Day 7: Laguna del Diablo

The morning greeted us with a beautiful sunrise. By now we have our morning routine perfected. We met our guide, Marcello and the other two guests on the full day hike to Laguna del Diablo. We started where we ended the Los Huemules hike on Day 3, but took the Diablo trail at the split.

Good Morning

Near the start of the hike

The majority of the trail followed the Diablo river surrounded by the vibrant fall colors and the Electric Mountain. Along the trail, we heard and saw some birds that Marcello could identify. We hiked about 4 miles with some inclines to a refuge overlooking Laguna del Diablo and the Cagliero glacier.

Pretty colors today as well

Dad points at lichen

We found an overlook of the river and valley

Marcello helps us identify birds

It had started to lightly rain, but we were mostly covered by the tall trees. We crossed the river on a wood bridge to get to the west side of the lake and glacier. The last few hundred meters to the refuge were open on a rocky glacial moraine.

Over the bridge to the refuge

Entering the moraine – AKA asteroid field

We arrived at the refuge and found a cozy spot by the fire place to eat our lunches. It was very nice to be able to eat inside while it started raining harder outside. The refuge also offered us beverages and dulce de leche crepes, so that was an awesome bonus.

Solar powered refuge

No need for camping chairs here!

The refuge had some early drawings

Once we were relaxed and full, we made our way back on the same trail. The return trip went pretty quick and we managed to avoid any heavy rain. The weather started to clear up for a while and we were treated to (continued) excellent views.

Glacial terminal moraine

Heading back into the woods

Windows 98, fall edition, is that you?

We stopped at some of the same lookouts from the way in as the views change slightly with the weather.

Looking back to where the refuge is

Thanks for the guiding, Marcello!

This dragon is disguising itself as a tree

This part of the trail has yellow trees

When we arrived back at the hotel, it had started to rain harder. We were happy to have made it to our favorite place – the bar – for some afternoon refreshments. Tomorrow is our last full day, so we had to pick our explorations carefully. Matt and Jo picked El Filo, and Mom and Dad picked Laguna Condor.

Recovering back at the hotel