trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Cascada to Refugio San Martin (Jakob)
day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | video | info page
Seems I forgot to take many photos on day 2. My first priority was video.
Oops.
As I’d camped at Cascada rather than Frey I counted myself ahead of schedule. No rush today.
I enjoyed the morning. Wandered the boggy grasslands.
In the afternoon I was surprised by the difficult, steep climb to reach Brecha Negra pass.
The descent was even worse. Dangerous.
But arriving at the alpine lake was wonderful. It’s a lovely spot.
Here is the old Refugio San Martin (Jakob). It burned down in 2017.
The replacement was well underway when I was there February 2018.
Hikers without tents slept and ate in temporary structures.
The highlight of the day was scrambling up to Laguna Los Tempanos, a glacial meltwater lake. It reminded me of places in the Rockies.
Surprisingly, I had the place to myself at dusk.
Tomorrow’s route climbs up this impossibly steep face. I had no idea how it could possibly be done.
This evening I hung out at camp enjoying the stars with 4 other Canadians. Two wanted to continue with me on the difficult day 3 ahead. Two wanted to exit down the valley, worried because they’d already found the easier days very difficult.
In the end, they decided to end their hike next day. Safety first.
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