Nice morning. Brent and I took a taxi up to Magellanes National Reserve to run some trails. We were last up there together in 2002 and had a pretty good run there, so we were excited to get back. We really picked the right day too, sunny, not too windy.
We started following a row on orange stakes marking a mountain bike trail through the woods. Trees are mostly deciduous, but with very small leaves. Big leaves wouldn't stand a chance--the heavy winds that are nearly constant here would strip them bare in a few minutes. Trees are gnarled and twisted, many are covered with beard-like moss that hangs from them.
We followed the trail through the woods and it turned uphill, slowing us to a walk for about half a mile. As we climbed the mountain, at any break we could look down over the town of Punta Arenas and the straights of Magellan.
Switching to another trail marked with red markers, we continued to the top of the ridge. We took a chance on another trail coming back down, and soon found ourselves on something that may have been a long, gradually winding ski run which took us all the way to the bottom again. We had to work our way down a bank and cross a small stream and climb a fence to get up onto a gravel road. Looking up the road, we spotted orange stakes again a few yards up and got back onto the trail. A nice run/walk of about 5 miles.
Back at the hotel for the 5:00 briefing. Things are looking better at Patriot Hills. Maybe we'll be able to fly there on Tuesday. My world record quest will officially fall short this time. Next briefing at 3:00 Monday. I wonder if this hotel rents rooms by the month?
We started following a row on orange stakes marking a mountain bike trail through the woods. Trees are mostly deciduous, but with very small leaves. Big leaves wouldn't stand a chance--the heavy winds that are nearly constant here would strip them bare in a few minutes. Trees are gnarled and twisted, many are covered with beard-like moss that hangs from them.
We followed the trail through the woods and it turned uphill, slowing us to a walk for about half a mile. As we climbed the mountain, at any break we could look down over the town of Punta Arenas and the straights of Magellan.
Switching to another trail marked with red markers, we continued to the top of the ridge. We took a chance on another trail coming back down, and soon found ourselves on something that may have been a long, gradually winding ski run which took us all the way to the bottom again. We had to work our way down a bank and cross a small stream and climb a fence to get up onto a gravel road. Looking up the road, we spotted orange stakes again a few yards up and got back onto the trail. A nice run/walk of about 5 miles.
Back at the hotel for the 5:00 briefing. Things are looking better at Patriot Hills. Maybe we'll be able to fly there on Tuesday. My world record quest will officially fall short this time. Next briefing at 3:00 Monday. I wonder if this hotel rents rooms by the month?
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