I wrote this entry in April, 2006, right after I had returned from Argentine Patagonia. But somehow
I lost it from my Blog. A friend kindly sent me a copy electronically so that I could restore it.

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This entry fittingly invokes the name of Greg Crouch’s epic book, “Enduring Patagonia”. I just returned from Buenos Aires after
decompressing there for a few days with my trekking buddies, Ian Newport and Bill Carmichael. Together, we spent over two
weeks enduring and enjoying Patagonia.

The “Above the Clouds Trekking” (badly) organized trip was to have two distinct treks – the Estancia Maipu to El Chalten crossing
and the circuit of Cerro Huemul. We had assumed that the first would be a reasonable warmup for the second. Wow, were we wrong!
The crossing to El Chalten was brutal! Of course Greg Crouch and his climbing partner, Jim Donini, had thought it to be just “a walk in
the park”, but both, having just climbed Cerro Torre from the west in winter, are in another league entirely!

After a day at the rustic Estancia El Condor on the shores of Lago San Martin, we drove down the road early the next morning to
Estancia Maipu and began a 3 day 30+ mile trek to El Chalten. The first day was supposed to be “a gentle ascent through beech (lenga)
forests” to the foot of the Del Gordo (“Fat Man”) pass. Immediately the terrain turned sharply uphill on an ill-defined track. It looked
like only horses and wild guanacos had ever used these trails. Later we found out that only 40 people had ever completed the crossing
and 19 of them were our current party! The weather was bad to start and got worse. Never before have I experienced sun, rain, snow,
sleet, fog and punishing wind all in one day, with frequent changes amongst them! The ground was sodden wet from a week of previous
rain and the mud balled up and clung to my boots with each step. Soon I was dragging a few pounds of mud along with my tired ass!
Four hours into the crossing we stopped for lunch and discovered that one of our party was missing. While the guides frantically backtracked
looking for him, I took off by boots to discover two big, nasty blisters on my heels. I had never gotten blisters before and this was a hell of
a place to start! But Alberto Del Castillo, our local chief guide and owner of Fitz Roy Expediciones, disinfected them and taped my heels so
well that I was able to continue on with very little discomfort. Our missing party was also found and we continued relentlessly on, uphill.
It wasn’t until over 4 hours later that we arrived in our Camp 1, just beneath the crest of the 5,050 foot Del Gordo pass, high above the banks
of the Rio de Los Portones, as evening was falling. The gauchos had gone on ahead by horse and set up the camp.

Day two of the crossing commenced with an hour’s steep ascent up to and over the Del Gordo pass. Then we began to descend into the
steep valley of the Rio de Los Portones. As a new “delight”, we had to ford the river several times, necessitating removing one’s boots,
rolling up one’s wind pants and putting on Teva sandals to cross the icy waters! Sometimes we were able simply to jump from rock to
rock in the river bed, but more often then not, we forded. The day ground on, relentlessly, up and down. The terrain was difficult at best!
Bogs with tufts of button grass, rocks, boulders and scree, calafate bushes to scrape at one’s gaiters and the ever present wind. The weather
changed constantly but settled, for the most part, into light snow/sleet. This was actually quite welcome over the alternative of driving rain!
In any event, we slogged on for 11 1/2 hours until we reached our Camp 2 in failing evening light. All were quite exhausted and
wondering what the hell the last day would be like, previewed to be “the longest and perhaps the hardest as well”!

I was sure that I could hike on, but my heels were certainly bothering me. An alternative was discussed, to which I quickly agreed.
Instead of hiking the last 10+ miles, I would ride them on a pack horse along with the gauchos. So, the group left on foot and, after
watching the gauchos break camp, I mounted my steed, “Muracho”, and headed off across country with 3 trains of 4 horses and another
sole rider. We crossed some quite difficult terrain, but Muracho was very sure-footed. At one point we had to dismount to allow the horses
to cross over the river in a very narrow and steep-walled canyon. One of the horses almost lost it going up the dizzying far side bank.
However, after 4 hours riding, we caught up to the group on foot ascending a very steep slope leading to a mirador or viewpoint.

I rode to the top and there in front of me was a commanding view of the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre massifs, 2 hours away in El Chalten.
It was breathtaking! The weather was clear but the wind was howling. I rode back down a way to gesture to Ian and Bill that the slog ahead
of them would be well worth the view! Then we lunched in the saddle and headed off down steep and relentless slopes towards El
Chalten. I really enjoyed riding! All that I had learned about horsemanship years before in Palos Verdes, CA, came back to me and I was
able to sit a good saddle at a walk, trot and canter. We even had some flat meadow stretches where I opened Muracho up to a full gallop.
It was exhilarating! But the best – and worst – was still yet to come. Approaching El Chalten after a very steep descent, we had to ford the
swift-flowing Rio De Las Vueltas. It was at least 50 meters across and who knew how deep? I urged Muracho on into the river and gripped
him tightly with my calves and thighs. The swift current seemed to push us further downstream than we were making progress across. I
lost my stirrups two-thirds of the way across and hugged Muracho by the neck, urging him on. He swam mightily and we reached the far
bank, half soaked. It was wonderful to ride the last few hundred meters to our delightful rustic inn, the Hostelaria El Puma, where I promptly
enjoyed an ice cold bottle of Quilmes beer!

