Trekking at Navarino Island
Senderismo en Isla Navarino
Below the southernmost tip of South America, Navarino Island is the last stop before Antarctica. It is a trekker’s nirvana where, overcoming the elements, an otherworldly, rugged landscape reveals awesome beauty.
It never ceases to surprise me all of the beauties that Patagonia has within its confines; its people, its geography, its sunsets, every experience is unique. Navarino Island is one of those many special, almost mystical, places the region has to offer, and it has stolen my dreams for a long time to come.
We have been stranded in the Argentine city of Ushuahia for two days. The heavy swell in previous days has made it nigh impossible to cross the Beagle Channel to Puerto Williams on Chile's Navarino Island. But today was calmer. Once more, we headed down to the jetty and this time the ferry was running. Our adventure was about to begin.
The destination: Lake Windhond and the famed Dientes de Navarino circuit, often called the southernmost trek in the world. The 50 kms (31 miles) of epic trail in the Dientes de Navarino circuit weave among a chain of mountain pinnacles and diverse landscapes of forests, rivers, swamps and barren hillsides plundered by beavers.
In 2005, UNESCO created the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, an extensive area protecting ecosystems on Navarino Island and also including three national parks in the zone: Alberto de Agostini, Yendegaia and Cabo de Hornos. The starting point for trekking on Navarino is the small town of Puerto Williams, dubbed by locals “the southernmost city in the world,” where you can get last minute supplies, equipment or clothing. More than 2,000 people live here, a large number of them members of the armed forces as the town is strategically positioned between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and Chile's bases in Antarctica. In the first instance founded
as Puerto Luisa in 1953, three years later it changed its name to Puerto Williams, in honor of the British-chilean sailor John Williams, who helped Chile take possession of the Strait of Magellan in 1843.
Day 1
The hike starts on the edge of the town and as soon as you head up through a subantarctic forest of lenga beech, ñire (Antarctic beech), and coihue (southern beech) you're trapped by its beauty. Clearing the tree line, you reach the summit of Cerro Bandera mountain where a Chilean flag flaps in the strong wind blowing in from the Southern Ocean. Here, you enjoy an unparalleled panoramic view of the Beagle Channel.the path skirts the hillside that falls off steeply into the Robalo valley, and I realize for the first time where I am really. The rugged geography of the island makes everything appear as if it is endless hills, lakes, lagoons, rivers. Too many to count. After several hours, the trail descends to our first camp on the shores of Laguna El Salto, a solitary lake surrounded by forest and mountain peaks. Peace and silence rapidly filled my mind.
“The rugged geography of the island makes everything appears as if its endless hills, lakes, lagoons, rivers. Too many to count.”
Day 2
Despite a windy night, dawn brought a cloudy, but surprisingly warm, day. As we followed a stream up into a forest, we emerged onto a mountainous, rocky plain. We crossed two mountain passes – Paso Australia and Paso de los Dientes – before being rewarded with a magnificent view of the
Wollaston islands and Nassau Bay. Leaving the rocky terrain behind, we descended into a different landscape altogether, a desolate scene of trees felled in Mordoresque fashion. This is a veritable ecological disaster caused by an invasive species - North American beavers.
Ten pairs of beavers were introduced on Tierra del Fuego Island by the Argentine navy in 1946 as part of a plan to kickstart a new industry in fur exports but it never took off. With no natural predators and adapting well to a climate similar to their native one, the beavers have thrived and spread across the region. A study by the University of Chile estimates that today there are as many as 110,000 beavers scattered around the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.
I have mixed feelings about these creatures. While one can
marvel at their engineering prowess in building their community of dams, at the same time it is horrifying to witness how they have altered the landscapes by felling trees, flooding and destroying the forests. As we continue west, we reach a fork in the trail and veered on to an alternative route that heads south toward Lake Windhond. Passing Cerro Betinelli mountain, we reach a forest where we set up camp.
Day 3
It was snowing as we set off and descend 400 meters through a forest arriving at a peatland, where the smell of damp earth permeates the air. We meander here among a labyrinth of unusually colored pools until we come across the “Charles” cabin, a dilapidated beaver hunting hut on the shores of Lake Windhond, presumably named after a certain illustrious British naturalist that visited the area onboard the Beagle in the 1830s. At the cabin we meet Pascal, a Frenchman who every year travels to Navarino and spends months exploring the wild southern part of the island. Sitting and warming our hands by the wood stove, as we sipped on our coffee we were enthralled
with his tales of survival, fishing and hunting beavers. It would be one of the standout memories of our entire trip.
Day 4
With the sun warming our backs we retraced our steps of the last two days. Arriving at the fork in the trail, we gazed once more at our spectacular view of the “end of the world” at Cerro Betinelli before resuming the normal route of the Dientes de Navarino circuit. For approximately two hours, we negotiated rocky slopes and forest before reaching Laguna Escondida where we chose a scenic peninsula to pitch our tent and enjoy a wonderful sunset.
Day 5
If there is one thing to be said about Patagonia, it is that the saying “red sky at night, shepherds delight,” doesn't apply here. That night, we endured one of the worst storms I can remember ever experiencing in the mountains. The wind and rain thrashed our tent like a thousand demons trying to tear the ropes from their moorings. But amazingly they held, and our tent was undamaged come morning.
Next up was the Ventarrón mountain pass, which means windy in Spanish. And it didn't disappoint. After a steep climb pummeled by a powerful wind that whipped our clothes, we were rewarded with a tremendous view of Laguna Hermosa, a lake that fills a deep valley. Further down is Laguna Martillo, aptly named because the shape of the lake on whose shores we found camping shielded from the elements. While drinking a hot tea and talking, we watched the sunset amid a gentle snowfall.
Day 6
Despite being our final day, the Dientes of Navarino weather hadn't quite finished with us yet. It was time for Patagonia's four seasons in a day: after packing up camp under a warm sun, within minutes of setting off it was raining, then it was hailing, and then snowing. These dramatic weather
changes led to us to lose our way on a number of occasions. Eventually, we got back on track to Laguna Rocallosa and the warm summer weather returned.
Our ascent to the final mountain pass, and highest point on the circuit, Paso Virginia, was without doubt the most exciting moment. We had to climb through tree mud, roots and walls that tested our balance with the heavy backpack on our backs. Once there, we found that Paso Virginia was exposed to the elements: suddenly the winds vented the worst fury of our journey, knocking us over at times, and hail flew from side to side and with visibility just a few feet in front of us. After a final challenge in the form of a slalom down a steep scree slope to Lake Guanacos, the Beagle Channel reappeared on the horizon reminding us we were on the home straight.
The Dientes de Navarino circuit is one of the most challenging and exciting treks I have ever done. The trail is sometimes hard to follow and the volatile weather can change from sunshine to brutal wind and hail in a matter of minutes. But the flip side is a unique experience at one of the most remote treks in the world, where you may not see another hiker the entire time.
Camilo Novoa is a urologist at Puerto Montt Hospital. Read his blog Bitacoras de Viaje (www. bitacorasdeviaje.cl) for detailed accounts of his travels and outdoor adventures.