Mount Fitz Roy

We are back after another successful Patagonia hike! Compared to the moderate-difficult Torres del Paine, Mount Fitz Rot was an easy-moderate 3 day hike, which we stretched out to 6. It was too gorgeous and relaxing not too! While we may have had to cut back on our daily food intake... It was well worth it.

Our initial plan for the hike, was changed slightly when we were told that it was $12 a person, where as the rest of the sites are free. This site would have taken us to the back side of Mount Fitz Roy, over looking incredible glaciers, and also including about a 4000 ft ascent/descent in one day. So, instead, we kicked it at that campsite which was at the base of the Fitz Roy.

About an hour from this spot was a "mirador" or lookout, that gave another stunning view of Mount Fitz Roy and the mountains surrounding it. We heard there was an amazing view of the Fitz at sunrise, so one morning we set our alarm clocks for 4 am, and were hiking by 4:30. Although it was pitch black, and everyone was stumbling with fatigue up the mountain, one of the coolest and most torching views we saw, was the patch of head lamp lights ahead of us, leading straight up in darkness.  Once we made it, we had our breakfast and around 6:30 am, the sun lit up the face of Fitz Roy to a beautiful red-orange burning glow. To top it off, a rainbow sprouted over the whole thing - truly a magnificent sight.

There was another quick day hike scheduled for that day, and it was my favorite day hike so far. This was about an hour on a path, then approaching an opening, we looked to our left and saw a massive glacier hanging above a lake. To get the best seats, we had to boulder climb through boulders the size of houses - so much fun! With carens leading the way, once we got to the lake, there was not a soul insight. By this time, it was getting close to lunch, so we had our lunch while resting on this massive boulder, looking at this glacier. A day to remember!

Once we returned back to camp, it was nap time and we spent the day just relaxing.  Realizing we weren't in any rush to get back to town, we took the next day to lay around, read, play cards, and not hike.  Day after that, we had a short 3 hour day, mostly downhill to our next spot. We then explored this area of the trek, and had a nice beach day, laying by the lake which was 5 minutes away.

It was a gorgeous hike filled with glaciers, glacial lake water which we didn't have to filter, and meeting people from all over the world.

Up next, we are volunteering on a ranch just outside El Calafate, Argentina.  Our Internet access will be limited, but are excited to write about this next crazy leg of our trip!