We’ve written our journey to the small mountain village of El Chalten, our base in hiking the mountains of Patagonia, in our previous post and if you haven’t read it yet and would love to, please click here.

Nash and I woke up early for our first day of hike to make sure we were able to eat breakfast and load up for the long day ahead. We booked through Viator, a very reliable leader in online tours and activities, to hike with a small group and a guide since we wanted to have a feel of what it was like to hike in the mountains of Patagonia. Certainly, this was a place we were very unfamiliar with so we were a bit anxious, but definitely more excited to be hiking.

We were picked up by the van and our guide, Fabio, at Hotel Poincenot around 8:30 am. He then handed to us our "lunch box", which they had prepared for us to eat on our hike. Each of us received a brown bag and inside was an apple, an empanada, a ham and cheese sandwich, an alfajores cookie, and a bottle each of water and orange juice. Clearly more than enough for a day hike. We placed all of these in the compartments of our high-performance and very dependable Osprey Stratos hiking bags that we couldn't live without.

On our way to Hosteria El Pilar, peeking through the window of the van, we saw a beautiful view of Rio Electrico and its rushing waters. When we arrived at our starting point, Nash and I thought it was weird that the van didn’t pick up other hikers aside from us. To our surprise, we found out that we were the only ones who had booked with them that day. We were ecstatic to hear this! I was so happy because I wasn't going to feel pressured to hike very fast and keep up with the rest if we were in a group. Nash, on the other hand, was happy because he can probably ask our guide to stop and take photos whenever he wants to. What a great start for us!

The starting point of the hike was Senda El Pilar (Hosteria El Pilar). The beginning of the hike was easy peasy—or so I thought— and then 20 minutes into walking, the path seemed to grow steeper and harder each minute. At this point, we pulled out our trekking poles and they made the climb so much bearable. They were definitely a life saver and a good investment if you plan to go on plenty of hikes in the future. We got ours from Black Diamond Equipment and they've been a favorite of ours since then.

This first two hours of the hike was difficult and we could hear ourselves trying to catch our breaths constantly, but we didn’t mind. Who are we to complain if we were surrounded by lush green trees in the forest and the air smelled so fresh it was almost practically foreign to us. The smell of rain sodden leaves and damp earth we were walking on had a calming effect. There were several ancient trees stretched out in different directions on the forest floor. We could hear birds chirping alongside creaking old branches and it just felt so peaceful.

We were very lucky it had rained a few days before our hike so the earth was moist and was easier to hike on. The canopy of green kept us cool and shielded us from the heat of the rising sun! The air, we were told, smelled crispest after a rainfall.

These are the viewpoints we hiked to during our first day:

1. Mirador Glaciar Piedras Blancas

This place was our first stop from the El Pilar trailhead. From this viewpoint, you will see a majestic view of glaciers cascading down from Monte Fitz Roy called Glaciar Piedras Blancas and ends with a small turquoise blue lake below. This place is a perfect rest stop too, say you get hungry like we did, since it is a forested area and you’re covered from the heat of the sun. I still remember just sitting under a tree and munching on our tasty empanadas here!

2. Mirador del Torre (Saint Exupery, Rafael Juarez, Poincenot, Eléctrico)

This provides a perfect view of the Cerro Torre Range. We saw all the main peaks of the Cerro Torre Range including Saint Exupery, Rafael Juarez, Poincenot, and Eléctrico when the fog cleared up (we missed taking photos sorry). Amazing scenery!

3. Laguna de los Tres

Unfortunately, we were not able to make it to Laguna de los Tres on this hike. I still blame myself for deciding not to push through with it since we were told it was a very steep and difficult hike. I was afraid to push ourselves way too much than we already were. If you get the chance, provided you are fit, don’t miss it. This hike provides a magnificent view of the turquoise blue waters of Laguna de los Tres and the Mount Fitz Roy range.

4. Cerro Chalten or Monte Fitz Roy

Halfway through our hike, as if we were the luckiest of hikers that day, we were greeted with a clear view of the Mount Fitz Roy and the Cerro Chalten Range. Fabio told us that we were very lucky because he said this doesn’t happen often and certainly not everyday. The view was breathtaking. No, it was mind-blowing. You suddenly feel like a tiny dot against the gigantic Mount Fitz Roy soaring above you.

5. Un-named Waterfalls

Since we chose not to go to Laguna de los Tres, Fabio, our guide, brought us to this secret waterfalls, which he said had no name when I asked. Nash and I were both SPEECHLESS when we got to see what view we had for lunch. There was this huge waterfall splashing its waters to the stream down below. On the backdrop was Cerro Chalten or Mountz Fitz Roy. It felt as if I was in a movie—or a fake movie set— or that everything was just a dream. We sat on these huge rocks and ate our lunch while enjoying this magnificent view of a lifetime all to ourselves. Oh and when you get there, don’t forget to have a drink of the water from the stream. It was cold and probably one of the freshest water we have ever tasted in our lifetime. After all, it was melted glacier coming from Cerro Chalten.

6. Laguna Capri

Two hours before reaching the town of El Chalten, we also had a rest stop at this beautiful and calm lagoon called Laguna Capri. We were told that sometimes, during the summer, throngs of people would swim in it. That day we were there was different, it was very quiet. I tried to dip my hand in the water and it was definitely cold, maybe close to freezing. So no swimming in the lagoon for us, but we enjoyed the tranquil waters all to ourselves. On the side of the lagoon was a serene view again of Mount Fitz Roy.

7. Mirador del Rio De las Vueltas

This was the last viewpoint we have seen as we went down the mountains back to the town of El Chalten. Rio de las Vueltas is a watercourse that belongs to the Santa Cruz River. A portion of the water comes from the melting glaciers and so the water is a glistening turquoise blue, similar to Lago Argentino. The river was surrounded with an impressive view of the Patagonian mountain range.

By the end of our trek we were exhausted, but felt an enormous sense of accomplishment. Never in our lifetime did we think that we would have the opportunity to trek in the mountains of Patagonia. We were just amateur hikers seeking for an adventure and yet we took home memories of the magnificent views of the Patagonian landscape and an important lifelong lesson from our hike—NEVER GIVE UP! Our first day of hiking was indeed a success. Always remember, you can do it too! Happy future hiking to all of you!

P.S.

If you are curious as to how much we hiked that day, here are our stats from our favorite fitness tracker— my Fitbit watch read: 33,024 steps, 13.3 miles/21.4 kilometers, 2,316 calories burned, and 103 floors climbed. Whew!

Stay tuned for our next post about our second day of hiking!