{"id":2085619,"date":"2026-08-10T03:05:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T00:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2085619"},"modified":"2026-08-10T03:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T00:05:06","slug":"araucania-chile-backcountry-report-the-condor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2085619","title":{"rendered":"Araucan\u00eda, Chile, Backcountry Report: The Condor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Report from Sunday, August 9, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

And just like that, it was gone.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The condor flew a few feet over my head, big prehistoric eyes looking me square in mine as it whistled by, wind current from the giant raptor just about hitting me in the face before it turned a corner and vanished.<\/strong> It was as if the primordial beast was swooping down to bless me, like the hand of God itself, telling me something like to \u201cGo forth, my child, and live out the rest of your days in accordance with my will.\u201d I was speechless in its wake. It\u2019s not every day you see dinosaurs flying overhead.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The day before this was supposed to be a rest day.<\/strong> We slept in and then had to shovel the driveway for Gabi, who was dropping off an APEX Backcountry Guides<\/a> client at the airport after a week where it was puking snow every day. It snowed about a meter over night with a lot of wind and the trucks were buried under snowdrifts. I drank some yerba, grabbed a shovel, and commenced my rest day.<\/p>\n