Day 18: The Remote Southern End of the Carretera Austral

The road south of Cochrane took us through the most remote areas of the Carretera. To reach O’Higgins, the terminus of the Carretera Austral, it will take three nights and four riding days, including today. Two of those three nights will be camping since the only settlement with lodging is in Caleta Tortel, which is two riding days from Cochrane. We had planned to take time off in Cochrane, but the weather forecast shows approaching snow and winter conditions. We hope to make it to O’Higgins before these changes set in.

We left early this morning, knowing we had almost a 50-mile ride on ripio and over 5,000 feet of climbing. Heading south, we immediately felt the increasing remoteness. It was a surreal sensation, as the wilds of the mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and streams seemed to close in around us, and nature felt more amplified than ever. During our water breaks, there was often complete silence, interrupted only by the sounds of birds and the wind. Traffic was also significantly lighter, but the ripio road worsened, leading to challenging riding conditions.

We enjoyed the first part of the ride, but as the hours passed, the blue sky that greeted us in the morning faded, and we felt a significant drop in temperature, followed by some rain. We descended what had to be one of the most thrilling descents of the trip, then rested and put on our rain gear. The remainder of the ride was tough as we battled a significant headwind until we reached our campsite, located on a beautiful, remote family farm. We had the entire campsite to ourselves, and Molly cooked us the best quesadillas ever on a rustic wood stove, making for an excellent evening under the stars.