Patagonia - Day #9

 Patagonia - Day #9 - Sunday, January 5th

It’s 10:35pm - I’m resting in my hotel room at the Hotel Cumbres Nevadas in El Chalten, Argentina.  Today was an epic travel day.  It started with a 6:15am pickup at EcoCamp and ended with a 5pm arrival into El Chalten, Argentina.   

We had 3 actual transfers during the day.  (1). A 1-hr van ride to the Argentinean border.  (2). A 5-hr bus ride to El Calafate, Argentina.  (3). A 3-hr bus ride to El Chalten, Argentina.  Everything went really smooth all day.  We were even able to get the 2pm bus in El Calafate versus waiting for the 6pm bus.  This was huge - it gave us a much more relaxing night here.   The 2 long bus rides both offered very good wi-fi options. Incredible to be riding in the middle of nowhere and still having internet access.  I was pleasantly surprised.  

Upon arrival into El Chalten, we walked 1/2 mile with our bags to our hotel.  We connected with Doug and Michael (who are staying in our same hotel) and went out for dinner.  

During dinner we discussed the next couple days.  They are doing the 2 same hiking days as us.  We were actually able to flip our Monday & Tuesday hikes because it’s showing rain in the forecast tomorrow and we really want our Fitz Roy hike to have clear skies. Tuesday is showing a better weather day

After dinner, we went to the local Supermarket and got some water for our hikes.  Back to the hotel to unpack and prep for tomorrow.  

Continuing to be really busy in Patagonia!  Here’s to getting it going again tomorrow!

Cafe at Argentina/Chile border

Beautiful Patagonia lakes on busride

Mt Fitz Roy from the bus

Patagonia - Day #8

 Patagonia - Day #8 - Saturday, January 4th

Coming to you live aboard a 5-hr bus ride heading to El Calafate, Argentina on Sunday, January 5th.  We left EcoCamp and Chile behind this morning at 6:15am and have a super-size travel day today - which will bring us to our new destination (Mt Fitz Roy) for the next 5 days. I’m only writing the blog for Sat, Jan 4th now - because yesterday was just too good and packed to fit it in  

Saturday (Jan 4th) was effectively a rest day from hiking - but still action-packed.  After grabbing some breakfast - we headed out for a driving tour around the Patagonian mountains.   We saw a bunch of guanaco (deer-like animals resembling llamas), a swan, and a bunch of bird species.  We were on the lookout for pumas (mountain lions), as Patagonia is home to one of the highest density of pumas in the world.  Unfortunately - we didn’t see any - but had fun trying.  

We stopped for a long picnic lunch overlooking this amazing lake with the mountains in the backdrop.  The guides had a spread of meats, cheeses, crackers, and wine.  We spent some time skipping rocks across the lake before continuing our tour.  

We hit a few more sites- including a great waterfall - before heading back to EcoCamp.  We got into camp about 4:30pm and needed to get things packed for today’s departure.  4:30 to 7pm was filled with chores (packing, shower, buying park pass for upcoming excursion, blog upload, etc)

We met for dinner/drinks/briefing at 7pm.  The last night of a group tour is always bittersweet.  This group was especially awesome - we all exchanged contact information and shared photos.  Doug and Michael are going to the same place as Greg and I - so we’ll be with them the next few days.  Walter and Ellen hope to come up to Colorado from Albuquerque to hike some 14ers with me.  Mia/Simon offered a place to stay in Australia and Brendan/Lauren offered a place in Singapore.  This was one of my favorite groups of any of my adventurers  

We had a great dynamic with the group.  We danced, drank, and told stories until after midnight before saying our goodbyes.  I can’t be for certain -  but I may have sung a rendition of Country Roads by John Denver - while people were filming me at one point of the night.  We were all having a good time - that’s for certain. 

Excursion #1 is in the books!!   This will be hard to beat.  On to the next chapter - and a mountain called Fitz Roy in Argentina.  

Sunset

Sunset after dinner

Skipping rocks

Massive rapids

Big water

Waterfall

Lunch view

Guides at lunch

One of my favorites 

Awesome

Great weather day

Short hike around a wetland

Guanaco

Patagonia - Day #7

Patagonia- Day #7 - Friday, January 3rd

It’s 10:30pm - just back to the hut from another great dinner.  Each day we have been given a menu at breakfast where we select between 3 starters, 3 main dishes, and 3 desserts for the evening meal.   Tonight we had tuna and it was delicious.  Each night has been something unique - pretty impressive.  

