Getting to Patagonia

[keenwesh]

I just watched 180 degrees south and now want to at least look into the feasibility of doing a trip to patagonia. how possible is the drive down there or getting on a sailing crew like in 180? I'm at a big turning point in my life (going to college, well sorta big...) and while everyone is telling me to go to college it is very tempting to take a year off and have some real adventure...

[nels0891]

you could consider me in a similar situation.... ive really contemplated on dropping everything and going somewhere like that. unfortunately ive settled for waiting until i graduate in two more years.

 

if your looking for boats, there are a lot of websites out there for boat owners looking for crew, and people that are looking to ride along. most are unpaid (but if your going to patagonia, who cares anyway), and some require previous sailing experience but not all. I think it would be a little trickier to find one that fits the bill if you go in with specific criteria, but if you dont really care where you go i dont think it would be that difficult.

 

as far as driving... you should just look really closely at the political situations in all of the countries you would be driving through. i really have no idea if there is any concern or not, but its something to consider.

 

 

[Captain panther]

dude fuck college, it will always be there. go adventure now. it'll be alot harder when you have a real job. just make sure you dont get stuck living the easy life, you have to go back and get that degree! go see shit and think about what you really realy wanna do before you waste time and money in college trying to figure out what to study

[Fairweather]

I just watched 180 degrees south and now want to at least look into the feasibility of doing a trip to patagonia. how possible is the drive down there or getting on a sailing crew like in 180? I'm at a big turning point in my life (going to college, well sorta big...) and while everyone is telling me to go to college it is very tempting to take a year off and have some real adventure...

 

Stay in school. Odds are, the one year off you're contemplating will turn into two, five, ten, and so on. No matter how much fun you have, or how much life experience you accrue dirt bagging, you'll still have that insidious, nagging cloud over your head. Patagonia will wait--and taste even sweeter when you finally arrive.

[stevetimetravlr]

Go for the adventure. You will never regret it.

[ColinB]

dude fuck college, it will always be there. go adventure now. it'll be alot harder when you have a real job. just make sure you dont get stuck living the easy life, you have to go back and get that degree! go see shit and think about what you really realy wanna do before you waste time and money in college trying to figure out what to study

 

I second that. I dropped out of college and worked on boats for a while and didn't regret it once. If you decide to go back later like I did, you'll actually be motivated a driven instead of spending fours years of debt/parents' money "finding yourself." Jump into the deep end. Chances are you'll swim just fine.

[keenwesh]

dude fuck college, it will always be there. go adventure now. it'll be alot harder when you have a real job. just make sure you dont get stuck living the easy life, you have to go back and get that degree! go see shit and think about what you really realy wanna do before you waste time and money in college trying to figure out what to study

 

I second that. I dropped out of college and worked on boats for a while and didn't regret it once. If you decide to go back later like I did, you'll actually be motivated a driven instead of spending fours years of debt/parents' money "finding yourself." Jump into the deep end. Chances are you'll swim just fine.

 

these are my thoughts exactly. there isn't a field of study that really jumps out at me that I want to do. taking a boat down would be such an adventure and who knows, I could find some bangin hot chick on easter island! how easy is it to find reliable and solid partners down in el charlatan? is there a camp 4 like area to meet other climbers?

[Dannible]

Why not just save up some money and fly? I'm sure just being down there will be adventure enough if you've never done anything like that. Driving would be pretty hard unless you speak good spanish and have a very reliable car that is easy to work on. I've been thinking about trying to get down there next season and want to take buses part of the way back for the sake of seeing new places, but I wouldn't recommend that to anyone unfamiliar with travel in latin america. I couldn't comment on taking a boat down there.

 

As for school: put it off if you want. Lots of my friends have graduated in the last couple of years (I did too) and most everyone is still working jobs that have nothing to do with what they did in school to pay the bills, or going to grad school because they don't know what else to do. There just aren't enough entry level jobs (that require a degree) in most industries for the number of people who are being pumped out of schools. The people I know who are most stoked on school are those who are back in it after years of doing other things. Maybe take some community college classes here and there so that when you do go to school you have a head start.

