It’s been more than a year since I returned from hiking in Patagonia, spending a week on the W trek in Torres del Paine National Park.
I wrote a very short “I’m baack!” kind of post right after the trip, but now I’m finally getting around to sharing more details.
Hiking the W Trek in Patagonia
Frankly, this is partly just an excuse to post more amazing Patagonia photos!
Be warned, this is an extremely long post, but it’s jam-packed full of useful information:
Different options for getting to Patagonia,
Torres del Paine hiking info,
What you’ll need to bring for the W Trek, and
A day by day description of my trip.
This is all really good info for you if you’re thinking about a similar trip. Anyway….about the place:
Patagonia, Chile is at the southernmost tip of South America, very close to Antarctica. Torres del Paine National Park is located on the eastern edge of the continent.
A couple of weeks ago, when I was searching for outdoor activities for kids, I saw an event posting for a Fossil Dig at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation.
My initial thought was, “Fossils? Digging? I must go!” 🙂
But first I had to find out more about the Prairie Ridge park.
Bees take advantage of the flowering plants in the Prairie habitat
I learned that the Prairie Ridge Ecostation is the west Raleigh branch of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. The main branch of the Museum was created in 1879, when the State’s agricultural and geological collections were merged.
It’s the largest institution of its kind in the South East and the most visited museum in North Carolina.
The main branch is located in downtown Raleigh and there is a third branch in Whiteville (Columbus County, NC).
If you’ve read any of my other posts, you know that given the choice I most always prefer to be outdoors – hiking, walking, gardening, dining, listening to music and whatever else I can do outside.
Bond Park and Umstead State Park in Cary, NC are a couple of local places that I go to hike, walk and run that are easy to get to and always deliver a really good experience.
Minimum driving, maximum time on the trail is what I’m usually looking for.
Entry sign at Bond Park in Cary, NC
I’ve been using the trails and other park amenities both on my own and with my kids since I first moved to the area in 1996.
Like all of us, the park has changed over time and also – I hope like all of us – has improved with age as well.
Actually, I recently took an afternoon break to walk Bond Park’s Lake Trail, and found significant improvements to all of the the walkways and bridges along the way!
Updated bridge on the Lake Trail in Bond Park.
Read on to learn about the Lake Trail and other trails and combined routes inside Bond Park.
Alcohol and a diet plan for weight loss don’t really go together – especially if you’re calorie counting to lose weight.
You can drink beer on a diet – if you plan for it!
I should probably also mention that alcohol and altitude don’t go together, either – even though you can really burn calories hiking!
(Seriously, don’t drink if you’re hiking at altitude.)
That said, when you’re sweaty and parched after hiking umpteen miles of vertical gain (then back down again) carrying a heavy pack, nothing tastes more like victory than a nice cold beer.
Surely, after all that, you’ve earned it. Right?? Well, yeah. But you’re still going to pay – with lots of extra calories.
Working remotely doesn’t mean you have to stay indoors – in fact, it’s healthier for you to take breaks and get outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine!
Being stuck indoors by yourself – or with your kids – with no end in sight could make you nuts.
Paved trail beside Big Lake in Umstead State Park
Getting out on the trail on your own, or with 10 or fewer members of your family or friends, could help bring you back from Crazy Town.
If you’re a hiker local to Cary or Raleigh, NC, you know the nearby hiking places, and have been on the trails.
They’re beautiful, have varied terrain and are easily accessible.
So, you’ve been getting into hiking lately, and really love it. You are energized, and less stressed than you’ve been in a while.
Author near summit of Mont Blanc
You also think you could burn calories hiking and hike to lose weight – and that’s absolutely true!
The question is, do you need to train like you’re going to climb Mount Everest to make it happen?
Probably not.
But wouldn’t you want to be fit enough to hike Everest if you got the chance?
My goal is to always stay fit enough to do anything – whether it’s an afternoon playing disc golf or a week hiking the Inca Trail – with just a little bit of extra training if I need it. Continue reading Easy Guidelines for Hiking to Lose Weight!
Whether you’re exploring in the wilderness or taking a fitness jog in a county park, it’s not unusual to find evidence of other people who’ve visited before you.
Trail sign in Palo Duro Canyon NP in Texas
Most often it’s in the form of trail signs giving practical information.
Sometimes personal tokens are left in an attempt to send a wish or a prayer to a loved one, or even to make contact with some greater universal entity.
You might also see official tributes to people who have contributed in some way to that green space.
Sculpture in the Jean Miro park in Barcelona, Spain
Or more simply, art.
Whatever it is and whoever it’s for, signs and tokens left along the trail are an attempt to communicate with others.
Recently I did some hiking in Utah, specifically visiting several of the famous Utah National Parks. The trip to southern Utah was primarily to hike, but also to take in the beauty of the desert in the Spring.
Hikers on the Queens Garden Trail in Bryce Canyon
Photos can’t convey the scale of the mountains and desert, or the multitude of colors and rock formations we drove through while crossing southern Utah – but I tried anyway.
A few of my pics are in the text below, and you can see more in my detailed posts about Arches National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.
Patagonia, Chile is at the southernmost tip of South America, very close to Antarctica. Torres del Paine National Park is located on the eastern edge of the continent.
