Gap Spring Trek ’24 Final Full Circle

Written by: Sofia and Sara

Sofia:

Dear Mamma Patagonia,

Thank you for the past 79 days. Thank you for bringing me to these wonderful people. Thank you for the sun kissed cheeks and noses, the frozen boots, starlit nights, moonrises, sunrises over your snow covered peaks, evening meetings under the stars, early mornings, dance parties, laughter, your clear blue waters and glorious glaciers.

In February, I began this adventure. “Holy guacamole, what the heck did I get myself into?!” I thought as I sat in the van from the airport with all these strangers. Then the “I” became a “we,” and our love and care for each other grew. We built a community, a fortress, strong and mighty. A place where perfection became unnecessary, and communication necessary. With every piece of feedback given, every “how can I support you?,” every conflict and resolution, our fortress grew stronger and and mightier.

Before boarding a flight that takes me away on April 26th, I will wish seven little pieces of my heart goodbye and farewell, and hope to goodness it is not a forever goodbye. Away from this fortress, away from singing together on trail all day, away from ‘good morning!’s and ‘how did you sleep?’s, away from buddy lifts with our big backpacks, away from ‘Leader of the Day’s and Plans for Tomorrow, away from messy hostel rooms, away from “wait, who has the grocery list?” and “should we have 2 baked dinners, or just 3?”

Mamma Patagonia, thank you for taking care of me and my friends during our adventures, and for teaching us some hard lessons. I hope this is not a forever goodbye. I hope to come back to your wilderness some day, and until then, I will miss you tremendously.

With love,
Sofia

Sara:

When I arrived here, I was scared. I was afraid of not making friends, of not being able to walk 3 to 6 miles a day, and of not adapting to the new lifestyle. The first expedition was in Patagonia National Park and was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It was my first experience hiking with a massive 100-liter backpack all day. It was physically and mentally hard, and I questioned a thousand things. What if I go home to Brazil? Is this the right place for me? Will I be able to become close to these people? Will setting up camp and cooking with a mini stove one day become easy?

I didn’t expect my questions to be answered so quickly. At the end of our first expedition, I realized that I was surrounded by welcoming people, that Patagonia would be my home for the next few months, and that even though it wasn’t easy, at least I was in the best place in the world to do hard things, and that I would have the necessary support.

The next chapters were ineffable. I had my backpack, my body, and people who I could trust with my life. Together, we went on many adventures and grew as human beings. Along the way, we met Chilean communities, practiced extreme sports on the Futaleufu River, camped in cold places, became good leaders, developed backcountry skills, studied glaciology, learned a lot about each other, understood the importance of feedback to create a healthy community, developed impeccable expedition behaviour, were each others emotional support, and became a family.

Today, April 25, 2024, I am finishing my full circle and can see how much I have changed, how strong I have become, and how much these people and this program have added to my life. Yesterday we finished our last expedition, and I ended this cycle in the same place where I started, in this comfortable room in Chile Chico, trying to understand how I would say goodbye to the people I love so much.

One memory that never leaves my mind is the day we were watching “10 Things I Hate About You”. I cherish that day because even though we were going through a tough and transitional time with Alexa leaving, we were trying to have a good time together, support Alexa, and support each other. For that reason, I will list the 10 things I hate about the end of the program:

1- I hate that I won’t hear Sydney’s stories on the trail.

2- I hate that I won’t hear Ruby talking about Vlad.

3- I hate that we won’t cook for each other.

4- I hate that tomorrow Miles won’t wish me “good morning” in Portuguese.

5- I hate that I won’t hear Diana asking about “quiet hours” during the evening meeting.

6- I hate that I won’t find yellow goggles in my backpack.

7- I hate that I won’t sing SZA on the trail with Rowan.

8- I hate that we won’t play Deep (dip) together anymore.

9- I hate the fact that no one will ever call me “Bog Lod” again.

10- I hate having to say goodbye.

Saying goodbye is tough for me. How can I simply turn my back, get on a plane, and say adios to 7 people who I have no idea when or if I’ll see again? How to stay away from the only people who will understand how intense and important this experience was? But I’m also excited to see (even from afar) the next adventures in your lives, the amazing things you’ll do  and the dreams you’ll fulfill. To wrap up, I want to leave a little note for each member of my S-team.

Sofia: You’re a very strong woman, determined, and you carry a huge inner light, I admire you in many ways. I’ll miss being your tent mate, saying “Hey girl” to you every day, and hanging out with you in the backcountry kitchen.

Rowan: I’ll miss singing with you on the trail, telling you the stupidest jokes in the world, your comforting hugs, and seeing you wearing the Brazil shirt. You’re an amazing guy, never change who you are.

Diana: I’ll miss seeing you in your red crocs, and hearing how much you love bread, chocolate, and bushwalks. I admire how much you care for the people around you, your sincerity, and kindness.

Arman: I’ll miss hearing you sing old Brazilian songs, your food, your willingness to welcome and help others, your expressions, and your joy.

I wish you all a wonderful life and thank you for everything, I feel very blessed to have had you around me for almost 80 days. Love you all.