Fuegian forest, alpine meadows,
and areas of bare rock, snow, and ice. It is described as a 4-day hike by the
Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes guide, and we brought food for 6
days (we lucked out with mostly good weather, but bringing extra is a good idea
given the incredibly variable weather). We chose to spend five days out there,
including 4 moderate hiking days and 1 day relaxing in camp by the river. We spent
the first day climbing gradually from peat bog into forest, and then past
beaver ponds into the alpine where we camped in a small grove of trees next to
house-sized boulders in the valley below our first pass, Paso Beban. Wind
howled that night, keeping us both awake (and grateful for the protection of
the trees), but the morning was calm and sunny, perfect for crossing the pass.
Sun turned to hail by lunch time in upper Rio Torito, and then back into a mix
of sun and clouds for our trek through the valley. We passed the area affected
by the fire, which had burned parts of an area approximately 2km x 5 km though
we only had to hike through about 1 km. of it. I was fascinated to see the few
plants and mushrooms beginning to re-grow already, just 1 year after what
appears to have been a fairly severe fire. By late afternoon, we were back into
the alpine and camped beside the turquoise waters of Laguna Azul.
View down to LagunaAzul |
Day 3
started with a climb to Paso Mariposa, our highest point along the route (at
only about 1000 meters, which believe it or not is right around the permanent
snowline in this environment). The sun
was shining bright but it was WINDY. Just 100 meters shy of the pass as we
stopped to brace ourselves against a strong gust, Markus´ sunglasses were blown
off his face and flew another 50 meters downhill before landing behind a rock. After
so many years in calm Fairbanks, the wind here seems amazingly powerful and
exhilarating (and challenging once in awhile when we want to sleep, or walk
outside…)! Needless to say, we didn´t dwell too long on the pass and headed
down to the treeline, up again into a high valley filled with stair-step lakes
of blue water, over the next pass below hanging glaciers, and then into a long
final descent back into the forested Valle Carbajal. We climbed over downed
trees and skirted ponds (all created by the introduced North American beavers),
and then found a lovely camp by the Rio Olivia. We woke up Day 4 to rain and
decided to spend the morning in camp, which later morphed into a rest day
sitting by the river and reading, journaling, and taking photos.
Markus hikes through the peat bog in early morning |
We´d read
that the Rio Olivia can be too high to cross late in the day due to snowmelt,
so we awoke at 5am to try to reach the crossing about 10km downstream by
mid-morning. The hike through peat bog was beautiful but long, and with
frequent photography, birding, and trail scouting breaks we didn´t reach the
river crossing until noon. The river was
deep but, in one spot, exceptionally calm. So we waded across up to our waists
with our packs slung over Markus´ shoulders, like wading across the shallow end
of a (very cold) swimming pool. Another hour and a half walking a cattle trail
brought us to the road, where we chatted briefly with the friendly landowner
(who asked if we´d seen any of his cows) and went to stand by the road where we
were picked up almost immediately by a very friendly man named Carlos who was
returning from a fishing and beaver-trapping trip and gave us a ride back into
town.
Some other highlights:
Birds galore! – we have a bird guide and
binos with us and had fun watching new and familiar birds such as parrots,
kingfishers, caracaras, chingolos, and house wrens; Daily ´´baths´´ in the ice
cold streams; A sunrise hike through the peat bog with mist hanging in the air;
and many more.
For anyone who hopes to do this hike: it is a good idea to have
route-finding experience in the mountains as the route is not regularly marked
and you aren´t likely to encounter other people. That said, we found the
route-finding pretty intuitive—in many places as we assessed the lay of the
land and picked routes that made sense, we´d come across boot prints in the mud
and occasional cairns. In general, the passes are well-marked with cairns.
There is no established trail but there are human, cattle, and beaver trails
you can follow through the forests and bogs for the most part. There are (muddy) established trails in the
Valle Carbajal at the beginning and end of the circuit, which are marked
occasionally by red and white marker tape wrapped around trees. The Lonely
Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes guide gives a very good description of
the route. We found it to be accurate and helpful nearly all the time. The one
section we found misleading was in the description of the route from Salta del
Azul to Laguna Azul – you don´t need to go very far down valley from the
waterfall, contrary to what the guide describes. We overshot the lake by
heading too far west but were able to locate it from a ridge and backtrack
without much delay.
Based on my Alaska experience with you two I'm guessing I would have died on this relaxed 4 day hike. Sounds absolutely incredible!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen! I'm writing a book and need some info as I've never hiked through a bog before. Would you be willing to answer a few questions?
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
Hello, thank you very much for your description. We would like to go in Ushuaia in February. I would say that we are experienced, fast-walking hikers and there is no problem for us walking 12 hours per day, do you think it is feasible to finish this hike in two days or or is it too ambitious? thank you very much for our help
ReplyDelete