Route 40 to Fitz Roy

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I guess to some degree I felt obligated to take the long rough road down Route 40 towards Chalten and Calafate. The two day journey was a long one that just seemed like it would never end. About a day and a half of the ride is unpaved, meaning very bumpy. Most of Patagonia is step. There really is nothing for miles upon miles but the wind that blows through the land never seems to take a breath. It´s just a constant hard gust. We broke the ride up into two parts staying in a run down town called Puerto Moreno (not to be confused with the glacier in Chalten). There was nothing there, just dirt roads and cats.

Arriving in Chalten late night the hostal that was booked for me apparently overbooked the rooms. Because of this they put me up in some guys house where there was a bed and a shower. Defenitely not worth the 50 pesos I paid, but no worries, I needed the sleep. The next morning I woke up around 530 to fix my accomodations. To my surprise I walked out of the house to see Fitz Roy glowing red along with a beautiful sunrise. That in itself was worth the 50 pesos.

My accomodations were sorted out and after hearing from the girl at the front desk that the weather was going to turn sour for the rest of the week I decided to head up to say hello to the base of Fitz Roy. I headed out on my own grabbing some bread, water and fruit. About an hour into my hike I passed by a group of three Israelis. After making some conversation with them I told them I would join them to the base. We soon passed Laguna Capri and two hours later we arrived at the base and began our hour long climb. The climb was steep, and burned. We made it to the top but to our disgust Fitz Roy was covered in the clouds, though the lagoons were gorgeous. We decided after twenty minutes to begin the climb down.

About forty-five minutes down the mountain we looked up at the sky and saw some blue poking through. Harel, my new friend looked at me and said we had to go back up, I agreed. An hour later we arrived at the base again to a beautiful view of Fitz Roy. We couldnt see the peek but everything below was clear. The lagoons were crystal blue and the wind slowed. It was breathtaking.

I stayed in Chalten for one more day for another short hike then headed three hours by bus to where I am now in Calafate. Tonight, myself and four friends are renting a car to hopefully catch the sunset over the Perito Moreno Glacier. Really though, its all luck.

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Comments

[Rohit]

awesome!
awesome post nate! bet your having time of your life !! keep posting! cheers, Rohit