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D L M M J V S Objetivo: Trek al Mirador

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21 12 de diciembre Modo: Pies
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29 30 31 Distancia: 25 kilómetros
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, Argentina

We woke at 6:00 to the shrieks of a screaming baby. Startled and

! more than a little ticked off, we stuck our heads out of the tent and saw
the culprit not fifty feet away. Apparently, the German couple that we
met last night had decided that it would be a good idea to bring their one
year-old son along for la experiencia patagonia.
The infantile shrieks that pierced the morning calm
raised a handful of parental and cultural questions: Is
bringing a baby into the untamed wilderness considered a
good idea in Germany? Is it really that hard to find a baby-
sitter in Baden-Württemberg? How much does a two-week
supply of Das Gerber weigh? And finally, are there any of
those molded plastic Koala Bear Kare diaper changing
stations welded into the upper face of Mount Fitz Roy?
These were probably just a few of the questions the
German parental units were now asking themselves.
Little Deiter continued bawling, soliciting evil looks from the surrounding
acampantes, including the two gringos with the fresh Trango digs.
As annoyed as we were by the wailing German tot, the hard-core
French climbers across the way were downright incensed with their
European neighbors. The Franchutes flung their gear
around their site and looked poised to launch a crampon
salvo at the little brat. If anything, the disturbance
probably served as incentive for them to get an earlier-
than-anticipated start on their Fitz Roy ascent. Extremely
windy conditions and seasonably lower temperatures were two factors
weighing against them, but they looked determined to plant the tricolor
atop Fitz Roy’s 11,166 foot spire sooner rather than later. From our
present elevation of 2,800 feet, it seemed they would have their work cut
our for them.
Over a tasty 8:00 breakfast of warm oats and raisins, Andy and I

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plotted our Thursday morning trek which would take us southwest of
the campsite and approximately 2,500 feet higher than our present
elevation. Our destination, the Mirador Fitz Roy, offers one of the best
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views of the summit. A brief, post-breakfast chat with Señor Ricardo
confirmed that we would need at least eight hours round trip to do the
hike. Before departing, he cautioned us that the trail was a bit tricky in
spots and would be potentially rough on our knees on the way down.
On the upside, he told us to be on the lookout for climbers who might
be scaling the upper face of Mt. Fitz Roy later that afternoon.
Andy took one last look at the trail map while I whipped up a batch
of pomelo juice for the long trek. At 8:30, we left Los Troncos and set out
into the valley west of the campsite. The biting wind was unwelcome,
but certainly not unexpected considering the local topography. The valley
in which we found ourselves was surrounded on three sides by mountains
and glaciers which gave incoming winds the opportunity to bounce off
of frozen surfaces, circulate wildly Franchute: Frenchie, French person
and ultimately penetrate the flesh Che!: One of the most frequently heard
expressions in Argentina. Che, por favor!
and bones of trekkers and (Oh please!) is a common expression.
climbers alike. The intense Refers to Argentine-born revolutionary
Ernesto “Che” Guevara, who chronicled
sunlight helped offset the wind his youthful South American adventures
gusts, and the combination of in The Motorcycle Diaries (1951-52).
impresionante: impressive, incredible!
crisp Patagonia air and bright skies sendero: path. Synonyms include senda
was just plain invigorating. As and camino.
brújula: compass. Not to be confused
the Argentines might say, ¡Che, with bruja which means witch.
es impresionante! culo: butt. The word cola is a synonym,
but it also refers to a line of people.
After a twenty-minute hike
over solid ground, we started looking for the main sendero up the steep
slope to the south. Unfortunately, our brújulas were a little out of whack
and we missed the narrow path completely. Instead, we were lured up a
makeshift footpath which ran alongside a cascading stream originating at
5,000 feet.
After about one-hundred yards of climbing, we knew that we had
gone astray. There were no paint marks or rock pyramid markers to give
us any indication that this was a legitimate trail, and our hands and legs
were getting sliced by dense thorn bushes and jagged rocks. To make
matters worse, we had scaled some large boulders coming up that were
going to be hazardous going down.