Well - today we successfully completed the famous W-Trek in Torres del Paine National Park!!!   Outstanding!!   The whole circuit is 45 miles and roughly 9,400’ elevation gain.  Today we hiked the first leg of the W which brought us to this magnificent lake - with the mountainous towers (visible from EcoCamp) in the distance.  We stayed at the lake for over an hour - eating lunch and taking pictures. I think the pictures have turned out nicely - but sitting there was awe-inspiring.  This location, with the perfect weather we had today, is on a very short list of most scenic places I’ve been in my life. 

We started our hike at 7:15am — the earliest we’ve got out of camp this week.  It was a 6.5 mile out/back hike (13 total miles) - with the first 6.5 miles broken into 3 segments.  The first segment was a non-stop climb up this rocky, steep, highly exposed mountain slope. The 2nd segment was through the forest and consisted of rolling hills (my favorite segment of the day).   The final segment was a really steep, staircase -like mountain slope which brought us to the final prize - a pristine glacial lake with the 3 mountain spires in the distance. 

After all the pictures - we slowly made our way back to EcoCamp.  The hike we did today is the single most popular hike in this region.  Because of this, and because it was perfect weather, we dealt with hundreds of hikers on our return trek.  We had to stop and take turns down the treacherous steps - taking us longer to descend segment 3 than climb it.  

We stopped at a Refugio about half-way down the mountain where some of the team decided to partake in drinks.  By this time in the trip - the guides know us pretty well - so they’ve given us some leeway.  Greg and I really wanted to continue hiking - so we finished the last 3 miles on our own.  I wanted to get back and check-in on my messages and upload my blog entries. 

I spent 2 hours at a cafe down the hill from EcoCamp getting caught up on some things.  We then had our team briefing at 7:15pm - followed by our 8pm dinner.  Dinners are pretty late here - but I think it’s fairly common in South America

Tomorrow is our final active day on our tour.  We’ve completed the W-Trek - so tomorrow we will do a driving tour and a picnic lunch followed by a short hike.  The itinerary has this last day to provide some flexibility if the weather was really bad early in the trip - we could have flip-flopped days if necessary. 

We get to sleep in a bit as well - with breakfast at 8am.  It’s a great feeling to have successfully completed the W-Trek - now we get to have a more relaxing day in celebration. 

It’s been an amazing trip so far - Patagonia has lived up to all my expectations- and then some. 

Good night from a relaxed, happy, and thankful feller!!

 

Patagonia - Day #6

Patagonia- Day #6 - Thursday, January 2nd

Another incredible day today.  We are getting very lucky with the weather.  Blue skies all day today.  We did have to deal with crazy wind gusts - but all good. 

Last night was rainy and windy - I didn’t get much sleep.  I ended up getting up before the alarm at 5am (was planning a 6am wakeup).  I got packed up and ready for the day.  Greg and I went over to breakfast early and grabbed some tea/coffee - awaiting the rest of the team.  

I made sure to eat a hardier breakfast today - as I was pretty weak yesterday. Today’s hike was 6.8 miles only - but had a fair bit of climbing.  The highlight of the day was seeing the Grey Glacier - a huge glacier at the northern end of the last leg of the W.

We completed the hiking portion of the day at the glacier - where we boarded a boat for a 1-1/2 hr boat ride which brought us up close to the glacier itself. Amazing!!  We spent most of the time on the outside deck of the boat - and the remaining time having a drink inside. 

We landed on shore and had a 30-minute hike crossing the beach and a walk through the woods.  The winds on the beach were the hardest all day.  You could barely move at times on the rocky beach. 

We next took a 1hr 45 min shuttle back to Exocamp.  We stopped twice at 2 scenic lookout areas - which providdd unreal scenery

Back to EcoCamp at 6:40pm- rechecked into our same hut - grabbed a shower - and met with  the group for our briefing and dinner at 7:15pm.  This trip has been really great - but we haven’t had a lot of downtime - we’re always on the move

Finished dinner st 9:30.  It’s 10:30pm right now - I’m finishing the blog and ready for a much needed night of sleep in a proper bed.  The past 2 nights were in a tent and I didn’t sleep well either night.  

Wake-up call is 5:40am and breakfast at 6am.  We’re planning to be on trail at 7am. Tomorrow is the toughest hike of the journey, and if all goes well, we complete the famous W-Trek tomorrow

Good night from Patagonia!

