28 Feb Off to Valle de Cochamo

I am now going to correct theone regret that I had when I was last in Puerto Varas' visiting Valle Cochamo.  It has been described to me as 10 Yosemites put together and offers Chile´s best rock climbing.  I will be out of touch for 4 or 5 days, but you can read a little bit about Cochamo hereÑ

http://www.cochamo.com/cochamo/

226-Feb Fly Fishing on Rio Limay

Fish on!  My first rainbow trout.

We got up super early because the weather forecast called for wind in the afternoon.  We met up with Gene, Candy, and Ivo to shuttle the trailors.  The launched to fish the Limay.  It was a chilly morning, but we soon warmed up in the sun as we boated down river.

Dick and Trisha had a lot of patience. My fishing technique leaves something to be desired, but hey, it was my first time and at least I didn't hook any human flesh.  I did manage to snag my shirt once though and had several near misses.

It was a beautiful stretch of river with interesting rock formations, but the fishing was slow.  I did manage to catch a nice rainbow trout though!  We had a great siesta complete with portable tables and chairs, leftover steak, chicken, bread fresh fruit, chips, and vino.  These guys are veterans and know how to do this right!

It was a great day on the river and I can see why people find fly fishing addicting.

25-Feb Bariloche

I spent another day in town getting a mediocre pedicure and getting my yellow fever vaccine.  They only give yellow fever vaccines at the public hospital and only on Fridays.  I now can officially enter Bolivia after 2 weeks.  I have not had a reaction to the vacuna yet, and hopefully wont get one.  After the shot, I took siesta at my favorite panini shop and spent a little time relaxing at the beach on Lago Nahuel Huapi.

I got back to Dick and Trisha's and got my first fly fishing lesson.  yes, me, fly fishing! We made preparations for a fishing trip for the next day.  The other highlight was dinner at a Parilla that resembled a hobbit house.  The steaks were to die for!

I was inspired by Alexis's blog to take photos of landscapes in town, as I seem to only show mountains, lakes, and rivers.  here are some inages of Bariloche:

Having trouble uploading images from my camera for some reason.  Stay tuned.

Feb 22-24 Back in Bariloche

I returned to Bariloche with a long list of errands and tasks to accomplish.  I knew I would have to spend a few days back in the real world to pay taxes, extend my travel insurance, get a yellow fever vaccine to be permitted entry into Bolivia, dentist, etc.  Sound exciting?

I went to the hospital to inquire after the vaccine, and like all things Argentina, I was told that they only give them on Fridays.  I was a little diappointed for 2 reasons: the obvious one is that I would now have to wait 3 days and the other is that I am staying with friends and this is a good place to recover from the vaccination should I get a reaction.  Alas, I am in a holding pattern, but at least the vaccine is free.

Beggars cant be choosers.  The random and only person around that I asked to snap a photo isnt much af a photographer.  Of course, this has nothing to do with uncooperative subject matter.

View from Cerro Llao Llao

Today I decided that I needed a little bit of exercise and took the bus to Llao Llao (pronounced Shao Shao).  I did a 10km hike up to Cerro Llao Llao and back through the Arrayanes forest.

Feb-21 Lago Ilon to Pampa Linda

We agreed to get up early and hike to Mirada El Doctor, a viewpoint that seemed close to camp.  However, there isn´t really a trail, or at least not one we could find.  Maybe this is why it is only shown in faint grey dotted lines on the newer version of the map (mine didn´t have it).  After an hour and a half of bushwhacking and feeling misplaced (note: I wouldn´t say lost, at least not completely, because I´m to proud to cop to that), we found are way back to camp.  We packed quickly and descended the final 2.5 hours and 800 crappy meters to Pampa Linda.  We were even treated to a river crossing.  This made Alexis a little nervous looking at the silty waters, but living in Alaska, this river was child´s play for me.   I rolled up my pants, put on my crocs and went for it.  In reality, it was very easy.

It was very hot and dusty in Pampa Linda and we had to wait five hours for the bus.  We had ice cream, thought about playing pingpong, but mostly, I just whined a lot about the heat.  The palabras nuevas del dia were ¨me pica¨ y ¨me rasca¨ = I itch and I scratch; there were a lot of bugs in camp.

I reached the cabin in back of Dick and Trish´s house at 8:15.  They are away in Rio Pico, so I didn´t have access to a shower.  I sponge bathed in the laundry room sink which had deliciously hot water.  I wanted to climb in, but knew I wouldn´t fit.  But was feeling generally good about my smart improvistation because there is only cold water in the cabin.

With a reasonably clean body and clean clothes, I met Alexis in town for a celeratory steak dinner and bottle of Malbec.

For more photos, go to Alexis´s blog by clicking here:.

