Day 3: Moshi to Big Tree Camp

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Updated: August 13, 2024

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Today the real adventure begins! We started with an early wake-up call to give ourselves enough time to make any last-minute packing adjustments to the holy trinity of bags we needed to prepare… 1) our day packs, 2) the suitcase we leave in storage at the Parkview Hotel, and 3) the duffel bag we bring with us on the hike.

Saying we “bring” the duffel with us is quite generous, since the porters will actually be carrying this bag up the mountain for us. Therefore, the duffel needs to be the most carefully packed item, as there is a hard 15 kgs (33 lbs) weight limit. That duffel weight limit also includes the rental sleeping bag, which ended up being a bit more than the expected 5 lbs — but no worries, we just tossed a few extra snacks into our day packs! Matt’s detailed spreadsheet with the exact weight of every item he packed proved surprisingly useful.

Don’t leave anything behind! Ready to roll…

Once packed and downstairs, our whole group gathered for breakfast at 7am — along with folks from the other two non-private UK groups that were starting the hike today as well. These were certainly very nice people — but no fraternizing with the competition!!! 🙂

After the Ultimate Kilimanjaro (UK) guides weighed our bags (with a fairly ancient scale that was returning some questionable results vs my spreadsheet, fwiw), and final adjustments were made, we were all cleared for takeoff.

One last thing we had to do was hand over our suitcase, extra cash in excess of ~$200 (which was the max amount UK wants you to have on your person on the mountain, if any!), and passports for safekeeping at the hotel. Leaving the passports was not my favorite thing, but it was comforting to know that if all nine of us had our passports disappeared we could start a new life in Tanzania together.

These bags passed the weight limit test

By 8:30am we were ready to go, but we waited until ~9:45am for our bus to arrive with additional members of our UK team for support — in particular, loading all of our bags to the top of the bus and somehow securing them up there! We also met Baraka, one of our assistant guides, who everyone calls Obama. Damien was our driver again, and once the porters finished packing the bus, we snapped a group photo and headed on our way.

So it begins…

Heading out!

The drive took about three hours with a 20-minute rest stop. There were people aggressively attempting to sell food, drinks, hats, and any other items you could possibly want thru our van windows once we stopped. It did not seem to bother them that the windows were closed.

Outside the van, Aaron used this time to procure some sunglasses. He found a guy, explained what he was looking for, and then the guy full-on SPRINTED across the street to another shop. He was back moments later with a handful of options for Aaron. The glasses were probably $.30, but that epic level of service was easily worth the agreed upon price.

Last chance to buy sunglasses

When we arrived at the entrance to Kilimanjaro National Park, our porters went to work unloading the van. But not just our porters… hundreds of porters from all the various groups and different guide companies were busy unpacking vans and preparing to start the hike. It was quite the operation.

Our group secured a few open benches in the picnic hut to eat our box lunches and fill up our water bottles/bladders. Other hikers were getting the full tablecloth & silverware routine from their tour providers (which seemed like overkill, tbh). The UK lunches were great — especially the chocolates.

Organized chaos!

After finishing lunch and topping off our water supply, we were on the way! JUST KIDDING! We needed to hurry up and wait a bit more. There was a line for hikers to register by signing our names in the log book (which we did), and then was another line for our guides to finish their registration and administrative tasks (permits and such, probably). Because there were probably a couple hundred hiking clients (or more) milling about and each with an army of guides & porters, it’s not surprising we had to wait a bit. Early July is not the busiest season on Kilimanjaro, but it’s probably about 75-80% of the max.

With some deep breaths and a renewed sense of patience for “Moshi time!”, we took a few moments to check our gear, perform some calisthenics, and most importantly — in honor of our volcano-hiking Bolivian guide Oscar — we made an offering to Pachamama with the $1 Coke I bought on the van ride over (“the bubbles are good for you”). Spoiler alert: Pachamama came thru BIG TIME. Oscar, this one’s for you!!!

Around 2:15pm, August gathered us up and said that we should start hiking with our other two assistant guides, James and Dismas. August said he would finish up the paperwork and catch us in 20 minutes. As expected, the number one mantra Kilimanjaro guides want to convey to hikers is to GO SLOW. In Swahili, that is “Pole, Pole”. Get used to it! They said we can let the guides know if the pace is too fast. Or conversely, they humorously said they would also let us know if the pace is too fast. Finally, we were on the trail!

