1.23.2026.
Patagonia Adventure - W-trek - Day #2
Checkout at the refugios are typically 9 or 9:30 am. None of us slept very well but we needed to move on to the next refugio. Ronny's were sooo red and burnt that one of the hosts brought him out a giant pump bottle of spf 50 😬 It was going to be another hot, sunny day and it already hurt when the sun was shining on his arms, so that was really inconvenient.
To follow the W path we needed to hike to Italiano (which was a nonoperational refuge), drop our bags, hike up to Frances Glacier and Brittanico, hike back down to grab our bags, and then walk to the Frances Refugio where we would camp for the night. Almost 20 miles again 😂
The terrain was really gorgeous on day 2. We hiked through streams around the mountains. It was windy in portions which was SO nice because of the heat. Linda, however, was having blood sugar issues (she's diabetic). She was burning through sugar just about as fast as she was eating it even though she was checking her numbers constantly. When we reached Italiano she decided not to do that portion. It was a 3 mile climb up to Brittanico with over 1,500 ft elevation gain. It was probably the best decision for her. We didn't like separating, but Ronny and I also wanted to finish the entire trek.
The hike up suuuuucccked. It was really difficult. I'm so glad we had day packs, and that I had brought my poles. We had to climb boulders for a mile and then the trail on the other portions was either really loose gravel or giant rock. We made good time regardless of the difficulty, but because of the steep terrain him and I both got blisters on this day 🥴
The view from the top was pretty amazing. Seeing the entire 360* view of the peaks in the French Valley was just gorgeous. We could look back and see the lake where we started the day before and it seemed SO far away. I mean, it was 😂
We picked up our bags at the drop and hiked the 2 miles to our refuge at Francis. There's only Wi-Fi if you pay for it, so we need to try to find Linda somehow and that took a bit 😂 They had let her check in thankfully, so she was able to get a shower and a nap and some food too. This was the first refugio that offered gluten free options for me. (South America is NOT gluten/dairy/soy free friendly fyi) The showers and bathrooms were so much nicer at this refuge. And, other than the steep hills for traveling in camp, this was one of the best spots we stayed at.
I had a difficult time sleeping during the whole trip so I was running in adrenaline for the entire trek. 5 hours is not enough sleep for this kind of hiking, but I am a bit stubborn, lol.
Stay tuned for days 3 and 4