El Chalten - Day 4 - The Lonely and most fab day at El Chalten

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I couldn't sleep till very late and got up at a similar time to the previous days. Talal was still sleeping. We'd talked the previous day that we'd do our own things.

I went to the National Park's information centre to enquire about the trail to Loma del Pliegue Tumbado because on the map it was noted as "unmarked trail" and I wanted to find out if I could do it alone or whether it was wiser to spend my day doing something else. The ranger explained to me that the path was very well marked until the end of the forest and afterwards it was down to me to pick my own route of getting to whichever of the three “peaks” and that even the first one offered excellent views.

I spent a lot of time fretting that I had not confirmed again in the morning with Talal that I was following the route that I had told him about the previous day. Eventually, I managed to get him out of my head and I met four people on horses and thought that they’d be the only people I’d see that day as I wondered into the forest. I was quite alert looking around for animals, assuring myself that the pumas were nocturnal animals and I was unlikely to be around at this time of the day. I think I saw a person wandering inside the forest but I was scared of attracting his or her attention.

Just as I was exiting the forest I saw a couple - a girl and a guy. I was unsure whether to attract their attention or let them walk ahead of me leaving space between us. I hurried a few steps drawing myself closer to them as they seemed a bit slow to move away. I greet them with “Hello” without realising that I had already met one of them. As I introduced myself Cinta told me that we’d met the night before as we shared a room in Rancho Grande as she lifted her sunglasses revealing her face and I vaguely remembered the girl.

Cinta and I chatted and walked at a measured pace, whist David was almost running towards the peak. As David was ahead of us, I asked him to “step on” the top of Fitz Roy. Later, it was my turn to have some photos taken on that same stone, and I realised how difficult it was to even hold myself there without being blown off by the strong wind!

We made it by 2:15pm at the summit of Loma del Pliegue Tumbado (only a mere 1490m. A beautiful view was revealed before us. I could easily recognise where I had been the previous two days. On the way back, we took a slightly different route and saw fossils, and cracked open a slide of rock. We crossed a pretty stream running over granite stones.

To me that day’s hike was tougher and closer to what I am used to doing with my parents. I was really truly happy that day and was lucky to have joined David and Cinta. On the way back, I spent most of the time talking with David. I shared with him what I had been going through with Talal. His suggestion was that I’d be better off without Talal and I’d easily find a travel buddy.

That evening, was the first evening not spent eating out. Cinta and David invited me to dinner at their place (they had moved to a quaint hostel across the road that was cleaner and had more equipped kitchen than Rancho Grande). I invited Talal, but I honestly did not want his presence. Luckily Talal opted out. I was not surprised at all as when I was walking out with David, I saw Talal sitting on a table surrounded by 3 girls whose attention was absorbed by Talal talking. On the following day Talal told me had had dinner with Robert’s Argentinean friend.

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Photos

Panoramic view from the National Park info
we were supposed to see this view when we first arrived in El Chalten, but at that time the sky was very overcast and we could not see a thing! In retrospect, it was nice that we discovered the views instead of seeing them all at once before the hikes.

How is it standing there?
When I saw this stone, I was wondering whether the path was passing under it...

Horse-riders
I thought they'd be the only people I'd see that day

Granite sticks!
They are pretty sharp