There's a reason we spent three weeks in Cajón de los Arenales; many reasons really! 

The climbing here is fantastic, and we didn't scratch the surface. The approaches vary from long and steep gravel walks to meanders over boulders and several crosses of the river (great for hydration stops!) The granite featured some perfect lines and though we encountered some loose rocks, overall the climbing was clean and beautiful.

And, the views are amazing; from the bottom of the canyon, to the middle of the climb, to the summit block.

And, as with the climbing, these photos do not scratch the surface. 

We arrived in Tunuyan in the late afternoon the first week of March, really excited about this next part of our trip. We were to head into the Cajón de los Arenales: a beautiful valley carved by glaciers, where a river runs through the middle but is cut by a huge moraine. Granite walls and spires rise up on either side of the valley inspiring curiosity of all its features, canals and gullies.

After stocking up on food and necessities in Tunuyan (and having one of the best 5 course meals - for roughly US$30 each!) we made our way into the valley. Having Scarleta as our basecamp is great, a luxury even; we found a perfect spot to park (down by the river, of course).
There is a refugio about a 15 minute walk up from the trailhead. It’s a pretty rough structure, but for many a great place to sleep and certainly for sharing stories with other climbers and trekkers who visit the valley. We met several great folks who called this place home for their stay. And, there’s even a resident cat who keeps the place mice free!  

Our first day of climbing was spent at Aguja Carlos Daniel, described in our guidebook as “a spot in Los Arenales saved for lovers of jamming in all its forms.” The guidebook, which is somewhat lost in translation, had this absolutely right. It’s on and near this formation that we would spend a lot of our time.
Our first few days in Arenales, we met up with Nacho and his partner Majo who run Arenales Climbing, a guiding service in the canyon, and their friend Rodrigo. We spent a great afternoon climbing the Deja ya de Joder route up Carlos Daniel with them!

Nacho and Majo have been climbing in Arenales for many years and know this place in an out and have opened many new routes. Nacho is creating the new guidebook which will be available later this year; which is great because the current guidebook, while it served us pretty well, refers to climbing ropes as strings.

Not surprisingly, Nacho, Majo and Rodrigo are incredibly friendly, share freely, talk openly, and are some of the most positive, excited people we’ve met. They have incredible love and respect for this canyon and we are grateful to have their friendship and knowledge of this beautiful place.

The weather in Arenales mostly continued with our streak of sunshine and warm days but clouds, cold, and several days of rain did halt some of our climbing. 

Forced rest days are great though when accompanied with delicious asados, great wine, and new friends. And an indoor climbing wall! 

Though one rain delay kept us out of the valley for three days straight, we kept coming back. We weren’t ready to leave such a beautiful, accessible place! There's so much climbing to be had.....

Our hike into Cochamó Valley was way different than our first time visiting the valley in 2012. No rain! Light packs!
We planned for roughly two weeks in the valley (that's a lot of food. and wine.) so we arranged for our gear to be transported in via horse. We worked with a gaucho named Fabian and his company Southern Adventures. As two horses carried in our 70 kilos of food and gear, we enjoyed the trail carved by horses and pioneers between Argentina and Chile.

Also different from our first visit to the valley was the amount of people. Since we came during the high season (January & February) there were 100's of people - trekkers, climbers - of all nationalities. We met some really great people who we hung out with, climbed with, shared food and stories with. The sharing culture is so strong in Cochamó! We took part in a few delicious asados - or BBQ - with our new friends.

Our weather window was so great for climbing, so we got after it! We met a Puerto Varas local, Juan Pablo, who became our climbing partner and professor of Spanish. He is a great photographer and sent us a few photos from the summit of Cerro Trinidad.

One cool aspect of camping in Cochamó Valley at La Junta is that you only pay for your tent site while you are in camp. We spent several nights bivying near the routes we intended to climb, like at the base of Cerro Trinidad, and another few nights at the "Boulder Bivy" in Anfiteatro. 

The climbing was spectacular! Aside from what we climbed together, Kirk was able to climb a few classic routes with Juan Pablo - and unfortunately lost his phone over the edge :( 

That wasn't the only accident: a climber was injured while rapelling a route in the dark. From what we know, the climber is stable, but the injury did require a helicopter evacuation. 

The last climb that we were hopeful to do was very auspicious: Todo Cambio - everything changes. The weather was starting to bring in clouds and mist and many folks had already left the valley. We ended up not completing the route; something to go back for when we have another great weather window.

In the spirit of the sharing culture, the last night we spent with our new friends making a huge meal together (less food for us to carry out!) and enjoyed one last night in the valley before a rainy and wet hike out.

Hasta pronto, Cochamó!

On the road after Chalten, we headed across the boarder (via Paso Raballos) back to Chile and the Carretera Austral. This part of our journey is one that we were both looking forward to: this infamous road in Chile spans from Villa O'Higgins winding through Patagonia ending in Puerto Montt. The road is filled with auto, bike, and foot travelers and changes from paved to gravel roads over its 1240 kilometers. Many times we felt like we were driving through a postcard! 

