The Wildmen
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Iguazu Falls - So much water...
If you like waterfalls this is the place. Located on the boarder of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, the Igauzu Falls is one of the largest water fall system in the world. We didn’t really plan to go here at first but we had to pass it anyway on our way to Sao Paulo so we decided to give it a shot. The place is really touristic with heaps of souvenir shop and nicely paved walking tracks which gave the impression of an amusement park rather than a national park. It even has a train, shuttling tourists to the more remotely located viewing points. If you are able to overlook all this, some spectacular views of the falls can be seen without much effort. It was a great day but now we heading off to Brazil and Sao Paulo to do some Crossfit at Crossfit Brasil. Can’t wait for that!
/Chris & DJ
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Wildmen Zoo
Normally we don’t do zoos but when we heard that the most dangerous zoo in the world was not far from Buenos Aires, we couldn’t resist. The zoo wasn’t very spectacular at first sight and if it wasn’t for that you could interact with the animals directly, it would probably be the worst zoo in the world. When we were visiting the lion cage we did all possible mistakes you can do; touching the head, playing to roughly with them - one even made an attack and started to bite Chris’s leg, but it all ended well and they finished the match by shaking pawns (which also, by the way, is strictly forbidden) .
/Chris and DJ
Sunday, January 9, 2011
25 kilometers Wildman run in the Patagonian Mountains
A couple of days ago, a guy from Patagonia adventure gave me a challenge that I couldn’t resist - to run the popular Lagona los Tres track to the foot of Mount Fitzroy and then back to El Chaltén. The track is graded moderate (for trampers) and climbs over 1000 meters.
Starting at 300 m above sea level, the first 5 km section almost immediately climbed to 800 meter before flattening out. At this point I seriously doubted that it was doable to finish the track before the sun would set. It was 17:30 when I started running and considering that most hikers do the track in 8 hours my initial estimation was to run at half the time and be back before nightfall. I ran the track the Wildman style, with mountaineering boots and a daypack containing my Crossfit rings, a camera and a bottle of water. Yeah, I seriously planed to do a 10 min Cindy WOD halfway into the track but well there couldn’t. My main reason was that I couldn’t find a tree to hang up the rings because I was above the tree line. The reality was somewhat different - I was ready to die when I arrived and there was no way I could do a Crossfit WOD. It took me 1 hour and 40 min to run the first 12.5 km of the track and now the conditions were to change. I had to run downhill, which is a mixed blessing - you run faster but it’s more tiresome for the legs and the risk of injuries are increased. I was hoping that the downhill phase would be easier but I turned out to be only 10 min faster – I was really tired! Altogether it took me a little over 3 hours to finish the 25km run. I probably would have done better with proper shoes but the important thing is that I did it. After all, my goal is to continuously improve myself no matter what !
When I came to the hostel I found a hole on the back of my t-shirt and I had two large bruises on my back, probably caused by the friction from the backpack. Two days later I still haven’t recovered from the mountain run, my legs are sore and the hips are weakened; additionally I spent most of the day yesterday resting with a pretty bad tension headache. Was it worth it? Of Course it was I learned a lot!
Starting at 300 m above sea level, the first 5 km section almost immediately climbed to 800 meter before flattening out. At this point I seriously doubted that it was doable to finish the track before the sun would set. It was 17:30 when I started running and considering that most hikers do the track in 8 hours my initial estimation was to run at half the time and be back before nightfall. I ran the track the Wildman style, with mountaineering boots and a daypack containing my Crossfit rings, a camera and a bottle of water. Yeah, I seriously planed to do a 10 min Cindy WOD halfway into the track but well there couldn’t. My main reason was that I couldn’t find a tree to hang up the rings because I was above the tree line. The reality was somewhat different - I was ready to die when I arrived and there was no way I could do a Crossfit WOD. It took me 1 hour and 40 min to run the first 12.5 km of the track and now the conditions were to change. I had to run downhill, which is a mixed blessing - you run faster but it’s more tiresome for the legs and the risk of injuries are increased. I was hoping that the downhill phase would be easier but I turned out to be only 10 min faster – I was really tired! Altogether it took me a little over 3 hours to finish the 25km run. I probably would have done better with proper shoes but the important thing is that I did it. After all, my goal is to continuously improve myself no matter what !
