It had been snowing for over 24 hours, but the storm was set to clear out just in time for first light. My friend Jordi Tenas, who is a professional skier, and I had spent and camping under the towering Cerro Torrecillas near Las Le帽as Ski Resort in Argentina. It had been a dry winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and we were heading back to Spain in a few days. But our luck with the听weather was about to change, so we extended our trip by an extra day to nail perfect snow conditions.

The plan was to wake up early, climb in the dark, and ski back down to camp at first light. From there, we鈥檇 break down the tent, head back to our apartment in town and pack up a season鈥檚 worth of gear before catching the last bus out of Las Le帽as.

We forced ourselves into sleeping bags and set an alarm for 6 A.M. Little did we know, that alarm would never come.

We woke up to a jolting impact against the tent wall, and we were pushed by a relentless river of snow that tossed and churned us as we struggled to free our arms from our sleeping bags. The roof of the tent caved in听and squeezed against our bodies as it dragged underneath a massive avalanche. When it all finally stopped and the basin went silent once again, we couldn鈥檛 move our bodies from the waist down. My arms were just loose enough to keep an air pocket open, and I could faintly hear Jordi beside me.

We had known our tent was in a basin and potentially at risk for听avalanches, but, perched up on a hill of glacial deposit, we thought any slides would have a whole bowl to fill before they reached our doorstep. I had expressed my concern to Jordi, yet in famous Jordi fashion, he confidently defended our safety, and I got lulled into believing it. After all, it would take a an avalanche of historic size听to get anywhere close to where we were sleeping.

We never anticipated that a cornice would fall above us, or that it would be听big enough send the whole bowl of snow听crashing down鈥攑ersistent weak layer and all. I wouldn鈥檛 find out until later, but we were now buried under six feet of snow.

We whispered back and forth, and I could hear Jordi breathing. We both scolded each other for taking up too much air as things started to come in and out of focus. As my breathing got shallower, I realized it was still the middle of the night鈥攖hat no one would even realize we were gone until morning. We were going to die, I thought. That was the last thought that crossed my mind before I lost consciousness.

The next thing I remember is the ambulance door closing. I wasn鈥檛 sure where I was, but I was bundled in blankets instead of my sleeping bag. I was hypoxic and hypothermic, but I was still there. I wouldn鈥檛 find out until later, but Jordi wasn鈥檛 so lucky.

Our Las Le帽as roommate, a freeskier from Idaho, had noticed that we hadn’t听arrive home that morning,听and he had climbed up the nearest hill to get eyes on our ski zone. He saw a massive crown just peeking out over the ridge lines and rushed down to tell ski patrol. Equipped with two Pisten Bully snow cats and an avalanche dog, they took off to Cerro Torrecillas and started excavating the zone.

The season was done at the resort, so it鈥檚 a miracle rescuers from the ski area even came out that day. We were buried so deep, only the machines could dig us out. When they struck the tent, they were shocked to find me still breathing. I don鈥檛 remember getting loaded into the cat, and only barely remember pieces of the 125-mile drive to the hospital in San Rafael.听Somehow I had been able to keep breathing in the same air pocket, yet Jordi had not. I survived being buried for 12 hours underneath and avalanche.

The interview with Txema Trull was conducted in Spanish and translated and edited for brevity and clarity by Kade Krichko鈥擡d.

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As a frugal college student, I stretched my dollar in budget-friendly backpacker hot spots like India, Mexico, and Bali, where the dollar has traditionally had strong buying power. While those destinations are still affordable for many American travelers, that list has grown. This year the dollar has surged against many foreign currencies, including the South African rand and Japanese yen.

The bottom line: 2024 is the best year in quite some time to consider international travel, especially as prices in the U.S. have been on a steady rise since the pandemic waned. Although domestic airfare and hotel prices are slightly lower than last year (according to 鈥檚 June 2024 travel-inflation report), restaurant meals in this country are up nearly 30 percent compared to May 2019, and movie, theater, and concert tickets have bumped up 3.4 percent year over year. The Telegraph even recently published a story titled 鈥�.鈥�

Airfares to Asia, Canada, and Africa are higher than last year, , but you can still find deals by booking three to five months ahead or flying with low-cost carriers. Once you鈥檙e on the ground, the dollar goes far. When I visited Cape Town, South Africa, in May, I never paid more than $8 for an Uber ride across the city, and a wood-fired pizza and glass of local Pinotage cost less than $10 at the cool enoteca .

When I traveled to Japan last fall, lunch never cost more than $5. My go-to order: cheap onigiri (Japanese rice balls filled with pickled plums or spicy cod roe) and a bottle of Kirin Ichiban beer.

Here are some of my favorite countries where a weaker currency against the dollar will give you serious bang for your buck.

Argentina

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 271 Argentine pesos

Soaring inflation in the country hasn’t helped citizens, but it has made Argentina one of the best bargains for American travelers in recent years. On a recent trip to the Patagonian hiking mecca of El Chalt茅n, a friend and I split a hearty steak dinner and bottle of Malbec at for less than $25. (from $130) is a homey wooden chalet in the center of town with friendly staff, views of the iconic Fitz Roy, and a delicious complimentary breakfast buffet. runs instructional climbing and mountaineering clinics and also leads one-to-six-day treks in Los Glaciares National Park (from $300).

If climbing isn鈥檛 your thing, head northeast to the wetlands of Iber谩 National Park. A partnership between Tompkins Conservation and the NGO Rewilding Argentina have brought back several species, including the jaguar, ocelot, giant otter, tapir, and giant anteater. hotel (from $368, including all meals) is located within the park and staff can help arrange adventures such as horseback rides and kayak excursions.

Japan

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 141 Japanese yen

The 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel Trade Association chose Japan to host its 2023 World Summit, a testament to the country鈥檚 outdoor cred. After the conference, I explored Yakushima, a Unesco-listed subtropical island off the southern coast of Japan鈥檚 southernmost main island, Kyushu. Multiple daily ferry services connect from the seaside city of Kagoshima. I paid $138 for a round-trip ticket on the high-speed , which took two and a half hours.

Over a long weekend, I paddled the jade-hued Anbo River with SUP tour operator (half day from $54) and hiked the well-marked trails of the Shiratani Unsuikyo Ravine, a mystical nature park filled with moss forests, ancient cedars, and macaque monkeys. Another local outfitter, , leads guided treks to places like Kuromidake, an alpine part of the island that delivers 360-degree views (from $80). The owner also operates a (from $174) just 12 miles east of Hirauchi Kaichu Onsen, a sulfur-rich hot spring carved into the rock on the southern shore ($1, paid on an honor system). Note that the baths are only accessible during low tide, so time your visit accordingly.

Canada

Exchange rate: One year ago: $1 = 1.31 Canadian dollars

When it comes to wilderness bragging rights, Canada is hard to beat. America鈥檚 northern neighbor has it all, from temperate coastal rainforest to 14,000-foot peaks to gorgeous national parks. One word of advice: even with the stronger U.S. dollar, Canadian gas prices range from 25 to 50 percent higher than the American average, so perhaps skip the road trip and consider a trip to the , an eco-retreat in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia.

Owned by the Heiltsuk Nation, this 63-acre Denny Island property can be reached by from Port Hardy ($84 round trip) or Bella Coola ($53 round trip) and offers accommodations suited to all budgets, from campsites ($15) to cozy lodge rooms with oceanfront balconies ($335). The draw: incredible salmon fishing, intimate cultural tours, extraordinary wildlife viewing鈥攏otably grizzly and black bears, as well as the rare white spirit bear and humpback whales and orcas鈥攑lus kayak and SUP activities.

In the eastern province of Quebec, Montreal is an urban playground worth your time and money. From downtown it鈥檚 an hour bus ride ($2.30) or 20-minute taxi ($22) to Boucherville Islands National Park ($7), a series of five small islands laced with more than 20 miles of trails. Rent kayaks or paddleboards (from $25 for four hours) to explore the bird-filled wetlands. The park also offers 50 riverside tent campsites (from $25).

South Africa

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 17.74 South听African rand

South Africa offers much more than safaris. Cape Town, on the southwest coast, is the ultimate urban adventure base鈥攊t reminds me of an affordable San Francisco, with a combination of gorgeous beaches, awesome hiking trails, and wine lands less than 30 minutes away.

In 2019, United Airlines launched North America鈥檚 only nonstop flight to Cape Town via Newark, New Jersey. A recent search showed round-trip flights in September for $1,320, which is less than I paid to fly to any city in Europe this summer from the U.S.

The strong dollar goes a long way here. I love staying at the ten-room , located close to the trails of unforgettable Table Mountain and the buzzy bars and restaurants of Kloof Street. Rooms go for around $165 and include a lovely breakfast. A slightly more affordable sister property, 脗m茅, will debut nearby in October. Outfitter can arrange adventures like snorkeling in a kelp forest or surfing at Muizenberg Beach.

The Garden Route, a 124-mile ocean-hugging highway on the Western Cape, boasts some of the best land-based whale-watching on the planet, a season that generally runs from June to December. Accommodations within (from $94) offer easy access to hiking and biking trails along the shore and opportunities to spot ostrich and Cape Mountain zebra from your doorstep.

Romania

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 4.43 Romanian lei

While many European countries have been battling overtourism, Romania remains largely off the radar of travelers. When I visited in June, I was warmly welcomed by locals, trekked empty trails, and easily booked reservations at popular restaurants with wildly affordable prices. At , one of the top tables in the capital city of Bucharest, a glass of great wine cost just $6, and the most expensive entr茅e on the menu was $16.

