Christine is silhouetted against the pre-dawn sky. We arrived on a boat across this lake yesterday...
10:05pm, Campamento Las Guardas, Torres del Paine
Slept well last night, ~11:30pm - 6:30am. Our tent at the edge of the campground gave us peace and quite, though an occasional loud shout from near the refugio reached us. There seemed to be a lot of activity late into the night near the refugio, which Victor and Christine later confirmed, as their rented tent was next to the building.
At 6:45, Wendy and I stopped by our companion's tent and Christine joined us to head to the overlook for sunrise. Victor opted for sleep in the calm morning environment. We hiked up ~80' and had a view of the lake, dock, refugio, and mountains. I brought the stove, and tried to boil up some water for oatmeal while we waited for sunrise, but the wind was too strong and blew away our heat. Sunrise arrived, and was pretty, though we were facing the west side of the mountains, and didn't get much glow.
Christine is silhouetted against the pre-dawn sky. We arrived on a boat across this lake yesterday...
The first rays of sun land on the upper portions of the mountains...
The sun breaks over the horizon, drenching us in a golden glow...
The sun now illuminates Pehoe, the big hotel-like building in the lower left...
We headed down to the kitchen, and cooked up our oatmeal for breakfast, again using their gas stoves. Our daily breakfasts consisted of - Wendy: 2 instant oatmeal packets. Matt: ziplock bags of a blend of steel cut oats, rolled oats, oat bran, choc protein powder, and dehydrated milk. Washed dishes in sink, filled up some water bottles, then took down the tent back at our site and packed our bags. We met up with Victor and Christine after their breakfast at the cafe, and started the first leg of our "W" trek towards Grey Glacier at 9:20am.
Coming down from our morning lookout, near the docks. And an unglamorous (but posed) pic of me eating oatmeal in the Pehoe kitchen...
We find some people to take our pic as we begin our W trek. My pack was taller than me. The trail passed through the tall grass before rising out of the sunken bowl near the lake...
The trail rose up from the lake though mostly brush with some scattered trees. Just 20 minutes into the hike we had a bathroom break request already. As we left the valley, the forest thickened more. Our loaded packs were already a dinner and breakfast lighter, and were actually quite manageable, in large part thanks to our training regimen of hiking with heavy packs the past few weeks in CO (and having fresh legs).
After 40 minutes, the lake had fallen way behind, and there was still more hill ahead before we'd catch any view of our path to the north...
We kept hoping to reach the crest of the hill between Pehoe and Grey, but each knoll turned out to show another rise further ahead. There was a bit more uphill than I had thought from a look at the elevation map. We stopped for pictures of Lago Grey often, and saw our first icebergs.
The first views of the day are of blue water and white mountains...
Seeing icebergs were cool. They had to have floated a long ways down from Grey Glacier. We take a rest ~90 minutes into the hike...
The trail dipped into forest, crossed streams, and rose to more rocky outlooks...
I led everyone on what soon turned into an obvious side trail, which eventually became less developed as it deviated up the side of the mountain a bit. After some brief minor scrambling, we found ourselves up high at the top of the crest with glorious views of the two arms of Grey Glacier reaching down to the lake. We spotted the real trail down below on the left, and scuttled down to reach it, after several photo ops.
After a few more uphill portions, we finally got our first glimpse of the magnificent Glacier Grey...
The views of Grey kept getting better as we neared the crest...
Finally a full view of Grey, from the side trail we took at the crest of the hill. The real trail is below, near where a person is standing on the rock in front of the lake...
Refugio Grey is located on the peninsula just in front of the glacier on the right. Still quite a ways to hike to reach it. This is about the half way point from Pehoe...
Man, that pack looks huge on me... A great group shot in front of Grey's...
Wendy took some nice pics of these red flowers near the Glacier Grey lookout...
When we reached the main trail, there were some big rocks overlooking the glacier. I went out to a further one, and took the pic on the right, where you can see the other three...
The three people on the trail here are indeed Wendy, Victor, and Christine. The descent begins...
From here, the rest of the trail was mostly descent, but had plenty of annoying ascending portions, which are never fun when you know you are supposed to be losing elevation to reach your goal. The map said the trail from Pehoe to Grey was 3.5hrs long, but we were well behind that pace. The path cut down some rocky portions overlooking the lake, then made it's way back into the forest for flatter sections.
Wendy starts a steep downhill part down the side of the mountain. A flower and waterfall appear soon after in the forest...
Victor marches across a grassy flat stretch enroute to Refugio Grey. The forest in this part was mossy, with furry trees...
