Finally Heading North
Updated: May 26
We spent a day or two at the train station again. It was raining hard and we were waiting for a clear day to complete a big hike. We had just discovered that Cueva de Jimbo, an amazing-looking ice cave, was near us. This cave, which looked more like a portal to another universe, was a good 18km hard hike away, but we’d never seen anything like it and so we decided to go for it. Unfortunately, we never got the chance. The day before we were going to go, we saw online that the cave had collapsed. It was a truly sad moment. I’m not sure if something like that will form again over years of certain wind patterns and temperatures, but it seemed like a pretty special thing and maybe it’s just gone forever. At least we hadn’t killed ourselves going up the valley for nothing, I suppose. It seemed like a bit of an anti-climax to finally leave Ushuaia on, but we had really finished with the city now and it was time to get a move on before the weather turned against us.
Our friend Mark was staying on the banks of the Río Olivia, just north of the city, while he waited for his wife Liesbet to return from a trip to Antarctica. We decided to head up and spend a night with him. Matt and Cinta also had similar plans and so that night all three campers were parked up along the river. We spent the night inside their larger van, working our way through several bottles of wine and various nibbles. Dry January wasn’t off to a great start it seemed, but it was likely that we wouldn’t all see each other again like this as the next day we’d be going our separate ways, and so it was nice to enjoy an evening together.
The next day was another wet one, so while the others decided to hike to Laguna Esmeralda, we opted to go for a smaller local hike. We were saving Esmeralda for a better day as we also wanted to hike further and higher, for which we would need better weather. In preparation for our big walk, we did a local easy but long walk which ended in a slightly disappointing way with a river we couldn’t cross. Still, it was nice to get out into the fresh air and wake up our legs and lungs. We had hoped we’d see the beavers that are on this island. An invasive species, the local authorities have made efforts to cull them and while we saw their previous structures, we never glimpsed the animals themselves.
Despite being quite dismal, we enjoyed the misty mountain vibe. It reminded us of wet spring hikes in Scotland, even though the colours were now starting to turn autumnal. We also came across this “pod” nestled on the lakeshore. It seemed that you could just turn up and use it. The door was unlocked and it offered an awesome view out across the lake. Sitting in there eating a snack had me wishing that we had some camping equipment on us.
We spent two final nights by the river with Mark before heading off early on the first promising-looking day. The weather app promised a bright clear day and when we woke up, it was certainly looking promising. Even though this is the warmest month of the year, it’s not uncommon to wake up to a light frost or see the occasional snow. It was a clear, cold morning. We said goodbye and headed off early. This is one of the most popular hikes and so it’s advisable to start early regardless of the distance you’re going to enjoy it with fewer people. As we also wanted to add on another hike at the back of the lake, we definitely needed to start sooner rather than later. The car park for the start of this hike is just a space on the side of the main road that leads out of Ushuaia. We got there around 8am and already the car park was filling up. We got on our hiking gear, shrugged on our backpacks and set off for the hills.
As it’s a well-trafficked route, a bit of rain equals a lot of mud. The first section is through a forest and without any sunlight it’s particularly boggy. We hopped on strategically placed logs as neither of us had waterproof shoes and starting a hike with wet feet is not something anyone wants. After half an hour or so, the trail leaves the woods behind and comes out onto the hills beyond. The sky was a brilliant blue, the wind minimal, the crowds tolerable and the water a perfect opaque glacier blue. It was looking like the perfect day.
As we climbed higher, the views only became more impressive. The trail wound its way across open peat bogs and over little wooden walkways, the mountains growing larger around us with every step. Streams of crystal-clear meltwater cut through the landscape and the peaks above still held streaks of snow despite it being the middle of summer. Every so often we’d stop just to turn around and look back down the valley towards the Beagle Channel glittering in the distance behind us.
The final approach to Laguna Esmeralda was much flatter. The mountains opened up ahead and suddenly the lagoon appeared before us, glowing an almost unreal shade of green-blue beneath the dark rocky slopes. Even with plenty of photos online preparing us for it, the colour still didn’t quite look real in person. Large patches of snow clung stubbornly to the mountainsides around the lake and the water itself was perfectly still except for the occasional ripple from the wind.
Despite this being one of the most popular hikes in the area, arriving early had definitely paid off. There were still relatively few people around and it was easy to find a quiet spot along the shoreline to sit for a while and just take it all in. We brewed up coffee, pulled snacks from our bags and basked in the rare feeling of actually being warm while hiking in Tierra del Fuego.
Most people stop here and then turn back, but we wanted to continue further up into the valley towards the glacier itself. A rougher trail continues beyond the lagoon, climbing steadily over loose rock and patches of mud. Almost immediately the crowds disappeared. Within ten minutes we had gone from one of the busiest hikes in Ushuaia to complete silence broken only by the sound of rushing water and the occasional crunch of gravel under our boots.
The further we climbed, the wilder it became. The vegetation thinned out and the landscape turned harsher and more barren. Ahead of us, tucked high between the mountains, sat the glacier itself. Small waterfalls tumbled down from beneath the ice and the wind coming off it carried that unmistakable icy chill even under the bright sunshine.
We eventually found a sheltered rock to sit behind and stopped for lunch with a view straight down across the lagoon we had left behind. From up here, the water looked even brighter, a vivid splash of colour in the middle of the rocky valley floor. It’s one of those places that makes you stop talking for a bit because there’s not really much else to say.
Eventually though, we had to admit that we still had the entire hike back ahead of us. Reluctantly we shouldered our backpacks again and began the long descent back down the valley. By now the trail was absolutely packed with people heading up. Families, tour groups, people in jeans and trainers already covered in mud. We were very glad we had started early.
The boggy sections were even worse now after a full morning of hikers churning them up and there were several near misses where one of us almost disappeared ankle-deep into the mud. Somehow though, we both made it back to the car park with mostly dry feet and legs that were definitely beginning to complain.
As we pulled off our boots beside Ruby and looked back towards the mountains, it felt like a pretty fitting final hike for Ushuaia. For weeks we had stared at these peaks from campsites, riversides and supermarket car parks. Now, finally, we had made it properly up into them.
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