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Chile Patagonia
Imagine a land so exotic that
glaciers touch rain forests, granite walls soar from lush valleys in
Yosemite-like proportions and countless unnamed waterfalls spring from
unmeasured heights forming mighty rivers. This is the rarely
explored mountain region of northern Patagonia. Home to
endangered puma, condor and miniature 2 foot high pudu deer. Here a
single trail can mark the only passage for hundreds of miles. Using
horses, rafts and customized outrigger canoes we trace an exotic path
from the mountains to the sea through a stunning landscape of emerald
lakes, rivers, glacier peaks and lush rain forest wilds.
Dates: February Difficulty: Strenuous |
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| Day 1 | We take an evening flight from the United States to Santiago. |
| Day 2 | We arrive in Santiago early in the morning and transfer to the flight south to Puerto Montt. Arriving in Puerto Montt we transfer to a 20 passenger plane and embark on a beautiful 25 minute flight down the northern Patagonian coast over fiords and mountains to the small fishing village of Chaiten. We then drive 3 hours past glaciers and rain forest wilds to Campo Mapu Leufu, the private Earth River base camp. |
| Day 3 - 5 | This morning we drive an hour and a half to a trailhead where we meet the horses. For the next 3 days we make an incredible journey through an area of Patagonia few foreigners have seen. Sparsely set within this vast wilderness of old growth trees and spectacular lakes, glaciers and waterfalls are wonderful primitive homesteads where we will feast as guests of the proprietors. This magnificent wilderness is home to the elusive puma, wina (small wild cat), pudu (miniature deer) and wemul (large deer). Each day we spend approximately 4 hours riding (or trekking). On the afternoon of day 5, the group will have to ford (on horses) a major river. (trekkers take a small wooden ferry). |
| Day 6 - 9 | For the next 4 days we paddle over 50 miles down the swift Palena River in specially designed outrigger canoes. We have removed the omma (small floating stabilizer) from the side of a standard 2 person outrigger and replaced it with a second canoe creating an exceptionally fast, stable craft we have dubbed the catarigger. With one guide in each catarigger, they are ideal for negotiating the Palenas fast, tricky bends and currents and the possibly rough seas at the end of the trip. The scenery on Rio Palena is truly on a grand scale with massive snow-capped volcanoes rising as high as 8,000 vertical feet from the clear azure water. Late in the morning of the ninth day we reach a beautiful 2 mile long bay. Escorted by dolphins, we paddle across the bay to the small roadless coastal town of Balmaceda where we check into a hotel. That evening we have a group dinner and toast our successful Patagonia Traverse. |
| Day 10 | This morning we board a motorized wooden fishing boat and travel 3 hours back up the Palena to the road where we meet the van and drive to Chaiten. After a quick lunch, we take the short flight to Puerto Montt and transfer to the flight to Santiago, where, in the late afternoon, we board the flight to the United States. |
| Day 11 | Early this morning we reach the United States and transfer to connecting flights. |