Snuggled up in my -15 degree sleeping bag my alarm goes off, just as I had finally fallen asleep. It’s 5 am and I’m rubbing my eyes wondering if I am really going to go through with this. It’s too early and cold and just as I am about to curl up and sleep, another alarm goes off, reminding me that I really should wake up. Not fully awake I get up and embark on a sunrise hike.
With only the full moon as my light, I begin to ascend the climb towards the base of Fitz Roy. With each step, rocks fall from under my feet and hurdle down the slope, warning me of the unforgiving terrain. My heart skips with adrenaline and it feels like someone’s hand is pushing me up the mountain, pressing me into a jog. At last I turn the corner to see the full moon’s light reflected off a glacial lake and suddenly I realize that my face hurts from smiling for too long.
It’s 6 am in El Chalten, Patagonia and I am sitting meditatively on a rock with an unwavering gaze at the infamous Fitz Roy peak. So dramatic with its fierce and sculpted angles, the sleek granite of Fitz prevails over the Argentine landscape in a beauty that cannot be disregarded.
I sat watching the time lapse and the sunrise from the east till it illuminated the peak. For just minutes Fitz turned bright red and pink, stunning me with its splendor. Unable to make any words or sense of how truly magnificent it was, I sat in silence, pinching myself to make sure that this was real life. Then as if it had never been, the sun’s scarlet ardent rays disappeared and the day commenced.
It took a 24-hour bus ride, a boat ride through the straight of Magellan, a night spent sleeping in a bus station, and two days of backpacking to finally get to this spot. While the bus reeked of a dirty toilet and the night spent on those cold vinyl floors was sleepless, gazing up at Fitz Roy made it all completely worth it.
I descended the mountain that day towards base camp counting my blessings, filled with incredulousness that life could be so grand. Thinking about all the things in this world there are to be grateful for, I vowed to myself then and there to stop looking through things and instead, “to stop and smell the roses.” If Fitz Roy had to teach me a lesson, it would be to seek beauty in the natural world because even the simplest of roses can take your breath away.