Baraka, Dismas, James, and August almost ready

The day’s hike from the trailhead to our first camp was entirely in the rainforest zone. We were lucky to have clear skies and warm weather without being too hot. The trail was dirt and clay and easy to walk on. There were several steep sections that we took “pole, pole”. We saw some monkeys hanging out in the trees. Dismas set the pace and made the hike very manageable. Less manageable was the UK call-and-response chant that Dismas tried to teach us. Seems like we’re gonna need a couple more days to get that down.

Map of today’s drive from Moshi, and hike to Big Tree Camp

Day 1 hike (detail)

Made it to the first sign!

Nice jungle scenery for the first day

After about two hours, August and Obama caught up with us. We said we were expecting them for a while. They said, well, you know… paperwork! The good news is that we were now on the hike, and “Moshi Time” is not as big of a problem once the Ulitmate Kilimanjaro team is in charge. Sure enough, August’s prediction that we were now only 20 minutes away from arriving at our first camp was right on the money.

August and Obama finally caught up!

There are monkeys in this picture!

The name of our first camp is Mti Mkubwa, meaning “Big Tree”, hence, Big Tree Camp. Dismas pointed out one big tree in particular that the camp was named after, though — to be fair to the rest of the forest — there are many large trees here.

We (Joanna) registered our group at the check-in book and made our way to the area where UK had prepared our camp. This is one of the smaller camp sites and there are many groups so it was a bit crowded. The guides said that the other camps will be more spread out. Turns out it was not a big deal at all… the more the merrier. And the monkeys are big fans.

Made it to Big Tree Camp!

The porters worked their magic

Adam getting ready

Jo REALLY likes camping

We got ourselves acquainted and organized in our individual tents and then gathered in the dining tent for hot beverages and snacks. The guides administered our health check (all good) and gave us the briefing for tomorrow. After those formalities, we were served an amazing dinner of soup, home fries, veggies, and fried tilapia with homemade tartar sauce. Everything was DELICIOUS. It should have started to dawn on us that we are NOT gonna need about 75% of the snacks we brought.

First mountain meal… 10/10 would recommend

Ready to catch some shut eye, we went back to our tents to get ready for the night and prepare for the morning. Despite today’s occasional bouts of “Moshi time”, we are now officially in the park and on our way! It was a great first day of eight. Tomorrow’s hike will be a bit longer, but since we will start in the morning, we’ll have plenty of time at our next camp to relax.

Day 2: Moshi

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Updated: August 13, 2024

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Good morning Moshi!

Today’s schedule featured a hike briefing with Ultimate Kilimanjaro at 4pm, but otherwise, the order of the day was “take it easy!” As such, the morning was nice and relaxed. Our group filtered down to the restaurant whenever we woke up and enjoyed the breakfast buffet. As we finished, Emmanuel, a member of Ultimate Kilimanjaro, stopped by to confirm our briefing time and let us know our lead guide’s name is August. Since we had no plan for the day, Emmanuel also offered us a walking tour of Moshi — starting at 11am with August, to be followed by the briefing and gear check that we already has scheduled. We enthusiastically agreed and informed the rest of the group.

We grabbed our day packs and met in the lobby at 11am. There are multiple Ultimate Kilimanjaro groups staying at this hotel, so multiple guides showed up for Moshi tours — and two of them happened to be named August. Once they figured out which August was ours, we were properly introduced!

Getting our duffels ready!

August rounded us up and led us south towards the main part of Moshi. We walked through shopping centers, very crowded markets, the insanely busy bus stop. Then we navigated to the outskirts of town and followed the train tracks to a very sleepy train station — where apparently a train only shows up once or twice a week. At all other times, the tracks become a walking path away from the hustle and bustle of the town. Regardless, the station officials (who looked bored to death) still asked us all to sign the station register — perhaps to prove they should get future tourism dollars???

