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Welcome to Elwyn's blog!
This contains a selection of my writing and photos from a number of trips I've made around the world. New York
I had a very short stay on Manhattan as part of flying to Costa Rica. I've never visited New York before and thought I'd made the most of the opportunity on the way through.
With the news of all sorts of weather warnings, I flew from London to New York. The pilot told us that JFK airport was shut and we might be re-routed to another airport. Fortunately that didn't eventuate as JFK airport opened only half an hour before we landed. It was very foggy and we only saw the runway as we landed heavily. There was plenty of snow around and lots of machinery clearing the surrounding airport. Delays as we waited for planes to be de-iced but at least we had made it! I was staying near Grand Central Station which was very handy for walking around and seeing lots of iconic New York sites. Grand Central station itself was quite something and seemed much more grand than just a train station. It includes the famous Campbell Apartment which I had to visit. The Chrysler Building was almost next door and built for $15m almost 80 years ago. Quite a feat of engineering. I'd never seen so many high-rise buildings before and I spend a lot of time looking up!
The following morning I battled peak hour on the subway to the World Trade Center. There is plenty of building on the old site plus the 9/11 memorial. The heavy rain put me off entering the memorial. It's right next to Wall Street and has an interesting mixture of old and new buildings. I had to visit the three-storey REI outdoor shop on the way back. As I write this in JFK airport, CNN is reporting on the extreme cold weather that is heading towards New York. I am thankful that my flight is on time and I'm leaving before the harsh weather returns. It's time to head for the warmer climate of Costa Rica! Sabbatical
I've booked a few months off work from January 2014. I have a round-the-world plane ticket. Current plans are as follows:
I'm aiming to update this blog with stories and photos from my sabbatical so watch this space :-)
Patagonia
In December 2012 I flew to Santiago in Chile for the start of a 3-week road trip with Dragoman into Patagonia. We met our guides and Gus the truck who would be taking us to some very remote locations. I'd always wanted to travel to Patagonia to experience one of the most remote locations on Earth and I wasn't disappointed!
We left Santiago and headed south towards Patagonia. The first few days were fairly civilised but we had a lot of rain which made it a challenge as we were camping. We spent a few days in Pucon which was in the Chilean Lake District. Very pretty and our plans to climb the Villarrica Volcano were dashed by some heavy rain. Instead, we did a day walk in a nearby national park. As the rain fell and we climbed higher it turned into sleet and snow. We were walking through a semi-alpine environment which was stunning and very atmospheric with the low clouds. Being in the clouds and trees meant lots of different turns looked the same and we managed to get lost. Fortunately we found our way back to the start of the walk and awaited other members of the groups to come back before we headed to the nearby hot springs. Unfortunately other members of our group also got lost and returned much later than the agreed time so we missed our chance to visit the hot springs which would have been much appreciated after spending a whole day in the rain, sleet and snow. A warm dinner helped and we returned to our campsite to attempt to dry all our soaked clothes.
We awoke the next morning to sunshine. Finally! As we left Pucon we could finally see the Villarrica Volcano we were supposed to climb the day before. We continued our drive south and officially entered Patagonia. Our plan was to catch a ferry leaving at midnight but unfortunately it was delayed until around 8am the next morning. Not many of these ferries run so we had to make sure we caught it! Olly managed to arrange staying at a nearby campsite where the rain returned. A disco scheduled n the camp kitchen meant we had to cook in the owner's kitchen, helped by the resident cats. We sheltered from the heavy rain on the front porch before an early night.
Our plans for an early start changed when we returned to the ferry terminal the following morning to find that the ferry had been delayed. Again. Boredom had set in before we finally got underway in the early afternoon. There was a sense that we were entering a very remote area as we left port into the Chilean fjords. And rain. The ferry pulled in to a very small town to pick up a few more passengers and we could see plenty of birds, penguins and seals. The clouds broke up and we were treated to views of the incredible wilderness surrounding us. An amazing sunset greeted our arrival into Chaiten at around 10pm. Finally we'd reached our destination about 12 hours later than we planned. Although that wasn't the end of the day. There was still a 4 hour drive along the rugged Carrera Austral to our home for the night. We were all very tired and grumpy but our drivers did a great job along the rough road in the darkness to our destination. Only about 4 hours' sleep before we had to get up continue driving south. Daylight brought incredible views of the surrounding fjord and mountains. We drove up to the Colgante Glacier and had a well-earned breakfast. An hour's walk up to the lookout was across a large river and forest.
We continued on the rugged Carrera Austral towards the Argentinian border. Stunning landscape as we crossed the Andes into the windswept plains of Argentina. We crossed the border late in the afternoon and camped in a large cow shed so we would be protected from the strong winds.
