BEST hikes in southern Patagonia

Like me, Joshua Huff made an effort to do every hike he could in southern Patagonia.

Here are some of his favourites:

Cerro Castillo
Parque Patagonia (Chile Chico to Cochrane)
Torres del Paine
Passage of the Sheep, Ushuaia
La Junta, Cochamó
Parque Tantauco, Chiloé

On a detailed post from his 3 months in the area, Joshua details his own experience and links to other trip reports.

Exploring the Good Life – Argentina, Chile Patagonia

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Heather Anderson – NAT GEO Adventurer of the Year

Heather Anderson, who goes by the trail name Anish, has thru-hiked the U.S.’s mega trails—the Appalachian, the Continental Divide, and the Pacific Crest—three times. …

Since 2013, Anderson has speed-hiked 28,000 trail miles—a greater distance than the circumference of Earth at the equator. …

Anish outdid herself last year, when she became the first woman, and fifth person, to complete the Triple Crown—7,944 miles—in a calendar year. She pulled off the feat in stunning fashion, hiking an average of more than 31 miles a day to finish in 251 days, 20 hours, and 10 minutes. (Cam “Swami” Honan holds the overall record at 231 days.) …

All this from a girl who was 70 pounds overweight and often teased while growing up …

National Geographic

How does anyone do this kind of thing?

You hike a lot of 18-hour days — waking up 4 a.m. and walking until 11 p.m.

AND Heather won’t accept rides in and out of town to pick-up her resupply!

She has a new book. Available in paperback and Kindle.

In her new memoir, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Heather, whose trail name is “Anish,” conveys not only her athleticism and wilderness adventures, but also shares her distinct message of courage–her willingness to turn away from the predictability of a more traditional life in an effort to seek out what most fulfills her. …

Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home

BestHike hiking photos

I’ve uploaded all the hiking photos from my recent 2 months in Patagonia.

Check those out here. There are thousands in the BestHike archive.

Most are Creative Commons licensed so can be used in other projects.

The BEST of BestHike photos (about 1800) are included in one album. That’s the best starting point.

Mirador del Pliegue Tumbado, Fitz Roy, Argentina

Ascent – Chris Bonington’s autobiography

In 2016 Sir Chris Bonington updated his 1989 biography.

He added accounts of his later expeditions to Greenland, India, Morocco and his re-ascent of the Old Man of Hoy in 2014, with new climbing companion Leo Houlding. The Old Man climb was filmed by BBC. Chris was not at all sure he could still do it.

Bonington was one of the few high altitude mountaineers to survive the kind of climbs he did. AND he’s an excellent writer.

He’s known a lot of tragedy including the drowning death of a young son.

Though known as one of the great expedition leaders he had many die under that leadership.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28955087-ascent

All that said, I did enjoy this book. And recommend it to everyone regardless of whether or not you have an interest in mountaineering.

Boys of Everest by Clint Willis

The Boys of Everest: Chris Bonington and the Tragedy of Climbing’s Greatest Generation (2007) is the full title.

Of the famed high altitude climbers I’ve always related most to Bonington. He seemed to be the smart, articulate and careful one.

Not so, I learned. There were a dozen times Chris could have / should have died like so many of the others.

Though reviews have been mixed, I did enjoy this book. Especially the audio version reader James Adams.

… courage, achievement, and heartbreaking loss tells of Bonington’s Boys, a band of climbers who reinvented mountaineering during the three decades after Everest’s first ascent. …

Next I’ll be reading Bonington’s biography – Ascent (2017)

Altavista Trail out of Villa O’Higgins, Chile

trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

There are 3 hikes promoted out of Villa O’Higgins.

Most popular is the short Mirador (Viewpoint) Trail taking you up above town.

Few do the Altavista Trail. On a perfect day I saw only 3 other hikers.

To find the trailhead walk out of town and over the bridge.

Oddly, in 2019, you had to climb over a fence to get to the signed trailhead.

The trail winds up and along the Mayer river. Easy going.

On a clear day there are terrific views to surrounding pristine wilderness.

As skies were starting to cloud up, I stopped at the second and final viewpoint marked on the Maps.me route. El Loco.

Back at the bridge I bumped into some folks from Argentina who’d I’d met on a previous hike. They drove me back to Villa O’Higgins. Nice.

new Torres del Paine trekking guidebook

Paine in Chile is one of the best hiking destinations in the world. No question.

But foreigners are endlessly frustrated trying to organize their trip from abroad. Many — including myself — show up on a hope and a prayer trying to make it happen onsite.

Check our Paine Circuit Information page.

Try downloading Trekking Torres del Paine (2016) by Rudolf Abraham long in advance of your trip. It’s available for Kindle.

NBA star Jimmy Butler tries hiking

Jimmy Butler, shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, was in town a few months ago and decided to hike the Stawamus Chief in Squamish — and it definitely not a slam dunk. …

NBA star Jimmy Butler hilariously documents his struggle to make it through this BC hike

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.