Patagonia and Buenos Aires

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        Holy Moly!! Jackie is actually the one writing this entry. It is a total miracle! 

*** Full disclosure: this entry is a long one. We are weeks behind and we've done so many cool things. Get comfortable. Grab a blanket, a cup of tea, find a couch and settle in  :) ***

Maria and I set out for a hike in the hopes we would be able to catch a glimpse of the amazing Fitz Roy mountain that El Chalten is famous for. We hiked up five miles to a mirador that was supposed to deliver the view. Although the view was nothing short of spectacular, we could not yet see Fitz Roy. We were able to see all the other mountains that surrounded Fitz as well as the glaciers. It was an incredible view and so peaceful. We walked to Lago Capri as a consolation prize for not seeing Mount Fitz Roy. It was a beautiful mountain lake with the crystal clear water. We sat alone in the peace and quite until an REI trekking group came along. The group was friendly and told us about a hike we should try in the next couple of days. One guy was particularly interested in our trip and said, "a sentence that starts with 'I quit my job' is a great start to any story". He was super encouraging and told us that we would never regret it and we were brave for doing so. We trekked back down the five miles so happy for our decision to take this trip, but still wishing for thanksgiving meals and family time. 

After our hike we all went to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. We were sad not to find any turkey dinners with all the trimmings but we treated ourselves to a dinner above our usual price range and really enjoyed it. We went back to the hostel and all fought terrible wifi in order to call our families at home and wish them a happy thanksgiving. 

We hiked the entire second day in El Chalten as well. We trekked 18 km to the Cerro Torre Mountain range. It was a lovely and relatively easy hike, extremely simple compared to what we had in store. We eventually found ourselves sitting down by a beautiful lake looking up at Cerro Torre. The weather was cloudy and overcast but it made the place feel mythical and dream like. There were ice chucks  floating in the water from a glacier that was next the mountains. Being from a very flat area of Northwest Ohio made all these mountain views and hikes so much more amazing. As well as extremely challenging, haha. 

The last day in El Chalten proved to be by far the most challenging and the most rewarding yet. We woke up early to embark on our 24 km round trip trek to elusive Mt. Fitz Roy. The trail was called Laguna de Los Tres. We were crossing our fingers the entire morning for clear skies in order to catch a glimpse of the reason why we traveled here. The trek started out challenging with a great deal of up hill walking. It eventually leveled out to a somewhat flat path. We followed the river for many miles and walked through a petrified forrest, valleys, and meadows. The waters in the river and streams were so clear. We were able to fill up our water bottles right from them. The water was so cold and refreshing, it tasted so pure and worked wonders to quench our thirst. The hike was truly beautiful. 

From the last vantage point on flat terrain that we saw of Fitz Roy it was still covered by clouds. We decided to embark on the last bit and by far the most challenging part of the hike. We hiked 1.2 km straight up, and I do mean straight up. At some points I was almost crawling as we ventured up in a elevation gain of 800 meters in 1 km. My legs were burning and it was so hot!! There was no shelter from the sun and it beat down on us. I spent the entire hike up craving the cold water of the streams below. We climbed and climbed. There were so many points that I wanted to give up and turn around. I was so jealous of anyone going down hill and I wanted to join them. Somehow and someway I made it to the top and thank God I did. The closer to the top we climbed the more and more the clouds were clearing. By the time we were at the top the entire cloud free Mount Fitz Roy was waiting for us! The view was majestic, breathtaking, awe inspiring, incredible and such a reward for all the hard work of the climb. Fitz Roy was a towering giant looking down on us. You could see it all, the entire mountain, the pristine blue lake and the huge glaciers that surrounded the area. I swear the views you work for are the most rewarding.  We sat up at the top feeling accomplished about the hike and beyond grateful for the opportunity to see such amazing things. I could have stayed for hours, just sitting and relaxing in the sun with the 360 degree views of sensational nature. Another amazing, and really fun part of being at the top, was the look on peoples faces when they also reached the top and laid eyes on one of the most majestic views of all time. It was really quite amazing to experience. The hike down was very long, steep, but uneventful. It was amazing to see how high we had climbed. We rewarded ourselves with cheeseburgers back in town after the long day of hiking.

The following day was very relaxing, all we had to do was catch a bus back to El Calafate. The walk to the bus station allowed us to see Mt. Fitz Roy towering above the town. We had no idea it was there looming the entire time under cloud cover. It was very beautiful and a great goodbye present from El Chalten. The bus ride was so quick, only three hours. The views the entire drive were spectacular and before we knew it we were pulling back in the tourist town we got to know so well before. We checked into our very budget and backpacker friendly hostel named El Ovejero. It was cheap and that's why we picked it, but on that note, you get what you pay for. We were handed sheets at check in and were told to make our own bed. The bathrooms were located in a freestanding building and our four person dorm room was located in a trailer type of building quite a distance away. It was interesting to say the least. I was glad to be only spending one night there. 

We were enjoying the wifi on the patio when we met two guys who had been traveling through Patagonia as well. We had ironically saw them the day before hiking to the top of Fitz Roy. They told me the clouds were clearing which motivated me to continue on and were very nice and interesting to talk to. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and sharing stories of travels past and plans for travel in the future. Conversations flow easily and friendships form quickly when there is a mutual love and appreciation for traveling. We eventually meandered into town, grabbed dinner, walked around, and then retreated to the hostel for wifi and more talking. 

