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You are here: Home / Archives for chile

Hiking Torres Del Paine

May 18, 2012 By Jillian

Hiking Torres del Paine is a must-do for any adventure travel trip to South America.  It felt a bit like walking on the edge- the edge of what I can’t really explain, perhaps it was the feeling of closing in on the end of the world? As we went up each of the “fingers” of the “W” Trail, we climbed steeper and steeper terrain. The views of course were incredible.

This pictures makes the trail a lot more verdant looking then it actually is. Unsurprisingly, the closer you get to Antarctica the more tundra-like the landscape becomes.  Many sections of the hike cross windy plains where small shrubs cling close to the ground.  We were not the best prepared for a week on the trail so we hiked quickly and skipped some sections, shortening the hike by a few days.  As you can see from the photo layers are the key to a successful hike- the elevation change is significant and while you might be hot at the start near the lakes, by the time you reach the turn around of a “finger” you could be trudging through snow.

IF YOU GO:  We wrote a brief guide to hiking the “W” trail that is a good starting point for exploring the area.  Start with a plan, but be prepared to change it based on weather and hiking conditions.  There is money exchange on the trail at some of the refuges, but it’s a complete rip-off (to be fair, you are in the middle of no where!).  The refuge prices will seem shockingly high, but remember all of their goods and services are coming at a premium.

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: chile, hiking torres del paine

Good Activity, Bad Activity & Ugly Activity

March 11, 2011 By Danny

We travel to open ourselves to new experiences. Some of those involve meeting foreigners and others involve seeing sights and learning about cultre. Some of the most memorable travel experiences for us are those ‘once in a lifetime’ activities that often define a place. At times these are exceptional while other times…not so much. No matter what though, they all make for fond memories and good travel stories.

P1000475The Good – Our runner up for ‘Good Day’ in our first Good-Bad-Ugly post, this was whitewater riverboarding in Uganda. The headwaters of the White Nile are unsurprisingly white and filled with rafting companies oozing with tourists looking to head down river. As kayakers we don’t enjoy rafting quite as much as we used to and with our cousin with us kayaking wasn’t really an option. Instead we jumped into a raft with boogie boards and although we had to sit out a couple of the rockier rapids we mostly swam through the Nile’s class 5 rapids in what was an incredibly fun day. Best part about not being in a kayak was that we didn’t have to lift a finger to paddle through the long flatwater stretches between sections of whitewater. Runner Up: That would be the winner of our ‘Good Day’ in our first Good-Bad-Ugly ugly post…Mountain Biking Bolivia’s Death Road.

IMGP3236The Bad – We didn’t even know the ‘W’ trail existed before we were halfway down South America. We were planning to head all the way south so why not hike the ‘W’ as well. When we arrived to town we searched for lodging and in that time out in the cold, I caught cold. In the end our trip to the ‘W’ was cut short because I was ill and this was upsetting because we had otherwise perfect weather for the trip. I think the moral of this story is that when heading to a place with rather extreme weather is is best to pickup the extra clothing and gear before arrival so that you’re prepared when you put your feet on the ground.

IMGP1673The Ugly – Another kayaking story, this one on the Rio Jatunkayo in Ecuador. Prior to this river trip I usually only needed to roll (that’s what you do to get back up when you tip over) once or twice each time I ran a river and had only swam/ejected (that’s what you do when you can’t roll) once or twice ever. On this day, I went for at least seven swims but I’m not sure of that because I lost count. To add insult to injury the owner of the hostel we were staying at had paid for my boat and transportation as the ‘safety boater’ for the rafters he’d sent out that day. I wasn’t a very good safety boater at all…. I did go out a second day in a different boat and didn’t have a single problem…so I blame it on having had a crappy boat that first day.

This column of ishouldlogoff.com aims to answer those questions that we always get asked. What was your favorite this, or your worst that. Every week we aim to highlight a new topic and will do so until we run out of ideas. If you have an idea for a Good-Bad-Ugly post, feel free to tell us in the comment section below or send us an email. To read all of them, click here.

Filed Under: Good, Bad & Ugly, Headline Tagged With: chile, ecuador, kayak, nile, uganda, whitewater

Photo Tuesday: Torres del freezing!

August 3, 2010 By Jillian

Hiking to the famous Torres del Paine was an uphill battle, literally.  The last section of the hike was extremely steep and it felt like for every one step up we slid two back.  Eventually we made it, and after only a few minutes the clouds parted and we had a magnificent view.  Before heading back down we witnessed a mini-avalanche on an ajoining slope, which needless to say helped encourage us back to the refugio in no time!

Filed Under: photos, Trek Tagged With: chile, hiking, photos, torres del paine, w

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