Argentina! (Part 1 of ?)

As I mentioned last time I posted, I'm in Argentina. I landed in Buenos Aires on Wednesday Jan. 13 after a long but uneventful trip with long layovers in Miami and Lima. There are, of course, more direct ways to get here; but that was the cheapest.

I stayed at a hostel in Buenos Aires. They used to call these places youth hostels, but they've dropped the "youth" part in more recent years. They're geared toward those traveling on the cheap, so they tend to attract mostly folks a fewer years younger than me. But I wasn't even close to the oldest person there. In addition to being cheap, they are great places to meet people. The one I stayed at had a wonderful rooftop terrace. I met people from several continents while hanging out up there, drinking 1 liter bottles of Quilmes, the official cheap beer of travelers in Argentina.

I had always heard that evenings start late in South America. This is certainly true in Buenos Aires. On a few night we showed up at restaurants after midnight and had to wait for a table. I don't know if bars ever close.

I spent a few of my days wandering somewhat aimlessly around the city, taking in the sights. One of the top tourist attractions of the city is the cemetery in the wealthy neighborhood of La Recoleta. This is where the rich and famous of Buenos Aires are buried. Below are a bunch of pictures I took around the cemetery.

For foreigners, and perhaps Argentinians as well, the most famous person buried in the cemetery is Eva "Evita" Peron. The cemetery was about to close and I had not yet found her tomb. I figured it would be easy to find. This was probably based on my visit to another of the world's famous cemeteries--Pere LaChaise in Paris. For Americans, the cemetery's most well-known tomb is, sadly enough, that of Jim Morrison. (Don't get me started on Jim Morrison--everyone needs to have at truly hate at least one band, and my band of choice is The Doors...) His tomb is quite easy to find--just follow the graffiti. Fortunately, this cemetery has very little graffiti, and none indicating where Evita is buried. The cemetery was about to close when I approached an older man and asked him, with my thick accent, "Disculpe, senor, donde esta la tumba de Eva Peron?" Evidently I got the point across, because his face lit up and he told me to follow him. On our way the guards told us it was closing time, but he pleaded with them to let me see her tomb. They resisted but eventually relented. While walking to the tomb, the man went on and on in Spanish, oblivious to the fact that I understood maybe one in five words he spoke. All I could tell is that he liked Evita. We had a quick glance at the tomb before the guards, who had followed us the whole way, insisted that it was time to go.

After five days in Buenos Aires, I boarded a plane for El Calafate, in Patagonia. The airport in El Calafate, which is less than 10 years old, has made southern Patagonia much more accessible. One of the guide books I've consulted says that just 10 years ago, the trip from Buenos Aires to El Calafate was "an authentic adventure." Now it's a quick and cheap flight. I checked into a hostel here and went for a walk to see the town.

Just outside the hostel I saw this truck. Note the print on the back of the tank. In case you can't read it, it says "Peligro Explosive." Hopefully that's just a remnant from the truck's former job...

El Calafate is a small town on the Patagonian steppe, about an hour's drive from the Andes. Since its airport opened it's become quite the tourist trap. Its main street is several blocks of restaurants and shops selling clothes, local crafts, souvenirs and all the stuff you would expect. It's crammed with hundreds of people speaking many languages and dozens of seemingly well-fed and astonishingly well-behaved stray dogs.

The next day I took a day-trip into Parque Nacional los Glaciares. I signed up with a tour operator to take a simple hike on the Perito Moreno glacier. The Perito Moreno glacier is one of the world's largest and one of the few that is not retreating. We drove out to the park and hiked around for a bit, taking in the glacier from terra firma. Unfortunately the day started off rather dreary--cold, windy and wet. (This will likely be a theme in Patagonia--you don't come here for the weather.)

My first view of the glacier, through the bus window.

The park has an area with boardwalks that lead down to the glacier. This is the view from the upper observation deck.

And from the lower observation deck. One fascinating thing about this glacier is that from time to time it advances over Lago Argentina. You can see that the lake has tunneled through the glacier in the pictures above. Every several years, the glacier will advance over the lake and act as a dam. Water will build up on one side, and eventually the water pressure will cause the dam to rupture. This only happens once a decade or so, and is impossible to predict, but I'm told that the lucky few visitors who see it are in for quite a show.