Starting the tour of Moshi

Small vans for short distances

Big busses for long distances

Heading to the markets

Train station group shot! (Barbed wire a tab ominous)

After the train depot, we wandered back into the city and stopped for lunch at a restaurant called The Dawn Cafe — which was obviously a go-to place for tourist folk like ourselves. The menu was in English, there were a lot of familiar foods, and a lot of other hiking-tour people were eating there. One local tradition they did share with us was their observance of island time, aka. “Moshi time”, lol. Once we actually got our food, we were all very hungry and devoured everything. To their credit, the Cafe did provide us (Ari & myself) with our first introduction to Tangawizi, which is an amazing ginger-flavored soda beer (sometimes called “Stoney Tangawizi”).

Now for wrath, now for ruin, and The (Red) Dawn Cafe!!!

Although we passed a ton of shops and peddlers selling everything you could think of, our next stop was an “official” local gift shop — as August suggested we make our purchases from places where you could “get a receipt.” We bought a magnet and learned about Tanzanite, a rare, blue, gemstone found only in Tanzania. Spoiler alert: we will be on the hunt for some Tanzanite jewelry again after the hike.

Heading back to the hotel, watch out for the giant street gutters/sewers!

We ended up returning to the hotel just a little before 4pm and gathered on the 3rd floor sun lounge (aka. 4th floor, because ground floor is the 0th floor here) for our hike briefing as planned. Aside from tomorrow’s exact schedule, most of the information was a confirmation of the details we’ve been thinking about for the last several months. For example, is it concerning the guides have to stress that you will, in fact, be sleeping in tents for the next seven nights??? Also, hopefully you remembered to pack some jackets and hiking footwear!

During the meeting, August also introduced us to the Ultimate Kilimanjaro health check process — which is basically using that little finger device to take a blood-oxygen level and your heartrate. This is accompanied by a series of “how are you feeling?” and “any problems?” questions that — unless you answer in the most dire terms — don’t really phase the guides much. I wonder what you would actually have to say to raise their eyebrows.

Passed our first med check!

Meanwhile, as the briefing concluded, we looked north and saw our first glimpse of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The crazy part is how far high off the horizon it appeared. From 3000ft in Moshi, you first see a layer of dark mountain terrain covered by a layer of clouds. Nothing to see, right??? Nope!!! Keep looking up, and ABOVE the cloud layer, you will find the snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro at ~19000ft. This makes Kilimanjaro look like some kind of cloud-realm location.

Still no mountain? Keep looking up…

So… we are going there!!!

But first… another nap!!!

Afterwards, we returned to our room and finalized how we wanted to pack our duffel bags for the hike — making final cuts on what gear we would leave back with our luggage at the hotel. Matt used a google spreadsheet with the exact weights of every object (in grams) to determine how to pack. In the end, it seemed like the snacks were accounting for more weight than ideal (and that definitely turned out to be the case). Also, sadly we could not find Stage 1 of the Tour de France on any of the 200+ TV Channels available in the room.

As nighttime fell, we all walked to dinner at Jo’s old dining haunt from 2006 — Indoitaliano. Everyone enjoyed their pizzas and Indian food. Another round of Tangawizis!

Indoitaliano! I’ve missed you.

Delicious dinner incoming

On the walk back to the hotel in the dark, it becomes obvious that Moshi suffers from some air quality issues. My theory is that everybody turns on their generators in the evening, and that creates a bed of exhaust and fumes that settles over the town. I don’t suppose all the vehicle and motorcycle exhaust helps much either. Back at the hotel, we finalized our packing one last time and got to sleep. We leave tomorrow at 8:30am to start our hiking adventure!!!

Day 1: Chicago to Moshi

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Updated: April 1, 2025

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Our adventure to Tanzania began in the typical fashion: an Addison bus and a Blue Line to O’Hare. The rides went smoothly and we made it to Terminal 5 with plenty of time to spare. We attempted to get into the Priority Pass lounge, but it was only available for first class passengers at that time (lame). But it was for the best because from what we saw, that lounge was small, cramped, and probably included free Covid. We opted for lunch at Big Bowl instead. Yum!

