Torres del Paine

This was hiking day for us in Torres Del Paine (TOR-ress dell PIE-nay) National Park, Chile. We ate a nice breakfast right by a window so that we could see the sunrise behind the 10,000 foot Paine Grande Mountain as we ate. Then it was onto the bus for an hour ride to the trailhead. We made only one photo stop at a particularly scenic spot overlooking Lago Pehoe (Pehoe Lake), and a second stop just minutes later to make use of facilities. Then it was just minutes on the bus once again to the trailhead.

The trail was a very easy out-and-back along the southern tip of Nordenskjold Lake to Cuernos Lookout. We spent a bit of time at the Lookout, but even so, the entire trek took less than 2 hours covering roughly 3.8 miles. The only wildlife observed was a herd of Guanacos, but the views in any direction were absolutely spectacular! At one point we heard the distant, rolling thunder of a avalanche high up on the snow-capped peaks. But of course, by the time we heard it, the event was over. So we saw nothing of it.

After freezing in the cold rain at Moreno Glacier a couple of days ago, we were all layered up for a cold and windy walk this morning. It was, indeed, a bit cool when we started out. But the sky was crystal clear and there was barely a wisp of wind.

This is so unusual that even the local guide and the bus driver were snapping photos. We were lucky to get such a rare day for our hike, and we were peeling off layers all the way as the sun quickly warmed the air into the 60s.

Once the entire group had returned to the bus, we backtracked to the facilities once again, then drove on about 15 minutes to a campground where we sat on logs to consume our somewhat mediocre box lunches. It was then about 50 minutes ride back to the hotel (I confess, I may have dozed off for a bit during the bus ride), where about half the group got off. That was enough hiking for them for the day, thank you very much.

The rest of us drove a very short distance to the Grey Ranger Station, used facilities there, and set out for a second hike of similar duration. This, too, was an out and back. After a short walk on hard-packed gravel through a mature forest, we crossed the Grey “River” (large creek) on a rope bridge. This took a bit of time, as the bridge is limited to six persons at a time, and there were people coming back the other way.

Our walk continued down a slope, and then onto the wide, flat dry riverbed created by the Grey Glacier moraine. The mixture of small gravel and black, volcanic river sand was difficult to walk through. Also, the sky had clouded over, the temperature had dropped, and the wind had come up. We began putting layers back on, and realized that we were going to have a more typical Patagonian hiking experience. At least the wind was at our backs.

Across the moraine we gained a small peninsula and began climbing upward on the rock, and out to a lookout point where we could clearly see the face of Grey Glacier some 8 miles across the lake. Several icebergs that had broken off from the glacier were floating nearby. It was a nice photo op, but our guide pulled out his portable weather device with anemometer and measured the wind at 50 mph, while the temperature had dropped to 58.

On the return, we had that 50 mph wind right in our faces as we crossed the moraine. Needless to say, it was slow going and not a terribly pleasant walk. The wait to cross the swinging bridge was even longer, and the wind was making it sway more. But we were soon back on the bus and deposited at the hotel, where a shower was very refreshing, and yet another complimentary cocktail was served before dinner.

Dinner was OK, and served in the same room as breakfast. So we got to watch the sun set reflected on the mountain, just as we had watched it rise in the morning.