Pampa de Lenas

Wes and Dan have had a couple of busy days. Yesterday they left Mendoza to travel to Puente del Inca. It took about 3 1/2 hours to get there. They traveled there with their guide (driver) and his wife and two daughters. Apparently the wife got sick on the way and was throwing up. Wes was hoping it was not something that was contagious. The children were about 13 and 3 years of age. There is a military checkpoint on the way to Puente del Inca. All of a sudden as they neared the checkpoint the older daughter pulled the 3 year old into the backseat and laid down so no one could see them. Wes and Dan could not figure out what was going on. Once they passed through the checkpoint the girls got back up and resumed their previous positions. Very strange! Once they arrived at Puente del Inca they checked into their "hotel." They were the only ones there. Wes said there were three bunk beds, a sink, toilet, shower and some toilet paper and that was it. Very sparse. He said there were shacks around that were restaurants. They had a delicious dinner of chicken and french fries. He said french fries are a really popular thing there.

Today Wes and Dan met up with their mules. There were about three different teams of climbers heading up the mountain. There ended up being 20 mules in the group carrying all the gear. The guys left Puente del Inca at about 11 am. The mules left two hours later but ended up passing them. They didn't have any river crossings today. The guys hiked for 5 hours and arrived at Pampa de Lenas around 4 pm. There are 16 tents currently in camp. Most of the climbers are with guided groups. Wes and Dan are the only "knuckleheads" that are going it alone. That was Wes' word, not mine! The climbers are mostly American from Alaska, Colorado and Minnesota. There are also some climbers from the UK. The weather was about 70 degrees today. Right after they arrived in camp a thunderstorm came on strong and it rained for about 30 minutes. It didn't take long for it to clear, though. The elevation at this camp is 9,400 feet. They had burritos for dinner tonight - chicken, green chiles and rice included. Both Wes and Dan are doing well and feel great so far.

Tomorrow the guys are heading for Casa de Piedra. It should take about six hours to hike to that camp and they will climb approximately 1,000 feet in elevation to around 10,400.