Beautiful but hard

Another night for the books. We all got fantastic sleep after our first outings and awoke reenergized.  Today was to be much harder. With a total of 16 miles consisting of an altitude trek in the middle without packs followed by 3 more miles with packs. After a light breakfast we set out full of joy and excitement. The initial part of the trek was level and filled with prairie scenery. The only down side was the 40 mph winds the nearly blew us off the trail. We hiked by lakes that seemed to glow iridescent turquoise. Again we were surrounded by immense mountains with 1000’+ waterfalls.  It was amazing. Finally the winds died down. The first part of our trek went smoothly and we reach the lower campsite where we were able to drop our packs and resume the Britanica lookout hike. This was a beast. There was bouldering, steep climbs, stream crossings, and generally a long trek. There where two lookouts. The first lookout was Frances lookout. Here was were able to rest our bones and stare at glacial cut mountains with a few glaciers clinging to them. What made this spot amazing was that every few minutes there was a ‘BOOM’ from the glaciers and pieces of ice would tumble off the mountain. We enjoyed a boxed lunch admiring the clouds rolling over the thunderous glaciers.  We continued, again it was a challenging hike. But we finally made it to the Britanica lookout which was truly awe inspiring, 360° panorama of mountains including the Torres del Pain, the turquoise lake, and the glacier mountains.  The sheer geology of the place was a spectacle. The ‘towers’ look as if the glaciers of old nearly covered them but not quite as their peaks were craggy black rock that abruptly transformed to a smooth tan color. We turned around and started the long trek down. Unfortunately, most of the trail is small to medium sized rocks which are murder on your ankles and feet.  This was made worse by the fact that the last few kilometers were on a small rock beach. Ben is insanely fit and could hike for days, dad and I nearly reached our physical limit as we could barely lift our feet for the last 2 miles.

 Emily was amazing and trudged onward. Arriving at the chaotic hostel we battled the extreme fatigue and checked in. We had a beer or two and are now all lying in bed awaiting that sweet succulent sleep to take us away… sorry for any miss types again, so tired. 

The Hike Day 1

Whew. After a phenomenal night of well desired sleep we were up at the crack of dawn and rearranging packs for our highly anticipated hike. Emily and I met up with mom, dad, Ben, and Viv for breakfast. It was quite the spread and everyone was energetic. Some of our group had fought a GI bug and were steadily recovering. But this hotel was amazing! It sat on the edge of a lake with iridescently blue mammoth icebergs floating in front of a slowly receding glacier.  The view was framed by sharp and pointed mountains slicing the drifting clouds like enormous mandolins. Viv and mom decided they wanted to ride the ferry with us to our trailhead.  So we all hiked a mile to meet a catamaran style ferry on the choppy glacial lake. The wind was rip roaring from the glacier at the end of the long lake filled with whitecaps. On the little ferry there were about 60 other tourists, we were the only hikers. The boat had filled prior to our arrival so we were all sitting separately. As a tour guide rambled on the back ground Emily and I chatted up some local Chileans to find out that, “pisco is not only made in Chile, but it’s the best in the world.”  Speaking of which, Ben came around with pisco sours for us that were delicious but the boat had stopped to drop us off and so we had to literally down our drinks and jump off the boat, great way to start a hike. With our packs set and waving good by to mom and Viv, who were going to continue the tour we set out! Dad had a huge grin on his face. 

The first portion of our epic journey took us the a beautiful lookout near the glacier. Tons of small floating icebergs and weather that kept us on our toes. One minute it was 60s and sunny and the next it was cloudy with rain and chilling wind. But our spirits were high and we started the 4 hour trek to our overnight spot. Beautiful and fun we hiked back along the glacial lake with heavy winds at our backs and the whirlwind weather over our heads. Dad kept us on pace the whole way. To our left was part of the famous “towers” (pictures to follow). Our group chatted and marched at a good clip without breaks until we reached Paine Grande a hostal on another lake that looked like liquid turquoise. It sat at the base of “the towers” and endures a never ending bombardment of howling wind.

The hostel itself was modern and quaint. Though feeling good, everyone was glad to strip off their boots, change clothes, and grab a beer with a slice of pizza. Dad and I took a quick nap before dinner and for dinner we had high-school-cafeteria-style large pieces of mystery meat with gravy and veggies.  I think we are all going to call it an early night after our first stint of 9 miles. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Still Traveling…

You know, sleeping upright is one of those skills I wish I had. We were in relatively comfortable seats but sleeping upright is just plain hard to accomplished. We landed in Chile without a hitch, though we are feeling (and probably smelling) ripe. After disembarking from the plane we were herded like cattle through an intricate maze of document checking (where our documents had expired due to the long flight delay…), PCR testing, customs, and baggage claim. Though smooth, it felt very conveyer-belt-ish. Next we sat in what appeared to be one of the busiest airports awaiting our flight to Punta Arenas. 

A very lovely flight which we missed most of as our exhaustion is catching up with us. We both did  achieve 3 solid hours of sleep on the plane. 

