I stuck my arm out and latched onto a tree to prevent myself from careening down the trail. I caught it just in time as my body kept moving but the tree, thankfully, pulled me back like a puppet on a string. I’d been warned that this trail would be ridiculously difficult but it fell on deaf ears. In fact, it only made me want to do it more.
Standing there, I thought, “They were right but I don’t want to admit it,” while simultaneously wishing to myself that curling into a ball on the floor, melting into a puddle and dripping down the rest of the trail was an option. I was in the middle of a 3-hour descent that was almost vertical, on slippery dirt, and without anything to hold onto. One false move would mean a serious injury. I’d never experienced anything like it before.
Yet I knew that going back up would be worse than continuing on. Then I’d just have to do the same thing in the other direction, going back over the pass and to the 2-hour trail that was so narrow, one wrong step would mean falling all the way down to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. There would be no walking out of that scenario. I really didn’t want to repeat it.
I had no choice, so I just kept going. I started wondering to myself why I was there. Was this actually even fun?
Then the bushes cleared and I could see a glimmering lake with ice bergs floating in it. Nobody around for days, it was ours – Steve who had hiked the Huemul circuit before, a young German guy named Joachim whom we met along the trail, and me. That view made me remember why I took on the challenge in the first place.
That was on day three of one of the most difficult hikes I’ve done and yet somehow it’s (mostly) fond in my memories.
It started out with some information Steve, who trekked the Huemul Circuit three years ago (I could NOT understand his motivation for doing it twice), hadn’t bargained for.
“If you’re going to want to do this trek, you need a harness and carabiner to rappel across the rivers.”
Steve had just forded the river last time. Yes, he had forded the freezing river that was coming down from a glacier. And then just hiked in freezing wet pants afterwards. I liked the idea of the harness much better.
You see, when Steve had been there previously, the metal wire with the pulley was broken. By the time we arrived it had been fixed again. I have no idea how often this thing breaks and certainly didn’t let myself contemplate it too much while actually on it.
Why in the world did we want to do this? We’d gone from rural areas without many, if any, other western tourists on the Carretera Austral to the much more popular and crowded El Chaltén and we wanted solitude again.
This circuit is difficult and technical enough to keep most people away, and it’s one of the only trails in Patagonia that you can see the Southern Patagonian Ice Field from. It’s also possible to get sunrise at the glacial lagoon all to yourself. Seriously, with nobody else there.
The challenges: Most of the trail is not marked (download the Argentina map on the maps.me app before you go to help with navigating), three hours of the trail is almost straight down, and you must carry absolutely everything you will need on the trek, and I mean everything, including a carabiner and harness that you can rent from shops in town. The only thing you don’t need to bring is water.
Day One
Day one was rather pleasant.We left in the late morning and took it easy, checking in with the ranger office, registering (they’ll send out search and rescue if you go missing), and heading out on our way.
It was an easy hike from the town of El Chaltén through a bit of forest and a bit of open areas. There were sweeping mountain views and a casual glacier here, there, and everywhere.
At the end of that day it was seeming pretty easy. There were about 6 other tents all around and we cooked some pasta. Steve somehow managed to find it funny rather than annoying when I knocked down the boiled water twice trying to turn off the flame.
Day Two
For most day two, there’s no trail. The second day involves strapping on a harness first thing in the morning and pulling yourself across the wire rope. It’s much easier without a backpack on so send that across first to your hiking buddy.
The next few hours will be spent climbing over a rocky glacier moraine, then climbing hand and foot up a gravel trail for 1000 meters.
It will be a challenge for sure. This is easily one of the steepest trails I’ve done, and I was VERY glad to have had walking sticks with that steepness. Thankfully the view is amazing during this part of the trail. To your right there will be two big glaciers and at the top, you’ll have the view of the Ice Field at the Paso Viento.
The Paso Viento is so-named for normally being ridiculously windy. In Patagonia, when something is characterized as ‘windy’ it does not mean a stiff breeze, it means wind pelting you so hard that it picks you right up off your feet and slams you into a rock if it wants to.
That day, however, there was no wind whatsoever. It was a clear day and we could see straight onto the ice field and beyond.
In that moment I was staring at a part of planet Earth that is still very much uncharted territory. Maybe I’m not the one out exploring and mapping it out, but I sure was content in that moment to be the only girl sitting there looking at it.
That night after a steep descent down, we slept under some incredible stars next to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. A group of five others showed up as well, but that was it. Otherwise, we were the only humans out there for days.
