Antarctica - touching the bottom of the world

  
      While kayaking in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam we met a fellow traveler who told us about going to Ushuaia, Argentina where the cruise ships leave for Antarctica. With some flexibility to your schedule it was often possible to pick up a last minute cruise to the Ice Continent for a steep discount if they are leaving with empty cabins. With low expectations we arrived in Ushuaia to see what might happen. To our joy we found there were two expedition ships leaving that week that had discounted cabins. Sarah and Gabriel at Freestyle Adventure Travel helped go through the trips available leaving in the next week.  The discounts were not quite as much as we hoped since many other people have discovered this trick so the supply and demand is not as favorable as it used to be. The trip was going to be a budget breaker but after discussing it we decided that since the trips were only going to become more expensive as the years went by (or even travel to Antarctica banned) and since we were returning to jobs in July that this was the time to do it. When we found out that one of the expeditions was called “Base Camp Antarctica” and offered ski mountaineering, mountaineering, kayaking, and camping out on the ice we were 100% sold on going. The highlight was ski mountaineering, so we raced around Ushuaia and found a teli and AT ski set up for the week but then were told 2 days before the trip left that they had made a mistake and that the ski mountaineering was full. This was very disappointing but there was so many other cool things to do that this feeling did not last long.

MV Ortelius - former Russian scientific vessel

 

      Getting to Antarctica by water means crossing the Southern Ocean, one of the roughest areas of sea in the world. In between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula is the narrowest part of this ocean where the Pacific Ocean meets the Atlantic. This area south of Cape Horn is called the Drake Passage and is renowned for horrible weather and huge waves. This was not to be the case with us. The crew called it the “Drake Lake”. Some of the crew had never seen the Drake Passage that smooth and on the return trip it was even flatter. Some people on the ship still became queasy but nothing like would normally have happened on the “Drake Shake”.

Sunrise on the "Drake Lake"           

              

      From the minute we reached Antarctica amazing things started to happen. As we were going down the Gerlache Strait we were greeted by a large pod of Humpback whales. Spray shooting up from the blowholes and tails were flashing all around.

Blowholes!!!             

Humpback whale tail

 

That day we also visited our first penguin colony. There we discovered that penguins make people happy. Their adorable look and silly antics just makes people laugh and smile. So much so that we thought there should be penguin psychiatric therapy. Depression would be immediately cured when surrounded by a colony of penguins and their chicks.

Thousands of Gentoo Penguins

Kathleen wanted to keep it       

Super goofy on land                 

          

      Over the next 5 days there would be many other opportunities to watch (and smell) penguins and seals. There were snow shoe hikes up several small hills to get better views of the areas. It did not take much of an elevations gain to get spectacular vistas of the surrounding bays, mountains, and glaciers. With no trees or other familiar objects to judge size from made perspectives really difficult to perceive. Things always looked much closer or farther than they actually were. 

View from above Brown's Station

View from Stoney Point              

Another Stoney Point view         

View above Neko Harbour         

 

Antarctica can be a meditative place to be. We would find a quiet corner of a beach and sit there and just listen. It was very quiet but full of noise with the water lapping the shore with ice clinking together, the sound of air bubbles popping out of the brash ice like a giant bowl of Rice Crispies, and the occasional thunder boom of an avalanche, glacier calving, iceberg breaking up, or just the sound of the glaciers moving.

A good place to meditate         

 

The weather continued to be much better then could have ever been expected with bright sunshine and blue skies. It was so nice that for dinner on the second night there was a BBQ on the helicopter landing deck on the back of the ship. I have never had a BBQ as seals on icebergs floated by.

Outdooor BBQ on the heli-deck

 

      We were able to do activities we had never thought possible to do in Antarctica. We signed up for the advanced mountaineering group so we were able to climb on some 50 degree ice and cross a glacier while roped up to get up to a ridgeline overlooking a place called Jougla Point.

Ice climbing on Jougla Point    

 

We were able to kayak in the Melchior Islands with seals swimming around us and icebergs floating by.

Kayaking in Melchior Islands  

Views from the kayak              

           

We even camped a night on the ice in bivy sacks and warm sleeping bags. There is nothing like waking up with a penguin waddling by your head.

Sleeping on the snow             

 

      The magic even continued on the trip back to Argentina. In the middle of the Drake Passage at the convergence zone where the cold water of the Southern Ocean meets the warmer water of the Pacific/Atlantic interface it was decided that it was calm enough to put the zodiacs in the water and to go on a cruise. The Captain had never done this before since it was never that calm. Even with the water as flat as it was it still was a challenge to get into the zodiacs. The gangway would alternate between being knee deep in water and then seconds later it would be a 2+ foot drop to reach the zodiac. It seemed like a bit of a liability risk but the crew was very experienced and skilled so everyone that wanted to go was loaded safely. The swells were still big enough that the waves would block sight of the ship at times.

Even calm the swells were big

 

Amazingly enough the boats came across a couple of Emperor Penguins swimming in the middle of the ocean. One of them let us get very close while it bleated and cried out. It sounded stressed but if it had wanted to swim away it could have without any problem.