Next we took a boat across the lake to get right up to the glacier.

We hiked along the side of the glacier for about an hour before donning our crampons and getting out on the ice.

Once on the ice we moved pretty quickly, so I didn't stop for as many pictures as I would have liked. But I got a few good ones.

One of our guides checking out a cave. It went back several feet then narrowed into a small blue hole.
While the rest of the people in the group were taking their turns looking in the cave, I talked the guides into letting me borrow a couple of ice tools and climbing around a bit. It's my first ice climb (and my first ice free solo!). I, of course, didn't go very far, but it was fun to climb around a little bit on this wall.

Peering down a deep hole.

Looking across the ice toward some small waterfalls.

We also found a short tunnel through the ice. Most of the group took a pass on crawling through the tunnel, but I had to give it a try.

Disappearing into the tunnel.

And coming out the other end! The tunnel was just wide enough to squeeze through, and went for about 20 feet or so before opening up into this hole. The slight stream of near-freezing water in the bottom the tunnel was a bit uncomfortable, but it was still worth it.

Another member of my group getting some help climbing out of the hole.

After a few hours on the ice, we headed back to solid ground and hiked back to the boat. Here are a few pictures from the hike down. You'll notice that it has stopped raining and the sun has come out!






Back on the boat, where we all toasted with whisky on glacial ice.
Some interesting rock formations as seen from the boat.

That's all for now. I'm about to head to El Chalten, a smaller town right in the mountains, where I'll be heading out for a few nights of backpacking. I'm really looking forward to some time without a roof above my head!

As always, thanks for reading!

I'm back!!!

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since my last update. That’s because my travels slowed down for a while at the end of October. When I made my last update, I was in Carbondale, CO, visiting my friends Mike and Tina.

I promised baby pictures in my last post, so here you go!

Attentive readers will recognize Mike and Tina from my trip through Colorado in July. They will also recall that Tina had a rather large belly. Well, the belly is back to normal size, and they have a little boy! Henry John Ogburn, born September 21, 2009. These pictures were taken on his one month birthday. I'm sure he's a lot bigger by now!

The family, including big sis Molly.

Mom and tired baby after photo session.

Who ever said the baby has to be awake for baby pictures?

The rest of the family!

I managed to sneak the new dad out for a day of playing. We went out for a quick rock climbing trip. (Mike lives near some amazing climbing, yet he really doesn’t climb! He has his own harness and shoes and gets out every now and then; but living where he does, he should be an addict! I'm working on this!)

Mike says you’re not taking advantage of Colorado if you only do one sport a day, so after climbing we went to a local kayaking play spot and splashed around for a few minutes. Close observers will note that I am not wearing a real kayaking top. I’ve been spoiled by the warm waters of Virginia and West Virginia and forgot to bring a real top with me. The water out here is cold!

For family reasons I had to be back in Blacksburg, VA by the end of October. So, after leaving Carbondale, I hit the road and headed east about as fast as I could. I got slowed down by some nasty in Colorado. I got through the mountains with no problem, but the snow picked up east of Denver and kept getting worse. I figured once I got to the part of Colorado that might as well be part of Kansas I’d be fine. I was wrong. There was over a foot of snow on the ground. I tried to get off the highway but a couple of exits in a row were blocked by jack-knifed trucks. So I kept slowly pushing on, hoping for a place to get off the highway. At one point traffic was completely stopped. A police car was weaving its way through the stopped cars and trucks. The truck in front of me backed up to let a the cop through and backed right into me! The driver of the truck denied that he ever even backed up. Fortunately the damage was pretty minor, so it was no big deal, really.

I finally got to a rest area and spent the night there. The next morning the snow had stopped and the highway had been plowed, but there was a stuck truck blocking the road into the rest area and a stuck pickup pulling a camper blocking the way out, so I got to spend a few more hours in the rest area. After that little adventure, I headed to Indianapolis. I spent a night there with my friends Meg and Adam.

Here’s a picture of me with their beast Betsy.

After that I got back on the road. The way home takes me within a half hour of the Red River Gorge, so I just had to stop. I got in one great day of climbing, then I headed home!

