Lauca National Park

Parinacota, Lauca, Chungara, Chile, volcano

Morning at Lago Chungará, one of the world's highest lakes, at 4517m elevation (14,820 ft).  The volcano Parinacota rises above to a height of 6042m (20807 ft).

Last week we spent several days in Lauca National Park. This area includes without doubt the most stunning landscapes we’ve seen in northern Chile, with the twin Payachata volcanoes rising above two broad lakes, all surrounded by well watered altiplano full of grazing vicuñas, llamas, and alpacas.

Parinacota, Lauca, Chungara, Chile, volcano

Parinacota Dawn Reflection : Prints Available

The 6042m (20807 ft) volcano Parinacota reflects in the calm waters of Lago Chungará.

I had one of those special moments of awe late one night when I walked to the shore of Lago Chungará, seeing the volcano’s black silhouette reflected in the calm water, with millions of twinkling stars all around, while listening to the chorus of Andean coots, geese, and flamingos that live at the lake.

Parinacota and Lago Cotacotani, Lauca National Park, Chile

Though Lago Chungará is generally considered the gem of the area, I thought that the neighboring Lago Cotacotani is really the most special and unique part of the park. Supposedly about 7,000 years ago, Parinacota erupted and the entire bulge of the volcano collapsed in a massive landslide, leaving all the debris that later eroded into the convoluted maze of hills seen above. Lago Cotacotani is located amongst all these volcanic hills, and its numerous islands, inlets, and lagoons create a highly unique landscape that I would consider to be amongst the most special on the planet.

Drained Lago Cotacotani, Lauca National Park, Chile

Unfortunately, not everything is postcard-perfect in Lauca National Park. Since 1962, before the area was designated as a national park, the water of Lago Cotacotani has been drained through the Lauca canal for hydroelectricity and irrigation for the Azapa Valley. This has significantly lowered the water level of the shallow lake, leaving entire lagoons barren and dry, causing irreparable damage to the fragile ecosystem. It is difficult to appreciate the remaining beauty of the lake without feeling a deep sense of shame and disappointment about how it looks now compared to how it might have looked before the plunder. The scale of the tragedy would be like draining Lake Tahoe or Crater Lake in Oregon… unthinkable!

Worse yet, Lago Chungará, the jewel lake of the park, has also been on the chopping block. Plans were made to drain that lake as well, even so far that the giant pumps were already installed. Fortunately in 1985 the supreme court forced the project to be abandoned in a landmark environmental step for Chile. But with the ever increasing thirst of Arica, it sounds like the fate of the lake still remains in a precarious situation, despite its national park protection.

Parinacota, Cotacotani, Lauca, Chile

Cotacotani Dusk : Prints Available

Parinacota volcano rises into the dusk light above Lago Cotacotani.

A Week in San Pedro de Atacama

Vicuña at Salar de Aguas Calientes, northern Chile.
Vicuña at Salar de Aguas Calientes, northern Chile.

After renting a 4×4 truck in Antofagasta, we’ve spent the last week camping and touring in the Atacama desert, based around the oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama. Read more about our adventures this week, and see LOTS more photos below! Continue reading “A Week in San Pedro de Atacama”

Heading North

Beach at La Serena, Chile
Beach at La Serena, Chile

We’re currently in the beach town of La Serena, north of Santiago, Chile. And we’re practicing “ping-pong” traveling at its best. This is a phrase coined by a friend of mine, to describe what happens when your travel plans change drastically based on factors beyond your control.

Long story short, we’ve spent the last couple weeks spinning our wheels, trying to figure out what to do in the Andes during the month of October with so much snow still in the mountains. Our initial idea was to slowly head south anyways, doing snow hikes and generally killing time until enough snow melts for the trekking season to get underway. We made it to Talca, south of Santiago, where we met Franz – mountaineer, guide, and owner at the beautiful Casa Chueca. With his extensive knowledge of the Andes, he quickly convinced us that our best strategy for October would be to instead head north to the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. This is a region I’ve been wanting to visit for many years, but we were thinking that it was just too far to go to this trip. But with Franz’s encouragement we’re beelining it north on buses to spend three weeks in the Atacama.

The rough plan is to rent a 4×4 pickup truck in Antofagasta, stock up on supplies, then head over to the area around San Pedro de Atacama. We’ll spend a week or so around there, mostly camping around high lakes and hiking up small volcanoes. Then we’ll head even more north, to Lauca National Park – more beautiful lakes and volcanoes surrounded by desolate desert landscapes. To get a glimpse of some of the fantastic landscapes we’ll be traveling through during the next three weeks, take a look at Gerhard Hüdepohl’s photography of the Atacama. Stay tuned!

A View of Aconcagua

Aconcagua, Andes, Argentina, Rio Horcones

Aconcagua Dawn : Prints Available

Aconcagua and the Rio Horcones valley at dawn. At a height of 6962m (22,841 ft.) Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. Read more about the hike behind this photo here.

One of the reasons for heading through Mendoza on this trip was to photograph Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. Though I have little desire to actually climb the peak, I was hoping to do some hikes in the valleys around the peak. Unfortunately, however, we discovered that the park is for all intents and purposes “closed” until mid-November… something about too much snow and a general getting tired of winter rescues.