Ringed by the Carpathian Mountains, the forested region of Transylvania is a hiking and biking gem, with 64 miles of linking eight Saxon villages. Base yourself in Viscri at the seven-room (from $65). The owner was involved in building the trail network and rents bikes (from $20) and e-bikes (from $32) and also offers guided bike trips. , in the central-Romanian village of Mesendorf, is also conveniently located near the bike trail as well as fantastic hiking trails rich with birds like goshawks and hawfinches. (from $86). Take advantage now. Romania鈥檚 government is looking to adopt the euro by 2026.

Australia

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 1.47 Australian dollars

New flight routes are often promoted with deals, so look to score savings when American Airlines introduces new service听 from Dallas to Brisbane on October 27 and Delta launches a seasonal route from L.A. to Brisbane on December 4.

The capital city of Queensland, in the country’s northeast, is the perfect jumping-off point to explore the wave-blessed beaches of the Gold Coast, just 40 miles south. Or head to Byron Bay, one of my all-time favorite beach towns, located around 100 miles south. In Byron, check in at the , a revamped motel on the edge of town with 12 rooms, lo-fi vibes, and a kitschy tiki bar (from $180), or hunker down at , a regenerative farm set on 55 acres in the hinterland, with trails for horseback riding, a pool and badminton club, and a wellness area equipped with a wood-fired sauna and a cold plunge (from $370).

国产吃瓜黑料 options range from over the Cape Byron Nature Reserve (from $107 for 30 minutes) to paddling to famed surf breaks like Tallow Beach and the Pass. rents boards (from $18 for two hours) and runs half-day group lessons ($53). Head inland to explore the waterfalls and glow-worm caves within World Heritage鈥搇isted Nightcap National Park.

In town, caffeinate with a perfectly poured flat white from and carbo-load at , known for its addictive sourdough pizza, doughnuts, and creative croissant flavors, like peanut butter chocolate.

Portugal

Exchange rate:
One year ago: $1 = 0.89 Euro

True, the euro has a slight edge on the dollar, but if you鈥檙e like me and can鈥檛 resist the pull of Western Europe, consider Portugal as a less expensive option to the rest of the Continent. Surf-swept beaches, scenic trail networks like the 听(Fishermen鈥檚 Trail)鈥攃heck out the video and Gaia GPS map, below鈥� and cycling routes that meander along the dramatic coast and through wine country have put this country on the radar of active travelers who don鈥檛 want to spend a fortune.

Portugal feels like a bargain in comparison to Spain, France, or Italy. Its rail system, , conveniently connects the northern and southern regions (a round-trip ticket from Lisbon to Porto cost me $47 last fall), and when I rented a car for ten days last June, it cost half of what I paid to rent a car for a long weekend in Maine this summer.

My recent trip was a surf mission on Portugal鈥檚 Silver Coast, and was a dream stay. Perched above the beach in the sleepy town of Santa Cruz, the family-friendly, sustainable hotel has an in-house surf school, a skate park, trampolines, a gym, sea-to-table food, and a variety of accommodations ranging from sea-view bungalows (from $200) to eight-person bunkhouses (from $60 per person).

After a long morning of surfing, I鈥檇 retreat to , just below the hotel, where the catch of the day, paired with potatoes and fresh vegetables, cost around $15 and was enough to share with a friend. The surf picks up in autumn, right when the price of flights to Europe typically start to fall, so go for it.

Jen Murphy makes her friends ski across the border from Switzerland to Italy to score a more affordable (and equally delicious) lunch on her annual European ski trip.听

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We are ready for summer. We鈥檝e got our lightweight tents and Tevas out, spend our free time examining trail maps, and have been outdoors soaking up the longer days in preparation for all sorts of adventures. Where are we going this summer? Some of us have plans to escape to tropical Caribbean ports and the high peaks of South America, while others are simply road-tripping one county or one state over for a long weekend escape.

Haven鈥檛 nailed down the specifics of your summer vacation yet? It doesn鈥檛 have to be spendy, and you can go with friends, family, or solo. Just pick a place that will offer a sense of wonder, a disconnect from your routine, preferably in nature, which has been shown to improve everything from our psyches to our relationships and even heal heartbreak. Here are the trips we鈥檝e booked.

Northern New Mexico

When the heat hits the country with full force in July, my husband and I will head from our home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, up north to cooler climes near Taos. We鈥檙e eager to stay at , which isn鈥檛 a hotel at all but a grouping of vintage Airstreams all decorated differently. We鈥檝e rented Castor, built in 1972, our best friends have rented the adjacent Pollux, from 1967, and we鈥檒l share a deck. Each trailer has a queen bed, a full kitchen, a bathroom, and views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The hiking around Taos is incredible, too, with trails in nearly every direction.

From Luna Mystica, you can walk to the Taos Mesa Brewery鈥檚 mothership location, which has a stage and live music many summer nights. Early in the mornings we鈥檒l drive the quick 13 miles to the Black Rock Hot Springs on the Rio Grande; my husband will fly-fish from the wide banks while I soak and enjoy the July traffic through the canyon: dragonflies, swallows, kayakers, hawks, and bright-yellow butterflies.

One day we want to tour the nearby , self-sufficient off-grid homes that look like futuristic dwellings. I鈥檓 fascinated by their modern sustainability efforts but also love their incorporation of beautiful, unique design elements鈥攚alls made of used tires and earth or accents of recycled glass bottles that glimmer colorfully in the sun. 鈥�Tasha Zemke, 国产吃瓜黑料 managing editor

Ten Sleep Canyon, Wyoming

At some point over the winter, I decided I sucked at climbing. As I dragged my feet out of the gym, devoid of stoke and prepared to suck again the next day, I had no idea how to cure my melodramatic self-diagnosis. But that changed two months ago when I started climbing with the , a mentor program in the Denver area led by big-wall athlete Jordan Cannon. A dozen of my peers and I have attended clinics, trainings, lectures, and meet-ups to define and achieve our climbing goals, and it all culminates in a final trip in June to Ten Sleep, Wyoming.

Why Ten Sleep? This tiny cowboy town in the north-central reaches of the state happens to be the base camp of a massive limestone canyon 15 miles away with more than a thousand sport routes for climbers of every skill level. One of last year鈥檚 mentees called it 鈥淪helf Road on steroids鈥濃�攁 reference to a popular Front Range climbing mecca鈥攁nd noted how the population of the local campground, when filled with climbers, seems bigger than the actual town itself. 鈥�, National Park Trips digital content producer

Saint Lucia

My fianc茅 and I are taking our honeymoon this summer on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, best known for two mountains called the Pitons鈥擥ros Piton and Petit Piton. While we鈥檙e eager to lounge on the white-sand beaches, snorkel, eat jerk chicken and breadfruit, and enjoy a mud bath at Sulphur Springs, in the dormant Soufri猫re volcano, we鈥檙e most looking forward to guided hikes. I鈥檓 especially excited to tackle the Gros Piton Trail (see Gaia GPS map below), which is three miles round-trip, with a little more than 1,800 feet of elevation gain.

We鈥檝e been told this is challenging, but the view from the top of the island and the sea is said to be spectacular. Plus, I plan to set my alarm for an early-morning run just as the sun rises over the sea. 鈥�Mallory Arnold, Run associate editor

Machu Picchu, Peru

I鈥檓 an editor at Backpacker, and the biggest hiking goal of my life has always been Machu Picchu. I first learned about the ruins in Peru in my middle school history class, and the combination of hiking and Indigenous history intrigued me. A trip to South America seemed like a long shot, but I kept dreaming. Flash forward to the end of May: my college friends and I are going international on our annual reunion trekking trip. We鈥檒l fly into Cuzco and spend two days acclimatizing to the altitude鈥攁 little more than 11,000 feet鈥攚hile touring the city before hitting the Inca Trail with , a sustainable-tourism company.

For four days we鈥檒l hike between 7,218 and 13,780 feet before ending at the famous Inca site. With porters carrying our belongings and chefs cooking our meals, this is going to be a lot more glamorous than my usual excursions to the backcountry. I can鈥檛 wait. But there鈥檚 a more personal reason why this trip is particularly meaningful to me: I recently learned that a suspicious mole was actually stage-one melanoma and was sidelined for weeks in between procedures. I can鈥檛 imagine a better place to celebrate being cancer-free. 鈥� Emma Veidt, Backpacker associate editor

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

My theme for the summer is: Stay local, but get far, far away. From our home in Boulder, Colorado, my wife and I can drive to Rocky Mountain National Park in less than two hours, and we鈥檝e exploited that proximity to visit many of the park鈥檚 peaks, lakes, and trails. Not surprisingly, popular spots are often packed with other nature lovers. So this year we鈥檙e taking advantage of a little-used type of wilderness permit to escape the crowds. We鈥檝e reserved long weekends in four of Rocky鈥檚 23 , remote areas without developed trails or campsites, where we鈥檒l likely see more elk and moose than people.

Hidden in some of the park鈥檚 most rugged terrain, typically at elevations of 9,000 to 11,000 feet, these zones require expert navigation skills and total self-reliance. Expect rangers at the backcountry desk to quiz you on bear safety, Leave No Trace ethics, orienteering know-how, and prior wilderness experience before issuing your permit, and expect challenging bushwhacking through dense forest. But the reward is worth the effort: the crisp, star-filled nights, high-country wildflowers, and Alaska-worthy solitude will make you feel much farther from civilization than you actually are.

