While on a date, early summer 2019, we were talking about trips we went on and I mentioned my next trip was probably to the Galapagos Islands.

 

As I kid, I had a fascination for turtles, actually owning a few over the years, including a couple of Painted and Box Turtles, and I always wanted to see the giant Galapagos turtles in person, plus where Darwin got many of his ideas.

 

As for Patagonia, I used to think it was some magical, fictitious place, something the clothing company just made up.

 

After the date, I did some research and the idea of Patagonia instead was growing on me, I found the 2 most popular treks were called the O and W trek. The W is shorter, about 5 days, and the O is 9 days, and includes the W.

 

Since I ran a few endurance races at this point, I was confident I could take on the O, even though I've never done that many days of camping before. 

 

I contacted a couple of trekking companies and went with Cascadia and their package that included porters and guides. It was also all inclusive, with campsites, food and a tent.

 

It was funny when the sales rep emailed me back and actually tried to downsell me to do the W trek instead, because of the endurance needed for the O. 

 

I immediately replied back stating the experience I had doing Ultra Marathons and the 50+ miles average mileage I put in.

 

With that, she said there was only one spot left and I should book the trip soon. It was September at this point and the Trek I was eyeing was for Dec 25th to Jan 2nd.

 

I was skeptical when she said it was the last spot, thinking she was trying to sell me. But because I was very interested in it and saw no reason to procrastinate, I booked the trip within a couple days,

 

So there I was, about $800 down and on the hook for another $2000 by November, plus whatever equipment, clothing and travel I was going to need to buy in the next few months. Out of all the trips I've been on, this was about to turn into one of my most ambitious!