Ushuaia to Tolhuín

Day 1 departure

In this entry we travel from our start point, Ushuaia, to the next town, Tolhuin.  We enjoyed spectacular scenery and spent two nights wild camping. Everywhere we go the locals and other travelers are fascinated with and excited by our set-up.  They take pictures of us as we pass by, they stop their cars to check if we need anything, and once we even got interviewed on video for a local business owner!

Day 1: Ushuaia to camping near Cerro Castor (34 km)

Our first day of riding had finally arrived!  The weather looked to be good for the next three days, so we left our AirBnB a day early.  Our hosts were absolutely lovely and came to see us off. 

Riding out of town

The road wove along the hillside above town for about five miles before we reached the famous “gates” of Ushuaia.  There was a very nice bike path all through town, which was a little more up and down than the highway, but a lot less busy!  When the bike path ended we were at the very edge of town.  We stopped for a snack and to take photos of the welcome towers.  While there we met a trio of Australians also starting out on bicycle tour. They told us we were traveling light and that felt good!

Gates of Ushuaia

After leaving the city we were truly in the Martial Mountains, which are steep and jagged and rocky.  The tree line seemed outrageously low for us Coloradans, but the conditions here are harsh.  The trees are scraggly and covered in lichen.  The rocks are covered in thick moss.  Honestly, it feels like a cold Lopez Island! 

We climbed for the next five miles or so until we were in a huge glacial valley with peaks on either side.  When we saw a fancy lodge on the side of the road… we decided to stop and drink hot chocolates and eat French fries!  They had a raging fire inside and were serving extremely fancy lamb meals to tourists and locals alike.  We were a bit shocked to see the menu price – over $40/person (US dollars)!  Our hot chocolates were much more affordable.

Putting the Click-Stands to good use

We stopped for the day around 3pm, since there was a lovely campsite next to a small river.  Also, it was threatening rain. It rained for several hours starting at 5pm and continuing into the night.  We cooked up a dinner of pasta with red sauce and scrambled eggs, played hearts (A is winning), and fell asleep cozy in the tent. 

Wild campsite near Cerro Castor

Day 2: Camping near Cerro Castor to Camping at Rio Tuerto (49 km)

This day was magic.  We awoke to sun on the tent and a forest practically glowing with morning light and leftover rain.  For breakfast we had watery oatmeal that no one liked, and then we were riding. 

Creating a Fairy Fortress

We climbed up and up to the famous pass of this island: Paso Garibaldi.  We had gorgeous mountain views behind us and then a view of the lakes to come ahead of us.  You know we can never resist a good pass sign.

Paso Garibaldi
Many of the streams have beaver dams
Enjoying the view

On the other side it was fast zip down to a small settlement at the end of Lago Escondido (Hidden Lake).  We decided to splurge on a big lunch at a restaurant called La Casona 2, which had a big yard for playing and a big fire they used to roast lambs.  Lunch took a very long time to prepare (over an hour!) but we were happy to be warm.  We laughed because the kids’ hamburger meal was once again just a huge burger patty with a pile of fries.  H promptly grabbed a few pieces of the table bread and made it an American-style hamburger sandwich. A cut hers up and dipped the pieces in ketchup (of course). We were stuffed by the time we were done, but we had 23 kilometers left to ride. 

Luckily it was downhill with a tailwind!  We zoomed along until we were near a spot another cyclist had marked as ‘trees with space for tents.’  It was near the river Tuerto, which actually was a much more appealing spot.  We set up camp off the road behind a pile of gravel, next to a picturesque valley. 

Wild camp near Rio Tuerto

H found a giant stick and was delighted for a long time waving it around; miraculously no one was injured.  Both girls spent a stretch of time collecting flowers and grasses to ‘clean’ our shoes.  It was a delightful evening and it didn’t even rain!

Day 3: Rio Tuerto to Tolhuin (27 km)

We thought today would be easy, but we woke up and had noodle legs.  Maybe it was just me though, since I had run out of coffee!  GASP!

Lago Fagñano

The riding was mostly up and down along the massive Lago Fagnano.  Each little stream that joined the lake required a descent and then a climb.  As we approached town we detoured down to the lake’s edge to see a small wildlife preserve (ducks and other birds) and take a picture with the Tolhuin sign.  Many of the towns here have these big signs and it’s so fun to take pictures with them. 

After the sign the road was dirt/gravel and straight up.  In a fit I demanded we stop and eat a snack.  After nearly emptying the remainder of our snack bag (potato chips, marshmallows, cookies, and gummy bears) we continued on. 

Our destination was a very famous bakery, La Union.  It welcomes touring cyclists from all over the world as they pass through, offering them bunks to sleep on in the basement past towers of flour.  We are not staying there, since it’s better for our family to find private accommodations.  However, we did stop for nearly two hours to eat!  We had empanadas, huge sandwiches, donuts, chocolate, and finally coffee.  It was incredible and we will be back tomorrow. 