One of our first introductions to the Carretera was seeing the Rio Baker and its confluence with the Rio Neff. Kirk got out the fly rod and caught a beautiful trout for dinner!

We boated in the turquoise waters of South America's second largest lake, Lago General Carrera, to see the Marmol Caves.

A favorite side adventure was checking out Valle Exploradores outside of Rio Tranquillo. The road westward takes you towards one of Chile's ice caps (which you can't go on without a guide, apparently). We were able to get some great views though! 

After a brief stint in the town of Coyhaique, we headed back southwards, this time via ferry, to Chile Chico to check out a climbing area we had heard about. On the boat over (which we made by a margin since we didn't have reservations!) we met Russian-born Canadian Artem and invited him along for the adventure. And, adventure it was! La Pyramide is a basalt plug that has been compared to Devil's Tower. It was certainly worth hiking the unblazed trail but the winds were brutal on the last (sleepless) night.

Heading around the Lago General Carrera again (still beautiful!) we headed towards Futaleufu which is another step off the Carretera, and totally worth it. We did a full day raft trip down the "Futa" with a team of expert guides. Unfortunately we don't have any photos because the camera would've been ruined in the class V & IV rapids. 

Continuing north we took several ferries and drove through Parque Pumalin to arrive at Puerto Montt, where the Carretera ends. 

In one of the books we have in our "library," it talks of the true journey: not without challenge, risk, and a little bit of the uncomfortable alongside and intermingled with beauty and joy. On this stretch of our trip we definitely experienced a true journey and adventure.

Part of our plan during our months of travel was to visit, and climb, in the Fitz Roy Massif in Argentina. 
We were literally the last to cross the border from Osorno, Chile to Bariloche Argentina! We absolutely had to stop to take photos: it was a beautiful welcome.
After several days of driving on both paved & unpaved roads along Argentina's Ruta 40 (la quarenta), we arrived in El Chalten: a touristy little town known to some as the backpacking capitol. It's no wonder, there are kilometers and kilometers of wilderness to be explored in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. 
Our first glimpse of Fitz Roy was one we won't soon forget. A sharp reprieve from the vast plains and rolling hills of southern Patagonia we had been traveling over. 
Over a week, we climbed at the crags near town, ate deliciously, caught up with some friends from Boulder also in the area, met new folks from Oregon, Utah & Buenos Aires, and hiked to view Fitz Roy from Lago de los Tres. Any photo we might take will not do the area justice but does offer a sense of the rugged beauty.
Though bigger climbing objectives were not realized, we are learning patience and to embrace the full adventure of our trip. 
We'll be back; but for now, onward.

After trying to explain to a new friend what we were going to do the next couple of months, he quickly nodded his head and shouted "Love Truck!".

This past week has been filled with multiple trips to Chile's version of Home Depot (on steroids), Sodimac. We've been super productive which makes us that much closer to heading south.

We spent Sunday in "Eden" (our friend's beautiful childhood house) building out the back of our van. Scarleta enjoyed the shade of the almond tree as we rigged up our bed frame with the drill and some borrowed tools. We also made curtains for the front and back windows. It was a full day push and the van is almost ready for the road south. Take a look!

Aside from trips to the store and putting our energy into making our adventure furgón ready for travel, we've encountered so many friendly and helpful people. Alfredo and Alejandra, who own Autowerk body shop, made sure that Scarleta was fit for the road. Victor, a retired captain of the Chilean Navy, helped us through the insurance process and told great stories of submarines & political history over an awesome pizza dinner. Ivo, the owner of La Cumbre climbing shop (reminiscent of Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder) has trekked over lots of Chile and is psyched about our travels.

We'll not post often, but enjoy the scenery, the amazing country we're about to explore, and the adventures ahead. Hasta pronto!

Say hello to Scarleta: our new (to us) adventure furgón! She is a Mitsubishi L300 which is very common in Chile and also supposed to be easy to fix and very reliable. She has super low kilometers which is a huge plus! For all these reasons, we couldn't let her pass by. 

Scarleta is a work in progress; right now she is just bare bones but that will change with time and some work. We're counting on her to deliver us to many beautiful sights and funky places. Stay tuned....

Inspection in progress. Thank you Alfredo!

A friend texted saying, "Hope you are handling all the details with ease." Contemplating her words, I realized what Kirk and I had accomplished over several weeks was pretty big. Packing up a home and moving to another country could be considered a daunting task. But, I think we handled it well despite some colorful discussions about what makes the final cut in the luggage. 

We've both been looking forward to this adventure that has been several years in the making. There have been moments of freak outs and second guessing, but more prevalent are the feelings of excitement and possibility. The last few weeks prior to departure comprised lots of travel to see family and time spent with friends in Boulder. Lots of good conversations, several pints (and a keg!) of beer, letting go and welcoming anew.

Details have been checked off our lists and as we settle in to our friend's place here in Santiago, for the time being, more details unfold. But, we're managing this different pace and style of life. The adventure has begun.

At DIA, thanks to V, with all our luggage.

Goodbye Colorado Rockies.

Our room at our friends Wolf and Ana's place in Santiago.