Here I've unpacked absolutely everything in an attempt to reduce weight.
It's amazing it all fits into this!
Mountains east of Santiago:
California poppies taking over in mountains outside Santiago.
The bizarre and beautiful Loasa.
Mountains outside Santiago.
One of many amazing species of Chloraea.
I forget what this neat thing was...
The famous Chilean cardon.
South-Central Chile:
California-like scenery in central valley.
Headed south on I-5.
Coast south to Temuco
Coastal hills.
Unnamed little coastal village.
My first two Pseudocyphellaria -- an extremely diverse and rich genus whose center of diversity is southern Chile.
Another beautiful Choraea.
Brothers of family in Guarilihue that invited me in for lunch.
One of the famous Southern-Beeches, Nothofagus, a large southern-hemisphere genus closely related to oaks.
Something I called the "giant cardinal flower" -- closely related to our cardinal flower (Lobelia sp.).
Broomrape (Orobanche sp.)
Misty fields along southern Chilean coast. "Southern" Chile refers to the few hundred miles south of Santiago. The vast stretch of mostly-uninhabited wild land south of Puerto Montt is just called (when acknowledged at all) Patagonia.
Eryngium paniculatum
Magellanic fuchsia (Fuchsia magellanica)
The southern Chilean coast looks much like central California coast.
Ice plant and orange-bush lichen on coast.
Ribbon lichens on coast.
These ferns (close relatives of the tree ferns of New Zealand) were the first signs of the Valdivian Rainforest of southern Chile and Patagonia.
More orange-bush lichens (Teloschistes sp.).
Yet more amazing Chloraea species.
Huerquehue and Villarrica National Parks
The lush mountains around Pucon and Villarrica.
Highway to Villarrica, named for the volcano hiding in the clouds in the distance.
A neat subtropical lichen called Coenogonium implexum. Until it fruits like this, it is indistinguishable from unlichenized growths of the algae Trentepohlia.
This delicate fern found almost exclusively in southern temperate rainforests, Hymenophyllum, is only one cell thick.
Another orchid, Gavillea sp.
Another beautiful (and prickly) Loasa. I called this one "stinging nettle loasa". Well, I should confess that I called loasas "wacky blazing stars" since the closest thing that I had ever seen at the time was Mentzelia (at least in the same family), a similar flower in southern California whose common name is "blazing star".
The verdant rugged mountains of Huerquehue National Park.
Huge old southern-beech.
The infamous monkey-puzzle forests of the southern Andes.
This is all still Querquehue National Park.
Beech strawberries -- a parasitic fungus on southern-beeches. Edible, supposedly.
Villarrica volcano.
Quetrupillan volcano.
View from shoulder of Quetrupillan.
Lingering snows high on volcano.
Snowy summit -- hmmm, do I have time to do it and make it back (in moccasins!) before afternoon thunderstorms get underway?
Cool matted alpine flower.
Even cooler caespitose alpine violet! There are dozens of alpine violets just like this. Every volcano group apparently has its own endemic species.
Golden map lichen (Rhizocarpon sp.).
Four of many species of alpine rocktripe (Umbilicaria spp.)
One of many species of alpine Nassauvia.
Cute little alpine pea.
I couldn't get enough of these amazing Chloraea!
Puyehue National Park
Waterfall in Anticura.
Horse pasture.
Remarkable bridge -- where'd this come from??!
Cloud forest.
Strawberry plains.
View from slopes of Casablanca volcano.
The amazing lichen Cora glabrata -- one of only a handful of subtropical to tropical lichenized mushrooms.
An endemic genus of beard lichens Pseudousnea.
A rare Pseudocyphellaria known from only a few locations. (How's that for luck?)
Another more-common Pseudocyphellaria pretending to be a pet lichen.
Gumdrop-fungus.
Bizarre insect.
Osnorno Volcano
Osorno volcano rising over wheat fields in southern Chile.