La Union bakery

For tonight we are resting out of the wind and rain that is blowing through this town.  We rented a little one room cabin that is warm, cozy, and just a short walk from a grocery store.  Honestly, it feels heavenly.  Our next stretch to Rio Grande is less scenic and more windy, so we need tomorrow to strategize.

These two furry friends were interested in everyone but refused to eat my chicken, and then peed on Jason’s rear wheel

Ushuaia: the end of the world

The city of Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world. It has captured the imaginations of explorers for decades, and we are no exceptions. I (Daisy) have been dreaming of this place for many years. To actually be here, preparing to embark on our next big cycling adventure, is a dream come true.

Total travel time to get here from our door was about 26 hours. Miraculously, every bag and every bike box arrived undamaged. We spent our first day wandering the town and putting the bicycles together. Ushuaia is cold, windy, wet and full of art.

The city is perched on the edge of the Beagle Channel, surrounded by mountains. It was so dreary we didn’t see them until the fourth day, but they are stunning!

We discovered that both girls love empanadas and most particularly they love “submarinos,” which is the local approach to hot chocolate. To make one you start with steaming hot milk, then melt in a big chunk of dark chocolate before drinking it all down!

I learned the hard way that to buy groceries with a credit card you must show your passport here. Alice and I headed to the store with just a credit card and a few US dollars. At check out I was shocked when they asked for my passport! I tried to pay with the dollars, but they were all too ragged to be accepted. After a long back and forth, I learned that a *photo* of my passport would be good enough and luckily I had one! It was quite a scene.

Here are a few more photos of our time here. Tomorrow we start our journey on bicycles!

The St. Christopher shipwreck. Apparently this ship was assisting another in 1957 and ended up stuck ever since.
The wind is famous here and the huge flags were almost always flapping
This ‘end of the world’ sign is an iconic destination for cyclists
…and of course we found the playgrounds. This one had some particularly cool swings.

Gear test: a three-day ride up Cuchara Pass

At the top of Cuchara Pass!

For our fall break we started in Walsenburg and rode three days up to Cuchara Pass and another day back down. Besides testing our gear, there were three things we wanted to go up against for practice: a strong headwind, a mountain pass, and gravel roads. All three of these will meet us in Tierra del Fuego. Luckily for us we got to try all three – at once! After the first day we weren’t sure we could do it, but by the end of the third day we were much more confident.

Day 1, Lathrop State Park to La Veta (15 miles, 900′ climbing, dirt): We camped overnight at Lathrop State Park and left our car there at the visitor’s center. We got on the bikes and headed out after a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes. The first day’s ride took us across gravel roads to La Veta. We enjoyed the low-traffic road as it wound past deer, prairie dogs, pronghorn, cattle, and even a herd of horses that galloped across the road in front of us.

However, we had to work hard the whole time to fight the headwind. It was 20-30 mph! Tierra del Fuego is also known for very strong headwinds. How fitting!

As we came into town we checked the weather. The overnight forecast was 30-40 mph winds with 75(+) mph gusts. We abandoned our plans to camp (at the for sale Sammie’s Campground) and got a room in the La Veta Inn instead.

Day 2, La Veta to Cuchara (12 miles, 1400′ climbing, pavement): Whoa was it windy! We waited until after 10 AM to get on the road so the winds would die down. Today we travelled on pavement, but the headwinds continued. It was up, up, up the whole way. We passed several different rock formations. There are hundreds of rock walls that radiate away from the Spanish Peaks. The yellow aspens added some unexpected color to our late October ride.

Riding past the “Devil’s Steps”

Cuchara is a cute “town” that is simply a block-long collection of stores for tourists. We stayed in a B&B and the kids had a blast playing in the attic-like second bedroom. There was a playground in town, but very few kids.

Day 3, Chuchara to the pass and back to La Veta (6 miles and 1500′ up, 18 miles back down): The B&B’s breakfast was great – we all ate a lot. I (Jason) had an extra (third) muffin on the way out the door and that really powered me up the pass. It was 6 more miles to the top of the paved road. The headwind was not so strong, and the road got steeper. At the top we took our obligatory photo with the pass sign, then continued up a little further (above 10,000′!) on a dirt road to a wildflower overlook.

Snacktime is serious

We decided to head back down to prepare our lunch in the park in Cuchara while A and H played on the playground. Needless to say, it was a lot faster to go down than up! After a family conference we decided to go back to the La Veta Inn to spend the night in our “favorite room.” We realized that we were carrying our full set of gear on the bikes – including tent and pads and bags – but didn’t camp at all.

Day 4, La Veta to Lathrop State Park (15 miles mostly down on dirt): We took the same gravel road back down to the park. Somehow the wind shifted so we could have a little bit more headwind before our trip was complete. Our car was waiting for us and we ate lunch at the picnic tables in the park. We packed up and drove west to enjoy our first visit to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Gear check = Success!