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South America » Argentina » Santa Cruz » El Chaltén
April 10th 2009
Published: April 13th 2009
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Got up when Alex’s alarm went off at 8:15am, he leaves for Perito Moreno town on his way to Bariloche. I need to get up before 10am , check out time here in rancho Grande, I decided I probably will stay here for another night or two, it is nice, only 4 beds in a dorm and has got internet though not free and warm and comfy. So I got down for breakfast and paid for another night’s accomodation. After breakfast I decided to do a short hike. Alex mentioned he did 2 short hikes, the Los Condores and Las Aguilas, so I got out and put on my wind breaker and it is flying everywhere, the wind gusting but fortunately not so cold. I decided to last minute that I will go and see Fitz Roy so I headed to look for the sign that goes to Chorillo del Salto. Not 5 minutes out of the hostel and I must have taken already about 100 photos, this place is magical, the autumn colors added to the flavor, mountains in the backdrop, green river running parallel almost to town, cant remember the name. I was struggling to walk on the main road, the wind is fierce, and clouds abound in the sky, the only consolation is spots of blue in the sky, and the sun shining every now and then. Anyway as I follow the road to the Chorillo trail I got distracted by ducks flying along the river and followed them, then I saw a trail so I followed it along for awhile, going away from the main road, I just got attracted to the vibrant colors of the trees, I followed a trail or two until I got back to the road. It drizzles every so often and the wind is howling , pieces of wood, dirt and whatnot fly about and have to close my eyes when it gets very gusty to keep debris from getting to my eye.

Finally I followed the road again until it leads me to the Chorillo trail, went past the carpark and walk along the trail that eventually leads to a nice waterfall, with the colors of autumn it’s fantastic, a few families sat there with their kids drinking mate’. This is indeed a fantastic place, my camera never went back to the case, I keep clicking away, such gorgeous autumn colors. I got curious I saw a trail going up the side of the falls so I followed it and kept going up until I went past the waterfall. There were dozens of trails to follow but my purpose is to go up and wanted to catch a glimpse of the Fitz Roy mountain which is behind the waterfall so I kept climbing, huffing and puffing, I was the only one around which is kind of cool,I got the place to myself! In between rests I take photos of the valley below with the river winding through the gorge, very cool. I got to a point where I can see the snow peaked mountains but the clouds keep rolling in and I could not see the whole range at any one time, still I went on. I paused and decide to take a photo of me with the self timer set up, then the fierce wind suddenly came and nearly threw my camera down the ravine. I contemplated getting down but f..k it I went all the way up here I am continuing on so I did. Finally I caught a glimpse of the mountain range, Up here the trail is not so clear but I noticed some trail on the other side of the bend so I kept going until I cant go anymore. Sat there for half an hour marvelling at this beautiful snow peaked range I can also see thye glaciers and on the other side of the river the autumn colors down the valley and mountains.
Getting down I don’t want to follow the trail again to the falls, I found one to my right so I took it and lead me behind to yet another trail, the vistas here are out of this world, trying to follow the road which I can see below, I knew I will not get lost, a bigger trail came to my sight and when I followed it lead me to a lake of which I have no idea what name, I have a map with me but of no use as I did not find any marker so cant identify it, kept walking in and out of the forest, dead tree trunks, orange and green colored trees, birds chirping, ah so peaceful, and just me on the trail. I can see the town afar and I realized this trail will lead me back to it. I have been walking for 4 hours now but surprisingly not that hungry, I saw a family walking the trail going the other way and then a few more, this must be a popular trail, I got to a fantastic viewpoint which gave me a good look of the valley below. Going back to the forest I found these birds that looks like parrots they are all in this one tree foraging, I slowly made my way close to take photos, they never flew and just kept going on, so I stood just below the tree for half hour, more people came and got curious to what I was doing there so they came close and everyone got their cameras ready, the birds are too busy eating to get worried about us. Finally got down the trail, famished I stopped by a bakery shop and asked for empanadas. I thought they were 10 pesos each but when I realized it was only 3 pesos I bought heaps, and I stuffed myself with it walking back to the hostel.

I decided to book myself on the ice trekking, I chose the least expensive but more adventurous trek, the Cerro Torre trek, the other, Viedma is easier so I was told but also more expensive. Bought more empanadas for my lunch tomorrow during the ice trek.

