We catch a bus north, to spend a few days in another part of Los Glaciares national park El Chalten is barely more than a village and still has the feel of a frontier town. Outside of high season, the local population is just a few hundred strong, but this is hiking and climbing country and their number is boosted by friendly young Argentinians eager to spend time in this dramatically beautiful area and work a season or two at the hotels, hostels, camp sites, bars, restaurants and outdoor shops that support the growing tourist trade.
The Park Rangers’ office is a compulsory first stop for everyone entering the town. Not only to find out about the range of trekking trails, but also to receive instructions on behaviour in the park – sticking to the trails, no smoking except in town and on campsites, no camp fires, all waste to be brought back to town, etc, etc.
The mountain range here is instantly recognisable as the logo of the Patagonia clothing brand, and the jagged sheer black peaks of Mount FitzRoy and Cerro Torre attract some of the world’s best mountaineers. We content ourselves with walking up the trails to viewpoints and base camps and leave the vertiginous climbing to others.
We arrive at lunchtime, so on day one we walk for a couple of hours to viewpoints on either side of the valley. The sun is shining. It is very beautiful. It is also very, very hot. And the dust covered trails are tinder dry. You can understand the park ranger’s stern restrictions on smoking and fires.
Day two is set aside for our longest hike. The Laguna de Los Tres trail is billed at the best in the area. It is 8 miles one way, with a final steep climb of 400m to the blue lagoon nestling under the giant granite walls of Mount FitzRoy. We set off uncertain that we will make the final climb, but with a contingency plan to veer off the route to a viewpoint for Laguna Capri under the Cerro Torre if we don’t.
It’s another hot, sunny day but – heeding the local advice to dress like an onion as the weather is so unpredictable - we set off with our knapsacks on our back stuffed with fleeces, waterproofs and lunch. We only need our packed lunch and lots and lots of water., refilling our bottles in rushing glacial streams and, when we finally zig zag our way to the the top of the trail, in the turquoise blue water of Laguna de Los Tres itself. Yes, we did it! And what a view. A row of dramatic peaks rising out of the blue lagoon and set against a clear blue sky. We are very privileged. El Chalten, the original Indian name for Mount FitzRoy means “volcano” – it is shrouded in cloud so often, they thought it was constantly smoking.
But then we have the long walk back. The steep rocky descent from Laguna de Los Tres takes nearly as long as the hour long climb up and my knees are grateful for the hired walking poles. At the bottom of the hill we take off boots and socks and step into an ice cold stream. The sensation on my feet is so intense, it’s like an ice-cream headache. But it feels much better when I put my boots back on. Just as well as we have a 3 hour up and down walk ahead of us to get back to the hotel. It’s a long walk home, but the thought of the cold beer waiting for us, and the wonderful views keep us going.
By the time we hit town again, we have been on our feet for 10 hours. A long, hard, but incredible day. We fall into the first bar in town and down a well-earned beer. And ten fall into the hotel’s warm, welcoming swimming pool to ease my aches and pains. And finally, treat ourselves to a fantastic steak and a bottle of Malbec at Fuegia, a great little restaurant close to our hotel – so we don’t have to walk too far. The meal is like nectar and staff are charming but not great at adding up. They try to undercharge us. Twice. We do our own calculation and pay the right amount. Not sure if they realised their mistake or just thought we were very generous tippers!
We have most of a third day in El Chalten, as our bus doesn’t leave until 6.30pm. Not enough time to do another full day’s hike (thank goodness!) but we manage a 3 hour walk to the Cerro Torre lookout under another brilliant blue sky. It couldn’t get better than this.
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