Being in the middle of nowhere, with no way to contact those I left behind, created a space for growth. I found it both exhilarating and challenging—being disconnected from the world I was used to felt like flipping a coin. On one side was the thrill of living entirely in the moment, unattached to the steady ping of messages or the urgency of news. On the other side was the gnawing awareness that those I loved were still living their lives without me, and I couldn’t instantly be part of their moments or share my own. This experience, however, taught me something profound: there is beauty in this disconnection, a freedom that opens space for the unexpected and the new.
By: Magnus Ames, Carleton College
Ever heard of Chilean Thanksgiving? Maybe? No…? Me either, but our lamb-themed asado (lamb roast) decked out with sweet bread, mashed potatoes, apple crisp, and much more almost fits the part.
By: Sophie Pentz, Duke University
I was halfway through my lunch when a small red head emerged from a hole above me, head turning, one yellow eye glancing curiously down at us far below. Then suddenly, in a flurry of feathers, it’s off, soaring through the trees with its majestic wings outstretched. We’ve found a woodpecker! Instantly, everyone is on their feet, research gear is being pulled out, and I turn on my GPS ready to follow the bird through the
forest.
By: Berkley Scharmann, Weber State University
Our group was lucky enough to get the opportunity to travel to Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world […] Entering the park was being transported somewhere else […] When walking around the humidity got thicker and it seemed as if it was drizzling. The water was hitting so strongly at the bottom of the canyon that it came back up, creating the illusion that it was raining.
By: Owen Smith, University of Vermont
This week at homestays has been the best part of the Round River program. Coming down to Chile, I was most definitely looking forward to homestays, but it has surpassed all my expectations […] The owners of Camping Aqualsol, Don Atilio and his son Julian, hosted us for the week at their estate, and it was a terrific chance to fully experience an authentic Gaucho rancho.
By: Sam Holmes, University of Vermont
At the beginning of October, we had the opportunity to participate in a replanting activity with a group called Escualos. They are a youth-led group out of Cochrane, working to protect the Cochrane River. This planting project aimed to transform the area around the water sports center into habitat that would have short and long-term impacts.
By: Nico Hochanadel, University of Vermont
Now that it’s 10:00 am, we can start walking. You are in charge of the compass and your job is to ensure that we continue to walk due north. A few minutes later we see our first guanaco! You mark the waypoint on the GPS and read out to me the distance and orientation of the guanaco while I record everything on the data sheet.
By: Colin Lane, University of Vermont
One of the first mornings, about twenty minutes before my alarm was set to go off, a group of elephants wandered down the trail they’d made. I laid silent and listened as they walked around the edge of camp, thankfully on the side opposite our tents. They wouldn’t have done anything to our tents of course, but I still would’ve been nervous having an elephant step a few meters from my head.
By: Noah Besemann, CSBSJU
Just two kilometers from the center of town, Camping Aquasol is the primary host of the Round River Conservation Studies Patagonia program. Located on the bank of the Rio (River) Cochrane, Aquasol also operates as a family ranch and homestead, with the sheep and chickens grazing through our campsite on rotation.
By: Sierra Rothman-Haji, Colby College
One of the most memorable moments was stumbling upon a male elephant carcass. The experience of getting to see elephant tusks up close, as well as touching the foot pads and skin, was once in a lifetime!
By: Margaret Lowell, Carleton College
In the Santiago airport, I was able to meet up with the group. As we all traded our names and long travel stories, I could tell everyone was exhausted but excited to be finally starting the trip we had all long awaited.
By: Sam Hoving, Carleton College
Less than a minute later, I heard a loud crinkle and vigorous scampering, as a vervet monkey climbed his way out of reach into a tree, my chips in tow.
By: Wyatt Skopov-Normane, University of Vermont
Despite the harsh nature of the environments we traversed – high winds, low moisture, frozen soils, among others – I was captivated by the diverse spread of plants and flowers. There were many plants that I learned to identify, but a few stand out as my favorite encounters.
By: Michael Minnick, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
How do animals like grizzlies and moose disappear so easily into the landscape? It felt as though most of the animals were moving through the landscape like ghosts, leaving only hints of their existence for us to see. I think it was this thought that made me realize something: this land and its ecosystems have been here for so much longer than I could truly comprehend.
By: Clare Freid, CSBSJU & Gia Silverman-Randolph, Harper College
Our last week in Mongolia was spent preparing to present our research to the local community […] The day of the presentations, we were running on minimal hours of sleep, but everyone gave very well-articulated, informative presentations. A highlight was getting to see the snow leopard that our camera traps had spotted – a first for any Round River trip!
By: Cade Conahey, Westminster University & Sam Herzig, University of California, Davis
We headed back into the talus to count and measure juvenile and adult Vansemberuu plants across ten plots on the mountain. We accomplished something that no other Round River group has done: We finished all ten plots on the mountain in one day!
By: Mariam Adegoke, Colby College
Welcome to Mariam’s Top 5 list of Beetles found in Taku, British Columbia, Canada on the 2025 Round River trip. In this list, I will be ranking 5 of the beetles I’ve found on this trip based on shape, color, and location they were found in. Stay tuned to see which beetle gets placed at #1!
By: Lauren Schagel, Lake Superior State University.
I loosely held the base of their tail, supported them with my other hand under their belly, and got to tell them they will be alright. I got to see each salmon swim out to Kuthai Lake, continuing their long journey back home.
By: Katie Anthony, University of Vermont
When first arriving in Atlin for the summer, I was skeptical about how much wildlife I would actually get to see. Maybe a moose or two? A grizzly if lucky? Never could I have imagined the number of animals I would get to see during the first three weeks here, let alone in the span of a single day.