Emperor Penguin at convergence zone in Drake Passage

 

Since the ship made such good time across the Drake due to the calm conditions we were also able to sail to Cape Horn and were able to steam past it going from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans. It is something I have always read and dreamed about but never thought I would go by it on the water. Another life dream unexpectedly filled.

Cape Horn from 3 miles away

 

      It was a week and a half of being in a dream world. It had been a dream to go to these places and once there it had a dream like feel to it. The air is so clear from the lack of pollution and the dry air that vast distances can be seen. The light, clouds, water, and ice is constantly changing in appearance.

A constantly changing view  

 

Every 15 minutes the view would be completely different even if you were sitting in the same place. The sound of the wind, water, ice, and penguins has a hypnotizing effect. Both of us along with multiple other people we talked to were brought to tears at times by the magic of the place. We have only been back in Ushuaia for half a day and we already want to go back.

FidEgan's FastPacks - Episode 10 - Tierra del Fuego - running at el Fin del Mundo

John and Kathleen are currently on a world trip where we plan to pursue our passion of trail running through the various landscapes and environments of the world. As we pass through each country we want to post our top pick for a trail run (or hike) that we did. This does not mean that this is the best trail to run in that country. It just means that it was our favorite that we did. We are both using Ultraspire Epic Fastpacks to carry our gear, hence the name of the column.

Where: Glaciar Vinciguerra, outside town of Ushuaia, Island of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Facilities/Trailhead: No facilities. The trailhead is about 10km outside of Ushuaia at Turbera Valle Andorra. A taxi is the easiest way to get there for about 130 Argentine pesos (~$9). We hitchhiked to get back but this may take walking down the dirt road for a bit. 

Fees: Free besides transportation costs to get there.

Terrain/Trials: This ended up being a combination of a run and a hike. There are very flat and rolling sections good for running and very steep sections that we had to hike.  The trail is marked by orange and blue markers.

Trail markers on trees                           

 

Distance: 13km

Description: We had run in the Tierra del Fuego National Park the day before and enjoyed these trails a lot more. The park is a bit of a scam between the high prices the minivans charge to get there and the park entrance fee. The trails in the mountains north of town are more scenic and free so we would recommend going there. 

This trail starts at the end of the road at Turbera Valle Andorra which is a peat cutting operation. The gate says in Spanish “No entrance” but it is referring to cars. It is permitted to walk across their property, just make sure to close the gate behind you. Follow the road a couple of hundred meters and then go left when a trail/secondary road breaks off. If you reach the buildings you went too far. 

Peat cutting farm in front, glacier in back

 

The first 2 km is along a pretty flat section as you pass through areas of cut bog with a gentle river flowing to your right. The trail is marked by yellow stakes and is obvious as you cut across the fields. This was a great section to run through. This eventually led to a bridge that crossed the river where the climbing began. 

Riverside running                                  

 

There are numerous muddy sections where log boardwalks have been built. Better for twisting an ankle on then running.

Log boardwalk after crossing bridge    

This led up to the first steep hill which was a series of switchbacks that led up to a trail intersection. For an added bonus the right trail goes up to Laguna Encantada which would add another hour or more to the experience. Going to the left continues on to Laguna de la where the trail alternates between runnable traverses across the hillside and steep uphill sections. 

Uphill section                                     

Eventually it leads up to where the Rio de Leche is flowing out of the lake. There is a flat area where beavers have built two dams and a large lodge. 

Beaver flats with snow rainbow       

From this flat section of terrain it then becomes steep glacial moraine up the last section to get to the lake. 

Last climb to the lake                     

Despite being late summer here (the equivalent of August) it was snowing sideways with a bitter wind, while at the same time it was sunny, and behind us a rainbow could be seen lower in the valley. Be prepared for every weather imaginable when hiking/running in Patagonia. 

We had to hold each other to stay warm

 

It was a quick trip back down the hill. The guide books say that the hike should take 5 to 6 hours round trip but with running the parts we could the trip took us just over 3 hours with a quick lunch break. We were also told that from the same trailhead there is a 31 km trail that crosses Paso de la Oveja that would make a great trail run but at the same time they said that camping at the lake near the Pass was really worth it so it might make a good backpack/fastpack also.

Cerro Aconcagua - the highest mountain outside of Asia

15 years ago John came to Argentina to climb Cerro Aconcagua by a more technical route. This year Kathleen wanted to try so we agreed to try the “Normal Route” which on the surface is considered a walk up. That walk up however is to an altitude of 22,841 feet (6962 meters) which makes it a serious climb no matter which way you go. Typically the summit success rate for this mountain is only about 30%. This year the strongest El Nino in history is making the season one of the most difficult in 30 to 40 years according to the guides there so the success rate is far below 20%.

