Lookouts, Mountains and Waterfalls in El Chalten (Day 19)

Since I arrived pretty early this morning, it gave me the whole day to do a little exploring.


After wasting some time trying to figure out my next bus when I leave, and getting some advice on the trek I want to complete here, I opted to head out on some of the little day hike trails. My hostel (Aylen-Aike) happens to be perfectly situated just off the river banks that leads to many of the nearby hikes. And the veiw from the hostel, looking out across the river to the cerro range is pretty fantastic. I´ve also got a sweet panoramic photo to come.


My first stop was the Chorillo del Salto falls. This is a pretty large glacier-fed system, only about 5km outside of "town" (El Chalten may have 1500 permanent residents). The views of the main falls were great,


and a little rock scrambling up some primitive trails higher up the falls let me have a glimpse of the higher feeding system.


The sound of the water is so loud and you´re so high up, you can see everything. I´ll have another panoramic view from up here soon.

After exploring the falls, I headed back to town, passing some of the locals hanging out on my way back.


From here, I headed out to the Mirador de los Condores (Condores Lookout). If I thought the view from the hostel was good, this view blew it out of the water!


I´m lucky to be out on a clear day, so you can see the Cerro Torres glacier (in a few clouds and blowing snow) and the sharp Cerro Fitz Roy. Apparently, the weather hasn´t been so great for all the climbers patiently camped out to make summit attempts- some have been here for weeks waiting.

I stopped in at the National Park office on my way back from the Condores Lookout and had a great chat with one of the interpreters. I started out asking questions about my hiking route for tomorrow (and the next 3 days) and we soon got chatting about other places. She gave me an inside scoop on a fantastic hike in Mendoza, close to the base of Anconcagua. I´ll have to pocket her hand-written directions for later in my trip.

So, this pretty much brings me up to date. I´m headed out to the trails around the Fitz Roy range tomorrow, for about 3 days of hiking. The interpreter at the Park Centre assures me the routes are well marked (and the little day hikes I did today are a pretty good indication). I´m out for 2 nights then back to a campsite in town, before heading out for one more night to a Cerro lookout on the other side of town. I´m really excited, I´ve got all my supplies ready and now I just hope that the weather holds out for me!