In the last post, we finished out Carretera Austral hitchhiking adventure in Villa O’Higgins after numerous incredible outdoor experiences. Now, we continue the Patagonia expedition with more glaciers. We hike into Argentina, and explore the beautiful trekking routes around El Chaltén. Good morning, Villa O’Higgins. We’re about to cross over to Candelario Mancilla today, and we’re going to see the O’Higgins glacier. It seems we made it to the end of the Carretera Austral. The O’Higgins Lake is shared by Chile and Argentina, and has a surface area of, sq km. The lake is the deepest in the Americas with a maximum depth of meters near O’Higgins glacier. Its characteristic milky light blue color comes from rock flour suspended in its waters. The O’Higgins glacier located in the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park is one of the principal glaciers of the southern Patagonian ice field. The summit of the active Lautaro Volcano is the top of the accumulation zone of the glacier. The bulk of the glacier is part of the icefield plateau. It flows eastward into O’Higgins Lake and is about km wide at the terminus. So what do you do when you are at a glacier? Whiskey. Whiskey with glacier ice. (Together) Cheers. We’re in the most remote part of South America.
Border Crossing Things to do in El Chaltén Argentina Patagonia Expedition Photo Gallery
At least in Chile. So, we are now at Candelerio Mancilla. This is the boat still down there. This is where we arrived earlier today. And we are staying at the farm, in a room at the farm where we also have dinner. Good morning from Candelario Mancilla, which we already left behind. We’re on the way to the border control. Before we cross the border, for about almost a whole day, km. And the first km, we will walk without our luggage. But the last, we have to take it ourselves. Because, we thought there were horse porters, but I guess they have the day off. So, we’re going to carry like kilos each of stuff for about k. Good practice for Torres del Paine, I guess. Oh yeah. We’re walking through no man’s land for km already. Yeah, we’re literally in two places at once. And the trees here have Chilean flags. Cheers, Patagonia. After hiking for about km, we made it to the actual border. Over there, is Chile. And there, is Argentina. Go for it. Go to Argentina. Ricardo just gave us the bags. He drove them up as far as he could. But since there are no horses, we have to carry them the rest of the way through the mud and shit. And Steve’s been really lovely and taking some of the weight from my bags. But km is going to be a long way with all this. This is a real challenge, people. Doing well so far.
It hurts, but we need to fight. I can do backpacks. I’m really Backpacker Steve. So we see already, the Lago de Desierto. And in the back, this is the Fitz Roy. We finish the day by crossing the Lago de Desierto. This lake has been the subject of a territorial dispute between Argentina and Chile, solved favorably for Argentina in. After spending a night at the southern shore, we hitchhiked the remaining km to El Chaltén, which was built in to help secure the disputed border with Chile. Today, it is Argentina’s trekking capital and one of the most beautiful hiking areas in Patagonia. Good morning, El Chaltén. It is time for some day hikes. Today, we’re going to hike to the Laguna Torre. Half way through walking through the flat area and we can see the Cerro Torre. So, we made it through Laguna Torre and it’s the first time I’m seeing these towers without clouds. The Cerro Torre is the highest peak in a four mountain chain and a world famous climbing spot. The top of the mountain often has a mushroom of rime ice, formed by the constant strong winds, increasing the difficulty of reaching the actual summit. What do you think? Is it waffle time, Kristin? It’s waffle time. Another day, another trail. Today, we’re going to see the Fitz Roy up close. Argentine explorer, Francisco Moreno first saw the mountain in. He named it Fitz Roy in honor of Robert Fitz Roy, who as the captain of the HMS Beagle had traveled up the Santa Cruz river in and charted large parts of the Patagonian coast. The whole trail from El Chaltén to Laguna de los Tres is about km. And it starts by going up and it flattens out, and it’s a really nice hike. But the steepest part is the last hour. And this is what we are about to approach now, to see the glorious Laguna de los Tres. It was very steep but we made it. And this is the Laguna de los Tres and Mount Fitz Roy. First climbed in, Mount Fitz Roy remains among the most technically challenging mountains for mountaineers on earth. Mount Fitz Roy is also the basis for the Patagonia clothing logo, following Yvon Chouinard’s ascent and subsequent post in. We continue hiking in the next post, where we are about to trek the challenging Huemul circuit near El Chaltén. So, don’t forget to comment to this blog for new travel posts every Thursday. Check out my travel and hiking guides, as well as Kristin’s articles, if you want to explore this beautiful region as well. See you next time. How are you feeling? Like shit. Can you say shit on ? I can say shit wherever I want when I’m carrying -whatever kilograms with me. Ugh, it’s horrible.
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