Intrepid Patagonian trekkers raise £85,000 for Jersey Cheshire Home

Friday 09 February 2018

40 intrepid islanders signed up for a challenging trek in Patagonia and helped raise £85,000 for Jersey Cheshire Home, which supports some of the Island’s most physically disabled people.

The group returned from the epic challenge in early December and the financial returns for their efforts have now been totalled up. The money will go toward the £2 million Big Build project to expand and improve facilities at Jersey Cheshire Home.

The trek destination was so popular that the team had to be split into two groups, with the second party trekking one full day behind the first one. It took them three days just to get to the starting point as the location was so remote. The teams flew from Jersey to Gatwick, transferred to Heathrow and then flew on to Madrid. From there, they flew to Buenos Aires, before changing airports again to take an internal flight to the town of San Carlos de Bariloche.

The first day of trekking through the Nahuel Huapi National Park was a true adventure as the teams began by walking beside glacial lakes before hiking through rainforest.

Pictured: The trek began next to glacial lakes.

As it was spring in Argentina, it turned out the Jersey group was only the second in 2017 to tackle the trail. As a result, the thick forest terrain was overgrown, and the group had to relentlessly clamber over fallen trees as well as negotiate fast flowing rivers and streams. On many occasions, the only way to cross was to manoeuvre a fallen tree across the gap and walk over it.

Only days before the Jersey groups arrived, there was a last minute change to the itinerary after a planned night stop burned down in a fire. That meant that the first day ended up being considerably longer than planned. After the best part of 11 hours of hiking through a variety of terrains at a slower than expected pace because of the overgrown vegetation, the trekkers then had to clamber on to small boats and be ferried across a freshwater fjord to get to a rendezvous point before darkness fell.

Pictured: The groups found themselves in snow capped mountain peak.

The groups then enjoyed a shorter day in the Patagonian Andes, finishing at a lodge in Pampa Linda. The third day was truly breathtaking for the groups who say they had an experience few people can imagine. After steadily walking in forest for several hours, they stopped for a break. They couldn't see far above where the tree line ended and could not work out was higher up.

Whenever any of the trekkers hear the term "snow capped mountain peak," their memories will from now on flood back to what happened next. To the surprise of all, they discovered they would have to negotiate deep snow as they were in the ‘cap.’ It was so deep and steep that the guides had to dig footholes into the hillside to allow the group to climb and clamber upwards.

The trekkers struggled at times to maintain balance and repeatedly had to hold on to tree branches poking out of the white stuff to prevent a tumble. The journey was time consuming too as it took about an hour to cover a few hundred metres. After climbing high enough to be on a part of the mountain that allowed them to don snow shoes, the trekkers began a two hour hike in the snow toward Refugio Agostino, Rocha, their home for the next two nights. The hike took them to a stunning location perched on a mountain peak allowing a 360 degree of view of the breathtaking mountain tops and down into a distant valley.

Pictured: As hard as the trek sometimes was, the team also enjoyed some fun times.

The fourth day saw the groups climb to the highest peak in the range when they clambered up to over 2,500 metres. It was a tough climb but fun was very much had on the way back as the trekkers were able to slide down the steep mountainside on the their backsides. The following day, the groups descended back to Pampa Linda on a reverse of the third day.

The trip was organised by Jersey Cheshire Home trek co-ordinator Antoinette Craig with the assistance of UK travel company Classic Tours. The team was supported by Omega Financial Services with chief executive Kevin Allenby even joining the trekkers. He said he had never contemplated doing a trek before until he got involved with another activity for Cheshire Home.

"I was completely open minded about what the experience would offer and I assumed I would be walking alongside lakes for 50 hours in 5 days. After a whole year of training and having walked about 1,500 miles along the cliff paths in Jersey during this time, I felt ready for the challenge.

"The experience was amazing and the scenery absolutely breathtaking, like nothing I had ever seen before and the trekking was nothing like doing the cliff paths in Jersey, albeit it was great training. We encountered lots of snow and climbed up several peaks which were in the region of 6-8000 feet high. It was very challenging for somebody like myself, but the fact that I achieved it made the whole effort extremely worthwhile. The highlight for me was seeing nature at its very best, Trekking with snow shoes and generally being part of a team who at times had to help each other out by overcoming or climbing over natures many obstacles."

Pictured: From left, Kevin Allenby, Oliver and Simon Franckel, and Paul Bulstrode, in blue hat, with Oliver Franckel (pink bandana) and Simon Franckel (waving).

Finance worker Paul Bulstrode, who is an experienced trekker and completed all five of treks arranged by Jersey Cheshire Home, said: "A trek is a perfect reminder of what the real world is like. Patagonia was a place of outstanding scenery and where great conversation and laughter can make you forget the false world that we live in."

For Advocate Simon Franckel, who trekked alongside his son Oliver for the third time, the Patagonia trek was the best one to date. He said: "We shall certainly have a difficult task in topping it. The terrain was stunning, challenging and varied. The thrill of the walk up the mountain on day four was matched by the sheer exhilaration of coming back down mostly by sliding on the snow. It has always been an added joy for me to do the trek with my son. We don’t even have a conversation now about whether we are doing them. It is just assumed that we will be going!"

Paul Maguire, director of building and decorating contractors W Horn Ltd., was one of the novice trekkers in the team. He commented on the experience: "It was a fantastic trip, extremely well organised, great accommodation before, during and after the trek and a perfect country to choose to go to. The whole experience far exceeded my expectations."