I spent the next 4 days at the El Puma nursing my heels and tending the big roaring fire of lenga wood in the main sitting room. Ian, Bill
and the group headed out the next day in pouring rain and stiff wind to begin the Huemul Circuit trek. This is a circumambulation of Cerro
Huemul, which lies just south of the Fitz Roy-Cerro Torre massif, bordering west on the great Southern Icecap and southeast on the Viedma
Glacier and Lago Viedma. I felt sorry for my colleagues for the weather conditions which they would have to endure, but I stayed put, warm
and content, reading books in front of the fire for 2 days. Then my guide from my last Patagonia trip in 2004, Cristian Lopez, came by and
we agreed to do some day hikes around El Chalten the moment the weather improved.

The third day dawned crystal clear. The west winds from Chile had blown away the clouds and rain and the granite giants of El Chaten were
out for all to see. I had rarely before seen such a perfect day in Patagonia! Cristian arrived at 8:30 AM and we set out on a 20 km trek to
Lago Torre at the base of Cerro Torre, Torre Egger and Cerro Stanhardt. Approaching the first mirador, we could see the
Torre massif outlined sharply against a pure blue sky. The towers were coated on the west side with snow and rime but the eastern
faces towards which we walked were clear, cold, sharp, gray granite. An amazing 200 meter snow mushroom had built up on the summit
of Cerro Standhart. We continued on over the second mirador and, eventually, through Agostini Camp (where climbers were busy readying
assaults on the Torres while the good weather held) to the scree and glacial moraine slope leading up to Lago Torre. Surmounting this,
we arrived at the small lake which is formed by the runoff from the Torre Glacier at the far north end. Some fresh icebergs had calved into
the lake and floated around in odd shapes and various hues of white to deep blue. Most impressively, Cerro Torre penetrated the cloudless
sky like a knife blade. It is arguably the most beautiful granite spire in the world and certainly the most difficult. It wasn’t climbed until the
late 1950s and not very often since. Cristian and I sat and ate our packed lunches while reveling in the wonder of this unique mountain and
glacial cirque. The walk back was invigorated by a sense of both accomplishment and deep satisfaction.

Meanwhile on the Huemul Circuit, I learned that the group would be returning a day early, having not completed the circuit. The first day
had been all rain and wind and the second day even worse. They had made it to their first camp at Laguna Torro, but had to stay put all
of the second day, riding out the storm. When the third day dawned clear and calm, they were to move up to cross the snout of the El
Tunel Glacier, ascend 5,000 foot Windy Pass, have a spectacular view of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap and then descend to a camp
beside a small lake and a refugio hut that had been placed by the Argentine Department of Glaciology for Ice Cap field studies. They
managed to cross the glacial snout and ascend Windy Pass, where they had, by Ian and Bill’s accounts, a spectacular and almost mind-blowing
view of the great Southern Patagonia Ice Cap. But the camp further on had been flooded by the torrential earlier rains, so they backtracked
to their Laguna Torro camp and returned to the El Chalten the next day.

After recuperation, we all set out the next day for the port on Lago Viedma where a boat took us on an hour’s ride to the snout of the
Viedma Glacier which calves into the west end of the lake. Unlike the heavily tourist-populated Perito Moreno Glacier on Lago Argentina,
we had the Viedma Glacier all to ourselves. It is vast and its western reaches descend from the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap far above.
We scrambled over well-worn, smooth-polished and deeply-grooved rocks marking the area from which the glacier had recently
retreated in the last 10 years. Arriving at its snout, we all donned ice crampons and walked out on to the glacier itself. It was made
up of large, sharp, granular compacted ice which would cut one’s hands if one fell. It was a circus of up and down dips, huge ice seracs,
slender penitenties and occasional gaping, bottomless crevasses. We navigated our way carefully around it and took lots of photos. Our
excellent local guide, Luchy, lent me his ice ax and ice tools and I had a go at front-pointing up an ice serac with my crampons while
hammering in the ice hammers alternatively as I ascended. About 5 meters up was enough for me, but it made a great photo!

The rest of the trip had several notable highlights, including a stay at Estancia Cristina, a working sheep estancia; a traditional asado
meal; a visit to downtown El Calafate (one street full of tourist-oriented shops); a stay at the famous Los Notros Hostelaria directly
facing the Perito Moreno Glacier, 7 kms away (spectacular view!); and a visit to watch the Perito Moreno Glacier calving great chunks
of ice into Lago Argentino from its 10 story high snout. Also, generally, the food and wines in Argentina were sensational and often up
to haute cuisine gourmet standards. I didn’t lose any weight on this trip, as I had in Tibet 6 month ago! Ian, Bill and I continued our
culinary and wine degustations in Buenos Aires after leaving Patagonia and developed a real taste for fine Argentine Malbecs, Cabernets
and Sauvignons from the Mendoza valley. We toured Buenos Aires, enjoying the cafe life and dolce vida, especially in the old San Telmo
district and around Puerte Madero. We walked all over the city and enjoyed the ambiance of its European/Latin flavor. Of course, we
visited the quite bizarre and baroque La Recoleta Cemetary to see the tomb of Evita Peron. In all, we definitely endured, but greatly
enjoyed, Patagonia!