5-Feb Cerro Castillo

El Bosque Muerto

La gringa y el periodista saltan en frente de Cerro Castillo

La ruta para dia 1

The vista from the approach trail

I woke up early after a good night's sleep in a real bed and decided to skip the 60 km trip up Valle de Las Exploradores (I've seen plenty of glaciers) in favor of a ride to Parque Nacionsl Certo Castillo. This park has been likened to Torres del Paine, but without the people. It is the primary reason I chose to travel the southern Carreterra Austral.

I quickly packed for 4 days of trekking and we hit the road. Of course, we stopped to see the sights along the way. Of notable interest is the Bosque Muerto or Dead Forest. I don't know why it's dead and haven't had the time to google it. Such faulty reporting!

After eating an incredible hamburguesa in Villa Certo Castillo, El Periodista was kind enough to drive me to a hostel to store my bag of unnecessary hiking items and then drove me 45 km north to the Park office near the trailhead. It was with more than a little sadness that we said our goodbyes. However, el periodista and I agreed to try and meet up later down the trail somewhere in the north.

I started hiking the first 18 km under mostly clear skies at 2:00 pm. The trail mostly followed an old 4wd track laden with lots of cows. The hike in was mainly uneventful except for a few minor incidents. Firstly, I forded the river in the wrong place (too soon) which cost me about an hour of time in total to correct. But the psychological damage after that is tough to shake off. Next, one of my crowns fell out from a back tooth. I stuck it back in place and no longer chew on my left side. At least dental work is cheap in Argentina. Lastly, I broke my pack belt. This can be tough to endure because you must put all the weight of the pack on your shoulders. I briefly considered turning back, but with a few strips of duct tape, I forged on. I reached the pretty camp below the mountains in Kenya forest at 8:30 pm. The park ranger said that no one else had signed in and that I should have it to myself, but there were six tents there and mo people. I wandered around looking for the people wondering if there was a cook shelter or something. What did they know that I didn't? Turns out, they were all asleep. I made a quick dinner and hit the hay.