Sunday, November 24, 2013

Fitz Roy & Laguna de los Tres, Argentina

November 18

During our last day in El Chalten, Gene and I headed out on the Fitz Roy trail that leads up to Laguna de los Tres, one of the most popular hikes in Patagonia.  It is a 15-mile hike to Laguna de los Tres (7.5 miles out and back).  Most people bring tents and set up camp at one of the three campsites in the area.  We were scheduled to take the bus back to El Calafate at 7:30 pm, so we planned to do this as a long day hike.

The weather deteriorated very quickly as the day progressed - and that's Patagonia for you!  While  it was fairly warm when we started, the temperature dropped drastically within a few hours and the wind picked up extensively (think harsh tropical storm conditions).  Gene decided to turn back after ~ 1/3 of the hike and returned to the hostel.  I decided to continue on to see if I could get some decent shots of Laguna de los Tres.  Unfortunately that was impossible!  I was unable to see anything with all the snow once I'd reached the top.  Still it was a beautiful trail (although it was very crowded).

I got some great photos of Mount Fitz Roy the day before from the bus ride back from the Viedma Glacier.





Here are the picturse taken during the hike.

Beautiful shot of Rio de las Vueltas

mHere's the best shot I got of the Fits Roy on the hike - still somewhat hidden beneath the clouds.  This was taken at the Mirador del Fits Roy.


This was close to the top / end of the trailhead to Laguna de los Tres, there was so much snow that it was hard to see very far and the wind was the strongest I've been in while in Patagonia (impossible to see ahead of you, even with glasses on).  I had a hard time just keep my feet planted on the ground so I wouldn't get blown off the side of the mountain.

I headed back down the trail (almost immediately!) and conditions finally started to improve a bit (less exposure to the wind).  This was a nice shot of the valley below.

I stopped at this lake for a moment, Lake Capri, to relax and get some sand for our collection.  There was a beautiful campground along this lake.

Although it was cold and windy, the clouds started to disperse as I walked back down to the town.  I got some great shots of Rio de Las Vueltas.





Last leg of the hike back and a view of El Chalten as I return.

Completion of the 15 mile hike!
This is the entrance to the trailhead.


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