a hike

So if you didn't pick up on it from yesterday's post, the honeymoon ended up being quite the adventure.  After two back-to-back red-eyes delivering us into Buenos Aires at 4:30am Saturday morning, we had two full days of sight-seeing, exploring, drinking and eating before we hopped on another 5am flight to Bariloche.  First on the itinerary was a two-day hike with an overnight in a mountain-top refugio (hut). 

We scrambled around town in preparation - registering ourselves with the hiking authority, renting sleeping bags, and stocking up on water and snacks.  After dropping our big bags at our inn for the following evening, we set off with our two-day packs and hitch-hiked to the trail head.

Because we had heard the route up to the Refugio Frey was on the easier side (coming in around 5 hours), we decided to spice it up by going an extra long way that circumvents a nearby lake in advance of the ascent.  The first four hours were heart-pumping, but leisurely.  We were full of energy and a sense of adventure - two newlyweds with their entire honeymoon before them.

The last four hours, however, were almost completely uphill and very steep.  Still, we were adamant - boldly rushing up the hill to try and beat those fellow trekkers we met along the way. 

 
We were thrilled (and exhausted!) when around 8:30pm (right before the snow and wind started to move in), we arrived at our little hut and were greeted by the hut's hardcore, live-in staff who were ready to whip us up one of their famous pizzas. 

 

Amazing.

After devouring our dinner, we headed upstairs to the communal sleeping area - our honeymoon suite for the evening. 

 

A large sign warned us photos were prohibited, 

so I obviously pulled an old, not-looking-into-

my-camera-but-oh-whoops-there-goes-the-click 

so I could document the evening.  

Think: raggedy, old, dirty mats haphardly thrown on the dusty floor and wooden-planked bunk beds.  With 15 sweaty, smelly, burly climbers snoring or shifting in their bed and the wind hollowing outside, that night's sleep was not the best.  I leapt out of my sleeping bag when the clock stuck 6 to head down to breakfast.

Post breakfast, we checked out the mountain hut's map and saw there was a back trail we could take down to avoid retracing our steps from the day before.  It looked a bit longer in distance than the way up but not by much, so we asked a fellow hut-mate (an ice-climber from colorado who had been living in a tent next to the hut for several weeks). 

"It's definitely doable man - a bit exposed, but a fun time for sure."

 

 

Stefan scooping out the map

 

Since we couldn't take the map with us, we snapped a picture of it with Stefan's iPhone and then studied it intently.  There were two very important turnoffs: the first one where we needed to head right to avoid heading on a several-day, super intense hike to a cabin deep, deep in the mountainy wilderness, and another one to avoid heading straight up the summit of one of the biggest peaks in the area.

After bundling up in our warmest gear to protect from the snow (my Lululemon yoga pants had to suffice), we set off for the "trail" - a series of painted red dots to indicate the direction.  The hike started with two steep ascents which required us to boulder over a series of large rocks. 

 

 

 

The last part was particularly challenging as the boulders had become particularly icy and snowy while the wind had really started picking up.  

 

 

 

 

Not the best day ever for glasses

 

 

After reaching the top of the top ascents, we consulted Stefan's iPhone...

 

 

 

...found the first turn off, and followed it.

We spent the next 2.5 hours following the dots as they scaled the ridge of the mountain.

We then watched as the dots moved across the ridge, over the mountain and to the over side. By this point the snow had really picked up and we were bouldering in close to 2 feet of snow not being able to see much.  Again, we followed the dots over the ridge, but this time, when we got to the other side, we couldn't find them - we had absolutely no idea where we were or where we were going.

We spent some time trying to find them but the snow was so hard, we could barely see 10 feet in front of us. We tried to check Stefan's iPhone but quickly learned that thanks to the extreme temperature, it was out of battery.  Given that there was only one small mountain town (and then a whole lot of Patagonian wilderness), if we missed that second turn-off and headed down the mountain the wrong way, we could be totally, totally lost.

(And the next 1-hour special on the Discovery Channel.)

 

Needless to say, we were not taking pictures.

We eventually took a chance and headed down one of the various descents, having no idea where it might lead. Time and time again we attempted to find the little, red dots - scaling back up the mountain and across to locate them.

Since I'm back home writing you all now, you know how this story ends.

We eventually stumbled upon a closed ski resort, luckily finding a gondola lift that had a mechanic inside its snowy hut. The kind gentleman carefully gave us instructions for how to get down - another 2 hour ordeal.

 

 

Civilization at last!

Ready for a shower, dry clothes, and a bottle of wine!

  

More stories to come.

xoxo
KK