| start date | activity | country | place | from - to | days | km | km/ day | comment |
20.01.2013 |
running, walking, swimming, rock climbing |
Chile |
Patagonia |
Cabo Froward - Punta Arenas |
4 |
136 |
34 |
|
24.01.2013 |
Recovery |
Punta Arenas |
1 |
0 |
0 |
hot shower in hostel | ||
Total: run 110 km, walk 26 km, swim 0.1 km, climb 0.01 km
| 5 |
136 |
27 |
|||||
Where's the cape? There is a path of course, but it only leads to the cross, 400m away. For me important is to get to the geographical point, not to symbolic one. I tried through the bushes, but I would have to have an electric saw to cope with these low, dense tree-bushes. The only way was the coast - unfortunately with the cliff. After several attempts to detour it I got back to the cliff - it was only 10m long wall, good steps, the water beneath me. I packed my stuff into waterproof bags and went to traverse it - if I fall, I swim. Very similar to the situation when during my run through Poland from the highest summit to the lowest point, I had trouble getting to the start - too much snow.
After a while I stood on the most southerly point of mainland South America. Mercilessly windy, but it was sunny. Nearly nine years I had dreamed of this moment, and finally the dream came true. After a short feasting I put the first step to the north - to Colombia is still far away, but already one step less. I was very excited.
I also climbed a nearby peak, symbolizing the cape Cabo Froward. View of the Strait of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego and the nearby coast - brilliant. I walked to get here already 1.5 day. I had to hurry up, because almost 20 km earlier I left the tent - so I had a very light backpack and was moving fast. Of course, for such a site - stones, rocks, gravell, logs of trees which obstructed the beaches. It was low tide, so I could avoid the worst of the obstacles from the seaside. The stones were slippery and I could not, therefore, run the entire route. Risk of twisting ankle was dangerously high and bad not only for the fate of the expedition, but mainly for isolation i(to the nearest building, 35 km away, I met only 4 people).
In the evening I arrived to the camp - only the river separated me from the target. It was much higher than I crossed it in the morning. The tide was max high. I had no choice - my companion in the expedition, inflatable duck Grazynka, offered her help as a cargo boat. So, Grazynka carried the backpack, and I swam. After we got to the other shore I quickly made a fire, but could't eat the dinner - the sea was moving into the river (high tide), not the river into the sea. That meant salt water. I was waiting a few hours, went into the river again, and took the water - still was a bit salty, but I wanted to eat before midnight.
It seemed to have been held without incident. Unfortunately, last night I noticed that the backpack's side hip pocket fell off - with GPS inside. The financial loss is one pain, but the loss of all information stored on food drop off and hidden bottles of water locations, the irreparable loss. In desperation I searched all the grass around the camp and early in the morning I went back to two previous breaks where I could potentially lose it. It took me 23 km unsuccessful return trip, but on the other hand, I know that I did everything possible to fix the mistake. I started the trip not very well. The next day I bought a GPS (already simplified model), copied all backup waypoints and tracks files (prepared in Australia) I had on USB - no need to cry, just searching for food from memory will be an additional challenge. It will be a test.
| Country | Days | Food | (how many) paid accom. | Permits Entry fees |
Guide hire | Equipment purchase, hire |
Equipment or other freight fees | *Transport | Other | Total |
| Chile | 5 | $111 | (2) $25 | $0 | $0 | $172 | $0 | $0 | $3 | $311 |