Backpacking South America

After weeks soaking in Chilean rain, it was a welcome change to arrive in El Chalten to a brilliant sunrise, only to be surpassed by the sunrise we would see only a few days later.

We have met countless travelers that had visited El Chalten – all had the same comments, it’s incredibly beautiful, but it is always windy and raining. So, we went, hoping for the best. We were not disappointed. We arrived to clear skies, no wind and no sign of rain. Our overnight bus along the desolate, gravel, legendary Route 40 (it was very beautiful) dropped us off shortly after 7 am. We dropped our gear off at a hostel, grabbed food for lunch and hit the trail, because we had no idea how long the weather would last.

Our first hike was up to the base of Cerro Torre, a granite spire that sticks straight out of the earth like a dagger. It was an amazing site that just got better the closer we got.

With the side trail, it was a 7 hour day of hiking after a less than perfect night of sleep – but we were so thankful to be blessed with the weather.