Llanquihue volcano of lake of the same name. Pronounced "yankey way".
Beach at Ensenada.
Hornworts.
Neat reindeer lichen growing on pumice deserts at foot of Osnoro volcano.
Chiloe Island:
Boats at Ancud.
Houses along water at Castro.
Marsh at Chiloe National Park.
Boardwalk at Chiloe National Park.
Beautiful Philesia sp.
Dunes at Chiloe National Park.
Last picture my camera took before getting dunked in ocean.
Ferry to Chiloe Island.
Nice lady running the unmarked pensione I stayed at.
Ferry to Chaiten, the start of the great Carretera Austral.
Carretera Austral:
The Valdivian Rainforest at Chaiten looks wild and forboding this morning... especially with the volcano actively erupting just off-camera to the left!
Chaiten volcano erupting 10 km from town.
Damage done in once-beautiful Chaiten by an ash-flow a few months ago.
"Destruction is not the solution! Patagonia without dams!"
Two Germans and two Catalonians started the trip south the same morning as me.
The Germans on the first big pass.
Drying out at Villa Santa Lucia after a long, soggy day.
Finally clearing up.
I have the road all to myself this morning.
The famous calafate -- a type of very tasty barberry. It's said if you eat one you are destined to return some day.
The bizarre endemic species of lichen, Lepolichen coccophorus.
Virgin lush Valdivian rainforest.
The huge "Patagonian rhubarb", Gunnera tinctoria.
They're busy paving the northern half of the highway. This was probably the last year to enjoy the narrow, windy, rocky picturesque original "highway". Progress comes to Patagonia.
Fishery of some sort?
One of the southern fjords.
I loved their polite road signs: "Mr. User: your delay is to help progress on this road".
Fern-filled gully.
Icy mountains of Queulat National Park.
Gorgeous narrow windy road climbing Queulat Pass.
Moss-covered rainforest.
Gesneria sp.
The gorgeous Pseudocyphellaria coerulescens.
View from Queulat Pass.
Gesnseria covering southern-beech trunk.
Motorcyclist on Queulat Pass.
The enchanted forest (Bosque Encantado).
There were incredible amounts of lichens in this park.
The Germans are forced to walk much of the afternoon because the gravel is so deep.
Dust cloud kicked up by every passing truck.
The Germans join with Anka where the glorious pavement finally begins.
Rock covered with Placopsis, a neat crostose lichen with both green algae and cyanobacteria (the orange "parasites" on the gray rosettes).
Do Chilean roadworkers have a sense of humor?? Arica is the northern-most city in Chile.
Starting to enter the rainshadow at last.
Panorama from top of Coyhaique National Park. That's Coyhaique itself in the middle-distance, the only "city" in Chilean Patagonia (with two, count them, two! supermarkets).
Heath on top of Coyhaique National Park.
Upper tree-line is simply blanketed with lichens!
Pseudocyphellaria freycinetii.
Heading south from Coyhaique at last.
Spiny cushion-shaped shrubs and plants dominate the wind-swept steppe of southern Patagonia.
Horses along the trail to Cerro Castillo.
Miserable weather first day on the trail.
Spectacular views from pass.
Camp.
Painted rocks marking the route.
Fancy bridge.
The "lenga" (Nothofagus pumilio) forests of southern Patagonia are nice and spacious and open -- none of the cursed wild bamboo and spiny shrubs that choke the Valdivian rainforest.
Ranch on last day of the trail.
This architecture is very remniscent of southern Appalachian architecture.
Amazing clavel de campo or field carnation.
Back on the highway.
Estancia near Lago General Carrera.
Lago General Carrera looking south.
Campsite near Puerto Bertrand.
This entire area is slated to be flooded!
Baby guanaco separated from its mother by a fence.
Back into the rainforest.
Particularly nasty washboarding.
Road to nowhere blasted into the mountain side.
My bike picked up so much mud and grit I couldn't even ride it. I had to wash it with buckets of water every 10-15 minutes to keep going.
