Date of Entry:  April 9th 2016

Date of Writing:  May 28th 2016, Bee W Hostel, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Get Ready, because today is one of my absolute favourite days in the last three years of travel, and I’m going to try to make this an entry well worth reading, though I think the photos may do that on their own.  Either way today is the day I’ve chosen in conjunction with what I hope is an accurate weather forecast to attempt a day hike to Laguna De Los Tres.

Thanks to a tip from my driver yesterday on the day trip to glacier huemel  I’m waiting in the lobby of Hostel Viajeros just after 7 am for my shuttle pick up to take me out to hosteria Pillar, an alternate and in my opinion much better way to do this day trek.  It shortens it a little, adds some spectacular views of other glaciers, and avoids retreading your steps on the way back.

The ride takes maybe 40 minutes and costs around 200 ARS (cant remember the exact price) .  On the day I do it there’s just a small collection of people in the minibus with us making the beginning of the hike very special, especially when almost immediately I take the lead in time to see a fox chase a giant rabbit across the path

About ten minutes in from the main road is Hosteria Pilar which looks beautiful but is closed for the season already. It is situated beside one river in the shadow of countless mountains and also marks the start of the trail to mount Fitzroy and Laguna de Los Tres at the base of this majestic mountain.

The trail winds gently uphill but is very much a doable walk for this first section, eventually after maybe an hour leading past a mirador of Piedras Blancas which is beyond beautiful and something you would not see on the traditional loop hike from el Chalten to Laguna De Los Tres, and I think that’s a shame.

Looking across at this stunning lake I still can’t really believe my eyes, even looking back at the photos.  I honestly just wish I knew of a trail that would take me to that lake, because it looks incredibly beautiful. But such a thing is not to be, and I’ve got another lake to get to today anyway, so after a brief break I carry on.

Music in my ears has me bouncing along to Bas’ latest album too high to riot and eventually I come out to a clearing and an amazing view of Fitzroy and the entire line of mountains as well as a scary sight, the hill I’m going to need to climb to get to the lake, and most people I know have told me it’s much harder than the final km up to the lake at the base of the torres in Torres Del Paine National Park.

Following the trail I go through a campsite at the base of the hill and through a small forest before reaching the final section of the trek which is very very steep, but I’m feeling good.  It’s important to note that hiking without a tent is easier, but having a tent here would be nice, as sunrise on fitzroy up at the lake is supposed to be absolutely magical.

I cross a babbling brook and then start the ascent, which is far from easy, but to me at least feels much easier than what I experienced in Torres Del Paine, and while Ive passed many people on the days walk only two super fit germans who were sleeping just below manage to pass me on the way up, even with all the time I spent stopped to take some pictures.

Okay so I’ve said several times how this uphill was easier than I expected, but that doesn’t mean I’m not bloody exhausted by the time I get up there.  I’m drenched in sweat, gasping for a bit of air, and desperately trying to climb over the last little bit of hill blocking what I am sure will be a spectacular view.  I’ve certainly picked the right day for it, the sky is pure blue, it’s almost warm, and there’s not a breath of wind to be heard.  It’s so beautiful.

I clamber up over the second hill to a raised viewpoint of the lake and it is everything I have ever hoped it would be, the sparkling turquoise waters a perfect mirror for the frankly hard to believe mountains above.  It is perfection, and to top it off there’s maybe 8 people spread around the lake looking t it, and while that number will certainly grow, thanks to this being the end of the season this stunning place never feels even the slightest bit crowded.

I get talking to a canadian guy and tell him about the second lake so close by which you’ll learn about later in this post and end up offering him a sandwich since I have two and I have none, but when I open my bag I realize I’ve left all my food back at the hostel, which isn’t the best thing for such an arduous hike.  He is kind enough to give me some of his trail mix which I hope will be enough to get me through the day.  The walk back is going to be interesting though.

I ask someone to take a few photos for me in return for a few of them and naturally I have to get a paint me jack or two in these beautiful places.  Oh and did I mention the reflections yet?  Because they are honestly beyond incredible.

Eventually I can’t wait any longer and I head down the steep little incline to join a few others beside the lake.  The walk down is a little hard on tired legs but the lake calls me on and just a couple minutes later I’m there, staring out at this beautiful new angle of this insane place.

I do some self timer photos and then wander around the rocky beach looking for a god access point to try to go swimming, but at this shore the waters seem to continue to be shallow forever making entering both slippery and prolonged, which is not what you’re really looking for while swimming in a glacial lake. So i shelve that plan for the time being and take some photos of a Canadian guided group.  When they ask me if they can return the favour I say yes then ask if they have the time for me to get out to a rock a short distance out into the shallow waters.  They say it’s not possible to get to and that they’ve tried but that’s because they were trying to stay dry, and I have no such limitations.  Soon enough I’m posed on the rock and they are kind enough to snap some pictures.

When I get back it’s time for them to leave but their guide does quickly mention just how lucky we are, apparently only 15-20 days a year have this combination of blue sky and no wind.  I’m so glad I waited for this hike.

After a little more time just basking in the beauty of this place I decide to go have a look at the little rocky outcrop on the right side of the lake, hoping it might be a better view and knowing that I will be all but alone out there, in the back of my mind I’m also hoping swimming might be a possibility. But we’ll see on that, since no one else seems to be doing it, though that’s never stopped me before.

