Today we returned to civilization. After a good sleep on the surprisingly comfortable slats of the mess tents, we woke to a pancake breakfast (with Dulce con Leche, a godsend) and began our final march out of the wilderness. As you can see from the original post of the approach route we took to reach Aconcagua, we are now heading back out to the highway from the other side of the mountain. This route is called the "Normal Route" as it is the most popular, and most direct, access to the mountain. Our guides said that we would understand why they chose to approach Aconcagua via the Vacas Valley when we see how desolate this alternative is. As a group we chose to complete to entire 16-mile gap between Mulas base camp and the highway in one final non-stop push. Our lead guide Ben said it would take about 8 hours, and we were determined to cut that time down. We reached the trailhead at the highway in 6.5 hours. It was described by many members of our team as a "death march." We were ready for our 4-hour van trip back to Mendoza and a long, hot shower.
The next post will include photos from this incredible journey...
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