Torres del Paine

We spent 8 days in Torres del Paine and each of them was different than the one before. We hiked in all sorts of weather from calm and sunny to rain and rainbows to wind that knocks you over. There was even snow and ice. The scenery was incredible. The first 4 days we hiked the ´W´ with Amy. Amy and I met last year on the boat, she works full time for AMLR which it the NOAA branch that awards the contracts I have gotten the past two years. Day one was an incredible sunny day with no wind. We hiked up to the towers in shorts and tshirts.

Sorry this picture is sideways, but you get the gist. Here we are at the lookout for the towers on the first day. The tower on the far left is the tallest of the three although it does not appear that way from this angle. Over the rest of the trip we realized how rare a windless day in Torres is.. This is an example of the trail maps they had along the way. We really enjoyed them for two reasons, they are nice to look at and they also were surprisingly accurate in their representation of the topography. On day two the winds were so strong in places that Amy and I were both stopped from moving forward on several occasions and knocked over once too. We spent most of the day along a lake. THe wind was whipping up lake water into such a thick mist that there was a rainbow over it for most of the day. The portion of the rainbow on the lake would grow and shrink with the wind gusts.

On the third day we hiked up another valley in hopes of more spectacular views. Half way up I had lost hope that we would be able to see much since the fog and rain only seemed to be building. We did see some hanging glaciers and shadows of high granite peaks. After 2 hours of climbing we reached the view point. At first the ridge tops were covered in thick mist, but slowly the sun broke through and the wind moved the mist over the peaks. We got really lucky with our timing and enjoyed another glorious vantage of the peaks of Torres del Paine. On the way down we had another bit of luck. Lou spotted two wood peckers working away at the trees. They were quite interesting and fairly large. Once we were back in town we found a bird guide and id the birds as Magellanic wood peckers which are apparently a bird that many people travel down here to see. Amy had to return to San Diego after completing the W so Lou and I finished the circuit on our own. This was a great trip to try out our new gear for the CDT. We are both really happy with our new back packs and sleeping system we have. This is the first back packing experience either of us has had the didn´t leave us with bruised hip bones and sore shoulders. Even at the begining of the trip when we had 8 days of food we were able to hike comfortably. One last photo of the trip. As I mentioned we hiked in all kinds of weather and all types of terrain, but only once did we have to surrender the trail to the wild. I just couldn´t get myself to walk over this large spider, so we walked around. I am so very glad I never saw one on my backpack, in my shoe, or crawling on the tent. We did see two others on the trail over the last two days of the hike. We are heading to El Chalten in Argentina tomorrow for more backpacking.

Dog Mushing

The awesome opportunities continue to land in my lap here in Homer, AK. I got the chance to run a dog team last week and I took it. I did not know what to expect in the least and found out that there is a lot more to it than I thought. Aside from all of the logistics of harnesses, lines, brakes, etc. there is also all of the dog training and upkeep which is extremely extensive. The pic below gives a small glimpse into the logistical side of it all. This dog kennel houses 19 dogs, each with its own house. Our hosts, Jillian and Rich, own the dogs and live in a cabin that is 15x10 ft. They chop through ice to access a stream that runs a few yards from their cabin in order to provide water for themselves and their dogs. Simply stated, they live a unique life style.
Their business name is Spitfire Kennels and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a good sled dog experience.

As you can see it was a blustery day. The yard was extremely loud as we readied the team and headed out of the yard but once the dogs had settled into there steady lope it was amazingly quiet and blissful. The only noise was the panting of the dogs and the whistle of the sled rails. Dog mushing as a means of travel is extremely relaxing and therapeutic compared to its cousin, the snow machine. The two most fun parts was the acceleration as we started from a stop and the excitement emanating from the dogs. They unmistakably loved the snow and to run.

I ran a five dog team and we covered about 10 miles an hour which I was told was a speed the dogs could carry for hours depending on snow conditions and terrain. I had a great time and would recommend it to anyone who gets the opportunity to try it.