PUNTA ARENAS > LIMA

View from the top of punta arenas. 

We decided to sleep in the next morning so we took the 10am three hour bus out back to punta arenas. It's a bigger town where we will fly back to Santiago from. We checked into hostal Patagonia and it was amazing. We had two rooms again but no bunks ptl. The bathrooms were also communal but was their own space. The showers were awesome and it was the first place with shampoo! We ended back at the pizza place that we love so much and I got pasta again. We then met some others and her local friend took us around town for a bit. I became extremely tired and couldn't wait for bed. I really wanted French fries for dinner but had to run some errands and finally met the others at sky bar by the water w our Chilean friends and I walked home to rest.

Hostal Patagonia in punta arenas.  

Flying over Santiago. 

Took this remote plane from the gate.  

Upgraded hotel lobby.  

 The next morning we took a taxi out back to the airport. At Santiago, I had a different connecting flight to Lima so I was separated from everyone. For some reason we had to take a bus to get on the plane and enter from the external stairs. So weird but we made it safely to Lima around midnight. We were all so exhausted. Getting our bags and going through customs again took quite awhile. We finally finish and walk through the exit and it felt like we were on a red carpet. There were tons of people on both sides waiting for their arrivals and taxi drivers holding up names. One of them was Matt's and we follow the guy outside. It felt like a sticky sauna outside. Basically it was like Texas all over again. All of us gets into two taxis and we were off. I was told that traffic in Lima is insane and I have never experienced anything like this! All of the cars were in each other's lanes and cutting each other off like it was nothing. Tons of honking and so chaotic! I couldn't believe how many people were still up and out at that time.

Palms. 

So much fog.  

We finally arrive to our hostel called dragonfly hostel and my assumption was correct: no ac! It was SO humid and hot and we were all so uncomfortable. The check in took forever and I just wanted to pass out. We open the door to our dark room and find another man with no shirt on spraying himself w a water bottle. It was gonna be an interesting night. All the windows were open and there was no breeze. I climb up to on one of the bunks and attempt to pass out on top of all the covers. 

Fog over beach.  

Cute cars.  

I wake up early in the morn, so sticky and sweaty. I feel like I live in tx again. I immediately start searching other hotel options for ac. I am just not comfortable and would rather not end my trip here feeling gross. I ended up booking a room for two nights across the street at the radisson. I told the others and they were also tempted. I just need space to myself and a last day to relax in luxury. I had delicious crepes for breakfast at the hostel and walked over to the hotel to see if I could check in. They couldn't pull up my reservation for a few hours so I ended up walking around town to Kennedy park and then all the way down to barannco and back. I loved walking and seeing everything. The culture in Lima is so energetic and colorful. I really like it minus the heat right now. I walked for like six miles so my feet were starting to rub and sciatica kicking in. I was so tired!

Ceviche! 

The South Pacific Ocean.  

New friends in Lima. 

I headed back to the hotel and was able to finally check in. I met up w a friend Alyssa who lives here and she took me out to ceviche w her friends. It was so amazing! Peru is such a foodie place and I learned so much from the locals. Then they took me to get gelato which I've been craving for awhile now. We went back to Stefanie's house in barannco and it was so precious. She was actually moving to Brazil the next day so the house was empty but it was so cool to be inside. Peruvians live so differently here. It's amazing. Then Alyssa finally dropped me off at home and I thanked her for being such a great tour guide to me. Locals are the best. I finally took my shower and it was like a million bucks. I then met the others all back the room joe got and everyone was watching the super bowl and enjoying the ac. I felt bad that no one ended up staying at the hostel. I gave steff my tent and said my official goodbye to everyone as they were headed to Florida the next morning. I went back to my amazing room w a king size bed and felt asleep shortly.

Alyssa on Stefanie's rooftop.  

Stefanie's courtyard.  

I woke this morn and went for breakfast at the hotel. Always the same: bread, butter, jam, meat, cheese, yogurt, cereal, fruit. So much carbs. I'm starting to like the meat and cheese thing though. But I really just crave some veggies. :( Today I walked back to the water at the mall and finally got underwear. Then I took the bus back to barannco to look for a tote. It's been annoying carrying my stuff sack around so I got a nice one from the shoe store heather told me about! I wished I could've gotten one of their sandals or boots. They were SO nice. Today was around five miles of walking. No sun burn though! I put on sunscreen this time. I finally found most of the things I've been searching for so I spent the rest of the day relaxing. It's been such a great last day in South America.

Soooo many people at the beach.  