Arriving without issues we met Victor, our driver, who drove us for 5 hours across beautiful flat landscape dotted occasionally with craggy mountains. The sunset and we continued in the dark without signs of civilization. Finally, at our wits’ end we arrived at our hotel! It’s dark so not a lot of descriptions but the hotel, for being the only building in the valley, is emasculate. Ben met us at midnight for some food and a beer before we stalked off to have the best shower I have ever had. Finally, we are showered, fed, and in a bed. can’t wait for hiking tomorrow. 

Ps sorry if there are grammar or spelling issues.. too tired to care…

Still in the air…

After a night of anxious sleep we awoke to “beautiful” Houston. We still had some pesky issues with baggage claim but they promised our bags would arrive at 11am, AND we were able to confirm our flight to Santiago!!! Praise the high One!!

 However, given that we had now been traveling for >48 hours our negative COVID tests had expired.. so we needed rush tests, at the airport (for an outrageous price..), and arrange for our local flight in Chile, of which; there was only one, it was ruinously priced, and we couldn’t  contact the agent in country despite multiple attempts to change our current ticket. Alas, the universe aligned in our favor!! We received our bags and high-fived ALL the claims reps, printed our boarding passes again high-fiving the counter reps, were negative on our COVID test (elbow bumps for the med techs), and purchased the LAST tickets to Punta Arenas (sobbing a little at the price)! Now. Finally. We could start our vacation.  

Luckily we had lounge access so we sat, relaxed, and enjoyed more Champaign for 8 more hours before our flight.  

Not to kill our luck but we made it to the plane! 48 of 72 hours into our total travel time. Only 24 more hours until we meet up with the rest of the party and the real hiking begins! Needless to say this will be the longest stint traveling I have ever experienced. Emily was a trooper!

And yes… same clothes……….

On our way (sort of)

Setting off from Juneau’s record snow/rainy winter feels like a godsend. The trip started off with a great free upgrade to 1st class and ensuing Champaign sips set the tone for a fantastic vacation. After a smooth flight we were whisked away to Cedarbrook lodge for a great night of comfortable sleep. I was even able to get in a short run the next morning.  However our first hiccup occurred.. American Airlines emailed us, with 4 hours notice, that our flight was delayed.. enough that we would miss our international connection. With a panicked early sprint to the airport we managed to secure middle seats down to Dallas to keep our original schedule on Alaska airlines. 

Well… that changed, while on the tarmac we had an engine failure so we returned to the airport. Now it looks like we won’t make our flight. While scrambling at the airport, American called us back from this morning and informs us that because the Alaska flight broke down it’s their responsibility to rebook us. Funny enough after waiting in line at Alaska, they say it’s American’s responsibility…. Again panicked, we raced to the gate were they are supposed to reboard us (but we’ll miss our connection and there are no flights to Chile for days from Dallas). A kick ass Alaska desk lady, Anna, started helping us. She ran down to the tarmac to pull our bags so they didn’t leave with out us and diligently worked to rearrange our whole trip to get us magically down to Chile a day late through an intricate web of connections. We were in high spirits once we had confirmed bookings but then as she went to get our bags we all learned that an over zealous employee had whisked them on to the next Dallas flight which was pulling away in front of us… our spirits sank as we became separated from our bags and could not continue because they cannot fly internationally without us. But Anna didn’t give up, she rerouted us again, and rerouted our bags so now we were off to Houston and our bags should meet us tomorrow before we fly on to Chile. Exhausted we landed in Houston at midnight….. to be continued. 

Big moves and Long Runs

 It has felt like eons since the last time I wrote on my blog.  So much has happened in my life and the world.  For starters there was/is a global pandemic. COVID19 has ravaged the economy, spirits, and daily lives of everyone.  Our daily lives feel like something out of a science-fiction novel as one day everyone was enjoying normal lives and the next everyone is wearing masks and social distancing, and there is strife and anger in the streets. It was an interesting time in the Emergency rooms across the country as we were lauded as heroes and people stayed away if they weren't truly sick leaving the truly sick and dying to be seen and cared for like real functioning ERs. We all felt like heroes and were willing to risk our own health for the safety and health of others.  But as the pandemic stretched on feelings shifted, burnout was high, friends and family members were becoming ill and/or dying. Despite these trying times both Emily and I were able to obtain jobs in Juneau, Alaska.  After working nearly a year on shifting financial/medial sands a vaccine was produced which in and of itself cause mind-boggling strife and division in the US population. Now, once lauded as heroes, medical providers are being ostracized and persecuted for promoting an obviously beneficial public health initiative. With approximately 63% of the United States receiving full vaccination, the unvaccinated people have started to overwhelm the healthcare system. Many systems are reverting to 'crisis mode' and having to ration care. It's because of this that the public is attacking providers. It does feel unfair that there's a simple solution yet people are avoiding it like the plague (pun intended). I am seeing many patients in the emergency department who are opting for untested and poorly evidence based treatments as well as obviously harmful treatments versus getting an evidence backed and FDA approved vaccine. My mind is numb and I do feel severe burn out. But all that aside Emily and I have been able to squeak out a spectacular life. We just bought a my dream house. As I write this I'm sitting at a desk facing an unobstructed view of a giant glacier. Last night while crawling into bed our room was lit by the Northern lights dancing over that same glacier. We made another addition to the family Ajax who is just as amazing as Bear. Our lives are incredible.