 

Look into seasonal jobs (trail building, fire fighting, AK fishing, ski areas) and save your money. Seasonal jobs will guarantee that you will not get stuck at a dead end job and will allow you to take long periods of time off between jobs. Also, homelessness and hunger build character.

 

Life can be pretty cool if you do it right.

[TimL]

I second what Dannible said. Or, do what I did. Go to school and take your time in getting your degree while taking time off of school to go on an adventure or two. A student life should give you time to figure out what you want to do and give you time to play. In my case, I graduated from being a student with plenty of time off to a teacher with plenty of time off!

[Plaidman]

You might want to read "Enduring Patagonia" first.

Enduring Patagonia

[boadman]

I think that riding a bicycle to Patagonia would be super proud, and pretty fun. Just take shoes and a harness and a little camping gear with you and stop at every climbing area you can find on your way south. Learn to dumpster dive. Maybe catch a ride to Cuba on a sail boat. Get work here and there as you run out of money. Learn Spanish & see the world at an intimate pace.

[LowLife]

Odds are, the one year off you're contemplating will turn into two, five, ten, and so on.

 

And, who knows, those could be the best two, five, ten, and so on years of your life. You can never know where an adventure will take you, that's what makes it an adventure. Whatever you do, don't stick around here just because it's "what you're supposed to do", or from fear of losing security now or later on. I think one of the greatest legacies that Chouinard and the rest of his generation of climbers left us is the idea that you can still find true adventure in today's world. It's actually pretty darn accessible, you just gotta sack up and go get it. And yup, something bad could happen along the way (like not making any money, ha!), just like something bad might happen if you choose to stick around here and go to school. But it sure sounds like you're itchin' to "feed the rat", so make a plan and commit, get after it, and send some photos and some stoke back to the rest of us stuck up here in traffic on I-5!

[Crillz]

There is no better time to do this then now, while pretty much everything you own can fit in the trunk of a car.

 

Lots of peeps (a lot of my friends and myself) went straight into college after high school and totally f*cked off - either dropping out or taking longer than 4 years for undergrad. Also, the community college route is a good suggestion, now or later.

 

The great economic machine will wait for you, and honestly, taking the year now will not hinder school (not sure about the payment part, which should be considered).

[hydroman]

I knew a couple folks in college who did the drive straight through to Tierra Del Fuego. I've also considered doing this via enduro bike at some point and did some research. Based on conversations with these dudes I'd rule out driving unless you really want the experience of doing the drive rather than just as a means of transport down there. It's a serious undertaking and will take a lot more time than you might think. Getting across all the borders with a vehicle requires a lot of time, patience, fluent spanish and sometimes cash. You also have to barge your vehicle through the Darien Gap. I personally wouldn't consider it unless you have the time, patience, correct vehicle with knowledge of how to fix it, speak fluent spanish and have a travel buddy. They had some cool stories to tell but one of them gave up by Colombia as he was too fed up with the hassles at borders and other red tape nonsense. The other continued alone and barged his vehicle to Florida at the end.

Getting on a boat or flying is going to be a lot easier and provide more time actually in Patagonia backpacking and climbing.

It's also going to be the far cheaper option to driving.

[Fairweather]

All of the above suggestions are valid, but miss the point. Don't look at college as a meal ticket, rather, look at it as that big mountain you always wanted to climb. What you'll learn there has intrinsic value that stands far above any fears you may have of becoming just another cog in the machine. Take an interdisciplinary approach going in and spend your summers in the mountains around here--or even Alaska or Canada. There's no shortage of adventure to be had nearby. Anyway, hope you work it out. Good luck.

[Coldfinger]

Well, pretty American of you all to want to drive, I'd say go local and ride the bus and/or trains.

 

Bringing a vehicle anywhere is a big risk, not just in gas but in terms of police, insurance, what if it breaks down etc. A bike seems like yet another eco trek 2010 blah blah.

