Biking the Carretera Austral- Week 1

After a 41 hour ferry ride we ended up in Villa O’Higgins, Chile. Villa O Higgins is the last stop on a 1247 kilometer or 775 mile road called the Carretera Austral. The plan was to take another ferry and walk two days to El Chalten in Argentina. That ferry only runs a couple times a week and the weather had delayed it a bit so we had about 5 days to relax in Villa O Higgins. It’s a very small and charming town nestled at the base of large mountains and glaciers.

We stayed at a campsite where we mingled with other travelers and bicyclists. Among them were a French family, with two young girls maybe age 7&12 that were biking from Ushuaia and another French couple that planned on biking for the next couple years. We were debating the prospect of renting bikes and heading up the Carretera but weren’t sure if we wanted to tackle a month on bicycle. We weighed the pros and cons and after much debate and at the very last second to decide between purchasing ferry tickets or riding bikes, we decided to bike!

There is a business called Austral bikes that allows you to rent bikes and drop them off at any location along the Carretera. So a couple people rented bikes from the northern point -Puerto Montt and rode them to Villa O Higgins. Then a smaller contracted business in Villa O’H tuned them up for us and we rode them north!

On day 1 we got the bikes a bit past 12 and repacked everything from our backpacks into our bikes. It took a while to configure because we have a lot more random stuff we wouldn’t traditionally carry on a biking tour. After we were packed up, we biked the 7 km down to the official end of the carretera. We passed a large lake with a backdrop of large mountains through rolling hills. We then went back to town, got some last minute things in order and started riding north a bit past 4.

It was a bit windy but there was no rain as we passed mountains, fields of yellow flowers, mountain lakes and many waterfalls. A little bit before dusk (which doesn’t come until 10pm in a Patagonian Summer) we found a little Refugio for cyclists. It was no more than a shack with four walls and a fire pit but it was starting to sprinkle so we made it home for the night and slept on the benches.

The next couples days stayed pretty rainy. At some times in would be a light sprinkle where we wouldn’t even bother with rain coats, other times it would be a full on downpour. Day 2 was a big one, we did about 42 miles to make it to another shelter, right before another ferry we would have to take the next morning. This one was more of waiting area with bathrooms but it’s common for cyclists to take shelter there. It had been rainy throughout the day but really picked up at the end. It was so magical riding through a wet, mossy wonderland with waterfalls in the misty mountains in every direction. We had some steep ups and some incredible downs. I felt so alive going downhill with the rain and wind hitting my face and cruising through the scenery.

Day 3 started a bit later as we had to take a ferry to the other side of the lake. We slept on the floor of the waiting area and were awoken around 9am when a herd of people came in to use the bathrooms. We thought we had more time but I guess there’s limited room for cars so they start lining up around 9am.

After the ferry we started biking around 12 and had a slow start to the day as it was a lot of climbing. We chugged up a super steep hill that a truck lost its brakes on and had to crash into the mountain side to save itself. Even Nick, who is a way stronger biker than me, gave up and got off his bike and pushed it up the hill, but I stayed on my bike and chugged slowly up that hill (roughly at the same pace Nick pushed his bike).

After that climbing was an amazing section of extremely fun downhill biking. It was a super long and grudual down, whisking through a valley with rock walls lining the sides then opening up to a large valley with the river cutting through. It had been raining all day but stopped for this moment and the sun even peaked out. It was such an intense flow state because you had to be so present to avoided the big rocks and potholes but flowed effortlessly down into breathtaking scenery. We then turned off the Carretera to head 22 km into a town called Tortel, famous for being made solely out of boardwalks.

The road was pretty wash boarded and we faced strong headwinds with spouts of rain. The road was lined with incredible mountains and waterfalls and as we approached Tortel, it rained harder and harder. We wanted a free spot to camp and checked out the airport. It didn’t look like a good spot but instead of biking back around then climbing a hill into town, we followed a board walk across a swamp and decided to lock up our bikes there and climb the staircase into town. The whole town is on a mountain and around a bay, with boardwalks and stairs all around. We got some food and then went back down the many stairs to get our things for the night. We found a large roof that belonged to their fire department that we thought would work for the night.

Day 4 we woke up early and packed up as to not bring any attention to our sleeping arrangement. We walked around Tortel for the morning, exploring the boardwalks.

