El Chalten, Patagonia, Argentina (Part 2 of 2)
Behold the mighty Fitz Roy!
We checked out of hotel because they were closing for the season until November (the old feast-and-famine business model) and went to their sister property (open for just a couple more weeks) across from the bus station.
We had also been monitoring the weather forecast for our last hike in El Chalten and already postponed it for three straight days — it would be tomorrow or never.
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We looked at the skies warily and crossed our fingers as we waited for the bus ride to Rio Electrico, making this hike, thank heavens, a one-way trek for us.
The 45-minute shuttle ride was not necessarily because the trailhead was far from town as much as because the road was rough gravel and potholey. The bus was old and did not seem to have any heat, so the driver squeegeed his front window with one arm while driving with the other.
Dawn broke by the time we got off the shuttle and the sun hit the side of the first mountain.
The first challenge was waiting in line because here was a park booth with workers making sure everyone paid the park entrance fee — ARG$45,000 pax for foreigners. On the bright side, waiting in line did space out the hikers so that we were not on top of one another on the trail.
We were hiking through a valley by the Rio Electrico that was showing off all its autumn glory. And the deeper we hiked, the brighter the colors seemed. Or perhaps it was the rising sun making everything brighter.
Soon enough the summit of Mount Fitz Roy could be seen, set off in the bluest skies and bright white like brilliant marble, peaking above brown hills. We had entered the portion of the trail of El Pilar. It meandered through trees covered in moss, opening from time to time to offer different views of Fitz Roy. Soon enough we reached the Mirador for the Piedras Blancas Glaciar.
The trail so far offered easy elevation gains, beautiful views and the diversion offered by a family of five, whose children seemed aged between six and ten. Every time we encounter such families we are filled with admiration for the parents, for their determination and effort — hiking with kids who are constantly enjoying and whining must come with its own joys and challenges.
We had read about the ascent to Fitz Roy in the last two hours of the trek (after the Poincenot campground), but mere descriptions didn’t do it justice: it was punishingly rocky, narrow, wet with flowing rivulets, and steep. Each of those characteristics would make it a challenge — all together, it required grim determination. (In pictures I took of N., it hard to ignore the fact that he seemed to be hanging his head defeatedly).
After we negotiated an annoying add-insult-to-injury false summit, the view once we reached the base of Fitz Roy rewarded our efforts: there was the emerald Lago de los Tres, with the majestic Fitz Roy towering above, and bonus mirror effects on the lake because there was no wind.
Another short hike up to the hill on the left led us to the aquamarine Lago Sucia, and a panoramic view of the valley we had just ascended, with more lakes in the distance, and the autumn yellows and reds of the trees.
There are lunches by a lake and lunches by a lake — this one was the latter.
Despite our fears that the descent from the mountain would be scarier and harder than the ascent — wet rock is not my favorite trail — we were down soon enough. The scarier thing was passing people who were on the way up; we felt nothing but compassions for these souls, many of whom looked pooped already and still had a long way to go. We couldn’t figure out why they were ascending so late in the day — the clouds were already rolling in and the sun also seemed to have called it a day. After passing Camp Poincenot, we hit the a new trail towards Laguna Capri and El Chalten. (Hip hip hooray for circuit trails; boo hoos for outs-and-backs).
Looking back from whence we came, we were gifted with a couple more miradors of Fitz Roy, and then meandered around little rivers and through tree cover to reach Laguna Capri. I was disappointed by it, perhaps because after Lago de los Tres and Lago Sucia, Capri was not as pretty. Or perhaps I was simply tired.
The last stretch of the trail was a high hill on the other side of the Paredon, which we had hiked on our first trek in El Chalten. At this point, all both N. and I wanted was for the hike to be over. It was getting dark and cold.
Despite what the app said about this trek (El Pilar-Laguna de Los Tres-El Chalten (4.9 stars, difficulty level: hard, 13.3 miles, 3,139ft elevation gain), by the time we walked through park signs for “Sendero Fitz Roy”, my watch gave me more credit. Total miles clocked today: 18.5 miles.
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We woke up while it was still dark outside, got dressed and, without breakfast, walked 30 minutes in the cold to Mirador El Chalten — because we were suckers for the cold.
The light was already faint while we headed outside the town, and then bright enough for N. to be able to click away. Although we had already done this in our first morning in town, N. had wanted a few more shots of the view from that parking lot.
Although it had been not frigid when we left the hotel, the day seemed to get colder as we walked, probably because the wind picked up. By the time we arrived at the mirador, stopped and milled about waiting for sunrise, we got only colder. A few brave souls were already there, set up with tripods and cell phones. Cars and tour buses — a couple disgorging a crowd of older Korean tourists — came and went.
We were freezing our butts off out there, but I was glad that N. got another chance to take photos of that view.
Adios, El Chalten!
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