 

A bus, hey you're there with la gente, you'd be surprised how cheap and how much fun the bus can be, especially if you make alternative arrangements for the gear at least until Ecuador.

 

I think I'd rather bring a surfboard at least that far........

 

Plan on leaving most if not all climbing gear with the locals for the return leg, they'll love ya! And yes they pay cash.

[Hugh Conway]

Well, pretty American of you all to want to drive, I'd say go local and ride the bus and/or trains.

 

there aren't really any trains

 

 

flights to Argentina/Chile are cheap. Save up the a $k or 2 and fly.

[Lafayette]

FWIW: I've seen three different people with Toyota pick ups planning on selling them in Argentina.

 

Apparently there is a high demand, and maybe a high import tariff where a solid truck bought here can be sold for a tidy profit in Argentina. The story I heard is that it is at least enough to cover some of the gas money, and airfare home.

[Kimmo]

Don't look at college as a meal ticket, rather, look at it as that big mountain you always wanted to climb.

 

you seem to be missing the point.

 

perhaps he doesn't want to climb this mountain.

 

seems like he doesn't, at least right now.

 

 

i personally think the answer to his question is in his question:

 

follow your bliss.

[Coldfinger]

Sure are trains, just not all the way......

[mwcjak]

I went to college straight out of high school, plowed through, graduated and then went to Patagonia and Peru for a couple months.

 

Now that I have my bachelors, it turns out that jobs are really tricky to acquire and many employers don't value degrees like they did a generation ago. I wouldn't recommend going to college without knowing where you want it to take you.

 

South America was great, I flew but sailing would have been cooler. I have a lot of fond and irreplaceable memories from that trip.

 

I would suggest adventuring now and then seeing how you feel about school. Everyone's experience with college (and traveling) is different and when or if you end up going to school, I hope you love it. But you don't want to pay for tuition and housing and spend all your time wishing you were out climbing, or worse climb too much and flunk out.

 

On the other hand tuition's only going up...

[Hugh Conway]

FWIW: I've seen three different people with Toyota pick ups planning on selling them in Argentina.

 

Apparently there is a high demand, and maybe a high import tariff where a solid truck bought here can be sold for a tidy profit in Argentina. The story I heard is that it is at least enough to cover some of the gas money, and airfare home.

 

note the use of "planning" and not "have sold" the above financial fairy tale is mostly bullshit now

 

if you are going to save up your money - Asia. Pick a country; it's the future ('cept Japan).

[Lafayette]

Once upon a time.....well it worked last January. I can't say I know the guy well, but we correspond via FB. He said he recouped some of the traveling costs back. It's by no means a get rich quick scheme.

 

As for traveling I took 6 months off in college. Went back and finished and found the degree has helped me stay on the move. Up to 6 continents, and an absurd number of countries. Most of the last 5 years have been on the road. That little slip of paper has opened some cool doors. Would it have been possible without it? Maybe, either way I look forward to seeing the path you choose.

[olyclimber]

with the cost of tuition it really isn't a good idea to jump into to college without a good idea of what you hope to do with your education. I went straight into college and changed majors 5 times, but this was before major tuition hikes. And now I work in a field unrelated directly to anything I studied.

 

I definitely recommend going to college, but at todays rates I would definitely recommend having a good idea of what you hope to achieve.

 

of course, if mom and dad are paying for college, then by all means go for as long as you can. get a PHD. get 5 bachelors degrees.

 

I think you can do both college and grand travels...you just have to work hard to make it happen.

[keenwesh]

I have a buddy who heard about my idea and is all for it. he's in college right now but he said that college can wait if theres a adventure to be had. how cheap is the cost of living? anyone know how to get a hold of colin haley? he seems like he would have some answers for the actual climbing/finding partners/living down there side. if I could afford it I would love to drive but it would be more expensive overall and a couple white kids who don't really speak spanish with a car full of gear seem like prime robbery targets. Sailing would be absolutely incredible but most berths on yachts are tight for a six and a half foot tall man... I can't sleep in a fetal position for 2 months. screw that.