First Taste of Patagonia

Since disembarking from the journey to Antarctica I have been busy exploring the Argentinian side of the Patagonia Mountains. Getting out of Ushuaia was an ordeal that required 18 hours of fun on a bus. Fortunately I had my friend Celine whom I met on the ship to travel with. In order to get to our next stop, El Calafate, we had to leave Argentina, cross into Chile, take a ferry to get to the South American mainland, leave Chile, cross back into Argentina, hang out in a bus station for two hours and go through 2 police check stops.

El Calafate is a small town situated by a beautiful lake, but in a barren desert sort of landscape. It is a definite tourist town, full of mountain gear stores, restaurants and a casino. It is the hub for a couple different mountain areas.

My first stop was a day trip out to Perito Moreno, the most massive glacier I have ever seen. The glacier sweeps out into a giant lake and is extremely active which means crashing ice! There are a series of boardwalks and viewpoints built up on the opposite side for viewing. The glacier is 50 to 60m high and many kilometers long. I watched in awe as massive chunks of ice broke away and crashed into the lake. Absolutely stunning to watch the ice free falling for a second or two and then hitting the water with a sound like thunder. It was hard to grasp the scale until I saw a tour boat that looked like a small peanut beside the wall of ice.

My next stop and where I am currently stationed is the tiny town of El Chalten, home to the iconic Patagonian mountains Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. The town pretty much exists as a base camp for all of the hiking/climbing in the area. For this leg of the trip I was joined by my friend Paraag, who I also met on the ship. The best part of being here is that the town is so small you can walk everywhere and all of the trailheads leave from various points in town.

As Paraag and I geared up for a three day/two night backpacking trip it became apparent that we would have to get creative with our food supplies. Dehydrated meals and Clif bars don't exist here. We couldn't even find oatmeal so resorted to carrying a giant bag of cornflakes and eating them with powdered milk for breakfast. I was also carrying a couple pounds of the heavy bread that is a staple all over Argentina. Our trip took us on a circuit of all of the highlights.

Our first stop was Fitz Roy. After an easy hike we set up camp and climbed up a steep slope to reach a deep blue lake at the base of the Fitz Roy range. Spiny jagged mountains and ice everywhere. I can't even compare these mountains to any I have seen before. You have to be there to get the true sense of their rawness. As the weather in Patagonia is extremely unpredictable we waited at the top hoping for the clouds obscuring our view to clear and afford us a glimpse of the surrounding peaks. Instead we practically sprinted down the mountain as snow started blasting at us sideways. The wind here is crazy. One minute it seems OK, the next it is blowing so hard you can barely stand. Fortunately by the time we reached camp it wasn't quite so bad, just cloudy and raining off and on. The next morning there were hints of blue sky so I decided to attempt the hike up to the lake again. Once again there was promise it would clear when within about 10 minutes of reaching the top my hopes were shattered as rain clouds blew in and in a repeat performance of the day before I ran down the mountain with rain pelting my face so hard it felt like being sandblasted. I was completely drenched, but then by the time I reached camp my clothes were already mostly dry as the rain stopped, but wind continued.

Thwarted once again we made our way to the next camp at the base of the Cerro Torre range. The weather was all over the place. Driving rain, sunny skies, wind and calm. We experienced it all in the span of a couple of hours. As we set up camp, clouds and rain descended upon us, but we woke up the next morning at 6am to clear skies. Perfect for the small hike to the edge of another lake to watch an incredible mountain sun rise. We watched the sky change colors and then the first rays of light bounce off the snow making the peaks blindingly white. What a way to make up for not getting a clear view of Fitz Roy.

Our final day was a short trek along a river and back into the desert landscape and back to town. Our first truly nice day, the sun was out and at one point I was even hiking in only a T-shirt which has been a rarity on this trip.

Paraag left this morning to finish off the remainder of his trip so after saying goodbye I headed out on a day hike. I was lucky and the skies stayed clear as I climbed and climbed to the top of a very large "hill" with more incredible views of both mountain ranges. I had the hike to myself and it was great enjoying the panoramic views in 360 degrees. For all of my hiking friends a trip here is a must. The views are unbelievable especially considering how easy most of the hikes are to reach the views. As I started heading back down the clouds rolled in and if I had left even 30 minutes later I probably would have missed the clear views, but such is the norm down here.

I have one final day here in El Chalten and if the weather holds I think I will make my third and final attempt on getting a good view of Fitz Roy. Here is hoping that third time is the charm. All of this hiking is a good warmup for my next stop which is an 8 day backpacking trip in Torres Del Paine, the other iconic Patagonian experience, with Celine. Excited to see it in person as the pictures are phenomenal.