Got up very early to prepare for the Cerro Torre ice trek, unfortunately it was raining and very windy, I went down the reception just as well, there were few other people waiting as well, the guides came and told us we will wait half an hour more and if the weather does not improve they will have to cancel it and try again tomorrow. They cancelled it later as the wind and rain never abated so we try tomorrow. I got up to the 2nd floor to internet, put my blue windbreaker on railing next to me and left it there when I got done, completely forgot about it went straight to bed. 2 hours later I noticed the sun is in full beam so literally jumped out of bed and get ready for some hike, then I realized what I was missing, it was not there anymore and asked the reception they have not seen it and no one has surrendered it to them, darn. There were only a few people up at the time I left it, surely one of the cleaning people got it or maybe some guests, am not expecting it to be returned, someone picked it up and left hurriedly. Now I have to rent one when I hike Torres.
Still pissed off I decided to do a hike at the same trail as yesterday only go farther, stopped by the panaderia next door and bought my staple of empanadas. My plan was just to see the Fitz Roy peak as it is a nice day maybe it will show itself to me this time . I got to a crossroad that indicates Lago Capri, I thought I have been there yesterday but realized it was a different trail, I excitedly followed it until I saw the Fitz Roy from the distance, wow such beauty and I can only see parts of it so I kept walking until I got to the lake and the wind is howling at this time but did not matter the view was gorgeous, the colors of the tree and the lake made it worthwhile, I noticed a few tents set up as well, I wished I camped out here but they must have been pelted by the rain and wind last night. Took my time taking photos, struggling mightily with the wind. I followed the trail some more trying to see the other side of the Fitz roy and the view kept getting better and better . Some of the trail is wet/flooded so I have to be creative jumping trying not to ruin the trail.
I stopped a few times to rest and eat, I wished I bought more empanadas, and more water. I got to a point where I found a river, the view is extremely gorgeous, the snow covered peaks in front of me with the colors of autumn soaking the landscape in fantastic bright colors. Worth the long hike I thought to myself. At this point I made the decision to keep going til I get to the Lago de los Tres. It is about 2 plus hours more so I hurriedly walked occasionally encountering puddles of water some trails are completely soaked and some running like a small creek! I got my shoes wet with water and muck. I went past the Poincenot point and noticed more campers. From here on to the lagos is a struggle, first it was easy and started to get steep,and the trail is now a set of stairs up,a stream running down it from last night precipitation I would think. Struggled mightily, met a number of people getting down, what time did they start? About 15 minutes before the summit I saw Yoku, my Japanese/Aussie friend from the ruta 40 bus, she moved to Albergue Patagonia hostel and not seen her since, she is with 2 other people, they said a few more steps and I will be exhilarated by the view, so said bye to them and kept moving. Almost at the top the trail on the side of the mountain, as I was walking a gust of wind picked up and nearly threw me down the ravine, shit!! That was really scary(pardon my French), I decided to keep low from then on stooping until I get away from the wind tunnel.

When the rail went around to the other side of the mountain , there I saw Lago de los Tres, such a sight to see with the Fitz roy just in front of it, the lake is deep ice green and the mountain peaks white with snow, there are a couple of glacier that runs down the valley, wow hard work well paid off. It is windy here so I walked the trail carefully, I followed the path left of the lake and saw the other glacier then I decided to just take in the view for awhile then moved on. Getting down is hard my knees were very tired already, ready to buckle at anytime, I slipped many times. All in all it took me 4 hours to get to the Lago and 3 hours back, wow long walk! My feet were so sore towards the end. First thing I did when I got back to town is to go to panaderia and get me more empanadas, I inhaled them like nothing. Had my shower, asked reception and no my jacket did not turn up. I noticed a tear in the back of my trousers, damn, have to have it fixed again. I have 2 new roommates tonight from the sound of it they are Brits, Hinesh and Gareth, nice dudes.