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l When we finally decided to cut our losses, we did a 180º on the trail
and practically slid down the step hillside on our culos. Once back in the
valley, we trekked east for about a quarter of a mile before we found
what had to be the real path. This sendero turned out to be the steepest
and most challenging trek to date due to the incline and the dramatic
change in altitude. The footing was good for the most part, although
there were rocky areas that had “ankle toast” written all over them.
After a one-hour uphill slalom, we came to a grassy plateau. The
path flattened out considerably and wound around large boulders and
pools of water that had formed during a recent thunderstorm. At this
point in the trek, we would not have believed that we were only one-half
of the way there. Just past the pools, the incline returned and we were
led away from the path for about ten minutes clambering over boulders.
Eventually, we got back to the path at the point where it traversed a large
patch of fresh snow. Unable to restrain the juvenile urge, we both packed
icy snowballs and hurled them down the mountain face. The view of
Fitz Roy was good from here, yet still a bit obstructed by a long rock line
that we were determined to reach.

2nd
mt.
fitz
roy the long path up

trek andy hunkers down for the rocky ascent

“everything that you see has been formed by glaciers”

The final leg was just plain steep and rocky, but occasional glimpses
of the Fitz Roy summit pushed us onward. Finally at 12:30, we reached
the mirador, and the views were spectacular: the looming spire of Fitz
Roy directly above us and the panoramic view of the valley below us.
Andy and I sat down on two rocks and took in the sights. I reached into
my pack and pulled out the park brochure that I had picked up at the
Administración in an attempt to get my bearings. From this altitude, we

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could truly appreciate the opening paragraph of the brochure: “Everything
that you see and every place that you visit in the park has been formed by
glaciers. The lakes, the waterfalls, the crevices and the entire U-shaped
valley are evidence of that.”
After an extended period of rest, dried apricot feasting and silent
meditation, we realized that un momento Kodak was upon us. Andy set
the timer on his Nikon and we struck a al aire libre: outdoor. The word
windy pose. After our impromptu photo aire means air and libre means
shoot al aire libre, the harsh winds kicked free or clear.
del parque: of the park
up and encouraged us to head back down. se han adoptado: have adapted
un ambiente hostil: a hostile
The wind was another factor that the park environment
literature addressed without any hint of ventoso: windy
frío: cold
Spanish sugarcoating. To quote the Fitz inestable: physically unstable.
Roy brochure, La vegetación y la fauna Mentally unstable is loco.
rompevientos: windbreakers
del parque se han adoptado a este ambiente
hostil: ventoso, frío e inestable.
Now the best way to combat the first two factors, wind and cold,
was by immediately donning our Patagonia®rompevientos. Conquering

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 “instability“ was another issue entirely. For both of us, instability
was usually overcome via a pint of refreshing Isenbeck, a vitamin-rich
Guinness or an icy-cold Quilmes. Unfortunately, none of these
beverages would be served on our return flight to the lower base of
Fitz Roy. I use the word “flight” literally as we flew down the steep

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grade from the mirador back to Los Troncos in less than one hour.
At 15:30, we were back at Los Troncos, famished and fatigued. While
the first half of the day had revolved around climbing, the second half
would be devoted to vegging and feasting. For a late lunch, we agreed on
rice and a hearty blood sausage. Post-feast, I turned into the carpa for a
much-needed siesta. Meanwhile, Andy was content to sit outside in the
late afternoon sun with Agatha Christie.
When I woke at 16:30, Andy had already set off for a short solo trek
around Lago Eléctrico in the valley directly to our west. I had to admit
that the boy’s energy level was impressive: eight hour trek, no nap, big
meal, off for a second trek. Not to be left in the Los Troncos dust, I opted
for a short trek of my own. Considering that I only walked around the
campsite, I am not sure that my activity could be classified as a bona fide
trek. It was more of a short “wander.” Still, you had to give props to
Ricardo for his landscaping prowess. The grounds of his site were so
immaculate and aesthetic that one could easily spend a couple of hours
roaming around the base camp. One sign at the perimeter of the property
caught my attention: Subir y bajar por la escalera. (Go up and come down
on the stairs.) This sign marked the entrance to an elaborate series of
trails that Ricardo had created by strategically placing timbers around a
bluff leading up to his own personal mirador of Lago Eléctrico.

