22.0 mi / 6.6 mph / 1103 ft. climbing
Home: Cruce Lago Vargas

A 37°F temperature when we woke up, following yesterday’s cool air, meant that we now had a trend. But with no wind, and the two “rooms” (delineated by large rocks) at our wild campsite, it was still a comfortable and easy morning. Then why did we get rolling 30 minutes later than Rett planned to? Because we couldn’t resist talking more with the Shaws on our way out as they sipped their coffees. Again, it was totally worth it, and I’m surprised Rett didn’t include that “delay” when she did her alarm-clock calculations, because of course we were going to talk more with them…has she not met any of us?!

As we began riding, we immediately had snow-capped mountains in every direction, but I think I was still more flabbergasted by the 16 hours that had just passed. Like, did we really spend that time camping with the Shaws, here on the Carretera Austral? It’s one of those things that was so improbable, it was still hard to believe that it had actually happened, even though I was right there. Even as we now proceeded in opposite directions, I was glad that our general proximity meant that they could share in our perfect-weather bubble that we have been dragging around us on the Carretera Austral, since they have generally had worse luck than us (especially just a couple days before, when they suffered a frightening and dangerous soaking that reminded us of the substantial risks that lurk out here).

The 140 mile stretch between Cochrane and Villa O’Higgins is a 5-day ride (for us), and there are no conventional stores along the route. This only time we’ve ever gone as long without a restocking opportunity was the Molesworth Trail in New Zealand, and given how much weight and volume we normally carry, it’s difficult for us to find space for ~3 extra days of food. So we had spent days in Cochrane developing a strategy, even debating a 28-mile out-and-back offshoot to the unique town of Tortel, mainly for a restocking opportunity. In the end we’d decided against that, but that made today’s stop at Lago Vargas a critical part of our strategy. There is a middle-of-nowhere property with a food truck here, and also an under-development hotel, so the intentionally-short day would allow us to get both lunch and dinner at the food truck, saving us the weight of two meals.

We arrived at 12:30pm, and found a group of three other cyclists taking a break there, and then were later joined by a couple of French northbounders on a tandem from whom we got our first recent, in-person report about the infamously-challenging Chile/Argentina hike-a-bike section following the end of the Carretera Austral (they definitely didn’t quell our fears!)

I splurged on a burger and a completo (hot dog), and a “mote con huesillo”, a Chilean specialty drink of a rehydrated peach in a sweet syrup, with wheat berries. I’m sure getting one from one of the many stands we passed in Central Chile would have been cheaper/better, but I never got around to it and this was likely my last chance! (the French guy also ordered one after asked me if that’s what it was, which for him was his first opportunity in Chile!) It was good (good enough that I finished Rett’s), though difficult to drink (eat?) without also eating the wasps that were intensely attracted to it.

Rett had reserved a room via WhatsApp, so as soon as we finished eating the guys running the place let us check in (after a little cleaning). We got room #2, recommended by the Shaws, so once again we were sleeping in the exact spot where they had slept before us! The two-level room (with a private covered patio) was quite nice for an off-grid under-construction hotel, though they didn’t have the hot water operational yet, so I just sponge-bathed myself in the tub. Rett was feeling exhausted, so she napped for a few hours while I set up the tent on the patio to stitch another zipper-replacement onto it.

The hotel building had a quite large and airy restaurant area in the front, and that’s actually where the kitchen for the “food truck” is located, so for dinner we were able to eat inside (sitting in their carved-from-a-tree-trunk chairs). We both ordered “milanesa de pollo”, with a side of french fries, only to learn upon delivery that fries are part of the “milanesa de pollo”. So we got a whole lot of fries!