Day Three
Day three was the long and very tough one that I mentioned in the intro of this post.
The beginning was more or less fine. We woke up with the sun and packed up quickly, aware that it was a long day until we got to the glacier lagoon. We picked a few Calafate berries along the way and readied for the tough part.
The trail narrowed to the point that one false step would mean falling down all the way to the ice field. I was very aware that wasn’t something anyone would be walking out of.
Then we had another pass to climb up and over -the Huemul Pass. The wind picked up but it was in my favor and started to actually push me up the trail, much to my gratitude. Once I reached the top, I could finally see the glacial lake. Like much of the water in Patagonia, the minerals made it an intense aquamarine, coupled by the crystal clear water from the glacier.
I’ve already waxed poetic on the descent thereafter earlier in the post, but suffice to say, it was steeper than anything I’ve ever tried and to add insult to injury, the plants poked and scratched me the whole way down.
Patagonia ain’t for pansies.
That night we settled into a campground right on the water as the rain started to fall and the wind picked up. We found a tree to hide behind for cooking and finally tucked into the small bottle of whiskey we’d brought along, taking chunks of the ice out of the water because wouldn’t you want some 10,000-year-old glacial ice in your beverage? In the morning, we’d see the sunrise reflect on the ice bergs floating in the water and it would be glorious.
Day Four
The morning was peaceful and so many shades of gold and red, and unlike my experience in Iceland where there were a good 25-40 people, we were the only ones to see it. Seriously, we were the only people there!
The hike out from there was more like the first day’s – it wasn’t too challenging, though it was long at 18km and by the time we reached the end, pulling ourselves across another pulley again, we were absolutely exhausted.
The thing is, at this point you have to try to find a bus. The busses coincide with incoming tourist boats that visit the glacier in the late morning and afternoon. Hitchhiking is also an option, which is what we did.
An American tourist who had summited Everest twice gave us a lift, congratulating us for completing such a tough circuit. It paled in comparison to what he’d done, of course, but I still felt happy to have taken on this challenge and dominated it, even though at times I didn’t think I could.
Patagonia, you’re always unexpected, always tough, and always gorgeous.
Absolutely blown away by your photos and adventurous spirit!
Thanks so much Mark!
This is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen… I need to go and complete it! It is exactly the crazy kind of thing I like to do when travelling. Beautiful photos.
What an adventure! Love all of it!
Karo recently posted…How to Prevent and Treat Blisters When Hiking
Absolutely stunning scenery, but that hike looks really tough! I’m content to sit back and look at your photos 🙂
Rika | Cubicle Throwdown recently posted…PSA: Kayaking in Roatan
These photos are amazing 😍 Not sure I would brave that hike but it definitely seems like it was worth it!
Hey, I haven’t read your blog in awhile cause a trip got me out of the habit, but what a great post to come back to! I’m a sucker for everything to do with hiking, and this is going on my list of hikes I absolutely must complete one day. The challenge is what makes it so rewarding, not to mention the beautiful views and the nature and the solitude 😀
Welcome back! totally agree that the challenge sometimes is what attracts me in the first place.
Hey Kristin, you are really a good writer. I am glad to find your website and this post was amazing. I am bookmarking your site now so i will not miss your posts in future.
Cheers!
Damn girl. I was holding my breath as I did this trek along with you through your writing. You’re a beast.
Wow, it sounds incredible! But definitely not for the light hearted 🙂 I know from experience that photos are hard to compare to the real thing especially when it comes to showing a gradient but that hill photo genuinely looks intimidating!
Nope anyone who hates heights or isn’t all that into hiking would have hated this hike! I almost hated it myself but oh man that view and the lack of crowds really made it cool.
Really wanting to do this hike, what month did yal do the hike? And did yal hike it clockwise or counter clockwise?
Started from town and went clockwise. I cannot imagine, really, doing it counterclockwise.
Hi Kristin,
Enjoyed reading your report of the the Huemul Circuit trekking, where I am planning to do next month.
I do have a question about the hiking direction.
From the map, if one started hiking from town, I think one must be doing counterclockwise. Am I missing something?
You want to head for the Paso del Viento right after you register at the ranger station. They can help further clarify for you, but there’s no way I can imagine going uphill on what would normally be the 3rd day. The downhill was scary but uphill would be almost impossible…it’s a super steep decline/incline
Hi Kristin!
Thanks a lot for this post. It provides some very good info about this circuit, which I’ve wanted to do ever since I saw it on Steve’s blog.
I have a couple of questions that perhaps you can help me answering.