First view of mountain from road 

On John's first summit (Polish Glacier Route) there was months of planning and organizing from the US involved. This time there was almost no pre-planning. We had some gear and clothing with us but the plan was to arrive in Mendoza (the gateway to Parque Provincial Aconcagua) and figure it out on the fly. Limited with our packing space since we are traveling for several months afterwards, we opted to supplement our cold weather clothing with anything extra we needed for high altitude mountaineering at a local rental shop. We would also arrange mule transport to carry food and equipment to Base Camp and arrange permits to climb the mountain there. In two days we were able to get everything done that we needed though it took some scrambing and our credit card company shut down our credit card due to the large amounts of money we were spending. While we were doing this we heard that so far only 15 people had summited instead of the usual 350 people by that time of year and half of those “successful” people had to be evacuated for frost bite and one had died by accidently walking off of the South Face. Not an encourgaging statistic. We met a girl named Bri from Seattle at the gear rental store who gave us some great information about the mountain; most notably about the high winds and heavy snow that she and her team had just experienced while there.

Once the preliminary work was done we caught a 3 hour ride back up the road toward Santiago, Chile to the little ski resort of Las Penitentes. This is where the two trailheads to the mountain are located depending on which side of the mountain is being climbed. We were to head up the Horcones River valley to the Base Camp at Plaza de Mulas. It is a two day hike to Plaza de Mulas but as soon as we arrived at the intermediate camp at Confluencia we started feeling the effects of the altitude. This camp is at 11,119 feet and neither of us had had any signs of AMS (acute mountain sickness) at this altitude before. The trick with big mountains like this is distinguishing between the annoying mild symptoms and the more life threatening moderate to severe symptoms which can progress to fluid buildup in the lungs or brain swelling. John had never felt that poorly at that low of an altitude and Kathleen didn't feel that great either. Because of these symptoms it was elected to spend an extra night at Confluencia and to spend a day hiking out to a place called Plaza Francia and back. This was well worth the time since the hike takes you to the bottom of the magnificent South Face of Aconcagua. This is the side of the mountain where legends and climbing carreers have been made. A person has to be pretty much crazy and extremely skilled to climb routes here due to the very steep nature of the terrain and severe avalanche risk.

View near Plaza Francia                           

Shrine near Plaza Francia                          

Mules carrying loads up Horcones Valley

Spending the extra day here helped with our symptoms so that the next day we were able to continue on to the Plaza de Mulas Base Camp. This is a small tent city where 100 to several hundred climbers are located depending on the day and time of season. We were self supported but for people willing to pay for it there are dome dorm tents to sleep in and full meal support.

Sunset behind Base Camp

From here it was time to start a process called double carrying following the principal of “Climb high, Sleep low” as we moved up through the 3 high camps. We would spend a day climbing up to the next high camp, leaving a cache of food and fuel. We then would climb back down to where we started and spend the night. The next day we would grab our tent and clothes and make the permanent move up to that higher camp.

View from Camp Canada 

We were fortunate with good weather until we had our food and fuel for 7 days stashed at Camp 2 which is called Nido de Condores. Here we heard that a large multi-day storm was coming so we elected to leave our supplies there and retreat to Base Camp where we would be more comfortable during the storm. Nido de Condores is very exposed to wind being on a ridgeline. We were glad we did this as the next couple of days were rough. Snow and thunder where we were with heavy rain in the valleys below us. We have not been in too many thunder-snowstorms and they are always intense.

Lenticular cloud and fresh snow

Multiple landslides washed out the road between Penitentes and Mendoza. This caused the parks rescue helicopter to be busy further down the valley. Since there was no ability to rescue climbers the Park Service closed and evacuated the entire upper mountain. The linked video clip shows what was going on lower down as climbers were trying to hike back out to the road. It was a bit of a mess.

https://youtu.be/jNVwspunNn0

We ended up being stuck at Base Camp for 4 days waiting for the weather to break. We had to ration our food for these days as our best food was at Camp 2 but luckily some of the things that we hadn't wanted up higher like pasta had been left at Base Camp. We played lots of cards, took some short hikes, slept a lot, and obsessively checked the weather report.

Eventually a weather window started to form that looked like it would be our only chance to make the summit before our permit ran out after 20 days. The first few days of climbing would still be during the storm but if we could get into position higher up on the mountain then we would have a couple of nicer days to try to reach the top. On 27 January 2016 we started up and spent the night at Camp 1 (Camp Canada). During that night it started to storm and snow heavily again. Waking up the next morning was discouraging and this was the morning of John's crisis in confidence. Our options weren't good no matter what we did. Staying at Camp Canada was the poorest choice as we were going to run out of food and fuel that day. Choice 2 was to descend to Base Camp basically giving up on the summit and we still would have to go back up to Camp 2 (Nido de Condores) to get our equipment. That left Choice 3 which is what Kathleen pushed for – to climb up to Camp 2 in the midst of the storm. It would suck for several hours but then we would be in better position for the weather to end and we would have pretty much unlimited food and fuel. This is what we ended up doing. John's mantra for the day became “Just a typical day in the Alaska Range” as he reminded himself that it had been as bad or worse when climbing Denali.

Just another day in the Andes

Once we had made the move we were happy though the next morning the park rangers informed us that we had set up our tent in the helicopter landing area so we had to move.

