I had planned the Huemul Circuit for the next few days. The circuit is named after the rare Huemul (also called South Andean deer). The endangered animal occurs in this area, although it is rarely seen, as there are only 1,000-1,500 of these specimens left in all of Argentina and Chile.
The Huemul Circuit is a 65 km long circuit through Los Glaciares National Park. It usually takes 4 days to complete the entire route. There are strict guidelines from the park rangers for this trek. In addition to sufficient mountain experience, a harness and carabiner are required in order to cross a river hanging from a rope in two places. You also have to walk a bit on a glacier and cross a pass. The tour should not be underestimated and is probably not suitable for everyone. It’s not for nothing that the park rangers don’t mention the tour unless you explicitly ask.
For security reasons, you have to register online for the 4-day tour and then register again. If you haven’t reported back 48 hours after your scheduled return date, they’ll send out a search party. I had read on some sites that the park rangers wouldn’t let you go off alone and check your equipment, but that wasn’t the case for me and so I was able to go off on my own.
Day 1 (17,7 km) – Thursday 30.11.2023
Today the weather was better again and I got up at half past seven. I wanted to take advantage of the dry weather over the next few days to finally run the long-planned Huemul Circuit. After my breakfast I wanted to borrow the necessary equipment from the campsite. Since it was unfortunately already sold out, I quickly ran to another store and got the belt I needed, a sling, an aluminum carabiner and a steel carabiner. Then I first dismantled my tent and dropped off a small bag of things at the campsite that I won’t need in the next few days.
With my things I finally made my way to the entrance to Los Glaciares National Park around 9 a.m. I registered briefly at the entrance and then we finally started.
It was straight uphill and when I turned around I could get a nice view of the snow-capped mountains behind me. It went up for a long time.
At first I walked up through rocks and bushes for a long time and later I switched to the forest more often. We often went through swamp-like landscapes where we had to repeatedly walk through grass and moss that was completely soaked in water. Even in the forest, the water sometimes ran directly down the path and I had to see how I could get up with reasonably dry feet.
When I got pretty much to the top, I got a view of the huge lake in the area, which was really a beautiful sight. On the other side of the mountain the weather was significantly worse. There were a lot of clouds hanging in the valley and I couldn’t see too far. Nevertheless, I took a short break. I sat on a large boulder and ate a snack while looking at the landscape.
Then I descended into the valley and continued towards the glacier.
The path took me along a mountain river for some time. Every now and then I had to cross the foothills of the wild river. Luckily there were always cheap stones to get to the other side without direct contact with water. This meant I could keep my shoes on and not have to walk barefoot through the cold water to the other side.
The weather was also really impressive here. While I had real sunshine and high temperatures this morning, it was really cold here and it snowed briefly and then it was sunny again. Nevertheless, I kept running through the forest. In the distance I could see the pass that I had to overcome tomorrow. Somehow it seemed pretty snowed in from a distance.
Around 4 p.m. I reached the camp where I wanted to spend the night today. It was in a small forest, right by the river. Thanks to the trees and the wooden walls, the pitches were well protected from the wind and the tent didn’t really wobble despite strong gusts.
After setting up my tent, I got water from the river. The water tasted pretty good even though it was ice cold. I use it to prepare tonight’s dinner. Since I had to carry all my food with me for the day and there wasn’t too much choice in the local supermarket, my dinner for the next few days consisted of rice with tuna. After all, I had gotten tuna salad, which was already dressed with tomatoes. So I cooked the rice on my camping stove and then stirred in the tuna salad. Given the now low temperatures, the warm food tasted particularly good. After washing up, I quickly brushed my teeth and then retreated to my warm sleeping bag in the tent. Later I fell asleep.
Day 2 (14,9 km) – Friday 01.12.2023
The night was really cold and the morning wasn’t really any better. I quickly dismantled my tent and then made myself a hot breakfast and drank some hot coffee. After that it was better and I set off for my second tour.
