Words I pondered during El Circuito de La O

Wow, this place is gorgeous! The La W (The W Trek) and La O (The O Trek) are world famous and I can understand why. In addition to tent camping, each background campsite has a refugio where you can sleep in a bed, a full restaurant, and a bar. I think it is cool because it makes the trail very social and very accessible to people with a wide range of hiking and backpacking experiences. This is a very busy hike. But, it is possible to find solitude. I realized that all you have to do is leave outside the “standard deviation” of most of the tour groups and it’s easy to find solitude in this beautiful place. For example, one morning I didn’t leave until 10:30 since I was in the kitchen tinkering on how to make the perfect poached egg in a jet boil. 

Since the pictures speak for themselves on how beautiful this place is, I decided I’ll share some of the musings. As my legs move over steep terrain with a heavy bag on my back alongside gorgeous scenery in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, I have been thinking of words. Throughout my hike, I continued a tradition from a Chilean named Mati I met backpacking in Alaska. He would give us a word of a day to ponder and meditate on while hiking. The following are five different words I’ve been thinking about:

1. Poder/poderosa

On the infamous Paso de John Garner day the route calls for a 800m ascent and a steep 1200m descent into the valley. I chatted with Sandra, a 60 year old Chilean, who was hiking her first backpacking trip doing La O and we decided that “poderosa” would be the word of the day. The reason I love this word is that “poder” is the verb “to can” - like I can, she can, etc. But, poderosa/poderoso a derivative of that which means powerful!

As I hiked up, I thought, I am poderosa because I believe in myself that I can make it. I started hiking at 4 AM under the starry night sky so I was rewarded with a sunrise and a beautiful rainbow arcing over a huge glacier laying in the valley below. I reveled in the 360 degree views at the top for half an hour and then dropped down the grueling, steep, tree-root-filled, and technical descent. Turns out, the downhill was the most challenging part. But, I always knew I could do it given my optimistic, strong, and poderosa willpower.

2. Coraje

I chose this word of the day because a new trail friend had to make the hard decision of turning around the 2nd night when we were camping at Dickson. It’s easy to keep going and follow the crowds as we circumnavigated the range. But, it takes courage to turn around when you’re injured and your feet can’t give any more. Standing in the light and owning what you know you have to do is hard. It’s scary to think about what others think of you turning around. But, I’m proud of her for making the right decision and honoring her body.

3. El, ella y elle

Spanish is a very gendered language. It’s not just pronouns for he/her (el/ella) like we have in English but: 

• “The” is gendered (el/la) because every noun carries a gender. So there is “la luna” for the moon and “el sol” for the sun. Thinking about the moon rising over the mountains with beautiful feminine qualities feels so right!

• Adjectives are gendered so “the climber” would be el escalador or la escaladora depending on if you identify as a man or woman

So, I wondered - what about people who don’t identify with the binary? In asking around, I learned that in Spanish, there is now a third gender-neutral “elle.” In addition, there is a way to modify nouns. For example, “chicos” translates to “guys.” The masculine version is the default so for mix-gendered groups so even if you had 20 women and 1 man, you’d still use “chicos.” But, now people have started to use “chices” with the “e” being gender neutral ending instead of “o” (masculine) or “a” (feminine) endings. I’ve only heard it being used a few times during my trip so far, but it’s exciting to learn about ways that Spanish is becoming more gender inclusive.

4. Vuelo

When climbing, I learned that instead of saying “I’m falling” people say “I’m flying!” It’s a slight difference of semantics but the difference is striking. Falling means being out of control, on accident, and makes me think of scrapes and bruises. But flying, now that’s cool! Flying has direction; it is going from a beginning location to an ending location on purpose. Birds fly, airplanes fly, time flies. It takes power to fly yet flying is full of grace. Taking falls is a part of climbing because it means I can push myself to try something hard. Perhaps in those moments when I realize my grip is about to give out and the seconds expand into an eternity in my mind as I anticipate being airborne I can envision a powerful and wise owl lifting off into the air. Perhaps this can change my relationship with falling into the beautify of flying in the air. And with that thought, I yell down to my climbing partner: “Vuelo!”

5. Pluma de mar

A sign along the trail taught me this word. What a lovely name for ferns. In Spanish this literally translates to Feathers of Sea. I love when flora and fauna names so eloquently describe what I think of. Ferns are always in luscious, wet places, with their leaves unfurling up the stem like a gorgeous feather. 

I’ve finished my month long stay in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine and now I’ll be working my way north through Southern and Northern Patagonia in the states of Aycen and Los Lagos.

Feliz Sendero,

Jessita*

*This is the trail name that the Chilean porters I befriended on the route gave me. They would say “Hola Jessita” as they passed me running on the downhills carrying 30kg (66 lbs) packs for guided trips. Talk about poderoso!

Agradecimientos:

• Erica: Thanks for always providing great editing advice as you get a “first look”

• Tony, Brian, Cal, Tom, Dani, Nuri, Sandra, Ale, Cris, Matt, Eric, Betsy, Dana, Winona, y muchos más: Thanks for hiking together along La O together! It was so great to build our little community throughout the trek

• Ian, Carlitos/Charlie, System, Bicho, Izzi, Javi, Nico, y muchos más: It was so fun to meet the crew who was guiding and portering along the trail. Thanks for giving me a look into what work looks like in Torres del Paine! And, thanks for sharing a Fernnete and Cola to celebrate another beautiful day in the mountains.