The next morning got up to be ready for the hike, Lucio our guide was waiting downstairs and Cecilia the other guide came later. With me will be four Argentine dudes and a couple from Uruguay. It was still dark and a bit windy when we started the walk, I really thought we will be dropped off at the base camp in a car, to save us the walk, lost in translation there, now i realized we have to walk the whole 10 hours or so. I struggled to follow the trail as it was still dark, the wind is howling. About half hour into the walk we stopped at a mirador to rest then moved on down to the valley, such colors, bright and colorful, wow if it was a sunny day like yesterday it would have been perfect. The rain started now and did not let up for the rest of the day. i dont have a waterproof jacket as my rainjacket got stolen yesterday at the hostel lounge. About an hour later we arrived at the base camp, i am now a bit wet but not soaked yet, we put our harness on and took our crampons, one Argentine dude is very eager to put his crampons on now, but we still have to hike 2 hours to get to the ice. The rain got worse as we started our trek to Lago Torre, when we got there we saw bit of floating ice, we followed it to the left to get to the forest, the sun is peaking once in awhile and we are hoping for it to clear up. But no it got worse! We have to cross a raging river using the zip line, it was quite cool but took forever as we go one at a time. on the other side we continued on to the forest, we have to be careful as it is wet it can be very slippery, the rocks, the roots, the tree trunks we step on. We came across a small waterfall that the boys filled up their water bottles with. he Uruguayos were struggling to keep up. We reached another waterfall and we have to cross this one and that is where my non waterproof shoes got wet and my socks got soaked so now am really drenched, quite annoyed by now. Then before the way down to the glacier, Lucio made us eat our lunch while in the cover of the forest while he evaluate whether we can walk on ice at all due to the weather.

The Uruguayos decided to turn back and we kept on. The hike down is tricky, slippery boulders we have to step on, and the rain is pleting us, not fun really but the glacier is just there we want to walk it, we did not even bother to put our crampons on as we only will walk for half hour the rain made it too dangerous Lucio concluded. We walked for a bit and took photos and just as when we are going back the winds picked up and you can hear the howl from across the valley, quite eerie. The hike back was a struggle and 2 Argentines had a hard time. we rested agin by the waterfall and once we crossed it we rushed down, the rocks are very slippery by now and one of them fell flat on his belly behind me poor guy ripped his rented waterproof pants and his mates laughed at him, well me too, quite funny really to see him lying on the muddy floor with an annoyed expression in his face, cursing on top of his breath he got up and we moved on, then moments later he fell again. Made it back to base camp eventually soaking wet to the bone. We had tea and snack then continued on, i just want to get back and have a hot shower. The walk back took us 2 more hours the scenery is still gorgeous despite the rain and I kept stopping to take photos. The Argentines were struggling, one is limping and one is having leg cramps, we all rejoiced to the sight of the town below when we reached the last bit of the trail. Soaking wet i went straight to my room and took all my wet clothes to the amusement of the roomates, they said they nevr seen one so wet like me before after a hike, in fairness i was dripping and creating puddles in the room. Had a good hot shower until hot water ran out! Put all my clothes to dry in the radiators available in the hallway, our room smelled of musty stank from our shoea and socks, everyone is drying their clothes off, my roomies came back earlier so they have their clothes drying in our room radiator, i have to find empty rooms to dry mine, every now and then have to wipe the puddle dry.

I am so relieved I made it back safe and ribbed my roomies for doing only a sissy 2 hour walk in the rain. We are joined by a new guy, Brad an Aussie, we all went to dinner at the hostel restaurant, rewarding ourselves, with a big fat steak and 4 grande Quilmes shared among us. Great meal! The off to bed after hanging out and chatting in our smelly room, the cleaning lady came to me and said she had to spray deodorant to our room because it is too smelly! Well the door was open so we dont suffocate in our own smell, but we shut it to avoid complaints from other people and we struggled to breathe. Got used to it and off to bed. Brad went out and came back late and snored all night to the annoyance of Hinesh.
Got up early me and the Brits will catch the first bus to Calafate at 7:30am but sinthe driver took ages to sip his coffee we left late. we stopped at a place called Rio Leona, in a nice restaurant where they have memorabilias of the history of the place including photos of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. cool.


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14th April 2009

amazing photos
how did you get here? what an amazing place - i want to go!
19th November 2010

OMG!
That is some pretty amazing scenery and such an amazing place! Wowee! Love the first photo. Great job.

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