Fair warning: the park provides scant information about the zones, and trip reports are few and far between. Your best bet is to download the and subscribe to the Premium edition so you can access detailed topo maps for offline use (there鈥檚 typically no cell reception in these zones). Study the terrain closely before you go, and don鈥檛 expect to cover more than one mile per hour. 鈥�Jonathan Dorn, 国产吃瓜黑料, Inc., chief entertainment officer

Switzerland

When I realized I鈥檇 be spending my 30th birthday in Europe, I only had two nonnegotiables: Alpine hiking and cheese. Switzerland, specifically the Lauterbrunnen Valley, perfectly fit that bill. My husband and I are planning to spend four nights in the central Jungfrau region: one in a village hotel at each end of the valley, and two at the remote , an off-grid hut that鈥檚 only accessible by foot through forests and wildflower-filled pastures. (See Gaia GPS map to the hut below.) Reservations can only be made by phone, a charming and slightly confusing experience that secured us a bed in a private room, breakfast, and dinner for two days for about $106 per person per night.

We鈥檒l fill our days ascending the area鈥檚 many trails in the shadow of imposing peaks, past some of the valley鈥檚 72 waterfalls, and our evenings eating hearty meals, including Obersteinberg鈥檚 homemade cheese. I鈥檓 crossing my fingers that raclette is served鈥搈y favorite Swiss dish, it consists of melted cheese scraped over potatoes鈥揵ut if not, I鈥檒l indulge back in town with a celebratory pot of fondue.

We鈥檙e traveling to Switzerland by car but will leave it parked in Interlaken to take advantage of the valley鈥檚 excellent public transportation (think: trains, trams, and gondolas), as many of the hamlets are otherwise inaccessible. 鈥�Mikaela Ruland, National Park Trips editor in chief

Victoria, British Columbia

Last year my husband and I became rooftop-tent converts in Iceland. I鈥檝e pitched and slept in backpacking tents my whole life, and I never thought I鈥檇 be into a roof rig until our European rental experience went right. We realized it can take us two minutes, instead of twenty, to set up or break down camp. Plus, memory foam is so much comfier than the ground, and our gear stays a helluva lot more organized inside the vehicle.

So we scored an open-box deal on a , and this summer we鈥檙e taking it for a spin from New Mexico up through the Pacific Northwest to Canada. We鈥檒l hit campsites near Olympic National Park along the way, before ferrying to Victoria, British Columbia, to hang out at an oceanside apartment along a 70-mile bike path for six weeks. We鈥檙e stoked to beat the heat, enjoy the nearness of open water, and work from a place that鈥檚 new to us both where we can trail-run through the backcountry.

On our way home, we鈥檒l swing through Banff, in Alberta, then Glacier National Park, in Montana鈥攖wo bucket-list areas I鈥檝e been dying to check out. The best part? My husband is the king of finding last-minute camping reservations, so I barely had to lift a finger to map it all out. 鈥�Patty Hodapp, 国产吃瓜黑料 Online interim digital director

Paris and Annecy, France

I鈥檓 heading to Paris for the Summer Games! I鈥檝e been a huge fan of the Olympics for as long as I can remember, and about a year ago I haphazardly put my name on an email list for the ticket lottery. I didn鈥檛 put much thought into the idea of actually attending, until I beat out thousands of other eager fans (a process that saw me awake at 3 A.M., repeatedly refreshing my browser) to secure two tickets to men鈥檚 rowing in late July.

This will be my third time to the French capital, so after the event concludes and I鈥檝e gotten my fill of Olympic pride, I plan to head southeast to Annecy, a town on the French-Swiss border, for a long weekend in the fresh Alpine air. I鈥檒l brave the frigid temperatures of Lake Annecy, stroll Jardins de 鈥橢urope, and of course do some hiking. Routes to the Citadel of Lake Annecy and the Parmelan Plateau have already caught my eye, but like most things, there鈥檚 something to be said for going in with half a plan and figuring out the rest later. 鈥�Jamie Aranoff, Ski digital editor

British Columbia’s West Coast Trail

Ever since writer Scott Yorko pitched me on the deadly history of Canada鈥檚 (see Gaia GPS map below) a number of years ago, I鈥檝e wanted to see the area鈥檚 storied shipwrecks, beaches, and wildlife for myself. Yorko wrote not only of the dramatic rescue attempts that led to this 48-mile path鈥檚 construction along British Columbia鈥檚 rugged coast but also of sandy campsites, verdant rainforest walks, tide pools brimming with sea life, and a floating crab shack that caters to hungry hikers.

In June, I鈥檒l finally experience the trail for myself. I鈥檓 prepared for slow miles through boot-sucking mud, rickety wooden ladders, cable cars, and changing tides. With any luck, my partner and I will spot sea lions, whales, and otters; bears, cougars, and wolves are also known to wander the shore. The salty air and marine views should be a welcome departure from the alpine hikes I usually gravitate toward in the summer, and I couldn鈥檛 be more excited. 鈥�Zoe Gates, Backpacker senior editor

The Andes, Chile

In 2013, I spent five months living in southern Chile. But that was before I was a skier. In the intervening decade, I鈥檝e spent 100 days on snow almost every year. I rarely travel away from my home in the eastern Sierra to ski these days, but my ultimate dream trip is a ski trip to Chile and Argentina. This is the year that becomes a reality. In August, when the austral winter is in full swing, my fianc茅e and I will fly from Los Angeles to Santiago and enjoy the change of scenery while sipping pisco sours, sightseeing at the Pablo Neruda museum, and checking out the mountaintop zoo. The following day we鈥檒l take a bus to Portillo, a resort nestled among the Andes that鈥檚 famous for runs that empty out at Laguna del Inca, for three days on the slopes, and after that, we鈥檒l travel southeast to Las Le帽as, in Argentina, for a final two days of skiing above wine country. I never much cared for summer anyway. 鈥擩ake Stern, 国产吃瓜黑料 Online digital editor

The post Seize the Summer! 10 Incredible Trips Our Editors Are Taking. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This article was first published by .

Linaza hiked for four hours before reaching a group of climbers who could call for a rescue. The message was sent to the unofficial rescue team of the area, the El Chalt茅n Alpine Rescue Centre, of which Dr. Carolina Cod贸 is the leader. The team met to discuss the situation, aware that they were at least six hours from the accident site, and that the chances of survival while being buried in an avalanche would drop dramatically over time.

鈥淒eath by suffocation and hypothermia is inevitable,鈥� Cod贸 wrote to Climbing听in an email听(translated from Spanish). 鈥淭herefore, we evaluated that the [rescue team] volunteers could not be risked when the chances of survival were zero.鈥�

Professional climber Jacob Cook was bivvied on the summit of Cerro Chalt茅n when he received news of the accident. The following morning, Cook and his partners descended the route Franco-Argentina and then waited all day above La Brecha for its sun-baked walls to go into the shade, providing safer conditions to descend. Cook feared for wet avalanches, like the one that took Agirre and Bilbao, as well as for La Brecha itself.

 

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La Brecha used to be a gully filled with low-angle ice which held together loose rock. Now, rising temperatures have all but erased the ancient ice and have left a dangerous shooting gallery in its wake. Cook described several climbers who have had close calls in the gully recently: a friend鈥檚 leg was broken by a falling rock, and another friend had refrigerator-sized blocks fly past him while rappelling. And in February 2022, was killed by rockfall while rappelling La Brecha.

When Cook reached La Brecha鈥檚 accident scene roughly 33 hours after the avalanche, he was struck by how unfortunate Agirre and Bilbao had been. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very dangerous place but they were also extremely unlucky to be where they were when that happened,鈥� Cook said. 鈥淚t seems unbelievably unlucky, like they could have been five meters to the left and probably survived.鈥�

Cook blames climate change for Fitz Roy鈥揳nd other Patagonian mountains鈥攂ecoming more hazardous in recent years: high day-time temperatures can produce destructive wet avalanches and cause loose blocks to effectively unfreeze from alpine walls. Climbing Fitz Roy has become especially dangerous, Cook said, because La Brecha is still the best way off the peak. 鈥淭here just isn鈥檛 a good descent from the mountain right now,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a problem facing [climbers] in El Chalt茅n.鈥�

Other options include descending the North (Goretta) Pillar via the Casarotto route, which is unappealing for climbers who鈥檝e summited via the Afanassieff as they will be rappelling more steep, technical terrain than the Franco-Argentina/La Brecha descent. There is also the descent, but Cook does not recommend it for its similarly serious nature: it鈥檚 the biggest face on Fitz Roy at 3,000 feet. 鈥淓specially onsight, you鈥檇 be rapping into an extremely committing situation,鈥� he said.

 

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Eneko Pou, a frequent Patagonia climber and friend of Agirre, said Agirre and Bilbao were talented young alpinists with promising futures. Pou did not know Bilbao personally, but knew he was a well-respected alpinist and a career firefighter. According to Pou, Agirre was one of the strongest alpinists in Spain and had 鈥渁 lot of talent doing almost everything, a lot of specialties.鈥� She鈥檇 climbed 5.12+ and WI 6, and went on several expeditions, including Nepal in 2021, where she participated as a medic on a new route up Chekigo鈥檚 south face. Agirre also did the first female ascent of Groucho Marx in Chamonix and was a member of the National Women鈥檚 Mountaineering Team of the Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing.

