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What is this? A day without 3,000 feet of climbing? Feels like we are on vacation or something.
It was our coldest night of camping this trip at 39 degrees. We jumped out of the tent at 8am and Tom quickly made a fire in the stove in the community cocina. We hung out in there all morning until it warmed up.
Not much climb today but the road surface was 💩 with lots of chunk rock, so much washboarding and more dust. But… there was less traffic.
More Patagonian views made the extra effort worthwhile.
We stopped about half way through and found a place to get a hamburger after thinking there wouldn’t be any services at all. We met a fellow rider from Israel – just 24 years old and… our El Gato Del Dia.
We are missing our doggos of the day since we aren’t riding through towns. Surely there will be some in O’Higgins on Saturday or maybe before.🐾
Tom found a prime camping spot right on the bank of a stream flowing out of the Baker River. We’re turning in early since we have a big climb first thing and a ferry to catch. And we are pretty sure a lot of rain is moving in.
Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)
Our extra day was spent in Cochrane buying food and fuel for the last stretch. We also did laundry for the first time – and for the first time ever, PAID someone to do it. That’s what is done here if you need cloths cleaned quickly.
Southbound from Cochrane, cell, WiFi, electricity and supplies are sketchy. We are ready for the final push!
Today was nothing but pure Patagonia with majestic mountains, big water, blue sky and clear air. It might have been the loveliest weather day we have experienced since we started riding almost three weeks ago.
We are in Patagonia, and in a place after which the familiar clothing company was founded and named in 1973 by American climber Yvon Chouinard.
I remember reading in “A Wild Idea” that Doug Tompkins and Chouinard and a hand full of other guys who named their group the “Fun Hogs” set out to climb Mount Fitz Roy (located in southern Patagonia near the Argentina/Chilean border) and one of the most difficult granite peaks in the world. The successful climb of Fitz Roy and the hardships endured profoundly impacted Chouinard. It’s an unforgettable story – pretty sure there was a movie made as well.
For him Patagonia was wild and mysterious. It represented adventure, exploration and unspoiled nature soooo why not name a company in the spirit of a place?
As an aside, Chouinard and Tompkins were lifelong friends and in fact, Chouinard was with the group of kayakers on Lake Chelenko when Tompkins had his fatal kayak accident.
We have shortened our riding mileage to accommodate the rough riding surfaces – lots of washboarding and rocky gravel. Good thing is… there is less traffic so we are liking that.
We were having a bit of a time finding a place to camp this evening. Our first choice looked a bit sketch so we peddled on. Our second choice was a wild camping spot by the river (good water source) but it was too close to the road for comfort.
On iOverlander Tom discovered another camping spot up the road and we snagged it.
It’s a husband and wife operation and if only we could communicate with them in Spanish beyond simple phrases. Their lifestyle here looks so different from ours and I have so many questions. They warmly welcomed us and explained everything we needed to know in Spanish.
Being the rule followers we are we want to be sure we don’t offend or disregard their instructions or customs. Their smile says it all tho. I think we are “doing things right”
Thanks so much for your encouragement, comments and prayers.
Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)
One of the sites we were most looking forward to seeing was the confluence of the Baker and Neff Rivers. Today was that day.
The Baker is the largest river in Chile (as measured by volume). It’s so blue and beautiful. And in places – very powerful. It’s a also a popular destination for river rafters.
You can see in the above pic where the Neff comes in at the top and the brilliant blue Baker River joins. There’s some good shots in today’s video as well.
And we saw our first guanacos today!
The Patagonian colors have changed from green to brown in some areas yet the landscapes are still magnificent. When climbing on a bike there is always something to look at.
Immense effort (as well as planning and pesos) is needed to build the Carretera Austral. We saw evidence of that today in the amount of road construction. There was a lot of it.
We got to Cochrane in the afternoon and will take a zero tomorrow for our last resupply before O’Higgins. We have an extra day and thunderstorms are also forecasted so it’s a good day to hangout. 👍🏻
Tom’s been finding the hostels, campsites and restaurants using a combo of iOverlander and Google Maps. This is what he had to say about our timing. 😂
We ride all day and get to our campsite/hostal around 5:00. We check in and we are the only ones there. I am thinking “how do they stay in business”. We shower up, get organized and walk in to town for a dinner at a local restaurant. We are the only ones there. I am thinking they might want to close early and we need to hurry up and order. We eat and check out around 8, and by then the place is packed. We go back to the campsite/hostal and the place is packed. So I guess our timing is good in finding available places to stay eat.
Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)
Today was all about the color blue. And the water isn’t blue just because it’s reflecting the sky’s color. The glaciers (and there’s a BUNCH in the neighborhood) actually grind up rock like sandpaper into material similar in texture to chalk dust (it’s called rock flour). And while we think the water is so clear, there is actually a bunch of minerals floating around in the water. And that’s what the sun is reflecting off of.
Today the rock flour showed up for us today in vivid blues, BIG time!
The mountains were also present and gave us something to look at around nearly every turn.
Lots of gravel riding today – actually 40 miles of it and since it hasn’t rained in a few days there was lots of dust flying around.
One of my fave Doggos of the Day appeared when we cycled up on a group of goats hanging out in the middle of the road.
Sheep dogs are extremely protective of their flock and can actually be aggressive if they feel threatened. Goat dogs not so much.😂 After this guy came up and licked my salty legs he went and asked Tom for head scratches.
It was a really good day to cycle through Patagonia. Tomorrow we head to Cochrane, the last town on the Carretera Austral. After that… nothing but gravel, mountains and weather to contend with until we get to Villa O’Higgins.
We took the day off from riding bikes to rest, resupply and kayak! Austral Bikes recommended the inn where we are staying and they also offer kayak tours to and through the Marble Caves soooo hard to pass that opportunity up.
Lake Chelenko, the largest lake in Chile and second largest in South America, is also home to some of the most beautiful rock formations. In summer when the glacier fed lake is high due to melting snow, the caves are accessible by water.
Luis, our tour guide clarified that Lago Carrera and Lake Chelenko are the same however most prefer the name Lake Chelenko as the Tehuelche people who were here first named the lake as such. Chelenko means “stormy waters”.
We had an absolutely glorious morning to get out early on the water and want to share a short video from the visit.
The accompanying song is titled “Doug’s Theme” in memory of Doug Tompkins.
Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)
Thoughts from Tom about yesterday’s ride which was the most mentally tough ride on the Carretera Austral for us so far:
Yesterday morning reminded me of my past. Back in the mid 90s, 3 young kids, tough job, wondering how I am going to make it. Then I got involved with a men’s group at church and we started sharing our similar experiences and I realized I wasn’t the only person feeling as I did.
Fast forward to yesterday’s ride and feeling, why am I doing this? Big headwinds, with rain and horrible gravel. Feeling like you are hardly moving and you have 40 more miles ahead of you. You finally struggle through it to the campground setting your tent up in the wind and cold rain. You finally change into dry clothes and go into the community shelter and see all the other campers with food bags out and small stoves cooking up their meals. You are surrounded with other cyclists who have just experienced the same ride and have the same feelings you have. You start sharing stories and find out you are not alone! Lesson learned. Don’t face your daily struggles alone. You are not alone!
Today started out the same as yesterday, grey and rainy. We set out southbound in deep gravel since they hadn’t graded it yet, but… there was a tailwind!
It was tough cycling through deep gravel but soon we approached the grader, and although we had to ensure we cycled faster than it could spread gravel (even uphill and in the rain) the riding surface improved.😊
From there the day got even better with the sun coming out, stellar scenery of Chile’s largest lake, General Carrera Lake (aka Lake Chelenko) and again we cycled by waterfall after waterfall.
As a historical side note, General Jose Miguel Carrera was Chile’s first president and is considered one of Chile’s founding fathers.
The lake is also where Doug Tompkins (North Face founder, Esprit co-founder and conservation activist) lost his life in a kayaking accident in 2015.
Our last hill before finishing our ride was an 11% average climb with a 21%er thrown in to keep us humble. Tom rode up it like a boss. 💪🏻 I took a little rest to take photos.
In early afternoon we arrived to Puerto Rio Tranquilo and immediately visited a place with the best play list blaring out the door.
We decided to take the day off tomorrow to rest, resupply and kayak through the Marble Caves and reserved two nights in a small inn with a cafe but we didn’t have an address.
Investigative work in the pub and using only a photo from Googling the name of the inn (no address provided and no one answered the phone) we noticed there was a gas station in the picture so looked up where the gas station was located. In doing so, we found our place!
Whew! Every day is a challenge from headwinds, rain, climbs, dicy road surfaces, challenges speaking Spanish and one of the hardest… which Doggo to pick for our “perro del dia”.
Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)
What a devil of a day! We weren’t even sure we were going to ride today because of the pelts of rain coming down as we sat inside the warm community room.
But ride we did to get up and over the Cuesta Del Diablo, Devil’s Hill.
We didn’t start riding until noon and were concerned at the onset about the rain. As it turned out, it wasn’t rain and it wasn’t the climbing that was most difficult.
It was the wind. 💨 Though gusts of 30 mph nearly blew us over we were able to keep moving forward but was very difficult to keep the bike upright with the gusty winds swirling through the mountains. And we never knew which way the wind was going to blow.
Wind is what will suck the energy out of a cyclist because it’s relentless and today was proof of that. I’d put today’s ride through the Cerro Castillo National Park, in the same category as the ride through the Glamis desert on Southern Tier and the ride up the Remutaka Rail Trail in New Zealand last year.
Without a doubt however, I will say (for me, not sure about Tom), the last 10 mile descent (some of it switchbacks) was the most stunning scenery I’ve ever experienced whether in a car or on a bike. The devil may have thrown wind at us but God sure does good work. 🏔️ Thanks for keeping safe today.🙏🏻
Chilled and wind beaten we opted for an inside stay at a hostel in the mountaineering town of Cerro Castillo, a hub for bikepackers, climbers and backpackers nestled in the mountains of the national park.
Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)
Just a short ride today but kind of a hectic one as we left town. We peddled alongside lots of airport traffic. In just a couple weeks or so, we will be in one of those shuttles headed to the airport. But for today, we peddled.
We’ve been told to begin stocking up on food and pesos since the farther south we get, the more remote we’ll be. Food will be harder to come by and cash is king (credit cards not accepted.) We had two things on our to-do list in Coyhaique and we weren’t able to get either done. 😫
Google Maps isn’t as reliable here as in the states. That’s been a bit of a challenge. Google Maps will indicate where a store or restaurant is on the route when there isn’t one.
We found a couple mini marts and made do but couldn’t locate a money spitter. It’s just crazy getting out of a big town and even a greater challenge with inaccurate Google Maps.
We rolled into El Blanco about 3pm, set up our tent and then headed to the only restaurant in town, a very small roadside food stand.
We weren’t at all sure of what we ordered but it was very tasty and the gentleman was happy to chat it up with us in Spanish. He spoke to us like we understood and we kinda did. A little.
Rain is coming in tonight and tomorrow’s a longer ride with the Cuesta Diablo on deck. Sooo…we may delay our start tomorrow.
Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)
New Spanish vocabulary word: ripio
The fire that Jose built in the wood burning heater in the community room was incentive enough to get out of our tent on this chilly 40 degree morning. Today would be our longest ride with the most elevation and on ripio (gravel).
These stoves/heaters are at the heart of every hostel and campground community room and common throughout Patagonian homes as well.
I made breaky in the community room while Tom took down the tent. We said our thanks and goodbyes to Jose and were on our way.
During the ride, again the mountains gave way to vast landscapes. We climbed a good bit getting to our highest elevation thus far on the trip and then bombed down some sweet descents. Tom got some good video on the GoPro today.
The ride got rough near the end. The “nice” ripio turned nasty with thick gravel and traffic increased throwing up a lot of dust and rocks. Not fun but grateful that wasn’t the whole ride.
Coyhaique is a major hub on the Carretera Austral and the capital of Chile’s Aysén Region. Almost every cyclist, hitchhiker, kayaker, and traveler eventually funnels into Coyhaique as it’s the last large city on the Carretera Austral south of Puerto Montt where the Southern Highway began. The further south we ride, the more remote it will be.
Although Coyhaique is surrounded by the most pristine wilderness areas, the city is among the highest in air pollution in Latin America due to the wood burning stoves. As such, the city has both a frontier and an urban feel to it.
It seems like it would be a good place to take a rest day but we are eager to get back on the road and save a zero day in case of bad weather. We’ve learned Patagonia with all her beauty can throw challenging weather at us at any time.
Digs for the night? We went all in at the Patagonia House. It. Was. Spectacular. And in every sense of the word.
One more tidbit. I finished listening to the audiobook entitled “A Wild Idea” by Jonathan Franklin about the life of Doug Tompkins. Spoiler alert… Tompkins did wayyy more than found The North Face.
Keep Calm and Pedal On 