A lucky few people get to experience what we saw in Patagonia. Endless vistas without even the hint of another living soul. And quail. First by the dozens, then by the hundreds. Wild and untamed.
We went to see the dramatic landscape and chase the wildest birds on earth. But also to visit Will and Lauren Cowan, the force behind Hookfire Travel & Adventure, and to see them living out their dream on the Argentinean frontier.
Learn more about Will and Lauren and their search for authentic adventure at the ends of the Earth in “Paradise Found,” featured in the December-January issue of Covey Rise. The feature story written, by Oliver Hartner and photographed by William Hereford, demonstrates how Will and Lauren connect travelers with the real Patagonia.
The thing about Patagonia, Argentina is there are not many places in the world where you almost feel alone. You know this place is like a raw, pure canvas, it's like going back in time. It's a history that seems to just stand still.
A good friend of mine calls these places “thin places”. A place that exists on the horizon where the divine meets the earth and words cannot describe what you're experiencing. And to live on this frontier is just…it's absolutely amazing.
We are trudging in valleys that have never had footprints in them. Some of these quail have never heard a shotgun. And the way that these birds jump and hold and dive and crawl.
When the bird dogs go after these birds they're looking up in trees when they're pointing. They're crawling underneath mots. It's just an amazing experience for the gun dog, the guide, the shooter. It'll challenge the best of them.
And when these quail flush, your heart just…it's rattled. This place does something to you, you know. It challenges you and you don't know where to reach to. But sometimes not knowing where to reach to is some of the greatest gifts in life. When I'm out there with those dogs the whole world goes silent. It makes me feel like I'm doing something with my life and fulfilling my purpose.
These are the thin places that I'm talking about.