Move it before a helicopter hits it

 

From here we got our break. The weather improved so that we were able to move up to Camp 3 or Camp Colera which means Camp Angry though we thought at first it was named after Cholera, the disease. Either way, not the best named camp. We didn't spend much time there.

Scramble section up to Camp 3  

That night we woke up at 3am to start melting snow for the day and to eat breakfast. At 5am we started up on our summit push. We could already see a line of headlamps dotting the hillside above us as other people made their way up the hill. It was intensely cold. Kathleen is very sensative to cold in her hands and was having some issues at first but we were able to get things under control with chemical hand warmers, and 3 layers of gloves/mittens. By the time the sun came out and we were able to turn the headlamps off we were about 1/3 of the way up. The sun burst with a red line on the horizon that then spread to the clouds below us and eventually we could see the shadow of the mountain cast onto the sky.

Sunrise shadow of Aconcagua

Soon after this we got stuck behind the group that we dubbed “The Boy Scouts”. These guys did not look good. Some of them were staggering and barely moving along. John had kept warm until this point where upon he had to put his big puffy parka on. There was no room to get around these guys since the trail was very narrow with ice on either side. They were the first group that we had encountered that did not allow faster people behind them to go by. Very frustrating to be stuck behind and it was cold to be standing there waiting for them to move. After an insuffurably long time they finally took a break and we were able to get by. The top 1/3 of the climb is called the Canuleta. It is an area of very loose dirt and small rocks that is frustrating to climb as one slides back a foot for every two feet climbed. This year the extra amount of snow turned out to be a blessing. Cramponing up this snow made the route much easier though the thin air still made it rough. We would take a few steps and then stop for 4 breathes or more. It was slow but steady going. The Canuleta led up to the summit ridge and then the summit block.

Summit ridge and South Summit

View down South Face               

We had been able to move efficiently enough that by the time we summited we were the 4^th and 5^th person on the summit that day. Now that the sun was out it had warmed up and we were able to spend about 20 minutes on the summit. 3 Chileans arrived right after us. There were still extensive views but there was a growing number of clouds building up below us. The Chileans and us took turns taking picutures for each other and then it was time to start going down.

Summit - 22,841 feet

At the bottom of the Canuleta we came across a party of South Africans that we had been climbing next to pretty much from the first days of the expedition. They had become good friends and we had said that if they did not summit then our expedition would feel like a partial failure. Their expedition was led by a man named Alex Harris who had climbed all of the 7 Summits (highest mountain on each continent), skied to the South Pole, and most impressive to John, had been part of the first team to cross the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Desert self supported by pulling a 1000+ pound cart of food and water along with Marco Broccardo who was also on the trip. Their team had all sorts of problems. Team mates had lost their luggage on the flights to South America, people had gotten sick, tents and equipment had blown away, along with a bunch of smaller problems. They also ended up summiting but then when they hiked out it turned out that there was a bridge washed out so they still ended up missing their flights back to South Africa which cost them an extra $1000+. We felt pretty sorry for them but were psyched that most of them had succeeded.

After taking 16 days to climb to the summit it only took 2 days to hike back out to the road. We were ready to be out of there and put our heads down and hiked out as quickly as possible. For days we had been fantasizing about food. As soon as we got back to the hotel in Penitentes the first priority was a shower. This was rapidly followed by finding cold beer and a good bottle of wine. The climatic finalle of the night was dinner. John had one of the best steaks ever while Kathleen had a huge hunk of salmon. Fantasy and reality merged into an explosion of culinary delight.

We were glad to be done and to have made the summit. Neither of us planned on going back and trying again if we hadn't reached the top so it felt good to have accomplished our goal. We had made friends from all over the world, climbed in a beautiful part of the Andes, and overcome a lot of obstacles. The next day we caught the bus back to Mendoza and started our process of moving south into Patagonia for further adventures in the mountains.

The South American Un-plan

6 months at home.  Africa was the beginning of the summer but it seems like years ago.  One of the standout experiences of our trip was living and working in Malawi.  Making friends and being part of a community but a community that was nothing like anything we had ever been a part of.  Then we came home.

     For John the transition back to “normal” life in the states was quicker and easier then it was for Kathleen.  John enjoyed the ease of life in the United States.  Grocery stores overflowing with not just any type of food or vegetable that we would want but multiple choices.  Instead of 3 types of breakfast cereal there would be 3 different types of one kind.  We had not driven in years and suddenly we had cars and the ability to drive around and out of town whenever we wanted.  Electricity was available 24 hours a day.  Clean drinkable water was available out of a tap.  It may have been because of the ease of all of these things that Kathleen had a harder transition back.  Realizing that most of the world does not have the abundance and luxury that America and Europe have bothered her more.  Even harder to understand was how this abundance is just taken for granted here.  Yes, there is hunger and homelessness but in Malawi most of the children we saw had stunted growth from malnutrition.  Protein is not a usual part of their diet.  The main source of nutrition is corn porridge (similar to grits) with a little bit of vegetables mixed in.  Meat is too expensive for most of the people.  Clean water means walking to a town pump to fill jugs.  The difference between “poor” Americans and “normal” sub-Saharan Africans is still a big jump.  This transition back to an American/Western lifestyle took Kathleen longer to adjust back to.