Don’t be fooled by the Asia advertisements, we are going to Tanzania

We took our time eating and eventually walked to the gate for boarding our KLM flight to Amsterdam. The flight and crew were great! Bonus points to KLM. One in-flight KLM entertainment option was trivia with a community scoreboard. Matt spent most of the flight trying to post the highest score possible. But the entertainment value really went up upon discovering the other individual challenging those high scores was seated directly in front of him. After trying for hours to de-throne Matt’s high score, the guy failed in one last glorious attempt, threw his hands up, and quit the app to go play Yahtzee. Boom!

Making our way to the first stop

Once we arrived in Amsterdam, we had an hour to kill before the rest of our group arrived, so we tried another Priority Pass lounge. The last time we were at AMS for a Delta-KLM flight to Norway, they bumped us and would absolutely not give us lounge access. This time, we eventually found our way into the Priority Pass lounge, but like the one in Chicago, it was not very impressive. There was a waiting list, the food options were minimal, and the coffee machine was broken (no milk, then no beans, then overflowing). We guess Priority Pass kinda sucks now… except maybe for the one guy in there who poured himself a water glass full of gin at 8AM!

After the brief stop in the “lounge”, we walked back to the gate to meet up with almost the rest of the group who had arrived from Minnesota. Adam flew from LAX and met up with us a few minutes later.

Long walk from arriving at gate F9 to departure at F8

These seats are reserved for hikers, obviously

The Flying Dutchman

Boarding was a few minutes late, and we needed to wait another 30 minutes for the airspace over Germany to clear up, but neither were a big problem. We ended up getting bulk head seats so we were quite happy. Props to the KLM air conditioning guys because they had that unit running like nobody’s business! At least we got to put our cold-weather gear to use. And another shoutout for the KLM flight attendants who are WAY nicer than you’ll find with other airlines. When asked by a fellow passenger what the difference was between the chicken and the pasta lunch options, she kindly replied, “Well, a chicken is an animal and the pasta is pasta.”

It’s like first class for basic economy people!

Good idea to fly around Sudan

After landing at Kilimanjaro Airport in Arusha, we joined the crowds going through the very slow customs line. An hour later, we were all through, collected our bags, and met Damien, our Ultimate Kilimanjaro driver who took us to the Parkview Hotel. It is currently dark out, so no park views until morning. We did see a cat at the airport though, so we are already seeing nature.

Made it!

Group Shots need some work

Tomorrow we have the day to rest, buy/rent any gear we still need (like a sleeping bag), and get briefed for the hike.

Hotel room complete with princess net

Getting Ready for Tanzania

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Updated: June 8, 2025

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What do you do when your friends have been joking about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for 20 years? You schedule a date and invite them all to join you, of course!

After some research and recommendations, we decided to book with Ultimate Kilimanjaro for an 8-day Lemosho route trek and a 6-day safari. Matt, Jo, Adam, Aaron, James, Ari, Cordwood, Lily, and Melanie will be going on the hike. James and Ari will then go home and Emily will join us for the safari to everywhere the light touches: Lake Manyara, Serengeti National Park, and Ngorongoro crater.

We’ve been training and preparing for a few months and are ready to tackle all 19,341 feet of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We can even destroy the One Ring at the top.

With an attitude of Hakuna Matata, we are ready for whatever Tanzania holds for us!

Us in two Saturdays, probably

Day 10: Santiago to Chicago

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Updated: April 4, 2024

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After yesterday’s late night of travel stress, we slept in a bit today at the United-provided Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Santiago. But! We also intended to wake up in time for the free breakfast and take advantage of our bonus day in the city. The weather this morning was beautiful and the sky seemed more clear than our previous visits to the city. Could even see the Andes in the distance.

Looking for Easter rock concerts

We started with the breakfast buffet, which was solid. Then we heard some music coming from the event space near the lobby and discovered a big Easter rock concert/mass thing. Hard to tell, but we watched and rocked out for a couple minutes before they tried to seat us. Fun fact, there was a Bat Mitzvah in the same space when we arrived at 2AM last night, so look no further when considering where to book your next religious music party in Chile!

Once we hit the streets, our plan was to hike up to see the Virgin Mary statue atop San Cristobal Hill — a hike we did back during our visit in 2019. Only this time, it is more thematically appropriate because it’s Easter Sunday! Also, this hike is a good choice because while a lot of places are closed for Easter (La Burguesia… Noooo!), the public park stays open.

