Panorama over Lago Moreno and the Llao Llao Peninsula

Heading off through the conifers

The climb settled down and soon the conifers gave way to a e beech forest, dominated by tall darker leaved coihue with the brighter green of lenga scattered throughout. We descended to a small clearing, just before the spot where the waters of the Arroyo Goye entered a small rocky gorge. It was a good place to enjoy a break as the sun shone through the dappled leaves of the beech trees. The next section of the track undulated slowly along the edge of the Goye and we walked along silently, enjoying the soothing sound of the crystal clear ice-green waters tumbling down their boulder-filled course.

Slowly the darker-green of the coihue gave way to the light-green of the lenga, their leaves luminous in the light of the midday sun. The walls of the valley now started to narrow in on us, and we found ourselves walking beneath the dark shape of Pico Magnatt. The play of light in the canopy of the beech forest was superb, as we wandered through an understorey of bamboo, with the occasional patch of the giant-leaved nalca.

Ahead, the even darker forms of Cerro Manolo and Cerro Marino loomed closer. A fork in the stream saw us leave the babbling Goye and follow the quieter waters of Arroyo Negro, which soon led us across a swampy area to the flat dry opening of Rancho Manolo. Here we stopped for a pleasant lunch in the dappled shade. A boost of energy was needed, as for the first time we saw the daunting prospect of the steep final ascent to Refugio Italia.

 

Perezia azul

 

 

A small cascade in the Arroyo Negro

The path from Rancho Manolo climbed quickly alongside a set of cascades tumbling down through the forest. A little while later we crossed the stream, realizing that the tall lengas of the forest below were now just shrubby plants of a few metres in height - altitude was beginning to have its effect. The other side of the river brought us to a long set of zig-zags that wended their way up the slope of ever-shrinking lengas. It was a hard slog with a full pack, but the views across the valley made it worthwhile. The dark silhouettes of Cerro Gordo and Cerro Negro dominated the foreground, and contrasted with the light tan colours of Cerro Navidad at the head of the valley beneath them. To the right the silvery thread of a 300m waterfall streamed down the rockface from the invisible Laguna Negra above us.

Yellow balloons of the topa topa

The distant light peak of Cerro Navidad (2089m) and the dark massif
of Cerro Negro (1960m)

 

At the far end of the lake we emerged into the sunshine and began the first and easiest of three steep climbs for the day, up to the saddle between Cerros Negro and Bailey Willis. As the slope steepened, the terrain changed from a rocky herbfield to a herby rockfield, before breaking out on to the boulder-strewn ridge.

A magnificent panorama unfolded before us; across a long, deep green valley were the grey and tan rocky face of the ridge running from Cerro Cuernos de Diable to Cerro Tres Valles, opening up into the basin of Laguna de CAB, while to the west the glacier-capped peaks of 3484m Monte Tronador appeared for the first time on our trek. Behind lay, far below lay Laguna Negra beneath the dark shape of Cerro Negro and the jagged profile of distant ranges beyond.

After a break to take in the views we began our descent down the even-steeper western side of the saddle, the sharp loose pink and tan slabs of rock clinking beneath our feet as we picked our way down the loose scree slope.

The vegetation changes now occurred in reverse - leaving the scree, the slope levelled out for a while and low herbs began to appear, becoming denser, before the first grove of stunted lengas. Soon the path plunged steeply down a dusty track through the lengas, which reached the size of trees as we lost altitude, their limbs and trunks draped with pale lichens.

The three compañeros about to take on the steep drop

Finally, 650m of knee-jarring descent below the saddle, we reached a rocky alpine stream; time for a short break to let our knees recover before crossing to follow its babbling course down a much gentler slope through the colihue (a tall native bamboo) understorey of the forest.

We soon emerged at the junction of this stream and the larger Arroyo La Chata. Crossing its rocky bed, we found ourselves in a dense thicket of colihue. Bamboo grows quickly and little-used paths through them risk disappearing - after a bit of good-old fashioned bush-bashing through the thickets, Rosanna picked up the path and we were off again.

Ahead lay our second climb of the day - a steep 400m climb, passing first through bamboo and lenga forest which morphed into stunted lenga thickets, before entering an area of open grassland and herbs. The sun shone hotly on us as we traversed the higher part of the slope, looking back over the steep descent that we had just made with some degree of satisfaction.

Amancay

A little way on lay another bright green patch of lenga - we descended slightly to reach the smooth red rocks of a cascade streaming down from Laguna de CAB (named for the Club Andino de Bariloche), less than 100m above. It was then that suddenly I hit the wall, barely able to put one foot in front of the other. I soon realised that, not having eaten for almost 6 hours since breakfast, I had simply run out of blood sugar. A couple of sweet lollies and I started to feel more normal, pushing on up to the crest and the shore of the laguna, where Rosanna and the fair Nello were waiting with a very welcome lunch.

Feeling much better for the break and the food, we set out again, literally skirting the southern shore of the lake, one foot in the lenga forest and the other in the water. Reaching the far end, we crossed a small flat wetland, where a narrow stream snaked its way along its red clay bed to the lake.

From here the third climb of the day started; a 330m scramble up through the scrubby lower slopes and large granite boulders of the higher slopes of Cerro CAB. Slowly, our tired legs took us higher, with frequent stops to admire the views back over the basin of Laguna de CAB (probably more than needed in order to sneak in a few more rest stops - Rosanna knew how far we still had to go and was keeping us to time).

