The trip so far has been nothing short of expectations.
Our trek back from the refuggio in El Bolson was easily the most physically demanding task I've ever completed.
Even 5 days since we completed it, it is still fresh in my mind, espcially now with a similar walk on the horizon.

We set out expecting a walk the same length as what we had originally covered (which in it self was difficult but i felt up to the second time round).
However, mid way through scaling a mountain which at times was basically rock climbing, we had all discovered that this was definately the harder way around and weren´t sure how long and arduous this would continue to be.
Step-by-step, each one more grueling than the last, fatigue and dehydration began to kick in with slight dizziness and my pack slowly hardening into what felt like a giant tombstone on my back with my name on it.
A few gastrolytes later and i was feeling mildly better and could do 1 maybe 2 more hours with no food. We were unsure of how long it would be until we got to ground level or to what became known as "the Dyke Lady" (the woman who owned the nearest grocerie store) and I began to realise my fears were slowly manifesting.

It had come to Porridge...

I had to reluctantly accept out of sheer desperation the only food we had in our packs for lunch. A watery concoction of oats and sugar mixed together in the most grotesque of ways.
This trip has done one thing for me so far and that is that I have officially discovered the worst food on the face of the Earth.
I´m not one to bad-mouth breakfast foods, after all it is the best meal of the day, but this I could not stomach even on my best days.
It´s obscenely vile taste accompanied with its vomit-like texture had me dry reaching as it crawled down my oesophegus into the deepest reaches of hell (or I imagined it went to since that is where it belonged!)

Great for energy though and a terrific hiking meal!

As the Scott men pushed onwards, tough as nails, Adrian generously carried my bag as well as his own with a combined weight of nearly 20kg and assured me he was able enough although I could not imagine doing it myself for another 3 hours.
I lingered at the back too full of shame as i was treated like a King having others carry my things. Yet, Adam´s rallying cry kept us all in good spirits, "the Dyke Lady! THE DYKE LADY!!"(an uncanny resemblence to one of his favourite HoN heroes) would echo through the woods as we pushed on down the mountain with the reward of Lays Chips if we were able to reach her. You have no idea how motivating that is.

After 3 hours on an ankle-breaking rocky downhill path, we had made it to a river on which a small hut would sell delectable pizza and I could dip my feet into the icy cold river to soothe my tenderloins (feet).
Then a final 30min of uphill and we had made it to the famous shopkeep yet to our dismay there was no gold at the end of the rainbow, no Lays chips in stock but it had hardly mattered and Adam and I could lie down knowing we had accomplished something great. Two men, with next to no fitness able to conquer a mountain and a monsterous walk.

With 22km infront of us tomorrow, we are determined to keep a strong pace to make the 6pm boat and sail to El chalten.

Lets hope theres a haste rune admist a river along the way cause we are going to need it.