Hiking in El Chaltén

All the types of fun

I first learned about the fun scale from my friend Samantha Silvestri. She’s very adventurous and outdoorsy. On her Instagram, while on some wild snow/ice camping hiking expedition, she explained the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Fun. Type 1 Fun is plain old fun. Fun that's fun! Type 2, on the other hand, is fun that sucks in the moment but is fun when you look back on it. Of course, there’s also Type 3 Fun- not fun at all. Here’s a fun visual.

While hiking in El Chaltén, in Argentinian Patagonia, amongst some of the most beautiful peaks in the world, I experienced all the types of fun.

On our first day, we decided to take it easy- get our feet wet, if you will. The four of us hiked to Chorrillo del Salto, a beautiful waterfall. It was an easy hike, but the views of the river and mountains were still spectacular. Along the way back, we spotted two Andean Condors¹ circling overhead. This hike is easily classified as Type 1 Fun.

The next day, Isaac and I set off on our own for something longer. We decided on the Lago del Torre hike, about 12 miles. I won’t bore you with the details of the hike, but what you need to know is that it was challenging in a totally fine way and we arrived at lago (lake) just ready for a perfect lunch. Isaac packed himself an egg salad sandwich (gross) and I splurged and bought a “Lunchbox” from the restaurant next door to our cabin. Included in my Lunchbox was: one beef empanada, one huge beet hummus and veggie sandwich, one back of nuts, one apple, and one brownie! Yum! We sat on the rocks and watched the glacier at the base of Cerro Torre lose bits of itself into the lake. I can safely say it was one of the best lunches I’ve ever had. And don’t worry, I shared my empanada and my brownie with Isaac. Again, totally Type 1 fun here. No question about it!

Buoyed by the success of our last two hikes, we embarked on one of the most challenging hikes El Chaltén has to offer- the hike to Laguna de los Tres on the Fitz Roy Trail. All Trails lists it as DIFFICULT but the reviews made it sound doable. We breezily had a lazy morning in the cabin, no urgency to get on the trail. Around 11am we strapped on our hiking shoes, I got another Lunchbox and we hit the road. “We should be back around 6pm,” I said to Isaac’s parents on our way out the door.

This hike turned into Type 2 fun almost immediately. My legs were sore from the last two days and the uphills at the beginning seemed worse than the All Trails reviews and the elevation map made it seem. “I just didn’t expect this…” and “We’re still going up?” and “Fuck this fucking trail…” were all things I mumbled to myself, annoyed that I had to stop and rest. We stopped and rested a lot. We were making terrible time. At 1:30pm, we arrived at the beautiful Laguna Capri and sat by the lake with a pristine view of Fitz Roy. “We should have lunch here,” I thought to myself, but never said out loud. “Then we should just go back and call it a day,” I said, again, in my brain and not actually to my husband.

The beautiful view of Fitz Roy at Laguna Capri where we should have had lunch and turned around.

So after a short break, we continued on. On and on. At some point, we started talking about turning around. While my brain was saying, “Yes, definitely. So tired,” what actually came out of my mouth was, “No way! We have to see it through! It’s not that much farther.” Fucking Germans. I’m unable to quit anything. We decided to split the empanada and soldier on. On and on.

Ignore the enthusiasm. It’s fake.

Then we came to the final ascent. A steep climb up the side of a mountain. Ok! I was actually excited! Type 2 fun! I can do this! It will be challenging but then we’ll have lunch at the top! My brownie! As we trudged up the narrow path, it was so late in the day that most hikers were on their way back down. Not only was I heaving myself up huge rock steps, but I was also bombarded by people coming at me, some of whom (freaks of nature) were running. Note to trail runners- please stop. Go run on a track or sidewalk somewhere. You are ruining the vibe.

It was hot, I didn’t pack enough water, and I was so hungry. Then we saw this sign. I nearly cried. Wtf? Another hour? Type 3 fun.

Even looking back on it now, it still feels miserable. It was very late in the day and the last push up the mountain was extremely steep gravel. Once we got up to the top, of course, the view was beautiful, but I was so tired and actually scared about dying on the way back down that mountainside that I couldn’t really enjoy it. I tried to eat, but it was making me sick. Wtf??? I love eating! We both agreed that we couldn’t stay long because it was already past 5pm meaning we might not get back to town (aka cell phone service) until 10pm. Isaac’s parents would be worried sick.

Views from the top. There were better angles, but I was too tired to walk to them.

So, up we got. And down we went. Very slowly. Very carefully. When we got home I googled “How many people have died on Laguna de los Tres hike?” because the whole way down I was certain that either I or someone around me was going to slip and roll right off the side of that damn mountain. I couldn’t find any info about any deaths, so maybe it wasn’t actually that bad? I think it was though. I was probably just googling the wrong thing.

Anyway, we made it back (by 8:30! Go us!). It was a hobble to the finish line. We pulled off at the first brewery in town to connect to the wifi to let Isaac’s parents know we were ok. Isaac ordered us some celebratory beers and nothing has ever been more delicious. Back to Type 1 Fun again!

The end. Can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of that beer.

PS- For those wondering, we clocked 19.6 miles and 3,454 feet of elevation that day. Some of the grades on that last push are over 60%.

1. Fun facts about Andean Condors- They are the largest flying bird! Their wingspans are up to 10 feet! They mate for life and commit suicide when their partner dies!