After a long semester, a backpacking trip was exactly the thing I needed to de-stress. Since I was already in Patagonia attending a conference, I decided on Reserva Cerro Castillo. It did not disappoint.
The trail starts from the small village of Villa Cerro Castillo and is about a 10 km hike to the entrance of the park (there are several various routes one can take through the park but since my time was limited, I choose this one).
The first campsite is in this upper valley, not necessarily with great views, but it is very centralized which came in very handy later on in the trip.
After the first night, I went on a day hike to higher in the valley. At the end is a beautiful cirque where you are greeted with an almost 360 degree view of mountains over a green meadow.
The plan for the following day was to move camp. I packed up my things and began making my way up towards the pass. About half way up, I began to experience very heavy winds, but nothing intolerable. A German girl on her way down, warned me things were far worse going up. I decided to continue but indeed things got far worse. The wind was so intense, it as a struggle not to knocked down. Several times I had to get down and grab onto large boulders just to maintain my position. These were the infamous Patagonian Winds....
I retreated back to the campsite and was greeted by the German girl who was also waiting for her friends to descend along the same route. When they finally arrived, we had dinner and laughed over our slightly terrifying experience battling the winds.
The next day, I decided to just take a day hike up to the pass. There was not a single cloud in the sky and just a slight breeze, conditions were perfect. At the top, was a spectacular view of the glacier and the alpine lake.
I made my was back to camp where I packed my things and made my way back to the village. It was the perfect trip, with just the right amount of adventure...