Kaleidoscope Journal Vol. 6 Issue 236

By Angela Wang, Boston College, Class of 2016 Trekking Patagonia

In 180° South, Yvon Chouinard said, “it’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.” This could not be a more fitting quote by the founder of Patagonia, the popular outdoor gear company. More importantly, Patagonia is the region stretching across southern Argentina and Chile that we were able to explore for seventeen days during our semester in Buenos Aires. In the spirit of Chouinard, our trip was an adventure in every sense of the word. From climbing and slipping on an icy mountainside in predawn darkness, to staring up at the Mount Fitz Roy and the Torres del Paine in the face; from sinking our boot crampons into the impossibly expansive Southern Patagonian Ice Field, to trekking through muddy, rocky terrain in relentless rain and sleet, we experienced first-hand the hardship and—at times—even misery that comes hand in hand with the euphoria of being surrounded by incredible beauty. This is in part due to the unpredictability that defines the Andean region, but it is also a result of our determination to experience the nature as directly as possible, even if that meant setting up our tents and huddling around a pot of powdered soup on a snowy deserted campground. A 43-kilometer trek after attempting to cross a mountain pass in waist-deep snow, only to come back to where we started, afforded us some of the most astounding and diverse scenery we had ever seen. Though we were proud of ourselves for our courage, the adventurous spirit is no stranger to Patagonia. Along the trails and at campsites and hostels, we met fellow travelers with crazy stories and admirable ambitions. The feeling of good-hearted camaraderie is very real in the Southern Cone, and a reliable resource among travelers and locals alike. In the end, it is impossible to reduce the experience of a lifetime into a few pictures and descriptions – this is one place you’ll have to go see for yourself.

A valley right outside of the town of El Chaltén

Wang

Photo Diaries 37

Right: View from our tent at the base of the beautiful Cuernos del Paine

Left: Glaciar Piedras Blancas in El Chaltén, where we would climb over the mass of boulders to have a lakeside lunch

Right: The famous Perito Moreno glacier: 4,000 meters

of varying landscapes of ice, from jagged peaks to rolling hills where groups of fellow

trekkers look as small as ants