Poincenot and beyond
November 2, 2007
The sun is going down and it is cold here in the Poincenot Campground beneath Mt Fitz Roy. (In Los Glaciares Nacional Parque). Carrying all our camping gear in was a bit grueling, as the first half of the trek was quite uphill. The incline was substantially greater and more prolonged than either of us has anticipated. As far as hiking goes, it was not all that steep - but I was already drained from 9 - 10 miles of hiking yesterday. Carrying the pack also made the incline feel greater and longer. I took some Aleve at the beginning of the hike, which allowed some of the pain in my lower back and legs to subside.
We have been lucky - the weather could not have been nicer today. There was barely a cloud in the sky, and no wind. A man we met informed us that just four days prior, there was snow covering much of the ground. We had truly come for the arrival of spring - and coincided with a window of weather that was uncommonly good for this town. The temperature was cool and crisp enough that we didn't overheat while walking.
As we hiked up to our camp, we had no views of Mt Fitz Roy for the first half of the hike - but it was the focal point of the landscape for the second half. Every peak in area was prominent and clear and illuminated by the bright sunlight.
After about 3 to 3.5 hours of hiking, we reached our campsite. There were already several different groups there. It was rather more rustic that many American campsites - just one outhouse, and that was it - however, unlike America, it was free of charge.
We pitched our tent and boiled water for tea before grabbing our much lighter daypacks and heading to Lago De Los Tres - (a nearby lake).
This hike was a bit more then I bargained for. It was relatively short, maybe a mile or two - but it was EXTREMELY steep the entire way up, with no break in pitch. In fact it only got steeper the higher it got. I do favor hiking up prolonged steepness, I much prefer varied terrain. I was fairly miserable on this hike, and could not wait to be back at camp. Gregg enjoyed it immensely, and made it up a good deal before I did. At the top, the sun was in poor position for photos - and the lake was covered with snow still. However, it was a fantastic and close view of Fitz Roy, which I appreciated. My body is not accustomed to all this hiking, and I was beginning to get sore. Additionally, I had not eaten or drank anywhere near what I should have.
Walking down was much faster and more enjoyable, though it was a bit hard to keep traction on the sliding rocks and steep path. When we reached camp again, I felt out of it. I was hungry and dehydrated, and probably experiencing the effects of low blood sugar - which always knocks me out after I haven't eaten or drank enough on a hike. We made a dinner of burnt soup (I think this is a first for me, burning soup, but my stove was boiling the water over at even the lowest temperature!) - and then spaghetti and poor quality tomato sauce. It raised my energy, but I still longed for some non carbohydrate nutrients.
Gregg retired to the tent at that point, even though it was still maybe only 8 pm (and since we are in so far south in the hemisphere, the sun sets very late here - at 9 or 9:30)...while he rested, I wrote in my journal sitting on a log. There were English speakers sitting aside some tents nearby - I asked if I could join them. There was one Israeli, and two Americans (from Colorado). We drank hot choco, and sat and talked for several hours. The most amusing part of the conversation was when the Israeli exclaimed that you cannot touch Penguins because they have AIDS (I suppose there is a small possiblity this is true, but the rest of us were dubious). I still, however, am looking forward to arriving at the coast in a week or so, and seeing these penguins.
I slept very poorly that night. For the past year, I have not slept well in tents, although I don't know why. Probably because my sleeping bag is a mummy sac, and I like to move quite a bit in my sleep. Also, the wind was as violent as I have ever heard. It whipped all night long, whistling and howling, although there was no rain and I stayed warm after bundling up.
The sun is going down and it is cold here in the Poincenot Campground beneath Mt Fitz Roy. (In Los Glaciares Nacional Parque). Carrying all our camping gear in was a bit grueling, as the first half of the trek was quite uphill. The incline was substantially greater and more prolonged than either of us has anticipated. As far as hiking goes, it was not all that steep - but I was already drained from 9 - 10 miles of hiking yesterday. Carrying the pack also made the incline feel greater and longer. I took some Aleve at the beginning of the hike, which allowed some of the pain in my lower back and legs to subside.
We have been lucky - the weather could not have been nicer today. There was barely a cloud in the sky, and no wind. A man we met informed us that just four days prior, there was snow covering much of the ground. We had truly come for the arrival of spring - and coincided with a window of weather that was uncommonly good for this town. The temperature was cool and crisp enough that we didn't overheat while walking.
As we hiked up to our camp, we had no views of Mt Fitz Roy for the first half of the hike - but it was the focal point of the landscape for the second half. Every peak in area was prominent and clear and illuminated by the bright sunlight.
After about 3 to 3.5 hours of hiking, we reached our campsite. There were already several different groups there. It was rather more rustic that many American campsites - just one outhouse, and that was it - however, unlike America, it was free of charge.
We pitched our tent and boiled water for tea before grabbing our much lighter daypacks and heading to Lago De Los Tres - (a nearby lake).
This hike was a bit more then I bargained for. It was relatively short, maybe a mile or two - but it was EXTREMELY steep the entire way up, with no break in pitch. In fact it only got steeper the higher it got. I do favor hiking up prolonged steepness, I much prefer varied terrain. I was fairly miserable on this hike, and could not wait to be back at camp. Gregg enjoyed it immensely, and made it up a good deal before I did. At the top, the sun was in poor position for photos - and the lake was covered with snow still. However, it was a fantastic and close view of Fitz Roy, which I appreciated. My body is not accustomed to all this hiking, and I was beginning to get sore. Additionally, I had not eaten or drank anywhere near what I should have.
Walking down was much faster and more enjoyable, though it was a bit hard to keep traction on the sliding rocks and steep path. When we reached camp again, I felt out of it. I was hungry and dehydrated, and probably experiencing the effects of low blood sugar - which always knocks me out after I haven't eaten or drank enough on a hike. We made a dinner of burnt soup (I think this is a first for me, burning soup, but my stove was boiling the water over at even the lowest temperature!) - and then spaghetti and poor quality tomato sauce. It raised my energy, but I still longed for some non carbohydrate nutrients.
Gregg retired to the tent at that point, even though it was still maybe only 8 pm (and since we are in so far south in the hemisphere, the sun sets very late here - at 9 or 9:30)...while he rested, I wrote in my journal sitting on a log. There were English speakers sitting aside some tents nearby - I asked if I could join them. There was one Israeli, and two Americans (from Colorado). We drank hot choco, and sat and talked for several hours. The most amusing part of the conversation was when the Israeli exclaimed that you cannot touch Penguins because they have AIDS (I suppose there is a small possiblity this is true, but the rest of us were dubious). I still, however, am looking forward to arriving at the coast in a week or so, and seeing these penguins.
I slept very poorly that night. For the past year, I have not slept well in tents, although I don't know why. Probably because my sleeping bag is a mummy sac, and I like to move quite a bit in my sleep. Also, the wind was as violent as I have ever heard. It whipped all night long, whistling and howling, although there was no rain and I stayed warm after bundling up.
posted by Samantha Farbman at 2:58 PM
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