Mountain Refuge
Last full day in Bariloche, Patagonia, and the cold weather. It was also the last planned day of hiking, although I may end up doing some more around but who knows. So let’s start.
Skip the routine start and fast forward to me on my way to the Refugio Frey hike. That was my plan for the day. A hike up and down a mountain, usually advertised as 4 hours each way, a challenge I was looking forward to.
It was planned to be a warm day, which was nice for me since all my hikes so far had been in a lot of cold, and it finally meant that I could wear less layers. Hiking in layers can get annoying, because you get hot quickly, but then as soon as you take a layer off, you get cold. It’s all about finding the perfect time to take off each layer to prevent getting cold. Not to mention that if it’s an uphill hike, it is getting cold anyway due to the weather.
I started on the trail pretty early on, say about 10 am in the morning from Villa Catedral. I have to say that it wasn’t the toughest path overall. It was a steady uphill, but wasn’t too steep or anything. Keep in mind that by this point, I had also done a few hikes, a mix of long and steep, so I was ready to take this hike head-on without too many challenges.
The hike leads to the Refugio Frey base, a mountain lodge between two peaks and sitting on a lagoon, located over 2000 meters above sea-level if I am not mistaken. The trail was actually very enjoyable and had lots of cool scenery. The first part was at the base, where the trail was wide with trees on both sides, but exposed to the sun due to only small trees. The next part was on the side of the mountain, where it gets rocky with a little bit of climbing involved, and the path becomes very narrow. In exchange for the challenge, including the direct sun, you are rewarded with some amazing views and scenery of the lakes, nearby villages, mountains, and even the city at times. The next part was through the forest, which was great because the path widens up again and is mostly shaded, making it much cooler. You also track along a river and a series of waterfalls, which make for amazing rest stops at times. Exit the forest and you get to the last part, similar to the second part, although much more challenging, not to mention that the ground may be a little wet at times leading to lots of mud. Being rather high, you can definitely feel the power of the sun at this point, and you are more or less looking forward to get to the mountain hut, which you can see at certain times. The whole path took me about 2.5 hours, much shorter than the advertised 4, although as I mentioned, I was full of energy and had already warmed up with a few other hikes.
At the top, I climbed a bit more around and also took a lot of time to rest up and enjoy the views. I had wished I had more time in Bariloche because the mountain refuge looked like a place you’d want to stay the night at. The atmosphere looked very nice in there, so I have to say that I had mixed feelings about not taking Tomi’s advice about factoring in a night at the top.
Nevertheless, I did not let that get to me and instead took the time to take in the views, as well as buying some overpriced cereal bars and biscuits, as I needed something to eat. If you ever go, I would definitely recommend you take the time to buy snacks before you go on the hike. Also factor in some time at the top if you plan to descend in the same day, to take in the beautiful views.
I am not sure how I long I spent at the top, but at some point, decided that it was time to go back down to try and catch an earlier bus to town. The hike down was harder in all honesty, possibly since I had exerted a lot of energy on the way up, but also because hiking a steep downhill can be very tricky. I mixed in some downhill mountain running to keep things interesting, and would say that overall, the hike down took me just a bit longer than the way up. At some point during my hike, I also realized that the bus was an hour earlier than I had thought, since I was planning to spend some time in the village before making my way to town but it seemed like that wasn’t an option anymore. As soon as I found that out, I had no choice but to go at a decent pace with minimal breaks, just to avoid missing the bus and having to wait around for another 2 hours.
Fast forward and I am back in Bariloche, having not missed the bus or anything. I dropped my things off at the hostel and headed straight into town. I wanted to reward myself with some ice cream from Mamuschka which to my luck did not have a crazy line like usual.
I chose an interesting combination, a mix of chocolate and cream, and then a limited flavour called summer, which was a mix of pineapple, ginger, and basil. I have to say that my choice of flavours wasn’t the best, but both of them were amazing on their own. The summer flavour specifically was great, I had never had pineapple in an ice cream, and was not disappointed at all.
A strolled through town again, stopping by the Mamuschka store to buy some chocolates for home and for my friends, as well as going through the artisan markets to get some ideas for gifts which I would grab the next morning.
I made my way to the hostel after that where I met up with all the others. We each discussed our days and then our dinner plans. I was torn between doing something quick and easy or going for my Argentinian go-to - a steak. Surprise, surprise, I went for the latter.
I went to El Boliche de Alberto again, this time avoiding the fries but instead opting for a salad, you know, to be healthy. For steak, I had the flank, which was a new cut for me. I have to say that the beef was very good, but it was not my favourite cut of steak per say. I will stick to my tenderloins and skirts in the future. I did also have an empanada to start, to see how it compared to others, and I wasn’t disappointed by it at all.
On my way back to the hostel, I had a beautifully painted sunset sky, which I tried to capture in pictures but ultimately could not do it any justice.
Back at the hostel, I caught up with everyone again, and learned to play a Mexican card game called Cambio. We played a few rounds before we all decided to call it a night, since everyone was tired.
And with that, my time in Bariloche and Patagonia came to a close, as I shut my eyes one last time in this place. What were your thoughts? What is the most interesting ice cream flavour you have had? What type of hikes do you enjoy? Let me know in the comment =s below, but till then, stay positive!
