I really have to climb that?

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After a 3hr bus ride we arrived in El Chalten around 9.30pm, the bus dropped us right at our hotel so that we did not have to walk from the bus station with all of our bags - how's that for service? We headed out to a local restaurant for a late dinner where I had the most fantastic lentils and chorizo stew, just the hearty meal I needed given that we had a 9.5hr hike planned for the following day.

David, our local guide, met us at our hotel just after 9am and we took a 40min bus ride to where we were going to begin our hike to Laguna De Los Tres. We had group consensus the previous evening to take an alternative route to the original hike which would not be as strenuous at the beginning, plus would allow us to get extra views of Fitz Roy that we would not have if we simply hiked in and out on the same path.

The hike started out nice and easy as we wandered along a path with views of a beautiful, clear river and the mountains, but it wasn't to stay that way! All of a sudden we were faced with uphill sections of the track, which after struggling up, we were told were nothing in comparison with what was to come. It was about this stage that I thought "Oh no, what have I got myself into?" (substitute that for what you really know I was thinking, I'm just too polite to type the real words on my travel blog!). Onwards we continued for another several hours, stopping to take in the beautiful views of Fitz Roy, until we reached the base of our last section, where David pointed out the zig zag path that we were to take - I am not joking when I say that the path was at an 80 degree angle and went for 2kms or so. One section is so steep it takes the average hiker 1hr to cover 400m! It was at this stage that I bowed out gracefully, along with Lauren and Allan, citing worries of injuring ourselves on the first hike. After eating lunch in a campsite we headed back down which took another 3&1/2hrs and it was great to see El Chalten come into view.

The following morning we were up and ready for our second hike which would take us to Laguna Torre which was scheduled to take us approximately 6.5hrs. Off we headed, stretching out our muscles which were a little sore from yesterday, and began our steep descent up the side of the mountain. After the 1hr 15mins we stepped onto a natural lookout that had sweeping views of the Adela Range and Cerro Torre. After this the hike became quite easy with only several small up an down sections to contend with. The hike was worth it when we arrived at Laguna Torre which was simply beautiful, and we were very lucky that we again had good views of Fitz Roy. We powered back to El Chalten with knowledge that a hot shower would be available before we boarded a bus to take us the 3hrs back to El Calafate.

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Photos

No dogs or CATS allowed
I'm not sure if it is common for people to take their cats out on hikes, however in the National Park they are not allowed

Laguna De los Tres hike
A hanging glacier

Laguna De los Tres hike
Views of Fitz Roy, you really are taking your luck with views as quite often the peaks are covered by the clouds

Laguna De los Tres hike
At the end of our first hike - approximately 7hrs after commencing

Laguna Torre Hike
Laguna Torre

Laguna Torre Hike
Views of Fitz Roy

Laguna Torre Hike
Finishing our second hike