Most interesting to me are the cartographers, folks who have studied map making and are creating the course using amazing google earth programs and who knows what else. The course is still top secret as the racers will not receive it until the day before they depart so that they will have to plan their course and their strategy on the spot. There is a "no racers allowed" policy at the office to keep out any wandering eyes.
They are nervous that I will tell the YogaSlackers about something I've seen, so to remedy that, they decided to send me out on the course early, before it even starts. "Great," I think, as getting out in the field was a big wish of mine, and lord knows I've spent enough time and money lately getting all the right equipment. So I attend a meeting by the course director, professional geologist and visionary for this race, Stjepan, as he laid out the plan for the 6 of us in the room. It was all in Spanish, with lots of pointing at the map, and I walked away quite unclear of what I had been enlisted to do. I heard something about 16 days, and trekking, and boats, and horses, and a crazy man with a sawed-off shotgun, and beavers. I got a translation that didn't provide a ton more details, but here is what I do know:
--I leave tomorrow (having expected to be in town for at least 5 days when I arrived),
--Won't be back for 16-18 days (so I will miss the YogaSlackers all together until they get to my checkpoints, except for Sam who is already here and I got to say hi to yesterday!). I have never trekked for 16-18 days--did I oversell my resume?? Should I have spent the last month training instead of getting 3 massages a day and going to the beach? Doubt is seeping in.
--We'll be setting up and then manning a series of around 5 checkpoints, mostly the ones near the end. We have to hike in, get them ready, then split up and man them (we'll always have at least two people per site and radio contact with homebase).
--I am the only girl (so far)
--Patagonia is overrun with beavers who are not indigenous to the area and destroying a lot of the forests and rivers. So we should be killing them and eating them along the way. Perhaps they will go well with a nice Chilean Malbec. . .
--They need some extra photos and videos, so I'll have that job while I'm out there which should be fun.
--No money for a chopper this year. So as last year they may have dropped them off at a checkpoint, this year we hike in and find it on our own.
--Two of the guys are American so they can help me figure stuff out. Last time they were out in the field it was for 28 and 49 days, respectively. Let's hope I'm back in time for my plane flight.
--The name of my hostel is 'fin du mundo', the 'end of the world'. If that doesn't sum it up, I don't know what does.
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| My hostel |
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| Near the water in Punta Arenas |
So, I'm a little bit nervous about the adventure, but excited and grateful that I'm not stuck in the office. A bit anxious about not having a job at GNE to come back to and one manager suggesting that we try to schedule some phone interviews in the next couple of weeks because he can't hold the position till I'm back (don't think he fully captures how remote I'll be, and that interviewing off-the-cuff in the middle of my sabbatical out in Patagonia while gnawing on beaver jerkey puts me at a bit of a disadvantage). But things will work out, as they always do.
Here goes.
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About the Race (poached from their website):
The PATAGONIAN EXPEDITION RACE®, the adventure at the end of the world, is the most remote and wild race on the planet. This year it will cover some 600 kilometers. It is dedicated to awakening the world to the urgent need for conservation in southern Patagonia. The natural surroundings remain practically virginal. In this wild and challenging geography, vast masses of ice and granite towers rise majestically. The region is known for its numerous and actives fjords, which line more than 24,800 miles of coast. Tierra del Fuego, Torres del Paine National Park and Magellan Strait, are just some of the notable attractions in this territory of which most is practically unexplored.
Race website:
http://www.patagonianexpeditionrace.com/
