A Castle of Rock and Ice – Cerro Castillo National Park

Well into Patagonia by this point, Maggie and I were eager to explore the mountains. We continued south to a small, but epic national park where we got out for a full value day hike.

18 January 2023

Maggie and I got our day going on the Dolphin Rocks just off the Carretera Austral. We whipped up some breakfast, packed up the car, and continued south. The road had been paved up to this point, but now we were driving on dirt and gravel again, making for slow, noisy travel. The gravel didn’t last forever, but it was sort of an “on again/off again” arrangement. Our goal for the day was Villa Cerro Castillo, about a 5 hour drive. The Carretera weaved through the mountains, every new peak more interesting than the last. I’ll say it again – “scenic drive” is an inadequate description.

We made it to Coyhaique, one of the larger cities nestled in the Patagonian Andes, where we took care of grocery shopping. Maggie found a pair of hiking pants as well, ready for the intense sun, wind, and rain we were expecting further south.

A few more hours on the road and we made it to Villa Cerro Castillo, a cozy little hamlet at the base of its namesake mountain. Maggie and I checked in to a campground on the edge of town. We made dinner in the refugio, then got to shower, washing away five days of funk. Several more travelers filed in and set up camp in the field around us. Maggie and I settled in for the night, preparing for adventure the next day.

19 January 2023

Towering over the horizon, just beyond our campsite, stood Cerro Castillo – Castle Mountain – tempting us with striking geology and glaciers…

Maggie and I got out of camp just before 9 am, along with most everyone else, to head into the hill. It was a short drive to the national park. There was a sign marking “4×4 only” on the way, which was only for one steep downhill (this will be important later…). We parked at the Laguna Cerro Castillo trailhead with a decent crowd of people, but our plan was to hike a big loop. We set off down the road and walked one mile to the western trailhead.

The administration of Chile’s National Parks seems to vary quite a bit. Parque Nacional Cerro Castillo is surrounded by private land. We were aware that there was a fee to hike on the trails, even for a day hike. I’m all for supporting the national parks, but from what we could gather, the fee collectors seemed to be the land owners cashing in on tourists before they even got into the park boundary. After signing in and handing over $32, we were headed up the trail, first passing through a small ranch.

Once we reached the beech forest, the trail took us up and up, following the Estero Parada drainage. We found the national park boundary, took a little snack break, and continued ascending around the west side of Cerro Castillo.

The southern beech grew large and dense, with a modest understory. The wild flowers were popping up all around, yellow violets, the purple asters, and two kinds of orchids!

The trail began leveling out, and we passed through a backpacker camp, then continued a little further to tree line. We emerged from the forest in a striking alpine valley. Needles and spires rose up from the ridge line to the right, and Cerro Chocolate dominated the view to the left. The clear waters of Estero Parada cut right through the middle, where we splashed ourselves with the fresh Andean agua.

Maggie and I returned to the backpacker camp for lunch at a picnic table. While we were eating, a familiar face appeared from the forest. It was Artur, the French backpacker whom we had given a ride to a few days prior! Seeing a fellow traveler many miles from where we had last seen him felt a lot like running into old friends on PCT. Artur sat with us for a few minutes to talk before we parted ways.

Maggie and I backtracked a little bit to a trail junction that would take us around to the lake, glacier, and mountain view point. This next bit of trail began climbing steeply out of the forest and we soon found ourselves ascending straight up scree and talus. We were leap-frogging with a tall man with long blonde hair and aviator sunglasses on the way up.

The heat was picking up, and shade was virtually non-existent. Maggie and I were a bit surprised by the difficulty of the trail, and the temperature was making the climb quite brutal. True to form, I started bonking near the top and my heart was racing, so we found a large boulder to escape from the sun. Our tall, blonde friend spotted us and he didn’t hesitate to join in on the shade break. His name was Flores, and he hailed from the Netherlands. Flores had ben traveling north, so he gave us some suggestions for El Chaltén, which was our next stop.

Feeling better, we set off, finishing the 2,500 foot climb. The views all around were gorgeous, with snow capped peaks in every direction. We finally crested over the top of the ridge and saw the Cerro Castillo glacier, and Cerro Castillo itself. The sights only got better and better as we descended around the south face with all the details of the rock and ice coming into view. Waterfalls dripped out of the toe of the glacier, feeding the hazy, blue lake below. The wind picked up, offering a cooling breeze as we hiked into the late afternoon. All said, the stoke was high.

Maggie and I rejoined the crowds at the lake view point, then carried on with the steep descent back to the car. Other than a pair of bulls eyeing us near the bottom, we made it down without a hitch. The hike ended up being 16 miles with 4,500 feet of vert, and we were definitely feeling it!

Flores was waiting near the parking lot, and we gave him a ride back into town. Driving out on the road, we reached the steep hill marked for 4×4 only. I floored it, but bumpy, loose rocks brought our little SUV to a halt. The dread set in. I backed down the hill. Some locals were walking nearby and they offered some advice. Mas rapido. I tried again, gas pedal to the metal, but still the car lurched to a stop just shy of the top. F***. Flores hopped out to watch and guide me up the hill. I backed down once again. A Toyota Tacoma passed by and drove up the hill without a problem, adding insult to injury. The local man at the bottom offered to try driving our car up, and while I was hesitant, it was worth a try before calling in a tow truck. Our new Chilean friend revved up the engine and sent it up the slope. The car was slowing down, but somehow he found the power to get us over the top! Whew… We thanked him profusely, and he got out to continue walking.

Maggie and I looked around for Flores, but he was nowhere in sight. We figured out that he had gotten in the Tacoma, since he didn’t want to wait around and see if we needed a tow. However, Flores had left his sweaty socks in the back seat (haha)… Well we drove into town, giving our hill driver a ride the last couple miles. We found Flores on the main drag, returned his socks, and wished him luck on the rest of his adventure.

We returned to our campground and started making plans for the days ahead. Nearby were the Avellanos Mountains, where a friend had recommended hiking. All we had was a pin with coordinates for the view point. We were also eager to get to El Chaltén to explore the legendary Fitz Roy range. However, the weather was forecast to deteriorate in two days, and it was a two day drive El Chaltén. We wanted to maximize our time outside, so we chose to stay local and dive into the Avellanos Mountains the next day. We found a detailed trip report online, which showed us the route to our pin point on the map. All we had to do was get there…