In Patagonia Day 16
In Patagonia Day 16 El Chaltén Thoreau called Katadhin a “cloud machine,” a well-deserved appellation though the day Bennett, Tom, and I summited to finish the Appalachian Trail, it was perfectly clear. We could see what seemed the entire state of Maine. Mount Fitzroy is also a cloud (and wind) machine. Today was one to […]
In Patagonia Day 15
In Patagonia Day 15 El Calatafe—El Chaltén I started reading Jason Moore’s Capitalism in the Web of Life the other day. In the opening chapters he lays out an argument familiar in 21st century environmental philosophy criticizing the notion that humans are actors—agents of history— acting on a mute and stable Nature. Societies have history, […]
In Patagonia Day 14
In Patagonia Day 14 El Calafate—Perito Moreno Glacier—El Calafate Yesterday evening I had a good IPA Esquél at the Wanaco bar looking out the window onto the main street of the old section of El Calatafe. It is lined with tour agencies, souvenir shops, restaurants, and hiking equipment stores. Divided by a green median with […]
In Patagonia Day 13
In Patagonia Day 13 Puerto Natales—El Calafate Today was uneventful except for a border crossing—actually two as leaving Chile required an exit queuing in a dusty gravel wide spot in a narrow dusty gravel road. Then a couple clicks further, entrance queue to Argentina. Such processes remind me of many border crossings, always with a […]
In Patagonia Day 12
In Patagonia Day 12 Puerto Natales—Mylodon Cave—Puerto Natales In a glass case at the Salesian Museum in Punta Arenas are two pieces of mylodon hide. Although extinct for at least 10,000 years, the fur looks fresh as if the animal were killed this year. Bruce Chatwin begins his book In Patagonia describing a piece of […]
In Patagonia Day 11
In Patagonia Day 11 Grande Paine—Puerto Natales This morning the sun came up over the ridge as brutally strong winds whipped up Lago Grey, dragging aloft a fine mist which made rainbows. One of the most common words in The Voyage of the Beagle is “wind,” but of course that’s to be expected in a […]
In Patagonian Day 10
In Patagonia Day 10 Lago Grey—Grande Paine Slept in a bunk room at the Lago Grey Refugio and in the morning snagged coffee from the dining hall while the sound system played Bob Marley—odd breakfast music, but all part of the experience. The park is truly magnificent, but the tourist experience is overwhelming. Last evening, […]
In Patagonia Day 9
In Patagonia Day 9 Puerto Natales—Lago Grey, Torres del Paine One of those days that makes me wonder about transportation infrastructure for scenic hiking. Torres del Paine is probably the largest tourist draw in southern Chile. A park with mountains, lakes, glaciers, and well-designed paths, it serves to draw huge numbers of walkers, each with […]
In Patagonia Day 8
In Patagonia Day 8 Puerto Natales Time is heaped up helter-skelter in Patagonia. As the Beagle circled the land and Darwin took numerous excursions into the interior, the great naturalist puzzled over the geology he encountered. I always associated his thought with biology—mammals, birds, earthworms—but most of the Voyage is about rocks, specifically speculation about […]
In Patagonia Day 7
In Patagonia Day 7 Puerto Natales For the category of odd but helpful coincidences: in part to help wrap my head around the vastness of Patagonia and to further an understanding of solitude (which I seem to write about incessantly), I was reading Gretel Ehrlich’s The Solace of Open Spaces, which describes her time on […]