More Philesia.
I've forgotten what this beautiful thing is called.
Ferry to last 100 km of highway to Villa O'Higgins. There is virtually nothing, no farms, no ranches, nothing, on the 200-250 km between Villa O'Higgins and Cochrane.
I was forced to abandon this beautiful camp under a bridge when the river rose later in the afternoon right to the base of the concrete!
This is the river in question.
The weather was simply miserable for the last few days to Villa O'Higgins.
Rosemary and Reto on ferry on Lago O'Higgins.
Reto pushing bike up road to pass to Lago Desierto.
Horses wandering loose near pass to Lago Desierto.
Crazy bridge near pass to Lago Desierto.
Even crazier "bridge".
Crossing into Argentina on a remote pass with no people for miles in any direction!
Trail down the Argentinian side is even worse!
Bike stuck in deep rut of trail.
But I finally made it with plenty of time to spare to catch the ferry on the other side.
El Chalten:
The famous mountains around El Chaten are well-known for horrible weather. Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre are buried under these towering lenticular clouds somewhere.
View out to the vast Argentine steppe from above El Chalten.
El Chalten.
Wind-swipt xerophytic community on the steppe.
Waterfall along "trail" to Rio Diablo shelter.
Rio Diablo sheter.
View of pass with Rio Diablo shelter. This is the Argentine-Chilean border, with the glacier in the background in Chile.
View on top of Cerro Dimitrio (or pretty close to top).
Picturesque southern-beech at Cerro Dimitrio.
Sun sparkling off of lake at Rio Diablo shelter.
Cerro Fitz Roy over Lago Desierto.
Cerro Torre.
Anke and I en route to Cerro Torre base camp.
Anke on way back to El Chalten.
On road out of El Chalten.
Two Swiss cyclists who had been on the road around the world for over two and a half years.
I love this sign warning of the infamous wind on the Argentine steppe!
Argentine steppe.
Mine fields protect the Chilean side of the border.
Spectacular bus stop shelters in the middle of nowhere in Chile!
Torres del Paine:
"Back road" to Torres del Paine National Park.
Torres del Paine!
Rainbow on first day of the Grand Circuit.
Clouds cleared for just a minute giving a brief view of the famous Torres.
Icebergs below Gray Glacier.
Gray Glacier.
Frigid John Garner Pass.
Endless line of people marching up to pass.
Gorgeous lenga forest on far side of pass.
One of the official campsites on the Grand Circuit.
Paraqueets silhouetted against the lake.
Magellanic woodpecker.
Ibises.
Pink flamingos(!)
Herd of guanaco on road back to Puerto Natales.
Cameron and two French cyclists at hostal in Puerto Natales.
Tierra del Fuego:
Leaving the mountains behind for Tierra del Fuego.
Arriving in Tierra del Fuego at last.
German cyclist.
Estancia I stayed outside of with German and French cyclists.
The edge of the southern forest. The northern half of the island is completely treeless; the southern half covered with rich lenga forests.
Ushuaia:
Lago el Caminante outside Ushaia.
View from Lago el Caminante.
Foliage is just beginning to turn color.
Wild rainforest in the valley.
Lovely ancient lenga forest.
Ancient peat bog in Valle d'Andorra.
Drying peat in Valle d'Andorra.
View of peat bogs in Valle d'Andorra.
View from top of some random mountain on Valle d'Andorra.
"Bridge" in Valle d'Andorra.
This is actually the trailhead, despite all the signs prohibiting access!
Pass high above Ushaia after dusting of snow the night before.
Streets of Ushuaia, southern-most city in the world.
Canadian who had ridden all the way down from Ontario.
One of hundreds of mushrooms I carefully photographed and collected and shipped back to the states.
This species turned out to be undescribed; thanks to Dr. Rodham Tulloss at NY Botanical Gardens.
Drying mushrooms on the heater in the hostal (much to the olfactory displeasure of the owners!)
