More Patagonia--El Chaltén

After a couple of days in El Calafate, we drove 3 hours to the tiny town of El Chaltén (population 500), the trekking capital of the world, and, the place most likely to house manifesto-writing hermits. 

Because of the extreme weather and sheer remoteness of the area, this is a town for the serious outdoorsman/woman. I have never seen so much North Face gear in my life! We met lots of hardcore campers who were braving the cold and wind to camp closer to the mountains, but we chose to stay in town, in an actual building. (Again, with the three twin bed theme. Nice.) 

We had two good weather days and got to hike several trails and see spectacular close-up views of Cerro Torre/Cerro Fitz Roy. Besides the stunning views, the fall foliage was just gorgeous. The hikes were quiet (well, quiet + Teague) and except for one hike, we didn't encounter a single person. We did see lots of wild horses.

While eating all of our meals at a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant, we met a French group, an American, a Swiss couple and a really nice couple from Hong Kong. We didn't meet a single Argentine traveling in Patagonia, strangely. 

The following day predicted heavy rains with no visibility, so we chose to head back to El Calafate early in the hopes booking an ice trekking day before we headed back to Buenos Aires.

                                

Upon arrival we hiked to the top of Condor Mountain and saw two condors flying above.

Look at us, an excited little get-along-gang before our 6 hour hike. The "after" photo was the exact opposite of excited.

         The path through the beautiful fall foliage became very steep, but led to some 

incredible views.

Like this one.

One of the glaciers and lakes along the Lago de Los Tres hike. 

Near Lago del Desierto.

Viento. Mucho viento.