{"id":11144,"date":"2017-04-28T02:08:20","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T06:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=11144"},"modified":"2020-06-16T12:46:03","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T16:46:03","slug":"refugio-glorious-day-high-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/refugio-glorious-day-high-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"The Refugio and a Glorious Day in the High Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Refugio Cruz de la Real is an army outpost manned by a garrison of about 6-8 young men in the summertime only. In the winter, the valley is covered in meters of snow. Interestingly, a \u201creal\u201d in Argentina is what we call a corral in the U.S. and Canada. The namesake for the Refugio is a large \u201creal\u201d used for centuries by the cattle drivers to contain the animals overnight.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Right beside the ancient \u201creal\u201d now sits an army post, also called a <\/span>refugio, a \u201crefuge\u201d as it were. \u00a0\u00a0O<\/span><\/i>pen only in the summer months, it serves as an army outpost but also as a shelter for passersby like us – not that there are very many. Rent for the night is about $30 per person, and for that you get a hard cement floor, a picnic table with benches, and a real toilet. Forget the other stuff. Trust me, the toilet is worth an easy $30 after you\u2019ve had your back end hanging out in sub-zero temps with freezing winds whipping by.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The luxury of cement floors in the Refugio<\/em><\/p>\n Dinner the first night was going to be empanadas and pizza, but in the end, I think all Janni made were the empanadas, which she brought out at about 6:00 P.M. Exhausted, we all crashed at about 7:00 P.M. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Refugio empanada dinner night of arrival<\/em><\/p>\n But then my stomach got the better of me and I arose at 8:30 for more dinner. Eric, a trail mate, also arrived in the common room for a snack about the same time. \u00a0\u00a0They may have eaten pizza later, but by 9:00 I was back to bed, burrowed deep in my sleeping bag and fast asleep. So was Carol.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Carol fast asleep, hat and all<\/em><\/p>\n The next morning I woke with the predawn light and made my way outside to explore. The day was breaking behind the mountains, creating some impressive colors in the sky and on the face of the mountains. The monument to the <\/span>real<\/span><\/i> shone brightly with the painted white rocks, and the red clouds in the sky made a crimson halo around some nearby peaks.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Up the valley to the north, the faces of the volcanoes and high ridges that were hidden by low snow clouds the day before now shown crystal clear in the morning sun. The cloud crown on the volcano indicated continued low pressure and possible storms later in the day. A good day to stay in the valley and explore the tumbled rocks and incredible geology on display.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The cloud crown on the snow capped volcano indicating a low pressure system\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n