     Then we were back for 6 months.  During that time John worked as an Emergency Veterinarian as much as possible to save up for the next chapter of World Tour.  Kathleen started working as a gear representative for a hydration pack company called Ultraspire where she is also one of their sponsored athletes.  She started reconnecting with friends and trail running a lot.  After a summer and fall of incredible runs and adventures Kathleen felt like she was finally getting back into solid running shape with a group of friends that wanted to run on a regular basis.  6 months was enough time for her to just be getting back into a comfortable routine.  John on the other hand was back in his work routine and missing the days of being a nomad.  Some months he was working more than full time.  During the summer it was fun being back but once the grey, dark, and wet returned to Seattle he was ready to leave.  

     Whatever head space we are in at some level does not matter because we are about to launch into the South America leg of our World Tour.  We fly to Santiago, Chile on 9 January and will be in South America for 6 months.  As usual, we have a rough idea of what we want to do but no definitive plans. Besides the plane ticket there is no set itinerary.  The plan is to initially go and make an attempt on Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres.  John summited this mountain in 2001 and Kathleen wants to make an attempt.  We then plan on going to El Chalten to do trail running, trekking, and climbing in the area around Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre.  All these mountains are in Argentina where the peso just collapsed 40% in the last few days making everything on sale if you have American dollars.  We plan on being at the foot of Fitz Roy on 14 February to have a memorial service for our friend Chad Kellogg who tragically died descending that mountain two years ago.  Then it is off to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America.  We plan on swinging around into Chile (probably early March at this point) to explore Torres del Paine and do some more trekking.  Eventually we will make our way north through the Chilean Archipelago to the Atacama Desert (the driest place on Earth) and then to the salt flats of Bolivia.  Continuing on to Peru we plan to see Machu Pichu (this will be a repeat for Kathleen), hike in the Cordillera Blanca Mountains, and hopefully do some volunteer veterinary work.  Then to Ecuador to climb Chimborozo.  The summit of this mountain is the closest to the sun a person can get while attached to the planet.  The Earth bulges at the equator so this mountain sticks out into space more than any other spot including Mount Everest.  Lastly, we plan on being in Columbia to meet our friend Amanda McNabb and do some bike touring.  We will be back by July 1 as John's hospital had an opening that needed filled.  6 months to explore another corner of the world together which should be just enough time for us to just have readjusted to being on the road again.  Then we will have to readjust back to the US again. 

     We have been fortunate to have been supported on our World Tour by a few sponsors and that continues.  GU Energy Labs gave us a huge amount of gels and chomps that we continue to use on our adventures.  Ultraspire gave us new Epic Fastpacks to use as our day packs and even hired Kathleen as an employee this summer.  Seven Hills Running Shop has continued to help us out over the summer since we tend to burn through running shoes pretty quickly.  Lastly we are psyched to announce that Vasque footwear contacted us this summer and asked if we could be Adventure Travel Ambassadors for them.  Since we already used their products it was a natural fit so now we have new boots and running shoes from them.

     Stay tuned to the blog and Facebook for the continued travels of the FidEgans and Knucklehead Adventure Tours.

Culture Shock can be a good thing

Culture shock!?!? Everyone keeps asking us and wondering about the level of culture shock we are having. Two years of being in some very foreign countries the expectation is that we would be having issues about being back. Lots of people seem to like using our return as an excuse to rag on the US reminding us of the things we dislike – the commercialism, consumerism, materialism, shallowness of TV and news programming, racism, etc (lots of -isms). While at some level these things are a part of the American culture but despite that our culture shock has been surprisingly small.

We have been living in some rough conditions for so long that at this point we are mostly just enjoying the ease of being back and living in the United States. We have nice houses that we are staying at (visiting family) with comfortable beds. The electricity is always on and our plugs work without needing an adapter or series of adapters. When we take a shower we don't have to first check that there is hot water (or that the water is running at all).

We like that we don't have to think about food or water. Ice water at a restaurant or out of the tap can be guzzled without fear. Grocery stores are like giant playgrounds. In Malawi we would have to go to three different stores and the local farmers vegetable market to get all of our food supplies for the week. In SE Asia there were mostly only 7-11 type mini-marts and most people would go out to eat since it was so cheap. Even in Europe the grocery stores tended to be smaller with not as much of a selection. We are finding going into an American supermarket is a dangerous proposition. Things we had forgotten about or haven't had access to are rapidly piled into the cart. The quantity and variety of foods are amazing after you haven't seen it for a couple of years. It does seem ridiculous at times – does there really need to be 3 or 4 different varieties of Fruit Loops? At the same time we are not complaining about all the new flavor of chocolate that exist now that we have never seen. On top of the incredible selection we are also blown away by the prices. Everything is so cheap compared to where we have been with the exception of alcohol. Africa was surprisingly expensive which is why in Malawi most people only eat Nsima (corn porridge) and local vegetables that they can grow. Even with the favorable exchange rate Europe was still pricey. Only in SE Asia was food cheaper.

