After having recuperated from my New Year Illness I was ready to do some trekking in the National Park Nahuel Huapi. On account of strong wind and snow the 5 Laguna trek didn't work out. I found a different route hiking up to Cerro Catedral and from there onward to Refugio Frey. This first part was a rather easy but steady upward hike. From the ski center Cerro Catedral it's a four hour hike to the Regufio. When I arrived there, the weather turned and I was hit by fears wind and snow. This was an opportunity to test my tent, the MSR Access 2. Although it made it through the night without damage, this four season tent is deffinitivly not an expedition model. The wind blew underneath and inside which meant a freezing cold night for me. It snowed until the early morning so I didn't leave my tent until about 08:00 am.
Apart from myself, there were two americans that also attempted the hike to refugio Jakob that day. Having a GPS, I started my hike about 1 hour before them and pioneered the trail up the first pass at 2023m. Part of the path was a virtical climb up the sharp rocks that could only be done using all fours, made extremely difficult on account of the heavy backpack and snow covering the waypoints. The way down was even more difficult. The decent went down to the valley at about 1500m and then back up the next pass at 1938m, all very technical. I was glad that the two other people caught up to me and we could navigate the trail together. Also the company made me feel much safer. Then the last decent to refugio Jakob and that was it for the day. We set up camp and took to the hut to heat up.
On the third day I informed myself if the trail up to Laguna Negra was open but unfortunatly that wasn't the case. Instead I took the way up the Paso Schweizer and then down along the Arrayoa Casalata valley where I camped another night. I slipped and hurt my knee on the decent from the pass and needed to rest it. So I did the decent from Refugio Jakob in two days instead of one.
The last part of the decent on the fourth day was a real treat. The path twists and twines through the thick forest along a few small rivers from the snow melt. You have to cross them at least four times until you reach Lago Mascardi and then twice more until Puente Colgante. Each time you have to get out of your boots and wade through knee deep, ice cold water. At the Bridge I then decided to spend a night at Hotel Tronador, only 3km away. Not having any mobile reception I was unable to figure out the next part of my trek and the possibility of a hot shower also lured me towards this decision. Tomorrow I'll see where to go next. I really want to climb Cerro Tronador and maybe afterwards follow the Jesuite path. I probably have to go to Pampa Linda in order to resupply on food before that.