Patagonia Trek – Milodon Cave (Day 1) | Blog

Patagonia Trek – Milodon Cave (Day 1)

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The first day of our trek in Patagonia was mostly a travel day which started with a 6 hour bus ride from El Calafate, Argentina to Puerto Natales, Chile. Once in Puerto Natales we picked up the 5 other members of our group and set off towards Torres del Paine National Park.

While we were all pretty anxious to start the trek we made a quick stop at Cueva del Milodón which was fascinating. According to our guide, the Milodon was thought to have inhabited Patagonia as recently as 5,000 years ago but has since become extinct. According to Wikipedia:

The monument (Cueva del Milodón) is notable for the discovery in 1896 of skin, bones and other parts of a giant ground sloth called Mylodon (Mylodon darwini). The remains of a Mylodon that had walked throughout Patagonia is still visible today.

After we hit the road again it was another 2 hours before we arrived at Torres del Paine National Park which was renamed in 1970 after its most notable feature, Torres del Paine, or the 3 tower rock formation located at the very center of the park.

The first thing that really hit me about Patagonia was the high winds which the region is known for. Gusts of what must have been up to 50 mph made everyone realize that we didn’t overpack and that we in fact had brought the right gear for the trek. On a related note, if you are considering a trek during winter you’ll be happy to know that there is supposed to be very little wind that time of year which makes it slightly more pleasant.

After arriving into the park the first obstacle we hit was a small bridge that required us to get out of our vehicle and walk across. This prompted me to create a new personal rule – Don’t trust bridges that require people and vehicles to cross them separately. This proved to be the first of many crossings that all went smoothly so I guess the bridge can’t be too bad.

After another short drive in the park we arrived at the EcoCamp where we were staying the night. For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to stay in an EcoDome, I would equate it to staying in a very sturdy canvas tent (in a good way). Each dome was more than enough space for two people and provided plenty of shelter from the elements. For me personally the domes were a major upgrade from the tents and huts I had stayed in on previous treks. In retrospect the one additional feature the EcoDomes could have used was a cover to block the clear window panels since there were almost 19 hours of sunlight in Patagonia during our time there (in early January) with the sun rising at 4:30am and setting at 11:30pm. After a long day of traveling we settled in for a good night’s sleep before setting off on our 65 km (39 mi) trek early the next day.