One last good view before descending to Pampa Linda



20-Feb Campamento Mallin to Lago Ilon

We got an early start and were on the trail by 8:15 for what we thought would be a difficult climb to the next ridge.  We actually spent considerable time in camp the night before trying to guess which way the route would go.  We followed the cairns and red paint easily up 400 or so meters.  On the ridge we were rewarded with a condor flying low overhead.  I thought it was a good omen, but perhaps I was wrong. 

Condor in flight over Filo Cristal; I thought this was a good sign, but then again, maybe not

From Filo Cristal we could see our next destination (as always), Laguna Creton.  The views of our destinations always seem so impossibly far away because there is always a steep descent then a steep ascent involved.  There are supposedly cristals on Filo Cristal, but we could not find any.

We carefully began descending the steep, sand-covered slabby rocks.  However, after a while, we lost the markers and were on some extremely steep, cliffy terrain.  We were both stressed out.  Alexis saw a cairn in one direction, but we were both concerned about reaching it safely.  We tried various avenues for 10m or so with no luck.  I was starting to get sweaty palms, but then I noticed a red marker 40m to my left.  Hallejullah!  This was reassuring, however, it wasn´t easy to get there.  We agreed to try the traverse, but there were some exposed moves on semi-wet slabby rock.  It would be a long way to fall.  Alexis went first.  I braced myself and held out a pole for him to hold onto because there were no handholds.  Next he reahced for my hand as I eased my way across.  Whew!  We both breathed a sigh of relief when we reached the marker, but there was much, much more steep stuff to negotiate before the slope eased back. 

We wound our way through the bogs below before ascending slabs to Laguna Creton for a well-deserved lunch break.

View of our lunch spot, Lago Creton.  I wish they had a zip line down.

View of the insanely challenging descent route over steep rock, wet slab, and crappy scree

From Laguna Creton, we elected to continue on to Lago Ilon.  This involved another, you guessed it, climb up slabby rock to a ridge.  We had some nice views of the aptly named Laguna Azul.  The trail dipped to some other lakes and had one more 150m rise to attain our final ridge and some outstanding views.

View of the stunning Laguna Azul

After our final ridge we were rewarded with this stunning view of Mt Tronador!

This ridge was easy to descend, at least easy by Bariloche standards.  We were thrilled by the modest descent on scree and dirt through verdant meadows crawling with lizards.  If you don´t know this about me, I love lizards and couldn´t resist stopping to check them out.  But there were so many!  It must be a healthy ecosystem to support so many.  I joked with Alexis that it was like the birds were singing for the first time since we left town.  I know it sounds like a cheesy Carpenter´s song.

There were lizards everywhere, so cool!



Lago Ilon, our final camp

We reached Laguna Ilon after 7.5 hours of walking.  It was very mellow and very buggy.


During dinner in our final camp with Alexis´s timer.  I don´t look so bad after 5 days trekking!



at sunset



19-Feb Laguna Negra to Campamento Mallin

I said goodbye to my new friends and headed to the refugio for info on the next section of the route.  They had aerial photos with the route drawn in (pictured below).  So, I photographed these for reference.  This section of the trail isn´t as well-marked.

Photo description of the route and the fun things to come

Refugio Italia on Laguna Negra

The trip out of camp was more challenging than I would have liked.  The lake is hemmed in by slabby rock walls.  I wasn´t expecting to have to work so hard and move so carefully that early in the morning.  Yuck!  There was even a rope in one particulalry steep, wet section.  Nonetheless, we traversed the lake unscathed and made our way up to the next ridge on loose rock within an hour.  This was followed by a steep descent first on rock, then on ¨polvo¨or powdered dirt which is equally as unstable underfoot.  We crossed the creek and worked our way up the next slope surprised to find some good markers and cairns along the way.  The sun was hot as we plodded along.  Aside from some minor route-finding issues, we reached Laguna CAB in 4 hours.




View of our next stop: Laguna CAB

The hut warden gave us a great recommendation- he said rather than traversing through the bogs on the left side of the lake for 1.5 hours, we should go barefoot and walk around the right side of the lake in the water.  This is definitely in the ¨trip highlights¨category.  It felt so good on tired, hot, swollen feet!  The hut warden said it would take us 6 hours to reach this point, but since it only took us 4.5, we opted to continue on.

My favorite part of the trip: avoiding the bogs on the left side of the lake by walking barefoot through the lake.  It felt great on our tired feet!

The next section was also surprisingly well-marked.  This was especially good, because looking up, it was difficult to tell where the weakness in the rock would be to allow us passage.  We ascended another hot 400m before topping out on the ridge to another view of Tronador.  If you haven´t sensed the theme here, there is a better view of Tronador on each successive ridge as we move toward it.

Smiling on another windy summit.  No doubt it was before I looked over the edge and saw what we had to climb down on.  Also, note a theme here: there is a view of Tronador that improves on every successive ridge top.

