Another morning, another fantastic breakfast from our hostel. It was great to eat a lot the morning after our big glacier hike. Our bus left El Chaltén about 30 minutes late again due to passengers showing up right at the time it was supposed to depart. The bus drivers in Patagonia are too nice in my opinion. Luckily, the drive was short and we didn’t make any plans for the day. We arrived in El Chaltén at 11:30am, our last stop in Patagonia! As we drove into town there was a huge fox standing just to the side of the road. After check in we wandered in the small town, Nick got a haircut, and we got lunch at Simple. Holy smokes, their empanadas were delicious. We tried their bacon and plum, caprese, and ham and cheese flavors. Bacon and plum was the winner. Our hotel room was simple, but had nice views of the mountain peaks. For dinner we got burgers from the Bar Fresco, which were incredible, followed by the first of many future visits to Heladeria Domo Blanco for some gelato. Somehow it was the only ice cream place in town.

We left our hotel at 5:10am to start our first hike in the area. El Chaltén is so amazing because most of the trailheads are accessible from town. It was so nice not having to take a shuttle or taxi. We made it to the trailhead at 5:30am and started our ascent. In total the hike took us 6 hours to do 13 miles and 3300 feet in elevation gain. When we started there were hardly any other hikers. We passed maybe 4 people in the first 2 hours. There were views of town lit up by the sunrise, flowers, and a valley with a meandering river.

Eventually the trail became more forested. There was some uphill, all gradual, followed by a long section of welcomed flat. Eventually the tall trees ended and the trail continued through shorter bushes and open bog-like areas. We even got a view of the famous mountain peaks we would hopefully get to see even better from our final destination, the lake. It was early enough in the morning that the peaks were glowing orange and red from the sunrise. They were slightly blocked by trees, but I should’ve taken a photo because by the time we got a better view they were normal color again. After reaching a campsite the remainder of the hike was all steep uphill through loose gravel rocks and boulders. The last stretch before lunch was exhausting as it was hot and I hadn’t eaten any snacks yet.

Once at the top we were welcomed by gorgeous views of the mountain peaks reflecting in the calm lake. With how windy Patagonia is, I’m sure it’s not common to see reflections. Even during the time we were there the winds picked up on and off. Nick and I spent 1 hour at the lake. We took photos and enjoyed a lunch of bacon and plum empanadas. Heading back down the trail was much busier. We stopped for a few minutes shortly after starting our descent as 5 condors were circling nearby directly above us. It was cool to see them so close. We went a slightly different direction on the way back and got to enjoy views of a second lake that is less popular to go to. That was the only section without crowds. Back on the main trail there were never-ending streams of hikers. Eventually we made it down at 12:30pm.

I’m sure we could’ve done our second hike in the same day, but we knew we had a full extra day so thought it would be silly to push ourselves unnecessarily. The next day’s hike was 11 miles with 1800 feet in elevation gain, so slightly easier than the day before. It took us around 4.5 hours in total. The morning had some thunderstorms so we waited it out in our hotel then got lunch in town. Eventually we started our hike and made it the lake 2 hours in at 3:00pm. There we took some photos, ate some snacks, and watched the icebergs from the nearby glacier floating in the brown water. There were many people on the trail and at the lake, but we managed to walk down far enough to get a spot to ourselves. We enjoyed some people watching, particularly of a group of young British guys swimming in the ice cold brown water. It didn’t seem that inviting.

Not everyone goes to the final viewpoint, but we had plenty of time so we walked back up to the trail and continued along the side of the lake to the end. The trail was sometimes a choose your own adventure type route, but it was relatively straightforward. There were much fewer people on that section since most people stop at the lake. Personally I liked the views from the final viewpoint much better. We hiked back at a leisurely pace and chatted about our time in Patagonia. It was our last hike there! The trail was on loose gravel, followed by a forested section of tall trees. We took a slightly different route back than we did coming in so we got different views. I accidentally scared a resting duck when I peaked inside a big hole in a tree. Otherwise the hike back was uneventful.

We both thought that while the hiking in Patagonia was very beautiful it was also incredibly crowded and expensive. I’m glad we’ve gone and experienced it since it’s an iconic hikers destination, though. I’m not sure if we will be back since there are so many other beautiful places to hike. For dinner that day we had more empanadas and ice cream; why stray from the hits?