The road chose me

The Chileans are pretty upset their government is raising the price of natural gas by a few cents a liter and have decided to complain about it by rioting in the streets. They’ve blockaded all the ferries to Tierra Del Fuego, closed roads, are burning tires in the street and are generally causing trouble and unrest. Nobody knows how long this might last and I have to wonder if I’ll be able to drive the last 500km after coming more than 50,000kms. Huh.

Hiking with my park ranger friends

For a diversion I checkout Bosque Petrificado, a national monument of petrified trees and quickly befriend the park rangers who invite me to stick around for a few days, talking, laughing, cooking great food and generally hanging out.
When word comes through the ferries to Tierra Del Fuego are operating as normal, I’m eager and ready to move on.

Over the course of a very long day I drive south from Rio Gallegos to the Chilean border where I line up for a couple of hours to check myself and the Jeep out of Argentina, then into Chile. A short drive further finds me at the ferry terminal where I chat to a couple of bikers before the 30min, $USD30 ferry ride across to the island of Tierra Del Fuego. The 135km of mediocre gravel road to the border of San Sabastián is a slush-fest thanks to the constant rain and driving wind. Again, some lining up and waiting sees me exit Chile, then 10km further I’m stamped back into Argentina. Each border is painless and free, requiring only my passport and the original registration for the Jeep.

Welcome to Tierra Del Fuego!!!

After a re-supply stop in the big city of Rio Grande I make my way down to Tolhuin, a beautiful little town renowned for it’s excellent bakery and beautiful, lake-side “Hain” campground.

Camping inside a tepee at Camping Hain, Tolhuin

Only 100km to Ushuaia, the end of the line.

So close now...

-Dan

On my way into Buenos Aires in early December I eagerly watched the odometer as it rolled over the magical 50,000 kilometers since leaving Calgary a year and a half ago. Tierra Del Fugeo is only a measly 3,000km from BA, making my wild guess amazingly close, all things considered.
In light of passing the original milestone, I’ve bumped my new estimate to 65,000km, which is again completely made up and doesn’t actually represent anything significant.
It sounded nice.

I’m back on the road again, my head full of conversations, thoughts, and ideas from my family. I’m very much aware the end of this journey is in sight, and with the help of my family I’m thinking more and more about what comes next for me. As much as I’m looking forward to the end and a fresh start somewhere new, I’m also extremely excited to spend a couple of months in the mountains of Patagonia, hiking and camping my little heart out.
I have to remember to really soak in every day.

South?

Today saw yet another oil change and tire rotation on the Jeep (there was one back in Peru I neglected to mention too) and everything looks great. She’s starting to show her age a little with a serious display of stone chips on the hood and windscreen, though still runs like a champ, never missing a beat. I think my original tires will just make the distance, and I’ve been told route 40 and the Carretera Austral will eat them up.
Let’s find out.

-Dan

Have you ever wanted to do something to find out if you could – to see what kind of person you are?
Have you ever wanted to actually live your dreams instead of watching them hover just out of reach?
Have you ever wanted to do something so crazy you were almost afraid to say it out loud?

Next week, I’m setting out to drive my Jeep 50,000kms on The Pan American Highway from The Arctic Ocean in Northern Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego, the southernmost point of South America.

I’m going to record my whole trip here with stories and photos, but more than that, I want you guys to join in too. Remember those “choose your own adventure” books where you got to make up your own story? I’m going to make my trip the same for you. Whenever I get to a fork in the road, or I can’t decide if I should detour to see some ruins, or stick around another week, I’m going to ask you guys. The choices will be put to a vote – the choice with the most votes wins and I’ll do it.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to hike to Macha Pichu or to drive Bolivia’s “Road of Death”. Here’s your chance. If it gets voted up I’ll do it. You’ll be able to read all about it here with trip reports, adventure stories and photos.

I think the whole trip will take twelve months, but that’s just a guess – let’s say plus or minus six months to that.
Updates will come shortly on my Jeep, gear, medical requirements and more. In the mean time, checkout my completely made-up route north/south and the Jeep looking pretty excited

-Dan

Dan and Jeep ready to go.

Completely made up.