It began like many of my adventures, on a bus to an obscure destination, in this case a trail through a canyon. I heeded the advice provided at my hostel and went in search of a short hike to enjoy the scenery and adjust to my new location, Pucon. When the bus pulled up at the terminal it died a few times but after the driver coaxed some extra diesel into the engine, it started right up without a problem. Upon entering the bus I reconfirmed with the driver that I wanted to go to the canyon.

The bus wound around country roads with stunning views of the nearby mountains and the ominous volcano that overlooks Pucon. Locals casually hopped on and off the bus in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. After about 20 minutes the driver stopped and began to call back, this is the stop for Cañi. I glanced towards the back of the bus at a few other travelers who appeared to be looking for the same hike I was. We all laughed and then proceeded to exit the bus. We were on this two lane country road in the most beautiful and remote place but there was no sign of a trail. Luckily one of the travelers spoke Spanish and asked for directions. We were close, we just needed to walk another 300m down the road.

Now to this point I hadn’t seen the word written and thought I was in for a downhill trek, to my surprise the locals were saying Cañi. It is a sanctuary for a temperate mountain rainforest and the trek is about 17km with a change in elevation of 1200m uphill. Let me just say that my diet of completos and Chilean wine in no way prepared me for this hike. The bus would not return for another two and a half hours so I decided to go for it. I registered and paid my 4,000 CLP.

The first two kilometers were nice easy rolling hills overlooking the valley, the next two kilometers were steep vertical grades. I thought I was dying. I joined a group as they passed by and their guide offered me a walking stick. I spent the next two kilometers trying to keep pace but eventually just stopped to eat my sandwich. Food fixes everything and this was a perfect place for a picnic. Every time I turned a corner the views were stunning, I would just stand there and take a mental picture for a few minutes.

After my short picnic, I decided to keep going, if the views I had seen so far were any indication, turning around was not an option. I made it to the next trail marker, face flush, totally out of air and bumped into the same guide that had given me the walking stick. He encouraged me and said I had made it through the most difficult part. This was not true, but it was motivating so I continued.

I had now ventured into these enormous trees rumored to be over 500 years old. Their bright white bark and foliage only on the top appeared from another planet, I was in awe again. Fortunately, this part was relatively flat so I walked peacefully through the land of giants as the light played tricks with their leaves. At this point the ground started to transform to patches of frozen dirt and the trees had moss hanging from them, it was a little eerie but so cool.

I finally reached Laguna Negra, the second to last marker on the trail. The lake was stunning, partially frozen and reflecting the enormous trees that surrounded it. I was also running out of time to reach the summit. The gentleman that worked the registration for the park cautioned us to start our descent by 3:00pm which meant I had less than an hour to reach the Mirador. I was not about to spend the night on the mountain! It was about a kilometer to the top, how bad could it be?

It was steep, but every switch back revealed a better view of the mountains in the distance and the lake below. I finally made it to the top but let me say it was not graceful. I’m pretty sure I crawled the last few yards but it was worth it. 360 degrees of mountain views. The photos could never capture the magnitude of the place but the mental pictures I took combined with a feeling of awe will stick.

I started my descent about 2:50, I knew I was cutting it close so I picked up the pace but the ground was slick and it was difficult to move quickly. On the way down the birds came to life filling the forest with unfamiliar songs. I was about a quarter of the way down when a couple gentlemen passed me on their horses. I waved and offered a friendly hola, one of the gentleman slowed his horse and proceeded to ask me in Spanish, how I liked Chile, where I was from, and offered a few suggestions of places I should see in Pucon. Then to my surprise he asked if I wanted to “drive” the horse. I responded in Spanish that I didn’t know how. Because he hopped off his horse and offered me a ride.

I was a little hesitant, this was a bit crazy but when in Chile. So I hopped on and then asked how to maneuver the horse. I kept asking how to make the horse stop, and Edward kept telling me it didn’t matter. Thankfully, he led the horse and I really didn’t do much but it was great and honestly probably the only way I made it down off the mountain in time for the bus.

My heart was happy, more than that I was content. I had been challenged physically to the max but, along the way there were people who reached out to help me; from providing encouragement, giving me a walking stick, or letting me ride their horse each of them went out of their way to make my day a little better. It challenged me to take the time to help other people. Sometimes simply reaching out to another person alters their entire day. Mountains tend to sand off the rough edges and today was no exception.