Patagonia Day 3: El Chalten

the bus to el chalten left at 8:00am from the el calafate bus station. the online weather report read a high of 70. i debated on whether to bring my massive north face jacket or simply bring my vest. i chose the latter and headed downstairs for some brekkie.

i didn't know much about el chalten and i was bit bummed that i wasn't going to see torres del paine on this trip. i shrugged off the disappointment, finished my coffee and walked to the bus station where we greeted the friendly town dogs who at the moment were hustling an asian backpacker for her half-full coca-cola bottle. the dogs won and went on

the bus ride took about three hours. it was pretty much a straight shot north of el calafate; mostly plain, the drive reminded me alot of arizona. and then mount fitz roy and happened and i was left speechless.

it didn't make sense. come to think of it, much of what i saw in patagonia didn't make sense. how can something that massive sneak up on someone like that? i honestly don't know but it was ridiculous. it was as if from one moment all you saw were flat plains and small hills, to the next sitting at the shadow of this giant postcard of a mountain. i couldn't get my eyes off it.

when we finally got to el chalten, breean and i had befriended a couple from mendoza, argentina, fernando y carolina. real nice, funny genuine people. there were many hikes that led you to fitz roy, each one had their own selling point. we decided to take the one with the lake on top.

stunning views of the valley and surrounding mountains were constantly present as we slowly ascended up the steep trail. it took us about 2 hours to hike 4 km. it was tough but completely worth it. when you finally reach the lake you pause and wonder how all of this is even real.


every single element is intertwined here, which makes mount fitz roy one of the most stunning and beautiful things i've ever seen:

the snow capped mountains,
the looming clouds and changing contrasts,
the melting glacier and waterfall in the background,
the fresh lake sitting at the foothill,
the list goes on.

i began to walk towards the edge of the lake and i filled up the nalgene bottle. i hesitated for second, then took a sip and then i took another, and then the bottle was empty again. the water was fresh, it was clean, it was what it supposed to be, it was simply good. we spent an hour lounging and exploring around the lake. then i sat for a bit and savored the last few moments. it was sad, i didn't want to leave.

the trek down was nice but it began to get a bit windy. for some reason it felt a bit longer going down than up. when we finally got to the bottom of the trail we found a hostel and had a few quilmes bocks. we got to know a bit more of our new mendoza friends. shortly after we hopped on the bus and headed back to el calafate.

i slept most of the drive.