My new tote! From la zapateria.  

Tomorrow morning I fly to Miami and London for a layover before Zurich. I can't wait to be in Switzerland where it's cold again. It's gonna be a crazy time change and lots of connections but I'm ready!

DAY 7: CAMP SERON TO TORRES CENTRAL TO PUERTO NATALES

Today we woke somewhat early around 6-7 and hiked out before 8. Going back always seems quicker. It was another beautiful day in Patagonia. I ended up hiking the last part to Torres central w joe and got to hear some of his story and zpacks history. We were happy to also see steff there! She had an awesome day as well and and we're all so glad we each went our separate ways. We had lunch and I decided to take a shower since we had time still. It felt really nice and the hostel was all empty in the morning. So peaceful. We finally headed out around two to catch the shuttle back to laguna and had to say our official goodbye to the park. So sad to be leaving so soon. :(

My salad! King crab and smoked salmon.  

I was sleepy so I tried napping on the bus. We finally got dropped back off at Natales and walked back to the hostel and got us a three person suite. My eczema has been pretty bad and I can't wait to clear it up. It's driving me a little crazy on this trip. I was also getting sciatica so I just wanted to lay down and zone out. Joe steff and I went to dinner at a place that had traditional Chilean meals. I wanted a salad really bad so I got one w king crab and smoked salmon. It was awesome. I went to run my errands afterwards but it was unsuccessful. It started raining and it was quite chilly in my sandals. I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. I finally saw the others for a bit before deciding it was bed time for me.

We have a three hour bus ride back to punta and then we will fly out to Lima the day after. I think I am pretty ready to be in Switzerland already.

DAY 6: NASH TO TORRES CENTRAL TO CAMP SERON

A cute trail down by the water.  

I had my alarm for 2am and people were still up talking! Crazy. I went out and took some night pics and they turned out ok. Steff woke me up around six and told me she was headed out. She ended up getting a ride w a family that was at our campsite. I then started packing up shortly after. I ended up road walking down to laguna which was ok. Every time a bus/car drove by, I prayed that they would not hit me as huge gusts of dust filled the air. I walk around the area as all the huge buses started piling up. All the visitors were doing the same exact thing we did six days ago. I finally found a shuttle service that seemed like it would take me to the right place and got in. We waited quite awhile for it to fill up w people before we could go. Unfortunately it was another 3.000 pesos but I cannot imagine doing that road walk. It was so long, windy and dusty.

Horses. 

I get dropped off and everything seemed so familiar. I waked over to Torres central and it was so nice and quiet there. I love this hostel mucho. I buy some internet and end up ordering pizza and hanging out for a few hours. I met a great couple from truckee that just finished the circuit, Lucia and George. They were so cute and friendly. George asked me about my pack and ended up knowing what zpacks was and he's been interested in UL gear so we chatted about that for a bit. We all hung out for a bit and then moved over to the fireplace room when joe walked in! I was happy to see he was alive and he said he's had the best two days. He went up the pass and stayed the night there and was headed up to camp seron tonight.

Horse meadow that I was allergic to.  

Joes tent.  

I pondered for awhile wishing I was out hiking bc the weather was absolutely amazing. Steff prob got to the towers w an awesome view. I had originally told her I was gonna wait for her at the hostel but I felt so guilty sitting inside all day. After like five hours, I decide to hike up to camp seron and sleep there. I wish I hadn't paid the other camping night at Valencia. Oh well, more funding for the guy who runs it I guess. I said bye to my new friends and head out. The entire trail up is basically a logging road with tons of horse poop. There was no wind in the beginning and I was so hot. When I was finally above the valley, there was wind to cool me down. Today was the first day I had some solo time and it felt SO good. I only passed like two people on trail and it felt like the good ole pct days. Loved it all. I'm so happy I went out. I also passed an open field w wild horses. It was great.

Some domos at the campground. 

About an hour before I got to camp, I started getting bad allergies from all the tall grass. It sucked! My eyes were so itchy and my nose dripped the whole way and I had nothing to wipe it w except my sleeve. It seemed like forever until I got to seron but arrived at this beautiful flat meadow area that was so peaceful. People seemed chill and quiet and there were two domos. I saw joe and checked in shortly. We're super tried so we want to go to bed early. It's funny but it seems like our tents draw so much attention. I don't think tarp tents are very common out here especially in the wind haha. People were coming up and asking about it. The facilities here seem so nice. Sinks, banos, showers and even a small place for Food. This also the first time this trip that I have mosquitos. Flashback to the Sierra and how much I hated hiding from them every night. Tomorrow we go back to town. Can't believe this trip has already come to an end. I wish I can go to fitz Roy. :(

DAY 5: REFUGIO GREY TO NASH

The glacier ferry coming to pick us up. 

