Patagonia - Day #10 - Monday, January 6th
1st hike in the Mt Fitz Roy area today - really great day!! Greg, Michael, and myself took out from the hotel at 8am after a nice breakfast in the hotel lobby. Doug decided to go on a shorter adventure with his guide today - so tomorrow all 4 of us can hike Mt Fitz Roy together.
We did a 14.5 mile hike - with 2,100’ elevation gain. It was an out/back hike to Laguna Torres - a beautiful lake with a glacier mountain in the backdrop. Views were spectacular - even with the overcast skies today.
We made great time in the hike - completing at 2:30pm. We rolled back into El Chalten and stopped by a local bar for a celebratory beer and an appetizer. They were playing older rock music - in English. We had some fun telling stories and listening to music
We next went back to the hotel and started packing our gear - as we will be checking out of the hotel tomorrow morning before our hike. The hotel will store our bags while we’re out. We have a 6pm shuttle back to El Calafate tomorrow night.
Tomorrow is effectively our last hiking day of the trip. Doug, Michael, Greg, and I went out for a great steak dinner - as this will be the last night we are together. Greg and I will be doing a glacier day out of El Calafate on Wednesday (Jan 8th) and Doug and Michael fly back to the US that day.
It’s been so great getting to know them and meeting up in 2 separate locations. One very special thing about Doug - he has Parkinson’s Disease. He has a trimmer in his hand, can’t fully use his left leg, and talks slowly. He’s been experiencing some flare-ups throughout the past week. The fact he’s been hiking and keeping up with all our group these past 2 weeks is nothing short of unbelievable. Doug has my full respect and he is such an incredible inspiration. Wow - I am honored to have met him on this trip - such a great guy.
Tomorrow we do the best hike in Argentinean Patagonia - Mt Fitz Roy. Talk to you after 13 miles and 3,000’ vertical. Good night from Patagonia!!
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