On the first day, I took a bus in from El Calafate to El Chalten, about 5 hours away. Patagonia has so many different landscapes but this is probably the most classic. The route to El Chalten was just barren nothingness. Small shrubs, arid land, huge rock formations and so cold! Even in summer its about 30-40 degrees F. Its warmer in El Calafate but I think its lower than El Chalten. Anyway, I got to El Chalten and headed up to Laguna Torres to meet my tour group. It was about a 3 hour hike (they measure distances by hours here) and it was gorgeous. I hiked out of the valley and through this forest to get to the lake. The views were just stunning. The water in the streams here are kind of a milky torquoise color from the glacier milk (the minerals that run off the glacier turn the water a milky color). Everything was going pretty well until it started to rain. Not a lot but enough to get nice and wet. Luckily I had rain gear so it wasn´t too bad though I have to say that rain in 40 degree weather is not fun. I finally got to the camp and it was pretty elaborate. The tour groups that offer ice treks have these semi-permanent camps set up throughout the year except winter. The tents are already set-up and they have a kitchen tent, gear tent and mess tent. I was actually the only person in camp that night (the others in my tour group were hiking up the next morning) and it was pretty nice. The guide, Lupe, gave me dinner (3 courses with real silverware and lots of wine!) and 2 sleeping bags and it was a nice end to a long day.
The second day, we started out once the rest of the group arrived. After seeing how tired they were even before we started the hike to the glacier, I was pretty glad that I sprung for the camping option. I was fresh and ready to do the glacier trek. It was another 2 hours through pretty tough hills until we got to the glacier. Like Moreno, the Glaciar Torres was like a frozen river between two mountains (55m in height) so we had to first hike up the mountain and then down to reach the glacier. In the rain, nonetheless. But I didn´t care. I was just so happy to be out there, hiking and taking in the beautiful landscapes. We put on our crampons (snow spikes) and started walking up the glacier. It was so amazing to be on this huge ice field but we had to be careful. The crevices in the glacier are unbelievable deep. We also did a small ice climb with those ice picks/hammer things. Our guide, Julian, is a pretty serious ice-climber so it was awesome to see him scramble up these walls. Our wall was pretty small but it was hard! I did some rock-climbing in Yosemite with Christine and it was a lot harder than that. Physically, it was about the same but you feel much less secure on the ice field. And the whole time I was thinking about ¨Touching the Void¨, not that I was doing anything like that.
Walking across the void
Closer view of the glacier (the face not the top. The top was pretty smooth and easy to walk on)
One of the incredibly deep crevices. The bright blue is from the compression of the ice. Julian threw a rock down and it took forever to hit the ice below.
Me climbing! Well, it doesn´t look like it but I don´t know how to rotate the pics in blogger. Mark, any ideas?
Me and Julian, our guide. His English was worse than my Spanish so I actually translated a little for the rest of the group! Sounds great but it meant that lots were lost in translation.On the 3rd day, I hiked out on my own from camp. I decided to hike past Las Lagunas de Madre y Hija to get to Laguna de Los Tres. The walk was pretty great since the weather finally cleared up. I even got some (hazy) views of Cerro Poinochet and Fitz Roy. I was making good time so I decided to do the grueling hike up to Laguna de Los Tres and basically to the base of Fitz Roy. Its the route that climbers take to climb Fitz Roy. It started okay, extremely steep but hey, I´m young and fit plus there were a bunch of old people doing it also. I started to climb and climb and climb until I realized I had to climb the entire mountain. I thought the trail would wind around the mountain but apparently the lake was on top. I was already half-way up so I continued on though the rocks I was scrambling over soon became completely covered in snow. By the time I reached the top, I was pretty scared because the snow made it so slippery. Plus the wind on the top was pretty bad. And to top it off, you couldn´t even see the lake because it was completely covered in snow. Cerro Fitz Roy was also completely covered by clouds at that point so I couldn´t even see that. Tired, cold and scared, I started the walk back. I made it down just fine but I still had a 3 hour walk back to El Chalten. In total I walked about 8 hours. I was pretty tired by the time I got back to the hostel. I ate a huge plate of pasta and could barely keep my eyes open through my long hot shower.
Lago Madre. These trails are not really on the day-hike circuit so I had them all to myself and it was so beautiful and peaceful.
See the snow-capped mountains in the background of the last picture? Well, the Laguna de Los Tres was on top so I climbed up to see ... nothing! The lake was completely covered by snow. Argh!
And of course, as I'm finishing my hike, the sun starts to shine. At least I caught a rainbow over this amazing valley.I rode the bus back to El Calafate this morning. I´m well rested and clean but I still need to do laundry. I felt pretty bad for the guy sitting next to me on the bus because my clothes stunk so badly. That´s what happens when you hike and sleep in the same clothes for 3 days straight! I´ll do laundry tonight before I head for Puerto Natales. Next on my itinerary it the W circuit in the Parque de Torres del Paine in Chile. I can´t wait for this because its supposed to be pretty amazing. Hopefully, I´ll get a good view of the Torres! With the weather here, you can never tell. As unpredictable the weather is here, its supposed to be worse on the Chilean side of the Andes.
I can´t tell you how amazing this trip has been so far. As great as its been in Buenos Aires, its too similar to any other big city to really feel like I´m really experiencing something totally different. Patagonia is so beautiful and so fantastical that its really humbling. My time is reminding me that there are bigger things than the minutiae of everyday life. Its so easy to get caught up in that but being out here, my problems seem so insignificant. You just stand there in awe of these glaciers and mountains that have been here for thousands of years and will be here long after you´re gone. I just feel so happy and lucky to be here, on the other side of the world, living this moment. Anyway, sorry to be so cheesy but its just great here! Despite the rain and cold. I´ll try to write again after Torres del Paine!
Btw, I´ll be home on December 11th and then heading back to South America on January 11th so I´ll be home for a month. I´m also heading out to NY for New Years so I´ll see a bunch of you then! Write me and let me know how Thanksgiving was and what your holiday plans are! I don´t think turkey even exists down here. But I did have a nice steak (I´m still in Argentina afterall) dinner with mashed potatoes.
Also, here are the pics from my Moreno trip:
Moreno has a positive balance, meaning its still advancing. Its one of the most active glaciers in the world. In the middle, it will move as much as 2m a day!
Closer view of the face
Because its so active, huge blocks will break off. It happens all the time at Moreno and its this loud booming sound. The pieces look so small when they break off but they have to be huge based on the sound.
Another view of the glacier. I don´t know what that red plant is but its everywhere here.
Me on the boat! Don´t I look warm?I can´t seem to post any more pictures but I´ll try again later!
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