Kyle Berg

I thought it would be fun to share a map and brief description of where I plan to visit. This became mandatory when Mom asked me for the same thing so that she would know my approximate whereabouts. I would love to be able to start in Ushuaia in the south and go all the way up to the coffee plantations of Colombia and Angel Falls in Venezuela in the north. 3 1/2 months would not be enough time to cover that much ground and still enjoy the journey and see everything I’d like to see. It hurts having lost the last month, but it is what it is. The better option appears to be focusing on Patagonia with its glaciers, lakes, and mountains, then spending a couple weeks in central and northern Argentina, with the balance of the time in Peru and/or Bolivia. I really don’t know how things will play out, whom I will meet, or what the weather will do. We’ll see what happens. I’ll just have to come back and get the northern part of South America on another trip. For this first stint, my guiding light will be the book Trekking in the Patagonian Andes by Lonely Planet.

1. *Peninsula Valdes – Already visited the wildlife here

2. *Parque Nacional Monte Leon – Already visited its dramatic coast & low tide. Fell & broke camera here.

3. Ushuaia – New starting point after previous trip was interrupted. The southernmost city in the world, situated on the Beagle Channel. If I had the dough, it would be the jumping off point for a trip to Antarctica, but that too will have to wait. Will have 1 week to explore Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. Don’t need this much time, but I need to wait for my friend Mike to arrive from the US. I will be using my point and shoot camera in Ushuaia in an effort to save time. This saves about 2 weeks versus waiting for a camera and then backtracking and starting later in Ushuaia.

4. Punta Arenas – I’ll only be here a couple days to meet Mike. Not only is he being gracious enough to bring me a new camera and lens, it will be nice to see him and hopefully catch up. He’ll be covering an adventure race, traveling via boats, vehicles, and helicopter. Way cool.

5. Torres del Paine – The crown jewel of national parks in South America and one of the best in the world. I was here for 5 days in March of last year and had a great time. But weather was bad and I didn’t have any rain pants. Ended up not seeing the towers for which the park is named. Now I have rain pants and am good to go. Many do the “W” 5 day circuit, but I’m looking to do the complete Paine Circuit, which is roughly 10 days with sidetrips. Depending on energy and conditions, I may spend a couple more days exploring a couple other parts of park. I’m going to take my time here and enjoy this wonderful sight. Looking at 10-15 days, so I may have to go back to town for food in the middle.

6. El Calafate – Will definitely need to rest after a long stint at Torres del Paine. A nice chance to take a break for 2 or 3 days and see the amazing Perito Moreno Glacier. I saw this last year too, but who wouldn’t want to see it again? Plus, I did the rather lame glacier trekking and missed out on time to simply sit and watch and listen to the glacier’s movements. This year I’m going to sit there all day and take it in. A short distance away is a point called Cerro Cristal. From here one can see Perito Moreno, Lago Argentino, and Torres del Paine at the same time.

7. Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre – The other spectacular hiking destination in southern Patagonia. I was here for 4 days last year and was blown away by the peacefulness and beauty of the mountains. I look forward to going back with more time, a better camera, better preparation, and a chance to explore the park further. There are 2-3 additional days worth of trails that I can take for other views of the lakes and mountains. A 23 km bus ride from here goes to the Lago del Desierto for another day or two of hiking. It’s also possible to cross over to the Chilean border at a trekkers only crossing.

8. Villa O’Higgins – Depending on what it’s like crossing the border and transportation schedules, I could go on to a couple small parks near the remote areas of Lago O’Higgins.

9. Monte San Lorenzo – I don’t know much about this park other than that it’s suggested in my guidebook, it’s in Southern Chile, and has glaciers, mountains, and lakes. That’s good enough for me. I plan to take my time in Southern Patagonia because I love its ruggedness and I’ve never seen anything like it.

10. Parque Nacional Los Alerces – The Alerce tree is the Souther American cousin of the Redwood in North America. Some of these trees are over 4,000 years old and their size defies belief. I have to see these–especially since I’ve yet to see a Redwood either.

11. Parque Pumalín – A massive private park comprised of land purchased by Douglas Tompkins, founder of Espirit and The North Face. He’s also the one who bought land for Parque Nacional Monte Leon in Argentina and gave it to the government.

12. Nahuel Huapi Traverse – Situated in the beautiful Lakes District. This area of Northern Patagonia has more of a Swiss Alps feel, but at a lower altitude.

13. Lanín volcano – A 3 day round trip ascent of the Lanín volcano and its majestic perch over the surrounding landscape. I have to climb at least one volcano!

These are the imperatives. One could spend years exploring the backwoods of Patagonia and never get bored. While I won’t waste time, I don’t plan to hurry either. I’d rather soak it all in and get to know the area well rather than be in such a hurry to get to the next spot that I don’t enjoy the experience. As always, we’ll see…I’m praying to meet some great people along the way like I did last year.