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I am sitting with Francis Mallmann, the famed Argentine chef, on the deck of his house, perched on La Isla, a nearly 15-acre island within a remote lake in Patagonia. Before us are a strip steak and thinly sliced potatoes, both cooked in clarified butter and just removed from an iron parrilla, or grill, gently smoking nearby. I鈥檝e offhandedly told him about a volume of essays and poems by Jorge Luis Borges, an even more fabled Argentine, that I鈥檇 recently bought at a bookshop in central Buenos Aires.

Mallmann, holding an almost comically bulbous glass of Chilean wine, brightens, and then asks: 鈥淒o you know the 鈥楾wo English Poems鈥� by Borges?鈥夆�� He reaches for his phone, searches for a moment, then begins reading. 鈥淲hat can I hold you with?鈥� one poem opens, followed by a catalog of declarations, such as: 鈥淚 offer you the loyalty of a man who has never been loyal.鈥�

It鈥檚 the sort of moment I鈥檝e come to regard as pura Mallmann, a heady, intoxicating foray into the empire of the senses. The scent of something sizzles away on a nearby plancha, or griddle; a soft tango plays in the background; people are gathered under a huge sky, with weather that seems to change on the half-hour; and the chef, with a broad, sympathetic face and flowing white hair, is declaiming some verse whose words, per Dylan, glow 鈥渓ike burning coal.鈥�

Mallmann鈥檚 story has already reached near-legend status, but in case you haven鈥檛 heard it: A poetically inclined, libertine chef from Argentina is cooking French cuisine at some of the top restaurants in the world, winning awards, when, at age 40, he has a midlife crise de foie and turns instead to a sort of gastro-anthropological passion project to bring traditional Argentinean cooking鈥攅verything from the hot-rock-lined curanto pits of the Indigenous Mapuche, to the metal-grates-over-hot-coals campfire cooking of the gauchos鈥攖o the wider culinary scene. At the time it was a head-scratching move, but one that worked out for him, resulting in nine restaurants around the globe, adored cookbooks, television shows in Argentina, and big-name fanboys, including David Beckham, Tim Ferriss, and the late Anthony Bourdain. Perhaps his most famous endeavor is a noted appearance, during which he barbecues meat via a staggering variety of outdoor pits, bonfires, and grills, and poignantly waxes by turns adamant and wistful about his many romantic loves. In the end, Mallmann鈥檚 name has become virtually synonymous with one word: fire.

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Some trips you can make happen at the last minute, like a weekend getaway or an impromptu road trip. But far-flung, grander adventures require a little鈥擮K, fine, a lot鈥攎ore planning. We鈥檙e talking about a once-a-year natural event听or a state-crossing bikepacking trip. So we鈥檝e curated a list of our favorite epic quests for 2020 and beyond that you鈥檒l听want to start thinking about now.

Watch a Total Solar Eclipse

The next full eclipse visible from the U.S. won鈥檛 be until 2024. If you want to see one sooner, you鈥檒l be able to spot the totality from Chile, Argentina, and parts of the South Pacific on December 14, 2020.听 is offering a 15-day sea-based expedition (from $9,495) aboard a yacht traveling between the French Polynesian islands, where you鈥檒l watch the eclipse alongside expert astronomers. Or sign up for an 8-, 11- or 13-day eclipse tour (from $2,428) with听 across Argentina, and you鈥檒l visit Buenos Aires, then enjoy the eclipse听in the dark high desert of Fort铆n Nogueira. Or go on your own, and book a stay in Chile鈥檚 Lake District鈥攖he 听(from $176) in Patagonia is a good home base for trekking and mountain biking and will have stellar views of the eclipse.

Ride Across a State

Three years ago, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced the听, a new, ambitious project听that would crisscross New York state. Some 400 miles of it were already in existence, but many links had to be built. The T-shaped trail will be completed at the end of 2020, and by then, it鈥檒l be a continuous, 750-mile pathway that extends south from the Canadian border to New York City and east from Buffalo听to Albany, making it the longest multi-use statewide trail in the country. Tackle a small or a large chunk of it on foot or bike. has a self-guided, 100-mile, four-day trip (from $550) on the Erie Canalway Trail, a section of the Empire State Trail;听you鈥檒l ride on your own, but it will book accommodations and help with shuttle service.

Attend a Far-Flung Festival

Every fall, Nepal hosts , one of the longest-standing and largest festivals in the country. The two-week event is celebrated in communities across the nation from October 17 to 26. It pays tribute to the goddess Durga, who overcame evil, through sacrifices and ceremonies. You鈥檒l find sacred flowers, kite flying, family gatherings, parades, and a full-moon celebration. offers customizable festival tours of Nepal, or reach out to Kathmandu-based for private or group tours that coincide with Dashain.

Make a Pilgrimage

People have been walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain听for over a millennium. This historical, spiritual pilgrimage goes from the city of Saint-Jean-Pied-du-Port to Santiago de Compostela, and the thousands听of people who now set out on the 500-mile journey do so for their own transformative reasons.听 offers an 11-day guided trek (from $6,195) of the popular Camino Franc茅s (the French Way) route with a local guide in May and October. Or听if you don鈥檛 want to tackle the whole thing,听 leads an abbreviated听six-day hike (from $4,199) on choice sections of the storied route. If you plan to do the route on your own, opt to make it in May, June, or September, when temperatures hover around 50 degrees and there鈥檚 less chance of rain.听

See a Waterfall That Looks Like It鈥檚 on Fire

鈥嬧赌嬧赌�, the second-highest free-falling waterfall in Yosemite National Park, does something akin to magic in late February. Certain conditions are needed鈥攝ero clouds, the perfect angle of the setting sun, and enough snow and the right temperatures for the waterfall to run鈥攂ut when the sun glints off the water, the 1,570-foot falls look like they鈥檙e on fire. Catch the view (along with many other spectators and photographers) from the El Capitan picnic area, on the way to Yosemite Village. The whole thing happens in a limited ten-minute window, so don鈥檛 miss it. Stay in a room or two-bedroom cabin at the recently revamped听听(from $179), near the south entrance to Yosemite, and enjoy the rest of the park during its less crowded winter months.

Spot the Northern Lights

To see the northern lights (a.k.a. the听aurora borealis), you need to head north toward the Arctic Circle, ideally during the darker winter months of September through March. But even then, you鈥檙e not guaranteed a sighting. Show up at听, 25 miles from Fairbanks, Alaska, and you can sleep in a geodesic igloo (from $369) on 100 acres of boreal forest and go dog mushing and snowshoeing by day, then look out for lights dancing across the sky by night. Or book a northern-lights tour with听, and it鈥檒l arrange for all-inclusive, five-day trips to places like Norway鈥檚 (from $2,122 for five-day trip) or Finland鈥檚听听(from $3,110 for five-day trip).

Sleep in Space

OK, we know this one is over the top, but one can dream.听Although this trip听won鈥檛 take place until 2024, it may take years to prepare for鈥攏ot to mention saving up for the lofty price tag. A company called Orion Span has announced a new space hotel,听, scheduled to open in five years. Four guests at a time will be able to launch 230 miles above earth to experience zero gravity for 12 days. You鈥檒l be treated to personal sleeping quarters and tasked with various responsibilities. Before you go, though, you鈥檒l need to conduct a few months鈥� worth of training to learn how the spacecraft operates, contingency training, and the practice of weightlessness. Rates start at a whopping $9.5 million per person.

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Danny MacAskill is a wizard on wheels. He hops on, off, and between rooftops and walls, railings and rocks, benches and phone booths鈥�you name it鈥�with comical ease. While the 33-year-old Scotsman is known for his mind-blowing street-trials feats, he still finds time to hammer singletrack.

Born in Dunvegan, on the Isle of Skye,听MacAskill has听been riding bikes nearly his entire life听but only came to fame at age 23,听when he uploaded a听 to YouTube听that听went viral. He鈥檚 since starred in numerous films, such as ,听,听and ,听which have all garnered tens of millions of online听views apiece. His latest project:听.

From a once submerged town in Argentina to the听 in Beverly Hills, California, MacAskill鈥檚 ridden and been filmed across the globe. And yet听he still calls home, Scotland, his all-time favorite place to ride. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very lucky, almost spoiled, to have so many trails on our doorstep,鈥� he says.

When MacAskill trades pavement for dirt, here鈥檚 where you are听likely to听find him.

