Plenty of cloud cover this morning, but this only helps bring out the blue in the glacier ice...
Reaching the Thunder in the Frances Valley.
2:43pm, Pehoe kitchen, TDP.
The 6:45 morning alarm wakes us up, and I see the moon through the small window in the tent vestibule, but lots of clouds too. Debate about whether or not to get out and check out sunrise (doesn't seem likely to be one). Lay back down for awhile and then start packing up inside the tent when Wendy points out that the clouds outside are red. We rush to the Mirador, but there is no sunrise color on the mountains, and the clouds are fading to light pink, and then grey.
It's surprisingly warm, feels like upper 50s this morning, even up above the glacier. The ice is a beautiful blue amid the cloudy skies. We take tons of pics, and head back to the tent to cook up oatmeal (using unfiltered stream water again). Looks like it's gonna be a cloudy day today, but that's ok, since we'll be seeing the same views as yesterday for the 1st half, and we had gorgeous weather for pics yesterday.
Plenty of cloud cover this morning, but this only helps bring out the blue in the glacier ice...
The icebergs look to have collected in the cove over night. Our viewing spot this morning...
They do say that sunlight makes the glaciers white, and the blue comes out more when cloudy...
How tall do you think the face of this glacier is??? Check out a pic further down...
A last look at the glacier from the Mirador before heading back to camp and prepping for todays hike...
We have our packs ready to begin hiking at 9:20am today, and light sprinkles fall soon after we begin the hike back towards Pehoe. It's just enough precipitation to wet the top of the rocks on the trail that aren't underneath overhanging tree branches. We see a cool woodpecker with a long curved beak a few minutes down the trail. We stop, and I put in some crumpled paper towels into the toes of my shoes, and re-tighten my laces, for added comfort on this steep descent with a heavy pack. I'm carrying most of the food now, in an effort to balance the pace between Wendy and I.
I stop for a quick drink from this tumbling stream. Excellent water...
We see all the same views from yesterday, but there are clouds and a layer of mist keeping the views subdued, which helps us keep a good pace by not stopping for frequent pics. reach the fork for Refugio Grey in 1hr, and wonder how Victor and Christine are doing on their glacier trek this morning. Hopefully there isn't much rain there. We pass a wave of people late morning that must have come from the morning boat to Pehoe, who are making a day trip to Grey and back. They all have light packs, and several look under-dressed for the wind and sprinkles.
Some last looks back at the glacier on the way back to Refugio Grey, and then Pehoe. The mist is thickening...
Look closely at the 2nd pic here. See the speck of a boat on the left side? That's how tall the wall of the glacier is. You can see the boat in the pic above too...
We jog down the smooth brief descending portions of the trails at times, as it feels easier to hop on your feet, keep the momentum going down, and reach the bottom quicker, rather than to alternate putting our weight on each leg/knee and slowly meander down a hill.
The sprinkles stop, and we take a snack break at a lookout near the crest of the hill between Grey and Pehoe. A huge gust of wind starts up and nearly blows our stuff away. All we can do is hold on to our belongings, face away from the wind, and wait for it to let up before moving to a more sheltered spot, and putting on our wind jackets.
Wendy once again takes some excellent flower pics on the way back from Grey to Pehoe...
We take a bridge over a gushing stream before the ascent up the hill between Grey and Pehoe. Wendy wears her ipod for portions of this trek this morning (it would be the only time during the entire trip it was used)...
Misty skies over the glacier. We hope V & C are doing well on the ice trek there this morning...
Soon we're at the top of the crest, and it's smooth sailing the rest of the way down to Pehoe, as a majority of yesterdays elevation came on the Pehoe side. The sky is clearing a bit, but we don't stop at any lookouts on the way back. Soon we see the Pehoe's lake, and we arrive at Pehoe 3.5hrs after leaving the fork from Grey (took us 4.5hrs in the other direction). We read the weather board at Pehoe, which says rain today and tomorrow, with some sun later in the week. I'm hoping it clears up for tomorrow, a big day hiking up the Frances Valley.
Can you guess which way the wind blows in this area???
We eat lunch at Pehoe's kitchen area. More of the same: hummus, bread, PB, choc. Using the restrooms now before we head out towards Italiano. More blue sky appearing in the still largely clouded sky...
Hummus with tuna for lunch. I also get into some serious chocolate into peanut butter dipping...
Wendy cleans up the hummus bowl, and I run outside to photograph this guanaco that is eating the grass just outside...
After finishing lunch at Pehoe, we took the trail towards Italiano, a 2hr trail according to the sign, and the only trail our map classifies as "easy" (all others "medium"). The sun was at battle with the clouds in the sky, and I anxiously hiked ahead, eager to reach the next viewpoint of the Cuernos before the clouds could claim a victory. The wind picked up, and light rain began blowing into us from the west, which felt unfair, as there was blue sky all above us. We make quick progress along the gently ascending trail.
The path from Pehoe leading to the Frances Valley. Campo Italiano is at the base of the multi-colored Cuernos mountain...
We depart from Lago Pehoe. Wendy says the lake looks like kool-aid...
Either I'm leaning into a pretty strong wind, or I'm practicing for move in a Michael Jackson video...
It was hard to tell which way the weather was going to go. We kept searching the skies for clearings beyond the clouds...
