by Spencer Warren
As many did last weekend, I, along with Daniel Hutchison, William Marquette, Brandy Richardson, Spencer Richardson, and Rachel Alexander, went to Cajón del Maipo to camp. It was one of the best and worst trips that I have been on. On one hand, Cajón del Maipo allowed me to see a different side of Chile and provided a beautiful sight of the Andes, which surrounded it. We arrived early in the afternoon and walked about 6 miles to finally get to the campsite we were staying at. By the time we all got there, we were exhausted, so we decided to go ahead and set up our hammocks at the campsite. After we all had had adequate rest, Spencer, Hutch, Brandy, and Rachel decided to go camping while me and William stayed behind to eat at the restaurant. The meal, which consisted of slow-roasted pork and rice, was the best I have had since I have been in Santiago. The woman who owned the campsite cooked this meal, which was a traditional German dish she had picked up while living in Germany for 8 years.
The night went downhill from there. After the group returned from hiking, we all took in the beautiful, clear sky that was full of stars that were completely new to us. As I was observing the stars, I noticed that the temperature had dropped significantly and was now probably in the mid 40s. I had been warned that it gets cold at night, but being a guy, I thought I could tough it out in order to save money; I could have not been more mistaken. I got in my hammock around 11:30 with no blanket to shelter me from the brutal winds that became entrapped inside my double-deluxe Eno. Needless to say, I laid there and shivered for about 3 hours before I was able to cry myself to sleep. I woke about 4 am to the sound of rustling around my hammock, and I decided to get up and stretch my legs a bit. When I reached for my shoes, I noticed that one of my Chacos was missing. I made a futile effort to search around my hammock to look for my lost sandal, but it was the darkest night that I had ever experienced. The Andes shielded the campsite from the moon, making the night pitch black. I knew my Chaco had been grabbed by a pack of dogs and taken to another part of the campsite, so I decided to try to fall back asleep until the sun came up and I could begin my search.
My body instinctively woke me up right as the sun came up over the mountains, and I hopped out of my hammock barefooted to search for my lost Chaco. After about 10 minutes of pain from stepping on rocks and whatever else was on that campground, I spotted the evil gang of dogs over by a shed. I quickly made my way over to the shed in order to grab my Chaco, which I could faintly see in the distance, when I was met with surprising hostility from this family of dogs. It was not easy, but I finally made my way to my chewed-up Chaco. There were a couple of rips in the straps, but nothing to really worry about. I returned to my hammock and shivered a little more before the sun finally made its ascent over the great Andes.
Well, at least I got to see the sunrise in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. All the pain along the way was well worth it.
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