The Quest to Hielo Azul

About the refugio: You need to take a sleeping bag or blankets if you’re staying in a refugio. They have decent floor mattresses, but no bedding, not even for rent. They don’t take reservations, but their policy is to always make room for anyone who needs it (even if it means sharing a mattress with a stranger). Everything is cash-only. At time of writing it was 800 pesos to sleep in the refugio, 700 pesos for a homecooked dinner (order it in the afternoon so they have time to make it), and they have various homebrewed beer, wine, soft drinks, sandwich-type things, and yogurt (in the morning) for sale. Hot showers are included in the refugio price, but only run from 6-8 pm, and if it’s busy you’ll have to be in line by 6 or you won’t get one. There is also running water and normal toilets, and limited power at night. Tent camping is cheaper, but not free. The “campground” is enormous, and the refugio can sleep a truly impressive amount of guests.

About registering for hiking: go to the ANPRALE website to register your trek online. Registration is theoretically mandatory and you’re supposed to carry a digital or physical copy of it with you, though I never had anyone check for it. They’ll also send an email on your last day to make sure you made it out alive.

About the bus: The pickup point in El Bolsón is on the same side of the street as the feria/pond (i.e. northbound side of the street), near the southern entrance to the feria from Av San Martin. It’s near the small cutesy shack where you can have pictures taken. Unfortunately there are no signs saying which buses stop where, but look for the crowd with backpacks and picnic gear. Payment is cash to the driver, fare was 30 pesos to “Camping Doña Rosa” stop and 50 to Wharton at time of writing. If you’re going to Doña Rosa, you’ll have about a 10 minute walk downhill from the bus stop to the trailhead. If you’re going to Wharton, it’s a steep 30 minute walk (2 km) from the bus stop (down from bus stop to river).

About the routes: I started from Doña Rosa, stayed one night at the Hielo Azul Refugio, and returned via Natación and Wharton. The bottom half of both of these trails is a pretty boring and difficult slog uphill/downhill. The Doña Rosa trail is much more scenic (coihue forest, marshes, good panoramic viewpoints) and much less trafficked, although it’s slightly longer. If you continue from Hielo Azul towards Wharton, be aware the first hour is VERY STEEP UPHILL towards the Natación Refugio, then it’s flat for one hour through an amazing high-elevation forest, and then steep downhill for two hours in a dusty river bed with loose rocks and no shade (but great views over the Bolsón valley). If you want novelty, do the loop. If you want scenic, stick to the Doña Rosa trail, but also pay close attention to the bus schedules. It’s easy to hitchhike from Wharton back to El Bolsón if you miss the bus, but Doña Rosa is more remote and there are fewer people out there.

For more information including bus timetables, there’s a separate room in the eastern half of the tourist information building in El Bolsón that’s dedicated to trekking. They have basic maps and can answer all your questions for free.

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