I spent most of the next two months at home. I got away for about two weeks at the Red River Gorge, and I flew up to Chicago for a long weekend. Other than that, I was hanging out with the family and a few folks I still know around Blacksburg.

The most exciting thing to happen in Blacksburg was a huge (by southwest Virginia’s wimpy standards) snow storm. That can mean only one thing...

Sledding!

Here’s my friend Margo (in Blacksburg for the holidays from San Francisco) tearing down the Blacksburg municipal golf course. It’s nice and steep. That’s probably not good for the golfers, but who cares, it makes for great sledding!

And here’s a picture of my family’s dog, Sunshine, dashing the snow.

Sunshine with her favorite prey: a plastic bottle.

Once the holidays were passed, I decided it was time to hit the road again! I spent a few days in North Carolina taking a Wilderness First Responder course. For those of you who spend a lot of time outside, it’s a great course. The whole WFR course is a week long if taken all at once. I took a 4-day Wilderness Advanced First Aid course a few years ago, so I was eligible to upgrade to WFR with a 4-day bridge course. I learned a ton, and really enjoyed both courses. The instructors both this time and last were great, and full of information that I found really interesting (and that I hope I don’t have to use).

After the course, I caught up with my cousins Matt and Josh in the Charlotte area, then I hopped a plane to Argentina! (Ok, I hopped a plane to Miami, spent a few hours there, then hopped a plane to Peru, and spent a few more hours there, then finally got on the plane for Argentina.) I got into Buenos Aires yesterday evening. I haven’t done a whole lot here so far--mostly I’ve just wandered around the city taking it all in. This is the first time in quite a few years I’ve been in a country where I don’t speak the language! I’m spending a few more days here in Buenos Aires, then heading south to Patagonia.

So, stay tuned for updates from South America!

Thanks for reading!

After my last post, I returned to Yosemite. I got in several great days of climbing. On my last day I climbed Royal Arches. It's a pretty easy route, but it's the longest route I've done so far. It was a gorgeous day and the climb went very smoothly. It was a great way to end the Yosemite part of my trip. I'm already thinking about my next trip to Yosemite. After leaving Yosemite I hit to road to start heading east. I plan to be back in Virginia by the end of the month. I moved pretty quickly through California and Nevada, so I didn't take many pictures. But I had to stop and get a shot of this billboard.

Only in Nevada...

My next stop was Buckskin Gulch, a slot canyon in southern Utah. The hike follows a narrow canyon for about 15 miles before meeting up with the Paria River. Once I hit the Paria, I headed upstream to get back to the road I started from.

Below are a bunch of pictures from the hike.
Just starting to descend into the canyon.

Still early on in the hike, so the canyon isn't too deep. The canyon gets deeper as the hike continues and the canyon walls are nearly 500 feet tall by the time you get to the confluence with the Paria River.

Most of the time there is no water flow through the canyon; but when it rains, the canyon quickly floods.

After the flooding subsides many pools remain. There's no way around the pools, so I had wet, muddy feet for almost the whole hike.

Mucky shoes after one of the pools.

I'm smiling here because I have no idea just how much of the day I'll spend in these pools of stagnant water. Fortunately most are less than knee deep, but there are several deeper ones.

Petroglyphs near the Middle Way, which is the only way out of the canyon for about a 15-mile stretch.

Note the boulder wedged between the canyon walls. When the canyon floods, it's pretty powerful. There were several spots where you could see driftwood 30 or more feet above the ground. Fortunately there was no chance of rain anywhere nearby when I was hiking.

Most of the canyon was narrow, but occasionally it would open into spacious areas with enough sunshine for trees. The above picture was taken downstream of the confluence with the Paria, where the canyon opens up quite a bit.

Once I got to the confluence with the Paria River, I thought the wading was done. I was wrong. The deepest pools were on the Paria. Fortunately there was some water flowing, so the water wasn't stagnant like the earlier pools. The above picture is of me in the last pool, which was the second deepest. The deepest was almost up to my neck. (In case you're wondering, I knew this was the last deep pool, so I waded through, set up the camera and went back in for the picture.)

