Spring Semester in Patagonia
Written by Selena Lee and Alex Fogel
Our first expedition went faster than we imagined. We are a group of 6 girls who immediately connected through our shared passions for nature and the environment. We had orientation for the first couple of nights in Chile Chico where we learned more about everyone in the group whom we’ll be staying with for the next 80 days and got a basic idea of Patagonia. We were then split into tent/cook groups who we’d be cooking and sharing a tent with for the first expedition. We organised our expedition ration into two piles, one that would be delivered to us mid-way through the expedition. All the food was wrapped in plastic bags — 1 pound per bag — and based on a bulk ration system that allows for creativity and lots of cooking: flour, quinoa, oats, cookies, hummus powder, soy milk powder, cheese, etc. I (Selena), for one, was nervous about cooking, but once we got the hang of it, we started having some delicious gourmet meals like quesadillas, pizza, cinnamon rolls, empanadas and so much more. Food in the backcountry is so much better than you think and cooking in the backcountry is so much more fun and creative.
Not every day was a hiking day, though. We had four layover days in total, which means we didn’t move our campsite that day. The first two layover days were the first two days of expedition, during which we learned basic backpacking skills like how to set up a tent, purify water, and cook nutritious meals on a single-burner stove. The third layover day was day 10. We slept in, had a Spanish lesson, and went on a short exploratory day hike before cooking lunch. In the afternoon, we reconvened for a group reading of Aldo Leopold’s “The Land Ethic” and then had personal time (PT) until dinner (my tent group made pizza!), which was followed by evening meeting. Our fourth and final layover day was day 13. We hiked up the valley we were camping in until we reached the end, where there was a stunning, bright blue, glacier-fed lake and a beautiful view. We spent some time swimming and hanging out there before walking back down the valley for PT, dinner, an environmental studies debate, and evening meeting. All-in-all, a wholly educational and enjoyable four layover days.
One of my (Alex’s) favorite moments was when all six of us girls were sitting together on the grassy bank of a river, enjoying the warm afternoon sun on our faces and the cool river water on our toes after a relaxed hiking day. We were just chatting, dancing and singing and being silly, eating cake scramble (it’s exactly what it sounds like) with our fingers, while surrounded by beautiful mountains with a view of glaciers in the distance and grazing cows in pastures on the other side of the river. One would think that after 16 days in the backcountry, sans indoor plumbing and modern conveniences like showers and laundry and kitchens and phones, that I’d be ready to come back civilization. But every day was filled with moments like these, and so as we were hiking with very light packs toward our pick up spot, I found myself a little bit sad to leave the backcountry and the simple joys that abound there.
Some highlights from the students:
Elise learned how to make pizza in the backcountry and loved it; Katie sat in a glacial river to ice her hips after a long day of hiking with an amazing view and even better company; Lauren swam in the really cold lake on our last layover day and mastered every game we played each night to conclude evening meeting; Deming climbed to the top of mound somewhere between hill and mountain during PT, saw how far we had come, and was amazed. Ultimately, this expedition has been marked by a wonder that is ever-present in breathtakingly beautiful, wild places like Patagonia.
P.S. major shout-out to our instructors: they make everything fun!