I grabbed my camcorder and climbed the stairs up to the lookout in

search of great visuals. The view did not disappoint as I filmed the sights
and sounds of the glacier-formed valley. Given the exposed nature of the
bluff, strong winds wreaked havoc on the camera mike. After thirty
minutes of filming, a quick glimpse in the viewfinder revealed increasing
cloud cover and a gathering storm. I returned to base camp and took

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shelter in the Trango. The late afternoon silence was a
radical departure from the morning chaos of
wailing tots and cursing Frenchies. Uncertain of
Andy’s whereabouts, I picked up Cerruti’s book
to read more about the childhood and political
aspirations of Carlos Menem. The controversial
tell-all work explained how meetings in Spain with
the exiled Juan Perón, early in his political career,
had a profound impact on the young politician.
It was quite ironic that Menem, who had run for
office on the traditional Peronist platform, had enacted the sweeping
neoliberal reforms that began to transform Argentina’s economy in the
1990s. Many critics considered Peronism to be the sheep’s clothing that
got the caudillo from La Rioja province elected to the nation’s highest
office in the first place.
During the late 1990s, the Argentine political landscape was
characterized by the jockeying and formation of opposition alliances
looking to offer alternatives to the economic program that critics referred
to as menemismo. Few countries have a citizen base as knowledgeable
and passionate about political parties, strategies and coalitions as the
Argentines. But add “restless” to the list of adjectives describing Argentine
political views in recent years. While the country has witnessed a
miraculous turnaround in terms of industrial production and foreign
investment, increased efficiency and technological innovation have resulted
in massive layoffs in Buenos Aires and in the provinces. One of the
biggest challenges of future presidential administrations will be raising
the standard of living for a greater percentage of the population without
resorting to the unprecedented level of federal expenditures that
bankrupted the system during the Perón era.
When Andy returned at 18:00, he found me out cold in my Crazy
Creek camp chair. His now-familiar, “Yo, Trick,” was enough to pull me
out of my slumber. I opened my eyes and gazed at the clouds that were
snaking through the mountainous spires surrounding Los Troncos. Once
Andy had put his gear away, he pulled up his camp chair and we started
to talk about, what else, dinner. As we had fallen asleep hungry every
night of the trip so far, we resolved to cook up a huge meal: polenta
napolitana with tomato sauce and chimichuri seasoning.

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 While sitting around the campsite sipping hot tea and planning our
next trek, Ricardo casually strolled over in our direction carrying something
in his hands. His offering turned out to be the perfect end to a perfect
day: dessert. The Los Troncos landlord gave each of us one of the homemade
confections he had whipped up in his cabin.
Essentially, they were hot biscuits covered
with dulce de leche (the closest that anyone
can get to a real alfajor in this remote
corner of the country). We thanked our
host for his generous offer and asked
him to pull up a chair and sit a spell.
Ricardo, in turn, thanked us but said
that he had to get back to the cabin
and finish cooking his dinner. He
explained that he had just spotted us
finishing our meal and wanted to bring

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us something for dessert.
Andy and I stared at each other and
expressed our disbelief over how cool
Ricardo turned out to be. As was the case
in most every sleepy town, bus stop,
campsite and kiosko in southern Chile and
Argentina, people were, by nature, just plain friendly. Speak a little
Spanish, provided that it’s not your native tongue, and they, like Ricardo,
just get friendlier. The dessert gesture was
the perfect example of the mentality of
many people in Latin America. Despite
limited financial resources and few
material possessions, most folks in the
deep south will go to great lengths to do a
favor for a friend, old or new.
When we turned in at 22:00, the sun
was just starting to settle down behind the
Andes. I filmed briefly in front of the
tent but found myself longing for some
quality sleeping bag time. Tomorrow
would be another very big day.

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