When we go to restaurants we are still getting used to the size of the portions here again. In Thailand we would order 3 entrees each (for a total of $3 to $6) in order to get enough to eat. Here one serving could last for 3 meals. In restaurants, like the grocery store, the variety and selection is at times overwhelming. In most of the world you get what you get. In Vietnam there were some times when we had no idea of what we were ordering and just hoped that there would not be a beak or foot involved when it showed up on the table. Here they ask you if you want corn, flour, or gluten free tortillas. You can have chicken, beef, pork, sirloin, barbacoa, or tofu. Do you want Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, or Cherry Coke? It's crazy at times!

Another big difference about being back is traffic. In the US for the most part everyone drives in an orderly manner and tends to follow the rules. In Germany you didn't go in the left lane of the Autobahn if there was a car within ½ mile of you because they were going well over 100mph and would be on top of you within seconds. In other parts of the world traffic lights are more like recommendations and a two lane road easily becomes 3 or 4 lanes if people want to pass. We are still getting used to driving on the right side of the road. Most of the countries we drove in (except Germany) drive on the left side. We still find ourselves trying to get into the wrong side of the car. A pleasant bonus of being back is that gas is dirt cheap. The price of gas in the USA is 50% to 75% cheaper then the other places we were. Most of the world pays between $6 and $10 a gallon. As pedestrians we have noticed that you can walk out into a crosswalk and expect the cars to stop. No guarantees but that is the expectation. Anywhere else in the world and you would be run down. Many people ride bikes around the world. In many countries that is the only transportation they can afford but even in Europe everyone rides their bike around town. In the US almost everyone wears a helmet. In Europe almost nobody wears one.

A few nights ago at dinner we were talking about schools. In Malawi when we visited a classroom there would be 150 kids in the room with no electricity or desks. They sit on the floor crammed side to side. When we would enter the class they would all stand up and in unison say “Hello Viz-E-Tor! Welcome Viz-E-Tor! How are you Viz-E-Tor?” My brother Tom laughed at this and said that in the US we teach our kids in school STRANGER DANGER!!!! In the US we definitely don't see 5 year old girls taking care of the newborn baby with no adults in sight like we would in Africa, Nepal, and SE Asia.

Being back in America the biggest difference we are seeing boils down to convenience. Life here is easier then the other parts of the world we have seen. Things are available, abundant, and cheap. It is a reminder of how lucky we scored on the birth lottery ticket to have been born where we were which has given us the life opportunities we have had. At this point I would say that I am having less of a culture shock and more of a Give Thanks reminder. We have a lot to be Thankful for. By going away it has really given me a better perspective on how good a life we have here.

FidEgan's Fastpacks - Episode 9 - Reaching the high point of Malawi

John and I are currently on a world trip where we plan to pursue our passion of trail running through the various landscapes and environments of the world.  As we pass through each country we want to post our top pick for a trail run that we did.  This does not mean that this is the best trail to run in that country.  It just means that it was our favorite that we did.  We are both using Ultraspire Fastpacks to carry our gear, hence the name of the column.  On this trip John carried his larger backpack to carry more gear while I used my Fastpack.

Due to an unfortunate error while (attempting to) download our pictures they were accidently deleted. 

Where:  A traverse of the Mount Mulanje massif in southern Malawi right on the Mozambique border.

Mount Mulanje massif (Google images)

 

Facilities/Trailhead:  We started our hike from the Likhubula Forestry Office/Park Entrance.  We hiked out at Fort Listers Gap which was just a small farming village with no park facilities there.  It took a half day of mini-buses to get to the Likhubula Forestry Office from the city of Blantyre.  We were very lucky to have hitched a ride out of Fort Listers Gap.  This village is on a very rough dirt road and is a long way from any public transportation.  Once you reach the town of Phurumbu it is still a half day of mini-buses to get back to Blantyre.

Fees:  The park entrance fee is only 100 Kwacha (22 cents) per person.  A local guide is required in the park and the government set rate is 11,000 Kwacha (~$25) per day.  Porters hire out for 8000 Kwacha (~$18) per day.  There is a choice of using the huts or camping.  Even when camping you are free to use the hut to cook dinner in.  Camping was 500 Kwacha/person/night.  Our experience has been that huts tend to be crowded and noisy so we elected to bring our own tent.  We were glad we did as it provided both privacy and a better barrier against bugs at night. 

Terrain/Trials:  There is a network of trails that intersect between all the huts scattered around the massif with trails that come up from the various villages around the mountain.  A trip from one day to over a week could be arranged depending on how long you would want to hike there.  There are also a number of peaks on the top of the massif that can be climbed.  These range from walk ups to technical rock climbing to get to the top of. 

Distance:  We never saw a map with distances so are not sure about the actual number of kilometers covered.  We did hike 4 hours the first day, 8 hours the second day (5 of those were going up and down Sapitwa Peak), 8 hours the third day, and about 3 hours the last day (though without a ride it could have been many hours more).

