Against all odds, I still love backpacking.

Yesterday was the hardest hike of my life. I think cj is posting events from the last few days (Esquel - El Bolson - Bariloche) but I just had to put this one in. I spent about 20 minutes convinced that I was going to die. But i didn´t! And it was gorgeous!!!

This all started when Cj and I arrived in Bariloche yesterday morning and were immediately overwhelmed by all the people and tourism. It´s a beautiful little village full of chocolate and ice cream shops right on a lake. The town is surrounded by a lot of poverty. Bombed out houses and streets full of garbage, houses made of fabric, cardboard and corrugated tin, sick looking dogs...all relegated to the outskirts of town, only touching the placid, lakeside town in places like the bus station, where everyone mingles in the heat and diesel fumes. It appears that this is a place where other Argentinians come for vacation to escape the heat, shop and engage in outdoor adventure activities. It is located right next to a national park called Nahuel Huapi, and our plan was to escape the town to camp and hike this national park as we did in the Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. We didn´t do much research on the area so ended up bussing down the road 12 kilometers or so to ¨campamento petunia¨which turned out to be a total resort KOA style of campground with a store and a restaurant, cabins and about a thousand people with their dogs and cars and lights and radios and daily washing and cigarettes and gallons and gallons of mate. Needless to say, not exactly what we were looking for. But we made the best of it and spent a beautiful evening at an open air bar down on the lake, drinking wine, playing cards and watching the family of the folks who run the bar playing on the beach. And i slept. All. night. long. Which was because cj gave me his sleeping pad and slept on the cold, hard ground. He is such a good man. (Side note: a car alarm went off in the middle of the night at the campground. And sounded for a good 15 minutes, which of course set off the dozen dogs and half dozen babies...)

Anyways, the next morning we set out with a vengeance to find some Nature. We bussed to what appears to be a ski resort called Villa Catedral and took a chairlift some thousands of meters up a mountain with our backpacks because we heard there was a sweet hike at the top to a cool little refugio where we could camp and play and eat. Yeah. So we get to the top 45 minutes later (at this point i am already sunburned but do not know it, too rapt by the incredible scenery), scramble up to the Punta Princesa and chat with a couple of Polish guys who just finished the hike. They told us it was a ¨pretty easy 3 hour hike.¨Also proceeded to talk about the 207 other mountains they have hiked, skiied or biked down, but we didn´t pay much attention. We set out at this incredible slant from the top of the mountain, wrapping down the side of the mountain on a loose, rocky trail that was just a little wider than my two feet. After about ten minutes we started having to scramble over large rocks on this trail that was completely unforgiving: right over the edge was a valley, thousands of meters down!! This is where I had a panic attack. I didn´t want to go back but i thought for sure that we were going to make a misstep and it would all be over. I thought we should have ropes and nets and walkie talkies and SOMETHING besides our fragile little bodies and packs. So cj talked me through it by telling me we could go back if i wanted and using some rock climbing psycho mumbo jumbo on me that worked like a charm!! 30 minutes later the path was wider and i was able to look around without getting dizzy and it was GORGEOUS. Pictures forthcoming, this computer does not allow uploads...After 4 hours in the hot, hot sun, many more rocks and a hike down a snowy crevasse, we found ourselves in a beautiful valley where all I could think of was gnomes and fairies and little hobbit people living in delightful peace. As well as a rushing waterfall where we filled our bottles and rested a moment. Around the bend was the refugio! Always living up to their names, they appear right when refuge is most needed. However, as we got closer we saw...dozens of tents! Over the hill, maybe even 100 tents! Where did all these people come from??? There is no way they did this hike! I saw children! CHILDREN! Am I just a super mega wimp??? We stopped and chatted with Maile, who brought us the most delicious glass of juice i have ever had, and then suddenly realized that there is another way up this mountain. A lovely forest trek that winds slowly and safely from the bottom of the hill, because the refugio is not at the top of the mountain but partway up the other side...thus everyone and their mother coming up for the night. Alas!! We set up camp on the edge of a hill and came back to figure out dinner and meet folks. In the refugio they had a beer on tap, a negra (porter) from Bariloche, so we got a beer and subsequently met Alex, a fellow beer-lover from...Seattle! No fooling. Then we talked with Valerie, a ballet dancer who went to Buenos Aires 2 years ago and was so good at tango she got a job performing in Milongas and is now in New York studying international affairs...Maile and Grisella made an incredible dinner of carrot fritters, garbanzo beans with garlic, pickles and some sort of chip. All quickly eaten and we were off to bed. I had the sleeping pad again. Cj is the best. Also, it´s pretty sweet to wake up on the side of a mountain with snowy peaks all around you as the sun shines in...

We took the easy hike out.

I am the color of a lobster. I swear I wore SPF 50 the entire time, and wore a long sleeved shirt at least part of the time, but missed key moments, like riding the chair lift. So for our evening in Bariloche it´s water, aloe, a little food and sleep at our crazy hostel 10 stories high in the middle of downtown. Tomorrow, to Buenos Aires!!