The descent involved a long (1km) traverse across slabby rock.  It took us a while to even locate the descent route and more time to follow the cairns and sparse red markers painted on the rock.  Once we reached the perched valley floor which was the only flat spot we had seen in days, we decided to call it a day.  Afterall, it was after 8 hours of walking.  We spent an enjoyable evening in Campamento Mallin Mate Dulce and were the only ones there except for hoards of gnats.  It was a beautiful spot and I wish I had taken more pics.

View of Campamento Mallin Mate Dulce

18-Feb Refugio Jakob to Laguna Negro

I ate breakfast in the Refugio with Alexis while the hut warden explained the route and showed us photos.  The route between Refugio Jakob and Laguna Negra is very difficult and is reserved only for experienced trekkers and climbers.  We needed a special permit from the Park Service (who quizzed me on my experiencia) to do this section of the ¨trail¨.  We were joined by a couple from Seattle, Katie and Jake with the idea that there is safety in numbers.  Right.  Katie and JAke are Thru-Hikers (they did the Appalachain Trail, the Great Divide Tr and are heading for the Pac Crest Trail this summer.  As a result, there backpacks were very light and I was envious.

Refugio San Martin (Jakob)


The day started with what was supposed to be the hardest, most technical part- a low 5th class scramble up some exposed rock above Laguna Los Tempanos.  We calmed eachothers nerves by talking our way through it.  The moves weren´t that hard, but there was a lot of air underneath us and it would be a long way to fall.  The biggest challenge for me was the heavy backpack.  When my backpack shifted, it threatened to throw me off balance.  But, we survived! And, as it turned out, this was not the hardest part of the day.

Jake and Alexis flash a smile after getting through the morning´s crux moves on low 5th class, exposed rock.

Next we headed up the ridge, traversed our way around and up through a pass.  We followed this with a traverse up to Filo (ridge) Navidad (pictured below).  We took lots of photos on the summit of Cerro Navidad with Mt Tronador in the distance.

View of the route traversing Filo Navidad



A well-deserved break



On the summit of Cerro Navidad with Mt Tronador in the distance

View back over to Cerro Catedral- still impressive

Next came the hard part- descending the gully from hell.  At first it was easy scree followed by some snow, but then the gully narrowed and became steeper.  There were sections we had to downclimb faced in.  I had trouble in one spot because my pack was throwing me off balance.  Jake helped me out by grabbing my pack and lowering down to Alexis.  Yes, safety in numbers.  Next, there was a nasty traverse above a cascade on very narrow, wet footing.  I was the first to go and I inched my way across breathing deep yoga breaths. Whew!  What next?

Alexis descending an easier section of the gully

The heinous descent and traverse from hell

We were so happy to reach the trees in the lush little valley, and spent a lot of time in the brush and bog hopscotching back and forth across the river.  It was time consuming, but not difficult except for trying to keep our feet dry.  But our oddessy was not over yet.  There were more steep, scary sections to come as the valley turned into a gorge. 

We finally reached the junction with the trail from town signalling the final push up to the Refugio.  The final 400m of elevation gain was a sheer pleasure even though I was tired.  It was on a trail!  I kept saying ¨Me gusta el sendero!¨on the top of my lungs because I was so happy to be on a trail, even going uphill with a heavy pack.  I think that I must have pissed off a lot of people who were huffing and puffing their way up.

I shared a celebratory beer at the refugio, but decided to forgo dinner in the refugio in favor of lightening my load.

Alexis photo of our descent route down the horrible gully just left of the peak.  It really was scary awful..

17-Feb Refugio Frey to Refugio Jakob

I slept like a baby despite a windy and rainy night.  I awoke late to calm skies with ice on my tent and had to scramble to get ready.  I planned on meeting Alexis at 8:30 to start hiking.  Alexis opted for a night in the refugio; best I can figure, it´s a European thing, because I would not want to sleep inside in a dorm crammed with people.  I prefer the cool air and privacy.  We started hiking around 9:00.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, this would be our most physically demanding day.  It involved 6 hours of hiking with a heavy backpack.  Since I had opted for dinner at the refugio the night before, sadly my pack had not gotten any lighter.

The morning dawned free of wind as evidenced by the perfect reflection of the agujas de Frey in the lake



Refugio Frey

 The hike began with a 30 minute traverse around the lake followed by a climb of 250m to Laguna Shmoll and another 150m to the ridge line.

