Huemul Circuit, Argentina

 Tyler arrived in Patagonia soon after Christmas and we intended to have a rest day for him in El Chalten but ended up pushing up our Huemul Circuit hike due to weather. We got our ducks in a row and rented gear for self ziplining, before taking off early the next morning. The weather was gorgeous and the first part of the hike had us feeling good, so we reached the first camp before noon and decided to continue on to the second night’s campsite to fill time and zipline/head up a windy pass before the weather got bad the following day. The zipline was fun but HARD because we had to pull ourselves + our pack uphill using a small, slippery metal cable. After reaching the other side we came upon a massive glacier and played in the ice field for a bit before hiking up the steep pass. The view at the top was probably the best view I have ever seen in my life - massive ice fields and glaciers as far as the eye can see. We camped on a sandy beach next to a small pond and when I tell you this was the worst backpacking sleep I have ever had…the wind was brutal so I could only lay on one side facing away from the mesh of the tent, and even still I was getting massive amounts of sand blowing into my mouth and up my nose allllll night long. I was grumpy the next morning from lack of sleep and we hiked in the rain all day. We ascended another steep pass and the descent on the other side was brutally steep. The rain made the already horrifyingly slippery descent even worse. Casualties included the seat of my pants, Tyler’s hiking pole, and my happiness. Spirits were low and we were wet and cold heading into the third night’s campsite but we managed to get some sleep, despite everything being soaked through. The next day started gloomy but luckily not rainy, and eventually the sun cam out. The second zipline had a severed rope (couldn’t reach it from the shore) so Tyler took a huge one for the team and attached his harness directly to the metal cable and painfully pulled himself across the river before passing it back to me with a rope.

Transit: N/A - Trail is accessed on foot from El Chaltén.

Recommendations: The Huemul Circuit unfortunately, but for good reason, has become increasingly popular. It is not a good backpacking trip for solitude but it is great for glacier views and self-guided adventure. Recently, a fee for Los Glaciares National Park was instituted, so you do need a one day pass to start the trail, but campsites are free, unlike the W/O treks in Torres del Paine. If you are a climber, you probably already have the appropriate harness and carabiners, which are worth carting down there because the daily rentals are pricey. However, since we are not climbers it did not make sense for us to buy or own so we shared a rental. You only need one for the whole group since only one person can use it at a time anyways.