3-21 Took the bus to El Calafate in Argentina. We had gorgeous views of snowy mountains during the ride. The road, Route 40 goes through arid patagonia step with Guanacos (llama type things) and Rheas (giant birds like emus) everywhere but off to the west are the big mountains. We had a layover in Calafate, so we walked around a bit and got the "famous" chocolate they have in so many shops. The town is very touristy and its downtown reminded me of Estes Park. In the evening we took the bus to El Chalten.
3-22 El Chalten sits next to the northern part of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. In the morning we hiked up to Laguna Torre. It was windy and cold and clouds were over the peaks, so we retreated to a sunny place in the trees to take a nap to see if the clouds would burn off. When we woke up, they had and we had fantastic views of the lake with a glacier falling into it and the famous granite spire of Cerro Torre as well as Cerro Grande and other spires and mountains. We then hiked up to a mirador (viewpoint) for nice views right down onto the glacier. Since Tom`s knee was still not 100%, he headed back down, and I hiked up a ridge for more views. Our time in the park and views were made even better by the fact that the colors were changing and the trees in the park were in full color change
3-23
Tom took a day off to rest his knee, so I hiked up by myself to Laguna Capri which had surreal views of toothy Cerro Fitz Roy and other towers reflecting in the lake. I then did the steep hike up to Lago los Tres, a turquoise alpine lake right at the base of Fitz Roy. Of course, more stunning views. I then climbed up Mt. Madsen (6000 feet)..(.Chalten´s elevation is 1300 feet) for in your face views of Fitz Roy which were made more unique by the clouds coming in. I read for a couple hours up on the peak to see if the clouds would dissipate, but they didn´t. On the summit I had a really awesome experience of two Andean Condors flying real close by to check me out. They flew right over my head and also below me, so I got a real close look of their coloration. When they saw I wasn´t anything too important, they soared off back towards the Fitz Roy peaks. A definitely inspiring contact. Madsen is a very pointy peak (as any patagonian peak should be), and it required a bit of climbing to get to the summit. From there I went back down to Laguna Los Tres (glissading down a steep snowfield for a good portion of it) and to a lookout high above Laguna Sucia. I then ended up hiking to Laguna Sucia itself, a pretty turquoise glacial lake with its glacier tumbling right into it amidst wind sprayed waterfalls. From there I hiked to the lakes of Hija (daughter) and Madre before heading back to Chalten. I ended up walking the last hour in the dark with my headlamp. A very big day of about 25 miles total and lots of elevation gain. When I got back I was expecting to have to cook myself some pasta, but to my surprise Tom was ready with a beer for me and our new friends Laura (from Espana) and Katta (from Germany) had made us a delicious and fancy Italian meal (with meat...something Tom and I are too cheap to add).
3-24 We had a gorgeous "Colorado" day today. Our first true one we had had, with perfectly clear skies. Tom, Laura, Katta, and I hiked up to Loma de Pliegue Tumbado, a viewpoint ridge where you can see both Cerro Torre and Fitzroy. The walk through the forest was gorgeous with the fall colors and blue sky. Up on the ridge, we had INCREDIBLE views of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre and all the other mountains in perfect blue sky. WOW! Wow the rest of them took naps in the grass, I hiked up another mountain (5000ft) for even better views. From there you could also look down on the giant Viedma Lake. Once back in Chalten, we went shopping with the girls and then had a cooking and beer and wine party--a curry, chicken, and rice dish. And then later that night we had "pressure" dance lessons led by Laura.
3-25. Another wonderful weather day!! And this one warm with no wind. I woke up at 5am so I could hike up to Laguna Capri to watch the sunrise on Fitz Roy. SPECTACULAR! I then hiked back up to Laguna Los Tres, bc I had just loved the view so much. Hung around up there for a bit, not a cloud in the sky. I then hiked the trail to El Pilar, passing by the hanging (and tumbling) glacier Piedra Blanco. Fall colors were again amazing today. I got back down to a dirt road that was about 12 km from Chalten. I walked along with my thumb out (hardly a car on the road), and got picked up about 2km in by an American couple on vacation from Crested Butte. Travelling out of frustration by the lack of snow there. We talked about how El Calafate is so much like EP and El Chalten so much like Crested Butte. Chalten is a cool little town with a very much outdoor and hippy type culture and obviously quite big in the climbing. It´s actually the newest town in Argentina (established in the 80s). It was laid down quickly bc in that area Argentina was having a dispute with Chile over the land, so they laid down a settlement really quickly. But I liked the town with its cheap and tasty bakeries and A frame houses and gorgeous views. Tom, Laura, and Katta left today for Calafate, but I would be meeting up with them later
3-26 I got up early again for sunrise, this time to hike to Mirador Condor to see the glorious sunrise on both Cerro Torre and Fitzroy. After I got back, I hung around the hostel a bit and then caught my bus back to Calafate. Of course the bus ride passing all the mountains and glaciers was just gorgeous. We had another fiesta night with the gang and also a newcomer to the posse, Leigh from the UK. It was spanish food and omelettes compliments of Laura
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