We started biking a little after 12 and had the first nice day with no rain! It felt so nice to bike with the sun and not arrive at camp cold and wet. The road back to the intersection of the carretera, with no headwind and rain, passed smoothly and quickly. We ran into the French family there, the girls were struggling with the hills and rain so they were going to hitch hike up to the next town. I can only imagine how their 12 and 8 year olds were doing on that terrain and in the rain! It was tough stuff.

The road from there was pretty flat with no big climbs as we passed glacier mountains and mint green lakes and rivers. We stopped at a random food truck and although they were closed they offered to still make us a hamburger. After, we stopped a few times in search of more water and eventually found some worth filtering. We rode a bit further in search of a place to sleep and decided on a spot that was clearly used as a cow field. We found a spot clear of poop, flat enough and fairly protected from the wind with impressive views of the giant glacier covered mountains in front of us.

Day 5

We woke up in the middle of the night to neighs from horses. We panicked that they might trample us but our site was pretty tucked away and we had our bikes around us. Nick peaked out and saw a herd of horses passing by.

In the morning we had a bit of a downhill as we made our way around the giant mountains in front of us. After that we had a large, steep mountain pass that took a long time to arrive at the top. My thigh muscles were burning from the climb! After that we had a period of generally going down but it was interrupted by brief periods of smaller hills going up. It was frustrating because I didn’t get enough momentum to make it up the smaller hills and I can be quite slow on the ups.

We had an awesome view at lunch and listened to a little music after and were cruising pretty quickly towards the town of Cochran. Pretty soon we only had 13 km to go and then the gravel turned to pavement and we were able to go even faster. We rode along side a huge lake then saw a sign that said 4 km to Cochrane. Luckily for us it ended up being all downhill and we cruised into town. We paid for a campsite in town, washed some clothes, took a shower and got to use a kitchen to make dinner!

Day 6 we had a late start. I drank coffee and read my book, eventually we made some breakfast and then went to a couple more stores to get food and things. The rental company has mechanics in all the towns so we met up with one of them to get some lube for our chain and then headed out around 1/2.

We had super strong wind this day, maybe around 40 mph headwinds. It felt impossible to go up hill and just as difficult to go down. Even the largest and steepest of downhills I had to pedal because the wind was blowing so hard against me. I kept a good attitude throughout the day, it was so tough but the road was lined with beautiful wild flowers and impressive mountains all around.

We had lunch overlooking a confluence of rivers and then a fun downhill on pavement but was interrupted by turning to very uneven gravel and many cars passing the other way. It was also super dusty also and we were completely enveloped in dust every time a car passed. They were doing construction in this zone so when the big constructions trucks passed it was even worse. There was much climbing from there and once we reached the top a short but violent storm soaked us. The wind was so strong we could hardly move forward.

We stopped at a bus stop and walked to see the confluence of these two huge and powerful rivers. Another big storm was coming and we couldn’t be bothered with fighting the wind anymore. We pushed our bikes a bit further on the trail to try to find shelter between some trees. It was still quite windy but we found a rather uneven spot to set up our tent and shelter from the rain.

Day 7 we had a brief pause in the rain in the morning. We were able to pack up and even enjoy coffee and breakfast outside. As soon as we started biking however, it started raining. Getting stronger and stronger and colder and colder as we went. Pretty soon I was soaked to the bones. I held on with the only hope being a town that was approaching, Puerto Bertrand, and the hope of a possible shelter there.

We made it into the small town and sought shelter in the first place we saw. The kind owner brought out his propane heater and we took off our wet things, tried to dry them and warm ourselves up in front of it. We got some coffee and huddled around the heater as the rain steadily pounded on the roof. We spent the next 3/4 hours there debating what to do and waiting to see if the rain let up. Around 2 pm it did and we got back on the bikes and continued north, me with quite a bit of reluctance.

We had a couple hours without rain but it was still quite cold. The rain came and went throughout the day as we passed lakes and rivers of turquoise blue. The mountains above us had received a fresh coat of snow. My spirits improved as the day went on but the conditions did not. Our goal was a bus stop 40 km away from Puerto Bertrand. Reportedly large enough for us to sleep in and get out of the rain. We passed a huge turquoise lake and followed its curves and hills. At the end of the day the wind was so strong and the rain was starting to pick back up again. It was a mentally and physically exhausting and challenging end to the day but at last we arrived. We got into our warm dry clothes, made some hot coco then dinner and slept in the shelter for the night.