Back in Mendoza- Wow- a real bed!

Howdy All,

Todd here, reporting in from Mendoza.

We made the 18 mile long hike out from Plaza de Mulas yesterday in good time. The Horcones Valley, which we descended, is much larger than the Vacas Valley where we began our adventure. It is a special experience to be able to see and feel both valleys, while completing a traverse of the mountain. The trail out of Plaza de Mulas lost altitude quickly, as we dropped off a thick, dead glacier (we know this because Ali is working on her PhD in glaciology!). It then contours above the Rio Horcones for a number of windy miles before dropping down to the river bed for many, many miles of cobble strewn trail.

After about 5 hours of hiking, we reached the intermediate camp for those climbers who (for some reason...) decide to climb up the Normal Route (pardon the condescension, but we all agree that the Vacas route is much more interesting and scenic). Confluencia is a rather bizarre camp, tightly corralled by fences , presumably so it is not over run by the trains of mules ferrying equipment to the veritable tent city at Plaza de Mulas. Regardless of the appearance, we were treated to a couple of tasty, cheesy pizzas, cooked up by Fernando Grajales's Confluencia manager, Veronica.

Full of dough and cheese, we then managed the remaining 1.5 hours out to the trailhead, where we checked out with the Park service and caught our van to take us back to Mendoza.

We arrived late in the evening, but that means little as far as restaurants in Mendoza are concerned. Fernando's driver, Carlos recommended a place called El Patio de Jesus Maria. it was a wonderful steak house with outdoor seating, delicious Malbec, and a Chimichurri sauce to die for. Full, tired, and satiated, we waddled back to our nice hotel and slept deeply.

I would like to call everyone's attention to the post on our summit day. I made a couple of changes which might help clarify the events of the afternoon. Please read it over, as my edits should help give a better picture of how the day progressed.

I will post photos later, so stay tuned. Until then, Ciao from Mendoza, Argentina!