Trekking to Tronador

The tallest mountain in the southern Patagonian region of the Andes Mountains is called Tronador (AKA the Thunderer). There aren’t any services that permits you to hike up to the peak of Tronador; however, there isa renowned 8 hour trek that allows you to reach the bottom of it. After doing very little research and “paying” an arm and leg for this so-called “monumental” trek, we decided to partake in it. We woke up at 7:30AM and prepped our rears for the bumpiest yet scenic 2 hour bus ride of our lives. We entered Nahuel Huapi national park and started our hike with the view of the black glaciers. We were told the black part of the glaciers were from a volcano that erupted hundreds of years ago.

{We knew the following 8 hours was going to be very interesting considering we were the only girls, and we always have a good time together. The guys- well, let me just explain a few of them: Guyà the crazy guide who taught us Spanish words that definitely should not be repeated (at least not on my blog!!); Hott-Nickà enough said. Brettà the Jewish guy from South Africa who thought he was abnormally cool. The Spaniardà don’t get into Judaism with him (just ask Shoni). Los tres Swedish amigosà quiet guys but every time Mayber and I fell they were there to witness it…embarrassing!}

Since we barely did prior investigation for the trek, when we eventually reached the bottom of the mountain all we could do was sit and laugh. Can you imagine 4 girls hiking and assuming we were going to reach the peak of one of the tallest mountains, but after reaching our halfway point and realizing that we were only at the bottom was definitely not a factor in the equation. Typical…seriously, what were we thinking? Obviously we weren’t going to reach the top of it. Not only were we not wearing the proper gear but our overly thin sweatshirts and smelly shoes definitely didn’t make the checklist for trekking up Tronador. The gift of being naïve is precious. Coming to the realization that the bottom of Tronador was the closest we were going to get to the peak, I’m not going to lie, was shocking! It came to the point when Shoni said, “I love this hike, but this part is a bust.” Obviously, Hott-Nick responded: “Seriously, this is awesome; amazing, couldn’t be better!”  Jajajaja! The truth is is that it was a pretty awesome view!

Even though we only reached the bottom, it was breathtaking. The top of the mountain was plastered with masses of white-blue glaciers. It was really cool because we randomly heard and saw avalanches falling down the mountains. People think nature is typically quiet, but we don’t realize the shrill and loud effects it penetrates- avalanches, thunder, waves, ect…are all loud aspects of nature. While we were on the hike, one of the guides told us to stand still and be quiet so we can hear the avalanches. I’m not going to lie it was awesome hearing it from a distance, and then once we got to the site of it- it was that much more overwhelming.

After eating lunch and making fun of Guy for over an hour at the bottom of the mountain, we finally decided to trek back. One thing I didn’t mention was the amount of bugs that swarmed the path. These types of flies were treacherous; they stuck to your clothes and climbed all over your body. (Sarah- you wouldn’t have lasted more than 7 minutes on the hike.) Even the guys were grossed out because it got to the point where the flies were on your face and even some people accidentally swallowed them---those people being me. On the hike back, my friends and I got strangely antsy and decided to trail-blaze by leading the pack. We got to an area where the bugs were not normal- they were flying in every direction. I ran soooooo fast that I fell- it was the kind of fall that if Brett Favre was throwing a winning touchdown and the receiver catching the ball drastically tumbled into the touchdown area…well, that was me! I kept rolling and rolling and once I stopped, I got up as fast as I could because who wants to be that girl who falls?  (I mainly got up as fast as I could because the Swedish guys were behind me…and yes, I was embarrassed!) After my friends and I had a laugh of a lifetime over my fall, Lauren fell---this kind of fall was probably one of the funniest “plops” I’ve ever experienced. It was sooo funny that Guy came from behind her and stole her camera and began snapping shots of her! The hike back was hands down a memorable experience!

After a few swallowed bugs and sore butts we made it back to the start line, and boy did that feel good!

Overall, even though we didn’t hike up to the peak of Tronador, it’s cool saying that we got to the closest point…most people don’t even have the opportunity of traveling there, but we did! And the views made the trek amazing!