backpacking from patagonia to lima, help needed

[stefano pellegrini]

Hi there,

A little background: I am going to travel with my girlfriend in south america, starting in the beginning of April in Ushuaia, Argentina and ending in Lima, Peru 3 months later (passing through Chile). We plan to visit major cities and national park on the way. We will do some multiple days hikes. I expect to find temperature from 20 F to 80 F.

I need some help for the sleeping system. I always had sleeping bags, but I want to try something else, as I feel some claustrophobia in the bag. The ideal option seems to be a quilt. Problem is, I am not sure which one will fit the temperature range 20-80. I was looking at the katabatic chisos and palisade, or the Golite UL season 1 and the 3 seasons. I am afraid the palisade and the "Golite 3 seasons" might be too hot for when we move towards Lima. We will always sleep in a tent, so I guess it is safe to add +10 F to the outside temperature?

Finally, doing some research on the forums, I came up with a thread suggesting to use a nunatak back country blanket. I like the idea, although it looks quite pricey and I am afraid it will hardly ship to Europe in time.

I would greatly appreciate your suggestions!

s

[Frances Bothfeld]

Hey there-

I thought I might offer some help as I did this last year. I started in Santiago and traveled down to Ushuaia and then flew up to Arica and from there eventually got to Lima.

So I am thinking that you won't need a bag for 80 degrees. Yeah Lima is HOT as it is in the desert, but there isn't much hiking around there. Most hiking done in Peru will be up in the mountains were you will want something a lot warmer. Cuzco is cold at night and a 20 degree quilt will suffice.

In Patagonia, I would definitely bring a solid 20 degree bag at least. We did a hike outside of ushuaia and it was FREEZING and incredibly windy. Make sure shelter is impervious to the wind because they aren't kidding when they say it is blustery.

I brought a 15 degree down Montbell. I too get claustrophobic, but the spirals works wonders. It worked for me in both Patagonia and the Peruvian mountains. Where are you thinking about going specifically? I could give you an idea about what worked for me and what didn't

FB

[stefano pellegrini]

Hi Frances,

thanks for your help. Ok so you think I should go for a 20F and slip the foot pocket off when I get to warmer places. Yeah, it sounds good. Do you perhaps have any idea of how good the back country blanket is?

And I did not know that Montbell has a shop in Switzerland. Actually that is where I live. Unfortunately though, I think I will avoid the sleeping bag, and they seem not to sell quilts here. It is not easy to find a quilt here in Europe, it seems.

So the tentative plan of the first part, at the moment, is (April) Usuhaia -> Puerto Williams -> Punta Arenas -> Torres del Paine -> Perito Moreno -> (gets fuzzy here) -> Buenos Aires -> Salta -> … TBA

ste

[Frances Bothfeld]

I am sorry I don't know that much about quilts in europe. I only have experience with the enlightened equipment revelation x. I am sure there are plenty of posts elsewhere on this subject though. If you are going to quilt route, make sure you have a good tent, rain gear and enough layers for Tierra Del Fuego. It is cold, windy and very randomly rainy (5 minute downpours). But please do not let this discourage you. It was also the most beautiful place I have been.

Puerto Williams- I assume you are doing the Dientes circuit? I never got down there, but I heard from other travelers that it is a lot of boulder hopping and not a lot of people. Eat the king crab. It is to die for.

I did Torres Del Paine and I was less than impressed with the W, but loved the back side. While everything is beautiful, it is inundated with people. If you see Glacier Grey, then you can skip Perito Merino. They are pretty much the same thing. Don't get me wrong, I love glaciers, but perito merino is kind of a tourist trap whereas you will only have to share your view of glacier gray with 8 people most (it is on the backside). Make sure you plan 8 days at least. We did it in 8 but wanted to explore more. There are a lot of people on the trail so it is less wildernessy than I would have wanted.

I would suggest staying away from the hikes in the lonely planet trekking book as that is what EVERYONE tends to use. Other than Ushuaia we were always surrounded by a bunch of people. We finally found more off the beaten path trips on Summitpost.

Lastly- every park we went to in patagonia claimed you could drink the water without treating it. DONT BELIEVE THEM! We ran into so many sick hikers because they drank the water.

Hope this helps!
Frances

[stefano pellegrini]

Thanks for the great suggestions, Frances, they are going to be really useful!

ste

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