35.04 Refugio Jakob: A taste of Bariloche's Lago Jakob-Tempanos.

We managed to get the water to 'freeze' at the waterfall well below the lake.



After a 12 mile (one-way) trip to Refugio Jakob, we slept well on new mattresses provided in the temporary accommodation. Don't you love it when people have a point to make and in doing so, engage in violent protest by burning down the property of others. That's what happened to the old Jakob. The new building is almost ready for occupancy but we were weeks early. Nevertheless, we spent the night in a large tent accommodating about twenty people, some who snored and others tried not to.

The location of the refugio is superb, miles from the town and high up in the mountains. We were there to observe the sun setting and woke to see same rise. It was a remarkable few hours. We then headed down to the car park which was not coincidentally, another 12 miles away. With a cumulative gain of over 2,400 feet, the bulk of it toward the climax, it was a tiring hike. Two days before, we had hiked 16 miles in a day, so in the 3 days we accumulated some forty miles, although we did have a 2-day break. Both of us are bearing injuries, not making for ideal conditions.

After greeting a couple in Spanish, a son and his mother, we discovered they were in fact Israelis. We were then joined by another Israeli, making it a round cinco. Upon getting in the car at completion, we soon came across an Argentinian (age 47) from the big city who had shared the tent with us the previous evening. We gave him a ride (lift) to the center of Bariloche. We also found Gal (age 24), an Israeli on the same road a little ahead and picked him up too, giving us a car with 4 occupants and large backpacks. We're pleased the rental car representative was not close-by. There is a point to this little anecdote. When we dropped them off, for a complicated reason, I lifted the backpacks for the two fellows from the trunk. That's when I took a depressing turn of mood. I battled to lift and hold the backpacks upright. These two guys carried the bags for days up-and-down mountains. Prior to the incident, I was in good spirits—now I feel like a wimp. I'm trying to rationalize that Gull is 42 years younger than the editor but still struggling with that excuse.



The full lake surface reflects the surrounding mountains and trees; the new refugio in the foreground.




Mountain reflections off the lake in the early hours.




In the early stages, Jen moves up and forward.




Sunrise on the eroded mountain tops.



Cheers,

Jenni and Jeffrey (wimp)