Trekking Torres del Paine

Sunday, December 11, 2005
Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile

Trekking in Torres del Paine






The second day of our trek consisted of hiking with full packs along an
unbelievable series of lakes, each with a distinct color caused by a
unique mix of minerals and glacial runoff - from deep blue, to azure, to
bright aqua-green. We crossed many mountains streams and rushing rapids
on a variety of shaky plank bridges or just stones and logs placed
stepping distance apart. The trail was dotted with spring flowers -
firework red tree blossoms, tiny purple wildflowers,
white orchids, and delicate yellow explosions of petals. We stayed at
the tiny but cozy Cuernos Refugio at the base of the ¨Los Cuernos¨ (The
Horns) with their grey granite sides and black rock tops which look like
mountains dipped in chocolate.

Day three of the trek was spent
hiking up the French Valley for a closer look at the Cuernos to the
right and huge, hanging glaciers to our left. At one point, we heard a
giant rumble and turned to see an avalanche of snow cascade over a cliff
across the valley from us and fall several hundred feet onto the
alluvial fan of ice below. As we climbed (and climbed and climbed), the
wind grew and the occasional drizzle turned to sleet and then snow,
stinging our faces and hands. Two hours up the valley, we realized if we
went any higher we´d actually be in the clouds so we decided to turn
back, gather our big packs at the drop point and head to Pehoe Refugio
for night three.

Doug Lake next to Pahoe Lake
Dan in the French Valley with the Cuernos in the background
The
wind! Oh the incessant Patagonian wind! The fourth Day of the trek
(which is often done as two days) had us marching quick and light up the
next valley to Glacier Grey. At the start, the wind was blowing a
consistent 10-20 mph with gusts that seemed to reach 40-50 mph and
literally stopped us in our tracks and made us run behind the next ridge
or into the next forested section of trail. At times, the wind died
down and allowed us spectacular views from the occasional rock
outcropping overlooking Lago Grey
with the giant Glacier Grey pouring out of the great Southern Ice Field
in front of us. The bays below us were filled with tiny icebergs,
broken chucks of the glacier blown to the far end of the lake. The
glacier was immense and the far end just disappeared up the mountain
valley to the horizon. While somewhat obscured by clouds, I was
convinced we wouldn´t be able to see the end, even on a clear day, since
the ice field continues 350 kilometers to the north! The entire hike
took us 10 hours (including a few stops)
and we calculated that we walked 19 miles round trip, concluding the
85km (50 plus mile) ¨W¨ trek. Including the Inca Trail and our hikes in
Northern Patagonia, we´ve hiked well over 100 miles in the Andes on this
trip - half of that up hill!
Glacier Grey
The
next day, we took the Catamaran back to the Park Administration
building getting awesome views of the Cuernos del Paine and the
surrounding mountains, forests and lakes. From there we caught our bus
back to Puerto Natalias and caught another 4 hour bus to Punta Arenas,
Chile which sits on the Straights of Magellan. Can´t wait to just sit in
a cafe, rest the legs and drink a hot coffee. Los Cuernos
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