We left El Calafate for El Chaltén, a town built since 1980, within the outside edge of the Parque Nacional de los Glacieres. The town is tiny, very remote, and mostly built up with hotels, hostels, restaurants, and a couple of stores for supplies. The first stop the bus makes upon entering the town is the ranger station where a friendly ranger welcomes you, provides maps, and hiking and weather information. The ranger told us that we should immediately hike up the trail to Cerro Torre, because it was a clear day and it is rare that hikers get to see the top of the Cerro, because it is often hidden in clouds. By the time we started off to see the Cerro, it started to rain. So, we turned back and spent a very windy, rainy and cold night in our tent! The next day, we were thrilled to discover sun and headed up the trail. This was our first view of the Cerro - as the clouds started to clear.
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