Estancia La Quinta
On February 10th our guides Zoe and Leo from Walk Patagonia met us at El Calafate airport and drove us around Lago Argentino and through some of the most desolate countryside imaginable to El Chaltén, a small town and Mecca for hikers just north of Lago Viedma at the foot of the Andes. Zoe is an English expatriate, infectiously enthusiastic, and her husband/business partner Leo is a delightfully low-key Argentinian. After a stop at the La Leona roadhouse, they delivered us to Estancia La Quinta, an historic ranch just east of the town.
The manager of La Quinta is a witty and jovial man named Alfredo who described the property's fascinating history. His wife, Patricia Halvorsen, is the fourth (fifth?)-generation owner. Her great-grandfather emigrated from Norway, spent some time in the Falkland Islands raising sheep, and got a land grant to start the estancia (ranch)—the first one in the area. He eventually returned to Norway long enough to acquire a wife and then came back to build La Quinta into a formidable cattle operation.
The manager of La Quinta is a witty and jovial man named Alfredo who described the property's fascinating history. His wife, Patricia Halvorsen, is the fourth (fifth?)-generation owner. Her great-grandfather emigrated from Norway, spent some time in the Falkland Islands raising sheep, and got a land grant to start the estancia (ranch)—the first one in the area. He eventually returned to Norway long enough to acquire a wife and then came back to build La Quinta into a formidable cattle operation.
Monte Fitz Roy and Laguna de Los Tres
In the morning we met David, our Argentinian guide for the next two days and a fountain of knowledge about flora, fauna, and local geography. David is also a professional photographer; don't miss his images at Patagonia Lights, which put this web site to shame!
An unexpected period of fair weather caused us to go for broke and switch our most difficult hike to the first day: 23 kilometers up to Laguna de Los Tres—with great views of Monte Fitz Roy—starting from Hosteria El Pilar a few kilometers north of El Chaltén. We passed through a lovely old lenga forest and across the Rio Blanco to the campsite of the same name, base camp for climbers who wait for the right weather to head for the many challenging summits. We reached Laguna de Los Tres and its companion Laguna Sucia just below in time for lunch and some stunning views of Fitz Roy. El Chaltén means "smoking mountain" in the local Tehuelche language, and you can see why: clouds form constantly over Fitz Roy and other peaks, making them appear to be smoking. The return trail passed by Laguna Capri and the descent was long and grueling, all the way back to El Chaltén. We staggered into town tired, happy, and searching for a pub.
An unexpected period of fair weather caused us to go for broke and switch our most difficult hike to the first day: 23 kilometers up to Laguna de Los Tres—with great views of Monte Fitz Roy—starting from Hosteria El Pilar a few kilometers north of El Chaltén. We passed through a lovely old lenga forest and across the Rio Blanco to the campsite of the same name, base camp for climbers who wait for the right weather to head for the many challenging summits. We reached Laguna de Los Tres and its companion Laguna Sucia just below in time for lunch and some stunning views of Fitz Roy. El Chaltén means "smoking mountain" in the local Tehuelche language, and you can see why: clouds form constantly over Fitz Roy and other peaks, making them appear to be smoking. The return trail passed by Laguna Capri and the descent was long and grueling, all the way back to El Chaltén. We staggered into town tired, happy, and searching for a pub.
Laguna Torre
The second day's hike was due west out of El Chaltén, up across some old moraines to Laguna Torre, a little south of Fitz Roy. There we saw our first icebergs, calved from Glaciar Torre at the far end of the lake. It was a lovely walk, only 20 kilometers, but we still headed straight for the pub when we reached town.
Lago del Desierto
On our third day we shuttled north with Zoe and Leo to Lago del Desierto and took a boat ride to the north end of the lake. That's the only way (except for hiking on a rough trail) to get to the Chilean border, so many long-distance bicyclists pass this way. One of the cyclists on our boat was Justin, who started in Tierra del Fuego and has seven months to see how far north he can get. Bicycle travel in Patagonia is a serious challenge, as most of the roads are coarse gravel and you can count all the bike shops in Patagonia on one hand.
We returned on the boat and visited a tiny wooden chapel in the forest where Zoe and Leo were married. The chapel visit was actually designed to distract us long enough for them to set up a delightful buffet lunch in a nearby tent. Then we did a short hike in misty rain (well, some of us opted for a nap) and returned to El Chaltén.
On Valentine's Day we departed for El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier.
We returned on the boat and visited a tiny wooden chapel in the forest where Zoe and Leo were married. The chapel visit was actually designed to distract us long enough for them to set up a delightful buffet lunch in a nearby tent. Then we did a short hike in misty rain (well, some of us opted for a nap) and returned to El Chaltén.
On Valentine's Day we departed for El Calafate and the Perito Moreno Glacier.