Davos,听Switzerland

鈥� is a famous ski town, but it鈥檚 developed an amazing听. It鈥檚 got a real good mix of everything听and听fast, flowy听fun stuff.鈥�

鈥淎ll the hills there are pretty open. You feel like you鈥檙e in proper high Alpine. There鈥檚 beautiful ridgeline riding听and fairly tight singletrack. As听you get听lower down, it becomes a bit more bermy, which is really fun to ride with friends鈥攕tuff you can race on听and try to undertake each other on at the corners. It鈥檚 all really good.鈥�

鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 a ski town, there鈥檚 great infrastructure, great hotels, and good food. There鈥檚 a good听 as well that鈥檚 right by the [Platz] train station. They鈥檒l look after you. I鈥檝e stayed at the听 in the heart of town, which doesn鈥檛 necessarily have听local flavor, but for me, it was something different, and it鈥檚听near the trails. I had a really good time there.鈥�

Morzine, French Alps

鈥淭his is the go-to place in the Alps for downhill-orientated mountain bikers. The greater area between Morzine, Les Gets, and Ch芒tel has an insane network of trails and chairlift access. It鈥檚 known for its pure downhill trails, like up on Super Morzine and Les Gets, but it鈥檚 not all gravity oriented. There鈥檚 a bit of everything. You can take the lift up and traverse, and there are cool enduro loops you can do there as well, so it鈥檚 definitely got it all. You can ride there for a week and not touch the same trail.鈥�

鈥淢orzine鈥檚 got quite good nightlife. The town is proper busy with mountain bikers鈥攏ot quite as busy as it would be in the ski season听but enough to give it a Whistler sort-of vibe. I recommend听, which is a bit legendary for its strong beer, called M眉tzig. A few pints of that听makes for an听interesting ride home.鈥�

Aviemore, Cairngorms National Park, Scottish Highlands

鈥淚鈥檓 biased, because it鈥檚 home and where I ride the most, but I have to include Scotland. Scotland鈥檚 got a booming bike scene鈥攊t鈥檚 something the government has embraced for locals as well as tourists. Aviemore, about two and a half hours north of听, is a hub right in the center of the Highlands, with easy access to the Cairngorms, one of our coolest national parks, which is a stunning place听with amazing trails, beautiful lochs, and Cairngorm Mountain.鈥�

鈥淚 lived in听 for a few years after I left school, and worked in a bike shop. Really recommend it. If you鈥檙e looking for a good bike shop there, there鈥檚 a place called听. They do repairs, sell coffee, and give good trail recommendations as well.鈥�

Torridon Hills, Scottish Highlands

鈥淚f you want something a bit wild, and maybe fancy bikepacking, go up into the Torridon Hills, on the northwest coast of Scotland. The landscape is very beautiful, open, and raw. It鈥檚 all heather, bog, and rock. That鈥檚 what I consider the best kind of mountain biking鈥攚here you feel like you鈥檙e the only person around. But it鈥檚 proper听rural Scotland. You definitely have to make sure you have a hip flask of whisky on you. I recommend it.鈥�

鈥淭here are some really cool loops through the mountains with bothies along the route, which are small mountain huts that are free to use. The descents are amazing鈥攚e鈥檙e talking 25-minute singletrack descents.听 is a notable one. It has a lot of stone, so wear tubeless tires and you can听hammer down it. We also have the freedom to roam in Scotland, so if you see a hill, you can bike it within reason听as long as you鈥檙e being respectful. If you鈥檙e prepared to stick a bike on your back, then you can hike up to the top of some pretty spectacular scenery听and get some amazing rewards with the descents.鈥�

鈥淗onestly, it will be some of the coolest biking you ever do. It鈥檚 proper adventure stuff. Scotland鈥檚 not famous for its incredible weather, so it鈥檚 best to pack for all four seasons听in one day. But when you do get nice weather here, I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 many听better places.鈥�

Santa Cruz, California

鈥淔or me听it鈥檚 quite a novelty getting to ride between the giant redwood trees. I feel like I鈥檓 an Ewok in Star Wars. There鈥檚 so much space compared to the tighter stuff we have here in Scotland. And the trails around Santa Cruz are amazing鈥攍oamy, fast, jumpy, and just good fun. The whole network flows really well.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 loads of stuff to ride in the area, but I couldn鈥檛 tell you any specific trail names, because there just seems to be so many听and new bits popping up all the time. I鈥檝e ridden there probably six or seven times, and we鈥檙e always going on new trails. I never know where I鈥檓 going anyway.鈥�

鈥淭he scene is awesome. It seems like every local rips, and it鈥檚 easy to join up with different folks when you鈥檙e out. I always have a good time there鈥擨鈥檓 talking about some of the best times I鈥檝e had on a bike. The nightlife鈥檚 great as well. Loads of good places to eat.听 is always a good laugh, or some of the dive bars around the place. There鈥檚 also good surfing听if you鈥檙e into that. It never gets too hot in the summer. It鈥檚 a very hospitable climate, even for a Scotsman.鈥�

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If you鈥檙e planning a trip overseas, consider this: some countries will cost you a ton more than others. The U.S. dollar rose against many international currencies in 2017 and through the beginning of 2018, which means it鈥檚 a good time to be choosy, says Todd Knoop, a professor of economics at Iowa鈥檚 Cornell College and author of the book听. 鈥淭here are a few places that are good bargains right now,鈥� he says.

Knoop has traveled to every continent except Antarctica, and he often visits places where he knows he can get a sweet听deal. We asked Knoop which countries would be his best bet in 2019 to take advantage of a strong U.S. dollar.

China

鈥淪omething good should come out of this trade war with China, like affordable travel,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he Chinese yuan depreciated by 5 to 10 percent in 2018.听Before this depreciation, China was still a relatively cheap place to travel, and it鈥檚 only gotten cheaper.鈥� Plus, China is as economically and culturally diverse a destination as you can get鈥擪noop describes it as hundreds of countries sewn into one. He encourages travelers听to visit western China, which is less westernized听than places like Beijing. Check out pandas, bamboo forests, and teahouses in the Sichuan province or go hiking in Yunnan鈥檚听, one of the deepest in the world.

Ecuador

鈥淵our purchasing power is huge in Ecuador,鈥� Knoop says, and the country uses the U.S. dollar, which makes traveling there听even easier for Americans. Ecuador also has every type of terrain, from snowcapped volcanoes to jungles to beaches. 鈥淓veryone wants to go to the Gal谩pagos Islands, but you can see a lifetime of biodiversity just on the mainland,鈥� he says. 听to climb 19,347-foot Cotopaxi, try a butterfly-spotting safari, cruise the Amazon River, or kayak its world-class whitewater.

Spain and Portugal

鈥淭he dollar remains high against the euro, and Spain and Portugal are not as affluent as the rest of Europe, so there are still good deals to be found,鈥� Knoop says. Spain is great for snagging听inexpensive accommodations, especially short-term rentals, because Spaniards have a long tradition of trading vacation homes among friends. 鈥淣ow, with the advent of Airbnb, those places are available to those who aren鈥檛 Spaniards.听It鈥檚 amazing what you can get for $50 a night.鈥�

South Africa

Your dollar will go far in the small townships around Johannesburg. 鈥淵ou can go with local people to nightclubs, churches鈥攊t鈥檚 a fantastic, authentic experience of how people are actually living,鈥� he says.听Check out the township of , where you can visit Nelson Mandela鈥檚 former home, drink locally brewed beer, and eat curry cooked over an open fire from a street vendor. At , a comfortable backpacker鈥檚 lodge, guides will take you around the township via听bicycle.

Argentina

鈥淭he dollar has doubled in value against the Argentine peso over the course of last year,鈥� Knoop says, and the country鈥檚 currency depreciation means that its tourism sectors will be looking for business. Wander the parks and museums in stunning听,听venture farther south into to spot penguins in the Punta Tombo National Reserve, or go sea kayaking off the coast of Ushuaia, a city of some 60,000 residents听on the southernmost tip of South America.

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鈥淣o hay 蝉颈苍贸苍颈尘辞 para Dios m谩s perfecto que la Belleza.鈥� John Muir鈥檚 dictum, originally published 80 years ago, rolls nicely off the tongue in Spanish. (Translation: No synonym for God is so perfect as Beauty.) The words are carved on the back of a wooden sign hanging at the entrance to Cementerio Valle Chacabuco, a small graveyard surrounded by a stone fence and a dozen guanacos grazing the brown steppe of 764,655-acre .

This civilized plot in Chile鈥檚 wild Ays茅n region holds the remains of Doug Tompkins. Doug, a cofounder of and , and his wife, Kristine, former CEO of , are legendary conservationists who began buying hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Chile and Argentina in the 1990s. In 2015, Doug died in a kayaking accident on General Carrera, a massive turquoise lake nearby. But the philanthropist鈥檚 spirit is everywhere, from his Husky bush plane on the grass runway to the black-chested buzzard eagle that swoops over the park鈥檚 headquarters. Doug鈥檚 radio handle was 脕guila, Spanish for eagle. It鈥檚 as if he shape-shifted into the actual bird.

I pay my respects to Doug, cross a dirt road, and hike a network of trails that climb 3,000 feet to a chain of high-alpine lakes. As I gain elevation, the stone structures and organic gardens of park headquarters disappear into the expanse of the vast Valle Chacabuco, which appears to have been folded and kneaded like bread by a giant hand. In the distance, the jagged white peaks of the Andes jut into the sky.

Muir would鈥檝e liked this view. Call it God or Beauty, but the panorama is overwhelming. So is Chile鈥檚 鈥渃razy geography,鈥� the phrase writer Benjam铆n Subercaseaux aptly used, in 1941, to describe the powerful natural forces that have shaped his country. A protected landscape like this is a sight for a sagging spirit to behold given the heated battles threatening public lands in the U.S.

In Chile, the opposite is happening. In January, outgoing president Michelle Bachelet and Kristine Tompkins signed a decree designating ten million new acres of national parklands. As part of that decision, the Chilean government set aside nine million acres of federal land, and Kristine donated one million acres of private land to help create and the one I鈥檓 standing in now. The decree protects an area three times the size of Yosemite and Yellowstone combined. Ultimately, the grand plan is to create a Route of Parks, connecting 17 national parks, a joint vision of , the umbrella organization that encompasses all the Tompkinses鈥� nonprofits, and the Chilean government.

