torres del paine, chile

this is how much food i brought on my 8 day trip. i hurried through and got out in 7, so there was a little extra, but i never found myself too hungry. definitely a lesson in how to go ultra light.

day one. windy fields, old fire scarred trees, scattered rain, fields of daisies.

day two. doubled up, walked two days in one. rolling hills, lakes, old beech forest, and my first up close glacier. views of the the rock towers that the park is famous for through the clouds.

glaciar grey below me as i descend from the pass.

day three. over john gardner pass in the middle of a blizzard. had to stop at each trail marker in order to search for the next one. was worried about frost bite on my nose due to high winds and driving snow. made it over the pass, was feeling pretty bad ass for surviving, then heard "hola" behind me and a skinny guy in running shorts and a tank top goes jogging past me, doing the whole 9 day circuit in one day. damn it.

day four. a long slow descent from the glaciar and lago grey. my two long days finally caught up with me and my feet starting hurting bad. was finally on the W trail, which is much busier, but has better views of the rocks. 

my polish friend matt who hiked up to french valley with me for a wrap around view of the cuernos (horns) and other rock formations.

rocks are nutritious! the rocks here are famous for their black tops. magma that cooled inside the ground, then was revealed by erosion.

day 5. mostly a day hike up to frensh valley, then on to a campsite under lost cuernos. beautiful sunset over the lake 

day 6. last night. hiked up to the look out over los torres. long day. please notice tiny me in turquoise jumping from one rock to the other near the bottom of this photo. 

almost the same view, but with the rising sun on the towers. got up at 4 to hike up to the lookout and watch sunrise over a rocky ridge. just caught this before i headed down.

seven days is my longest hike yet, but it was much easier having set camps pretty close together and a group of people that i met on the train and shared meals with. i also bumped into two people i'd met in other places on the trail, which was fabulous. nothing like experiencing the calming solitude of solo hiking in the wilderness and the comforting embrace of community all in one day. 

i fly home on the 17th of feb, so at this point i've got about three weeks left, and have planned every day. more glaciers and hiking, a little hitchhiking, some more long bus rides, lots of mountains and lakes, and hopefully a few days at el bolson, hippy capital of patagonia, where i can rest, relax and do some yoga before my last week back on the farm, BA and heading home. 

i can't wait to see everyone again!

antarctica!

these are slightly out of order due to my using a friend's really good camera for some of the shots. thanks, sport!

my cabin. the window view was partially blocked, but pretty plush for a last minute deal! my cabin mate was an awesome woman from new york who was also traveling argentina solo. pretty cool. 

getting ready to camp out on the ice. it stayed light enough to read all night.

watching the scenery slip by on the bow of the ship. the yellow jackets came with the trip, so i still have mine. nice and warm!

cam from canada. one of our excursion leaders. definitely a rule breaker in the zodiac.

the icebergs came in some amazing shapes and sizes. we weren't allowed to go to close to the tall one (they're actaully all attached under water) for fear that it would tip and fall in, creating a big wave.

sport and i with our prize-winning hats at the crazy hat party. thanks for the mad hatter tea party inspiration, churchie!

port lockroy. grandmother, i wrote and sent you a postcard from here--and took a photo of me doing it in the small museum. you would have loved it!

we spoted orca three times, which is aparently a ton. lots of big pods. also so a humpback whale my last day there from about 20 feet away. was to busy staring to take photos. sorry.

see that little black blob on the right? that's a zodiac with 10 people in it.

penguins!

a chin strap feeding its chick. 

elephant seals on the beach. sometimes they lie on the ice cause they're too hot. 

a panorama from our last expidition on the ice. nice little hike to the top of a hill. once back on the boat, some of us jumped into the water, which was 0.5 degrees celcius. too much adrenaline to really feel the cold till after. they make you wear a belt so you don't drift away from the boat. i'd share the photos, but i did it naked. for some reason i was the only one. huh. 

ushuaia -- the bottom of the world

lighthouse at the channel crossing to the big island in tierra del fuego. officially in chile now.

my camp site in ushuaia. great views!

happy new year! my brazilian friend fernando and i at midnight on new year's eve. notice the light sky?

i'm pretty sure this is a swing for wheelchairs. awesome.

a lagoon in town, just below the old ski slope that the camp ground was near.

thank you courtney for the video on how to make a stove out of a beer can! it works! i can boil two cups of water in 5 minutes with medical alcohol. yay!

at the tiny glaciar just above ushuaia with ben from maryland. great kid, we shared a few meals together, including a sunday brunch with pork chops and pancakes, before i headed into the park.

view from the top of the ski slope. above -- looking up. below -- looking down to the beagle channel and town.

parque national tierra del fuego. 

this is where i hiked into chile. i went an extra 100 meters just in case they put the sign too close to prevent people from actually crossing. great day for a hike -- even took a swim in the lake when the wind died down.