Well today was interesting. Early in the morning, steff, will, chair and I decided we would try and catch the glacier ferry back to la Torres central. Surprisingly, we got on just fine. I ended up climbing up to the viewpoint before the pass since there was time to spare. The ferry took us right up to the glacier and it was just amazing. We were all so stoked to have chosen that route. We also got a free drink ticket for a pisco sour. The inside had warm comfy seating with tables. It was such a sweet experience.

HUGE glacier.  

The cave iceberg.  

Goodbye ice.  

Soooo windy and freezing.  

The ferry ended up dropping us off at the Lago grey hotel which is the most expensive and nicest lodging in the whole park. But first it dropped us off at this beach where you were right next to some icebergs. Then we caught a small boat across the lake so the walk to the hotel was shorter. We entered the super nice hotel to find very hip decorations and a comfy lounge as well as spotty free wifi. We ended up getting comfy and relaxing and ordering some lunch. I got a chicken sandwich and we were all so happy to eat a meal. The weather today was just so perfect and we didn't even hike. Unfortunately we found out the next bus back to the beginning did not come until 520p so we had to loiter for four hrs. It was pretty intense and the boys were getting antsy. We ended up just waiting for the shuttle after their unsuccessful hitch and it wasn't too bad.

Pretty views from the bus.  

Words can't even describe.  

Home for the night.  

The shuttle dropped us off at administration where we waited quite a bit for the next bus. Then that bus took us to another stop where we had to connect to another. It was so many stops. We finally make it back to laguna and the boys decide to just go to town and me and steff will stay in the park. Joe is still here somewhere as well. I got super motion sickness from the long windy drive. Unfortunately the bus driver wouldn't let us get on to go to the main hostel bc we didn't have reservation so we got dropped off at this other campsite down the road on private property outside of the park. We ended up pitching our tents w a really amazing view. This is my first time setting up my tent so I'm pretty stoked. I was starving and am running out of food so I made a random collection of things. My tent is flapping around and reminds me of the old pct days. I don't know how I did it for so long. It's so crazy to think back on it.

I'm going to try night photos tonight. This is literally my only last and best opportunity to do it. I just hope the rain doesn't start until tomorrow. I'm so sleepy and can't wait to go to bed tonight.

DAY 4: FRANCES DOMO TO REFUGIO GREY

Burned section.  

Today was our other long day at 12 miles so I got started earlier. The first part of the day was in trees and lots of cloud and rain but the terrain was awesome. It was such a good day. I solo hiked today. We passed through the burned section which looked so cool. Then the forest turned into an overlook of this beautiful blue lake. You could see the ferry crossing through. It finally led to the next Refugio where we all took a break from the rain. The campsite there looked amazing. It was all exposed but so pretty.

I loved the colors on this boardwalk.  

I didn't stay long and wanted to take advantage of the sun again and headed out. I passed the ranger who asked for my reservation but didn't have it on me. He gave me the ok after told him my name that I was w the group of six that was ahead of me. The trail went into a valley and climbed up. Everything after here was so amazing, windy and rainy. The sun did come in and out so I dried off every other time. I finally saw the floating ice when I rounded the overlook and got closer and closer to grey glacier. It was kind of cloudy but still so cool. Almost every viewpoint was insanely windy. I'm not sure if this was the most intense wind I've ever been in. There were some pretty gnarly ones in the desert on the pct. I felt pretty used to it. So many people passing by asked if I was cold in my shorts but I was not. It felt amazing.

I loved this part of the day.  

Heading into Paine grande  

This area reminded me of alpine lakes wilderness.  

After a long steep down on rocks, water and mud I reached our Refugio and checked in. I walked in our tiny room and it just reeked. The boys told me there wasn't any dinner reservations left so that was a bummer. I was looking forward to a warm meal but that will just have to wait I suppose. I ended up hanging downstairs for a bit and went back up when steff got in. We finally all went back down to hang and had wine. I wanted to pass out after two glasses so I came up and went to bed. Basically we just finished the w trek! Yay. It was short but was so beautiful every single day. Tomorrow we will back track and ride the ferry back. We are kind of playing it by ear and figuring out what to do next as we still have two more days in the park.

Most of the views of the glacier were socked in.  

