To Bariloche, Parque Nahuel Huapi and Cerro Catedral (Day 28)

Last night was a super short night- I didn´t get to nap until about 11pm and had to catch a bus in Calafate for Bariloche at 3am. I got seriously taken on the remise ride to the bus terminal- this ride that cost me $20 pesos at 2:45am somehow only cost $6 pesos in daylight not 2 days before...But, sleepy and with limited alternatives, I had to do it. Luckily, I got some serious sleep on the bus. When I did wake up, there was not another sole on the bus and the driver was almost set to pull away with me still nestled in the seat sound asleep!

Since I have arrived to Bariloche fairly early this morning, I had time to do some errands (bank, groceries, consult the local trekking club and drop 5hrs an internet cafe) and still get to a trailhead at Cerro Catehedral. This a ski resort in Bariloche and their flagship as the skiing capital of Argentina. Since my Lonely Planet guide assured me that this was an "easy walk", I arrived to the base of the ski area to start my hike around 6pm, confident I would have a leisurely walk through the ski valley to arrive at the Refugio Frey well before sundown at 10pm.

The trail started off with new scenery, leading through forest of thick bamboo


marbled with beautiful lookout of the lakes scattered throughout the area.


I was thoroughly enjoying my walk until it started to go uphill- seriously uphill.


Seems I neglected to read that the elevation change in this walk was somewhere around 1700mts. This caught me competely unprepared and proceeded to punish me until I finally, finally reached just below the summit of Cerro Catedral (2000mts?) to Refugio Frey.


I don´t think I´ve sweat that much on a hike...ever! This refugio is a popular lauchpad for many of the multi-pitch climbs in the area and when I arrived, two climbers were celebrating a training route to the peak of Cerro Cathedral.


I managed to get my tent set up (although the area turned out to be much of a rock bed...pray for no wind and rain!) before sundown and have a bite to eat before crawling in to sleep. As annoyed as I am about the surprisingly tough hike, this area is really, really gorgeous. I am now in the heart of the Patagonian Andes, with a clear sky full of stars and snow-topped mountains. Still bitter for the misinformation in my guidebook, I was a little embarassed to notice that on second read, it did mention that the "easy hike" was from a start off the chairlift at Cerro Cathedral (classic Tera for missing the obvious). So, really I only had myself to blame for the punishment I suffered this afternoon. But, I´m determined to be better mentally prepared for tomorrow since I´m sitting in a high area valley and have to get up and over quite a few more high ridges to the next refugio...