We find a side trail heading perpendicularly off to the right, away from the mountains, and I guess that it leads to a cool lookout. We have plenty of daylight left today, so I propose taking a side quest to see where this leads. Wendy and I drop our packs behind a bush, out of sight from the main trail, and follow the feint trail 5 minutes to a lookout over a lake with one of the Cuernos dominating the landscape across. We spend over 45 minutes in this windy, scenic location, waiting for the sun to break through to offer a good pic (and we figure this is a good place to burn some time). We have the whole area to ourselves, as everyone else must be sticking to the main trail. The sun finally peeps out a bit, and we take lots of pics as the light dances across the mountain face, then head back, put our packs back on (glad it didn't rain in the meantime), and continue on, over an hour after we had started our side quest.
A stitched pic of the view from our side quest...
Wendy and I sat here for about 45 minutes hoping for a break in the clouds...
We got just enough sunlight to make us happy...
We must have taken like 40 pics of this scene in our time there. Every slight change in light on the mountain, Wendy took a picture. We return back to where we stashed our bags, near the main trail, with Lago Pehoe off in the distance...
In the next hour, the trail rounds the lake we had overlooked, passes a waterfall up on the mountain to our left, and arrives at a wide gushing stream, where a large suspension bridge spans the length. As we neared the bridge we hear sporadic thunder, though some rounds last longer than a typical thunder cloud, and I know that there are frequent avalanches in the valley ahead, which is what we're hearing. From the bridge we gaze toward the opening in the mountains and our jaws drop at the sight of the imposing Frances Glacier hanging off the toweringly high cliffs of rock. It's an impressive sight that I didn't expect to see so close to the valley opening. We hear another rumble and look up to see flumes of white powder falling down a portion of the mountain, like a powerdery waterfall. Immediately across the bridge is Campo Italiano! I didn't expect the camp to be situated at such a scenic location!
The trail wrapped around the lake we had just viewed from the side quest. To the left was a big waterfall...
As we neared the valley, there were several stretches of boardwalks, over a usually muddy swampy area I'm guessing. Small bridges appear over streams as well, as we begin to see the giant glaciers in the opening of the Frances Valley...
The sign on the bridge says "2 person max limit". A look into the valley over the swift stream, up at the frequently avalanching glaciers...
The pics don't do justice to the size of this mountain, as it's still far away. It's 10,000' and this bridge is at 800' elevation. Each tiny white thread running down the rock is a waterfall. Wendy's turn to cross...
We enter the camp and begin our search for a suitable tent spot. The ground is very uneven here, and most spots are slanty, but we manage to find a flat spot deep into the camp. We set up camp, and look for the water source here. We find a path that leads to more camping area, the bathrooms, sinks, and access to the river with gorgeous views. We're a bit bummed we didn't see this area before we set up tent, and Wendy proposes unstaking the tent and carrying down here, but the trail is narrow, and it wouldn't be practical. We fill up on water from the sink, boil it for our dinners, and take them down to the river to eat and admire the view, hoping to catch more avalanches.
I finish staking down the tent at Campo Italiano. Wendy dips some clothes in the river for a make shift laundry...
We both have dehydrated chili dinners, and we cook up additional servings of dehydrated black beans and refried beans that we discovered at the bulk food section of a local grocery store in Fort Collins. The beans help cool down the hot spice of the chili. After dinner we visit the bathrooms, which have normal flushable toilets, but there are only 2 total, and the wait is 15 minutes to use one.
Eating our tasty chili dehydrated dinners, gazing at the Frances Glacier across the river...
When we get back to the tent, and prep for bed, I can't find my toiletry ziplock, and the sinking realization that I left it in the bathroom at Pehoe sets in. DOH!!! It has our contact solution, my contact lens case, nail clippers, deoderant, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and floss. I am sad. There's still 3 more days here, and I don't want to be wearing glasses hiking, and man, all my dental gear gone... And I can't afford to spend 4 hours to hike out and back to Pehoe tomorrow. I break the news to Wendy, and amazingly she says, "You can have my extra toothbrush and contact lens case." Not only that, but she brought her own toothpaste and floss, which I can share the rest of the trek. The only thing we're totally out of is contact solution, as we only brought one to share (though I have another container back at the hostel). But we can borrow some from Christine tomorrow night when we meet up. Wow, I'm pretty amazed Wendy has these extra supplies. Had I known ahead I would have discouraged her from packing the extra weight, but now she's my hygiene savior and I'm very thankful.
Just after we get into the tent for the night, rain begins. I'm totally exhausted from today. Very sore and achy all over. But no need to wear the heavy pack tomorrow, as our hike up the valley and back will allow us to leave our gear here, before we'll have to pack up and head to Refugio Cuernos. Hope the rain gets used up overnight and clears up for tomorrow. Could be a great sunrise opportunity tomorrow. Higher winds and rain is forecast for tomorrow, but that was also forcast for today and it yielded a nice afternoon.
Wendy lost her hat somewhere today. It was an old but sentimental Cornell hat that's been with her on all her travels the past 5 years. She still has a bandana and sunglasses to get by. Wendy's now content to drink unfiltered glacier water, as we've been drinking it at all the camps so far (from a tap) and feel fine. The water tastes great here.
I hear another avalanche. Colder out tonight. Must be cold air coming down the river valley. Rain is letting up now...
Distance hiked: ~14.5 miles