Altiplano bikepacking Chile

Misitune and the burn

Lunch stop on day one in the abandoned stone village of Misitune. The view from where I was sitting overlooks a marsh where fifty or more vicunas and maybe a hundred or so flamingos were hanging out.

I started out the day at 4300m and struggled with the altitude. Even some of the smaller climbs were real lung burners and my legs sometimes felt tingly. As I approached Misitune about 30kms in I felt better and better. I got used the constant burn and ongoing inability to catch my breath and worked with it.

Reserva Nacional Las Vicuñas

I often wondered if it was worth hauling my heavy camera gear and tripod around on my handlebars. I especially wondered on the afternoon this photo was taken. I decided to take an alternative route to the one suggested on my map named "unnamed path". The path passed between Cerro Arintica 5550m and Cerro Puquintica 5750m. Although “unnamed path” was a small dotted line on the map, in my mind it was an untouched pristine singletrack making it’s way through two towering mountains and winding it’s way down to the valley floor. This was going to be the most epic, remote singletrack ever ridden.

Earlier in the day I came across a shack made out of mud blocks and political signs from yesteryear. I had heard the two women that lived there sold soup so I stopped in to check it out. They dished up llama soup with potatoes which was really tasty. I will say I didn't get a great cut of llama but the little meat that was in the soup had a similar taste to lamb, if not a little stronger. Speaking to one of the ladies they asked where I was headed. I let them know my plan to ride between the mountains and pointed up at them. She shook her head and made a shhh'ing sound and told me they were very big. I thought it was funny coming from a women that lives at about 4200m on Chile's Altiplano. I decided that I could take on the mountains anyway despite all the shhh'ing.

Later in the day I came across my turnoff to unnamed path. The path was sort of a path to begin with although I lost the trail twice in the first half a km or so. The trail then disappears and the terrain is steep and rocky. From there it was a matter of pushing uphill and lifting the bike over big rocks and pushing through soft sand. About 4 or 5 kms and 2 hours of climbing later I arrived at this flat section between the two mountains and decided, given the sun was setting that this was where i'd setup for the night at about 4700m.

I was hungry and tired but I told myself you just dragged a bike and heavy camera gear up to this amazing spot, you might as well make the most of it as the sun lit up the upper section of Cerro Puquintica.