Rained Out in El Chalten—12/1–5, 2022

The Marga bus took us foreigners through the day and night until we reached El Chalten some 24 hours later.  We passed very few cars and trucks along the way.  This legendary Highway 40 had long stretches where the road was filled with potholes so on the bus I felt like it was being driven by a drunken sailor as the driver swerved around the potholes.  There was a three-hour stretch of highway that was just gravel so the driver had to slow down to 5 to 20 mph during that time.  

The landscape was mainly level along with gentle rolling hills filled with desert shrubs and sagebrush.  It all reminded me of similar road conditions and landscapes I experienced when I drove down Highway 1 on the Baja peninsula in Mexico.

As dawn broke, the landscape suddenly changed and we could see the rugged snow-covered peaks including the dramatic Cerro Fitzroy with its jagged spires.

Shortly after I got off the bus in El Chalten, I had my first meal in more than 24 hours.  After that I took some pictures of Cerro Fitzroy and little did I know, it was the last time I would see Fitzroy during my five days here.  Instead, most of the mountains remained cloaked in rain clouds with fierce winds of gusts up to 75 mph. It reminded me of when tourists would visit the Pacific Northwest and never see the beautiful snow and glacier-filled Mt. Rainier because of the ever-present clouds.

After a big breakfast and checking in to Rancho Grande Hostel, I set out on my first hike and was fortunate to see the second-best mountain attraction—Cerro Torre—on the Laguna Torre Trail.

I missed the official start of the trail and found my way up some steep and sketchy trails for the first mile before joining the official trail.  Shortly after getting on the official trail, this was the only wildlife other than birds I saw on the trail.

Most of the trees in the forest were very hardy birch and they had to be to withstand the fierce winds here that range from 10 to 75 miles per hour.  In places, I had to really lean into the wind to keep from falling backward.

Notice that the forest has some taller trees but they contain no foliage, most likely because the wind strips off any foliage that tries to grow above the other surrounding trees.

I was going to hike further to Laguna Torre, but more clouds came in with rain and stronger winds, so I returned to the hostel for a hot shower and dinner.  I had hiked about 14 miles.

I was in a 4 person dorm room and two of the guys were from the Netherlands and the other was Ciaran, a school teacher from Ireland.  He was going to send me clear pictures of Fitzroy he had taken a day earlier.

The following two days I hiked up the Laguna de Los Tres to the Lago Capri and the Mirador Fitzroy, but I could only see the base of this mountain range—so disappointing.

Here is a photo of what you can see on a clear day.

On my return to the hostel on the second day there was a huge crowd watching the World Cup soccer match between Argentina and Australia.  It was a really robust and enthusiastic crowd, especially when they scored each of the two points.  The ending was also very exciting as Australia continued to attack the Argentina goalie who ended the match by smothering the ball as time ran out. 

I was on the balcony with Ciaran, our two new American roommates, Melissa from Ohio, and Matilda from Sweden.  The balcony floor was bouncing so much from the crowd that I was worried it was going to collapse.  

I then went to dinner at the La Tapera Restaurant and finally figured out how to have a well-cooked steak.  When I had ordered steak before, I asked for it to be medium rare, and it always came out medium.  This time I ordered it rare—rara—and it came out medium rare just the way I liked it.

On my final day, I hiked the Lomo del Pligue Tumbado Trail which started by the Park Headquarters, and went to the Mirador de La Loma hoping to see both Cerro Torre and Fitzroy.

The clouds covered both peaks, but the trail up to the Mirador was the best here.

It was a gradual uphill trail that passed a deep canyon formed by the rushing creek and continued up through desert plants and open vistas that were interspersed by groves of the hardy birches that were formed by the constant fierce winds.

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At higher elevations, I traversed soggy meadows and then clumps of birches clothed with moss.

 

At the Mirador de Loma, I saw the Cerro Torre, but Fitzroy was covered by clouds.  I then turned around rather than heading up to the snow-covered Loma del Pliegue Tumbado Peak where a better view was unlikely.

It took me 3 1/2 hours to get to the Mirador some 2,200 ft above the town, and only 1 hour and 7 minutes to return.  For the day I had hiked about 16 miles.

Fitzroy has been so elusive during my time here.  I have really enjoyed the restaurant fare here from the steaks and stews to chicken dishes.

For such a small town, it really outperformed its size.

Here are some pictures that Ciaran sent me that show Cerro Fitzroy when the weather is better.

On December 5th, I caught an early morning bus to El Calafate and arrived just three hours later for my last Patagonia stay before flying back to Buenos Aires for my final week in South America.

On the 5th, I took the Bondi flight back to Buenos Aires for the last week of this 2-month trip.  I ended up near the back of the plane in a middle seat with my knees touching the seat in front of me. I guess this budget airline likes to pack them in. We flew up the coast in clear weather.

After landing, I quickly found the bus that took me near the Che Juan Hostel where I had first stayed at the start of this trip.   Once again Google Maps provided me with where to catch the bus, its route, and where to get off.

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