9 ms·

Chile unveils Patagonian Route of Parks hiking trail

139 points by rch 8y ago

CodeSheikh 8y ago
Good for humans bad for animals. Hopefully Chilean government is as aggressive about preserving the wildlife as about tourism.
- DamnYuppie 8y ago
  Can you elaborate further on this? In the US we have many parks that have high tourists rates yet also have large and healthy animal populations.
- icebraining 8y ago
  It's often said that improved access by the public to the wilderness helps promote the need for conservation and protection of wildlife. I'm not sure there's documented evidence for this, but as an anecdote, I can tell you that my visits to natural reserves and parks since childhood have influenced both my personal activities and my political decisions.
snowwrestler 8y ago
This is great. What the Tompkins did was very controversial at the time (rich white couple from the U.S. buying up a ton of Chilean land) but I'm hopeful that over time, Chileans will come to appreciate the park and the opportunity to preserve and enjoy it. When Denali National Park was first created, most Alaskan locals hated the idea. Today it is quite popular in the state and Alaskans are generally proud of it.
- sandov 8y ago
  >rich white couple from the U.S. buying up a ton of Chilean land The "white" part is unnecessary, as we don't tend to racially classify our population, or we don't use it as a hate tool as in the US, we have better ways to hate each other: Income level, political ideology, etc.
  - wahern 8y ago
    I have a passing outsider's knowledge of Chilean history and I think it's worth noting that Chile stands out among South American nations in how thoroughly it eradicated and assimilated the indigenous populations. Once upon a time (even up to the latter part of the 20th century) that would have been considered by most in the West[1] as a laudable achievement, and in Chile it still largely is considered so, AFAIU. Not the eradication of indigenous people's per se (which is conveniently glossed over or minimized), but in the social equality wrought by the strong cultural homogenization through waves of immigration. But the West in the 21st century has put much more value on diversity and on preserving cultural and ethnic identities, calling into question the morality of Chilean national identity. In other Andean nations skin tone is still very much a thing; not necessarily negative--i.e. being more brown isn't necessarily negative--but nonetheless something that can figure prominently in both social and friendly discourse. Just thought I'd mention it. Not trying to cast value judgments, but it's worthwhile to note that Chile is very much in a different place than the rest of the West in how it contextualizes these issues. [1] Chile being politically and culturally Western no less than France or the U.S.
    - torstenvl 8y ago
      > But the West in the 21st century has put much more value on diversity and on preserving cultural and ethnic identities... Only minority identities, and only the approved ones. The West's "noble savage" narratives are almost as offensive as how it treats Wallonia or the Basques. And America loves you if you're Kurdish, but if you're a Yezidi woman they'll prosecute you for being a sex slave (forced concubinage to Da'esh apparently counts as material support of terrorism).
      - wahern 8y ago
        Sure. The diversity zeitgeist is no less hypocritical or capable of prejudice than previous eras.
      - rexpop 8y ago
        This is a horrific thing you have just described. Where is it documented how Yezidi women are prosecuted for supporting terrorism?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
gregwebs 8y ago
Torres Del Paine is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I traveled through much of Chile, and if I could do it again I would spend more time in Patagonia. The Argentinian side is also supposed to be spectacular, and would make a great addition to such a trail.
jashkenas 8y ago
Some corrections to this misleading article: It's not a hiking trail. It's, in part, a "rebranding" of the existing Carretera Austral (a previously dirt highway built under the orders of Augusto Pinochet, now partially paved), combined with a tour ship cruise (between Tortel and Puerto Natales), and then a "rebranding" of Highway 9 down to Punta Arenas, and perhaps another cruise from there to Cabo de Hornos. There is a Sendero de Chile (Chilean Trail) project, started by the government in 2000, which would have been a hiking trail that extends the full length of Chile. But that's a different plan, and has unfortunately been stalled... The big Tompkins/Buckley bought-and-donated National Park, Corcovado, was established in 2005, and still has no access to the public available: there are no roads there, and no trails. In the newer Tompkins park, Yendegaia, the Chilean government has begun to build a road through it. Access to the public is still limited. His first park, Pumalín, was operated as a publicly-accessible private nature reserve from 1991, when Tompkins purchased the initial estate, until two years after his death, in 2017, when his widow finally turned over the reserve to the national park service. The "Route of Parks" rebranding "es una propuesta de Tompkins Conservation" (is an initiative of the Tompkins Conservation foundation). In my opinion, although it's wonderful what the end result of the Tompkins/Buckley efforts to conserve this land has been — let's not ignore the ugliness of how it happened. Wealthy American businessmen buying large swaths of the most spectacular parts of a South American country, using them as a private retreat during their lifetimes, and then turning them over posthumously, is not really a model to be idealized. To flip the scenario: How would you feel if Jack Ma had bought Yosemite in 1991, set up the valley as a private retreat, lived down in the Ahwahnee until his death, and had his widow donate it to the federal government? Edit: For more context, two of the best-written, most balanced, English-language pieces on the Tompkins legacy and controversies are both from the Atlantic: Eden: A Gated Community (1999) https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/06/eden-a-gated-community/304919/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/06/eden-a-... The Entrepreneur Who Wants to Save Paradise (2014) https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/the-entrepreneur-who-wants-to-save-paradise/380116/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/the-ent...
- aaronblohowiak 8y ago
  This is how quite a few State parks in California came to pass. I'd rather that enduring preservation is the long-term result even if it is some rich person's oversized backyard for a while.
jherdman 8y ago
On the topic of parks, "American History Tellers" (https://wondery.com/shows/american-history-tellers/ https://wondery.com/shows/american-history-tellers/) has an excellent series on the history of parkland in the USA. I highly recommend it, and the rest of their series.
gkanai 8y ago
I volunteered for Tompkins in '94 (?) when I was in university and had a 3 month block to donate to his efforts. He had a friend and I help him survey a portion of land that he ended up purchasing. I never went back to see the land or him before he passed. I do want to go back though.
baud147258 8y ago
Regarding the Southern parts of Patagonia, I've found the Who Will Remember the People... book by Jean Raspail to be a haunting account of the area and the people living there, before their disapearance.
Dowwie 8y ago
It's really sad that some of the most beautiful places in the U.S. are among the hardest hit for climate change. Montana and California are burning, annually. The National Parks are not what they once were and seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate. I wonder how climate change is affecting southern South America?
- dr_zoidberg 8y ago
  This is probably the most striking example: * https://www.enel.com/media/news/d/2016/12/climate-change-exposed-by-glaciers https://www.enel.com/media/news/d/2016/12/climate-change-exp... * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsala_Glacier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsala_Glacier
joncrane 8y ago
Good article. Is anyone else scratching their head at the exclusion of the Pacific Coast Trail from the list of "Other famous long-distance trails?"