Cliff wall near where the Paria meets the road. So the hike's almost over! This was probably the most unique hike I've ever done. Overall it was a blast. The hiking was mostly pleasant and easy. There were a few tricky sections involving crawling over boulders, and of course there were the pools. But after a couple of them they didn't faze me too much.

After the hike, I continued to drive through Utah toward Colorado.

Somewhere along the road in Utah.

This rock formation is known as the Mexican Hat, and is the namesake of the nearby town of Mexican Hat, UT. The top rock is about 60 feet across.

It's an easy scramble up to just under the top of the hat. This is the view of the San Juan River from under the hat.

Fall colors in Utah, south of Moab.

I'm currently in Carbondale, CO visiting Mike and Tina and their son Henry who turned four weeks old today. So expect baby pictures in the next update!

As always, thanks for reading.

Yosemite and San Francisco

As I mentioned in my last post, I had a little trouble leaving Bend, Oregon. But after several days of telling the friends I was staying with that I'd leave "tomorrow," I finally hit the road. Thanks for the hospitality Jonathan and Sarah (and Mary and Carl and Will--they have a full house). A note to future hosts--if I stay with you for a few days, I just might start baking pies. :)

Once I left Bend, I headed south to Yosemite. I don't remember whether this was in Oregon or California (I'm guessing Oregon), but I just had to stop and take a picture of this store. Too bad it was closed! My other stop on the way to Yosemite was in Sacramento where I grabbed a quick lunch with Amanda, a friend from law school.

Apparently Jonathan missed me because a day after I got to Yosemite, he showed up, along with a few other folks, including Ben, an old friend I hadn't seen since shortly after high school.

It was hot in Yosemite Valley, so we headed up to Tuolumne Meadows to climb.

Corey leading (and Jonathan belaying) on the first pitch of Lucky Streaks.

The view across the meadow from part way up the route.

Jonathan rappelling.

Although I love climbing and it's the main thing that brought me to Yosemite, there's so much else to see in the area. On one of our non-climbing days we went to Mono Lake. It's a beautiful drive over Tioga pass to get there. The lake, which is extremely salty and alkaline, is known for its tufas, which are calcium deposits formed from springs that feed into the lake. The water level has fallen in recent decades, so many of the tufas are now above water.

And on another rest day, we went up to Hetch Hetchy reservoir. It's within Yosemite National Park but is much less visited than Yosemite Valley. This smaller valley was flooded in 1923 when the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed. This reservoir is one of the main water sources for the San Francisco area.

View from the dam.

After the Hetch Hetchy trip, we climbed Higher Cathedral Spire. The top of the spire is about 2000 feet above the valley floor. (1400 feet of steep hiking followed by about 600 feet of technical climbing). The above picture is El Capitan from near the top of Higher Cathedral Spire.

After close to a week in Yosemite, I headed to San Francisco for the weekend. The main draw of San Francisco was the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival. As soon as I saw the lineup, I was tempted to go. And when I found out the whole thing is free, I decided I couldn't miss it.

The highlight of the first night was Lyle Lovett, one of my all-time favorite musicians.

Above is Lyle and his Large Band.

And here's Lyle with John Prine.

I missed the festival on Saturday because my friend Eric invited me to use his extra ticket to the football game between UC Bekeley (Eric's alma mater) and USC. Unfortunately UC played horribly, but we still had a lot of fun.

On Sunday it was back to the music festival. The closing act was Old Crow Medicine Show, another of my favorite bands.

Here's the moon rising behind the stage as Old Crow Medicine Show plays.

The San Francisco trip continued the high school reunion trip. Margo, an friend from high school and her husband Josh were kind enough to let me stay at their house. I grabbed a few drinks with Nathan, another high school friend. I also caught up with a couple friends I know from climbing at the Red River Gorge and one friend I met on the ferry from Alaska. Thanks Facebook for helping me catch up with these folks!

After San Francisco, it was back to Yosemite! Here's a picture I took earlier this evening from Sentinel Bridge. I've been told that this is the most commonly photographed spots in Yosemite. If that's true, it's with good reason.

I'll be kicking around Yosemite for a little while, hopefully getting in a lot of climbing.

Thanks for reading!