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| hi all, Finally made it to tierra del fuego after what seemed like an eternity in Buenos Aires. I was convinced after Bariloche that there was very little in this part of the country that could compare so when I arrived here I felt a little distanced. mainly because I hadnt slept in days and was alone and kind of needed someone to share what I was seeing with. Anyway i met this aussie guy in the hostel and then two others and we all went to the national park here yesterday. We had decided to walk up this mountain and were told it was a 4 hour trek and the peak stood at 970metres from sea level. We started walking up and it was at that point I realised how much my level of fitness had declined from all those days sitting in with chief doing nothing but eating and watching bloody TV. It was really tiring but we made good progress and after about an hour we were quite far up the trail which was really steep. Finally we pinaccled this 'hill' and could look back over the lake, the channel backed by huge soaring mountains and where we had just come from. Just then we saw a plateau just a little further up which we assumed must have been the main point, it looked like you could see what was on the other side of the mountain from there so we decided we had enough time for the boys to get there and be able to make it back as two of them had a flight at 5pm. It was now 2pm and we had made really good time thinking we had done it in just 1 and a half hours. anyway we finally reached this plateau which became a saddle and was backed by huge icy rocky peaks on the other side but the saddle took us over swampy peaty marshland so we could see the sound on the other side. Suddenly I saw one of the guys running off maniacally with his top off pegging it up this part of the mountain that i had figured was inaccesable without the proper equipment. then i saw a trail marker a short way up it and honestly, my heart sank, I was totally happy with this view and really didnt think I could walk another step, I was so knackered ..but I followed slowly and reluctantly. One of them made it about halfway up before his mate realised there was no way they had enough time to get to the top and called him back. As he returned he was slipping and slidin all over the place and he told us it get really sketchy further up. Anyway these two ran off and as we still had some time the other guy, Martin and I decided to try and attempt it. we encountered another couple, a swedish couple from our hostel who had decided it was too much and were heading down but we convinced them to try to make it further with us. So off we set again and the higher I climbed the more I realised it was more feasable than I had imagined. I got beyond the tree line and left all vegetation and the other three behind and suddenly all the sound kind of disappeared, it was the strangest thing. It was so silent, no birdsong, nothing. if I listened really hard i could hear the ice melting but that was it, then suddenly this huge hawk just appeared and soared silently overhead. It was so incredible, like the perfect definition of infinity. I was scrambling about for my camera to try to picture it in the perfect position with a little of the moutnains in the background but soon realised it wasnt going to happen and so I just enjoyed the moment in silence. Finally I was so near the top and everyone else had stopped, the were convinced it couldnt really get much better than this and I had to agree, the view was phenomenal, the path had become really trecherous and icy and it was so breathtaking...no one else had been up there, there hadnt been tracks in the snow for a long time and the trail markers had finished a long way back but I was so close and I told myself, this wont beat me! so I carried on. well, when I reached that pinnacle it was like, have you ever had that ecstactic feeling where you feel you cant get any happier? as I peaked that mountain I just felt this rush of ecstasy, my breath caught in my throat and I couldnt believe what I was seeing. i am finding it really hard ot even begin to describe it here but I was alone at the top of this mountain, it was totally silent and all around me it was truly the end of the earth, I could have dropped off the planet from here. The mountain on the other side had this sheer drop and I just sat there alone with my thoughts. I could go on forever about this, but I´ve rabbited on for long enough. Anyway finally I heard a shout telling me to come down so i reluctantly headed back. 2 hours later and 1000 metres lower my knees were killing me and still are today, We all went out for a drink later with another canadian couple and got home at 4am pissed as a fart! this morning my knees were so painful, I couldnt get out of my top bunk and right now I can barely walk without crying but the sense of achivement was fantastic and I´d do it all again anyway, i´ve said enough now, got it all out and have to go and stretch my aching limbs. hope you are all well, I am thinking of you all loads well, take care and write and let me know what you have all been up to. tons of love and big cheesy grins Em _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com/ |
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