Barillo che?

morning after our cake and tea debauchery, amy and i set of for a hike into lake jakob. A nice hike up a valley. We were warned about a few river crossings and snow, but with casual disregard, more cheese and bread for lunch, and a delicious cream and potato soup for dinner, we set off. Amy wishing she still had her rented boots. For as we progressed up the valley, river crossings became more like walking up rivers and through mud filled bogs and big puddles. We got about halfway before the hard part started. A steep ascent into the out of the main valley and into a little offshoot still covered in snow. I went on ahead and coming to a small branching, I took the bigger path and figured amy would as well. Pushing on, i came to the first patches of snow and sat and waited for amy for amy. 10 minutes. 20 minutes. 25min. no amy. Did she fall? Did she take the wrong fork? Down I run, back the fork. No amy. She must have gone the other way. (somehow I missed a huge sign that said refugio pointing towards the other path even when I passed it the second time. I choose the bigger broader path which apparently is only for horses)so, by now im mostly jogging to catch up. I come to a raging river on the cusp of a waterfall that has a loose wire stretched across it apparently for the crossing. Awesome. A bit of climbing up rocks and boulders with views of other waterfalls 10 yards off. But no time for that. Still running. Onwar! d into the snow covered hills for what seems like eternity until I come over a hill and see a peaceful little cabin on an ice covered lake surrounded by huge snow capped mountains. Beautiful. I jog up to the door and the lovely attendant said “you must be ari” indeed I am. Amy arrived about 3 minutes before me and was very confused and concerned when she found out I hadn’t arrived already because as far as she knew, I was always in front of her. So, I managed to make up about 3 minutes of hiking by jogging. Exhausting!
The lake was beautiful. And hot! I was lying on the rocks by the water with my shirt off in my shorts sunning for an hour. The water was so cold it was painful to touch, but the rocks were gorgeous. A nice ni! ght spent in a relatively full cabin and then the next day the same path back to the beginning. But much faster going down and more time for pictures and views.The next afternoon, we were on a bus north for Mendoza.