I reach the first glacial lake on the northern flank of 4,875-foot Cerro Tamanguito and try to make out Picaflor y 脕guila, a picnic spot on the edge of a lagoon where Kristine and Doug first camped in the early 1990s. (Kristine鈥檚 radio handle was Picaflor, or hummingbird.) They were so enamored by Valle Chacabuco, then a 170,500-acre estancia, that they returned frequently. Later they brought along Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and his wife, Malinda, who鈥檝e donated generously to Tompkins Conservation and advised on land acquisitions over the years.

鈥淲hen we first saw Chacabuco,鈥� Chouinard told me, 鈥渢here was just this pristine valley. We were camping out on a little site right by a stand of poplar trees. That鈥檚 when we decided to buy the estancia from the de Smets, the Belgian family who owned the sheep ranch. They were trying to make it by selling manchego cheese. It wasn鈥檛 manchego. It had a funky barnyard flavor that made it unsellable.鈥� The de Smets eventually sold to a Tompkins nonprofit in 2004.

From my heady vantage point, it鈥檚 easy to get carried away by the rugged expanse and romance of the place. But that would be forgetting years of hard work, including negotiating land transactions, creating park boundaries, and pulling down thousands of fence posts, in order to restore an ecosystem that now attracts guanacos, Darwin鈥檚 rheas (a relative of the ostrich), and at least 30 pumas.

鈥淚 love starting things at zero,鈥� Kristine says when I speak with her after my trip. She was supposed to be at the park while I was visiting but had been delayed in the States tending to her 99-year-old mother, who died a few months ago. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough thing to pull off, but this is the front end of what will be one of the great national park routes of the world.鈥�

The route of听parks is still a rough concept at this point. Most have been designated, and Tompkins Conservation has contributed land to eight of them. The route will eventually be loosely connected via 1,500 miles of roads and ferries, combining Chile鈥檚 notoriously rugged 770-mile Carretera Austral () with water passages and roads farther south. It starts just south of the city of Puerto Montt at Alerce Andino National Park and ends at Cabo de Hornos National Park, a series of islands and waterways in , an archipelago off the southernmost point of South America. Once the parks are all decreed, which is estimated to happen as early as this fall, the route will create the largest string of national parks in the world, featuring jagged peaks, aquamarine glaciers, symmetrical volcanoes, milky rivers, steep-sided fjords, and old-growth forests.

I鈥檓 traveling with my boyfriend, Brian Hayden, and we鈥檙e on a somewhat ludicrous mission to explore as many Chilean national parks as we can in just under a month. Starting in Puerto Montt, where the Carretera Austral begins, our plan is to drive most of the highway, hop a ferry in the village of Puerto Yungay, ride 44 hours south to Puerto Natales, near iconic , and end up in Tierra del Fuego鈥檚 Yendegaia National Park, a 372,170-acre wilderness about a quarter of which a Tompkins nonprofit bought from a jailed drug dealer in 1998 and handed over to the government in 2014.

As Chileans like to say, Patagonia 鈥渆st谩 en pa帽ales鈥� (is in diapers) when it comes to development, which makes the recreation potential along the Route of Parks unlimited. Travelers can hike to hanging glaciers, mountain-bike singletrack few others have ridden, kayak and fly-fish pristine rivers, backpack through empty public lands, rock-climb hundreds of unnamed routes, horsepack into wilderness areas seen only by gauchos, or make the first ascent of a peak for the right to name it鈥攍ike Doug Tompkins and Yvon Chouinard did with 7,500-foot Cerro Kristine in 2009.

Our plan has a few pitfalls, namely that we鈥檙e driving south in late fall into potential snow and ice, and we have a tight schedule to keep to arrive in time for the once-a-week ferry in Puerto Yungay. Planning to be anywhere on time on the Carretera Austral is wishful thinking. Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet began constructing the famous highway in 1976, using 10,000 soldiers to dynamite mountainsides, fortify berms around cliffs, and hack through dense rainforest. It took 24 years to build the road, which is alternately paved, gravel, or dirt, and there remain four impenetrable sections that require a ferry bypass.

We wouldn鈥檛 be the first Patagonia road-trippers in need of a backup plan. In 1968, the now famous 鈥擠oug Tompkins, Yvon Chouinard, Dick Dorworth, and Lito Tejada-Flores鈥攄rove from California to Argentina, picking up Chris Jones in Peru. Their journey included a spectacular summit of Fitz Roy, one of the world鈥檚 most technical peaks. The Carre鈥媡era Austral didn鈥檛 exist back then, so the men had to cross from Chile into Argentina, which required thousands of dollars in bond money鈥攎uch more than the Fun Hogs had鈥攖o travel south on Route 40.

鈥淭ompkins, who was kind of a juvenile delinquent, said, 鈥榃e鈥檒l figure it out,鈥欌�夆�� Chou颅inard recalls. 鈥淲e got to Puerto Montt and bought a rubber stamp that blotted out the part that said our car wasn鈥檛 guaranteed for Argentina or Brazil. For three dollars, we got into Argentina.鈥�

The Fun Hogs inspired my first trip to Chile in 2000. I spent a week in the off-season hiking in Torres del Paine National Park, which felt rugged, remote, and empty. Then I flew to northern Patagonia and discovered what empty really looks like. I borrowed a bike to ride along the Carretera Austral, singing at the top of my lungs while surrounded by utter wildness.

In October 2015, I returned to Puerto Varas, a city in Chile鈥檚 Lakes District, where I met Doug Tompkins at a conference. 鈥淲e hope to make 12 national parks before we keel over,鈥� he told me then. He was wearing a black turtleneck, had a white mane of hair, and reminded me a little of a more animated Andy Warhol. 鈥淲e鈥檒l have to see if we can do that. Conservation faces opposition wherever it is. The use of territory is the most politically sensitive, emotional issue there is. Look at Grand Teton National Park. My God, there was an armed uprising there! You have to spend years, pay dues, win respect, and make as few mistakes as possible.鈥�

Doug鈥檚 love affair with Chile ran deep. He began exploring the country when he was 18, and later spent as much time there as possible while running two corporations. By 1991, he had amassed a fortune and soured on consumerism. He cashed out and bought a run-down, 42,000-acre farm south of Puerto Montt at the end of a Chilean fjord. Most of the farm is now part of Pumal铆n鈥揇ouglas R. Tompkins park. In 1994, he married Kristine, and over the years the two have invested more than $500 million鈥攆rom their personal finances, Tompkins Conservation, and like-minded partners鈥攖o protect 1.3 million acres in Chile and 1.2 million in Argen颅tina, and to fund other environmental projects. The Tompkinses weren鈥檛 always been viewed favorably by Chileans, some of whom considered them neocolonialists and circulated rumors鈥攖hat they were starting a cult or populating their land with American bison. But over the years, the pair earned the trust of locals and government officials. Two months after I met Doug, he died.

鈥淒oug was the start of the environmental movement in Chile,鈥� Chouinard says. 鈥淲hen he started down there, especially during Pinochet, if you opposed the government you were a dead man. There were no environmental orgs鈥攝ero. But Kristine has probably accomplished more than Doug would have had he been alive. He was pretty abrasive. Kris is more of a diplomat. She鈥檚 done a phenomenal job of handing over those parks.鈥�

And she isn鈥檛 done yet. In Argentina, Tompkins Conservation is working with the government to create several national parks, including the flagship 341,205-acre Iber谩. There, in June, two jaguar cubs were born for the first time in almost half a century.

The beauty of听the Route of Parks is how vastly different each area is. Some have glaciers, others have temperate rainforests, and still others have both. Some are roadless; others have exquisite luxury lodges. Even more diverse than the parks are the people who visit them. We meet a Chilean who slung a guitar over his shoulder in southern Patagonia and is hitchhiking all the way to . A South African couple bought a Chevy van in California and are driving down in full-on Fun Hog mode. One American took his Salsa Mukluk fat bike on a test ride through Alaska and has now turned it loose on the Carretera Austral. And a time-strapped German CEO jetted in to an upscale lodge in Torres del Paine and is knocking off as many hikes as possible in a week.

These travelers are all awestruck by the volume of wilderness here. Case in point: . About 13 miles south of Puyuhuapi village, Queulat鈥檚 one-lane dirt-road entrance looks like a driveway. The 380,772-acre park, which opened in 1983 during the Pinochet regime, was named in the language of the extinct nomadic Chono people for the sound made by waterfalls. Given that Queulat receives as much as 157 inches of rainfall per year, there are quite a few of them, like the 2,100-foot cascade that plummets from Ventisquero Colgante, a hanging glacier. It鈥檚 best experienced by crossing a rope bridge that sways over the Rio Ventisquero, then hiking three miles and 1,300 feet up through a rainforest to a lookout that captures the glacier, waterfall, surrounding peaks, and milky blue lake below.

We are equally awed 230 miles south of Queulat under the basalt peaks of , a 341,411-acre former natural reserve. We arrive in the village of Cerro Castillo just in time to pitch our tent at the campground behind Senderos Patagonia, a hostel and outfitter. It was established in 2011 by Cristian Vidal, a renowned horse trainer whose family settled in this valley in the 1930s, and his American wife, Mary Brys. The two met in Chile in 2007, when Brys was finishing her master鈥檚 degree in sustainable tourism. Vidal was her horseback guide.

