Date of Entry: April 11th 2016
Date of Writing: June 2nd 2016, My Apartment,Sao Paulo, Brazil.
I wake up to see the sunrise on my last full day in El Chalten but leave my camera battery charging. I’m honestly unsure of what I’m going to do today, my legs are tired from so much trekking this past month but it seems a shame to waste my last full day in the paradise that is Patagonia. that in mind I decide I should at least attempt one last hike heading towards a 360 degree view point called loa del Pliegue Tumbado. Allie and Amandine did this hike and described it as constant uphill which scares the hit of me, but I figure I’ll at least give it the old college try, if I just make it a quarter of the way, then so be it.
Leaving Hostel viajeros I stop in at a little ferreteria, you see my shoes have been utterly destroyed by hiking and it’s a miracle the sole hasn’t completely ripped off yet. There i find a very temporary solution, a roll of purple duct tape, which I hope will last me through the hike.
Oncemy shoes are taped up I head out to the national park offices where the long uphill trail begins and my aching legs are already telling me I’m not likely to finish this trail. I slowly wind up the beginning of the trail which offers brief glimpses of the imposing mountains I’ve come to know so well this past week. But trust me when I say it’s going to get better.
After about 45 minutes on the trail I’m getting downright exhausted and covered in sweat, the uphill is not particularly steep, but it’s unrelenting, and my blood clot damaged leg is very much aching, but as I enter a short burst of forest and emerge to the seeping blood reds of autumn leaves backed by the magical mountains I feel suddenly reinvigorated.
I’m surprised at myself but I keep moving watching some tiny birds dance and play in the blossoming sunlight. They pick seeds from the ground and buzz around as I try to get a picture or two before continuing across a giant plain and reaching a turn off in the trail. I take the right fork, the left heading towards laguna toro, which unless you run it, requires more than a single day.
From here the path continues on upwards through a stunning autumnal forest, and I find myself very glad of the crisp temperature and almost biting wind, if it weren’t for them i’d be sweating boatloads and enjoying the walk a lot less.
Eventually IO come out of the forest and stop for a small sandwich, not having repeated my mistake of two days ago which forced me to complete the laguna de los tres hike without anything substantial. thank goodness to, because at least for me this hike is significantly harder, though easily achievable if you’re in any kind of shape.
As I climb up higher the forests recede and give way to rocky hills which the trail winds through quickly taking me up closer to the first of two miradors between 2 and 3 hours after leaving el Chalten. The last picture is the path up to the second mirador that is truly 360 degrees and it is quite steep, though a walk not a climb in anyway.
I reach the first viewpoint and suddenly realize that I had no idea to expect. Honestly I think even if I had my expectations would have been blown out of the water, because this view is insane. Perched high above laguna Torre I feel something like a condor soaring high above the mountains and looking down at them. Oh and don’t worry the condors show up before too long.
I told you the condors come soon right? A good sized group of them start to soar above us, quickly gaining altitude over this truly ridiculous background. I really can’t believe my eyes and take a seat on a big boulder and decide to take a little time to recuperate before attempting the climb to the final viewpoint. The condors make the time pass quickly though and anytime they disappear I’m left with one of the most picturesque views I’ve encountered in almost three years of travelling.
Eventually I leap down off the boulder and decide there’s no use putting it off, I have to try to make it up to the final viewpoint. It’s beyond step and looks exhausting but it can’t be to bad and shouldn’t take more than half an hour.
Now let me just say this clearly, it’s worth the effort, because up here is something amazing in every direction. It’s beyond ridiculous and I quickly get some paint me jack photos by some friendly backpackers from my hostel. It’s way too beautiful.
As I explore the rocky summit area I know I’m going to be hanging around here as long as I possibly can, I mean how could I leave. I take several seats at stunning viewpoints, build an inukshuk for my my mum, and enjoy a brief visit from a friendly curious eagle at the summit in the first half of my time up here. Not many stay as long as I do, probably because up here unprotected from the wind it’s kind of cold, but being cold in a beautiful place is one of my favourite things to do anyway so yeah…
Just as I’m finally getting ready to leave the condors come back in force and I feel a bit like Frodo dying on the edge of mount doom, the eagles are coming! Now they’re not eagles and while they are huge I doubt they could carry me, but still this impressive birds give me an excuse to spend an extra half hour up here trying to capture the birds in flight and having some of the most success I’ve had in my week in Chalten.
Eventually I have to face facts though, It’s time to go back, otherwise I’ll be up here overnight, and as nice as that sounds, I’m in no way equipped to do it. So I start the trail back down, the first thirty minutes so steep that my knees are aching but after that it’s much easier going. I’ve re-taped my shoes for the walk back as they were breaking apart, heading back down past a herd of cows and through the amazing forests all over again.
As the sun starts to set I up my pace, forcing myself to stop when I see two very pretty birds sitting on the carcass of a tree. Some of the pictures turn out well before I keep going, my attention turning to the sun setting beyond the incredible line of mountains which will eternally linger in my mind. I maybe leaving el chalten tomorrow morning, but this amazing place will stay in my heart forever. The sunrises, the sunsets, the lakes, the glaciers, the friendly people, and everything else. El Chalten is a trekker’s paradise and don’t you dare skip it if you’re coming to Patagonia.
