4x4 Road Safari: The Lumberjack Trail in Ushuaia, Argentina

The tour today was awesome.  There were only five people who were part of this adventure in a vehicle that took a mountain trail to a remote part of the countryside outside Ushuaia, Argentina.  The adventure included a very rough road and lots of scenery.  It included two hikes.  The first to an area where beavers (introduced to Argentina with no natural predators) had ravaged the landslide building dams, and the second was a lumberjack trail to a three course meal.  It was wonderful, and the guide was so good.  Here are a few of my photos from today’s adventure at our first Argentina port of call.

Interesting:  Folks are checked as they leave the city rather than when they arrive.

Our vehicle for the 4x4 adventure.   I didn't think we would make it on some of the backroads.

The driver stopped to let us get a good luck at the mountains.  This is where the Andes end in South America.

The glaciers have been retreating over the years.

An observation stand on the side of the road to observe the scenery.

Who says dogs don't like to observe the mountains and breathe the fresh mountain air?

Once we made it down the very rough road (video exists to prove it), we saw damage that beavers have done to the trees.

Beavers have no natural enemies in this part of Argentina.  It was a mistake to introduce them here!

Keeping those teeth sharp!

The beavers were hiding, but we saw their tracks.

Leaving the area of the beaver dam, we hiked up a hill for this view of the mountains.

Ushuaia is on the island of Tierra del Fuego.  The island is split between Chile and Argentina.

We're not lost!  Christian, the guide, is showing us our location on Tierra del Fuego (the Argentina side).

Of course this is summer, but in the winter skiing (especially cross country) is common on these mountains.

We learned a little about the plant life, too.  This is a type of edelweiss (not the Sound of Music type).

 

The hike leads us back to the beaver dam and the trees that have been destroyed by those busy beavers.

Wild strawberries growing the forest are common.

We traveled to the main road and stopped for a break and another glimpse of the beautiful view.

This stop included a den of huskies that are real workhorse dogs.  This one had beautiful eyes, but the sun was just too bright.

We stopped here to take advantage of the facilities.  It's a booming restaurant in wintertime for the skiers.

We traveled across the field and entered the woods for a hike.

A guide and Mary Lou (a Canadian) are leading the way. 

We reached a shack in the middle of the woods.  A fire was going.

Another look at this rustic refuge.

Wine and appetizers were waiting on us.

Christian, the guide, dishes up our lunch.  Argentina is famous for beef, so we had steak.

I believe the steak was a "ribeye cut" and was cooked with vegetables.  It was delicious.

Christian poses with me in the small retreat in the woods.

The small group hikes back to the 4x4 vehicle and back to the ship.  It was an awesome way to spend the time in Ushuaia.