The hike up to Mount Tronador, a
stunning glacier-filled mountain outside of Bariloche, offered amazing views of several receding glaciers, a glacier-fed waterfall and snow-topped mountains. We camped about 20 meteres from a glacier and had beautiful mountain views outside of our tent that were reminiscent of the North Cascades. In fact, most of the trees, bushes and groundcover looked eerily similar to those found in Washington, perhaps due to the fact that both locales are located around 50 
degrees latitude, albeit in different hemispheres.After hiking the 18km down from Mt. Tronador, we chatted with the aforementioned Swedish girl who told us about the ¨magical Laguna Ilum¨ whose trailhead was a mere 50 meters away. I think her exact words when describing it were :a paradise for the soul¨. So, although it was 4 PM, we were tired and the first 8 KM of the trek was fairly steep according to the Swedish girl, we shrugged our backpacks back on and gave it a go. 
After a pleasant walk through a meadow and a slightly sketchy river crossing, we discovered 
what she meant by fairly steep. The mountain shot straight up with the faint outline of a dusty trail running parallel. There were no switchbacks and only spiky bamboo shoots along the trail to grab when gravity started to pull you backwards. We spent the next three hours fighting our way uphill, cursing the Swedish girl and her paradise (well, maybe that was just me) until we reached a rocky outcropping that signified the top of our climb. From there on out, the path meandered gently through forested areas with little undergrowth and even less wildlife. In fact, it was pookily quiet, as if we were the only thing living within miles. Finally however, awe broke out of the enchangted forest and reached the now legendary Laguna Ilum. I will admit, it was beautiful, but I don´t know if my soul was rejoicing in this new-found paradise. It was a small mountain tairn 
with sandy beaches and a stunning view of Mt. Tronador. We spent the night up there and then endured the knee-breaking downhill with thoughts of Mexican food invading our head. 
what she meant by fairly steep. The mountain shot straight up with the faint outline of a dusty trail running parallel. There were no switchbacks and only spiky bamboo shoots along the trail to grab when gravity started to pull you backwards. We spent the next three hours fighting our way uphill, cursing the Swedish girl and her paradise (well, maybe that was just me) until we reached a rocky outcropping that signified the top of our climb. From there on out, the path meandered gently through forested areas with little undergrowth and even less wildlife. In fact, it was pookily quiet, as if we were the only thing living within miles. Finally however, awe broke out of the enchangted forest and reached the now legendary Laguna Ilum. I will admit, it was beautiful, but I don´t know if my soul was rejoicing in this new-found paradise. It was a small mountain tairn 
with sandy beaches and a stunning view of Mt. Tronador. We spent the night up there and then endured the knee-breaking downhill with thoughts of Mexican food invading our head. 
1 comment:
Well said.
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