Los Glaciares National Park: Hiking frustration and calving glacier

Los Glaciares National Park, the most visited park in Argentina. The national park is divided into two areas. Fitz Roy, a mountain range, and the calving glacier Perito Moreno. First, we visited the town of El Chaltén at the Fitz Roy massif. We had two hiking trails to choose from. Kai thought that after Rainbow Mountain and Co, 20 kilometers would be no problem. Well, this estimate was a bit too optimistic. But let's start from the beginning. Our goal was Laguna de los Tres with its breathtaking panorama. The first 9 kilometers were great, sunshine, moderate slope, and here and there a first glimpse of Fitz Roy. But then things got tough. The last kilometer was terrible. We climbed up the mountain over scree and huge boulders. After 1 hour, including a break, we finally reached the top. But instead of an indescribable panorama, we were greeted by a snowstorm. I was really frustrated! 10 kilometers of hard work and then a sudden change in weather. But there was no other choice, we had to go back. The descent was not enjoyable despite the improvement in weather. Already on the way back, the muscle soreness became noticeable. After 7 ½ hours, exhausted, we reached El Chaltén and immediately headed to the next pub. 

We took the following days easy and recovered from our muscle soreness. Originally, we wanted to spend a few days in the town of El Calafata, but the weather forecast predicted only one more day of sunshine before a bad weather front moved in. So we had to leave on the same evening and drive to the entrance of the national park 80 kilometers away. The next morning, breakfast was also canceled so that we could pass the entrance gate of the sprinter fleet punctually at 8 o'clock. The glacier has an area that is approximately the size of Hesse. One of the few glaciers worldwide that is still growing daily and calving huge ice blocks. And the best thing was, when we were there, it was particularly active.