Brian and I set up camp, Jetboil some noodles, and wash them down with Chilean Carmen猫re from a box as we soak up the orange sunset over 8,776-foot Cerro Castillo, the park鈥檚 namesake.

鈥淲ow, that looks far away,鈥� says Brian, referring to tomorrow鈥檚 objective, a smaller peak covered in dark clouds. Snow is in the forecast, and we鈥檙e preparing for a cold night. The hostel glows yellow below us and is at full capacity with mostly millennial hitchhikers.

Senderos Patagonia specializes in long-distance horseback expeditions. But Vidal and Brys just became the official trail administrators for the new national park and will work closely with Chile鈥檚 National Forestry Corporation (), which manages the country鈥檚 parks, to oversee trail building, search and rescue missions, guide certification, and the first studies on the park鈥檚 capacity. The area is a magnet for rock climbers (there are more than 200 routes), backcountry skiers, and trekkers who camp along the five-day, 31-mile Las Horquetas circuit. According to Brys, the attention has dramatically increased real estate prices in the village of Cerro Castillo in the past couple of years.

鈥淚t鈥檚 becoming a world-class destination, but so much infrastructure is lacking that it鈥檚 a little scary,鈥� says Brys, handing off the couple鈥檚 five-month-old baby, Antonio, to Vidal as she points out tomorrow鈥檚 hiking route on a map. 鈥淚t鈥檚 super exciting when you think about what the government and Tompkins Conservation are doing. We鈥檙e witnessing history. But there are a lot of unanswered questions for local people about how it is going to affect their culture.鈥�

It鈥檚 a legitimate concern, as I learn the next day. We shake a thin layer of ice off our tent and head into the park with Francisco Ponce, a Senderos Patagonia guide. Our ten-mile round-trip trek feels more classically alpine, hopping over streams, passing the base camp for climbing Cerro Castillo, and ending in a wide, snow-filled valley at the foot of the peak鈥檚 intimidating serrated crown. The hike is fantastic, but to access this area of the park we had to hop a fence and walk a mile or so through private farmland. It鈥檚 legal, Ponce tells us, because Senderos Patagonia pays a fee to the landowner, but it鈥檚 not an ideal entry point to a national park, especially for a trail that鈥檚 now receiving about 25 trekkers per day and, due to CONAF budget constraints, has only a few rangers to monitor it.

Creating national parks has always been a priority in Chile. Every president who has served a full term since 1926 has expanded the system, which now totals 21.2 percent of the country. Everywhere I visit, I ask locals what they think of the new parks. Most are tentatively excited, adding the caveat that 鈥渆s complicado.鈥� Many express concerns about how the parks will involve local communities and how the country will manage ten million additional acres.

While most parks won鈥檛 get close to the quarter-million annual visitors that Torres del Paine sees, even that park has a limited budget of $2.1 million a year, with only 30 full-time rangers to oversee 700 square miles. The final Route of Parks details鈥攅xact boundaries, staffing needs, budgets鈥攁re still being ironed out. 鈥淭he financing of protected areas worldwide is a great challenge, and in Chile the scenario is similar,鈥� Richard Torres Pinilla, the manager of protected wild areas for CONAF, told me in an e-mail. He explained that in addition to federal funding, money to manage and maintain the parks will come from local and regional governments and various other national and international organizations.

CONAF plans to begin managing the new parks by April 2019. Tompkins Conservation will collaborate with CONAF for at least the next decade, especially on the extensive rewilding and wildlife-rehabilitation programs the nonprofit has instituted in Pumal铆n鈥揇ouglas R. Tompkins and Patagonia National Parks. And a new international organization called Corporaci贸n de Amigos de los Parques, launched in June by Tompkins Conservation, will raise money and advocate for policies to help maintain the parks.

Kristine, who splits her time between projects in Chile and Argentina and fundraising in the U.S., is confident that Chile will do right by her gift. 鈥淭he Chilean government is going to take good care of these parks, because they鈥檙e excited about having a world-class national park system,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hese are gorgeous places that people will want to come visit. The people and landscapes of southern Chile are extraordinary.鈥�

Rule number one when traveling in southern Chile: have a plan B. Parts of the Carretera Austral are paved smooth as butter; others are so potholed, eroded, or narrow that one jerky move could launch us off a cliff, roll us into a ditch, or turn us into grill decorations on an incoming semi. Distractions are constant鈥攁 fortress of snowcapped peaks, a hitchhiker in need of a ride, a gaucho in wool-lined chaps leading his cattle down the road.

The distances between parks aren鈥檛 large, but Mother Nature can make travel tricky. Last December, four miles down a mountainside in Corcovado National Park, a 726,455-acre coastal swath roughly 125 miles south of Puerto Montt. It buried the small village of Santa Lucia, killing at least 15 people, crushing 28 houses, and destroying miles of the Carretera Austral. Reconstruction of the road is slow going. Our two-hour delay outside Santa Lucia is brief according to our new friends, a group of Santiago businessmen in the SUV in front of us. They鈥檝e come prepared with a case of wine and are tailgating out of the back of their car.

Despite construction stops, the days go fast as we hike, camp, soak in searing hot springs, sip Chilean wines, and eat lamb asado. Early on in our trip, in the bathroom of our cabin at Caleta Gonzalo in Pumal铆n National Park鈥揇ouglas R. Tompkins, I laugh when I see the beechwood toilet-paper holders intricately carved with flowers and recall what Chouinard had told me about Doug in an interview just after his friend鈥檚 death.

鈥淗e was a micromanager,鈥� Chouinard said. 鈥淲e used to joke that he would even choose the type of toilet paper if you let him. If you look at the infrastructure of Pumal铆n and Patagonia, it鈥檚 over the top. He was a frustrated interior designer.鈥�

Along the way, we meet mostly Chileans who have heard the buzz about the parks and ventured south to see Patagonia, a once-in-a-lifetime trip for most. After two weeks, we鈥檝e explored five parks, but I鈥檓 becoming increasingly agitated about catching the ferry in Puerto Yungay. When we finally reach the village, which consists of the ferry office and a caf茅, we鈥檙e five hours early. I鈥檓 so happy to be here, I鈥檓 not alarmed that neither the boat nor another human is in sight.

鈥淥h look, we鈥檙e the first ones here,鈥� Brian jokes. To assuage my obsession with the ferry departure, he has heroically driven the last particularly steep and gnarly 50-mile stretch of the Carretera Austral through rain and sleet to make sure we arrive in time.

鈥淲hy are you here?鈥� asks a kindly woman behind the caf茅 counter who declares herself In茅s of Puerto Yungay, because she is the town鈥檚 only resident.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here to take the ferry,鈥� I say.

鈥淗aven鈥檛 you heard?鈥� she asks. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been an accident. The ferry is broken.鈥�

We have no plan B. After some discussion with In茅s, who fortifies us with supersize ham and cheese empanadas, we decide to backtrack 300 miles north to Coyhaique, the capital of Ays茅n, where we鈥檒l wait for an airline strike to subside before catching a flight to Punta Arenas. From there we鈥檒l drive north to Torres del Paine. If all goes according to plan B, we鈥檒l arrive in three days.

鈥淎wesome! I get to drive the sketchiest part of road twice,鈥� says Brian, hauling ass over gravel at 60 miles per hour. It鈥檚 getting dark, and we鈥檙e running low on gas. But Brian cheerfully reminds me that missed ferries and looming snowstorms are part of the fun on the Carretera Austral.

When we arrive in Torres del Paine, I run into a friend who happens to be in the park: Euan Wilson, the founder of H&I 国产吃瓜黑料s, a Scottish company that specializes in exploratory mountain-biking trips.

鈥淭he terrain here is un-friggin鈥�-颅believable,鈥� he excitedly tells us. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like you鈥檙e on the moon, with lava flows and rock.鈥� Wilson has received permission to scout new routes on a private estancia within the park鈥檚 boundaries and has brought 颅Ernesto Araneda, Chile鈥檚 2010 cross-country mountain-biking champion, along with him.

鈥淵esterday was one of my best days,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e had five hours of riding time and only ten minutes off the bike. We were like Beavis and Butt-head鈥攚e kept chuckling because it was so hard to stop. The terrain here lends itself to mountain biking, because the soil drains well.鈥�

Brian, a onetime category-two cyclist who now races on gravel, peels off to ride with the guys. I opt to hike to the base of the famous Torres with Sebastian Kusch, a 27-year-old guide for Tierra Patagonia, the architectural wonder of a lodge where we鈥檙e staying on the eastern shore of nearby Lake Sarmiento. Chilean Caz煤 Zegers designed the hotel to almost magically disappear into the grass of the arid Patagonia steppe.

The six-mile trail ascends around 3,000 feet to the base of the granite towers and sees 1,200 people on the busiest summer days. Today we come across only a few dozen hikers, some of whom are wearing flimsy parkas to fend off the biting snow and wind. I wipe back a few tears when we reach a small lake located at the base of the 12-million-year-old monoliths, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief that, in a world moving at hyperspeed, at least these rocks haven鈥檛 changed in the 18 years since I last saw them.

When we meet back at the hotel, Brian is equally charged. 鈥淚鈥檝e never ridden in such vastness,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e might have been some of the first people to ride those trails.鈥�

Before we leave Torres del Paine, Basilio Reinike, the head guide at Tierra Patagonia, takes Brian and me to a small house connected to a ranger station to meet Juan Toro Quirilef, the park鈥檚 first ranger. Quirilef鈥檚 mother was of Mapuche descent, known as the tribe that the Spaniards could never conquer.

