South America Trip - Day 7

Torres del Paine National Park Day 3!  The ladies (Shelly and Janice) made a big deal about how all the guys (including me) had kept them up (snoring) all night.  They blamed the beer… For my part, I was out of bed at 0600 (felt rested) and was at breakfast (cereal, eggs, bread, orange) by 0700.  I tried some cucumber juice for the first time (it wasn’t bad).  We left Los Cuernos Refugio at 0815, carrying a full backpack again, and spent most of the morning walking to Frances Campground.  This route, again at the bottom of the W, took us along the edge of Nordenskjold Lake.  The temps were warm again but I wore a long sleeved shirt anyway.  Strangely, there was almost no wind again and Alvaro said he had never seen the lake without whitecaps. At one point along the way, we got to walk on a pretty beach composed of a mix of black (granite) and white (limestone) rocks.  We took a break near there and I tried to skip rocks.  From there, we climbed up to the ridge again.  Chris stopped us at one point so we could each sample Canelo (Winter’s Bark) seeds, the source of Canelo pepper.  They tasted pretty good!  After we passed the campground, we crossed several rickety bridges and paused in a few places for water bottle fill-ups of glacial runoff. We constantly intermingled with other groups (20 young ladies with porters, Yoga "ladies-only", etc.) all day.  After a few miles, we arrived at Italiano Campsite and Ranger Station.  The rangers were on strike so services were limited.  However, we were able to stash our backpacks there and this allowed me to only use a light day pack during next phase.  From the Ranger Station, we began a steady climb into the Valle Frances.  Obviously, this hike was easier with no pack but we encountered many spots that were extremely slippery.  I spent much of this time drifting back and forth within the group and learning more about history, geology and ecology from both Alvaro and Chris.  Overall, I thought this was a good climb…We took a break at an amazingly clear glacial spring water source and got some nice shade.  Meanwhile, it kept getting hotter (70s again).  Along the way, we could see the Paine Grande and lots of glaciers.  We learned from Alvaro that the Frances Glacier had receded several hindered yards/meters in the last 20 years.  By 1300, we reached Mirador Frances and ate lunch (chipped beef tortillas, energy bar, nuts, orange).  The picturesque spot was just as unbeatable as we’ve seen and I had no inclination to depart…We waited until about 1400 to descend and it was nice to have extra time to enjoy the spot.  By this point, I was tired of the slower pace.  Initially, I walked with Kirk and Janice - when we reached the glacial water break point again, we stopped briefly.  After that, we pushed on ahead and I started nipping at Chris’ heals.  I think he got the message because we picked up the pace and arrived at the Ranger Station well ahead of the others.  We took another break - this time in the hot sun - and then repacked at the Italiano Campsite and Ranger Station.  We finally got back in the trail, bound for Paine Grande Lodge… After almost a mile, we crossed a rickety suspension bridge (yikes) and the group began to spread out.  I stayed with Kirk, Janice and Shaowen as we made our way across several long boardwalks.  It was very warm (70s) and there seemed to be no respite from the sun.  At one point, I doused my hat in a creek we passed in an attempt to cool off - it helped a little… In the hills above us, we could see lots of evidence of forest fire damage.  Chris (and, later, Alvaro) told us stories about the sad day when some campers accidentally set the devastating blaze.  We took another break while sitting next to at nice creek and I snacked a bit more.  Before long, we resumed our walk along Skottsberg Lake and made the final push towards the shores of Pehoe Lake.  As the terrain began to get flatter, I started to want to go much faster.  Subtly, I tried to convince Chris (by staying very close to him) to speed up his pace and was pleasantly surprised that he did.  After that, we made great time!  We passed through several shallow valleys and also (finally!) started to get a cool, steady breeze.  Chris said that the lack of wind and warm temperatures were extremely rare for this time of year and added that he was surprised by the stretch of three consecutive days of nice weather.  Near the end of the hike, we crossed a final ridge and got an amazing view of Lake Pehoe and, in the distance, the Paine Grande Lodge.  At around 1800, we completed our journey across the bottom of the W - we’d hiked 17 km (~10 miles) of terrain and positioned ourselves for the last day of the Trek.  At that point, some extra drama began: Alvaro (who had caught up with us at the end) figured out that there was a problem with the room reservations (they had apparently been “lost” during recent renovations).  The front desk tried to resolve the issue and gave us some free (“welcome”) drink tickets to ease the pain.  Alvaro told us that “in the worst case, we will sleep in tents.”  This would have been fine with me but most of the group was not pleased.  Ultimately, though, we all tried to make the best of the situation by recounting some of the many great experiences of the day.  I ordered an Astral Patagonia 508 (an ale) and found that I liked it even better than the Astral Calafate.  The Lodge experienced several power surges and this delayed the resolution of our lodging issue.  Fortunately, we were eventually able to join the (long) buffet line for an evening meal (1900).  This buffet format was much different from the way we’ve gotten used to eating.  Typically, we have all met at the table and the staff have brought the food to us.  However, the Lodge is located next to a very popular Ferry Landing and can sleep up to 150 people indoors; the flat land nearby also allows for many more campers.  Anyway, we enjoyed a nice dinner (rice, mashed potatoes, pork and gravy) and everyone started to feel better as the meal progressed.  Somehow, Alvaro worked out the bed situation and we got indoor lodging.  However, unlike the previous evenings, our group was spread out in deferent rooms.  Shaowen and I ended up in same bunk room (I got the top bunk) and the rest were in rooms across the hall from us.  I spent some time talking with the four other people in our bunkroom with California Dad/Daughter (Eastbound W) and older French couple (doing the same thing we were).  Before long, I realized that it was already 2115 - the days really fly by in Torres del Paine!  Since the sky was rather cloudless for first clear night of the trip, I decided to go outside to look at the stars.  I ran into Alvaro and Chris and we shared stories and jokes about our situation.  We also talked about the overall trip and trying to maintain a positive attitude for the group.  My own mood was pretty high, thanks to three straight days of hiking in the mountains, and I thanked our guides for all they’d done to make such a memorable experience.  They told me they were happy with how our group was flexible and easy going.  After that, they retired to their tents.  Resuming my search of the night sky, I was surprised to catch a glimpse of some StarLink satellites passing overhead.  The moon was bright and there were many stars - the dusky conditions made for some beautiful colors on Paine Grande… Unfortunately, I had no idea what the constellations in the southern sky looked like and, when tried to search the internet (there was one place in the area with a weak signal) for clues, I really didn't figure out the situation.  Shaowen arrived later (2145) to photograph the night sky.  During this time, the Lodge experienced more power surges and it was funny to listen to the groans and cheers from the people at the bar that corresponded with each cycle of lights off/on.  Ultimately, my attempts to find the Southern Cross were unsuccessful and I decided to try again another night.  Carefully, Shaowen and I made our way back to the room and got in bed (as quietly as we could) by 2300.  Another absolutely amazing day of sights, sounds, flavors and exercise!