Patagonia 2020: Bye Bye Fitz

Friday January 31st, 2020

El Chalten, Argentina

Well, there was one more hike we thought we would like to get in before we left - Loma del Pliegue Tumbado. It doesn't seem to be quite as popular as the other two long hikes - probably because there is over 1000m of elevation gain. We were up for another 7:30am start time. Barb and Jill decided to stay behind to deal with some logistics issues. The day looked like another beauty - clear skies, and temperature and winds were both OK.

We walked about 45 minutes to get to the trailhead, then began the steady ascent. We travelled through a mix of forest and open areas. There were certainly more open areas than on some of the other hikes, but while this meant more exposure to the wind it also meant more fabulous views of not only Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre and Cerro Solo, but of all the other surrounding mountains and valleys as well. As we got higher we also had great views south to Lake Viedma. All of these mountains seem like old friends to us now and we can better appreciate the subtle changes of perspective that this hike afforded us.

In one of the open areas early in the hike we were lucky enough to see 2 condors riding the air currents above us. The Andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world by combined measurement of weight and wingspan. It is one of the world's longest-living birds, with a lifespan of over 70 years in some cases (says Wikipedia).

We passed through an area of grazing cattle before entering an extended forest section in mid-hike. So quiet, calm, and peaceful (although uphill). One nice thing about the earlier starts is that there are not too many other people on the trail yet. After the forest section it was time to layer up for the final push. There was an open, windy, and rocky section to get through next. Amazing views, though! Finally - to the mirador which overlooked our final destination lake from yesterday. It was so far below us that at first I had a hard time recognizing it. What a panorama to look at!! It is just too immense to capture with a camera. I sure tried, though. And now I have a hard time choosing just a few to put in here.......

We paused to absorb for a bit until Carole suggested that she would like to try to climb up another few hundred metres to the top of the loma (knoll). The trail zigzagged very steeply up the hill. I would have been content to just enjoy the view from the mirador but I couldn't let Carole go up alone, now could I? It was a bit of a steep grunt but I'm so glad I went up. And - almost no wind at the top!! Words cannot describe the vistas! We ate our lunches and just soaked it in. If not for keeping Joan waiting for us we might still be up there. It was sad to leave but we feel very fortunate that we had such good weather (especially today) in a place renowned for the exact opposite.