Reaching the crest, with its great vistas to the south and west, we realised the climb was not yet over. Rosanna led us further up the ridge, not far from the top, before starting a long traverse, picking our way across the jumbled rocks of the southern face of Cerro CAB, before crossing an area of flattish granite slabs, dotted with small rock gardens of stunted alpine plants and yet another view of Tronador.

Far below us lay the flat open wetlands of Mallin de los Vueltas and at the far end a small grove of lengas - our campsite for the night. The traverse down the last rock face and stroll across the welcome flat of the wetland passed quickly.

We reached our campsite at 7pm with the sun low in the sky and Rosanna found a pleasant sheltered spot next to a quietly running stream to pitch tents. Dark was soon upon us and the hot rice dish was just what we needed as the temperature dropped rapidly.

 

Off again - alongside a gentle cascade

The path and Rosanna led us up the rocky spur, where small alpine shrubs and herbs filled the spaces with speckles of yellow, white, orange and blue flowers. The white and pink chaura-manzanilla berries, bush tucker of the Mapuche people, were common here and we nibbled them as we climbed, enjoying their subtle apple-like flavour.

Soon we started a traverse across an area of large pink and tan granite slabs, the fissures and cleavages a testimony to the harsh Andean climate; the gap between the slabs colonised by the hardy alpine herbs and shrubs.

One more sharp ascent and we reached the top of the spur, with impressive views back along our route and south towards Cerro Cumpleaños.

Our direction was westward and higher; Rosanna led us further up the slope of Cristales, its walls of pinky-tan granite glinting in the sunlight, and then picking our way around the boulders and snowdrifts on a long traverse across its steep southern face. We emerged at a razor-back ridge connecting to the richly orange peak of Cerro Bonete.

At 1860m we had completed our first climb and were rewarded with a marvellous panorama of Tronador and the main Andean chain. Way below us to the west lay Laguna Creton, perched in its rocky amphitheatre, and our target for lunch. It was a good place to stop and enjoy the views.

Unfortunately, what goes up often needs to come down and such was our fate today. The route down was direct, descending the western wall of the ridge down a very steep and tortuous track through the loose scree and soil of the slope. We dropped 300m in half a kilometre to eventually reach a grassy alpine meadow.

A short traverse across this meadow soon saw us descending steeply once again, this time down the spongy green verge of a babbling alpine brook. At the bottom, we passed through a small grove of stunted lengas to reach a broad flat area of alpine bog - how pleasant it was to walk on the flat, even if the ground below squelched as you did.

Quinchamali

At the end of the wetland, a short sharp climb took us up to the rocky verge of Laguna Creton and lunch. The misty high clouds that greeted us on awaking had all but vanished, but a chill wind funnelled down through the lake amphitheatre and soon we decided to push on for the second major climb of the day, following a rocky spur up to another razor-back ridge.

Once more a magnificent spectacle unfolded before us: far below us to the south, the brilliantly blue waters of Laguna Azul, lined by the sheer rock walls of Cerros Bonete and Punta Negra; to the north, a perfectly formed glacial valley, its base covered in the bright green lenga forest, dropping down to a distant arm of Lago Nahuel Huapi.

Continuing to climb slowly along this narrow spur, we passed a small unnamed lake, before dropping down to cross the creek spilling out of Laguna Jujuy, another small glacial lake surrounded by rock walls and snowdrifts.

Wingless alpine grasshopper

One final steady climb awaited, taking us up a shaly slope to a spur of Cerro Capitan, and at 1960m the high point of our trek. Yet again and closer still, a superb panorama of Tronador greeted us and we paused for a while to take it all in. This volcano, over 1000m higher than any other mountain in the National Park, completely dominates the landscape.

From here it was all downhill, gently at first on the small loose rocks of the ridge, then steeper as we picked up the birth of a stream - a small soak emerging from the rocks to form a channel with a bright green verge of riparian vegetation, widening as we picked our way down its spongy course to a steep meadow, rich with grey and green cushion plants and alpine herbs.

 

Rosanna had promised us an easy last day and we dallied at this special spot until 11am before finally setting off. No hard climbs today, at first just a pleasant stroll along a gently undulating and meandering track, either in the dappled shade of the lenga forest or across sunny grass clearings.

Soon we reached an area of wetland and started a gentle descent; Tronador had reappeared and its icy gaze would overlook the rest of our descent to Pampa Linda, over 500m below.

Leaving the wetland, we started a steeper descent down through the lenga forest, which brought us out to a cliff-top viewpoint. Again a different aspect of the majestic volcano appeared, as we looked across the valley to the deep creases of the Castaño Overa Glacier and its three ribbons of waterfall plunging from the iceface to the valley floor 400m below.

We picked our way steeply down the cliff-face to continue our descent through the beech forest. Below 1200m, the first of the massive coihue appeared, and soon we were descending beneath the deep cool shade of these forest giants, the path tunnelling through thick stands of 4m high bamboo understorey.

All that remained was a short stroll along the rivers edge and through a grove of ñire (the third beech species of this region) before we four compañeros emerged into a clearing and the welcome sight of Pampa Linda Hosteria and Albergue.