Cerro Tronador (Refugio Otto Meiling)

This two-day Patagonia hike leads to Refugio Otto Meiling on the slopes of Cerro Tronador, one of the most prominent peaks in the Bariloche region. The route climbs through coihue and lenga forests before emerging onto a high rocky ridge that culminates at the refuge (1,905m). Positioned between the Castaño Overa and Alerce glaciers, the stay offers a unique opportunity to witness active glacial calving. The trail follows a well-defined path of forest floor and alpine rock, with a final sustained push to reach the rocky spine where the hut perches.

The Wonderland Trail is exactly what its name implies: a grueling, spectacular, 93-mile (150km) circumnavigation of Mount Rainier, the most glaciated peak in the contiguous United States. This premier backpacking route is notoriously difficult, rarely offering a flat section of trail. Hikers are either painfully ascending a massive, forested ridge or steeply descending into a deep, glacier-carved river valley, only to repeat the process the very next day. The trail passes through towering old-growth rainforests, crosses roaring and milky glacial rivers via demanding suspension bridges or log jams, and traverses stunning, high-alpine wildflower meadows like Summerland and Panhandle Gap where the mountain's massive ice fields feel close enough to touch.