Our hike to see the Fitz Roy peaks outside of El Chalten was delayed by one day due to the weather. Wind and rain kept the Glacier National Park in Argentina closed on November 18th. Although by midday the sun was starting to peak through clouds and the rain had largely stopped, the park remained closed to traffic due to the risks.
I went with some people from my G Adventures tour group to the Chorillo del Salto Waterfall as you could walk to this by way of a road and avoid going into the park until the waterfall. The road was gravel and followed the River. At numerous places it was washed out and covered with water. This meant that my shoes got a bit wet dodging the puddles and streams. About three kilometres outside of El Chalten the parking lot of the waterfall came into view. As I approached the view through the forest I saw a ranger in front of me. She hurriedly was telling people to turn around as the park was closed. As a result I got a short video of the waterfall with a few strangers in front of it, but followed directions and turned around. The rest of the day was a relaxing time in the hotel reading and catching up on video editing.
November 19th came with the good news that the weather had broken and the Park would reopen. As the tour group needed to be in El Calafate that night, we started early getting a view of Fitz Roy Mountain on the same road I had walked to the waterfall on but further on. The path was going to lead us through the park from one side, then up to the viewing area of the peaks and mountain lakes, before returning towards El Chalten. It was said to be a 23 kilometre hike that would take us most of the day.
By 0700 we were starting our walk in the morning sunshine. The path was muddy after the previous days storm but had a regular view of glaciers and the peaks that make El Chalten famous. A couple of hours in we started through a forest that was climbing towards the viewing area. It was nice to stop in the mountain streams and be able to drink from them. Clear blue water flowed and our guides expressed that Patagonia didn’t have the microbial issues that other ranges had. The climb up was steep and made more difficult by mud and snow that remained following the storm. Despite this it was a good climb that took a couple hours up through the rocky slopes to where a small ridge looked over the first of the two lakes that we would see and the Mt. Fitzroy and other peaks surrounding. It was surreal to be that close to the images that I had only see in pictures before.
After a short lunch, we walked down to the first lake and then up another small rise to have a view of the second stunningly blue glacier fed lake directly under Fitz Roy. It was a great sense to see this so close. I could have stayed gazing at the beauty for quite a while, but we did need to get back to catch our bus.
The return trip was challenging with the melting snow and steep terrain, but we made it down. The majority of the lower valleys were waterlogged and we were dogging large muddy areas and water pooled over the trail throughout the afternoon.
After a quick burger and beer to celebrate this first hike in Patagonia, we were on the road again to our hotel in El Calafate.
BorealHiker 