From Idea to “Okay… We’re Doing this”

Flights, job loss, and impulsive decisions.

Patagonia had always lived somewhere in the back of both of our minds. Any outdoorsy person knows it—the place you dream about, with endless mountains, wild weather, and trails that seem to go on forever. It’s a hiking mecca. Incredible views for days.

But if we’re being honest, it was never at the very top of our list. These days, we’re more bikers than hikers. Patagonia felt like something we’d maybe do someday—not now.

That changed when bikes entered the picture.

Suddenly, Patagonia wasn’t just a dream anymore—it felt like our kind of adventure. And honestly, at that point, we didn’t know much about what we were getting into. We knew the Carretera Austral was about 800 miles long, split between gravel and pavement, winding through the southern Chilean Andes. That was basically it. But somehow, that felt like enough to get started.

Not long after we made the decision to bike it, Shaun lost his job.

Strangely enough, it felt like a blessing in disguise—but it also made everything feel a lot more fragile. Could we actually afford this? Was this wildly irresponsible timing? I started losing momentum. I stopped researching as much. I quietly began telling myself, Maybe not this year. Maybe next.

Shaun, on the other hand, doubled down.

He kept researching routes, logistics, and flights. He even set up flight alerts to notify him when prices dropped. Then one night, one of those alerts actually mattered—a flight from San Diego to Santiago, Chile for under $300 per person.

Well… shit.

That suddenly made this whole thing feel very real—and very hard to ignore.

We went back and forth, debating everything. I hadn’t even talked to my work yet. I hadn’t asked for time off because I wasn’t convinced this trip was actually happening. I needed more certainty. Shaun needed about twenty minutes.

Before I fully wrapped my head around it, he was already entering our information. And then he pressed the button.

Done.

Flights booked.

All we had left to figure out was how to get from Spokane to San Diego… how to get from Santiago to Puerto Montt… how to bike 800 miles through Patagonia…

Oh.
And whether my work would even let me do this.

Fuck.