We ended up waking up around 8:00am and breaking down camp by 8:30 to head out. It was slow going to get down to Plaza de Mulas because it was steep and my feet hurt quite a bit. Once at Plaza de Mulas we retrieved our gear that we had left there, spent about an hour re-packing our bags and pounding water. I brushed my teeth for the first time in 3 days, pretty gross but it was so cold at high camp and we were so short on water that it was just not that high of a priority. We then changed into our tennis shoes and hiked the 16 miles out to the trail head with only 2 short stops. I think we were both very ready to be out after 2 weeks on the mountain. We got out to the Horcones ranger station at around 7:00 pm and were luckily able to turn in our trash and check out. From there we had a 3 km hike on the road to get to the little village of Puente del Inca, where we could get a hostel and food!! There was a German couple at the trail head that was also heading back to town so the woman offered to help carry our bags since we had been walking all day and I said that would be great, she then turned to her husband and pointed him to my bag:) Poor Chris still had to carry his but the husband carried mine all the way into town while I walked with the wife and had a nice little chat: chivalry is not dead! We managed to get a room and dinner that night, the little hostel there had a great dinner, especially the mushroom and steak cheese appetizer. The shower wasn't bad either. The next day we headed down to Mendoza and we spent the next 5 days celebrating and touring around. The first night in Mendoza we met up with Andy, Olli, and Jessica for a proper celebration dinner. I got the Parilla that first night out, one of the popular dishes in Argentina. I am not really sure what I was eating but parts were good and parts were bad... Highlights of the next couple days included going to a hotspring/massage/mudbath place, going wine tasting, celebrating new years at the hostel, and walking around the city of Mendoza. Unfortunately for me (and for Chris having to hear me whining about it) my big toes hurt pretty bad for all of these events. All in all it was a very exciting, successful trip! We managed to make it to the summit sin mulas y sin impreza (without mules and without a guide service). I am not sure where I will be able to go next but I am definitely looking into McKinley in the next couple years, hopefully with some of the people that I met while climbing Aconcagua!!
We ended up waking up around 8:00am and breaking down camp by 8:30 to head out. It was slow going to get down to Plaza de Mulas because it was steep and my feet hurt quite a bit. Once at Plaza de Mulas we retrieved our gear that we had left there, spent about an hour re-packing our bags and pounding water. I brushed my teeth for the first time in 3 days, pretty gross but it was so cold at high camp and we were so short on water that it was just not that high of a priority. We then changed into our tennis shoes and hiked the 16 miles out to the trail head with only 2 short stops. I think we were both very ready to be out after 2 weeks on the mountain. We got out to the Horcones ranger station at around 7:00 pm and were luckily able to turn in our trash and check out. From there we had a 3 km hike on the road to get to the little village of Puente del Inca, where we could get a hostel and food!! There was a German couple at the trail head that was also heading back to town so the woman offered to help carry our bags since we had been walking all day and I said that would be great, she then turned to her husband and pointed him to my bag:) Poor Chris still had to carry his but the husband carried mine all the way into town while I walked with the wife and had a nice little chat: chivalry is not dead! We managed to get a room and dinner that night, the little hostel there had a great dinner, especially the mushroom and steak cheese appetizer. The shower wasn't bad either. The next day we headed down to Mendoza and we spent the next 5 days celebrating and touring around. The first night in Mendoza we met up with Andy, Olli, and Jessica for a proper celebration dinner. I got the Parilla that first night out, one of the popular dishes in Argentina. I am not really sure what I was eating but parts were good and parts were bad... Highlights of the next couple days included going to a hotspring/massage/mudbath place, going wine tasting, celebrating new years at the hostel, and walking around the city of Mendoza. Unfortunately for me (and for Chris having to hear me whining about it) my big toes hurt pretty bad for all of these events. All in all it was a very exciting, successful trip! We managed to make it to the summit sin mulas y sin impreza (without mules and without a guide service). I am not sure where I will be able to go next but I am definitely looking into McKinley in the next couple years, hopefully with some of the people that I met while climbing Aconcagua!!
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