Patagonia Expedition Race
Trekking and biking across the pampa
Jacqueline Windh / 21.06.2006
Racers and crew gathered at the start line with a chill wind blowing – and at the crack of dawn (9:00am) they were off!The first leg was a trekking/running section (15 km), with three checkpoints to bag along the way to the transition to biking (35 km). The trek was fairly simple navigation across the frozen pampa – rolling topography of tufts of grass and low bushes, with iced-over swamps in the low areas. Ann Meidinger and I were transported straight to CP3, where we would join the teams in the final trek segment – about 6 km due west to the transition. There is a lake about two thirds of the way along the section, that we though would work as a barrier to force teams together while rounding the lake’s southern margin.
We were surprised to see team QUETRO, teenagers BenjamÃn and JoaquÃn, run into the transition first! Teams AL AIRE LIBRE.URUGUAY and TURISMO RUNNER ROCKFORD were only a minute or so behind them, with another team hot on their heels. Anni and I set out across the pampa with the fifth and sixth teams. I had hoped to get better photos by trekking with some of the teams, but to our surprise, they veered northward, a longer route around the top of the lake. So we altered course, wondering what the two teams still behind us would do. We stuck with INACAP-BUFETE INDUSTRIAL for a while, but when they went even further northward we veered off closer to the lake, and met up with them at the PC. It turns out that most of the teams took the longer route on the north side of the lake because there was a road there that they figured they could follow, perhaps travelling faster, for part of the way. I found the pampa quite easy to travel on – the frozen grass tussocks a bit irregular so you have to watch how you place your feet when running, but generally easy going. And the scenery was just spectacular – the moody purple overcast that had been spewing out half-hearted snowflurries slowly lifted, revealing snow-dusted craggy peaks all around us.
Team GNC (Victor González and Diego Banfi del RÃo, both experienced racers) finished the trek first – they took the short route south of the lake, and spotted a puma along the way! ARMADA DE CHILE, TURISMO ROCKFORD RUNNER and AL AIRE LIBRE/URUGUAY all came in less than ten minutes behind them. And the youngsters rolled in from the north a half hour behind the leaders. “We took a different route,â€? said Benja. “We’re still learning,â€? added JoaquÃn.
The day continued to clear for the ride, with temperatures hovering within a few degrees of freezing, but the sun surprisingly warm if you could get out of the wind. The clearing skies offered us spectacular views across the pampa of the Torres del Paine as well as of many other rugged cliffy peaks. Wildlife was plentiful – in addition to the puma that had been spotted, we saw ñandú (the South American version of the emu), hundreds of guanaco (wild llamas), and even a chingue, the patagonian skunk. Oh yes, and condors, the largest flying birds around, with a wingspan nearly double at of a bald eagle, swooping low over us.
The bike ride was fairly straightforward, easy navigation along gravel roads. GNC barely managed to maintain their lead, finishing just 31 seconds before AL AIRE LIBRE/URUGUAY (just over 4 hours 6 minutes on course, arriving at 1:10pm). “We made a navigational error on the trek,� said Uruguay’s Rubén, “but we have pretty much made it up on the ride.� The last team arrived in just before 3:00 pm. (That day might seem short to you, but remember, that is only before sunset).
We are all lodged at the lovely Hotel Lago Gray for the night, on the south end of the lake that was the site of the famous paddle-with-icebergs of PER 2004. I want to thank the hotel for their hospitality, and especially for hte delicious meal that they treated us to this evening (yes, all the racers are “camped� in luxurious rooms here).
I also want to thank the Estancia Cerro Guido, where we stayed last night, just east of Torres del Paine National Park. An estancia is a ranch, and this is one of the very few big Patagonian ranches left that is still in its original condition – dating back about a century. It is huge, at 65,000 ha, and they run over 50,000 on the rolling hills and pampa here. The estancia is still run commercially, raising sheep both for wool and for meat, but it also caters to tourists, offering horseback riding and other great ranching experiences. I thank them for their hospitality – I had a great sleep in their luxurious tourist lodge last night!
See All Event Posts
