Day 3: I gave up

Day 3. Today, I gave up.

But first – Day 2 was incredible. Yesterday, we walked more than 12 miles through tons of crazy terrain. It was gorgeous. And fun. We laughed. We joked. We worked together. Even through the hardest hills, we cussed and kept each other going.

It’s genuinely beautiful here – and that’s slightly overshadowed by my current emotional-ness. I love travel – I really do. But navigating the anxiety factor with someone else is intense. Doing so at lightening speed is even worse – my hips ache, my throat and ears are sick, my head is pounding.

It’s an adventure alright.

The good:

Yesterday was seriously incredible. Breakfast outside of our tent was all the revitalization we needed from the day before. We shared coffee and a breakfast skillet while watching the rest of the camp site wake up. It was genuinely perfect.

We started the whole day with fresh light-hearted energy. Bouncing down the trails. Snapping photos left and right. We ran into a gorgeous beach and just sat on the rocks to enjoy the views. The teal waters.

We took turns leading the way – hour by hour. Each time we stopped, we’d pull out a few snacks and water. The water rushed through rivers and waterfalls. The wine cruised through the trees.

Aaron pointed out that this is the only place either of us have seen and heard wind coming. Clouds of water blew hard across the lake. Gusts bent and swayed in the trees. Simply stunning.

Early in the day, we were at out bests. Having fun. Being playful. Exploring. In hour 5, we were tiptoeing through a swampy marsh. Dodging giant puddles and watching our shoes squish.

I’d been expecting out hike to end in hour 6 – not realizing I was about an hour off in reading the map. This is where shit gets really real.

Hour 6 – I shit you not – was nearly 100% uphill. Talk about your uphill battles. My body had lost all giveafucks for continuing the trudge with 30 lbs of life on my back.

I’d popped a couple of energy chews only to feel like I could have a heart attack.

This continued for not one, but two hours. Our fun 6-hour trek finally ended at 7.5 hours with the final 2.5 hours almost entirely blocked from my mind. It took about 20 minutes to check in, hike up to our tent space and set up camp. I didn’t complain. I didn’t cry. But every part of my body pathetically screamed with exhaustion.

We booked an awesome dinner at Chileno and tried to reclaim our zombie minds. With full tummies, we went straight to bed. Within minutes, my throat was sore.

One sinus after another stuffed. Then, my ears. The powerful winds whipped at every angle of the tent. My tired hips and legs restlessly flipped in the sleeping bag. Too cold. Too hot. I need to pee.

Early in the morning, Aaron hopped out to pee. I followed.

I never completely went back to sleep. By the time the alarm went off this morning, I reached my limit.

[SIC: 2-page diagram outlining “How to get to Paine Grande” – circumventing the remainder of the hike]

My legs didn’t want to move. My hips and shoulders ached at the idea of picking up my bag again. We snoozed the alarm while I cried into Aaron’s shoulder. Then, we called it.

With the worst feeling of complete and utter failure, we started to shape an alternative plan for how to finish our week.

This piece is key. At some point in the last 48 hours, we noticed an 11-hour hike wrapping up our week. For real – 11 hours – which realistically, would take more like 15 hours with my fatigued and sore body.

So, yea, we called it.

Day 2. Amazing, but whoa.
Day 3. I woke up crying.

And I continued to cry out of exhaustion, defeat and a feeling that I single-handedly ruined our entire trip.

Aaron convinced me to shower. It felt amazing on my sticky days-old-sweat skin.

We went back to the tent and I cried more. For a thousand reasons I still can’t justify.

[SIC: Reasons I cried today]

I mean, get real. It was obnoxious – and yet I just couldn’t stop. Travel anxieties in full swing, folks.

We laid in the tent and joked and cried and talked and cried until I wasn’t quite so overwhelmed.

Day 3 got a lot better after that. We made a dinner reservation, climbed part way to the Mirador Base de las Torres and relaxed with an amazing pizza.

Aaron navigated it all reasonably well.