Along the way, we encountered some sort of biking event which closed the streets to traffic and filled them with cyclists instead. Then we discovered the same sculpture park we wandered thru last time. And finally, we found a series of promotional tents giving away useful sample items to the masses — ranging from sunscreen to toothpaste. Colgate even set up a trampoline exercise workout zone to get your heart-rate pumping before your hike and/or bike up the hill!

Santiago’s version of “Bike the Drive”

Wish Chicago had this park

More clear view of the city than our last visit

After having some fun, we hiked up the hill. Started on a paved road, but mixed in some forested, mountain-bike paths for good measure. Finally, we made it to the top and Easter’d it up with people attending mass by the Virgin Statue. We rewarded ourselves with Mote con Huesillo – a sweet peach drink with husked wheat. We walked back down the road and back to the hotel. In total, we walked about 6.25 miles.

Beautiful bonus day in Chile

Happy Easter!!!

Pro tip: We each got our own this time

Bees approve!

Curly fry art

Back at the hotel, we finished our leftover pizza and packed up for our return to the airport. We got an Uber and arrived perfectly just before check-in time. Because we were now flying Delta, we were also allowed access to the Priority Pass lounge that shot us down yesterday. From the windows of the lounge, we could see our broken United plane from last night still sitting on the tarmac.

Solid martini from bartender Jo

Our cancelled fight from last night still hasn’t moved

Given our last-minute booking on this flight from another airline, we didn’t have seats next to each other, but they managed to help us change our tickets and seat us together. The plane actually boarded, and even took off! We were on our way from Santiago to Atlanta on the overnight flight.

Finding two seats together like an Easter Egg hunt

Santiago sunset

Next stop ATL

We arrived in Atlanta a few minutes late. We were at the back of the plane so it took a while to get out. Are Delta passengers slower than usual??? Hard to tell. Anyways, we breezed passed everyone in the very long customs line by going through Global Entry. But then, of course, we still had to wait for the bag, and get back in the single security line. Eventually, we made it to our gate a few minutes before boarding, and once again, they managed to seat us together.

ATL to ORD

Back in chilly and rainy Chicago, we landed in concourse M (which is in Terminal 5, in case you were wondering!). Again, we were seated in the back of the plane, so we enjoyed another chance to observe Delta passengers setting records in the “most time needed to deplane” category. First time we’ve been the LAST two people off of a plane! Anyways, good thing we weren’t in a hurry. We grabbed our bags and eventually made our way to the Blue Line.

Nice try Atlanta, but this is the real “plane train”

Despite losing a day to the cancelled flight, we managed to pick our schedules up pretty well. Jo headed straight to work from the Addison stop — which is fitting because that’s how the trip started. Meanwhile, Matt headed home on the 152 Bus and was able to pick up Poe no earlier than we would have if we had arrived yesterday. So, all good! And with that, another trip blog is in the books!

Day 9: Patagonia National Park to Santiago

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Updated: April 2, 2024

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We had an early wake up call today in order to depart Explora and be driven to the Balmaceda airport in time for our afternoon flight. We enjoyed one more breakfast and said our final goodbyes. We hopped in the van and set off on the six-hour drive.

One last Explora Double Cappucino incoming

The sun finally appears

It rained for the first couple hours but eventually cleared up. The drive was very scenic — especially if you are awake (lol). It was nice to catch the impressive Patagonian views we missed on the drive in when everything was covered by low-handing clouds last week. As a final wildlife bonus, we also spotted a male huemule along the way.

Driving view #1

Driving view #2

Driving view #3

Driving view #4

The Balmaceda airport is pretty small and they don’t start checking baggage until exactly two hours before the flight. Thankfully, our timing was pretty good and we only had to wait a few minutes. We had a drink at the restaurant to pass the time until we headed into the single gate area.

We have arrived at Balmaceda Airport

Maqui ale, good stuff!

