Patagonia - Day #12

 Patagonia - Day #12 - Wednesday, January 8th

Last full day in Argentina and last day before traveling back to the US.  What a great trip!   Greg and I just had a nice steak dinner at our hotel in El Calafate - rehashing the past couple weeks.  Patagonia lived up to all my expectations - and then some.  We saw a ton of amazing scenery, challenged ourselves with strenuous hikes, and met some incredible people along the way.  I also gained some inspiration on new trips for the future. 

Today’s adventure started slow - but ended on a high note.  We got picked up at our hotel at 8:20am and were shuttled to a boat dock to catch a ferry, which was located about 1-hr from our hotel.  We went on a 4-1/2 hr boat cruise on Lake Argentino.  We had 2 stops where we went for short hikes to some amazing waterfalls.  The last stop brought us to the take-home site of the day - the Perito Moreno Glacier. 

Wow!  We’ve seen a number of glaciers this week - but the Perito Moreno Glacier was easily the most spectacular.  We were able to take the boat within 300 meters of the glacier.  This was amazing itself - but then we were taken to shore to a series of walkways that overlooked the glacier at several points.  Unreal!  We spent 2 hours (1:45pm - 3:45pm) walking around the grounds - finding new views of this massive glacier.  

The Perito Moreno Glacier is the 3rd largest reserve of fresh water in the world.  The glacier is 97 square miles and is 19 miles in length.  The terminus of the glacier (the part we witnessed) is 3.1 miles wide and has a height of 240 ft above Lake Argentino. 

After taking a ton of great pictures, we met our guide for the 1-hr transfer back into El Calafate.  We arrived at our hotel after 5pm.  We got all our gear packed up and ready for departure in the morning - then the night ended with a perfect dinner at the hotel. 

Tomorrow - we start our travel with a 3-hr flight from El Calafate to Buenos Aires - departing at 11:30am.  We have a shuttle setup for 9am to take us to the airport. I’ll check in throughout the day tomorrow. 

Good night from Patagonia for the last time!!

Patagonia - Day #11

 Patagonia - Day 11 - Tuesday, January 7th

Coming to you live aboard a transfer shuttle headed to El Calafate from El Chalten, Argentina.  We conquered Mt Fitz Roy today!!!  15.4 miles, 3,400’ elevation, 8hr-10min - perfect weather!   (We made a great call flipping our days to assure sunny skies over Mt Fitz Roy). It was a really great hiking day - tough - but scenic and very rewarding. 

Today wraps up the final hiking day on our trip.  My legs are thankful - but I’ll miss the tremendous scenery and incredible people I’ve met on this adventure. It’s weird - I run and exercise all the time - but I haven’t backpacked continuously for a while.  I do day hikes often, but rarely do I hike several days in a row.  It’s crazy how sore you can become altering your workouts even a little bit.   However - it’s equally amazing how your body can adjust and become comfortable with the new normal.  Just like on the Appalachian Trail - if I continued to hike 15+ miles daily - my body would eventually adapt and I wouldn’t be so sore each day.  The body is pretty incredible. 

Today Greg and I hiked with Michael and Doug. They had a guide so we sort of went ahead and met up at the amazing lake atop the final climb, with Mt Fitz Roy in the backdrop. Michael beat all of us to the lake - he was strong today.  The guide stayed with Doug - really helping him navigate the very technical downhill that came after the lake.  Mt Fitz Roy is the iconic peak in Argentinean Patagonia - and we were lucky enough to see it in perfect weather!  The views today mimicked the views we were able to experience on the Tower hike at Torres del Paine - absolutely spectacular!!

We got back to our hotel about 3:30pm.  We cleaned up and went out for an early dinner - as Greg and I are taking this shuttle and will only be arriving into El Calafate around 9 pm. 

Tomorrow (Wed, Jan 8th) we have a glacier tour setup - to see the famous Perito Moreno Glacier.  We’ll have a few walks throughout the day - but nothing too serious.  I’m looking forward to sitting back and just enjoying the scenery.  

Thursday we’ll be flying back to the US - ultimately arriving  midday on Friday, Jan 10th.  Here’s to taking it all in and making the absolute most of the time we have left in this amazing part of the world!

We made it to our hotel in El Calafate- a nice place but the Wi-Fi in the room is pretty weak - so it’s 10:40pm and I’m down in the hotel lobby finishing up the blog and checking messages.  Just about ready for some nice shut-eye.  Goodnight from Patagonia!

Shuttle stop

End of hike

2nd lake leading into El Calafate 

Coming into El Calafate at end of hike

At the peak

Spectacular 

Mt Fitz Roy in background

Michael, Greg, and I

Tremendous views

Pics on rocks - classic

Names of the peaks 

Mile 4-5 of hike

Mt Fitz Roy

Start of hike

Patagonia - Day # 10

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!!

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