In February of 2018 we did 4 days of hiking with Walk Patagonia. The first day was really a warm-up with just a short hike to the Huemul Glacier Viewpoint followed by a cruise on Lago del Desierto.
Day 2 in Los Huemules Reserve, located adjacent to the National Park, included connecting three trails ending at Refugio Puesto Cagliero on the bank of Lago del Diablo.
The last two days were through the El Chalten sector of Los Glaciares National Park, camping at the Poincenot private campground at the base of Mount Fitz Roy.
All of the trails were well marked and could easily be done on your own. Having a guide simply made logistics, i.e., getting to the trailhead and organizing food and lodging, easier.
For a day by day overview of the hikes see the following posts.
Hike to Glacier Huemul and Cruise on Lago del Desierto
Hike in Los Huemules Reserve to Refugio Puesto Caliero
El Pilar Trail to Camp Poincenot
Camp Poincenot back to El Chalten via Laguna de los Tres Viewpoint
We carried all our own personal gear. All bedding was provided at both the refugio and at Poincenot private camp.
The folks at Walk Patagonia were very professional and helpful. They also arranged our transport to and from El Calafate and will lend you trekking poles and some other equipment. Our guide Betty was a delightful addition to our trekking party. While her English is perfectly understandable, she still has some vocabulary and grammar issues.
The food provided by the tour company was quite good. Lunches included more imagination and vegetables than a just a dry tuna sandwich, as was the case in Torres del Paine. The picar lunch on the first day was excellent, offering a wide selection of empanadas and other nibbles. Vegetarian dinner at the Poincenot private camp was again of high quality. Dinners included 2 bottles of wine for the four of us. For more information on the food, see the day by day posts listed above.
All in all I was very happy with the services provided. If you are looking for a more “civilized” trekking experience this is a great option.
For links to all the posts in this series see the Hiking in Patagonia page.