It was another early start to get to Perito Moreno, the last major town before a large uninhibited area. There wasn't much open since it was Christmas Eve. Not many of us had Argentinian dollars so we had trouble finding a cash machine. The only one available only could be used after 10am so everyone (including the whole town!) had to queue up to get the local currency. Our cooking group struggled to buy much with their budget as food prices had gone up significantly since the last trip. Fortunately we managed to get ourselves organised before heading south towards Mt Fitzroy national park. There were plenty of miles to cover before we reached our destination for the night. We reached the end of the bitumen road and it was on to the gravel road for a "South American massage": the truck bouncing around on a corrugated gravel road for hours and hours. Then the road turned muddy. Our driver Olly was worried as he'd got bogged here on a previous trip. Gus the truck slid all over the place as we slowly progressed along the road. There were hardly any other cars around. We came across a big German tour truck which was badly bogged. It was a much heavier truck than ours so it was much deeper in the mud plus they had a large trailer. We stopped and offered to help but there wasn't much we could do so we continued. It was painfully slow progress but Gus kept going and finally we made it to the bitumen road to everyone's cheers. There was still a long way before El Chaiten but at least we could start enjoying Christmas Eve since we knew we'd actually make it to our destination. We could see the sun set across the snow covered Andes, providing an awesome view for the last couple of hours in the truck.
Christmas Day was a slow start for everyone after the previous day. The weather had cleared up to offer sunshine and temperature in the mid 20's. Smaller groups went on walks around El Chalten and some of us walked up to a lookout offering views of Cerro Torre and Mt Fitzroy. It took most of the day but was well worth it after many hours travelling on the bus and sunny weather. We arrived back in time to eat a whole roast lamb for dinner, an Argentinian speciality. A very memorable Christmas! The next day, most of the group headed up to walk the loop past Mt Fitzroy. The weather was still stunning so we had awesome views as we came closer to Mt Fitzroy. There was a steep climb up to a glacial lake. We stayed up there for lunch in the cold winds off the mountains. The walk continued back down to El Chalten. We walked around 25km, well worth it for the scenery.
The weather closed in the next day. We walked up to Laguna Torre but unfortunately the clouds had come in so we couldn't see the view. Crepes and icecream back in town helped lift our spirits. >We drove to El Cafate the next day. We had a stop at a ranch where apparently Billy the Kid had stayed in his exodus. We stayed in a hostel and went out for dinner for our first Argentinian steak. Awesome! We had a day trip to the Perito Moreno glacier. I have never seen a glacier so big! The mouth of the glacier was around 3km wide and it was several hundred metres high. We had a few hours on the viewing glaciers so we could watch parts of the glacier gradually fall off. We were lucky enough to see a large part of the glacier come off which generated some large waves across the lake.
The group separated into smaller groups for different activities over the the next few days. I joined a handful of people to do the "W" walk over the next 4 days. We were dropped off at the base of Lago Grey and caught a boat up to the top of the lake to start the walk. As it was peak season I couldn't stay in any of the huts so I carried a tent. We walked up over a ridge which had views of the Grey Glacier. We came across other people on the trip who were walking in the other direction to go sea kayaking at the base of the Grey Glacier. Fortunately it was a relatively short day to get used to carrying a full pack. The good weather continued. The next day we walked though the area of the national park which had been badly damaged by a fire only a couple of years ago. We left our heavy packs and headed into the French Valley which was a steep climb into a valley surrounded by rocky cliffs. We headed back down and reluctantly put on or bags to get to our next hut. The hut was full so we had to wait for our dinner slot but we could appreciate the surrounding mountains. There was only one tent spot left which I was fortunate to find. The notorious Patagonian winds had finally appeared and it was an interesting night as I hoped my tent didn't rip or get blown away!
The next morning was clear but the forecast was still for the weather to close in. We decided to walk up the valley the most of already being relatively high rather than climbing all the way up from the carpark where the rest of our group were coming from. We got to the path to the Torres del Paine lookout and I decided to climb up there again as the morning sun was shining on the mountains and it as too good an opportunity to miss. We were able to spend more time at the top and enjoy the view than yesterday.
The next day we said farewell to Torres del Paine and it was back though Puerto Moreno to drive down to Tierra del Fuego. We had a lunch stop by an abandoned sheep station on the Straits of Magellan. It was a straightforward crossing on a car ferry. We had our best "South American massages" for the trip as we travelled across some very rough roads. It was such slow progress that we had to camp right next to the border crossing back into Argentina. Not the nicest campsite but convenient at least. Overnight it started raining very heavily. We quickly packed up our tents and drove south first thing in the morning. We didn't want to hang around in the cold and wet! Unfortunately we couldn't see much but we made good progress. It was very cold and we were struggling to keep warm. The rain started to clear as we descended into Ushaiua, the southernmost town in the world. We had arranged to stay at a hostel and could see fresh snow on the surrounding mountains. I arranged to go on a boat trip on the famous Beagle Channel. There was lots of wildlife and the boat stopped to see some seal colonies on the way. We celebrated our last night as a group. My flight to Buenos Aires was delayed by 6 hours the next day so I had some bonus time to look around the town. Overnight in Buenos Aires then I was lucky enough to get a free upgrade to premium economy for the flight back to London :-) It was an incredible trip. I had signed up so I could see the wilds of Patagonia and we certainally saw our fair share. We were also very lucky with the weather. After a very wet start to the trip, it cleared up for the most spectacular parts of Patagonia we visited. Click here to see a full selection of photos in my gallery K2 and the Gondogoro La
In July, 2006, I was forced to take a couple of months holiday thanks to UK immigration law. What a shame. I dropped into Pakistan for a few weeks on the way back to Australia and did a 3-week trek through the Karakoram, seeing K2 amongst other huge Karakoram mountains and climbing over a pass called the Gondogoro La.