139 points by rch 8y ago

Good for humans bad for animals. Hopefully Chilean government is as aggressive about preserving the wildlife as about tourism.

DamnYuppie 8y ago
Can you elaborate further on this? In the US we have many parks that have high tourists rates yet also have large and healthy animal populations.
icebraining 8y ago
It's often said that improved access by the public to the wilderness helps promote the need for conservation and protection of wildlife. I'm not sure there's documented evidence for this, but as an anecdote, I can tell you that my visits to natural reserves and parks since childhood have influenced both my personal activities and my political decisions.

snowwrestler 8y ago

This is great. What the Tompkins did was very controversial at the time (rich white couple from the U.S. buying up a ton of Chilean land) but I'm hopeful that over time, Chileans will come to appreciate the park and the opportunity to preserve and enjoy it. When Denali National Park was first created, most Alaskan locals hated the idea. Today it is quite popular in the state and Alaskans are generally proud of it.

sandov 8y ago
>rich white couple from the U.S. buying up a ton of Chilean land The "white" part is unnecessary, as we don't tend to racially classify our population, or we don't use it as a hate tool as in the US, we have better ways to hate each other: Income level, political ideology, etc.
- wahern 8y ago
  I have a passing outsider's knowledge of Chilean history and I think it's worth noting that Chile stands out among South American nations in how thoroughly it eradicated and assimilated the indigenous populations. Once upon a time (even up to the latter part of the 20th century) that would have been considered by most in the West[1] as a laudable achievement, and in Chile it still largely is considered so, AFAIU. Not the eradication of indigenous people's per se (which is conveniently glossed over or minimized), but in the social equality wrought by the strong cultural homogenization through waves of immigration. But the West in the 21st century has put much more value on diversity and on preserving cultural and ethnic identities, calling into question the morality of Chilean national identity. In other Andean nations skin tone is still very much a thing; not necessarily negative--i.e. being more brown isn't necessarily negative--but nonetheless something that can figure prominently in both social and friendly discourse. Just thought I'd mention it. Not trying to cast value judgments, but it's worthwhile to note that Chile is very much in a different place than the rest of the West in how it contextualizes these issues. [1] Chile being politically and culturally Western no less than France or the U.S.
  - torstenvl 8y ago
    > But the West in the 21st century has put much more value on diversity and on preserving cultural and ethnic identities... Only minority identities, and only the approved ones. The West's "noble savage" narratives are almost as offensive as how it treats Wallonia or the Basques. And America loves you if you're Kurdish, but if you're a Yezidi woman they'll prosecute you for being a sex slave (forced concubinage to Da'esh apparently counts as material support of terrorism).
    - wahern 8y ago
      Sure. The diversity zeitgeist is no less hypocritical or capable of prejudice than previous eras.
    - rexpop 8y ago
      This is a horrific thing you have just described. Where is it documented how Yezidi women are prosecuted for supporting terrorism?
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