Feeling good after 9 hours of sleep



Clouds reflected in Laguna Schmoll, approximately 250m above Frey



Studying the route



With heavy pack



Slogging uphill on crappy rock ´(photo by Alexis )

From the ridge line, we descended insanely steep crappy rock and scree for 450m terminating in a shitty gully with more crappy rock.  I don´t know why they didn´t use switchbacks through the trees in the lower section, but Alexis pointed out that this way, they don´t have to do trail maintenance, they simply need to spray paint the red markers on the rock.  He is probably right.  After descending the gully, we ambled up the lush Valley Rucaco.  The next photo is of Alexis in the Valley Rucaco and you can see the steep slopes we descended in the center of the photo.  After a brief break at a cascade, we started gaining elevation again- another 400m.    

Alexis takes 5 after descending the improbably steep slopes in the center of this picture and hiking up valley

We hit the next ridge and our final destination, Laguna Jakob, came into view only it was down another 400m of steep scree and crappy rocks.  What a long day!


View down the steep hillside to our next destination- Refugio Jakob

 

And then there´s the steep downhill (photo by Alexis; out of sequence)


Upon reaching Laguna Jakob, I set up camp in the trees and took a long break with my feet dangling in the soothing, cool waters of the lake.  I signed up for another refugio dinner of soup, pasta with mushrooms, and canned pears for dessert.  My pack still wasn´t getting much lighter.

16-Feb Catedral to Refugio Frey



Refugio Frey, you can see my tiny yellow tent perched up in the rocks (photo by Alexis)

 I awoke early to finish packing and some last minute errands.  I met Alexis on the 1:15 bus to Catedral.  Since I hadn´t had lunch, I ate a quick snack of jamon y queso empanadas fritos.  Bad idea; it haunted me for the remainder of the 3.5 hour, 10 km, 700m hike up to the refugio in the heat.  I was crampy and naseous.  It was so hard plodding along uphill and sweating bullets.  Fortunately, I quickly recovered once I reached my destination amid the agujas (rock spires) that grace the lake the regugio is situated on.  The coller temps and stiff breeze further aided my recuperation. 

I set up my tent above the refugio in a reasonably flat and quiet spot ringed by walls of tiny rocks left by my predecessors to give protection from the intense wind.  I signed up for dinner in the refugio ($50 ARG, $12.50 USD) and enjoyed a dinner of croquettes and mixed green salad in a fried cheese cup.  In actuality, it was one of the better meals I have had in Patagonia. 



Amid quila (bamboo) and flowers forcing a smile on the way up to Refugio Frey



View from Refugio Frey with overcast skies and drizzle

15-Feb Errands

There's not much exciting I can say about today.  After 9 hours of sorely needed sleep, I saw my hosts off on a day of fishing and headed into town.  I got a surprising amount of my list accomplished.

Including:
Dentist: glue crown back in and teeth cleaning $50
Waxing, yes that kind of waxing: $35
Emollient hair conditioner for dry hair
Groceries for 7-day trek
permit at National Park office
Bus schedule
Pharmacy

It may not sound like a lot, but accomplishing anything in this area takes time, especially in tourist season.

I will be heading out on a 6-7 day trek tomorrow, weather permitting, so there will be another lull in posts.

D

14-Feb Back in Bariloche

I arrived at the house of my hosts midday, just in time to join them on a trip up Catedral.  It was great to be back again and there are a couple from Portland visiting as well.  We took the chair lift up and walked along the ridge.  Amazing views!

Later I was treated to a home cooked spaghetti dinner and a delicious fruit salad.  How great is it to taste fresh fruit after being in the south of Patagonia!!?

View from the ridge; Monte Tronador is the large peak on my right and Volcan Lanin is on my left

Dick & Trish are putting me up in their newly cleaned fixer upper guest "cabin".  It was nice to unpack my backpack and to catch up with my belongings I had mailed here a month ago.  Hooray for clothing choices!  Hooray for a hairbrush!  Hooray for deoderant!

13-Feb Cerro Piltriquitron

My Barcelonan friend Alexis met me at 8:00am to take a taxi to go hike up Cerro Piltriquitron.  Walking through town to the mountain club office to get our taxi, I was surprised at the number of young partyers still roaming the streets drinking.  It was scary!  Alexis managed to find 2 others to share the expensive cab ride ($6USD per person).

We were both happy to escape the ugliness of town. We began hiking at 9:30 and it took us far less time than the book had indicated.  It was only 4 hrs RT to gain 1100m of elevation.  It was cloudy and windy, so there were no summit views of the mountains, but at least it didn´t rain.  We stopped at the refugio on the way down for mate (mah-tay)and I set about finding us a ride back to town.  I successfully procured us one from a couple from Cordoba.  We did not want to walk the 13 m down the dirt road.

Scultpure in the Bosque Tallado (sculpture forest) on the hike up

Windy and cold summit photo.  My thermometer said 39 degrees!

Hiking down valley

Tomorrow, I am taking the 9:30 bus back to BAriloche.  My friends Dick and Trisha are kind enough to host me again!