El Chalten, Argentina

In the morning we went to a neighboring Estancia and rode horses again.  Horses were okay but the scenery was amazing.

 In the afternoon we left Salto Chico and the Torres del Paine and drove all afternoon to El Calafate.  We stayed in the same Kosten Aike Hotel.  This was our stopping place before driving to El Chalten.

This is the car we rented and these are the roads...all gravel or dirt

 It took about 4 hours and we stopped along the way at Leona, where Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid stayed for about a month hiding out.  They have a little restaurant there.

It's a hole in the wall

Leona

Photo of Butch Cassidy on their wall

 El Chalten is a climbing Mecca!!!  There are all kinds of climbing routes.  We did lots of hiking to the base of the climbs.  It was the wrong time of year for actual climbing but we did a lot of natural stair climbing to the bases.  Our first day there it was raining, so we drove 40 Kilometers up a dirt road and hiked up to Heumel Glacier.  It was beautiful through an enchanted rain forest.

March in the Southern Hemisphere is fall.  The leaves were changing.

Heumel Glacier

Enchanted forest

We are staying at the Los Cerros Hotel.  Next day hike was from El Pilar up to the Fitzroy.  It was a bluebird day, and was about 13 miles.  The last 1 1/2 miles were really steep, but we got great views.  It was exhausting though.  My footpod shows I took 28,364 steps!

Fitzroy

The fall colors were beautiful

Next day hike was up to Cerros Torre.  The top is always covered with clouds, but another beautiful day.  (Another 12 mile hike).  It took us 8 hours.  We saw a red headed woodpecker that looked just like the woody woodpecker cartoon character.  This hike was 27, 426 steps!  Stayed at Los Cerros Hotel again.

Lunch on top Cerros Torre

The Cerros Torre

Carpenter Gigante

A much needed rest

It is now March 30 and we left El Chalten and drove back thru El Calafate to an Estancia called Eolo.  It is a very nice Estancia where we will be staying.