Lago Puelo to Bariloche

Leaving Lago Puelo (lake in the background)

We left the village of Lago Puelo slowly, meandering down the road out of town eating more blackberries (of course) until we found the trail markers of the Huella Andina again. The mornings had been getting chillier, and we heard talk of impending rain. The days were getting noticeably shorter too. Our weather window for the season was drawing to a close, and we were trying to edge out as much kilometerage as we could before it completely shut us down.

Walking along the Huella

The skies stayed clear for us as we walked north, skirting west of the larger town of El Bolson. We continued along the Huella, which was basically just markings along lesser-used side roads along the edge of the valley. As we walked along, we also came upon apple trees and more blackberry shrubs, so even though our packs were full from town, we were filling ourselves with foraged goods instead. No complaints here, as fresh fruit is hard to come by in Patagonia.We settle in for the night, tucked away behind a fence and with a line of trees protecting us from the dirt road that we had been walking all day with a friendly cat as a neighbor.

The (empty) car we came across on our roadwalk

The next morning it was a bit chilly, but refreshingly so, not in a freezing-my-fingers-off way. We followed the road-trail to the actual trail, even coming across a vehicle turned on its side, appropriate for the date being April 10th - my 4-year life-a-versary. We continued along the trail and  went along an aqueduct for a bit. I felt like I was back on the PCT, minus the desert part. Fidgit and I then went up and down and up until we found the path down to Rio Foyel. We found a house at the bottom of the hill and began speaking with the owner who, even though he already had 7 people in his one-room home, invited us in to share mate and join the party. The other people, all family members, had come out to help slaughter a cow to sell to another local. The carcass was hanging as the dogs were outside pulling scraps off of the hide lying on the ground. The family members slowly trickled out, and after speaking with Abraham (the proprietor of the estancia), he asked us to sign his guestbook he was given by the creators of the Huella Andina. We obliged, and he told us how he's planning on building a small outbuilding for hikers to stay when they come through on the trail and invited us to stay for the night. With the nights becoming chillier by the day, we readily agreed and then chatted away before tucking in for the night.

Abraham feeding his birds

Abraham's estancia

In the morning, we were even happier to have slept inside as we looked out the window to see a light frost covering everything in sight. We slowed our morning a bit, waiting for the sun to hit the valley so our feet wouldn't freeze too much crossing the river. Abraham offered to saddle his horse, so we could take it across. We turned him down as he had already done so much for us in the past 12 hours. We said a long goodbye and walked down to the shallow river, waded across and went straight back up the other side of the valley, continuing to follow trail markers (yay!). While along this section of trail, we saw many people out working in their yards or corralling their horses; all were friendly and a bit curious when they saw us approaching. It was obvious the Huella is a new addition to their land, and we were so grateful that they have allowed it to cross all of this private land, or we would've been walking something with more car traffic and dust. We made it to the tiny town of Rio Villegas and were able to do a small resupply we had planned before the market (aka a tiny shop full of food items attached to someone's house) closed for the evening.

We're still on the Huella Andina

At the ranger station- their grill

Leaving Rio Villegas, we entered into another national park- Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. This park felt less deserted; it seemed as though there were others out there taking advantage of the last nice weather of the season to get out. We even stopped into a ranger station near Bahia Steffen to get a permit before passing up and across a trail that was well-traveled by horses, not so much by people. The trail was easy to find, and we covered the kilometers quickly. We even found a small meadow near water to camp that evening. We could tell colder weather was moving in and wanted to make it to Bariloche before we were completely frozen, though I'm sure that was more of a concern for me, as Fidgit quite enjoys winter. We woke up to a cloudy sky, which turned into a light drizzle mid-morning. Coming out to another dirt road, we decided to continue following the Huella instead of road-walking to town. The day was mostly road-walking as it was, but it's nicer to road-walk if you know it ends at a trail, in my opinion. After about 30km, we called it a day and crawled into the tent near the trail head.

Setting up camp

Waking up to cloudy skies and drizzle didn't do much to dampen our spirits, as we knew we were only two days from town and acquaintances who would soon become friends. We also had something to look forward to that night- we were told there would be a refugio near Laguna Jakob, which we would definitely make it to that night (barring any unforeseen accidents, of course). The drizzle perpetuated, and as the day wore on, we followed the trail up a valley that was beautiful despite the weather. As we continued up, the tree cover lessened, so I had to stop and grab out my rain pants, though it was more for insulation, as my pants were already soaked through. We went higher to the pass, and low trees gave way to rocks. We scrambled higher, waterfall noises all around us.

Fidgit keeping her feet dry

Fidgit crossing a sketchy suspension bridge

Going up to the pass, fall has arrived

As we came over the pass, we looked out onto an expanse of rock, with a barely visible lake in the distance. Laguna Jakob! The rock was a bit slippery from the continued rain, so we walked mindfully across the open expanse down towards treeline and the refugio. As we neared the laguna, we talked about how the refugio would likely be a 3-sided  building with an old gaucho tending a small fire, welcoming us in with a wave and a smile. Fidgit and I walked into a small forest, and then out of the forest to a clearing with a large two story building in it. We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted at the door by a young care taker who also seemed surprised to see us, and gave us a run-down of the short list of rules as we peeled our soaked rain jackets off and grabbed some food from our packs. He was even kind enough to start a fire in the second wood stove in the communal dining area so we had a place to dry our things. We dried out and ate, socialized, and I fell into a restful sleep in the bunk room that night.

Refugio Jakob in the morning

Laguna Jakob and snow-capped peaks

Waking up early the next morning, I crept into the common room and wrote and talked with other guests for a bit before Fidgit meandered in. I immediately said, "look out the window, I think you're gonna be excited." She took a deep breath, and looked out the window- and let out a woop! The peaks surrounding us had been dusted in snow overnight, and she had been talking about missing snow so much. Even though I don't like being cold or wet, Fidgit's joy was contagious, and I was glad to be sharing in the moment. Also, being dry and warm in a refugio helped. We ate breakfast and packed to go as other guests were discussing whether to stay or move on to the next refugio. Apparently there was a common loop many tourists hiked along the mountains outside of Bariloche that contained multiple refugios.

Heading down the valley to town

We snapped some photos and headed down, down, down the valley, which opened up to a rich forest. The morning cleared, and we were able to enjoy views of the valley as we walked and talked. As we neared the road, the clouds rolled in again, so I was grateful to be nearing town. Unfortunately, town was not as close as I had thought. The road walk was alright, but the rain continued to get heavier, and I was struggling. As we came out on the main road to Bariloche, Fidgit suggested we take a break and I refused, saying "if I stop now, I probably will get too cold to start again." Thankfully, Fidgit is more cold weather durable, and we were quickly able to find a small convenience store in which to warm up. The cashier was kind enough to allow us to use her internet to contact our friend Sherry, who Fidgit had been in contact with, to come find us. As we waited, we had some hot coffee and a small snack, and I was able to get my body temperature back up. Sherry showed up, and we were whisked off to a lovely home and warm showers.