Over a small hill we went straight to a lake, which I circled on the right side. The wind was blowing so much here that I was soon running around completely bundled up.
After that it went uphill quickly, although finding the way wasn’t always easy. I met two young French women who had a similar experience. So we looked together for the next route. Thanks to GPS, we quickly found the path again and walked uphill together for a few meters. The wind stopped blowing here and the sun came out. This made us sweat quickly. After a few more minutes we reached the first larger river. At first I briefly considered whether I should just cross the river on foot, as the water didn’t seem particularly high in some places. Due to the low temperatures, I decided to cross the river using an attached steel cable. So I put on my belt. I then secured myself to the attached steel cable and began pulling myself to the other side. Unlike other people, I simply left my backpack on. When I got to the other side, I took off the belt again and continued up.
There was another short climb along the mountain before I had to descend a small hill on the other side to the glacier. Unfortunately there was only a very steep gravel road here, which made the descent slippery. Halfway there I met a Swedish woman who was clearly having problems. Half hanging on the slope, she quickly informed me that she didn’t know what to do and was stuck. Neither further down nor back up would be possible and she was definitely “out of my comfort zone,” as she quickly assured me. So I asked her if I should go ahead and find a way. After that, the first thing I did was slowly climb down the steep slope and she followed me. After a few slippery minutes we both reached the destination safely and she was visibly happy that I had helped her down.
From here we climbed onto the ice of the glacier and walked along the edge towards the pass, just as we had learned on the slides when registering the trail, in order to avoid the recurring rockfalls on the steep face. In fact, during my time on the glacier, chunks kept rolling from top to bottom, but they remained in front of the ice and so we were relatively safe from it on the glacier. Running on the glacier itself was once again fascinating for me.
Further back the ice literally shimmered and every now and then you could see small crevasses. So we walked along the ice for some time before finally switching back to a path on the slope. But we first had to look for it briefly because due to the shifting of the glacier, the path started in a different place every year and therefore the GPS wasn’t very helpful.
After the glacier we continued uphill again. When, after a short climb, I found a larger rock that offered me some protection from the wind, I sat down here briefly and took a lunch break. I made myself a coffee and ate a piece of bread with cheese, which was the only lunch I had with me. While I ate my refreshment, I enjoyed the view of the glacier.
After my break I continued to climb. I met a few people who had followed suit and were also taking their lunch break before starting the climb to the pass. I ran further up the mountain alone again. It continued upwards like a serpentine and for some time I walked up the mountain on easy-to-walk paths. On the other side I could see the snow-covered mountains and behind me I could see the glacier and the forest with the camp from which I had set out this morning.
The further up I went, the more often I had to walk through small snow fields. So I soon unpacked my hiking poles, which I had been carrying around with me on my backpack, and used them to give myself a better grip and prevent me from slipping down the steep slope. In some places it was actually very steep downhill and so I was very focused as I walked across the snowfields. Unfortunately, I have pictures of the most dangerous places because I didn’t want to stop there and take out my cell phone.
Shortly before I reached the actual pass, I continued completely in the snow. Luckily there were occasional footprints in front of me that showed me the way up. So I continued to follow the tracks up. Unfortunately the weather got worse and worse and soon I was trapped in a cloud and could only see a few meters ahead. In addition, the wind was blowing quite a bit again and so I decided to wait briefly in a place sheltered from the wind until the wind calmed down again.
On the other side of the mountain it went slowly downhill again.
Due to the weather, I was now well wrapped up to counteract the cold wind.
Unfortunately, I still couldn’t see very much. I still ran through the white landscape to a kind of viewing point, but here I couldn’t take more than a quick look at the huge ice field that was supposed to be in front of me. On my way back I met a small group of other hikers. Since you couldn’t see anything anyway, they didn’t walk to the viewpoint, but instead joined me for the descent through the snow.
