Seeking mountain refuge at Refugio Frey
The word for refuge in Spanish, refugio, was quite applicable for our hiking experience to Refugio Frey, the skiing and trekking destination just outside of Bariloche, Argentina.
The 3 1/2 hour hike towards a peak named Cerro Catedral, or Cathedral Tower, was scenic and glorious and full of sunshine on the way up, but once we reached the top the weather had turned into icy winds and threatening snow clouds, giving us much gratitude for the shelter that Refugio Frey would provide us with that night. No more tent-induced frozen toes for us!
The hike up was full of lake views, wooden bridges crossing over streams and dark towering trees with lime green leaves shading the forest floor
Cerro Catedral
The arrival to Refugio Frey
The Refugio itself is a tiny stone building with a kitchen and small hangout area downstairs and a dorm of 20 plus bunk beds upstairs. We spent the remainder of the afternoon drinking hot tea, playing cards with fellow hikers and later drinking wine while trying to warm ourselves up next to the wood burning stove.
A storms a brewin'
After a relatively cozy night in our bunk bed sleeping bags, we awoke to views out the window of nothing but white. Snow was swirling, trails were covered and the pipes were frozen in the outdoor bathrooms.
Thanks for the warmth Refugio xoxo
Taking our time packing up and drinking some more tea, we eventually began our descent down the mountain with slow, tentative steps through the powdery snow. Unfortunately we didn't have toboggans to slide down on our butts like for our Chilean volcano trek, but somehow we made our way back to the dirt floor of the forest and down to the bus stop in less than 2 1/2 hours.
Our Refugio compadre, Marie, Karin and I on the snowy descent
The snow queens live to see another day!!!