El Bolson

Tom and Ollie- Two Aussies enjoying a hearty asado.


Tom really took to his surroundings- straw hat, overalls, long hair... well done. Funny guy.

The day Tom left he said to me, "Man, I'm surprised I ever got out of that place." I knew exactly what he meant, tough place to leave.

Casa Del Viajero. Best hostel of the trip. Nay had been there weeks before and recommended it to me.

First day we hiked to Cabeza de Indio and found this waterfall on the way.

I saw this lake from the hike the previous day and decided to figure out how to take the bus there the following day.


I met some local teenagers who showed me where you can j ump off the cliffs.

The water wasn't that cold.

El Bolson is a beautiful laid-back town in Northern Patagonia just south of Bariloche. Many of the hippies in Buenos Aires relocated there in the 1960s and 70s. It is home to a famous craft market where many of the locals sell their hand-spun wares. I stayed at a great place called Casa de Viajero. The owner, Augustin and his wife, have created an idyllic oasis in the forest. Hand-crafted stone, wood houses and huts, fish ponds, hammocks, gardens, chickens. A lot of the travelers there had ended up staying much longer than planned, myself included. There's a lake in the next town, a great river and endless hiking. The people there are very easy-going and you get the sense they really enjoy living there. Being there made me realize how much I truly love the country.

El Chalten

Caught in the wind at Lago Torre.





the general store in Chalten.

view of El Chalten.

The water in Patagonia is stunningly clear and you can drink straight from any running river- taste's better than Poland Springs.

This is for my brother-in-law Tim who once took me hunting for wild bonsai trees. Tim- is this one?

View of good ol' Fitz Roy from the trail. This is the mountain range that is on the Patagonia logo.

I liked this mountain a lot.



On the way to El Chalten, the bus stops at this house which serves food and has lots of animals roaming around. I really bonded with this colt.

Lots of blue from the bus.

The trail is the thing,
not the end
of the trail.
Travel too fast
and you miss
all you are
traveling for.

My friend Matias in Buenos Aires grew up and worked as a mountain guide in El Chalten. While I was living in BA he told me some incredible stories about El Chalten and since then it was the place I always wanted to visit in Patagonia. I rented some hiking boots upon my arrival so I could really hit the trails and also not be bothered by the annoying whistle made by the air bubble that had popped in the back of my sneaker in Torres Del Paine. I spent my 24th birthday hiking up to the infamous Fitz Roy on a surprisingly clear day. The weather the days before I arrived had been awful which made me re contenta I had made the last minute decision to hike in TDP. I stayed at a cozy hostel and on the night of my birthday was sung to in five languages and gifted a bottle of Malbec with a big, white candle melted on top. I'd like to go back there someday, those mountains are really something.

El Calafate

It's really easy to take way more pictures than necessary of the glacier.




El Calafate at sunset.

From Torres Del Paine I crossed the border back into the good land of Argentina to see the Perito Moreno glacier on my way to El Chalten. There's some tourist attractions you could care less about and others that just nag at you until you see them. The Perito Moreno glacier was one of those things I just had to see. The plan was to blow in and out of Calafate, leaving just enough time to see the glacier. Unfortunately, due to a cancelled bus to Northern Patagonia from El Chalten, I had to return south to Calafate later on in the trip to catch the bus north. If you've seen the glacier, there is nothing left to do but browse lousy, over-priced trinket shops, visit the casino or buy chocolate... I opted for buying chocolate.

Torres Del Paine

The sky in Pataonia is vast, it's as if your eyes cannot even comprehend its full expansion.

I didn't see much wildlife in the park, but here's some llamas.


Met Karla from New Zealand the first day up.


After I made it to the campsite the first day, I decided to hike up to see the Torres because it was so clear.


I really wanted to hike up for sunrise the following day, but I didn't have a flashlight and no one at the campsite wanted get up at 3:30am. Thankfully I was able to convince one of the staff members, Nelson, at the Refugio to come along and bring an extra head lamp.

I waited and waited and they finally turned pink for about one minute- it was freezing up there.

early morning yoga.

Sunrise.

Renee, Karla and a bad camp stove.


Setting up camp at Los Cuernos.

Rorrey and Koons.






I met Luca on the trail. He's from Northern Italy, lives in the Swiss Alps and is a really good hiker. Probably the best hiking partner/company I came across the whole trip.

cool pose.

We hiked to the lookout for Glacier Gray the last day. It was really windy up there. The extreme weather conditions made it kind of fun.

It was hard to really see the glacier, but there's some floating ice chunks.

I had no plans to go to Torres Del Paine. It happened by chance. One of my favorite things about traveling is either not having a plan or changing my plans. So when I ended up meeting a lovely French girl at the hostel who lives in the Alps and may have well been the epitomy of Heidi, I decided to re-consider my plan to leave for Calafate the following day. She had just returned from doing the "W" trek by herself. I had arrived in Puerto Natales late that night and after meeting her bought a ticket to go into the park for a day hike. I wasn't sure if I wanted to camp out alone for four days, especially with minimal gear. However, the following morning I woke up with a jolt around 6 am and had the strongest intuition that I should just do the whole thing. I was hoping to change my ticket to have a day to rent supplies, but was unable to and ended up having 30 min. to figure out where I was going, run to the ATM and throw anything warm and waterproof I had in my pack to catch the 7am bus. The guy at the hostel was a bit apprehensive about my last minute decision- I didn't have any reservations for the campsites, nor knew if there would be tents/sleeping bags available to rent. He lent me his fleece and as I ran out the door to catch the bus and told me they'd come look for me in four days if I didn't return. It wasn't nearly as intimidating as I thought. I met plenty of nice people on the trail, ended up having enough food, pretty favorable weather and the time of my life! It was the perfect balance of meeting great people to hike with some days as well as having time to enjoy the mountains alone and attempt at soaking up all that beauty.