Bariloche was our last stop during this stretch of travelling, and we had determined that we really wanted to walk across the Andes Mountains. Since this was the first time that we had considered something like this, many people recommended that we get a guide. So we did. It turned out to be a great idea, as he took us places we would never have gone, gave us a pace we loved, and taught us many things about the environment as we moved through it.
Our trek started on
Day One with a steep climb into the mountains with the reward of an amazing view of the city and surrounding lakes. From here we continued on until camp, somewhere in the middle of this incredible mountain range. It froze overnight, but was a beautiful clear day for
Day Two when we continued through the peaks to reach a wonderful cabin in the middle of nowhere. Chris slipped in the snow along the way sliding down to impact against a rock and tumble to within centimetres of a twenty metre cliff and certain death.
After a day of rest at the cabin, we took a huge
Day Three challenge of reaching the lakes while the boats were still running. This made it a short day even with a very early start, and involved a gruelling half-walk, half-run across the base of "El Tronador" mountain called this for its thunderous rumbles caused by cracking in the mammoth ice sheets that cover its face. There was little time for rest on this day, and a lot of moving. The weather came in on us, with rain, snow, and wind before finally opening up in the afternoon with a bright sunny end to our walk.
We were glad to reach the lakes, and for our
Final Stretch we boarded the first of two boats that would return us to Bariloche. There were no other hikers with us, other than the occasional day trekker, but there were many tourists. We were exhausted, and slept a good part of the trip. Back in Bariloche, a bus returned us to our hotel where we could recover and celebrate yet another amazing adventure during our travels. After this, it was time to head home.
Trek Day 1 |
Trek Day 2 |
Trek Day 3 |
Final Stretch
Bariloche Trek Day 1
Top
Bariloche Trek Day 2
Top
Bariloche Trek Day 3
Top
Bariloche Trek Final Stretch
Top