All aboard LATAM to Santiago

Flight left on time and was smooth. We arrived at Santiago airport, collected our bags, and walked to the international terminal. We found a table at a cafe and waited roughly 30 minutes to check our bags once again. Once we were allowed, we took care of that task and went through customs. Too bad for us, the only Priority Pass lounge in the international terminal is for people flying on Sky Team flights (aka. Delta), so we slummed it at Ruby Tuesday’s for a very fried dinner.

Don’t make the Santiago PDI dog sad by smuggling anything

Pilot: “We hear a loud tapping coming from our empennage!”

Spoiler alert! We might be here until Tuesday!

We arrived at our gate right as boarding was starting… and then, everything promptly stopped! We were told a maintenance team needed to fix something on the plane and the flight was delayed. After a series of “We’ll give you another update in 20 minutes” announcements, the gate area began to resemble a Lord of the Flies situation as all the children gathered for pre-boarding got their hands on the blue balloons United had decorated the gate with (why??? no idea).

Finally, after waiting about an hour and a half, the flight was cancelled. We were directed to go back through customs, collect our checked bags, and get on a bus. They were putting us all up at the Intercontinental in downtown Santiago. They also said United would be contacting us about re-booking. When we attempted to re-book using the app, it said there were no available re-booking options for THREE DAYS. Not being too keen to learn if that was accurate, we instead chatted with a United agent who booked us on a flight tomorrow night with Delta.

Party’s over! Take down those balloons the kids didn’t already destroy

Loading luggage on the coach buses to the Intercontinental

It took a couple of hours, but eventually we made it to the hotel. They offered us “dinner” of pizzas and pudding delivered to our room, which we gladly accepted. We spent some additional time working on tomorrow’s check-in and baggage issues given the adjustment from United and Delta. But, we pretty much gave up after another few calls with unhelpful agents. Who cares! We have a flight! And, since it was about 3AM, time to get some sleep to take advantage of our bonus day in Santiago tomorrow.

“Sorry we cancelled your flight” pizza

Day 8: Lago Gutierrez

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Updated: May 3, 2024

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Today is our last full day at Explora. Because the weather forecasted rain in the morning, and clearing up in the afternoon, we requested a bit of a late start. We left at 9:30AM with two other people in our group, and of course, Mica who was now our driver as well!

Look who got her driver’s license!

Rainy pre-hike calisthenics

The parking lot for the trail was the same as Los Avilés – the hike we did on the first day. Heading in a different direction, this hike does not go through the valley, but rather southeast along some ranches and then south up to Lake Gutierrez. It was indeed raining and a bit chilly, so we geared up and set out.

Aside the Chacabuco Valley

Snowing at elevation

Heading up to Lago Gutierrez

As we hiked along, there were periods when the rain stoped and the sun came out. The light hitting the mountains in the distance made for a great view.

Rain gear vs Patagonia palette

This Puma is clearly looking for an exhibits curator job with the Natural History Museum

Clouds breaking over the valley

Lake Gutierrez is the largest lake in the Cocabucha Valley. The windy day created some decent waves.

Loudest lake in the Chacabuco Valley?

Hiking to Lago Gutierrez lookout

Snow incoming

We hiked up along the lake until we found an overlook. We stopped for our tea and muffin break while enjoying the view. It also started snowing! It wasn’t sticking at our level, but we saw the mountain tops start to get covered. Since it was cold and windy, we didn’t stop long and started back down the same path. We warmed up as we were moving and getting down the mountain.

Tea time location fit for a condor

Last day… Good bye Mica! 🙁

Heading down from Lago Gutierrez lookout

One more photo in the wild

Once we made it back to the car, we had our celebratory Fanta and headed back. Last night, we only signed up for one half-day exploration so we had time at the hotel before leaving tomorrow. After eating lunch, we visited the museum on the property. It explained the history and development of the area as well as sections on things like geology, flora and fauna, and climate change.

Clear view of Cerro Tamango back at Explora

Wait, is this Westworld?!?

I guess this is the best we’re gonna do in the Puma department

One thing we knew we had to do was go to the hot tub and relax after a week of hiking. As we left, someone told us that a puma had just walked past the restaurant. Unfortunately, we missed it by about 15 minutes. We continued with getting ready for the night and to leave. As we were making our final gift shop purchases, we heard rumors of a puma walking near Case Viscacha. We quickly checked out and looked around and spotted it! It was a little far from us, but we were able to see it clearly before it went into the woods.