After one night in El Calafate we were back off to the bus station to catch a ride to Puerto Natales in Chile. We met a few interesting characters on the bus including an Aussie lady named Annie. She kept pounding on the door that separated the bus driver from the passengers, in order to tell him to turn up the air conditioning. Since he was busy driving the bus (we are flying down the road at 90km/hr) he clearly couldn't open the door. Yet she kept knocking and yelling "Turn the bloody Air Con on!" Gladly the problem was eventually solved and she retreated back to her seat. It was otherwise an uneventful bus ride and border crossing. It was our third time crossing the border between Chile and Argentina. We were becoming pros at this point :) 

           Our hostel, Nikko's II Adventure, had a car waiting to pick up us. This was an awesome perk because it was freezing and would have been a three mile walk. The hostel was super clean and comfortable. It had a great set up and the staff was super nice, young and informative. We had three nice relaxing days there prior to our hike in Torres Del Paine National Park. We slept in a lot, watched movies, and in the afternoons explored the little town. We were enjoying Patagonian beers and Chilean wine in the evenings and ate at nice restaurants. We rented camping gear at our hostel and through another hostel in town called Erratic Rock. The gear that came from Erratic Rock was super nice and they were extremely helpful making sure to answer all of our questions about the trek and to explain the ins and outs of the W circuit. We also attended a free information session about hiking in the national park put on by Erratic Rock. Shout out to them, they were awesome and I would highly recommended them to anyone!! The night before the trek we bought a ton of food and practiced setting up the gear. We rented two tents, sleeping pads and a cook stove. We already had our warm weather clothes and our sleeping bags. However, it became very evident that not everything would fit into our packs and we had to scale back. We obliviously and  absolutely needed certain things, but we "cut back" by leaving extra food, clothes and any items that seemed like a luxury. We knew to prepare for the unpredictable Patagonia weather so we wrapped up all our gear in individual trash bags and stuffed everything in the bags. Even with the cut backs our bags were still huge and heavy, but we were happy they closed.

Up early the next morning we set out. We traveled to the park first on a 2.5 hour long bus ride to the entrance. There we paid the entry fee of 21,000 Chilean pesos (or $32 USDs), and watched a video that told us to stay on trails and not light fires. Fires anywhere inside the park are totally illegal and you can only cook with cook stoves in designated areas. They are so serious about these rules and for good reason, a few years prior a huge section of the park was on fire because some tourists decided to burn their toilet paper and they stopped watching their fire. The fire spread quickly and caused mass devastation inside the park. All of their information was super helpful and they also gave us a very detailed map of the park.

The next phase of the journey was to take a shuttle to the trail head and then once there just start walking. Now is a good time to mention the rain. Alas, there was a ton of it. A constant, unrelenting, freezing rain. I was super glad the gear was wrapped and I invested in a water proof jacket. It made for a muddy, slippery and challenging climb up the trail. The first day was mostly uphill and the most challenging day. Although the weather was cold and rainy, once we started hiking it became super hot in all of our rain gear and with a full pack. The inside of my coat became as wet as the outside eventually. The views the whole time were magnificent even with rainy skies. The rivers and water falls were strong and blasting with all the rain. The water roared as we walked over bridges. We walked on the side of a mountain that was right next to another huge mountain. There was a hazy fog that hung really low between them. The higher we climbed the colder it became. At certain points the rain turned to ice, and the strong wind would blast it right into our faces. The winds roared and were so strong sometimes I felt I could be knocked over from them. We now fully understood what people meant in regards to the Patagonian wind and rain. We truly battled the elements that entire day. Eventually, and still on time, we made it to our first camp, Campamento Torres. 

We pitched the tents as fast as possible between a small break in the rain. Our hands were so frozen cold it made any fine motor skills difficult. The wind was still roaring so we hammered our steaks as far into the ground as possible. We moved big rocks on top them as well in order to ensure the tents would not blow away. There was a stream with fresh, clean water we could drink from and fetch water for our cooking. It seemed like the entire camp was nestled into the cooking shelter trying to prepare their dinner over their cook stoves. We soon joined them so we could prepare our dinner. That entire night we froze in our tents. We were wearing every single dry layer we could. We were packed into our sleeping bags and settled in for the night listening to the wind howl outside and shake our tents. 

The next morning we hiked an hour straight up to the Mirador Las Torres. It was a beautiful hike and much less steep then what we experienced at Fitz Roy. After an hour we were at the top soaking in another amazing and magnificent view of the three towers and their beautiful lake. Mirador Las Torres lived up to the hype and we were grateful for the chance to witness it. We hiked back down and continued on the trek. The hike down was lovely and the weather was better, we were able to see far off into the distance and take in the grandeur of Torres del Paine National Park. Mentally it was a rough game at certain points because of how heavy the pack was. It made the steep climbs and descents much more challenging. I fell once because the bag went one way, I went the other and inevitably the bag won. Our shoulders, back and legs felt the burden of the pack, but once you looked around at the scenery all of that went by the way side. That was the theme of the next few days of our hike. Even with all the rainy weather and finding out that there was a very important bridge out of commission that split the W trek into two sides, it was a great experience. Everyone, including us, had to scramble to change plans and back track a considerable distance due to the broken bridge. I learned a lot about mental and physically capabilities, and that frequent breaks are totally necessary when lugging a full pack with you, but breaks definitely affect your planned arrival time :-) I also learned that mental strength is more important than physical strength, and sometimes you just have to play it safe and learn your limits. Each of us would go back and do it again in a heartbeat. We decided though that we would stay in the nice refugios (AKA hotels) through out the park so we could enjoy their delicious warm meals and comfortable beds and not have to camp and carry all that gear ourselves. I know hiking with a daypack is much more my style anyway :-) Back in Puerto Natales the hot shower, cheeseburger, warm hostel and comfortable bed were much appreciated after the hike.  However, even then I missed the sound of the wind and nature that had surrounded us the prior days, but we sure slept great.