Hey! It’s me, Jordan!

I figured you may not have recognized me, because I went on a really long hike recently and now I’m in, like, insanely good shape.

By “recently” I mean in December, and by “insanely good shape” I mean I haven’t hiked since. There’s actually no dual meaning behind “really long hike.” It was very long.

The hike was to Refugio Frey, a camp in Argentina’s Nahuel Huapi National Park. It’s a roughly 12-mile out-and-back trail that culminates at a camp — the Refugio — overlooking an alpine lake. It was hard, but it didn’t start out that way.

You know when you’ve had a few drinks, and you don’t realize how smashed you are until you sit down in the bathroom? One minute you’re gaffing it up and the next you’re thinking my God, I’m in too deep.

This hike was a lot like that.

It started out pretty easy, actually. While AllTrails classifies the trail as “hard,” most of the reviews agreed on one thing: It’s not that bad, until it is.

To me, the hike has three distinguishable parts — the first third is a relatively straight shot through scrubby trees, walking over waterfalls through the shade. The trees fade away in the second portion, leading you into a dry, shadeless walk for the middle part of the walk. If you’re lucky, you’ll probably see at least 30 lizards, which is roughly the number I counted and also the correct amount of lizards for one walk. You’ll have a few more waterfalls to scramble over, so walking poles will come in handy here.

Then, it’s onto the final third. The trail winds around the mountain, into dense forest and along a river you’ll hear before you see. The trees in this portion of the hike are unlike anything I’d seen — it felt like a scene out of “The Hobbit.” Admittedly, I haven’t seen the movie, but I imagine it was something like that.

You’ll run into Arroyo Van Titter, a waypoint and nice place to rest before things get hard. From this point on, the trail gets steep and challenging; the kind of hiking that makes you question why you started in the first place.

After about an hour of hellfire, including scrambling and some remaining snow pack, you’ll arrive at the top!

In total, it took about four hours to get to the top, and I could have stayed until sundown. There were people swimming in the alpine lake, eating lunch at the refugio, and climbing the surrounding cliffs. It was a little post-hike paradise.

The hike itself was the kind that makes me question if I even like hiking. I’ve decided that I do, I think. Let’s hope that’s the case, because it’s also the kind of hike that inspires you to do more.

I’m spending five days hiking through Austria this fall, a trip I’ll be documenting via Postcards. Stay tuned — it’s going to be a fun one!

Jordan

Steal my trek:

• We stayed at an Airbnb about 15 to 20 minutes from the trailhead.

• We rented a car, but you can get there via public transit.

• Drive to Cerro Catedral, a ski hill outside Bariloche.

• Across the parking lot, you’ll see a “FREY” sign. This marks the start of the trail.

Skip my mistakes:

• Bring walking poles! Though not a necessity, these will help in the rockier, looser areas toward the top of the climb.

• Wear hiking boots! I didn’t pack any, because I didn’t know what hikes we’d be doing. It was a mistake.

A brief editor’s note: If you made it this far, thank you! It means a lot to me that you’d subscribe to this silly little life-update email. Stay tuned and I’ll see you soon!