WAIT A MINUTE!!! IS THAT THE PUMA’S ENTRANCE MUSIC I HEAR?!?!?!

Mica said this is either an adult or a juvenile in “bad shape”… Puma burn!!!!

Having completed our checklist for the trip, we went to the bar to have a drink and relax before dinner. Tomorrow we leave early to get to the airport and start the journey back to Chicago.

Day 7: Los Pumas & Confluencia

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Updated: April 2, 2024

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The weather forecast for today was wrong. It was supposed to rain in the afternoon but it actually rained almost all day. However, that didn’t stop us from enjoying two half-day hikes. After our usual morning routine, we met up with a group of hikers for the morning. Mica was our guide and we set off on foot. The trail head was the same as the one for Laguna Cisnes – a quick walk from the hotel.

Setting off into the rain

Rainbow Bear powers did not stop the rain

The trail went through steppe, the dry, grassy areas of Patagonia. Guanacos live in the steppe, and we saw many along the way. One of the main attractions of this trail is the large suspension bridge. It was created to connect the two side of the Chacabuco Valley, separated by the river. This bridge now allows hikers to pass between the sides and provides a reason for the park to maintain the trails and build camps.

Rio Chacabuco

Chacabuco Canyon suspension bridge

Hello any other Explora guides Mica knows!!

View upriver from the bridge

After crossing the bridge, the weather let up for a few minutes and we took a coffee and cookie break. When Mother Nature decided we had enough of a break, we crossed back again and we were on our way back using the same path.

Ultrahand this and let’s ride back!

This ankle bone links whales and hippos… wild!

The name of this hike is Los Pumas because it is located within the Puma conservation area. There are rangers who tag and track some of the pumas to help with the conservation effort. While we saw signs of puma activity such as guanacos carcasses and tunnels under the bushes, we did not actually see any pumas. The total hike was 7.2 miles with 900 feet of elevation gain.

Puma house with fresh kill by front door… but puma not home, maaaybe????

Me and one guanaco keeping an eye on the puma bush

No pumas, just jaws

You’re safe here buddy, we don’t see pumas

We dried off and had lunch before getting ready for the afternoon exploration. We met up with the two other people and our guide, Iggy who drove us about 15 minutes to the trailhead of the Confluence. This is where the Baker river and the Chacabuco river meet. Because of the rain, the Chacabuco river was a bit more brown than usual, making the contrast even more clear. The Baker river is turquoise due to the sediment from the glacier it comes from.

Afternoon exploration

Almost down to the shoreline

There was going to be a dam built at this location for hydroelectric power that would have flooded the National Park area and essentially wiped out all of the wildlife. Douglas Thompkins helped the campaign to block the dam and saved the park.

The hike was relatively short with a mile of downhill before getting to a beach area. The path was nice and clear from rocks, but because of the rain, it became very muddy and slippery. The vast majority of the trail was fine, but the last few feet was basically a mudslide. We all made it down safely with just a few muddy hands and very muddy shoes.

Last part was a mudslide

Confluence ussie with Iggy

At this time of year, the water levels of the rivers are low enough that the shore is exposed. The rain had stopped and we took a coffee break and skipped some rocks. Getting back up the mudslide was also an adventure. The best method was to go as fast as possible so you don’t give your feet any time to slide back down. We made it back to the car and headed back to the lodge.

Jo likes rocks

We picked our exploration for our last day – a long half-day hike. The weather is supposed to be raining again, but that’s not going to stop us.

Day 6: Las Correntadas

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Updated: April 2, 2024

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After our usual morning routine, we met for our full-day exploration of hyaking — a combination of kayaking and hiking. This is a popular exploration, and there were eight of us on the trip plus Laura and Mica guiding.

When we arrived, Jorge — our specialist kayak guide – provided our equipment and gave a quick lesson. All of the other guests opted for two-person kayaks, while we each had our own. We didn’t really think about it, but Jorge said a German woman once called the double kayaks Scheidungsmaschine, or “divorce machines.”

Ships ahoy!

