Yesterday we hiked nearly 11 miles round trip with hundreds of feet of elevation to the Cajon del Azul (Blue Canyon) near the town of El Bolson, in northern Patagonia.  I still can’t believe that our 6-year-old had the will to do it. He surprised me. Maya and Ella are stronger, but still, this hike was a huge stretch for our family and I’m still in awe that that kids pulled it off.

It all started when I had a last minute change of heart about our itinerary (for me that means 3 weeks ago), and scrapped a trip to Villa Angostura, north of Bariloche, and instead decided to head south to El Bolson.  We had two spare days before moving on to Chile and I wanted to fill them with something adventurous after spending two weeks with our close friends from California living in more luxurious accommodations and sharing sweet moments together, but never pushing ourselves (which was fantastic!). Being together was joyous enough.    

So here we were with two spare days to do something fun.  When we arrived to El Bolson we quickly made our way to Lago Puelo to spend late afternoon kayaking.  The scenery was stunning and even though the weather seemed a bit precarious with choppy waves and strong winds, with great equipment and guides we had a blast.

What to do with the next day? I had seen this amazing photograph online of a canyon surrounded by steep granite walls and filled  with crystal clear blue water that looked divine.  I wanted to go there.  It required some hiking, but I figured it wouldn’t be too long and hiking meant less people.  Besides, we love to hike – this seemed perfect.

Once we arrived in El Bolson and I investigated this hike a bit more, I knew it was going to be tough, but I remained optimistic. As a family we’ve always hiked, especially before the kids were born, and after carrying them in our backpacks until they were old enough to start exploring on their own, we continued this hobby.  This was much longer and steeper than anything we’ve done before, but I felt we needed to at least try.

The next day we packed our lunch and headed out to the trail head.  We told the kids that it would be rough, and gave them a small pep talk about a big goal that they will accomplish today.  It started off easy with a long and steep decline (which foreshadowed a demanding ending), and we were excited to begin exploring.

Then is started getting tough.  And tougher.  And still tougher.  The 3 hours wouldn’t have been such an issue on a flat surface – but the steep incline nearly killed us.  Ella and Maya pushed through, but Kuba told us that his legs can’t go any further.  We stopped, rested, and powered on.  The uphill never seem to end.  Not knowing the trail, we had no idea when the end was in sight.  It wasn’t.  Still, Kuba seemed to regain his will and become more determined when it was clear that we’re now less than an hour away from splashing in clear waters.

And then….we arrived.  The water seemed bluer than in the pictures.  We refilled our water bottles (it was OK to drink straight from Rio Azul – forget iodine tablets).  We ate, basked in the sun, watch people jump (it was high!) and swam in the very cold water.  We knew we had a long way home, but at that moment all worries seemed to disappear and we just focused on having fun.

The atmosphere was generally quite joyous.  There were many millennials, all busy hiking between the refugos for days with big packs, tents and mats strapped on to their bodies in what seemed like an impossible feat, yet they were doing it with ease.  We stopped at one to see people playing music, doing yoga, and relaxing by the river.  All supplies are delivered by horses and of course there was no cell phone reception.  People were happy.  It was fun for the kids to experience this type of a scene and for us to step back in time.  We saw one other family – otherwise everyone seemed to be of the obligatory age between 18  and 30.

The trek back was easier.  With the exception of the last kilometer, it was mostly downhill (though that last km nearly finished me – a terrible way to end a seven-hour excursion climbing with very little left in our legs!).  Finally, around the bend, Ella saw the trailhead and we knew we were done.  We bought some raspberries, as it’s raspberry season in el Bolson, and went into town to have the most delicious ice cream we’ve tasted in days.

I am so proud of all the kiddos for pushing through.  This was a stretch for us but all of them brought their own magic to make it happen.  Maya never complained once.  Ella came up with motivational stories to encourage her younger siblings to push through.  And Kuba was a champ with his small legs telling me that once he talks about something, he forgets how tired he is.  We plan on a lot of hiking on this trip and I’m choosing to believe that the kids are ready to accept that ‘we’re part of a hiking family’.  Building resilience and appreciating the small things in life makes it all worthwhile.