Into The Mountains (Fri 3/26)

Stats:
- 1 hike...climbed 2800 feet
- curiousity about mountains? answered!
- worst trail surface ever
- awesome dinner
 
From Mendoza, we can see the Andes.  They are tall, steep and impressive.  And, it is very clear that there is little in the way of vegetation.  Think desert and you have the right idea.  The mountains just top out alnost 23,000 feet and we are sitting at about 3,000 feet.  So, they are huge.  We have been curious to get into the mountains.  We have the option of backpacking in the Andes for a few days.  We have wanted to get closer and size things up to evaluate if this is something we want to do.  Mendoza itself is this little oasis in the middle of the desert.  The city streets are lined with beautiful and huge trees.  The trees provide fantastic shade and comfort from the sun and heat.  The streets are also lined with canals.  There are "gates" at various points in the canals.  These gates are opened and closed and used to control the water flow.  The water is used to irrigate the trees, parks and gardens.  Without the canals, the city would be scortched earth --- like we see in the distance.  So, our goal is really to check out what things look like in the distance. 
 
We found a company that does day hikes.  Their fee is not that different than the price of a car rental and it is much easier for someone else to do the driving.  People here drive like maniacs, so driving is an experience we don´t need.  A van picked us up.  Inside the van, there were several people going horseback riding for the day.  There was a couple doing a 1/2 hike.  We were the only two doing a "full day" hike.  The van drove out to a ranch where the various groups headed off, each with a guide.

Now, I before I tell you about the hiking, I need to catch you up on something. You'll remember the weight lifting? Yes, today it caught up with me.  Every muscle hurts to move. On the one hand, laying stone still for three days might hurt less. On the other hand, once I get moving I know the lactic acid will start to process out and things will feel better --- until I stop again or sit in a van for another 45 minute ride.  I feel like the tin man from the Wizard of Oz. Alright, back to the story.  

Our guide, Mati, was a nice guy.  He gave us two options.  We chose the hike with more climbing that reached something called, "Black Mountain".  The vegation was short and scrubby.  Much of it had nasty thorns that left plenty of marks below the bottoms of my capris (so glad I zipped off my convertible pants).  As we climbed, we started to see more and more cactus.  My hope was that we could reach the top and be treated to awesome views into the next valley.  I was convinced the snow capped mountains would seem very close once we got to the top.  Getting to the top was no easy task.  The trail sucked.  In Arn´s words, "This is the worst trail surface I have ever hiked for the full duration of the hike".  It was terrible.  It was either a sand pit, loose rock, or medium sized rock.  And, it was really steep.  The higher we went, the worse the surface and the steeper the pitch.  The whole time, I thought of only one thing --- this is REALLY going to suck on the way down.  In total, we think we climbed about 2800 feet.  From the top, the views did not improve.  Everywhere you looked --- more scorched earth.  It was a totaly desolate landscape.  It went on forever and forever and was the same.  Mati said that in the valley where people backpack, it is even drier and nothing grows.  I looked at Arn and asked, "What do you think of backpacking?"  It was funny.  I already knew his answer and it was going to match mine --- "no way".  It is not our landscape and the temps were well into the 80´s.

At the top, we ate our packed lunches and Arn took the "obligatory photo".  Yes, this is how he referred to it.  Before we left the top, I zipped the bottoms back onto my capris. I figured there was no need to draw blood a second time with all the thorns. Then, I made my final preparations. I used my Buff to wrap my left hand. I used my long sleeve shirt (which had been stashed away in the backpack) to wrap up my right hand. Here was my thinking.  I figured there was no way I was getting down from this summit without either falling or engaging in some five points of contact hiking. In either case, padding up my hands as protection from the rocks and cactus seemed like a good strategy. What is "five points of contact hiking"? Well, count them --- it is hiking when you sit on your butt and spider crawl down --- two feet, two hands, one butt.  The downhill sucked, but admittedly it was not as bad as I feared.  There were plenty of slips had by all three of us, but we all managed to stay on our feet. Funny --- cactus the size of basketballs is good incentive to remain upright. 

So, today's hike was clariying. We will not be headed out for a backpacking trip or another day hike. It is not our landscape. And those trail surfaces, will leave me crippled and limping. Tomorrow, we are going to head to the bus terminal and figure out where we are headed. We did a bit of looking online after returning to the hotel. A last minute cruise is out (there are no trips running on the right dates).  Heading north in Argentina to Salta (desert) is out. It is an 18 hour bus ride.  So, we are going to check the other bus options, but it looks like Chile and most likely Valparaiso or Santiago. 

For dinner, we returned to Azafran.  We had a great meal there earlier in the week. While Arn enjoyed his meal, I considered my dinner one of the best of the trip. It was a filet steak topped with blue cheese, spinach, sundried tomatoes, and all wrapped with phyllo dough and served with eggplant mashed potatoes and grilled onions.