When I came to the hostel I found a hole on the back of my t-shirt and I had two large bruises on my back, probably caused by the friction from the backpack. Two days later I still haven’t recovered from the mountain run, my legs are sore and the hips are weakened; additionally I spent most of the day yesterday resting with a pretty bad tension headache. Was it worth it? Of Course it was I learned a lot!
/Chris
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Paso de Viento - El Chalten
After spending the whole morning drying our gear in the sunshine, we left base camp to explore the glacier. The day turned out to be fantastic with an astonishing view and a lot of challenging climbs.
It rained heavily the following day so there was nothing to do other than wait and practice essential theoretical mountaineering skills.
The next day we left the camp early and headed over the mountain to the next campsite. After four hours ascend and two hours descend we found ourselves surrounded by dozens of cotton beanies tripping on their tent straps in their low shoes. The next day we took the 2 hour ”highway” back to town to celebrate Christmas.
/Chris and DJ
Friday, December 24, 2010
From the Journal 21/12
Everything is wet and that include our sleeping bags! The time is 0:21 December 21 and sleeping is unthinkable because we are lying in a flooded tent.
We are in the most southern part of Argentina and are celebrating Christmas in the Patagonian mountains. This morning, we headed out under windy and slightly rainy conditions for a five days hike with the aim to explore the glacier. Patagonia is infamous for its strong cold winds and unpredictable weather and this day was no exception. The further we went into the track the more it rained and it was to continue like this for the rest of the day. We arrived at the campsite at 8 o’clock after a seven hours continuous walk. Even though, our rain gears are top of the line, made with the latest of water proof fabrics, they couldn’t stand these conditions, and every clothes underneath them were soaked when we arrived. There was nothing to do other than pitching the tent at a reasonable wind protected spot and then try to get some sleep. Cooking food isn’t an option at this point, the wind is to strong and it’s too cold outside. The breakfast from this morning will be the only real food we had today. It’s easy to have a romantic view of nature when it’s sunny, calm and warm. Today it is everything but this yet this is exactly what our aim is; to increase our confidence in nature under rough conditions. With that said have a really nice Christmas everyone.
We are in the most southern part of Argentina and are celebrating Christmas in the Patagonian mountains. This morning, we headed out under windy and slightly rainy conditions for a five days hike with the aim to explore the glacier. Patagonia is infamous for its strong cold winds and unpredictable weather and this day was no exception. The further we went into the track the more it rained and it was to continue like this for the rest of the day. We arrived at the campsite at 8 o’clock after a seven hours continuous walk. Even though, our rain gears are top of the line, made with the latest of water proof fabrics, they couldn’t stand these conditions, and every clothes underneath them were soaked when we arrived. There was nothing to do other than pitching the tent at a reasonable wind protected spot and then try to get some sleep. Cooking food isn’t an option at this point, the wind is to strong and it’s too cold outside. The breakfast from this morning will be the only real food we had today. It’s easy to have a romantic view of nature when it’s sunny, calm and warm. Today it is everything but this yet this is exactly what our aim is; to increase our confidence in nature under rough conditions. With that said have a really nice Christmas everyone.
/Chris and DJ
Sunday, December 19, 2010
El Chaltén
After the 2 weeks “vacation” in Santiago we were determined to head south. After a total 48 hours of bus riding, in only three days, we now find ourselves in the small town El Chaltén in the southern of Argentina. For all of you back home complaining about the weather we just would like to point out that we left the summery Santiago for the snowy and windy El Caltén.
/Chris and DJ
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