gregwebs 8y ago

Torres Del Paine is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I traveled through much of Chile, and if I could do it again I would spend more time in Patagonia. The Argentinian side is also supposed to be spectacular, and would make a great addition to such a trail.

jashkenas 8y ago

Some corrections to this misleading article: It's not a hiking trail. It's, in part, a "rebranding" of the existing Carretera Austral (a previously dirt highway built under the orders of Augusto Pinochet, now partially paved), combined with a tour ship cruise (between Tortel and Puerto Natales), and then a "rebranding" of Highway 9 down to Punta Arenas, and perhaps another cruise from there to Cabo de Hornos. There is a Sendero de Chile (Chilean Trail) project, started by the government in 2000, which would have been a hiking trail that extends the full length of Chile. But that's a different plan, and has unfortunately been stalled... The big Tompkins/Buckley bought-and-donated National Park, Corcovado, was established in 2005, and still has no access to the public available: there are no roads there, and no trails. In the newer Tompkins park, Yendegaia, the Chilean government has begun to build a road through it. Access to the public is still limited. His first park, Pumalín, was operated as a publicly-accessible private nature reserve from 1991, when Tompkins purchased the initial estate, until two years after his death, in 2017, when his widow finally turned over the reserve to the national park service. The "Route of Parks" rebranding "es una propuesta de Tompkins Conservation" (is an initiative of the Tompkins Conservation foundation). In my opinion, although it's wonderful what the end result of the Tompkins/Buckley efforts to conserve this land has been — let's not ignore the ugliness of how it happened. Wealthy American businessmen buying large swaths of the most spectacular parts of a South American country, using them as a private retreat during their lifetimes, and then turning them over posthumously, is not really a model to be idealized. To flip the scenario: How would you feel if Jack Ma had bought Yosemite in 1991, set up the valley as a private retreat, lived down in the Ahwahnee until his death, and had his widow donate it to the federal government? Edit: For more context, two of the best-written, most balanced, English-language pieces on the Tompkins legacy and controversies are both from the Atlantic: Eden: A Gated Community (1999) https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/06/eden-a-gated-community/304919/ https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/06/eden-a-... The Entrepreneur Who Wants to Save Paradise (2014) https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/the-entrepreneur-who-wants-to-save-paradise/380116/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/the-ent...

aaronblohowiak 8y ago
This is how quite a few State parks in California came to pass. I'd rather that enduring preservation is the long-term result even if it is some rich person's oversized backyard for a while.

jherdman 8y ago

On the topic of parks, "American History Tellers" (https://wondery.com/shows/american-history-tellers/ https://wondery.com/shows/american-history-tellers/) has an excellent series on the history of parkland in the USA. I highly recommend it, and the rest of their series.

gkanai 8y ago

I volunteered for Tompkins in '94 (?) when I was in university and had a 3 month block to donate to his efforts. He had a friend and I help him survey a portion of land that he ended up purchasing. I never went back to see the land or him before he passed. I do want to go back though.

baud147258 8y ago

Regarding the Southern parts of Patagonia, I've found the Who Will Remember the People... book by Jean Raspail to be a haunting account of the area and the people living there, before their disapearance.

Dowwie 8y ago

It's really sad that some of the most beautiful places in the U.S. are among the hardest hit for climate change. Montana and California are burning, annually. The National Parks are not what they once were and seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate. I wonder how climate change is affecting southern South America?

dr_zoidberg 8y ago
This is probably the most striking example: * https://www.enel.com/media/news/d/2016/12/climate-change-exposed-by-glaciers https://www.enel.com/media/news/d/2016/12/climate-change-exp... * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsala_Glacier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsala_Glacier

joncrane 8y ago

Good article. Is anyone else scratching their head at the exclusion of the Pacific Coast Trail from the list of "Other famous long-distance trails?"