Description:  The guide we had found in Blantyre was named Fanuel and he ended up being great.  He was born and grew up at the foot of the mountain and is now very active in the Blantyre Mountain Club.  He often climbs there just for fun and has been up most of the peaks including the technical ones.  He is an orphan and the eldest of all his brothers and sisters.  He is supporting his entire family along with 4 Mozambican orphans (one of which is blind) trying to get them through school.  We highly recommend him as a guide and we hired his brother Victor as a porter.  It is possible to contact him via phone (0999329808) or email (fanueljarson@yahoo.com).  Other guides can also be found in the town of Mulanje.

Our mountain goat guide Fanuel

     There are several trails from the Likhubula Forestry Station to the top of the escarpment.  As usual we chose the shortest but steepest way called the Skyline Trail.  At the base of the mountain are verdant green tea plantations and most of the mountain is steep rock cliffs that go up to the upper plateau.  The lower elevations tend to be hot and the clay soil makes it very slippery if there has been any recent rain.  A variety of birds and vervet monkeys could be seen in the trees.  There were leopard here at one point but none have been seen for many years.  Once on the upper plateau there is an entire new mountain range on the top.  A variety of mountain summits stick up with valleys and ridgelines in between them.  We spent the first night at Chambe Hut and this was the only night where there were other tourists around.  The amount of stars visible at night was stunning. 

Day 2 involved hiking 3 hours to Chisepo Hut.  We left our packs and Victor at the hut while the rest of us hiked to the top of Sapitwa Peak which is the high point of Malawi.  It is not technical to summit but it is steep in places and scrambling across rocks and ledges is required.  Starting early in the morning is recommended as in the afternoon the view is often obscured by clouds.  From the top there are extensive views over the plains into Mozambique.  Some people have been known to camp on this summit.

Day 3 was a long day and we were tired from the previous days effort.  We hiked to Sombani Hut but the nice thing was that there were 2 other huts along the way which provided good places to stop and take a break.  The day consisted of a series of climbing up and over a ridgeline and then across a valley with a river marking the low point of the valley.  Many of these rivers had inviting looking swimming holes in them.  On each day we had come across multiple villagers poaching cedar logs out of the forest but on this day we saw the most. 

One of the many swimming holes (Google images)

Day 4 was a short day of hiking back down the mountain to the plains to a village called Fort Lister Gap.  In 1893 the British built a fort there to try to end the slave trade caravans that were moving between Malawi and Mozambique.  It was a easy and scenic hike.  We were lucky once we hit the rough dirt road in Fort Lister we were able to find someone with a car that gave us a ride.  Without that it would have been a very long road hike or ride on a bike taxi to get to the town of Phurumbu where mini-bus transport can be found back to Blantyre. 

A wide variety of trails are on the mountain.  Day hikes or overnight trips are possible.  With a week or more pretty much the entire upper mountain could be explored.  There are also a number of different mountains that could be climbed of varying difficulty.  It was a beautiful place and the locals could use all the tourist money they can get.  The more tourists that visit places like this, the more likely those places will be protected by both the government and the local villagers. 

Disaster Flood Relief - helping animals to help people

In January Malawi and northern Mozambique were struck by the largest floods in a generation. This caused almost 200,000 people to become homeless. Now there is a cholera outbreak further worsening conditions. This was in largely rural regions were people are farmers and depend on their livestock for their income. They don't have bank accounts so often their “money in the bank” is in the form of cattle and goats. Little veterinary care reaches these areas normally and none has occurred since the floods. Recently LSPCA (Lilongwe Society for the Protection and Care of Animals) in conjunction with HSI (Humane Society International) and WTG (Welttierschutz Gesselschaft) went south to figure out what they could do to help those affected by the floods. Some districts were being helped but no relief had gone to Balaka, Zomba, or Machinga agriculture districts so this is where our attention was focused.

Kathleen and I went down to Zomba on a Monday afternoon via minibus. Public transportation is always an adventure in Africa. The bus does not leave until every seat has been sold and by that I mean there are 5 people for every 4 seats. The drive takes about 4 hours in a car but it was closer to 7 hours in the bus and that was without any breakdowns. We talked to someone else a few days later that went the same route and it took them 14 hours with 2 breakdowns. We met Jender in Zomba. Jender is the project coordinator at LSPCA for the Disaster Relief and he had already been down in the Balaka and Zomba districts for a week. We ended up working in Zomba for one day and in Machinga district for 3 days.

Kathleen and I have always been interested in and talked about doing some sort of relief work in Africa. This turned out to be out first chance where we were able to actually do this. The plan was that LSPCA and its partners would supply the drugs and the Malawi government through their agriculture field offices would supply some manpower and get the farmers and villages organized. The diseases mainly effecting the animals were the sorts of things that occur after too much rain. Foot Rot, Lumpy Skin Disease, and especially intestinal parasites were at high levels. The poultry in this area is also periodically effected by New Castles Disease which tends to kill most of them. The plan was to deworm as many animals as possible, treat the ones that needed it with antibiotics, manage any wounds, and vaccinate the poultry against New Castles Disease. Each district is broken down into different EPAs (Extension Planning Areas). We would visit a different EPA each day. Some people would go through the villages door to door on bicycles or motorcycles to vaccinate the chickens. This is done by placing a drop of I-2 vaccine in their eye.

