And things could be far worse. There has also been a little pain in the birth of this new park — which opened fully this year, and may soon become a major new national park. American billionaire Doug Tompkins founder of the North Face and Esprit clothing brands and his wife Kristine former CEO of clothing company Patagonia have been working on it for years.
The ambitious plan was to unite land they bought in the Chacabuco valley in with the neighbouring Jeinimeni and Tamango national reserves, to create a ,acre public access park. They hope it will get national park status in , though it could take longer.
Their mission in the Chacabuco valley is to restore Patagonian grasslands that have been overgrazed by sheep and cattle. But this has met with controversy and local opposition. When Doug bought the valley in , people felt attacked.
But things are changing, and we need to preserve this land. One or two ranches refused to sell to Tompkins and they and their animals remain in parts of the park, but otherwise the land is wilderness once again. I met up with him before my hike. He points out that he paid for and owns the land, so can do what he wants with it. But the people who are the most vocal opponents of a national park often become the staunchest defenders.
A pair of black-chested buzzard eagles soar above a forest. We hike up a steep snowy trail to a lookout point over Lago Verde, where steamer ducks glide across greenish blue water. From here, I can see that the lake is teeming with trout. Down here, even your daily brew is political. Next day, we hike the Aviles valley, leaping across rivers, stomping through bogs and scrambling up rocky banks. We pass puestos , small shelters used by gauchos before the fences were removed and the land returned to its natural state.
