note: no gps data, but in-between santiago and refugio lo valdez

well, i woke up this morning to snow — both on the ground and in the air. i wasn’t too worried, until i learned that the employees their were conerned (apparently another car had gotten stuck up there for 4 days earlier this week). so, i quickly hopped into the car and started the drive down. luckily the car made it without any issues. i’m now in cascade de los animes. there’s not too much to do here, but i hiked up several miles to the mirador (the only trail open, because of the snow). it was nice, but pretty wet (snow on the ground and a light rain). luckily, earlier that day horses had gone up to the mirador, so i was able to follow their tracks (otherwise, i almsot certainly would have gotten lost). unfortunately, the combination of rain and horses made the trail pretty muddy.

i’m also camping here tonight. the rooms are about $40/night…which seems very expensive to me. camping is $12…which is also relatively expensive, but it covers the hiking too. because of the cold, i decided to sleep in the car. because the front passenger seat is in the us, i was able to make a relatively comfortable bed extending from the back seat to the front. a little cramped, but better than sleeping outside with the snow. unfortunately, it was dark and raining when i was setting up the makeshift bed. i took off the rear seat cushion and used that as part of the bed, along with the rear back cushion. hopefully i’ll get another chance to make a more comfortable bed….but at least the bonding ritual between the car and myself is complete.