DAY 3: FRANCES VALLEY

Morning in the domo.  

I slept so amazing last night. It was so dark and warm in the domo. In the morning, the sun came through the circle window and lit up parts of the room. So nice. We were able to leave most of our stuff in our domo while we did our hike. Then we were all off to the valley. The views of the glacier were incredible and we just keep getting closer and closer. Most of the "trail" today was on rocks, mud and streams. It reminded me a lot of the sierra days. The rain was in and out but mainly raining all day. By the time we got to the viewpoint, it was completely covered and could barely see anything. It was kind of a bummer to climb that whole way and not see anything but that's just the way it is sometimes.

Peaks.  

More peaks.  

Climbed up to this open area but mostly clouded over.  

We headed back down and I finally started feeling a little chilly. The weather is great down here, even in rainy weather. It's not even that cold. Everything just feels so refreshing and I love all the extreme wind. My new wind jacket is pretty great. I'm really glad I got it and it was just enough warmth but not too hot. I was def pretty soaked by the end of it but my inside shirt dries really fast. I was so thankful that I knew I would be in shelter tonight. Never have we ever been so happy to have somewhere to dry out. All of this glamping is really luxurious. I finally get back to the domos and rip off my soaked shoes. Oh how I hate soggy feet! I look up and smell all of wills clothes drying all over the walls. So intense.

One of our only views.  

I was so hungry and wanted candy asap so I sat for a bit and ate. Man I am always craving candy for my snacks when I'm hungry. I met the others inside the restaurant and chilled for a bit. I went ahead and bought more candy bc I'm running out and won't have enough for the rest of the trip. I made couscous but wasn't really hungry anymore bc I munched on candy. We hung out in the domo and now I'm ready for bed. We have a long day tom and I kind of want to get a head start in the morn.

DAY 2: TORRES CENTRAL TO FRANCES DOMOS

I didn't go to bed till midnight and the two other bunk mates got up around 630a to get ready so I couldn't really sleep during all the rustling around. I'm sure they felt the same way the night before. I just couldn't go back to sleep but wanted to stay in the warm, super comfy bed. I finally got my things together and went to charge my phone. I ended up talking to a girl from portland which was cool. We finally started hiking around 11am, so an hour earlier than the day before. We were making progress!

The trail started off like this and reminded me of the pct.  

We were headed on the w and towards Frances domos. Everything was sooo pretty today. So much wide open spaces, ridges and views of water and the back side of the towers. We were all in awe today. I ended up spotting chair and will at an amazing view and joined them for lunch. We decided to take it easy today since it was an 8 mile day. Why rush to the domos and sit around when we can enjoy the views today? We waited awhile for steff but no luck and kept going. At our second break spot, we talked to lots of people walking by that gave us insight and then steff joined. Everyone was in such a great mood today, it was awesome!

We walked along the water for most of the day. 

Being a tourist.  

The edge is always so cool.  

There were climbs that very steep and felt like forever but we finally go to the domos. I found the guys and will showed me my bunk. It was so interesting. Bunks, showers, toilets all in a dome shaped shelter. They even had outlets! They gave us a sleeping bag but we're all scared to use it so I finally got to use my bag. It's been stuffed into my pack ever since Florida. Most of everyone was eating dinner at the restaurant but I didn't want to buy food so me and will are our dinners outside. I ate cold mashies with tuna wrapped in tortilla. I want to lighten my food bag so bad, I think I need to eat more rice. I decide to take a shower but it was a bad idea bc I had no towel. It was so cold. 

The Frances domos! 

Finally I am in bed and am ready to pass out. Since it doesn't get dark here early, it's always so late when I get to bed. We're anxious to see what the weather is like tom.

DAY 1: TORRES CENTRAL TO THE TOWERS

We woke at six bright and early this morn. Some of us only had like three hours of sleep but I wolfed down some breakfast and we all ended up taking a taxi back to the buses instead of walking. We made it just in time for the bus to start loading. The ride to Torres was nice and smooth, most of us all fell asleep pretty quickly. We entered into the park and everything looked like a different word. There were tons of buses dropping tons of people off. The park lady came into our bus and explained what we needed to do. Their system is kind of crazy to me. Just so many random people w such mislead information online and complicated bookings. We stood in the long line waiting to get our paper work. We paid the entrance fee, filled out some forms about our stay, showed them our passport and got some sheet of paper. Our final stop was to watch a video on park rules and then they let us out.

Lunch spot.  

