Our last day to go hiking for the trip. Our plan is to walk up to the refugio at Cajon Azul, on the northern end of the Rio Azul valley. We take the late morning bus to “Wharton”, which is about as far into the valley as we can get on public transportation. From there we head downhill to the actual river, after signing in with the Club Andino—a local hiking club that keeps track of who’s in the mountains, and whether they return. At the bottom of the valley we reach a small campground which lies at the confluence of the Rio Azul and the smaller Rio Blanco. We cross each river on precarious wooden suspension bridges and then head up the mountain, planning to walk til we find a nice place to have a picnic, and enough time to be back for the last bus back to El Bolson.
Despite information to the contrary, the trail is almost entirely uphill, and due to the latish hour is now very hot and extremely dusty. Eventually we reach shadier stretches, and the going is easier. The vegetation changes and the forest grows thicker. Only one actual river crosses our path, and it lies in an idyllic clearing. Another 45 minutes trekking uphill and we reach “La Playita” (the little beach), which turns out to have its own refugio. They make their own bread—a bowl of covered dough is rising on the roof—and they also brew their own beer(?), which is being kept cold in the bend of the Rio Azul, which rushes by in a wide curve.
We forego moving onto Cajon Azul and spend our time on the gorgeous flat rocks at the side of the river, trailing our feet in the cool rushing water, while enjoying brilliant sunshine. A memorable afternoon.
Luckily the worst of the heat is off the path as we return. Sadly, we discover that our final destination—a major narrowing of the river’s canyon—the Cajon Azul, was a mere 20 minutes further up the path, not the 2+ hours the map led us to believe, but we’ve enjoyed the quiet beauty of this place, and plan to someday return to hike the many other walks in the mountains here.
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