January 4, 2013 / JustinKays Porter

Porters in Patagonia

Sitting in the El Calafate airport, waiting for our plane to take us to Bariloche, we decided to take a little time to reflect on the first leg of our trip. Our adventures in Patagonia were nothing short of amazing!

Justin's favorite moment in Patagonia was reaching the top of the hike to Laguna de los Tres. The moment you see Cerro Fitz Roy and Laguna de los Tres, unobstructed, is definitely an experience beyond words. And those of you who know me or have read any of the blogs know that I am rarely short of words… However, I have to believe that Justin also liked all of my mini-geology lectures throughout our adventures in Patagonia. I'm sure he now knows more about fault scarps, glacial moraines, striations, alluvial fans, and geomorphology than he ever wanted to know. But that's what happens when you marry a geologist and take her to Patagonia on your honeymoon 🙂

I think my favorite moment thus far was arriving in El Chalten. On clear days, from the road to this tiny town, you have an unobstructed, perfect view of Cerro Torre and Cerro Fitz Roy in all their majestic glory. Coming to this place has been on my bucket list for a long time, and seeing that view really made it hit home for me. We came, we saw, we conquered! And we had perfect weather… I can't help but think that the sun and all of the beautiful colors we saw in the landscape played in role in making us both fall in love with this amazing place.

Now that we have had a taste of Patagonia, we've decided on our next trip here (yes, we will be coming back. someday…) we will legitimately backpack. Spend nights out in the back country, wake up in a tent with the sunrise at 5 am, fly fish to catch dinner, the whole thing. No regrets about this trip by any means, but we've been inspired for our return trip.

For the topographically-inclined people out there, Justin made this sweet map showing the hikes we did from El Chalten.