The bus journey from El Calafate to El Chalten is 3 hours north. The landscape is typical Patagonia - vast Estancia's (ranches) as far as you can see leading to snowy mountains in the distance. This mountain range or ice field has numerous glaciers, PM was just one but you can see others between the mountains in the distance. El Chalten is the trekking capital of Patagonia and is located in a national park so before being dropped in the bus terminal we were taken to the park rangers office to be given some rules for looking after the area and suggested walks we can do.
We arrived around lunchtime so decided to do a walk to Laguna Torre that afternoon to view the Cerre Torre glacier. It's a 9km hike each way that should take around 3hrs each way. It showered a couple of times along the way but the scenery was amazing - it took us through forests, valleys, along a river and finally up through a rocky moraine area to view the glacier. Unfortunately it was quite overcast so we couldn't get the full effect but we were really pleased with ourselves for getting there in under 2 hours! We had our packed lunch by the river and walked back, passing a few other trekkers along the way. It was raining by the time we got back so we dried off, had a little snooze and then went out for dinner at a really nice little locals restaurant where I had a lentil stew and Ben had meat ravioli. (Must look up the name and review them!)
The next day was the day of our big trek - to the Fitz Roy mountain! The trek is called Laguna des Tros, it is 12km each way and should take between 4-5hrs each way. Luckily there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining bright, perfect weather for a LONG walk! We started at 9:30 and the first km was so steep, we were out of breathe straight away, but were rewarded by the first view at the top - an aerial view of a long valley with a river running through it surrounded by mountains and blue sky. Pure Patagonia, it was stunning. The trek was marked each km and took us through similar terrain to yesterday but a different route - we walked through forest paths, over huge tree roots, along cliff side pathways, through valleys, over streams and rocks until we reached Rio Blanco which is 1km before the Fitz Roy summit. There is a sign warning that the final 1km is very steep and only for ppl in good physical condition...so we headed on up. Ohmygod, steep is an understatement! At times I felt like I was scrambling on my hands and knees up a vertical cliff face. Ben had to go in front to set the pace, me being in front brought us to a standstill! Looking up we could see people at the top of the path, way in the distance like little ants scurrying up the zigzag pathway. Best not to look up. It had taken us 2 hours to walk 11km and it took us another 50 minutes to climb the final 1km and reach the summit. By the time we got to the top we were really hot but we were walking through snow and the air was so clear. The end of the trek overlooks Fitz Roy mountain and the lagoon below it (which was covered in snow). The mountain looked magical, it's a tawny brown colour, topped with snow backed by blue sky and clouds swirling around it. We were so happy to be there and it is a sight that will stay with us for many years. We sat down to have our lunch and stayed there for about half an hour before cooling down so much we were freezing and had to leave!
The walk back was slower but equally as pretty, we had slowed down a bit to enjoy the scenery. It's a popular walk but surprisingly quiet, most of he time we were on our own. The only wildlife we saw was a couple of woodpeckers! Patagonia has the highest concentration of discovered dinosaur fossils - we could just imagine them roaming this landscape many millions of years ago. By the time we got back to El Chalten we had walked nearly 25km over 6 1/2 hours - we were knackered! We stopped off for a well deserved hot chocolate and then went to the same place for dinner that night. Tomorrow morning we get the bus back to El Calafate before flying to Bariloche.