Today was going to be a less strenuous hike for us since it was the last day and we were all a bit tired from the base trek and the celebration afterward! We’d spend some of the day in the van, stopping by some of the stunning vistas to take photos and then we’d stop at Sarmiento Lake, where we’d hike 5k or so – looking at the fauna and trying to find pumas.

As you all know, I’ve traveled the world. And loved (almost!) every minute of it. But with every trip there comes a time when I’m just ready to go home. Today that time came. After the amazement and excitement of yesterday, I was ready to go back to Charlotte and my puppy; and my family; and my phone calls with my mom; and my wine dinners with my friends; and my coffee! It’s kind of a crappy feeling but it’s happened with every trip so I’ve gotten used to it. I’d find myself today struggling – but mostly succeeding – to stay in the present-moment and enjoy this final day.

Again, it was a picture-perfect day in Patagonia. Our first stop was a small Patagonian lake on the way to Sarmiento. The skies were so clear and the air so still that we were given another perfect reflection of the mountains in this gorgeous lake. I also got to see a scorpion for the first time – creepy cool.

From there we traveled onto another lookout point where a stunning waterfall sat at the base of a view of the towers.

Finally we drove to Sarmiento. Our guides called this the puma graveyard because this is where they hunt and kill. This area was filled with guanacos which look like a more elegant llama and which the pumas eat with abandon.

Almost immediately upon leaving the van, we found our first carcass. It was a guanaco which a puma killed and picked completely clean! It sounds strange but it was really cool to see! And so interesting to think that pumas roamed the same area where we were hiking. They hunt early in the morning and in the evening, however, so we were safe. Although our guides did give us instructions on what to do should we come face-to-face with a puma 🙂 I wanted to come face-to-face with a puma!

We walked for a good 2 and a half hours and although we did see some puma tracks and puma feces, unfortunately we didn’t see any pumas…it was a little disappointing. But up on a high rock we did see some ancient cave paintings. These paintings are estimated to be about 5000 years old! Absolutely incredible…to be standing in the same place that people stood 5000 years ago. Fascinating!

 We were all a bit tired at this point – too much partying! – and needed a nap. So back to Ecocamp we went for a bit of a rest and a fantastic farewell dinner with our fellow trekkers and guides.

Although I was ready to leave, it was a day – and a trip! – that will go down as one of my best. And that is saying A LOT! I feel blessed and grateful for this amazing experience and the people that have made it so unforgettable!

Today’s trek was absolutely my favorite! We set out at 9:15 to another perfect day. Just a few puffy clouds in the otherwise clear blue sky; temperature in the 50s. The conditions were ideal for the “hardest” trek. We were going to the base of the towers. It would be a 22k trek – about 13 miles – with an altitude change of about 400 meters. Basically there were to be some tough climbs on this one.

A lot of us were having knee problems so one of our guides managed to find me a trekking pole. And off we went. The first 20 minutes were easy and then we started climbing. Over gravel and rocks and boulders – loose ones. And then through the forest and lots of mud. And then the final climb over boulders and SNOW.

Similar to the past few days, I was mesmerized by the sounds. They were different today. There was a constant backdrop of running water in the streams created by the melting snow and the glacier. So the peace of that and then hiking boots tromping in mud, heavy breathing and trekking poles hitting rocks as the climb became steeper. It was so exhilarating! The air was so cool and crisp that each deep breath felt amazing. The last hour was a constant uphill but what we saw at the end was worth all of the work. A stunning, turquoise lake, halfway covered with a thin sheen of perfect ice creating a lighter turquoise area of the lake. And surrounding this were majestic mountains including the 3 towers. The melting snow at the top created stripes in the rocks coming down from the towers into the lake. Words can’t do it justice! It was absolutely remarkable. We sat and basked in the beauty for quite a while, shielded from the wind by giant boulders.

We took the same route to get down and although it was a killer on the knees, the trekking poles definitely helped. All in all, this trek was relatively easy for me – especially compared to the French valley trek two days ago. It was tough and gorgeous and challenging and peaceful all in one amazing day. I had so much positive energy that at the end, I managed to convince two of the other girls to sprint up the final two hills back to Ecocamp.

To celebrate we all went directly to the bar for a Chilean beer. As with every trip, I’m a bit of a loner and usually join the younger group for one drink or two. But tonight I was going to make an effort to join the group and stayed until the early hours of the morning drinking wine with everyone, laughing and getting to know them a bit better. It’s amazing to me who you think you’ll click with at the beginning of a trip usually aren’t the ones that you actually do click with. Worth noting for the future…

I awoke at 4 am to use the bathroom and was greeted with an entire sky full of stars! It was a glorious sight – something I’ll remember in my head when I’m back home and can’t see any stars in Charlotte 🙂

Because yesterday was such a tough day, today was an “easy” day. We were only doing 11k instead of 28. And at this point I needed the break. Last night was the worst night sleep that I’ve gotten the entire trek. There were 6 of us girls in bunkbeds sleeping in sleeping bags. I hate sleeping in sleeping bags – I feel like a sausage in a casing. Yuck.

