I packed up the car and checked out of my room. Patricia, the owner, got up early to make me breakfast as the shuttle was coming at 8:00am to pick me up. It was another great breakfast with scrambled eggs, ham, cheese, homemade bread toasted, etc. The shuttle was right on time and after stopping to pick up other people, we got going about 8:30am. It was approximately a 45 minute drive to the drop off point (where Rio Blanco runs into Rio Elecrico on RP23) which was approximately 18km outside of El Chalten. I guess I am committed to the hike now. LOL
The hike was gradual climb and amazing scenery right off the start of the hike.
For the first half of the trip there were very few people, but once get to the mid-point then the hiking population really increases. The majority of the people opt to hike from El Chalten and then back again instead of doing the loop. I prefer the loop as you see so much different scenery … and is less hiking LOL.
After hiking about 2km came to the gate for the park. I just love the sign they had to create ...
The group in my shuttle got out and we started the walk. Just like a pack of horses everyone follows who is in the lead. At one point the trail disperses into many trails that eventually narrows to three trails. I was quite a ways ahead and the path didn’t feel right. I got out my phone to look at Maps.me to check it out. When the others caught up, I informed them that I think this was the wrong trail, but they kept on hiking without saying a word. About 10 people walked by and I was sure this was the long path … it was rarely used and mostly cow paddies on the trail. I cut through the woods towards the river and came across a more worn path.
Taking my time, I stopped and shot a great deal of photo’s until I reached the first major viewpoint. About fifteen minutes later, the group that kept on going on the cow path, came out of the woods smiling when they saw that I was already there. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to just follow the lead person. LOL
The first major viewpoint, Mirador Glaciar Piedras Blancas, was absolutely incredible! The view of the glacier and Lago Piedras Blancas from this area was so stunning it seemed surreal.
Heading further up the trail,I came to Poincenot and Rio Blanco. At this point you start the hike up to the Lago de los Tres which is about another hour hike and doubles in altitude, a steep climb. I started on that journey and stopped to refill my filtered water bottle. There was a sign that read, when you fill your water bottle, please step away from the stream to put on the lid. The sign also indicated not to walk in or bathe in the stream. I had just finished filling my water bottle and walked away from the stream. I happened to look further up the stream and saw this young guy and girl go up to the water. She disappeared and he took off his shirt. Next, I saw her come up with her hair wet and it looked like she was just going to use soap in her hair. The young guy looked like he was going to have a sponge bath. I was so glad I already got my water, but was pissed that these tourist campers abuse such a simple request. There was a campsite nearby and other places they could have gone to clean up. Many people fill up their water bottle where I was standing. There was a couple about to fill their water bottlest after me, but I told them to look up stream.
I headed towards the more critical hike and was just outside of the Rio Blanco campsite which was closed, and noticed grey clouds forming above the Fitz Roy Mountain region. This was not good as I had read that it was extremely dangerous if windy or raining and not recommended to climb during these times.
I opted out of this part of the climb and began to make my way to Laguna Capri. I reached this area hoping that the sky would clear above the mountain so I could get some nice shots. Well, the weather made a turn for the worse and you could see how hard it was raining in the mountains. It started to spit rain by Laguna Capri and I decided I would head back down and drive to my new accommodations. I happened to stay ahead of the rain all the way down which I was grateful for.
After stopping and picking up the car, I had hiked a total of 19km. I checked into my new hostel and even though the room was nice, it was not the best place. The kitchen smelled of rotten food and the fridge was not working that well and had a strong odor coming from it as well. I went out to get a hamburger and a beer, which was reasonable in price and tasted okay.
I packed it in early for tonight, that is for certain, as I had another hike planned for tomorrow.