Since I planned my semester in Chile, I've been dreaming of camping in Patagonia, I didn't do that this weekend, but at times, it felt quite close, with snow pelting me, trekking in several feet of snow, and crossing raging rivers. The Andes pose a beauty that is awe-inspiring and unreal, especially when at times you can gawk at the sky and see the mountains encircling you, all 360 degrees. My roommates and a few other girls from the USAC program took the bus to the Cajon de Maipu region, which is near Banos Morales and only an addictional hour of switchbacks up the mountain pass to Argentina.
Step 1 of riding the bus to the National Park entrance of El Morado was like riding the janky wooden rollercoaster, the Outlaw, at Iowa's Adventureland theme park. The last hour, my stomach was doing flip flops as the road turned to a dust gravel mix on winding mountain roads. I hope in three weeks my stomach will be better trained for Peru, I have 20 continuous hours to survive.
Step 2, we found out that despite Chile's Lonely Planet guide, the Cajon de Maipu internet site, and Santiago's tourism office, there is no camping near the mythical lake--or at least there hasn't been for the past two consecutive years according to Luis, our new amigo and the conaf officer in charge at the national park. Consistent snow cover surrounding the lake has ended all hiker's lofty plans of lake side camping. From below the trail, it looked fine to me, but just a 10 minute trek up the cliff, more than a foot of snow blanketed the hillside and the trail we had been following.
However for a man that has lived in relative isolation in the mountain foothills for 25 years, Luis exhibited the general mountain man friendliness and let us camp whenever we chose, as long as it wasn't in the snow, next to the lake, he insisted. We found a field, scattered with loose rocks, and somewhat of a wind block to call home for the night. Of course, five minutes after attempting to pitch my tent with my roomies, the pole broke--the metal bent like plastic. We struggled for the next hour to retain a tent like shape, but the caterpillar form of the tent was not cooperating, especially with the mountain gusts and blows. It looked more like a sagging, dying worm than a full breasted caterpillar, but it protected us for the night. Although I'm not sure if I want to pack this tent with me for Patagonia now...
Step 3, hiking. With a drastic change of plans from our original itinerary, we embarked for the lake route on Sunday instead. The trek was more a staggering climb of sinking in the deep snow, water and thorny bushes, than an easy hike as Lonely Planet said, but the views of the mountain faces were more than worth the effort. I don't think I've been surrounded with as much natural beauty as when I'm in the Andes, I don't think I'll ever tire of it.
Back on solid ground sans snow, we killed time with Chilean wine and Luis. I'm still not sure how this happened or came about, but Luis brought out his rifle and shot out round in the direction of the Andes. The shot rang in the quiet mountain air for at least five seconds. We just laughed. Study abroad offers you of the most interesting experiences sometimes. We thanked Luis for his hospitality and crossed the raging mountain river one last time, back to Santiago, where it still mystifies me that you can still see these great mountain giants that offer so much life and beauty.
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