The Vuelta de Huemul is a 40 or so mile loop that is reputed to take four days. As per usual, I planned to hike it in 48 hours or so at a leisurely pace. I started late the first afternoon and made it to Campo Toro by sunset. There appeared to be a weather window and I wanted to take advantage of it.
I woke up early the next day. Most people plan to camp at Refugio Paso del Viento the second night, but this did not sound appealing in my thin single wall tent. Instead I decided to push on to Bahia de Hornos. The day began with a pretty serious ford of a glacially fed river. Most people rent a harness, but I decided to try my luck with the ford. My backup plan was to wait around and borrow someone else’s harness. The ford was a bit hairy, and my whole upper body went numb, but I made it across without too much trouble. I hiked quickly up the pass to warm my legs back up. Upon cresting the pass, I was greeted with incredible views of the Viedma glacier. For the next 10 miles, I enjoyed panoramic breathtaking views around every turn.
The strong winds made me feel vindicated in my decision to walk past Paso del Viento. As I approached Paso Huemul, the winds picked up even more. The descent down the otherside was very steep and technical. I began to catch up to hikers who had started at Paso Viento that morning. I had not seen anyone all day, since I was in between the two groups. Finally the descent relented, and I cruised the last few miles to camp. I was treated to a beautiful sunset, reminiscent of the Sierra wave.
The final morning, I cruised out the last 15 miles. There was one river crossing that broke up an otherwise cruiser morning. The river was very braided, so I found a very wide spot to cross it. Overall, the Vuelta de Huemul was an incredible hike, showing many different parts of the mountains around Patagonia.
Anthony Ottati 