Now a cheerful, fit 65 years old, Quirilef still patrols on horseback and says that his biggest problem is too many people. 鈥淲hen the park explodes with visitors, we don鈥檛 have the time, resources, or money,鈥� he says, adding that he was recently offered the job of being the sole ranger in Yendegaia National Park. He turned it down.

鈥淭hat park is huge!鈥� he says. 鈥淚 built this house 26 years ago. Torres del Paine is my home.鈥�

Brian and听I never make it to Yendegaia, either. Before we drive south to Punta Arenas to catch our flight home, we eat lunch in Puerto Natales with Gonzalo Fuenzalida, a Santiago native who guided down here for about 20 years. He owns Chile Nativo, which runs horsepacking and trekking trips to untouched corners of Chile. Fuenzalida is almost giddy as he tells me about the trip he鈥檚 scouted in .

鈥淭here鈥檚 no way you can do a trip like this one on your own,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he logistics are quite tricky.鈥�

They involve taking a ferry from Punta Arenas to Tierra del Fuego and driving to the end of a new highway, which is being blasted roughly a mile closer to the park every month; a permit from the government is required to travel around this obstacle. Trekkers then set out to cross the peaks of the Cordillera Darwin. After four days of hiking, they take a boat to Puerto Williams, where they fly in a small plane back to Punta Arenas.

It makes me sick to my stomach that I may never get to set eyes on Yendegaia. But I suppose it鈥檚 always good to leave something to the imagination.

鈥淲hen do you think the road to Yendegaia will be finished?鈥� I ask Fuenzalida.

鈥淣ever, I hope.鈥�

Access and Resources

It would take months to travel the entire Route of Parks. Bite off a two-week stretch by driving to any of the seven accessible parks along the Carretera Austral. Or fly farther south to Punta Arenas to trek in Torres del Paine or kayak Bernardo O鈥橦iggins.

When to Go: The weather is unpredictable in Patagonia. September through February is the spring-summer high season. There鈥檚 more snow in the fall and winter months (March through August), but the region is far less crowded then.

Getting There: Latam offers daily flights from Santiago to Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, and Balmaceda鈥攖he three airports with the best access to points along the Route of Parks. Aerovias DAP offers flights to Tierra del Fuego鈥檚 Puerto Williams.

Getting Around: Some of the major car rental companies operate in Patagonia. You鈥檒l need a four-wheel-drive vehicle; if possible, plan your itinerary to avoid a hefty one-way rental fee. On the Carretera Austral, there are four gaps that require ferry passage. Most information on schedules and tickets can be found at Taustral.cl and Tabsa.cl. Cyclists: bring your own tested and trusted bike.

Where to Stay: There are good campsites in most of the road-accessed national parks. The iOverlander app provides invaluable information on campgrounds, backcountry sites, and water stops along the route. The southern third of Chile is not lacking in clean, comfortable, and occa颅sionally luxurious accommodations. Highlights include the new (from $410) in Puerto Varas, on Llanquihue Lake, with floor-to-ceiling views of the Osorno volcano and on-site kayaks. In Hornopir茅n, (from $35) offers stout breakfasts timed to catch the early-morning ferry to Pumal铆n National Park鈥撀璂ouglas R. Tompkins. In the park, the cozy (from $80), on the edge of Re帽ihu茅 Fjord, provide a relief from the frequent rain. Getting to the (from $260) requires a ten-minute ferry ride, but the payoff is steaming-hot outdoor springs within view of Queulat National Park. Steps from the Carretera Austral, (hostel from $12.50; camping $8) offers hot 颅showers and easy access to Cerro Castillo National Park. Patagonia National Park has three beautifully maintained campgrounds and the luxurious (from $350). A former cold-storage plant, the (from $445) near Puerto Natales features Andes views, one of the best restaurants in Chile, and excursions into nearby Torres del Paine and Bernardo O鈥橦iggins National Parks. Just outside Torres del Paine, the stunning, sustainable (from $2,300 for three nights, which includes all meals and guided excursions) has in-house trekking guides, a spa, and a restaurant looking out on the Torres. In Punta Arenas, (from $150) is a 1929 hilltop estate with eight themed rooms.

Outfitted 国产吃瓜黑料s: On MT Sobek鈥檚 new , guests trek for 12 days on an old cattle-smuggling route through Pata颅gonia National Park (from $5,895). Outfitter offers treks and horseback expeditions in Torres del Paine National Park and points farther south, like its new nine-day Terra Incognita route in Yendegaia National Park (from $4,000). On 国产吃瓜黑料 GO鈥檚 , guests explore Torres del Paine for six days while staying in the luxury domes of EcoCamp Patagonia, followed by three days of exploring the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentina ($4,325).

Contributing Editor Stephanie Pearson () wrote about touring Lake Superior in 2017.听

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Only two people have made the hike from Ushuaia, Argentina, a town at the country鈥檚 southernmost tip called the 鈥淓nd of the World,鈥� all the way north to Alaska鈥檚 Prudhoe Bay. The first was 35 years ago, when British explorer George Meegan finished in six years and 236 days. The second? Holly 鈥淐argo鈥� Harrison. On May 30, the 58-year-old completed the 14,481-mile trek in 530 days, 1,895 days faster than Meegan鈥檚 record and quite possibly one of the most substantial (time-wise) FKT takedowns ever.

Cargo鈥檚 relentless 27.3-mile daily average took its toll on his body. Raising his crutches in triumph at the Arctic Ocean last week, he proved there are still big FKT records out there for the taking鈥攜ou just might have to survive a heart attack and tussle with a bear to beat them.

Before his hike, Cargo, who is from North Carolina, reached out to Meegan with his biggest concern: 鈥淚鈥檓 getting really old and don鈥檛 know if I can do this.鈥� Meegan set him at ease, emailing back: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e probably the perfect age. Practiced determination is what will carry you through.鈥� And it did鈥攁ll the way up South America, through the Darien Gap into Panama and听through Central America听north through Mexico.

When 国产吃瓜黑料 reported on Cargo鈥檚 arrival into the United States last November, it seemed like the last leg of his trip would be the easiest. It wasn鈥檛. 鈥淐oming up through Arizona and Nevada,鈥� Cargo says, 鈥渢here were long stretches where I was alone, without any shops, and eating terribly.鈥� On a freezing night near Reno, still without a sleeping bag, the lifestyle of the ultralight hiker caught up with him. 鈥淚 woke with this terrible pain in my arm.鈥� After popping some aspirin, he hiked in a daze through the night. The next day, in the relative safety of a motel room, Cargo had a major heart attack.

Emergency rescuers helicoptered Cargo to a hospital, and doctors inserted a stent into his coronary artery. Against his doctor鈥檚 advice, Cargo was out hiking within five days. 鈥淚 want to say I built up slowly, but within another five days I was back up to my 30-mile daily target.鈥�

A few habits may have caused the heart attack. Cargo was eating mostly junk food, like cheese, hot dogs, bread, and chocolate, all of which were easy to find along the trail. He鈥檇 also picked up an unhealthy habit on the hike. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a smoker or anything,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut down in Mexico, I was in such a hurry that I developed the strategy of having a cigarette just to force myself to rest.鈥�

Then, in British Columbia this March, an injured hamstring delayed him for ten days. Tired of waiting for his body to heal and winter to end, Cargo . The four-limbed thru-hiker had already honed this injury-cheating technique on both his successful thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2011 and during a previous, aborted attempt at the Patagonia-to-Alaska record in 2015. As Cargo walked 2,000 miles through the Yukon, his trick worked again. Later, he converted the crutches into litter pickers, which, because his brother-in-law was now tailing him in a camper van, Cargo used to collect discarded beer cans, earning up to $47 a day to help cover gas.

By May 28, with just 15 miles separating him from Prudhoe Bay, Cargo was alone again. 鈥淧eople had been stopping me on the road for days, telling me the bears were waking up.鈥� A couple had even jumped out of their car, warning Cargo that grizzlies would use his crutches as toothpicks. Spurning advice to pack bear spray, the thru-hiker took shelter from the wind by bedding down in the lee of a remote outpost.

鈥淚 just had a bear encounter,鈥� Cargo begins a . He goes on to say how a grizzly 鈥渟at up on his haunches right in front of me鈥tarted snorting, shaking his head and moving his paw鈥t me.鈥� The bear was after his food, and Cargo says he picked up a crutch and gave the animal a quick swat across the nose. Then he lowers the camera to show a trail of feces left by the fleeing bear. 鈥淚 think I knocked the crap out of him, although I haven鈥檛 checked my own pants yet.鈥�

When asked about Cargo鈥檚 FKT, Meegan told 国产吃瓜黑料 that 鈥渉is achievement and speed are extraordinary and aren鈥檛 likely to be bettered.鈥� But the new record holder is not so sure. 鈥淐onsistency is key,鈥� Cargo says. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to get up and walk 12 to 15 hours every day for 17 months. But without injury, it could be done a month quicker, maybe even more.鈥�

Now that he鈥檚 finished, Cargo says he鈥檒l write up the adventure in a book. While he鈥檚 glad to be done, he says there was something very soothing about walking all day that he鈥檒l miss. Life, Cargo says, 鈥渋s going to be more complicated now.鈥�

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