So, with that option off the table, I researched the map, did some scouting on Google Earth, and decided that a good alternative plan would be to shoot a sunrise from Cerro Banderitas Sur, a 4184m peak across the valley to the south of Aconcagua park. It was quite an adventure to get up there… read more about it and see more photos below! Continue reading “A View of Aconcagua”

Mendoza

Trees in Mendoza, Argentina

Claudia and I have been hanging out in the city of Mendoza, Argentina this week. It’s a beautiful city; every street is lined with tall trees that arch over the streets and sidewalks, providing shade in this otherwise hot and sunny region.

Mendoza, Argentina

We haven’t been doing much so far – just walking around a lot, getting the hang of how things work around here, trying to find information about the mountains, and drinking our fair share of Malbec! We haven’t yet done any winery tours, but we’ve found a great little wine tasting bar in Mendoza where we’ll surely be spending some more time.

Plaza Independencia, Mendoza, Argentina

Mendoza has a really nice layout, with the large Plaza Independencia in the center of town, and four smaller plazas a few blocks from each corner. There seems to always be a nice plaza nearby to relax in! My only gripe about the town is the constant traffic – there’s a steady stream of cars zooming around at all hours of the day and night. There’s one pedestrian street through the center of town, with lots of cafes and shops. If I were king I would make four or five of the streets around here pedestrian streets… that would be amazing!

Anyhow, tomorrow we’re finally heading up into the mountains for four days! It looks like there’s a lot of snow up there still, but we’ve got our crampons and ice axes and we’ll see how it goes…

Andes Adventure!

Chaltén, Monte Fitz Roy, Laguna de los Tres, Argentina, Patagonia

Monte Fitz Roy Alpenglow : Prints Available

Brilliant sunrise alpenglow on Chaltén (aka Monte Fitz Roy) and Cerro Poincenot, as seen from Laguna de los Tres. Parque Nacional los Glaciares, Argentina - November.

On Friday my fiancé Claudia and I are heading out on a big adventure to South America for three months! We’re flying to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we’ll hang out for a few days, then we head west to the city of Mendoza, which lies at the foot of the high Andes near Aconcagua (the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere!) Mendoza is one of my favorite cities and I look forward to relaxing there for a while, sampling the local Malbecs, and scoping out the situation in the mountains. Early October is springtime there so I’m not sure how much snow will be in the mountains still. I’m assuming quite a bit.

Anyhow, the rough plan is to work our way down the Andes, on both the Argentine and Chilean sides, doing as much trekking as possible along the way, eventually ending up in Ushuaia at the tip of Patagonia by January. I am excited to visit a bunch of new places, including the volcanoes of the Lakes District, the lush forests of the Aisén region of Chile, and who knows what else. And of course we’ll have to return to the popular and spectacular mountain ranges of Torres del Paine and El Chaltén (above).

I’ll be posting regularly on my blog while we’re traveling down there, so be sure to check back often. You can also follow me on Facebook!

¡Hasta luego!

Autumn at Ice Lakes

Ice Lakes Basin, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, autumn, hiking

Ice Lakes, San Juan Mountains, autumn, Colorado

Today we took advantage of the glorious blue sky weather by hiking up to Ice Lakes Basin to check out the autumn colors up on the tundra there. It was a nice mellow day in the mountains, and a fitting farewell hike to Colorado! (More on that in the next post!)

I had a chuckle when we spotted some ski tracks in the snowfield at upper left in the top photo. Hardcore!

Road Trip Through the Desert

Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

We just got back home to Colorado after a quick road trip to San Diego to visit my relatives and friends. Instead of doing the drive in one grueling day like I used to do, we took our time and broke up the drive into three days each way, giving us the opportunity to see some of the sights in the desert along the way. Here are a few photos from the trip! Above is Cedar Breaks National Monument, where we camped the first night.

Angels Landing, Zion, Utah, hiking

On our way back we drove through Zion National Park, stopping to hike up to Angels Landing. This was a questionable decision for a September Saturday, as the [paved!] trail was clogged with people and felt like a Disneyland attraction. But regardless of the crowds, it is always a spectacular hike with killer views of Zion canyon!

Chimney Rock Canyon, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

We continued to Capitol Reef National Park and the next day we did a wonderful hike down Chimney Rock Canyon, where sheer sandstone walls tower overhead.

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Weminuche High Loop

Animas Mountain, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, Weminuche Wilderness, sunset

Animas Sunset : Prints Available

A brilliant sunset above Animas Mountain deep in the Weminuche Wilderness, August. 

Last week we did a 7-day loop trek in and around the Needle Mountains, the rugged heart of the Weminuche Wilderness in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. As usual, we had some crazy weather during our trip, including lots of lightning, thunder, and several stunning sunrises and sunsets. See lots more photos below! Continue reading “Weminuche High Loop”

Timp Dayhike

Hiking Mt. Timpanogos from the Aspen Grove trail

On our way back from the Sawtooths, on Tuesday Claudia and I did a day hike up Mount Timpanogos, the most famous and beloved mountain in the Wasatch Range in Utah. We started from the Aspen Grove trailhead, and our leisurely tour took us 9 hours up and down.

The summit of Mt. Timpanogos, Utah

Looking up at Timp – the summit shelter is just barely visible at top right.

See some more photos below! Continue reading “Timp Dayhike”