All good things come in threes

1st - 5th March

All good things come in threes. In our case, they were called Laguna Negra, Frey, and Lopez.

But let's start from the beginning...

Yanina proposed to accompany her and a few friends to a refuge, right next to a mountain lake, on the evening of our first trip together.

We never missed an opportunity, so the next day we were ready with our backpacks (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, camping stove, food) and full of anticipation for what the day would bring.

The path led us through a pine forest, along a crystal-clear river, and finally to the actual ascent...

Right from the start, we realized that Yanina's friends (I think there were 7 of them), of whom she only knew 2, were much faster than us.

We started climbing the switchbacks, struggling step by step, already out of sight of the others.

It was a tiring, exhausting, and nerve-wracking activity. The ascent itself was not a problem..., but the backpack slowed us down to a pace that allowed only a few steps per minute.

I haven't sweated so much in a long time. Sweat was pouring down my whole body, soaking my T-shirt from top to bottom...

Wet!

After a while, we reached the plateau.

Wet!

It's crazy how my quick-drying T-shirt immediately went to work and was completely dry within 4-5 minutes.

Not wet anymore!

The view of Laguna Negra was amazing!!!

The challenging ascent seemed insignificant, almost ridiculous, when looking at this large mountain lake.

Time to relax and enjoy the sun.

It was wonderful!

After a while, someone reminded me of a promise I made in the excitement of the ascent.

'When we reach the top, I'll jump into the mountain lake.' Florian (19), out of his mind

Well, I keep my promises!

So, into the mountain lake I went.
It was really cold, but bearable... at least for a few minutes.

Refreshed, feeling like I took a shower, and fully re-energized, I returned to the sun.

Hunger started to set in.
Let's start cooking.

One hour later, it was already dark, and the meal was ready.

It was 'only' pasta with ready-made sauce, but it tasted perfect to us.

On the other hand, we would probably have eaten salted rocks. We were extremely hungry.

As we packed up, the full moon rose above us, illuminating the dark night with a bright, shining light.

It was hard to tear ourselves away from this fascination. After a while, little by little, we managed to leave and disappeared, wrapped in our sleeping bags...

The descent the next day was much faster and easier.

It's always easier to walk in beautiful sunshine. 😉

No rest day for us. Because on the next morning, we had a new destination in mind.

Refugio Frey.

With a bit of muscle soreness (at least for me).

This time, the path led us above another lake (a total of 3 large lakes near Bariloche).
Below us, there were huge meadows with several burnt trees scattered throughout.

In 1993, a major forest fire occurred here that destroyed a large part of the landscape, but apparently, nature has recovered well.

Only the dark, dead branches of the trees reminded us of the fire.

We continued through a large forest area with occasional huge flower meadows and past a river that flowed parallel to the path.

Getting closer to the mountains bit by bit.

The ascent seemed almost ridiculous compared to Laguna Negra. On the other hand, we only carried a backpack for three people here, with only supplies and a few jackets inside.

Personally, I felt that I could enjoy the view of the valley, the mountains, and the small forest much more with less luggage than before.

It was easier to take a short break and take a photo without the fear of carrying 15 kg immediately in my legs.

The path ended, and we reached Laguna Tonček. It was a bit smaller than Laguna Negra, but still a beautiful, crystal-clear mountain lake.
We sat on a rock and had lunch.

Some hikers ventured into the mountain lake around us. In my opinion, not a good idea.

Just as they stood waist-deep in the water, strong gusts of wind started blowing.

Not a good combination...

The descent was faster, but still quite long, and so we arrived at the car in the twilight.

Yanina had only heard about our specialty from one or two stories so far, but after 3 days of hiking, we had certainly earned a delicious rice pan.

Just like everyone before, she loved it, and Yanina raved about it throughout dinner.

We took a break the following day.

3 days of hiking and getting up early is still too much for our untrained bodies.

So, we slept in, ate, read, ate, and slept.
BAM An eventful day comes to an end...

Well rested and fully motivated, we started the hike to the third refuge.

Refugio Cerro Lopez.

Since I didn't like carrying the backpack during the descent, I took it uphill.
It was steep! Walking on slightly sandy ground and climbing over roots from time to time.

The view, which became more and more impressive with every meter of altitude, gave me a boost of energy with every glance.

Red Bull, Monster Energy, and whatnot...
You'd better try it with this view.
It really gives you wings!!!

It was a bit slower because of the backpack (Conny took it halfway), but we reached Refugio Cerro Lopez.
A small colorful house.

Here we only took a short break to energize ourselves with a banana for the ascent.

A small playful cat joined us and kept us company. Full of strength again, we began the climb to the summit.

A real climbing tour!

As a climbing fan, it was fantastic for me 👌

I have to admit, the view overwhelmed me when I reached the top.

On one side, a picture-perfect view of the entire lake landscape of Bariloche, and on the other side, a smaller lake with a huge mountain, including a glacier.

We could even see the Osorno (a volcano on the Chilean side) with this incredible view.
And then having lunch with this view...

It was simply beautiful!

While Yanina said goodbye to us from the refuge as she attended a plant knowledge course, we descended leisurely.

As always, going down is three times faster than going up. 😅
It was already dusk when we stood at the foot of the mountain.

Our starting point!

But how do we get home? 🤷‍♂️

The bus was running, but we decided to save the 20 pesos per person.
It worked... well, more or less.
More like less...

No one gave us a ride... even though there was plenty of room for us 😢

Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery, otherwise, I would have photographed the beautiful sunset that accompanied us on our way home on the bus.

What a pity, but Conny said something that contained wisdom and truth at the same time;

'What you can't photograph, you have to store in your heart.'