Cerro Castillo

About an hour and a half south of Coyahique along the bumpy, hilly, windy, mostly unpaved Carratera Austral is Cerro Castillo. I have been to this area twice. First, I went with Alex and Frida from CIEP to a few field sites collecting samples. The second time I went to attend a wedding.

Cerro Castillo is a jagged peak named for the spires that resemble a castle. It is just one mountain in a beautiful range covered with glaciers and surrounded by lakes, rivers, and pastures. (As a side note: I had never seen a glacier until this year. It blows my mind that it now seems like a normal thing to see them on a daily basis.)

On my first trip there, I was amazed at the scenery unfolding around every turn. And to make things even better, I was doing science. I was helping collect samples for a few different projects concerning plant response to defoliation, climate change, and tree line formation. As we were hiking up the steep rocky incline completely exposed to wind and sporadic rain so we could collect seedlings that had been planted and monitored for the last three years, I realized once again how much I love doing this. Not everyone would find this type of thing fun. But to me, cold wind-bitten hands, time spent repeatedly cleaning the dirt off plant roots, and labeling sample bags is almost heaven. With one of the most gorgeous views I have ever seen sprawled out behind me, I was contributing to the understanding of the local environment and hopefully in doing so helping to preserve it. And above all, I was learning. I genuinely love learning and the huge number of new experiences that I am having here means that I am constantly acquiring new knowledge. At times it’s incredibly overwhelming, but it’s awesome and I would not have it any other way.

After spending a day in Cerro Castillo I knew it was a place I would return to, but I didn’t think I would go back so soon. A week later, on my second trip there, I was still amazed at the scenery unfolding around every turn. I was graciously invited by Trace, another person I am working with at CIEP, to a wedding there. The wedding was between Cristian, a Chilean, and Mary, an American who now lives in Chile. It was a beautiful ceremony, and a lovely mix between Chilean and American traditions. Set with Cerro Castillo as the backdrop, friends and family gathered and the bride and groom rode in separately on their horses. The reception and asado afterwards, full of eating, drinking, and dancing, went into the wee hours of the night. Another great trip to Cerro Castillo.

The next step: There is a four-day hike that traverses Cerro Castillo and the surrounding mountain range. I have to do it.