1) How difficult it is to find the path in the unmarked sections? I’ve downloaded a GPX file from http://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php/Circuito_Cerro_Huemul, and I’ve installed it into a Garmin GPSMAP 64s, and I plan to buy a paper map in El Chaltén as well.
2) Did you have to ford any rivers, or were you able to use harnesses for all of them?
3) How cold were the nights inside your tent and sleeping bag? What kind of clothing did you wear to keep you warm while sleeping?
4) Perhaps this is the most important one. We’re not the fittest trekkers. We do hike regularly (I do 5km, 150m elevation gain and loss as training about 3 times per week, for example), but that doesn’t mean we’re thin. We’re obviously in better shape and have better training than most people, but you seem to be quite fit. Do you think we would have a horrible time on this circuit? I can deal with being tired, exhausted and wishing the climb to be over, but I think that I can deal with a 900m elevation gain, although I might be slow.
Thanks a lot!
1) Sometimes you won’t be able to see the path at all, that’s why I think having an offline map with plotted points on it with a GPS is important if not essential. Always look for the rock stacks to lead your way as well
2) We just had to cross two and used the harness for both
3) It’s more important to have a good sleeping bag than clothing for sleeping. More layers of clothing actually make the bag less effective. Go for one with a comfort level below 0 for sure. You’re sleeping next to the ice field!
4) I can’t say it’s not hard, but it’s not about being thin, it’s about being able to take on the challenge and having knees that can handle that intense downhill part. I feel like uphill is mental, downhill is knees.
What an amazing adventure. I think a bit too challengin for our family. I am wondering about doing only the last day back and forth. Would love to knoew what you think of that?
That would also be beautiful! You could see the glacier lagoon. Budget all day for it since it’s out and back.
Hey, great post! Do you think Huemul circuit is possible alone?
I met someone on the trail who asked if he could join us and of course we said yes. He’d done the first day solo but that’s an easy day. Hiking alone is never a good idea, especially considering day two is over a glacier moraine and it would be pretty easy to fall and never get found. I’d stay in a social hostel and try to find some people to join. It’s a tricky trail and much of it isn’t even visible, requiring a GPS and a harness to get across two rivers. It’s of course possible to do alone but not very smart.
I ended up doing this trail because of this blog post! Thank you so much for posting about it Kristin! It was freaking the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life haha. Was actually my first time doing a multi-day trek; I had the physical fitness but at times during the hike I was asking what have I gotten myself into and why did I have to discover your blog post =P, but no, the hike was just phenomenal. I was lucky to do it with someone more experienced (and doing the hike certainly made me slightly more experienced). Honestly seeing your picture of the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields sold me, and it was the most humbling thing of nature I have ever seen in my life. I actually met a few other people while backpacking last month who had also found out about and ended up doing this this trail because of this particular post. And then I ended up telling 3 more people about it who ended up doing it. The domino effect of one blog post is quite interesting. Hopefully many people who are able to do the trek find out about it; APN doesn’t seem to advertise it so much given how much can go wrong with the weather, but otherwise it’s an amazing trek. Thanks for posting about it and sharing your experiences!
Whoa, this was your first multi-day trek? Way to start with a bang! That’s the reason to go – that view of the Southern Patagonian Ice field. It’s just mind blowing.
I can understand why they don’t advertise the trek much. I can imagine search and rescue could have their hands full if they don’t make the trail clearer and especially that downhill and the glacier moraine. What an experience, though!
Agreed, the ice field view is just mind-blowing (literally, with all the wind we had up at Paso del VIento, though seems like you had little). But even the other parts of the hike are beautiful, especially considering it’s so seldom traveled. I did Torres del Paine about a week later solo and honestly wasn’t phased by it after doing the Huemul even though it was only my 2nd ever multi-day trek–a good way to be thrown into the fire.
Yea, apparently that downhill section has you go down vertically 500m over 1.2km horizontally, or about 42% decline. Even with hiking poles it’s ridiculously difficult. And yeaaaa we heard of a guy who got his foot stuck in one part of the glacier, but at least he was with friends and they were able to take him back. Then we met some freak-of-nature Swiss guy who left Chalten at 7 AM and made it to Refugio Paso del Viento by 4 PM without even registering to do the hike. Definitely a memorable hike!
Kristin,
Thank you for posting in such candid detail about your hikes. Your travels are inspiring to female travelers like myself. What time of the year did you hike the Huemul Circuit, if you don’t mind me asking?
This was in March. I think it’s probably only doable without snow 🙂