Vaccinating a chicken                     

 

While they did this Jender, Kathleen, and I would go to the local dip tank where there would be a cattle chute where we could treat the cattle. Large herds of goats would also be gathered there to be treated. Goats and sheep were given oral dewormer.

Deworming a goat                    

 

The cattle were injected with ivermectin and if they had other problems then I would figure out what needed to be given. When we would first arrive we would often meet the local chief (often a woman) and the head of the herders association.

Village chief thanking us                      

 

Some of the herders were very organized and worked together as a team. The cows were moved through the chute efficiently and we were able to treat all the animals. Other EPAs were each herder to himself and it was harder to treat as many animals.  We didn't like the way they would hit them with sticks at times and would occasionally make suggestions on how to move them in a less violent way.

Herders making a plan on how to treat

Examining the cows in the chute         

Too much hitting going on                    

Loading the cows into the chute           

Jabbing cows                                    

 

Over the course of the 10 day intervention we managed to treat 2172 cattle, 37963 goats, 1453 sheep, 1871 pigs, and 34513 chickens. Our goal beyond treating as many animals as possible was to also help the local AVOs (Assistant Veterinary Officers) and AHSAs (Animal Health Surveillance Assistants) improve their techniques and skills. It was also to start more regular veterinary care by starting treatment now but then leaving additional drugs for future use.

To get to these areas would involve driving 2 hours down a “road”. It would start as a dirt road, become a dirt track, and by the end of the road we would be jeeping the car down a path the width of a bicycle.

View out the windshield of "the road"

 

The bottom of the car would scrape along some of the ruts and there were several streams and big puddles we had to cross.

One of the "puddles"                          

 

When it rained the road became a muddy quagmire that we would easily get stuck in. The car we had was not ever designed for this type of terrain.

20 minutes of rain was a problem                

Carrying supplies in past washed out bridge

     

Along the way we would pass multiple tiny villages and scattered farmhouses. Corn fields were everywhere but we also saw rice paddies, beans, zucchini, and tobacco being grown. Some of the villages were near big lakes where people fished for a living.

Typical farm dwelling                     

Drying fish at Lake Chilwa             

 

Along these roads we would pass refuge camps for the displaced people. Most were living at the local schools so the children have not been able to learn since the rains began. Many of these families lost everything they owned and now have only one blanket and some food relief provided by the government and NGOs. Rotary International and an organization called Shelter Box were setting up large tents for people to move into so that they could have some privacy. Once the rainy season ends in the end of April/beginning of May then the people will go rebuild their houses.

Shelter Box tents at a refuge camp

 

In one tiny village we passed through there were three funerals that day. A cholera death where the person had gone from healthy to dead in just over 24 hours and 2 malaria deaths. We passed some houses of natural healers or “witch doctors” who are often the only type of medical care in some of these areas.

A natural healer we met

 

There was one school that we passed that was still in session. We saw that there were children outside sitting under a tree with a blackboard. I had seen this sort of thing in National Geographic before so we stopped to take a look in real life. This had the effect of pretty much disrupting the entire school.

Outdoor classroom                     

 

The headmaster came out to see what the commotion was and ended up giving us a guided tour of several classrooms. The school was horribly overcrowded which is why 3 of the classrooms are outdoors. If it rains then there is no class. The indoor classes had up to 160 children in each class. The would sit on the floor and there was pretty much no way to get any more kids into the room.

Typical overcrowded classroom

 

Jender was able to translate for us so we were able to have some fascinating conversations with people. Jender always liked to ask people if they had seen Mzungu (white people) before. Often the answer was that they had seen one once or twice but had never spoken with one. They would ask if there were poor people in America and we were asked if a person in America makes more money does it mean that someone else makes less? Children would scream, point, and chase after us. The adults were more subdued but would still come out of their houses to stare and wave. Herders would want to shake our hands and thank us for coming so far to their country.

Kids chasing the car              

 

The living conditions were rough. It was good that we had been traveling through many developing countries by this point because it did not faze us. Our hotel had no toilet seat, no running water (you poured water from a bucket into the toilet), and to turn the light on/off you had to screw the light bulb in and out of the socket. The mosquito nets had holes the size of a head. Not a mosquito head. A human head. There was only one restaurant in town that would have had most westerners skipping food. We would often have to go buy the food in the market and bring it to the restaurant to be cooked. It was better if you didn't look in the kitchen to see where the food was being prepared. Kathleen and I must have pretty strong gastrointestinal systems at this point because we haven't gotten sick despite questionable water and cleanliness conditions.  We still plan on deworming myself when I get back though.

The local eatery

 

The week flew by. I almost felt guilty that I was having so much fun since the situation that these people were in was not a lighthearted scene. It did feel like we made a positive impact to the people we were able to help. We were thanked by everyone (herders, local agriculture staff, village chiefs, etc) and we could see that by helping their animals that we were helping the people since there is such a close connection between the two. Kathleen and I hope that at some point we will get another chance to help like this again. It was quite the powerful experience.