20 km journey from Zonda to the Ullum Dam above the Sierras Chicas mountain range.

With the aim of challenging myself more and more, during my stay in the province of San Juan I decided to do all the trekking that was within my reach. For us who live in the city, being surrounded by mountains from time to time is a real treat, so I wanted to spend most of my time seeing these types of landscapes. After having made several walks in the surroundings, my hostel companion, who recommended the walks, "enabled" us to do one of the longest treks in the area, and of course I wanted to be there to show myself that I could get to complete it ❤️.

Since my hostel partner had already visited San Juan several times, she already knew almost all the paths to follow. She was in charge of suggesting (but without join us) hikes for us in order of increasing difficulty, so that our body could get used to the demands of the climbs and long distances. When she finally noticed that our physical condition was capable of withstanding the climbs and physical effort well, she recommended that we do one of the most emblematic treks in the area: crossing from Zonda (red mark) to Ullum (blue mark), walking over of the mountains. This walk can be done in either direction, and the good thing is that at both ends you have public transportation to the city, which makes it a one-way route ❤️.

_{Trail to complete in the trek from Zonda to Ullum.
Sendero a completar en el trekking desde Zonda hasta Ullum.}

The initial information they had given us about this trek was that it would take us about 6 hours to complete, a time that my companions and I thought we would spend without problems. They also recommended that we start early in the morning on a day without much wind, since walking completely on the top could be dangerous. In addition to bringing plenty of cold water, we also had to bring plenty of sunscreen and enough food to last those supposed six hours. I must say that we did everything except bringing a lot of food, since we underestimated the effort it would take us to complete this section and we didn't have as many snacks, but we still survived .

The beginning of the trail was from the Zonda area, where we arrived by bus around 10 AM. In previous days we had already been there so we knew the first part well: to go to the beginning you must climb the same as to go to see the head of the Indian, only instead of To follow a civilized path, you must climb a little to the top .

As we went up, we were able to get some great views of the Zonda Valley, with its olive and grape plantations. There were also some vacation houses around and a few other wineries, but preserving plenty of green space in the place. Behind everything we could see the other great mountainous area of this place: the Sierras Azules ❤️.

Once we crossed the first part of this path, which we had to climb using our arms and legs, we found a well-marked and seemingly easy trail. As we chose to go early, the sun was reaching its highest point so we had all the light available to see, knowing that we had to walk in the direction of the dam. From up there we could see what we had already seen in previous days, such as the abandoned racetrack, the abandoned hotel and also the municipal field ❤️.

An hour and a half after starting to walk, we find the highest peak of these mountains. At only 1110 meters above sea level, this place offered a great panoramic view of the valley and its surroundings. To symbolically mark this place, there was a cross and a grotto, so it was impossible to miss it. It was also a place to sit and rest and eat our humble lunch, since there were no traces of what we had had for breakfast .

It was at this first peak where we saw a sign indicating that the descent to Ullum would take about 5 hours. Becoming professional trekkers, we thought that it would take us much less time to travel this section, since from up there we could already see the dam and "it didn't seem to be that far away" .

Well, this assessment of "not being that far from the dam" was correct if we looked in a straight line, but we found ourselves walking over some mountain ranges that went up and down all the time. So, this journey was like climbing small hills over and over again, where of course we needed stops to rest and regain strength in our legs .

It would be around 3 PM when we finally reached what my hostel companion pointed out as "the halfway point." This place was easily distinguishable because we would find some stone shelters against the wind. These constructions serve as protection for those who choose to spend the night here, or in case you are caught by the gusts at that time. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and none of that was necessary ❣️.

We had been walking for five hours and although the dam looked closer and closer, it already seemed that in just one hour we would not finish the entire journey as we had been told. Perhaps some hiker focused on finishing the trail will make it in that time, but with my companions we were relaxed so we took all our time, in total there was still plenty of sun ahead ❤️.

A funny anecdote from this day, which I was later able to recognize from the photos I took along the way, is that at one point we left the main path and that detour cost us more than an extra hour of walking. After a while we noticed that we were not on the correct path, but in that part the mountain had a kind of ravine and could only be crossed by going back and taking the correct path. My friends and I of course did not admit our mistake and continued walking forward, until we were able to go down in part and go up to return to the true path .

The afternoon was passing and we were still walking: we had already eaten all our provisions and the water was also running out, even though there was still a good stretch to go. At this moment we began to feel really tired, but we were so close to completing the route that that was what motivated us to continue (added to the fact that we were at the top of the mountains, who could go looking for us without making such a fuss? ).

When the mountains began to change their dark color to orange, we knew that we were already very close to the Tres Marías area, which we had also visited days before. It was really crazy to think that we had already been to both ends of this path, and that at that moment we were joining them with this great challenging hike. It was undoubtedly a wonderful although exhausting experience ❤️.

The clock was already reading past six in the afternoon when the golden hour began and we had finally reached the other end of the mountain range. What remained now was all downhill, but our legs were so tired that even that hurt. By that time we didn't have any water or food, so we were literally surviving. Although we underestimated the provisions, no one fainted along the way .

When we were finally at street level again, my companions and I hugged each other and congratulated each other on the great journey. None of us had done a trek as demanding as this: my partner set the step counter and in total we walked about 20 km. Although I had already done this distance on other walks, it was never constant up and down like this, so this walk was unique ❤️.

When we went down to the dam and found a stop to buy something, the first thing I did was drink a Coke as if it were water. After sitting down, I think all the fatigue hit me at once and my blood pressure went underground, so much so that I felt dizzy and my vision was blurred. But nothing that a good dose of sugar and a sandwich cannot recover the energy I spent in almost 9 hours of walking. Just a few minutes later, it was already fresh as a lettuce. I can't say the same about my muscles the next day, which hurt everywhere, but the walk was already done and now no one can get this great memory out of me ❣️.

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