A million other shuttles were waiting for us but I was like where is it even taking us. It drops us off at the main hostel area which was super boujie and even had a Patagonia store. We ended up checking in and leaving some of our food for the hike up to the towers. I also had washed my underwear this morn and wanted it to dry so I hung it out one of the hooks in our room. We then hang out in the main restaurant that has huge windows of the mountains. The others order food and we are still sitting until noon. We finally get our stuff together to hike out, it almost felt like we would never start hiking. 

Selfie at the towers. So windy.  

There was a road walk out from the hostel to where the trail starts. We pass so many nice hotels and civilization. The climb up in the first half mile was so pretty. We were going so slow bc we were taking so much footage. I could also feel how harsh the sun is! The trail is definitely mainly all uphill to the towers and quite steep. My achilles were def feeling it. The winds were so strong every time we rounded a corner on a ridge. I loved it. We get to the first Refugio and take a break in the sunny wind, it was so relaxing. Then we make the final push all the way up. We pass this last campsite and it's another steep "scramble" up all rocks but a niceish path. Then we finally saw the lake and towers. It was so amazing I can't even describe it! The lake was the same color as Blanca and the peaks reminded me of dragontail. The sun was shining on small parts of the water and looked so magical. We took a bunch of pics and things were getting blown over. We sat and took it all in a bit before we headed down.

Chair at the towers. The sun glowing on the water was amazing.  

Going downhill is always hard for me. I have to super careful w my ankle and knees. No me gusta. It felt like what was forever before we finally made it back to the hostel. I was starving and my feet were hurting pretty bad. I wasn't that physically tired, it was just my feet/ankles. It felt like after a long day when I had to push miles. This trek is giving me a glimpse on how hard the pct was and how we had to just suffer w all the feet pain.  So insane we spent last summer doing that everyday. Everyone was pretty wiped as well. I met our nice hostel mates and wolfed down some of my cold soaked rice wrapped in tortilla. I also ate a bunch of candy, i may run out before the end of this trip. :( then I joined the rest of the guys at the restaurant. Chair seems to never finish any of his meals so I shared his leftover pizza w will. We may just eat his scraps from now on.

The horses came out in the evening heading down.  

I ended up buying some wifi and finally took a shower around midnight. It's still weird that it stays light till 10pm and the sun rises so early. I'm quite happy actually to be sleeping in a warm bed. Our schedule change made us end up glamping but it's pretty sweet. I've never glamped before!

SANTIAGO > PUNTA ARENAS > PUERTO NATALES

The flight into punta arenas was quite terrible. The seats were SO small and had uncomfortable leather. But the airport was super cute and small. We loitered around the coffee area and waited for our bus. The bus was a three hour ride to Puerto Natales. I sat next to a gal from Santiago who was hiking the w. She was so nice! And her English was pretty good. We passed a few animals and the Strait of Magellan. The bus drops us off in town and we wander to find our hostel. The sun was blaring, the wind was strong and we were all getting toasty. My friend bailey from the pct is currently in South America too and kept talking about these stray dogs and I finally saw them! They're everywhere. So many dogs just wandering the streets and following us around. We decided to name our favorite one, el Perro. The air was so fresh and all the houses were so colorful.

Perro, our first wild dog friend.  

We walk for around two miles and finally see our hostel. She let us check in but we had to pay for our rooms in cash even though we had thought we had already paid w credit card earlier. We had a six bunk suite hostel w our own bathroom. It was so cute. We get settled and change into shorts and went to look for food. We ended up having lunch at this amazing pizza place. The were making pizzas w fresh ingredients in the brick oven. I got pesto fettuccine that tasted SO fresh. We all loved our food and were very impressed. After that, we walked around their downtown and visited some outfitters and a grocery. I got some salami, cheese and tortilla for my food for the hike. 

Our hostel in Natales. 

We head back to the hostel as most of everyone was extremely tired and took naps. I just laid on the couch in the sun room and chilled while a storm came through. Matt and joe ended up sleeping for awhile so the rest of us walked around town and visited coffee shops. We loitered until it was time for dinner and we went to a brewery for some burgers. Once again, so fresh and the beef tasted so unprocessed. The sun doesn't set until ten and it was still so bright out. It was so hard to believe! I wanted to take a shower so I stayed at the hostel while the others roamed at sunset. I am extremely sleepy now as it's past midnight and we wake early in the morn for the beginning of our journey, finally!

So windy by the water.  

MCO > SANTIAGO, CHILE

Will at MCO.  

