Queulat National Park (another hike)

A magical park in Chilean Patagonia, along the Carretera Austral, is Queulat National Park.  

The hikes, views, etc. were all wonderful: the link takes you to previous posts.

Here are a few images and thoughts around our last hike before we moved south.

We had looked for this trail before, and hadn't found the trailhead (the road was REALLY challenging), and our lodging was at the base of the road. It climbed up over the pass, full of gravel, deep ruts, and slippery patches -- a bit daunting, actually. We'd been glad to go back downhill the previous day.

But, after a young park ranger told us, yes, the Enchanted Forest trail is still open, we measured mileage carefully (again) and finally found the trail head, amid the rubble of road construction.

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Queulat National Park

I'm trying to find time to get back to our trip to Patagonia, among way too many distractions.

Here's an view of a wonderfully powerful river, below the hanging glacier in Queulat National Park, in Chile, off the Carretera Austral.

It's a wonderful place.

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Flowers, mosses, and lichens

There was an extraordinary diversity of mosses, lichens, and flowers in Chilean Patagonia!

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Queulat National Park

This is a wonderful national park along the Carretera Austral in Chilean Patagonia. I've already posted an image of the hanging glacier (spectacular!)

Along another trail, the Bosque Encantando (Enchanted Forest), the moss diversity (and that of other bryophytes) was nothing short of amazing.

along the trail in the Bosque Encantado

admiring bryophyte diversity

another hanging glacier photo

the river below

my traveling buddy

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Carretera Austral and Queulat National Park

I've gotten totally out of sequence (travel-wise) with my postings, but here are some wonderful images that evoke the experience of Chilean (Northern) Patagonia along the Carretera Austral.

Hanging Glacier in Quelat National Park

The hanging glacier is a stand-out hike (in Quelat National Park).  The fiord stretching from Puyahuaipi and beyond is spectacular, too.

Near the Posada Quelat

A finch accustomed to handouts

boat in Puyahuapi harbor

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Wonderful rivers

We saw so many wild and inspiring rivers and streams in Argentina and Chile (Northern Patagonia).

I thought we lived in the land of waterfalls, mountain streams and wonderful rivers, but these were remarkable.

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Chilean Patagonia and the Carretera Austral

Jumping around in our travels again, here are some images from a hike in Chilean Patagonia (off the Carretera Austral, a historically gravel road now being regraded and paved through much of its length.)

The Chilean side of Patagonia is much wetter than the Argentinian side, so the vegetation is a LOT more lush.

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Returning to winter

It's been rainy, foggy, and dark since we returned from the Southern Hemisphere.

Here with a diversity of mosses, ferns, etc.!

We saw wonderful lakes and hanging glaciers (here in Quelat National Park in Chilean Patagonia).

Not unexpected, but a bit of a transition, too, as our last few days had been in warm Buenos Aires, and very long "summer" days were part of our entire trip.

But our days are now getting longer, and here in the Southern Appalachians and the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in the Piedmont, we have plenty of sunny, mild winter days, too.  Hmm, I hope for some soon!

Amazing lichens in Chile's Valdivian rainforest!

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