Calon del Azul Hike (Day 10)

16Feb08

This weekend I set off for a hiking trip to the nearby Calon del Azul (Blue Canyon) in nearby Wharton. I have been told that it´s a pretty straight-forward trip and since we have the weekends off (i.e., no designated tasks), I thought I would take the plunge and head out. Not ecstatic to be going solo, but I´m too intrigued not to try.

And man, it was worth it. First of all, I walked the whole way. The hamlet of Wharton, where the trail starts, is only about 5km from the top of the farm road (albeit it´s 2km in to the farm). This walk was rewarded by incredible views of the mountains and the surrounding farms. The sun was shining and it was perfectly warm.



When I finally arrived at the trailhead (and I should mention it´s a crazy steep walk/drive into the trailhead), I had to cross the sketchiest bridges I´ve ever seen to get started. Talk about testing your courage. These foot bridges make trail bridges in any parks I´ve been to in Canada look like highway overpasses.


Once I got passed the bridges, it was a brutally steep climb and the high sun was pretty steamy. I basically walked into the canyon in Wharton and was now in the process of walking to the top via the Calon del Azul trail. But again, incredible views. The water from the surrounding glaciers has carved it´s was through the steep rock of the canyon, pooling into this incredibly turquoise blue lagoon and then channelling through into a river as it makes its way into the valley of farms.

From there on, the trail was a lot less steep (I´d made it to the top of the canyon) but a lot hairier. Like, climbing ladders and a little bit of rock scrambling. Luckily, I had picked up another solo hiker and we were able to make our way to my target refugio (cabin), Refugio Retamal. There refugios are pretty sweet- they´re set in trails all over Argentina, and they are completely full service with a cook (or you can use the kitchen), hot showers, and you can sleep in the cabin or tent nearby. The refugio keepers are pretty entertaining, and Mariano (seen here explaining a trail to other hikers) was no exception!

He makes a mean oregano pizza and has some pretty wicked homemade cerveza (beer), shared with the gang of travellers here for the night. He also sat down and mapped out a few places I should see when I´m in Cordoba, later in my trip.

I also took a little side-hike to a nearby lookoff. The name of it is something like "Valley of Wind", which is definitely was. I had to keep a firm grip on my camera (and the ground) to get a photo that would capture the panoramic delight at the end of the trail.

After a little mate with Mariano in the morning, I headed back to the farm the next day, albeit with a slight detour. I was told that there was pretty much only one trail in and out, although I managed to complete bypass three of the five refugios I passed on the way in. I got a little concerned for a bit, when I wasn´t recognizing anything, but stopped in at one of the refugios and had an escort back to the trail I knew. Good to see my sense of direction hasn´t been affected by the southern hemisphere.

Anyway, the trip was absolutely fantastic and I´m really glad I ventured out. I had a great time, met some great people, experience a refugio and some amazing scenery. A pretty great way to spend a weekend.