I set my alarm for 5am and waited for steff and joe to come over, we fit all of our sharp objects and food into the check in bag. Our packs are so skinny that we got everyone's packs to fit sideways in the trunk! Amazing. We picked up will and then went off to the airport. I had to fill up my tank to return to hertz and found out the two gas stations closest to the airport was almost $6/gal!! So insane. Finally we get to the airport and I can drop off my rental. We check in just fine and I think my pack was around 13lb, there is an 8kg limit for carry ons which is why we gave our food to Matt. Turns out chair (Hayden) had to check in his whole pack bc it was too heavy. Security was a bit weird and super rushed. The dog was sniffing me and made me nervous. We make it to our terminal and had some time to chill. Everything seemed to be so funny.

My little airplane lunch.  

Our airline LATAM was so nice and luxurious! I had an aisle seat near the back behind the guys. The middle seat next to me was empty and I shared my row w another Chilean lady. She was super nice and tried talking to me but I could only understand some parts. I ended up taking a melatonin and passed out for five hours after the lady got up to go potty a few times. It was awesome. I woke up with only three hours left of our flight and had some time to watch boyhood. It was so cool to see the set was in San Marcos and Texas. They also gave us two meals! I was not expecting that so that was nice. I was really thirsty the whole time and barely drank but had to get up several times to pee.

Joe at our layover in Santiago. 

Got to use my new charger! 

We landed during sunset around 830p and it was HOT. As soon as we got off the plane, the airport was blazing. I think people just don't blast the ac like Americans. Not sure. We walk all over the place and it was a little hectic on trying to figure out where to go. We go through immigrations and I felt so helpless bc of the language barrier. :( I've never felt so foreign before. Everyone stares at us bc we all stick out like a sore thumb. American tourists. We had to grab our baggage and we took our food out to claim at customs. Got through fine again and had to re enter the terminal to get our boarding pass. Then we go back through security again, everything went by so fast! The terminal was huge and so many people everywhere.

My first meal in chile. 

Will and chair split from us to hang out in the front and the others went through to get to our gate. I wanted to get it all over with before thinking about food. We found a little restaurant to eat at which ended up being super expensive. I need to exchange for pesos soon. We may do it at the next airport. Now we're just chilling at our gate. The seats here are super dirty and hard. I'm on spotty wifi and it's about 80 degrees inside. We're 1/3 of the way through our travels! Another flight down to the tip of South America and a bus ride to the park is left. We should board in about two hours. It's 1135pm here. I've been on so many different time zones in the last few days that I can't even keep up. 

FLORIDA

I passed out last night so fast and woke around three which is around one pacific time. My time is so messed up! I did try going back to bed for a bit so felt better. Everyone in the house left for work and I slowly got ready for the day and headed out around nine. I first wanted to run some errands so I headed over to the Publix market. Unfortunately, I ran into a lady who was racist towards me. :( It kinda put a damper on my day and felt paranoid for the rest of the day while I was out in public. I went to several different health food stores and couldn't really find any small sized dr bronners but finally did at the target. 

Welcomed by myself.  

After I was done, I headed to the zpacks office. As soon as you walk in, you see their logo and then my photo Jenny took of me blown up on the wall haha. It's kind of weird but also cool to see. I met a few of the seamstresses who recognized me and said hi. Everyone was so nice! I got to see will and buzz again and finally met steff and joe. It was really cool to be in the shop and see all of the gear being made! It's kind of insane how big their volume has become now. We went and got me a lumbar pad for my pack, I felt like the bottom part was digging a bit into my lower back and it feels a lot better now. We also went and printed out our boarding passes. Then I went w Matt and Javier, one of the customer service guys, to tacos for lunch. 

Going to da beach.  

So many birds.  

I left the office and headed out to the beach. I drove to indiatlantic and it was so calm. The beach was so clean and peaceful. It was not overcrowded at all! So not what I was expecting. I sat in the sand for awhile and just relaxed. The temp felt perfect too, not too hot and breezy enough to keep cool. It was nice to get some sun on my skin again. After that, I decided to get a pedicure since I only did mani before I left. I just keep looking down at my toes and they just needed a fresh color. I was there for quite awhile but my toes look great! I think I'm gonna make it a tradition to do nails before a big hike ha. I love it. 

I love my new amazon glasss. 

Seashell.  

