Cerro La Campana

Today we went on a hike in the Parque Nacional La Campana, and climbed the Cerro La Campana, which is part of the Cordillera de la Costa ("Mountain Range of the Coast" aka The Chilean Coast Range)  to see some amazing views of the towns below, the rest of the mountain range, and the Andes mountains in the background. It was nice to get out of the city and spend some time hanging out in the mountains. I've missed hiking! The sounds of streams, wind passing through the trees, and rocks shifting under my hiking boots are definitely things that I've missed. And the views aren't bad either :)

And once we got to the top, there was an old quartz mine, which is now essentially just a creepy, dark, wet cave. So of course we explored in it a bit. It was really neat inside and had lots of different tunnels and seemed to go on forever.

This particular hike is special though because Charles Darwin stopped here on his second voyage on the HMS Beagle to do research on plant diversity on the mountain in 1834. He had the right idea when he decided to stop and study here; it's a pretty unique environment, with a dry, desert climate on the valley side of the range and a humid, wet climate on the ocean side.

Click here for some more information about the park if you're interested!

Had to wear my ASU shirt!

Neverending Creepy Cave

Opening to the mine

Unfortunately, the ascent to the very top is closed in the winter, so we were only about to go about 2/3 of the way up. The Cordillera de la Costa separates the valley from the ocean, so once you get all the way to the summit, you can see 360 degrees, with the Pacific ocean on one side and the valleys on the other. The upper part of the trail opens back up in September, so I definitely will try and make it back to do the hike to the summit later on in my trip, and if I do, you all will certainly hear about it!

Besos!