We went down a steep slope. I was the first to run through the partly deep snow and had to find a suitable route down. Here, too, there were sometimes footprints in the snow, but unfortunately these didn’t always help. In some places the snow appeared to have melted and refrozen. So there was only slippery ice there and I had to find a way around it to get down without slipping. At least during the descent I was able to take some nice views of the large ice field in front of me, which is one of the largest areas of land ice in the world. The large ice field is also one of the few areas in the world where the glaciers are not retreating, but are actually expanding.
After a while the snow became less and walking became easier again. There were still small snow fields to cross, but at least it was mostly on rock.
Here I made much faster progress and soon reached today’s camp, which was by a small lake. Here too I set up my tent in a place protected from the wind. Since the sun was shining and it was quite warm, I lay down in the sun for 10 minutes and took a nap. After that, I got some water from the lake and started cooking my dinner.
As soon as I started, dark clouds appeared, it got freezing cold and it started to snow. Before my rice was even ready, there was a small layer of snow on my tent. I quickly stirred in my fish and retreated to my sheltered tent to eat my food there.
After a while the snow stopped again and when I went outside to brush my teeth, the weather was beautiful again.
Day 3 (16 km) – Saturday 02.12.2023
The night in the tent was very cold again today. I got up at 7 a.m. and had breakfast. The warm coffee was also a real treat this morning and warmed me up quickly. I took down my tent and packed everything up. Then I set off.
It went straight uphill slowly and since the ground was still frozen, I could just walk over it even in the muddy areas without sinking. In some places the icicles still hung on the small stream that I followed. Today I could always see pieces of the large ice rink in front of me, but this only gave me an idea of its true size.
Things continued to go uphill and both the weather and the landscape got better and better. Soon I could see the larger mountains in the distance. So I walked relaxed through the beautiful landscape.
In between I had to cross a river again. When I jumped from the last stone onto the grass, I startled a rabbit that had apparently been on the bank just a few meters away from me. I was also able to see some animals from time to time, such as wild chickens and various types of birds.
At a mountain lake I met a group of hikers who were traveling with a guide and were taking a break. I joined them and also ate a granola bar and took a short rest.
After that it was pretty flat for a while before I had to climb ever steeper up the mountain. I could now clearly see the ice behind me. As the path climbed ever steeper, the wind began to get stronger again. Even though I had a tailwind and was blown up the mountain, I also had to be careful not to be knocked over by one of the gusts.
Here’s another panoramic view.
Once at the top, I got my first look at the other side of the mountain. Here I had a view of the large lake that lay in front of the glacier. There were large chunks of ice floating around. I sought shelter from the strong wind behind a stone and took a lunch break. Today we had bread with cheese again.
After the break I started the descent to the lake. At the beginning it was a moderate downhill in good weather. First through bushes and then along the mountain through forest.
But later the path became increasingly steep. At first I was able to run quickly down the mountain. Later I even had to pack up my sticks and hold on to branches and roots to climb down smaller stone and sand walls. In one place that required a descent over a boulder, there was at least a rope attached, which made it much easier. During my descent I overtook several groups of people who were clearly having a harder time than me. Many tried to secure themselves with their poles, while I abseiled over roots and thus made faster progress.
After a long, steep descent that wasn’t particularly pleasant on the knees, I finally reached the bottom of the mountain. From here it was only a few meters through the forest to where I now sleep. The camp was located right on the lake and from my spot I could see the huge chunks of ice floating in the water, which was a very impressive sight. It’s definitely worth setting off early or moving quickly here, as there are only a few places on the campsite and the good ones go quickly. But since I had overtaken a lot of people, I had almost a free choice of seats.
Since I was at the campsite at 2 p.m. today, I first took a quick nap and then ate a piece of cake. Later I cooked my dinner on the beach and ate it while looking at the chunks of ice, some of which were larger than a 3-story house. Although my meal, which again consisted of rice and tuna, wasn’t the absolute highlight, I really enjoyed my dinner because of the view.
