I've decided not to put these photos in any particular order. The hike was an amazing experience and truly worth every bit of time and effort and cash put into it. Of course, not everything was perfect (the sunrise hike to Las Torres, the twin peaks, was so clouded and foggy that we couldn't see more than 2 feet ahead of us, let alone the spectacular postcard-worthy view). But not everything is meant to be perfect. That's the beauty of nature, and in its own imperfections and weather formations we can find things all the more precious and worthy of protection.
Here's the itinerary, in case you're wondering:
1/1: Departure from Puerto Natales on Bus Sur, 11 AM, to Laguna Amarga. Hike to Refugio Chileno.
1/2: Leave tent up. Sunrise hike to Las Torres. Hike back, eat breakfast and undo tent, hike to Refugio Cuernos.
1/3: Long day of hiking. Hike to Campamento Italiano, leave packs, hike to the mirador halfway up to Britanico, then return, grab packs, and continue on to Paine Grande. Beautiful hiking all the way.
1/4: Early morning hike to the lookout to the glacier at Gray, then return, grab things, and catch the catamaran.
Camping out at Paine Grande
Glaciers breaking off into a glacial water lake
Glacier Gray
About to set off photo
Overlooking the river near Refugio Chileno
Dinner set up at Chileno
The lookout from Las Torres
Well...if you use your imagination...
The prettiest bird! Must get closer...
Closer...
Hi!
Weather sure cleared up
The walk from Chileno to Cuernos was great...
Except when I stepped in knee-deep mud
Glacier lake at the Cuernos campsite
Avalanche!!!
English was, well...
The terrain...hard, rocky, some greenery,
rain and shine, and just amazing
After four incredible days of hiking, three extraordinary campsites (Refugio Chileno, Refugio Cuernos, and Paine Grande campsite), two delicious evening meals, and one amazing travel buddy (plus another new friend who joined us for a good day and a half of hiking), we had quite a day on the 4th. We had a catamaran to a bus to another bus to a flight to another flight, all on separate tickets! That was pretty frightening, to be honest. And then, of course, the catamaran was an hour late in departure! But, the first bus waited! And, with good timing, it only arrived 25 minutes late, giving us 20 minutes to run to our hostel (normally >10 minute walk each way), grab our suitcases, and run back. We made great time and even had a chance to change out of our hiking boots (by that time, Evan's socks were worthy of a tributary burning). The bus left on time and arrived early at the airport. Our first flight was then a bit delayed, but we made our connection.
Santiago airport, for what it's worth, needs a better system of baggage transfer. For domestic-domestic flights, bags are not tagged all the way through. For international-domestic, there is no counter to bag drop after security; you need to leave, come back up to departures, and stand in the long line again. And for domestic to international, a similar counter would be very useful, too. The amount of time we spent waiting in lines between all of our connections in Santiago was pretty absurd tbh. But still, we made everything (thank God), and we were off to Bogotá!
Until the next post!!!
