Above Santiago....

Its a bit of a haul, but always is worth it. Parque Mahuida on the edge of the community of La Reina is a bit of portal. To get there one must ride through a spectrum of urban settings. From pothole ridden slums, busy streets, expensive barrios, quite offlets, all while dodging street dogs, microbuses, cars, other bikes, passing military bases, small airports, and a multitude of business.

The worst part of the ride is the last six blocks or so before one arrives at the gate of the park. I swear this hill is straight up and each pedal wears one down. Sweat pours down the face, as every bit of toxin that was ever inside your body is forced out. It is quite therapeutic, though tiresome. However, arriving at the park is always a good feeling.

The park itself is a gateway to a much different world. The Sendero de Chile lies there, which
is a trail that will one day connect all of Chile, north to south. At this point there are several parts completed but the whole thing has yet to be finished. Near the capital, Mahuida offers the only access, luckily it is only a short bike ride from my apartment. From there you can reach many different places along the eastern border of the city. The only problem is that to get there is a feat in itself, so I never have a lot of energy to get to far.

Bike trails aren't the only feature of the park. There are several hiking trails as well. One that will take you up to around 2800 meters (9186 Ft). This is a longer hike, probably around six hours. I still haven't made it yet, I never seem to arrive there with enough time. I made it higher than halfway, the view was spectacular. The whole entire capital looms below. You can see the smog bubble, in all of its brownness.

On my last journey to the park I met and talked to one of the workers there, the man who is responsible for rescuing lost hikers. He told me there is a trail that runs from the first mountain (or hill, as the Chileans call it, but to an Iowan such as myself it is a massive mountain) to another "hill" behind it that stands at about 3200 meters (10,500 Ft). The trails continues and tops two other peaks, before taking you back down into a different neighborhood of the city. In all, it takes about six days to complete. From the moment he told me about it, I wanted to go....mmmmmm