Three-sport days …

As we say goodbye to our Rewilding Chile friends it’s time to transition into experiencing Patagonia‘s iconic outdoor recreation. Our first was an all-day kayak/hike along the Cochrane River. We met our guides Jorge and Cata in the small town of Cochrane (population 750). Jorge’s family has farmed this area for generations, but is actively participating in a transition from cattle to eco-tourism and conservation. Wearing many hats he is obviously most passionate about taking youth into the outdoors to understand the fragile ecosystems of Patagonia. We spent the morning paddling, lunched on perfectly structured riverside boulders, then spent the afternoon hiking back to Cochrane with Cata identifying birds and plants. Jorge tied the kayaks together and paddled against a PERSISTENT headwind back to the take-out! See photo … yep, those are 8-packs. So much fun sharing the day with these two young Patagonian adventurers. Footnote, we did not jump into the river after our paddle!

The following morning we ventured to the Baker River to fly fish with local guide Joaquin. Spent the first couple hours fishing streamers (below the surface) until the air temp warmed up for surface dry flies. Both rainbow and brown trout inhabit the glacier-fed Baker River. Scouting was critical with the dry flies and Lynn seemed to have a super power in spotting fish perched on the back seat of our pontoon boat. Joaquin would maneuver over to the area of the fish, then I would cast to float the fly over the trout … in theory. Funny how you can spend 90 percent of your casting missing the mark, but the one or two times your fly is perfectly placed keeps you coming back for more … and more … and more casting. Joaquin commented how much fun I was having, even without landing a fish. Either the fish were just not hungry or our presentations just not matching their current culinary desires. I really didn’t want to leave the water, but we had another activity scheduled for later in the afternoon. We should have stayed on the water …

Following fly fishing we headed back to our lodge for a late afternoon mountain bike ride to a suspension bridge situated in the park. Explora guide Greg met us with new Specialized full suspension e-mountain bikes … excellent quality for a guide service. Off we went flying down the gravel track leading out from the lodge, then turning north onto to a narrow two-track road leading INTO a spring creek crossing submerging the bikes half-way up the wheels. Okay … 15 minutes into the ride and we are wet, completely soaked through just above our knees! Maybe it was the shock of the near-freezing creek or just another one of those knucklehead moves in the outdoors, but with speed in a deep muddy track my right pedal dug into the right side of the track launching me over the handle bars. Most of us have experienced that moment when everything slows down and you’re thinking, “Shit. this.is.going.to.hurt!” The impact knocked the wind out of me and as I lay in the dirt … Déjà vu … rib injury. My adrenaline shock kicked in to get us back to the lodge. Painful, really painful, but there’s really nothing you can do but rest the traumatized area. I’ve been in this situation before, but not 7000 miles from home on a trip up to this point has exceeded all expectations. Ugh. Greg utilized his wilderness first responder expertise and we concluded no additional injuries other than the damaged ribs. I also had a tele-health consultation with a doctor working with Geo Expeditions. Rest and a rotating combo of Tylenol and Advil. Upside, we have a low-impact travel day plus I’ll add another day of rest and send Lynn out on a forest hike in Torres del Paine National Park. My hope is to have enough mobility for the boat/hike/boat experience to the Grey Glacier in a few days … fingers crossed!