Vale la pena

Next we headed northwest from El Calafate up the legendary Route Nacional 40 to the tiny village of El Chalten. Founded in 1985 to put a stop to any Chilean ideas of expansion, El Chalten felt like the wild west. Growing like mad, the dusty streets of El Chalten lead directly to and from the northern part of Parque Nacional los Glaciares.


We lucked out and arrived to bright blue skies and cloudless views of the Fitz Roy Range.


We wanted to see the mountains up close so we rented a tent and headed into the park.


Impressed with the views from town, as soon as we hit the trail they became even more spectacular.


Some of the peaks were snow covered others jagged and dramatic.


The lakes and streams were equally impressive. Not only did they have the most amazing turquoise color but they were so clean that we could actually drink from them! Without filtering the water. No joke!


After hiking in about 10 kilometers and setting up camp on the first day the real fun began. Trevor wanted to see the lake at the foot of Mt. Fitz Roy that was allegedly a short hike from our campground. While it's true that the lake wasn't far, the fact that the trail zig-zagged practically straight up was omitted from the description.

Like a cat caught in a tree, I was sure I was going to have to be rescued from the trail up to Laguna de los Tres! We gained something like 450 meters in a very short amount of time. And while it's true that I'm a bit out of my element in the wilderness, and prone to exaggerate the direness of the situation, judge for yourself.


Alas, after all the drama of the climb, it was totally worth it. Vale la pena!