Frey

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Day 162 on The Big Trip. “Frey in a Day”

FREY is a place just outside of here, where here is Bariloche, Argentinean Patagonia. To get to there from here might I suggest taking the No. Cerro Catedral bus to the base of Cerro Catedral? From the parking lot, follow the banderas (flags) to the sign that says Frey and the path that says Frey, just quieter than the sign – at first, that is.

FOUR hours is the expected duration of the trek there for hikers with large packs full of morsels, tents, and could it be – climbing gear? We are without these large packs and have been told by those who have ventured this far that three hours is our expected trekking time. Being competitive, we want to smash the three hours in a trekking battle. Off we go! We pass a forest fired. Lakes, the Andes and songs about Chains and Bandit are the backdrop. By the by, Chains and Bandit are the names we give each other when adventuring.

A MERE two and a half hours after parking lot departure, we strike gold. Alisa poses for the first picture, behind her the astounding mini lake captured by the cliffs and spires. We rest and eat two of our 13 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that we made for the trek, and drink some of the six liters of water that we also lugged up these 1700m.

TIME to walk! The scenery here is amazing. I notice nice crack systems in spires for climbing and spot a few bolts, if I’m not mistaken. But alas, we only brought our shoes. No chalk, no nothing, no else! Regardless I give this boulder a run for its money. That is, until it takes my spare change. Soon my fingers hurt and I just can’t get past the crux move on what I guess is only a V4 or V5. All this traveling has made me soft!

I HOP up on another boulder surrounded by its very own mote, to record the vlog for this little adventure that isn’t quit over.

FIRST we run back to the refugio. Can you see tiny Alisa running near the water? And, after a little rest and snack, we’re ready to leave Frey and the Refugio Frey for our descent trek. Hopefully we’ll go even faster back to C. Catedral!

IN just under two hours, we’re back! Unfortunately, we missed the bus that arrives every 1 ½ hours by 20 minutes. I hope we like waiting around! We rest, take off our dirty shoes, and think about the days to come. On the 12th I turn 24. On the 9th we move into our house. On the 19th my family visits. There are a lot of momentous events on the horizon! I look forward to all of them, some out of turn!