I headed back to the house and finally showered. It felt super nice. I organized some of my stuff and Matt/Kim came home from work. Then we all went to their favorite Mexican place for dinner. So much food! Mexican is so heavy but it's rare in seattle. We dropped by the store to get Matt's junk food, I got some tuna, lu got a new toy and Kim got some wine. It was starting to get late but Matt still needed to finish packing. I decided to keep my food out of my carry on so I am putting it into our "community" bag. We found out our carry ons can't actually weigh more than 8kg. 

Reminds me of desert days. 

The night before...so much cuben fiber.  

We finished up and my alarm is set for 5am. It still doesn't feel like we're going yet. It def hasn't hit me. Maybe when we finally leave the airport it'll kick in. The game plan for tomorrow is that steff and joe will meet us at Matt's house and then we will go pick up will. All of us crammed into my rental car w all of our packs...wish us luck! 

SEA > JFK > MCO

Man, the last few days have been quite crazy. I'll spare the small details but we had a last minute change of plans and had to figure some things out. Fortunately, everything worked out just fine. I think it's just good practice to have things not go your way that are completely out of your control. It's a good reminder to stay positive and make the best out of whatever situation it is. Everything will always work out. 

At JFK. So tired.  

I took a red eye flight out of seattle and Jenny dropped me off at the airport in her new truck! We said our goodbyes just like the old pct days and I was off. I flew JetBlue for the first time in forever. I think they are hubbed at JFK which is why I had a layover there. I checked in my usps box of trekking poles and sharp things and was off. Our flight was delayed a bit so I loitered for a while at the terminal. My feet got super hot so I switched into my bedrock sandals. They are so comfy! I took some melatonin before I boarded to help me sleep which kicked in pretty good but was up only four hours later. It's SO hard for me to sleep on a plane, I hate sleeping sitting. JetBlue also has free wifi which is neat! I also got to watch some YouTube videos haha.

My bedrock sandals! Should've opted for a pedi too, my feet look kinda swollen from sitting the whole time.

I arrived at JFK around 6am and it was freezing! The east coast currently has a wind storm advisory with like 55-75 mph winds. Insane. JFK is pretty sweet, they have great food options. Since JetBlue is based here, they had all of their branding set up which was cool to see. I kinda like them now. However, we were delayed a bit again heading out. That flight I didn't sleep very much at all. It was pretty loud with a bunch of kids. Which reminds me, I forgot my ear plugs again. We finally land in sunny, tropical Orlando, Florida and I almost couldn't believe it. It was so warm and sunny that I was like wtf. I was so hot. I forget what it feels being hot not by choice. I immediately walked down to the baggage claim to pull out my shirt and shorts. I was originally wearing all my layers and woolies, so hot! I picked up my box and headed over to car rentals.

Clouds peeking through the window.

I walked over to hertz and everyone was so nice and spoke Spanish. Ahhh, reminds me of life back in Texas, I miss diversity. I used my AAA discount and surprisingly got a sweet deal. So awesome to know I get a discount on hertz rentals! The guy who helped me was super nice and I was off. Excited to finally leave the airport, I drove off in the sunny Florida weather and admired the palm trees, huge roads and chill drivers. However, I was on a toll road and had to pay. I was headed to the zpacks office down in Melbourne when I had already driven 40 minutes away from the airport and noticed I left my usps box!!! I pulled over and figured out a plan. I called the airport and they made me leave a message and said someone would call me back in 1-2 days. I couldn't wait that long so I started driving back and was on the phone again. I finally remembered exactly where I left it and it was at the hertz counter when I was getting my rental. I had set it down below the counter and forgot about it when I grabbed my keys. Ugh! I was so pissed I had left it. Check ins are so annoying bc you have so much more to carry around. But no one else here to blame but myself, I am only human. I was on hold with the hertz people and they finally answer and praise the lord, they had found the box and turned it into lost and found! I basically ran into the airport up and down all the different lost and found locations until I tracked where they left my box. I have never been so happy nor grateful before in my life. There were TONS of other lost baggage so I'm sure this happens all the time but man, first time it's ever happened to me. I was already mentally prepared to go buy replacements though.

Landing in Florida. 

Literally on the opposite corner from home. 

I finally leave the airport, again. By the time I get to Melbourne, it would be evening so Matt told me to meet him at their house. He is gracefully letting me stay w his family while I'm in Florida. I pulled into a cute neighborhood and it reminded me so much of Texas but nicer with palm trees. The wind was starting to pick up and it was actually getting cold. Matt showed me my room and it was nice to finally stop after a crazy day. I was starting to get so hungry too. We waited for Matt's wife, Kim to come home with Lu (6) from gymnastics. I got to finally meet the ladies and we went out to dinner and ate at a local place called long doggers. I got a bowl of rice, beans and shrimp and was so happy. We sat around for a little chatting before bed. I was completely exhausted. I have no sense of time right now w all of the time change and no sleep. I went to bed around nine which is six our time. So crazy.