Patagonia - Day #5

Patagonia- Day #5 - Wednesday, January 1st

It’s 10:40pm on Wednesday, January 1st.  A big hiking day today - roughly 18 miles with a ton of vertical.  We only completed the hike about 7:45pm. 

It was a tough day out there - but we still saw some absolutely incredible sites.  So amazing to pass hikers all day saying:  “Happy New Year!!” 

We are hiking the famous W-Trek in Torres del Paine National Park.  Today - we hiked the middle leg of the W.   This involved a steady climb up the French valley - which ultimately brought us right up against some amazing mountains/glaciers.  There were 2 separate lookouts - we hiked to them both.

The weather held up as we ascended into the valley and started raining as we descended the same path (we did an out and back up the middle leg of the W).  The rain created pretty treacherous conditions- which slowed our pace a bit on the return.  We made it down in good shape, however.  After getting to the bottom of the W we hiked another 3-1/2 miles across the first lower section of the W.  This trail was very flat and allowed us to make really good time

We rolled into camp at 7:45 - just in time for a nice buffet dinner.  Everybody was pretty beat up after the long day - so we all dispersed pretty quickly after our meal.  I grabbed a shower and I’m sacked out in my tent right now.  Tonight and last night - we have stayed in elevated tents.  Tomorrow we’ll go back to EcoCamp to our really nice beds in the dome huts.

Gotta get some shut eye. Good night from Patagonia!!

 

Patagonia - Day #4

Patagonia- Day #4 - Tuesday, December 31st

It’s 10pm on New Years Eve.  I’m currently in an elevated tent at Refugio Cisneros in Torres Del Paine National Park.  I’m going to write an outline of today’s events right now - but will go back and add some details later

First off - what an absolutely amazing day!!  If the trip ended after today - the journey was so worth it.  The weather in Torres del Paine is generally highly questionable - with clear viewing days a pretty rare occurrence. Well - we had 5-star, incredibly beautiful weather today.  The pristine, blue glacier fed lakes with huge granite peaks in the background make this a famous hiking destination - today they showed off for us. 

The day started with a 8am breakfast followed by final packing and checkout from EcoCamp. Due to the remote nature of this camp, we don’t have wi-fi available in camp or electrical sockets to charge devices. After breakfast - Greg and I walked down the hill to a coffee shop, purchased wi-fi for 8 dollars, and sent messages to family (and I uploaded 1 blog).  We hurried back up to camp for our 10am departure. 

Today’s hike was around 9 miles with some elevation up/downs - but overall fairly tame hiking conditions.  Nearly the entirety of the day was positioned on a trail between this amazing blue-tinted, glacier fed lake and this iconic mountain range with glaciers visible to the eye.  Stunning, unreal, worth the price of admission - just a fantastic hiking day

We had plenty of breaks today - eating lunch over this river that fed into the glacier lake.  We crossed several swing bridges that crossed over rivers and streams.  The guides educated us how the mountains formed and how the distinct layers in the rock developed with time

With all that said - probably my favorite part of today was coming together as a team with our group.  We have 12 people:   The 2 guides:  Pablo and Jean, Greg and myself, Walter and Ellen (a couple from  Albuquerque, NM), Doug and Michael (a father (Doug) and son (Michael) team.  Doug is retired and Michael is a junior in college at Texas.  Next, we have Mia and Simon - a couple from Brisbane, Australia.  Finally, there is Lauren and Brendan - a couple from Singapore - formerly from Australia (friends of Mia/Simon)

We completed the hike today around 4:30pm.  We all cleaned up with a shower and met back at the community bar where we indulged in beers/wine for 3-1/2 hours before our 8pm dinner. So much fun.  One of the reasons I love traveling is to meet really interesting people.  Today - was the perfect definition of this.  We told stories for hours of various trips/places we’ve been and where we want to go next.

We then had a great dinner which brought us to 9:30-10pm and my nightly recap of the day’s events. I do these blogs to capture my emotion at the time of the entry - when I read these in the future- it brings me back to this very place in time. 

I only spent 30 minutes to write this tonight - because the words were just flowing.  I’ll go back and tighten things up tomorrow

In 1-1/2 hours it’ll be 2025.  I can’t believe it!!  What a memorable place to start the new year.  I’m always reflective this time of year.  I hope this year brings good times and good health to everyone.  Here’s to living a life filled with adventure, exploring the unknowns, and uncapping dreams that never seemed possible. 

Happy New Year!!!!!