The Huemul Circuit: Day One + Two
I thought after completing the O-Trek in Torres del Paine the week before, this trek would be a walk in the park given it was half the distance and only took 4 days opposed to 8 to complete.
I was most definitely mistaken!
I mean, there were definitely warning signs – the fact we had to sign our lives away saying we were experienced hikers with strong navigation skills, provide our travel insurance details, and acknowledge if something happened to us it could take a long time to get help…
Or the commenters on the AllTrails app exclaiming how difficult it was or the friend who asked us “isn’t that hike meant to be really dangerous?”.
Instead, I chose to have eyes and ears just for the commenter who stated they did this hike as a “warm up” for the O-Trek (since I did the O-Trek first, SURELY that means it’s a piece of cake!), and the ranger at the National Park office who told us it was the best week to do the Huemal Trek, we’d be fine, since the forecast is looking great!
Well, he wasn’t wrong, the weather WAS great, but I would hate to think what the hike would have been like if we didn’t have four days of sun!
To preface, it was the most beautiful hike I have ever done, but it was also the most dangerous and scary hike I have ever done. Would I recommend it? Absolutely, but only to people that:
Are highly confident hikers in all conditions (snow/ice, slippery rocks, steep rocky descents)
Are well prepared – harness, carabiners and rope, extra food, satellite phone, All Trails map downloaded, PDF slideshow from the National Park office downloaded, on top of all your usual gear)
Are lucky enough to have a good weather forecast over the four – five days!
Day One:
Day one wasn’t too hard at all – and it can be done as a day hike or overnighter. If you don’t feel confident enough for the full circuit, don’t have enough time or a full four days of good weather – I would highly recommend doing just this part of the hike – especially in autumn with the fall foliage and dustings of snow!
The hike starts from the National Park office, and is a relatively steep incline for the first few hundred meters. Before long, you are rewarded with beautiful views over El Chalten and the surrounding mountain ranges.
After the initial incline, it’s an easy traverse through the forest and a slight descent into the valley, where you continue your hike along-side the river and in amongst the trees and shrubbery until you reach the campsite.
Day Two:
What a day! If I thought the John Gardner Pass on the O Trek was scary hiking up the mountain through knee deep snow, this took me to another level.
We started the morning skipping stones on the near frozen lake, no idea what was to come, taking our sweet time. When we got to the first river crossing, we debated whether to cross by foot or via the dodgy looking wire zipline. Even despite a very short Ziptrek summer job a decade ago, ziplining across a canyon about 25m above a roaring river didn't seem the most fun. But it seemed like a better option than getting soaked up to our thighs in freezing cold water further upstream, so across we went (and actually it was kind of fun!)
I would say this day re-excited me for hiking – after completing the O-Trek the week before, which was mentally and physically quite tough, I hadn’t been too excited to get back out there on another multi-day trek. But this day reminded me why I love hiking. We had perfect conditions, the trail wasn’t busy at all, the scenery was incredible, and it was an ideal effort level – not too easy, but not too challenging.
There were about 3 other small groups of people at the campsite, making it peaceful and we had lots of spots to choose from. Note – this is probably also due to the time of year (mid-April), I’ve read other blogs that say it can get busy in summer.
That's about where my fun ended for the day. After scrambling up the mountain a bit further, the worst part lay ahead. We had to get down to the glacier to walk across it, but this meant doing down a VERY rocky mountain with loose rocks constantly slipping underneath our feet. Not only that, there were rocks from above falling down the mountain that we had to watch out for so we didn't get hit. Oh, and not to mention at the bottom of the mountain before the glacier was a very deep icy crevasse you wouldn't want to fall in.
If that wasn't scary enough, when we finally got down onto the glacier, we lost the path. We spent hours taking wrong turns back up and down the treacherous rocky mountain. Plus, with a massive backpack on - if you slipped on your butt, it was not as simple as just standing back up, there is a lot of effort involved!
We didn't even make it to the second night campsite, but we did get to camp in a makeshift campsite above the glacier when we finally found our way back to the path. What was meant to be a 12km day ended up being about 5km but the effort levels were HIGH.
Because of this day alone, I'd be hesitant to recommend the Huemul Circuit to anyone who wasn't a really confident hiker, combined with good weather conditions. I was a bit out of my depths here I'll be the first to admit, but I made it out unscathed!
