Day 6: Guanaco Pass

The sun was fully up before we were this morning. With a late departure of 10:00 am, we got to sleep in and leisurely enjoy some coffee before breakfast.

Breakfast was served

The hike for today is to Guanaco Pass. To reach the start of the hike, we drove about 30 minutes back north towards Patience Valley. We parked, got ready, did our stretches and started the hike. There are no set trails here, so Matias & Matias gave us the chance to act as guides and figure out what route to take along the way. Sort of like a choose-your-own-adventure hiking book — Oh no! You selected the wrong switchback and have fallen off a steep ledge. The End.

Ready to find the right path

Jen took the first turn leading. The terrain was rocky (a combination of small, medium, and large rocks), with large patches of a soft plant called yareta. The plant grows very slowly (about 1 cm per year) and can be used as fuel because it burns slowly. In some areas of Chile, such as Atacama, they are protected, but here in Tierra del Fuego they are abundant and quite nice to walk on.

Scouting the trail

Yareta plants are common in this area

Closeup vegetation

Once Jen had enough of leading, it was Jo’s turn. With Matt as assistant guide, we made our way up the pass. There were lagoons (stand alone small bodies of water) and lakes (small bodies of water with a connection to the ocean) along the way. There were also lots of fun rocks to find.

In America, you have eagle eye. In Chile, you have condor eye

Jo marking our path to the top

Just a couple of Patagonian guides now

15 million year old Reece’s peanut butter rock

We made it to the top of the pass where there was a great view of the valleys on each side. After taking pictures, we had a snack of soup and delicious fudge brownies as we enjoyed the view.

Matts cubed

Latest entry in our summit flag series

The view is… alright

Group shot

As always, the way down was much faster. Matias Guide led the way and couldn’t resist dumping out his half-filled water bottle, just so he could collect a few sips of this delicious (presumably) water. We quickly made it back to the car and drove a few minutes down the road to a nice spot for lunch.

Heading back down

Nature’s water fountain

The views are still… alright

There were a herd of guanacos nearby that retreated into the forest upon our arrival. We ate our canisters and drank Patagonian beers (Calafate Ales). We spotted some condors flying above and learned that while they may fly solo, many condors live together in… condorminiums. You’re welcome for the second condor joke of the blog.

Lunch view

Guanaco parade

When we were full, we drove back to the estancia and arrived at about 3:30 pm. We had time to nap and relax before meeting up again with the group to visit the museum on the property and meet the owners. Don Germán explained the history of this estancia as well as the creation of the roads in the area, which — because they were build with his consultation — is the reason the canyon is named after him.

Quite the Rigamarole!

The keys are ornamental at the end of the world

After the museum visit, we went back to the main cabin for dinner and our briefing for tomorrow – a hike in Yendegaia National Park. Before falling asleep, we also realized there were no clouds (or moon) in the sky to detract from a bit of star-gazing.

Good to see you again, Southern Cross!

Today’s turndown note… The South of the Continent: “Where the continent ends and the remote becomes evident, we encounter the beauty of the untamed.”