Los Escondidos

-
« Thats fresh puma shit » 😳

On our last full day at the final outpost, we brought the horses to the edge of the mountain, untacked them,  tied them to some bushes and trekked down some slippery cliffs to hike to the foot of the hidden glaciers. I was careful to not grab any of the bushes on either side of the cliff when I would slip as rocks rolled under my feet … because all the bushes had 2 inch thorns. Yikes!

We hiked to a hidden valley of natural grasses punctuated by a large rock where we had a lovely rest and lunch, listening to the glaciers go ka-boom as they break off in the bright summer sun. This valley is part of a protected reserve in the Los Glaciares National Park that only allows a few visitors a day. The nearest dirt road is 20 km away. Best noone gets injured, as we have no way to call for help. There is no cell phone service, no forest ranger.

And there are pumas in those hills. 

We crossed the Rios Frias, tossing our boots and crossing the glacial river over slippery rocks. Juan warned me that it was cold, but I reminded him that Im Canadian, and I know cold. Nope, nope. It was colder than cold. On the other side, my feet had no feeling. I rubbed them back to life, and put on my boots and we continued our trek to Corazon Lagoon. At times the thorny bushes were so overgrown we had to walk with our arms in the air, pushing through the bushes with our bodies.

Pumas hide in these bushes.

The wild cattle live in the reserve, having been left behind by the Spaniards 500 years ago. The puma is their only predator, and the calves are easy targets. But the cows are tough and fight the puma with their horns. The horses are not so tough, mare leaving their foals behind as they gallop away, the pumas have an easy meal. But the cattle do perish in this region, as we saw many cadavers at the bottom of mountain passes. 

Juan whistled to our horses as we crested the mountain, lest they think we are pumas and they break their ties to the bushes and gallop the 20 km home, leaving us stranded. 😳 We had been gone 4 hours and I only realized the danger of our situation when I returned. We rode back down the mountain, arriving at our outpost in about an hour. 

And then we lightened our load, had a bathroom and water break, and got back on our magic ponies for a fast gallop along the cliffs of Lago Argentina (largest lake in Argentina) towards  Laguna 3 de abril. I took zero pictures of this fun and fast ride as I was too busy watching where we were going and the magical scenery around us. Flocks of ibis, soaring eagles, upland geese, wild hares, armadillos (they run FAST) … no pumas.

Once back, we began the preparations for empanadas. I volunteered for sous chef duties of cutting onions (very fine, with rudimentary knife), peppers, garlic, and Juan chopped up some rib eye steak, made some hard boiled eggs, and cut up some small chunks of cheese. He showed me how to roll and pinch the empanadas and we roasted them in the oven to have a yummy dinner with some Mendoza wine.

I spent the evening carving the dinner table with my name and symbol, using the natural grain as the mane of two horses chasing fugitivos (fugitives). Every group that comes through here does the same, like a guest book. Exceptionally I was alone on this trip, as my fellow guests cancelled last minute due to flight cancellations. But the time with Juan was great, as we discussed history, politics, geography, and spent many hours discussing horse training. The methods in Argentina are pretty old school, tying the horses to a post until they give up. I told Juan stories about Ray Hunt, Warwick Schiller, Mark Rashid, and the emerging ideas of softer horsemanship. He asked for links, books, recommendations. I gave him a few months of homework and told him to let me know when he wants more. 

The ride back to the ranch the next day was beautiful as all the glaciers were visible for the first time, the sun was beaming, and the horses were excited to get back. We left our stowaway with a nearby herd, as he is out here to fatten up, and crossed half a dozen pastures and a dozen mountain streams galloping in between. The four hour ride left me sunburned and covered in dust, and I was happy to jump in the shower before my final meal of roast lamb, and then shared a final mate with Juan before taking the transfer to Calafate.

It was a wonderful experience, where time slowed down and our main focus was on the simple tasks of life. Our horses were our shepherds and partners, and our entertainment was the scenery and our lively discussions of Argentina.

No doubt I will return.








































Comments

  1. DomJanuary 15, 2023 at 9:47 AM

    This entry brought happy tears to my eyes. Your writing is incredible. What a journey!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy 8th Birthday Mon Amour!

