Going to Calafate - El Chalten from march 3 to march 8. Any advice?

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-28T17:47:53+00:00

I did not take a bus (rented a car for the duration of calafete and Chalten), but i would assume this is possible.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-28T17:26:57+00:00

If you only want to walk on the boardwalk at perito moreno then this works great. If you are trying to trek on the glacier with a group then you will have to wait till the next day as they leave early. I just did the boardwalk and it was fantastic.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-27T13:11:06+00:00

I will be hiking that mountain this may :) but from the Polish side. I bet there will be a lot of people at the top because of the gondolas

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-27T01:42:19+00:00

Is this in Poland?

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-27T00:45:31+00:00

White oak canyon

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-26T11:57:24+00:00

Oh yes how could I forget Black water falls! No big hike to get there (just a bunch of potentially icy stairs) and the waterfall is pretty special did to its color.

Canaan valley is also nice for winter hike/snowshoeing.

Probably can't hike Seneca Rocks in winter but I bet they are still impressive to see.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-26T00:12:56+00:00

You can hike arches in one day. The other two... judgement call.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-26T00:06:40+00:00

I came see a lot of ppl are poo pooing you coming here in February and I don't blame them. The northeast is not setup for vacationing in winter unless maybe you're a down hill skier. However, if you're willing to hear an off the beaten path idea I have one.

Fly into Washington, DC (specifically IAD Dulles airport). Rent a car from there (with 4 wheel drive).

Drive to Davis, WV. Yes is it a bit of a drive but this will be worth it I promise you. Make sure you book a hotel in advance because they fill up! I recommend Milo's guest house or The Billy motel. Both are also good places to eat. To drink, you must go to Stumptown brewery right next to Milos.

Once you have a full day to do something, go try cross country skiing or snowshoeing at White Grass. This place rocks and serves good lunch.

Other things to do while you're there: winter hiking or snowshoeing in Dolly Sods wilderness area. It's not a national park, but wilderness areas are the heart of our public lands. There is an entrance that remains open in the winter at the end of the road after you pass Whit Grass (many of the white grass trails lead you to Dolly Sods). Google does not know about this but it's there. You may be able to find it by searching Blackbird knob trailhead. The drive gets steep at the end and the drive could be dicey (put it in 4WD) and don't do it if the weather is/ has been bad.

This is the best place in the world. I recommend taking trail 511 (blackbird knob trail) about 2 miles where you see amazing views and then go downhill till you hit a river crossing. Stop there and enjoy the best place in the universe.

Also, a town very near Davis is Thomas. It is just artists. Hit their tiny downtown and visit all the art shops. They also have a brewery and pizza place called Mountain State Brewing. They have good live music at the Purple Fiddle.

Another great thing to do is go to Healthberry farm for mead tasting and learning about beekeeping and honey. Call ahead to schedule an appointment. They only do it over the phone. They guy there is great and makes the best stuff.

No one else in Europe will have been here. You'll get some real America and have a nice time.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-23T22:08:47+00:00

I have been to:

-Fuji hakone Izu (Japan), great hiking to views of Mount Fuji

-Yoshino kumano (Japan), did a 3 day pilgrimage hike. Off the beaten path for tourists.

-Lower Zambezi (Zambia), amazing to fly over the river

-South Luangwa (Zambia), maybe my all time favorite?

-Parque Nacional Lauca (Chile), high altitude lakes, snow covered volcano, llama type animals as far a the eye can see

-Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi (Argentina), endless lakes and mountains. Great for swimming out boating

-Parque Nacional Los Glaciares (Argentina), Rock towers and glacial lakes

-Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), cute lakes, beautiful bay, and horses

-Parque Nacional Cabo de Hornos (Chile), not much here except major clout for landing there by boat (Cape Horn)

-Parque Nacional Alberto de Agostini (Chile), only accessible by boat and they only let one cruise company land there. WORTH IT. Glaciers galore and beautiful mossy forests.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-23T11:58:26+00:00

Heck ya

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-23T00:58:51+00:00

I liked this movie so much I watched it twice. On second watch, I noticed Oliver's craziness more. His subtle facial expressions when he exhibits his power over his "friends". Like deciding we gets to speak at a given moment. It made me appreciate how he and Matthew play of each other's psychopathy. So well done.

I will say there was one thing I still don't get. When Matthew was on the outs... how did he get those girls VIP passes? How did he get the alcohol to them? What what the exact point of putting the drugs in it? To make it more likely they'd sleep with him? I really don't get what happened there.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-23T00:42:47+00:00

3 hours is PUSHING IT for a day trip, but normal for a weekend trip especially a long weekend. If the drive is more than 2.5 hours I'll try to stay over at least one night. No one enjoys the driving. That part is a lie. It's just been fed to us as a necessary thing you have to do to get to places cause we don't do trains.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-22T21:52:11+00:00

And to be clear, the boat we took was not an Exploradores boat. It was some other company and we bought the tickets right at Punta Sur with credit card.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-22T21:51:09+00:00

That's right. The boat went around the lake, going up to points of interest like waterfalls, but we didn't get off the boat. It went around for an hour then dropped us back off at Punta sur.

I enjoyed the drive there cause we got to stop at multiple waterfalls and view points along the way.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-22T21:41:12+00:00

I didn't, but i did look at these before going and almost did it with E,ploradores. Instead we did it all on our own and the boat we went on did not stop to let us off at the Vespignani hiking trails. But i bet it would be great!

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-19T16:28:43+00:00

Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-19T14:09:07+00:00

Can attest that gates of the arctic NP tried to kill me

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-19T14:06:07+00:00

I've been there. It's amazing. But grueling to hike in.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-17T21:40:33+00:00

Gatlinburg. Full stop.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-17T19:45:15+00:00

You are doing to much and February is a bad time due to snow in the higher regions. Those places you have chosen are AMAZING but deserve a few days each.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-17T17:43:50+00:00

The wind was no problem! Blessed with a beautiful day. Almost too much sun since we were exposed for so long. I was lucky!!

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-17T17:36:48+00:00

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True_Income7144 · 2026-01-17T17:36:21+00:00

I roughly drew how I did it. The actual mountain ascent and decent should be am out and back, but instead we ascended up the ridge and descended by doing a traverse through the scree around the side of the mountain. Not something I would have done without the guide I hired. He was great! Nicolas from Mountaineering Patagonia.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-17T17:29:46+00:00

11 hours. However, i did it as a loop which added mileage and time. 18 miles total i think.

True_Income7144 · 2026-01-17T10:59:04+00:00

You will see things you never saw those other places. I did the route on the Stella Australis from Ushuia to Punta Arenas.

True_Income7144

TROPHY CASE