Peter Stevenson
Peter Stevenson
Age: 21
Currently: English major, University of Puget Sound
Trip: Patagonia sea-kayaking and mountaineering
Duration: 80 days
Cost: $12,300
Billed as one of the most uncomfortable courses NOLS offers, the group of 17 students and instructors, ages 18-29, split into teams, traveling separately first for 35 days by sea kayak from Puerta Natales in southern Chile and briefly into the Strait of Magellan, followed by 35 days of hiking and mountaineering in the shadow of enormous towers of rock and sheer cliffs through Torres del Paine National Park.
Why this trip? “I heard from people that this is the most intense and challenging of the NOLS trips. That’s what I was looking for. If I was going to do something for three months, I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. I wanted to be totally out of my normal comfort zone.”
Satisfied? “Yes. These were some of the hardest days I’ve ever had.”
Major challenge? “It rained 76 out of 80 days. It’s pretty much a sponge everywhere until you climb up to the glaciers.”
Close encounters? “We paddled through the Strait of Magellan for a few miles and saw humpbacked whales. We were followed within 10 feet by sea lions.”
Defining moment? “We were rudely awakened at 3 a.m. with saltwater pouring into the tent. We’d misgauged the tides. People were screaming. It was a situation where bitching did no good. We simply had to deal with it. It was a big moment for me.”
Insight? When things are tough for everybody, nobody want’s to hear you complain, ever.”
Creature comforts: “You bust your butt, you’re soaking wet, and you sit at the end of the day eating crackers that have all the flavor of drywall. But after two weeks, the hardship becomes a lifestyle. You don’t think about the comforts you used to have. You forget about most of the things you thought you needed.”
Injuries? Benjie, one of my best friends, spilled boiling water into his boot, leaving a giant burn on his foot. We were stuck because of the wind, and the foot got infected. We had to evacuate him.”
Had enough? “If I could be on a plane tomorrow, I’d do it again. It’s not meant for everybody, but you can learn so much about yourself by immersing in a different environment where you don’t have a warm bed waiting for you at night.”
Growth potential: “I’ve become much more relaxed in general. I think I’m more in control; more self-confident. You have to make group decisions on a daily basis. You have to make decisions for five other people when you’re the leader of the day. Make a bad decision on a kayak crossing and it’s a disaster for everybody. I’ve learned to trust my own judgment.”
Epiphany: “Our bodies and clothes were crusty with saltwater residue, dirty, ragged, and we were crossing the third-largest ice field in the world. It had started snowing and it was getting so cold when we arrived to our goal, an X on the map. Everyone was miserable and weary of hiking with 70-pound packs.
“We spent three hours building a rock wall to protect the tent from the inevitable winds. Even then, our instructor mentioned that we should build it higher. We were so exhausted, we didn’t listen. I don’t know what we were thinking. He’d been to this area something like 30 times.
“In the middle of the night, we woke to 80 mph winds that were folding over the tent. We stayed up bracing against the nylon with our hands out trying to hold the tent up. Every gust would send us flopping like we were in a pinball machine.
“After nearly six hours, a gust finally snapped two poles and ripped a huge hole in the tent. We crammed eight people into one tent and rode out the night.
“That’s when I pulled out a letter my dad had given me to open on my 21st birthday. I had been carrying it in my book for weeks. It was damp, like everything else, no matter how many plastic bags you sealed them in.
“Inside was a $100 bill, a hand-warmer and a picture of my family. Of those three, the $100 bill was the only thing that was totally worthless to me at that moment. I couldn’t help but laugh. I’ll never forget it.
Post-trip resolutions? “I’m taking Spanish.”