Tomorrow will be a new and chill day with nothing to freak out about. Hopefully, there won't be another thing that goes wrong again....ha.

New Year, New Adventure

I decided I want to blog trips that are bigger than the "normal" ones. There's something really sweet about keeping a daily journal for everything that happens each day. Disciplining myself to blog every night on the PCT was extremely difficult but SO worth all of those tired nights and hours uploading in town. I am incredibly happy I stuck to it the whole time I was out there. Once it became a habit, it was just like blowing up my sleeping pad each night.

So what's the deal with this random trip to Patagonia? Well, I had originally wanted to go in November after I finished the PCT but was injured, so that never happened. It's somewhere I've been dreaming about for awhile now--nothing compares to the mountains down there. However, traveling overseas is something I've been quite nervous to do on my own. I haven't left the country (besides to Canada) since I was little. I'm scared to be in a foreign country where my cell phone won't work and I can't read/speak their language. In fact, I find it quite frightening and it's something that's held me back from travling internationally.

I will be using this new Zpacks Arc Haul on my trip! I am stoked to see how it does.

A few months ago, I took the opportunity to join the guys (and Steff!) from Zpacks to go to Patagonia, so I wouldn't have to do the trek alone. I am so grateful and honored to join their team for this trip. We are all SO incredibly stoked to travel here together--a place we've all been dreaming of. Basically, this is my vacation that I've been needing. I haven't gone anywhere since I got off trail and never took advantage of unemployment. I literally jumped straight into full-time work right when I got home and have been super busy ever since. I'm so eager to just hike again and do multi-day treks. There is nothing like being out for a week and carrying everything you need on your back.

I'm really excited to try out my new pack. There are not many opportunities you can take before a thru-hike to "test out" packs. You kind of just have to pick one and buy it online and hope it works out. I decided to go with the Zpacks Arc Haul because mainly it was pretty in this color, jk. I wanted dyneema for the durability and they have this huge air gap on the back to keep you cool which is going to be super nice since the ULA Circuit basically just sits on your back the whole time and it gets really sweaty. I'm also just happy to have a pack that doesn't smell gross.

This cute cube adapter from Amazon! 4oz, which is ok.

2 USB and one regular charging holes! 3 in 1.

So far I've been doing some research on how to charge my things when I get there. I googled a bunch of adapters on Amazon and finally went with this cube thing. It's kinda bulky/heavy at 4 oz but I figured it would replace my current dual charger and that way, I can charge all 3 things at once. I've also been kind of nervous trying to figure out how I will check in my trekking poles. We are not allowed to bring them as carry-on, so I need to find a way to check them in. It just seems kind of annoying to check in something so small but I'm going to just have to do it. I just got brand new poles finally, so I can't risk them being taken up.

My pretty new poles. The other ones I had on the PCT snapped while I was out this winter, I think they froze! :( I loved my old ones but I thought it was finally time for me to upgrade.

For food, I've decided to buy everything there. Still debating on bringing a stove or not...but I might have to because I don't really know what food options I have. I've kinda been into the warm meal thing lately. Will told me he bought like 14 mountain houses to bring over. :o Matt says he will go stoveless, I'm a little nervous about doing that, but may just end up doing that too. We're stoked to see what grocery options will be available!

So, my plan is to meet everyone in Florida and finally check out the Zpacks offices--I'm pretty stoked about that! Then we will all fly out together to Chile. I think I'm on most of the same flights with everyone, I was nervous about not being able to find them when I get there! Can you tell I have a million things I usually worry about? This is why it's good for me to finally get out of my comfort zone. We will then trek the Torres Del Paine Circuit and head to Lima for a few days of relaxing. Then I'm off on my own again to visit the Swiss Family Shafers in Zurich. It'll be winter there, so I'm not going to do much trekking--just spending time with the girls, Ian/Stella and exploring on my own. I have to figure out winter clothes when I get there too. :|

This isn't a huge trip by any means in comparison to a thru-hike, but I'm pretty darn excited, nervous and ready! I've never traveled overseas with just a backpack nor have I ever stepped on a trail in another country, so it'll be quite the experience for me. Little bebe Wang in the big world. I'll try to keep daily entries going about each day in my notes and transfer over once I find good WIFI. EEP! Until next time. :)