Day 13: El Chasten-Laguna de Torres

Lucked out again with the weather.  This morning was mild and low winds (20-25mph) and the mountains were clear.  The original plan was to hike to the base of Mt. Fitzroy, but our guides (we needed 2 because we had more than 4 people???) Marco and Daniel recommended that we instead do the Laguna de Torre hike; they claimed the views were better the whole way and it was the most beautiful hike here.  They were concerned that if we tried to do it tomorrow with 60-70mph winds, it would be too dangerous since much of the hike is in exposed areas.  I really think that our questions about how long, how far, how much elevation, etc. made them think the Cerro Torre hike might be too difficult for us old folk.  In any case, we went for the views.  From the hotel we walked about a mile to the trailhead.  We passed through the residential district of el Chalten.  

Front yard sculptures in El Chalten

At the trailhead, there was a park ranger signing hikers in and out. 

I guess they need to know if anyone gets blown off the mountain, eaten by pumas, or picked up and carried away by condors.  Who said Argentina wasn’t dangerous?

The entire hike was about 13 miles with a lot of ups and downs.  

But, the views were fantastic the whole way.  

Jeri refilling our water bottles in the glacial stream

The route followed the Fitzroy River a good part of the way that also added to the esthetics of the hike. 

We got a few glimpses of Mt. Fitzroy, named for the captain of The Beagle, by Perito Merino.  The aboriginal name for the mountain was El Chalten, or "god of smoke" because it was almost always enveloped in clouds.

We finally got to the lake around 1:30 and sat for lunch and photos.  

Our spot on the beach provided us with great, breathtaking views of  Cerro Torre (about 10,200’), the 3 towers (torre) of the Mt. Fitzroy Range, and the adjacent Cerro Solo..  We were unable to see Mt Fitzroy, though, since the high vertical walls of the moraine from the glacier, Glaciar Grande, obstructed our view.  The glacier here is rapidly retreating.  Our guides, who are only in their late 20’s or early 30’s, have seen significant loss of the glacier in their short time ion the mountains. 

The entire time we sat at the lake, the mountains, which are usually obstructed by clouds, were perfectly clear.  The return trip was uneventful except for the sore legs and feet we all had by the time we left the trail.

After a hot bath and shower, we were ready for dinner.  We had reservations at a restaurant next door to the microbrewery at which we ate the night before.  We had studied the menu and were all ready to order, when Rhonda had the good sense to ask if they took plastic.  “Cash only”.  First time I ever had to walk out of a restaurant because I couldn’t afford it.  None of us had sufficient cash, so we had to scramble.  We actually wound up with 2 reservations.  Milt went back to the hotel to get some recommendations, and Dave had the bright idea (unbeknownst to Milt) to check with Cynthia, the woman from the local guide agency that was taking care of us here.  Needless to say, we had reservations fro 2 separate restaurants.  Cancelled Milt’s for tonight and rebooked for tomorrow, and ate at Nando’s Passarilla (BBQ ).  They are NOT skimpy with their portions here.  Dave and I had tenderloin that had to be 20oz, minimum.  Rhonda had a brontosaurus steak ala Fred Flintstone (actually a piece of lamb that must have come from a 6’ tall ovine).  Jeri had a beautifully bone (and tasty) trout.  On top of all that, dinner came to only about $60/ couple.

As we waddled back to the hotel, the wind became fiercer, building to around 40mph.  Once in the hotel, it increased further giving us pause to question the building code in El Chalten.  Not to worry, though, the roof did not blow off and we survived the night.  Actually, Dave did not.  We finished a scrabble game we started the night before.  After leading the whole way, Dave choked and Jeri and I pulled ahead with the final word of the game. (actually, we all had terrible letters and he was stuck with all vowels the last two turns- can’t make chicken salad out of chicken poop).  Rematch tomorrow night!