Out there I find a perfect place for isolated meditation as well as just the best place to sing to the mountains because I’m strange like that.  Out here the reflections are even more impressive, perfect in the electric turquoise waters.Honestly, it’s just hard to believe.

I’ve recently taken to building inukshuk’s for my departed mother when I visit truly special places, hoping they might be her eyes to the world and also perhaps letting her know where I am, and here there needs to be one so I build it quickly and spend a few minutes thinking of her.  Truth be told without my mother and father’s love of travel, growing up hearing their stories and seeing their photos, and travelling to costa rica with them when I was 16 I might very well not be on this current course which has brought such immense happiness into my life. So thanks Mum and Dad, I love you both.

I eventually decide I have to swim, the day is too nice and the water too inviting in it’s own frozen way.  I’m about to do it alone when a friendly swedish guy appears on the rocks with me and agrees to take some photos of the whole thing.  Initially he’s not planning to swim, but seeing the joy on his face changes his mind and so there’s photos of him too.

The water is beyond refreshing, of course there is the initial shock, then a very pleasant 30 seconds where your whole body comes alive, then a slightly painful and uncomfortable sensation of your body going numb.  I don’t stay in long, but the moments in that pure glacial water are certainly precious to me.  The entrance also makes me famous and even on my flight back up to buenos aires in a week someone recognizes me as the crazy Canadian who went swimming in the glacial lake below mount Fitzroy.

Now here comes a great tip for anyone making it to laguna de los tres (It’s worth noting many people don’t make it, if the weather’s bad the last section of the hike is very exposed and not a good idea in strong wind)  and one that many people seem not to know about.  Maybe a 10 minute walk from the shore of laguna de los tres is another outlook to another stunning glacial lake, tucked around the other side of fitz roy.  It makes me sad how many people miss this lake, because while you can’t get down to it easily, you can appreciate the incredible view very easily from above.

To get there it’s very simple, just follow the shoreline of laguna de los tres to your left (if facing the lake).  You will find a small path and then a sign that tells you not to pass.  Just ahead and to the left of that sign is the lookout and it’s perfectly safe as long as you are careful and use your common sense, and after seeing this lake under a hanging glacier, it’s impossible to imagine not having seen it.  In many ways it’s just as beautiful ads Laguna de los tres, though shadows make it slightly less photogenic.  Still the photos aren’t too bad.

Eventually I head back to the shore of Laguna de Los Tres as the sun starts to sink a little lower.  there’s more people now but it’s still not crowded and I do my best to tell everyone I meet about the other lake, not wanting people to miss out, which is also one of the main reasons I write this blog.

I eventually take a seat on a comfy rock right beside the waters and just exist in this beautiful place.  I already know that this day will live forever in my mind, and that’s before I notice the huge winged shapes in the mountain fringed blue sky.  The condors have arrived and I watch in rapt attention as they coast on the thermals, effortlessly gliding above the beautiful green-blue lake.  They are hard to photograph, but I do my best.

I sit there for a good long while just amazed by the place and soaking in every second I can spend.  An eagle eventually perches on a rock nearby and watches me quizzically.  Just as I’m preparing myself to leave I run into my three Argentinean friends from yesterday’s adventure to Glacier Huemel.  I’m happy to see these friendly guys and glad to see that they made the trip up here, and I quickly tell them about the second lake, using this to delay my departure even though it’s getting very late.

Eventually they come back and I make myself head back up to the raised viewpoint where another eagle is eagerly approaching some gringos in search of food.  I check my watch and seeing it’s almost 4 I make myself say a hard goodbye to this ridiculous place and then start my path back down to the campsite, where I will take a different trail back, heading straight to El Chalten and not back to Hosteria Pilar.

The walk down the section is difficult on sore knees but I make it pass as quickly as I can, my stomach starting to rumble aggressively with hunger, still there’s always time for a few more photos of the truly ridiculous view.

On the way back I’m walking as fast as I can,  my hunger and the music in my ears driving me on back towards the town.  right about now I’m really wishing I hadn’t forgotten my delicious sandwiches, but oh well, at least the scenery is new to me since I took the shuttle to Hosteria Pilar to start the trek.  As I walk the sun starts to dip behind the line of mountains at my back and I take lots of photos of this amazing spectacle, the sun eventually fading to a pinhole starlight glow just above and to the right of fitzroy’s peak.

I’m starting to feel a little weak by the time I’m approaching the end of the hike back to the city, looking down at the valley I walked along on my first minor outing in el Chalten visiting the waterfall.  This time though I’m up much higher and the views are even more impressive.

It’s getting dark by the time I get to the trailhead at the edge of town and my legs are aching, my body quite sweaty, but my mind free and clear in a way it hasn’t been for a while.  A combination of good exercise (I encourage everyone who can to get in shape I feel so much better than I did.)  swimming in glacial water, and the incredible views making for a giant smile split across my face as I stop in at an american style diner for a well earned greasy hamburger and french fries before heading back to Hostel Viajeros for the night.  I’ve only got two more days in El Chalten and I wish it was more, I think the photos in this entry serve as the perfect explanation as to why. I hope you enjoyed the day’s adventure, because I know I did.