Latest Articles on Trekking
The Kepler Track
The forecast was bad… but we were booked on to the track on the 2nd January and it was our only chance to go so there was nothing for it but to don our oh-so-uselss waterproofs and get on with it. Those who know Giles well will understand how tempted he was to go and splash out on a shiny new waterproof jacket for the occassion, but he finally made do with a new base layer instead - bought on the premise that it was ‘warm when wet’
The sun was shining when we were dropped off at Brod Bay by the water taxi so we were hoping the forecast was mistaken. For most of the day we were sheltered from any rain by the dense bush that we were walking through. The track was proving to be quite pretty and we were enjoying being out in the wilderness until… we had just about reached the bushline and were looking forward to seeing the views over the lakes and mountains when we heard thunder. And then the hail started. We arrived at the first night’s hut 40 minutes later looking and feeling like drowned rats. However, the Luxmore Hut did have a nice glowing fire, and we were soon nicely warmed up. Plus, this time we had remembered the chocolate!
The next day the weather was worse and we awoke to a covering of snow. The track lead us up and over the ridge, which should have been the highlight…
Mueller Hut Tramp
The Mueller Hut tramp - this is where we found out how poorly equipped we were for the extremes of tramping in New Zealand. We have brought our summer walking gear and light waterproofs with us, leaving all our heavy duty wet/cold weather gear at home as were not expecting to need it, but we had not bargained for the rain and the cold….
Day one of our tramp started well, with the sun shining and some really pretty views up the valley. For about an hour. And then it started to rain. And it continued to rain. We were wet through pretty quickly, but we perservered with the idea that it must clear up at some point. How wrong we were! We finally arrived at the Mueller Hut to find no lovely fire as we’ve come to expect from our stays in the huts in the European Alps, and we were freezing. To make matters worse, we hadn’t carried up any chocolate. Miserable!
Anyway we made the best of the evening, comforted by the fact that others were turning up looking much more ill-equipped than we were! And it turned out that the hut warden was from Sheringham - so the evening turned to reminiscing about the Norfolk, the UK and Giles and the Warden confusing all other occupants with their strange Norfolk dialect and phrases!
The next morning was very Christmassy, with snow on the ground and a chill in the air that made us feel like we…
Takesi Trek
Well we have returned from the Takesi Trek safe and sound, with lots of fun and games to report. The trek was fantastic with us crossing a 4650m pass on day one before camping at 4300m. On the second day we planned to ascend the mountain again to view some lakes before returning to our high camp. Days 3 and 4 involved us descending from the high mountains down into the Yungas (jungle type terrain) before arranging transport back to La Paz.
That was the plan anyway. The first day (Sunday) went well with us meeting the mules and muleteers (people in charge of the mules) in the Cordillera Real Mountain Range at 10am in the morning. It was beautiful high mountain terrain with glaciers and some of the highest peaks in Bolivia visible. We set out on the trek and ascended to the pass. Some of the trail was made up of pre-Inca paving which was over 3000 years old. It was awe inspiring to walk across this and think about the effort that must have gone into creating it and how many thousands of feet have walked across it over the years. That was for Maz and I, it was all a bit lost on the group to be honest.
We made the pass by 4pm and headed down to our high camp which we reached just before dark. Tents were pitched and food cooked and eaten before we all turned in for a very cold night
Day…
Copacabana & Isla del Sol
Well we’ve just returned from a three day trip to Copacabana & Isla del Sol. What a stunning place it is! After the hustle and bustle of La Paz, Copacabana made a pleasant change with its quiet streets and beach.
For those that don’t already know Copacabana is on the shores of Lake Titicaca, which is supposed to be the highest navigable lake in the world. You cannot see land on the horizon so it gives the impression of being a sea, although it does feel weird to be standing on what appears the sea shore and just shy of 4000m
The trip to Copacabana was fairly straight forward with the bus picking us up from the hostel. The highlight was the small ferry crossing on route where we had to leave the bus which was put on a small barge and make our way across on smaller motor boats. It was quite surreal watching the coach being taken across the 2-300m stretch of water on a flimsy barge, more so when you realised all our kit was on top of it.
The drive from the ferry to Copacabana was very reminiscent of the North West of Scotland, with dramatic landscape dropping into deep blue water. The only minor difference was the parched landscape, oh and the lama’s !
We spent the night in Copacabana before catching a ferry to the north of Isla del Sol. The original plan had been to trek along the coastline before taking the short…
The Devils Molar
Did a really nice trek up to a high mountain crag called the Devils Molar yesterday. Fantastic views of the canyon with La Pas in the bottom and some 5-6000m peaks beyond.
The group worked well and we took a local bus for the half hour ride to the start of the trek which was a bit of an eye opener for us all. Some of the group were finding the altitude tough going but they got there and all enjoyed the experience. They even received a certificate from the village below the Molar for completing the experience.
Today we are off to Copacabana for a few days and the bus picks us up in a few minutes. Still no Internet connection where I can download pictures from my camera. Will hopefully find one soon!
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