Cochrane - Monte San Lorenzo

Río Tranquilo in el Fundo San Lorenzo

During our stay in El Chalten, a new plan was afoot for an epic journey to Campamento De Agostini (after the Italian missionary who first reached the peak of Monte San Lorenzo , Chile) - a route that Trekking in Patagonia guide touted as “seeing little traffic beyond climbers on their way to the summit”. After crossing dozens and dozens of hikers in El Chalten and Torres del Paine (during the shoulder season), we were itching for an isolated away-from-everyone kind of trip... and as the boat from El Chalten to Villa O 'Higgins was running only once a week (on Sat, and it's Monday), we decided to take a night bus to Los Antiguos... a small oasis of fruit trees in the middle of the seemingly endless pampas...

Endless pampas, endless fences

Los Antiguos

Bleary eyed, we visited the hospital in Los Antiguos (free! Elysia¨s mystery night time bites ended up being a kind of fungus, and not scabies), the bakery, and a chacra (small farm) where we bought and ate 1 kg of the most amazing strawberries in the company of nicest stray dog yet. From there the trip to Cochrane, Chile brought us along the beautiful shores of Lago General Carrera (Lago Buenos Aires in Argentina) to Lake Bertrand and onward the impressive blue and rapids of the Rio Baker. Rio Baker is one of the many iconic Chilean rivers for which HidroAysén is still waiting for the green light to start damming. There is strong opposition (amongst most people we met) to the proposed dams (see Patagonia Sin Represas), and made visible by the countless bumper stickers and poster boards found all over southern Chile.

Gorgeous Lago General Carrera

Small mine by the lake

Outflow of the Lago Bertrand

To the mighty Rio Baker

Only straight section of road where the driver didn´t holy cross himself. 

Upon arriving in Cochrane, we find out that the first adventure race will be held in the San Lorenzo Valley on the same weekend that we will be there! %&$#$&! WHAT? Oh well, our hopes to be "alone in the wilderness" were dashed...

The trek started some 40 km south east of Cochrane with some 16 kilometers down a road

and along a 4x4 track

The trek continues

until you can almost see Monte San Lorenzo (3706m) hidden in the clouds

and arrive to Río Tranquilo en el Fundo San Lorenzo ... the following day we would head up valley along the lateral morraine to Laguna Tranquilo

Luis Soto (owner of fundo San Lorenzo, ecotourism gaucho) and his eldest son tie up the bulls from the nearby field to a yoke before heading to their small saw mill in the forest up valley. This ranching family, with cutie little grandson and all, is developing eco-tourism in their own backyard... but when asked if they would want the adjoining lands turned into a national park to attract more visitors, the reply was an adamant no because of how large concessionaires would win the government contracts to provide tourism services. 

After crossing fields where skiddish cows ran off, a dead sheep (pic is too gorey) and forests, we came to a double fence ... the stumpy one was buried under debris flow (from flooding)

Up the morraine through the fall colors!

Beautiful view of the Rio Tranquilo Valley

Laguna Tranquilo, surrounded by 6 or more glaciers

The all important siesta before the descent

One of the top perks of Patagonia = drinking water straight from glaciar rivers and streams! Dreamy!

Next morning kitten wants to cuddle ... because it´s COLD outside!

Our first morning waking up to snow

We pack up and head to the Toni Rohrer Refugio (leaving our tent behind), hoping to miss the incoming adventure racers 

Deep chasm of the Arroyo San Lorenzo

Looking up valley towards the summit of San Lorenzo

The forests here were particularly lovely because of lack of grazing. Bonus we got to cheer on the adventure racers...

Staying in line wih typical E and N timing, we get to the foot of San Lorenzo just as the sun is setting

Pyro is at it again in the Refugio (the flags were there already). Ended up being the coldest night we ever had in Patagonia, neither of us sleeping more than a few minutes at a time

Snow frosted San Lorenzo... we ended up barely seeing the racers.
Awesome hiking and times spent with the Soto family.