Now for even more crazy news in my own personal life, I signed up for the Juneau Alaska Iron Man triathlon. That means I will be swimming 2.5 miles followed by 110 mile bike ride followed by a marathon race. I've never completed any of those except for the swim. I figure now is the appropriate time in my life to do it as I have no kids, the race is here, and I'm only getting older. This is going to be one of the hardest journeys I've ever undertaken. But if you don't have high aims what else is there? We are doing five runs a week, swimming, and biking. We both are feeling fit but exhausted at the same time. I hope to write more often so please stay tuned. 

Humpback Lake Cabin

    The excitement was palpable as we prepared the night before our trip. Mark and Liz were up visiting us and we wanted to give them a true Alaskan experience. Ketchikan decided to demonstrate why it was known for being, “the rainiest city in North America” with a 7 day forecast of drizzly rain. 

Though, this was not lost on us as we marveled at the world’s 2nd largest rain forest in all its glory. Grey clouds rolling over lush tropical-looking densely forested mountains were accompanied by gushing waterfalls every 400 feet, were just some of the features of this waterlogged wonderment. Though the weather can be troublesome on occasion, as such when traveling. Our floatplane was delayed due to the inclement weather leaving us in a state of anticipation. 

Once it arrived Emily and I watched with satisfaction as Liz and Mark’s gittiness took hold while we loaded onto the special air/sea craft. Taking off from the water with iPhones recording every moment we were off towards Humpback Lake. The plan was to stay two nights on our own island, in our own cabin, on our own lake without a soul nearby. The only way in or out is via floatplane. 

The expressions of wonder continued as we weaved through the mountains and fjords above the clouds and over glistening inlets and coves. The further we flew the more majestic and magical the scenery became even as we threaded onto our lake. With ear-to-ear grins we disembarked to our chalet on the lake. It was better than we could have imagined. An A-framed two floor cabin situated on a 6 mile lake guarded by 4000’ glacier cut mountains streaked with cascading waterfalls (the most forceful of which, a 100-footer, was right next to our cabin!) was where we docked. No power, but an abundance of water features including; running water, hot tub, a motorboat, and a private dock awaited us. We eagerly transported our gear and stood on the deck waving goodbye to the floatplane as it took off leaving us in this garden of eden. No less than 1 hour into getting situated did Mark exclaim that he was hearing a goat nearby. He and I search around for the source, though it was the strangest goat I had ever heard... In fact, to me it sounded like, and sure enough was, a bear cub crying for its mother just behind our cabin!! Upon seeing this, and now understanding the inordinate amount of bear spray strewn all over the place , we both clambered for the girls and spray. But by the time we got them the cub had run off. This set us on alert for the remainder of the trip. The weather remained rainy with intermittent breaks throughout our stay. The forest was like a saturated sponge underfoot. We relaxed and read while listening to the waterfall and cooked kabobs that first night. The lake was so peaceful and calm with occasional fish snapping at surface bugs. 

The following day I awoke early as nature called and as I crept out of the cabin to water the flora I came upon the mother bear in the same location, under the waterfall, that we saw the cub! She was light brown and about 350-450lbs. I don’t know how she was alerted to me as she was upwind, standing next to a roaring waterfall, and I was being quiet not to wake the others but she spotted me and took off through the woods. It was a surreal experience for that split second when our eyes met. Later that day Mark pieced together some fishing poles and lures from cut up beer cans and we (may or may not have) set out to go fishing for trout which may have been biting with every cast! If we had illegally and without licenses caught trout then we may have caught 14 beautiful and delicious rainbow specimens that may have tasted spectacular on the grill or in our eggs the next morning...but we would never illegally fish without knowing it until hindsight.... The only main issue we endured was the hot tub, we could not figure out how to warm it faster than 10° a day. Emily and Mark stubbornly refused to forfeit such a delightful experience and made innumerable runs of pouring boiled water into the tub in an attempt to heat the 1000 gallon vat. Then made good progress if not slow. We feasted and drank that night toasting to the good life as the rain pattered against the roof. The next morning the rain continued but no plane. We were told that weather would be bad and we may get stuck for another day..

                                                    

Well, we got stuck for another day. But the weather was not bad. Rain continued to barrage us intermittently and the monolithic mountains loomed over the serine lake protecting us from the gail force winds of the inside passage. Blue skies did break through the monotone grey on occasion.  We finished our protein-rosh trout with beans and rice as we pondered our survivability if we were to be stranded here. The consensus was that we’d make a week easily but beyond that, and if our heating source was lost, would quickly devolve into a short episode of Naked and Afraid. 

That night we drank rum and cokes and, under the propane lamps, pondered life’s deep questions; ranking the five senses in order of importance, lottery purchases, and battles of the sexes. The last morning we finished off our food and packed for our departure.