After 4hrs of hiking, Christine asked an oncoming guy how much longer, and he said "One hour". We trodded onward, and reached a fork in the road 30 minutes later, 3 minutes from Refugio Grey. Took us about 4.5 long hours from Pehoe.
Christine contemplates which way to go next after reaching a major fork. We decided to take the short path to the Mirador and rest for lunch...
From here we opted to take the fork pointed by the "Mirador Grey 10 min" sign, a lookout point of the glacier, and have lunch. It was quite windy in this area, with sheltered areas away from the nice views of the glacier. Here we tried our first dehydrated hummus for lunch. It was very tasty! Our rolls were unflavorful white bread, and I ached for whole wheat. I also started on my jar of peanut butter.
Some guys from Seattle said they knew we were from the US since we had a Nalgene bottle. I guess they aren't common overseas. Victor walks near a large blue iceberg in the lagoon...
During our time watching the glacier we heard loud "whooshes" and looked up to see water splashing from a large piece of ice that broke off from the front of the glacier. New blue ice bergs floated nearby. This happened several times, but by the time we heard the sound, we only caught the end of the event. Still cool.
Wendy and I, left our packs near the trail, and scrambled out to the tip of the small rocky peninsula, while Victor and Christine went to Refugio Grey to check-in and leave their gear in their rooms. Our climbing skills kicked in as one place had a tricky area to manuever up, but it was largely easy going.
A look down the short rocky peninsula we scrambled out to, and a look back towards the icebergs in the lagoon...
From the tip of the peninsula we were looking straight on to Glacier Grey. Wendy really wanted to eat the blue ice, as it looked like a flavored snowcone...
After 15 minutes or so, we headed back, grabbed our packs, and went to Refugio Grey to meet back up with V & C. Refugio Grey was situated right off the lake, and was much smaller than Pehoe (the largest of all the refugios in the park), and had much smaller camping areas and facilities. While exploring the area, we heard several successive loud "WHOOSH"-ing noises, and knew we had missed some great iceberg calving along the front edge of the glacier. We filled our water bottles with the water from the sinks, and noticed it was milky. All refugios use water straight from the streams/lakes, which we knew going in, and in this case, the water from the glaciar had some silty element to it. We brought some along, and considered pumping water with my filter if we found it unsuitable.
A look back at Wendy returning across the rocky peninsula at the Mirador...
Refugio Grey, where Christine and Victor would be staying at tonight. The camping area was much smaller than Pehoe, and the store consisted of just a handful of snacks to buy...
We found V & C at the refugio, and told them we'd start hiking up to Las Guardas (our camp site for tonight, an hour away), and they'd catch up to us soon, now that they'd be free of their packs. We hiked back to the trail, and missed the spot where we had hid our packs off the trail. Went back, found them, and by then V & C were already caught up with us, carrying nothing but their cameras.
The sign at the fork said 1hr, 1.5km to Las Guardas, a campsite overlooking the glacier. There were no tent rentals or food there, so V & C would be staying back at Refugio Grey. The trail was largely uphill, and had the steepest climbs of the day. Wendy and I had on our heavy packs trudging up, while the others were free of their burden. Along the way there were several lookouts as we neared the glacier and climbed higher up the side of the mountain. Victor showed me some neat camera configurations, as we both had Canon cameras. I thought I knew enough about my camera to take great pics, but he showed me several more features that will help me get even better pics.
A look at the glacier through the trees on our way to Las Guardas. Victor sets a timer on his camera, and we duck to display the peninsula from the Mirador we had just hiked to during lunch, with the icebergs...
Some looks at the glacier along the trail. I started using Victor's camera tips to take the pic on the right. I used his pointers throughout the rest of the trip...
A cool shot capturing the Mirador peninsula on the left, where Refugio Grey is located, and the glacier on the right, and Victor taking a pic. Those icebergs in the middle are likely from the large "Whooshing" noises we heard earlier...
After certainly longer than 1hr, we finally arrive at Campamento Las Guardas. Wendy and I quickly take inventory of the best available tent sites while V&C go check out the nearby Mirador. I'm really picky about finding level ground to sleep on, so that's the first thing I look for in a tent site, though proximity to the outer edge of the camping area for privacy/quiet is up there too. Also, the amount of trees/rocks/shrubs nearby for shelter from wind is important. Lastly, convenience to the trail, lookouts, and water sources factor in as well.