We were fortunate upon arrival in Pakistan to get on an internal flight from Islamabad up to Skardu, the largest town near the Karakoram. This was no ordinary flight. Our Boeing 737, no tiny plane, gathered views of the ever-heightening mountains as it travelled north. Upon reaching Nanga Parbat (a mountain over 8000m high), it took a right-hand turn and commenced its descent into the huge gorge preceding Skardu. Fortunately, the pilot had flown this route before and we made a safe landing after navigating the gorge. Another day's drive and we were at the start of the trek. We were in very old but reliable Landcruisers and spent the whole day clinging on for dear life as the 4x4s were thrown around the relatively new road/track which is under constant pressure from landslides off the surrounding mountains. As an indication of the state of the road, it took 8 hours to travel 100km.
Finally, we started the trek alongside the local support crew. Temperatures had been 45 degrees (C) in Islamabad so it was a relief to be trekking in the relatively cool mid-30s. Our path was well-trodden but across difficult terrain as these steep valleys have been carved out by huge glaciers and rivers. Several river crossings were made, and our prayers were answered by safely crossing the raging rivers across wobbly bridges.
Over the next week, the trek took us up the Baltoro Glacier towards Concordia. On the way up, we passed a few groups who couldn't get over the Gondogoro La due to bad weather. Would we make the pass? But this meant it was cooler for us walking up the valley. We passed the well-known Trango Group and Cathederal Peak, relatively small Karakoram mountains of 6000m high.
Concordia is one of the most amazing places on earth. It is at the junction of a number of huge glaciers and has views of several 8000m peaks. Not too bad at all. We had been walking for well over a week and the only time we saw K2 was literally for the last 5 minutes walk into Concordia, as there are so many other huge mountains around that hide its view, even though it''s the world''s 2nd-highest mountain.
There is a helicopter tale to tell from this trip. No, I didn't need to be rescued this time. A Pakistani army helicopter landed at Concordia and a group of western men in far-too-clean outfits stepped out. We were curious to see who they were and it turns out they were Dallas oil tycoons! The story gets better. They had flown to Pakistan for only a week to visit Concordia so had thrown an insane amount of US dollars at the Pakistan Army to fly them up here. They were trying to figure out where K2 was so we pointed out that it was the highest mountain (well, duh!). I think we could have told them we'd climbed K2 and they would have believed us! Having trekked for well over a week (ie. no showers) we were looking a little shabby so one of the Americans asked if we were getting "real jobs" when we were back in civilisation! Fortunately they only stayed for less than an hour so we had Concordia to ourselves once again. We spent several days at Concordia just gazing at the awesome surroundings. We had a day trip up to K2 base camp, which at 5000m high is bigger than anything in the Alps!
Unfortunately, it was time to leave Concordia all too soon, and we walked up the Vinge Glacier to Ali Camp, the last camp before crossing the pass. A left-hand turn would have taken us to the Siachen Glacier, at well over 5000m it is the highest battle ground on earth. Every now and then, tensions flare between Pakistan and India so fighting occurs here.
A midnight start meant we were on top of Gondogoro La at sunrise to see the clouds clear up for an awesome view of the huge mountains surrounding. Gondogoro La is somewhere between 5,600m and 5,900m high depending on which guide book you read. Then down the other side which proved a bit of a challenge as it was icier than usual. Everyone made it safely and we had a welcome day's rest at camp in the valley underneath.
We gradually made our way down the valley to a village called Hushe. We made a few side-trips on the way down to make the most of our time there. The weather remained perfect for the rest of the trip so we were very lucky to make it over the pass. But the monsoon had hit Islamabad, so we couldn't make the exciting plane trip from Skardu, and had 2 long days driving down the Karakoram Highway (KKH). We were running late, so arrived at an army checkpoint after sunset. They were insistent on giving us an armed escort as we were driving through an area known to have Taleban influence in the dark. Upon opening the bathroom door at our luxurious hotel on the KKH, I was greeted by lots of cockroaches - something like out of an Indiana Jones movie! So we thought better of having a shower (having not had one for several weeks) and waiting just one more night.... All in all, a great trip! See a full selection of the photos from this trek in my gallery Our trip leader posted this trip report on the Jagged Globe website. Indian Himalayan Trek - Nanda DeviIndian Himalayan Trek: Nanda Devi April - May 2004 I booked a 4-week trip to India in 2004 involving an exploratory trek off the beaten track.
I arrived in Delhi late one night and made my way through the masses to find my lift to the hotel. First impressions of Delhi... dusty, dirty and smelly! Having been to Nepal before, it wasn't too much of a shock, just a lot more crowded. There was a whole range of vehicles on the road, from trucks down to entire families on a single motorbike; cows and camels made appearances as well. See a full selection of the photos in my gallery.
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© Elwyn Campbell
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