Afterwards I walked to a viewing point on a small hill that my tent neighbor had recommended to me. From here I could clearly see both the ice in the water and the massive glacier in the distance. Because of the large chunks of ice in the water, I could only imagine how high the glacier’s edge must be, which seemed quite large even from a distance.
For some time I just stood there and looked at the ice in the water and the glacier in the background.
After enjoying the view for a few minutes, I climbed back down to camp and went to sleep in my tent.
Day 4 (26,6 km) – Sunday 03.12.2023
Luckily the night wasn’t that cold today and I slept really well. I woke up well rested at 7 a.m. and made my breakfast on the beach in front of my tent and took another look at the interesting-looking ice cream. Afterwards I took down my tent and quickly set off as there was a slightly longer stage today.
At first we went through flat and steppe-like areas for a long time in very good weather. I had a long view of the large lake and could also see the large mountains behind me. It was quite warm with blue skies, so I even went without a jacket today. Unfortunately, since the path wasn’t always entirely clear and there were often several paths going in different directions, I had to keep checking the actual route using GPS.
I looked for a few minutes at a stream for a suitable place to cross it and not have to walk through the ice-cold water. When I finally found a suitable spot, I met a group of hikers with whom I had already spoken briefly yesterday. So we crossed the river together and then continued walking together. I was talking to an Indian man who was currently living in Amsterdam with his German girlfriend and who also worked in the IT industry. After about three quarters of an hour the group took a break and I then continued running alone again.
It was always slightly uphill and downhill. In between there were smaller streams again today that I had to cross. Most of the time I was able to use a tree trunk or rock to easily get to the other side. After a while it went uphill faster again and soon I was on a small mountain. I then took a short break at a suitable place and ate my last muesli bar.
This was followed by a longer but less strenuous descent down to the lake. When I reached the bottom I came to a larger river, which I had to cross again with a rope. When I arrived at the facility there was already a line of people who all had to get to the other side. Since the group whose turn it was was acting a bit stupidly, the whole thing took quite a long time. Unfortunately, people always went over without a backpack and then had another transport where they just pulled the backpacks to the other side with a rope. Her rope kept getting tangled and so progress was slow. Walking through the water didn’t seem like a real option to me given the strong current and the water that sometimes seemed deep, so I waited with a few others until the group in front of us was finally finished.
After some time a group with a guide arrived at the spot. Since the guide didn’t want to watch the slow crossing any longer, he explained to the people how they had to do it, and so from now on one person always went over with their own backpack. The second rope was therefore eliminated and things progressed much faster. When it was my turn and I simply left my backpack on, meaning I didn’t have to secure it extra, the guide thanked me for at least one of them walking over like that, which was much quicker.
When I reached the other side, I took off my belt again and, after waiting for almost an hour, continued towards El Chaltén.
The rest of the way wasn’t particularly spectacular. I walked for a short time through the flat landscape to a small harbor on the lake. Apparently a bus would also run back from here. But I decided to run the remaining kilometers. It continued slightly uphill and downhill.
The path took a bit longer and I was happy when I could finally see the road. My chosen path ended at a fence, but there was enough space to crawl under it. Then we walked along the street back into town. I was able to look at Fitz Roy, shrouded in clouds, in front of me.
When I finally arrived in town, where there was at least internet again, I briefly checked in with my family and then went back to the campsite. I quickly set up my tent and then took a long shower, which was sorely needed after 4 days of hiking.
Since I hadn’t eaten anything other than my breakfast and a granola bar and the 26 km hike had used up a lot of energy, I finally went to eat something afterwards. In a restaurant I ordered a “Pizza Grande”, which is usually intended for two people. I ate the entire pizza and enjoyed a beer with it. Both tasted particularly good after the last few days and while I was eating my food, I was slowly starting to feel exhausted from the last few days.
After eating I returned to the campsite and went straight to my tent to sleep. Happy about the last few days, which felt like a little adventure, I quickly fell asleep in my cozy sleeping bag.
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