We find a suitable spot, and quickly get the tent set up with our packs stowed in ~20 minutes, then go check out the Mirador, where we find V & C relaxed and taking in an amazing view of the tip of Grey Glacier lying directly in front and below us, with it's virtually unending expanse rising out to the north. I'm super happy with this incredible view, and it makes the effort to carry so much gear worth it to be able to spend quality time here.
Wow! What a Mirador next to camp! We're right above the tip of the glacier. Christine admires the view on the left...
A look back shows the elevation we've gained since Refugio Grey on the peninsula...
Plenty of pics are taken, and ~6:15pm V & C head back to refugio grey to be sure they don't miss their scheduled dinner. They'll be ice trekking tomorrow on Grey Glacier, before heading back to Pehoe for the night. We'll be camping elsewhere tomorrow night, and meeting up with them the night after at Refugio Cuernos, if all goes to plan. Wendy and I scramble down the rocks a ways, getting closer to the glacier, and hang out a bit more before heading back to camp and searching for the water supply.
Wendy and I scramble down the rock slabs to get a closer view of this awesome environment...
A look north up the long glacier field that extends up into the mountains beyond...
Wendy takes a pic of me looking out over the glacier. A look back up shows huge towering mountains...
A friendly camper said we looked cool standing in front of the glacier down here, and offered to take a pic of us, so I made a couple of trips out and back to give him my camera. Wendy takes a rest along the rocks...
The ice crevasses look so sharp...
A close-up stitched pic of the glacier tip...
There is a tumbling water source just outside camp, and we bring my water filter and the nalgene bottles to fill up (dumping any remaining silty Grey water). They say the water is drinkable straight from the stream, and so I give it a try with a small water bottle. Tastes great! Wendy is still wary, so we pump water to fill up our bottles. But I keep one bottle for pure stream water, which she agrees to use for cooking. Back at the tent we strike a conversation with our neighbor, a solo hiker from Britain, ~50 yrs old, who has coffin-like bivy sac to sleep in, and learn some info about our trails ahead tomorrow.
A couple of looks at our tent spot for the night. This campground was fairly small, and I can imagine it being very crowded in peak January season...
Ah, extremely fresh and tasty water, directly from the mountain glaciers...
Since we still have plenty of light, we decide to head further up the trail. The "W" trek officially ends here at Las Guardas, but the "Circuit" goes much further and requires 8-9 days. We explore up the trail, setting a 20 minute time limit before turning back. We make it just far enough to find a gorge with ladders attached to the sides of the rock walls. This certainly looks interesting with a heavy pack on your back! We turn around and head back to prepare dinner.
A look down the sharp gorge further up the trail past Las Guardas. Wendy looks out in the upper left. Also a look at the metal ladders on the other side of the gorge...
Back at camp, a look at the toilet. It's just a funnel carved into the floor leading to a pit, but amazingly there is a flush mechanism with water hosed in from up the mountain, which is released at floor level into the bowl. Impressive in some ways, gross in other ways...
We boil our water at camp outside our tent, pour it into our dehydrated dinner pouches, and bring them out to the Mirador. Many people camping at Las Guardas are there too with their dinners, looking out over the peaceful blue ice. We scramble down the rocks a ways and find a fairly sheltered spot away from others with a great view of the ice and the Mirador Grey lookout we were at earlier today. I eat a chicken mole' dinner (not very pleasant tasting actually), and Wendy has a spaghetti & meatballs dinner.
The view from where we ate our dehydrated meals in the evening. The icebergs have floated much further into the peninsula since earlier in the day...
A nearby flower. A look into the deep ice crevasses...
Took plenty of pics, brushed, and headed back to the tent to prep for bed. A peaceful area here, and my legs are tired. Had warm temps all day, with lots of wind at locations open to the glacier, and the wind was surprisingly warm. Wore just one Icebreaker merino wool layer all day today, with an occasional wind jacket.
Wendy was really wishing for some blue flavored ice for dessert. After dinner I was surprised to see Wendy using an electric toothbrush, but it's a hygenic luxury that's worth the weight for her. Though we did tend to brush away from the other campers, avoiding any potentially puzzled looks...
Alarm is set for 6:45 tomorrow. Glad Wendy brought her cell phone that has an alarm, cause I can't hear the high frequency alarm on my watch. Got a low battery warning on my 1st of three camera batteries with the last pic I took today. Not bad, as this battery has the weakest charge, and there's 4 days left. Tomorrow should have less pics, since we'll be backtracking on the same terrain much of the day.
Destination Campamento Italiano for tomorrow...
Distance hiked: ~10.8 miles
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