Horse Packing / Backpacking

As with other places abroad I have lived and studied, I stick out. Being over 6 feet and blonde, its clear that I am not Chilean. This fact is made even more painfully obvious when I speak Spanish with a thick American accent, poor grammar, and fail to use “poo” and “che” throughout my sentences as any good local would. With that being said, I am living here as a temporary resident. I am here for a year. On one hand a year is a long time, but in the big scheme of things I am only passing through. I am not entirely a tourist, I’m not studying, and I’m not purely working. I’m in the gray area in the middle. I have found myself thinking about this a lot. How these labels define or don’t define my time here and my interactions with people.

Last week however, I went on a horse packing / backpacking trip with the Escuela de Guias and my role was clear. I was a tourist. One of the final tests for a group of graduating students from the school is to organize, prepare, and execute a trip for tourists. The tourists in this case were myself, Pancho, Tamara (a friend), and five other students from the school in the younger generation.

The trip prepared for us was along part of the Sendero de Chile from La Tapera to Lago Verde, north of Coyhaique and nearly on the boarder with Argentina. Not only did we escape the planning and group gear-packing process, but also throughout the trip we didn’t have to cook or wash dishes. And the best part, we had horses carrying the heavy gear! Backpacks are almost comfortable when all you have in them is your sleeping bag and some extra clothes. There are no pans awkwardly packed and stabbing you in the side or heavy food rationed out in plastic bags that you hope won’t explode.

We walked just under 70km (or roughly 45 miles) in three and a half days. The days were long with a good deal of elevation gain and loss, and included a number of absolutely frigid river crossings. The weather was unusually gentle and the scenery was beautiful. It’s fall here. Forever imprinted in my mind is this image: green dry pastures aside a winding river, flanked by trees whose leaves are a patchwork of yellow, orange and red; In the background, a jagged snowcapped mountain and bright blue sky speckled with clouds. I think some of my pictures capture bits and pieces of the landscape, but none do it justice. You need to be here, present with all your senses to get a complete picture. It was yet another great trip. I feel so lucky to have these opportunities.