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Hiking Around Refugio Lynch |
March 10, 2012
Overlooking Bariloche is Cerro Catedral, within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. It hosts one of South America's biggest ski centers, with more than 100 kilometers of ski runs and a lift capacity of 22,000 skiers per hour.
Atop the ski lift is Refugio Lynch, which restaurant is quite popular. David and I don't care about that; but we are interested in the trail that loops over to Refugio Frey and back down to the bottom of the lift.
There's our ride
Part One
Part Two
Well, that was fun; I had not been on a chair lift in nearly fifty years.
At the top
Overlooking Lago Nahuel Nuapi
Dr. Antonio Lynch was one of the first directors of the Argentinian National Park Service, institutionalized in 1934.
View to the west
Inside Refugio Lynch are a pair of fascinating old drawings. Inspect them yourself up close to discover their wonderful features. I find something new every time I look.
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Out on the trail, the going is moderate for while; then suddenly it becomes steep and rough.
It's a good thing that the "trail" is marked
A nice valley to the northwest
Close-up of a substantial cascade
Spectacular ramparts
We keep on going up, one boulder after another
The only flowers in the area
The trail marker is right over there
Monte Tronador, 10,600', dominates the landscape
I am beginning to have second thoughts about this venture because, at the
rate we're going, we might have trouble finishing the loop at a reasonable
hour. After somehow scrambling over to Refugio Frey, it would then be a
3,000-foot downhill to the bus stop under unknown trail conditions.
This is really difficult going...
...and it's getting worse
Finally, we do opt to terminate our tedious going along the ridge top; we will just concentrate on what we can find around the ski area instead.
One of Ted's Patented Shortcuts proves predictably tiring and unproductive
Heading to nowhere in particular
One never knows where one of these will appear
Bariloche is a mile down from here
Rest stop
Can't explain these
After exploring most of the hilltop, it is time to go.
Heading back
Apparently the service road makes a good mountain bike track
§: Well, we did get our exercise, and we did view some spectacular
landscapes. Rough trails don't bother me, of course; but I found the utterly
barren environs quite unappealing. Only skiers could love this area.
Subsequent research reveals that I was correct about the walking time.
The national park literature suggests a four-hour trek just to get
from Refugio Lynch to Refugio Frey, and from there another seven miles
down. It is a shame, though, to have missed Frey's gorgeous setting
beside Laguna Toncek.
David and I were not well-prepared for today's outing. A better
choice would have been the more scenic and friendly route directly up to
Refugio Frey, although that would have entailed a climb of 3,000 feet and a
14-mile round-trip. We could have recovered during our
upcoming travel day.