Moments from a port-side collision

Paddle-boarding, but sitting down

We paddled up the Río Cochrane for about three miles. We were on the lookout for huemules and pumas, but did not spot any. While we were technically kayaking against the current, it was very calm. At the end, there were what the guides called “rapids” but really just a stronger current. We all made it through successfully. The only people to get wet were the few brave souls who decided to brave the frigid waters and jump in (we did not… we ate delicious hot soup instead).

Put on your helmets, it’s getting serious! (Not really)

We made it!

Once everyone disembarked and dried off, we said goodbye to Jorge and started on the second half of the adventure. We first hiked up to a lookout with a view of Río and Lago Cochrane.

Hi Nacho!!!

Rio Cochrane

The lookout is where we stopped for a leisurely lunch. The clouds broke and the sun began to shine thru, so the colors of the river became more vivid.

Walking to our lunch spot

Rio Cochrane headwaters

Normal people eat lunch on full-day explorations

Boundary Waters vibes

After lunch, we continued hiking on the Carpintero trail and did, in fact, spot some carpinteros. This time, we saw the male with the red crown. The hike had some fun ups and downs over rocks and man-made stairs. The Río Cochrane was to our left as we essentially walked back the path we kayaked. We even spotted our Kayaks in the river and passed Jorge on the trail enjoying his lunch. We made it back to the van for our end-of-exploration drinks.

hahahaHAha … hahahaHAha … hahahaHAhaHAhaha … hahahaHAhaha

Turns out we kayaked this portion of the Rio Cochrane…

…and this part too!

Confirmed

There may be heavy rains in the area tomorrow, so we picked two half-day hikes. But at least we had clear skies last night for some great star gazing.

Southern Cross and Milky Way

Day 5: Lago Chico

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Updated: April 2, 2024

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Today we went on a hike called Lago Chico. It had been recommended to us since we arrived because it isn’t too challenging, and has constant great views. We started with our morning routine and met Mica when it was time to head out.

The drive took about an hour and 15 minutes. This hike is currently pretty exclusive because the park is technically closed. Only Explora staff and guests are allowed to enter. The weather was perfect and we started walking along the path on the east side of Lago Chico with views of Mt. Oportus.

Sendero Lago Chico by Cerro Oportus

Looking west over Lago Cochrane

Lago Chico

The landscape on this side of the lake was covered in short spiky bushes that made the ground look bumpy. As we walked along the length of Lago Chico, we were treated with views of Lake Cochrane, a large lake that spans from Cochrane in Chile to Argentina (though they call it Lago Pueyrredón).

Amid the fun green spikey plants

Shoreline of Lago Chico (some glaciers on that mountain in the distance)

Lago Chico with Cerro Oportus

Clear waters

As we approached the halfway mark of the hike, we stopped for lunch in a spot that overlooked Cochrane Lake. Mica pointed out the peninsula that marks the border separating Chile and Argentina, as well as a second small lake at the very end with a teal hue. We enjoyed the view for a while as we ate.

Lunchtime view into Argentina (southeast)

Hello Roberto!

Continuing on, we looped to the west side of Lago Chico. The landscape on this side was noticeably different than the east side with lots of tall grass that eventually led into a forest area. There were also more inclines on this side.

Back toward Cerro Oportus

Probably know this one by now

When we reached the end of the loop, we were surprised with a shelter that overlooked Lake Cochrane and the Andes mountains. It was even clear enough for us to see the glaciers on top of mountains in the distance. We had our celebratory drinks and snacks before heading back to the hotel. In total, the hike was 7.3 miles with 1,370 feet of elevation gain.

Hiding from the wind at the Thompkins lookout

Last view of Lake Cochrane

On our way, our driver spotted a humule, an endangered Andean deer. There are only 150 or so in Patagonia National Park. After watching for a while, we noticed a second humule, which appeared to be about 6 months old. Mica also found more exciting mushrooms both along the hike and on our drive back.

No joke, the guides here take fungi VERY seriously

Must be cool!

We got back with enough time to plan our exploration for tomorrow (kayaking!) and relax for a little while before going to the spa to soak in the hot tub. Tomorrow will be slightly different with a full day that starts with kayaking in the morning and a hike to get back.

Jacuzzi time

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