-
Image
Annual Trail Rides: 50/200 A nice time to hit our 25% trail objective. We finally got access to the trails (walking only) and it has been absolutely delightful. Ive also been using these slower rides to be social and go out with boarder friends, and that also has been delightful! Q was a delight on our first time out, as steady as an old cow pony. But yesterday on the way home he reminded me that the dragon needs tending. Navigating through icy patches between trees where the obvious path for Q is to hug the trees where the ice has melted, but that means my knees go knocking into the bark. So I picked up the reins to navigate better and he got fired up. All of a sudden his sides were on fire, and any heat from my leg prompted him into a trot. Which is not what you want on slick ice. So I stopped him. And we would start all over again. This happened 12 times on the last 1 km stretch home. Not fun. After some reflection, I realized that we were in a 12 rabbit situation. Being Florida-bre
Read more

Expansion of normal

-
Image
Our five-week European escapade is now coming to a close and I look forward to the return to normal that is my bed, my kitchen, my routine. As I reflect on all that we experienced on this trip, it is clear that even I, a self-proclaimed expert in change management, struggle with disruption in my life. Each new destination would have me grumpy and fussy for the first 24 hours as I shifted to a new living situation almost every five days. This guard and horse stood immobile at the Royal Horse Guards in London for at least an hour. It stretches my imagination of patience. The grand 4 ton Gold Carriage at the Royal Mews. Requires a brakeman walking alongside and 27 meters to stop. Apparently this might be the most uncomfortable thing to travel in, and was very seldom used. Gorgeous Cottage and English Garden in the middle of Hyde Park. This park really had me question my definition of high-density urban territory. Hyde Park with all of its variations on a garden theme
Read more

Quaint Krakow

-
Image
We arrived in Krakow on a super short commuter flight from Budapest and spent most of the weekend wandering about the charming town, constantly watching out for rogue trams that want to run us over. Our first afternoon was a delightful stop in the large market square to sit on a terrace, drink local beer, eat a lovely plate of cured sausages and meats with a kickass fresh horseradish purée, and watch the parade go by on National Constitution Day. Somehow, we often arrive in a new city on their national holiday. Krakow town square and basilica In the town square, m any fine carriages and horses are in line, with beautiful women in black hats with white ribbons driving the carriages. Its so unusual to see only women driving so many large carriages, that I took notice. At first, I thought it was because of the parade. Later that day, I watch the carriages circulating with passengers and the pretty lady is up front doing nothing while an old peasant dressed man is driving the carri
Read more

The Complexity of Trail Access

-
Image
Annual Trail Rides: 34/200 A century ago, local farmers in our town west of Montreal were tired of the sand left in the spring thaw that clogged the streets and ditches and created floods and ice dams to prevent passing. So the farmers got together with the town and the province to fund a reforestation project which we would later call the "Nursery". The reforestation would cover most of the old sand dunes that had been left behind many millennia ago by a retreating glacier. The old sand dunes were a popular place for local families to go for a picnic, or some fishing in some of the creeks and lakes that popped up from underground springs. Our history books show groups of families with their farmhorses pulling big sleighs or wagons filled with children. But it was time to stop the constant erosion the sand dunes were having on the local farms. So in the 1930s began the massive reforestation project. At the time, the population of this town was under a thousand, as there was o
Read more

Prague, dark and moody

-
Image
When asked what I thought about Prague I always answered the same thing : dark. My last trip here dates to almost twenty years ago, in a cold November week where I spent most of my time drinking hot mulled wine in the old town square avoiding gypsies. Tales of ghosts, hidden passageways and underground tunnels, the stark period of the iron curtain, torture museums, castle dungeons ... it was all dark. Tyn Church in the iconic town square A view down the Vltava River A view up the Vltava River towards Prague Castle (from Vysehrad Castle) A view down the Vltava River from the Vysehrad Castle. Its a windy sailing day. Fast forward in time and there are some differences but Prague is still moody. Tourists are abundant and things that used to be free are now being charged at every opportunity. We are struggling with all the currency we are handling and their respective conversions (Hungarian forint, Euros, Polish Zlotis, Czech Crowns ... and soon British pounds)
Read more