We set out on our short trek a little after 8. Today we’d have rain. My fellow trekkers definitely had all of the appropriate gear for the rain. But thanks to Lisa, I stayed nice and dry. But it was seriously funny. The poncho she lent me was a godsend and it covered all of me – from my head to my pack and all the way down to my knees. But I looked like the hunchback from all sides except from the front! It was the butt of many jokes and gave us a lot of laughs. No worries, I have evidence of this too. Good thing I have no shame and can laugh at myself!

Again, the trek was beautiful – and relatively easy. The sounds during the trek seem to be the thing that’s staying with me. And trekking through the rain is completely different than through clear skies. The sound of rain hitting your gear drowns out the other sounds and you get lost in your thoughts and in the moment. With this type of terrain it’s a bit dangerous to not keep your eyes on the ground in front of you so it gets somewhat meditative. Follow the person in front of you, pick a good line – try to find stones to step on that aren’t loose – and avoid dunking your boots in puddles of mud.

Halfway through we came to a viewpoint where we got our first look at the Grey Glacier. It’s a massive glacier with bits of ice floating miles away from the main part of the ice. It reminded me of a scene from Titanic J I was very excited to see it up close.

Another couple hours and we were at Refugio Grey – another place for trekkers to camp for the night. We had a quick lunch here, grabbed 5(!) bottles of wine from the restaurant and boarded the boat that would take us on a tour of the glacier. For an hour or so we drove within 50 yards of this huge, magnificent, menacing piece of ice! I asked about the temperature of the water and was told you could survive for about 7 minutes in it! I took tons of pictures and we all drank a good bit of wine and just celebrated being off our feet and the gorgeous sight before us.

We had just a short walk after the bus in the now-pouring rain to a van that would take us back to Ecocamp. I’d already gotten spoiled at Ecocamp. We have warm showers there, wonderful food and wine, warm, cozy lounges and soft music. It’s totally unlike the refugios but it was very cool to experience at all. I was, however, ready to get back to the relative luxury of our camp.

We finally got back, I had a shower and headed down to the bar where the rest of our team was. Our assistant guide had gotten some ice from the glacier – no one really knows how he got it – but the guides took it outside the bar, chopped it up with a hammer and we all had a bit of scotch over glacier ice. Seriously, unbelievable!

Tomorrow is our final “difficult” trek to the base of the towers – the most famous trek of the area. It’s said to be 22k and will take about 8 hours. And one of our fellow trekkers asked our assistant guide – Diego – if there was any way he could do a trek to the base of the towers AGAIN to be there for sunrise. So I’m seriously considering that as well. I mean, how often do you get to do a trek in the middle of the night and see something 99.9% of the population will never see?!?! Of course it makes me want to do it…check back…

I’m not sure where to start describing my day today. So I’ll just begin at the beginning. I woke to a beautiful sunrise reflected on the mountain and casting a pink/orange glow on everything. It was going to be an even more beautiful day.

We started our trek at 8:30 am in the direction of Campo Italiano. Our trek today would take us into the French valley – Valle del Frances to the highest lookout point – the Mirador Valle del Frances. We’d then trek back the way we came and continue on to the Refugio Paine Grande.

The beginning of the trek was what our main guide – Roberto Carlos – called Patagonia flat. Not flat! But relatively gentle incline and declines followed by some not so gentle inclines and declines. We were all pretty full of energy at that point. We trekked to Campo Italiano – our first resting point – on our way. At that point we were at 190m altitude and we could see the mountains and the glacier – Glacier Frances – in the distance. As I said in a previous post, it snowed a couple of days ago so the possibility of an avalanche was very high. We started to hear and see them at that point. To me, the avalanche sounds like machine-gun fire. And then there’s a small snow-explosion followed by the snow rolling down the mountain. It’s spectacular and very, very scary. The sound that it makes is indescribable.

From Campo Italiano, we were on our way to the highest point of the French valley. We started the climb and immediately ran into snow. So we were trekking through mud and ice and snow and it was so amazingly beautiful. And HARD! Although it was probably only 45 degrees, I was in just one layer and sweating like crazy.

The sounds were what really struck me. I’d hear an avalanche, which was loud enough to cause all of us to stop dead in our tracks and try to find it. That would be followed by complete silence as we all stared in complete awe. And then the steady sound of boots hiking through the snow and the sound of my  own heavy breathing. You couldn’t help but be in the moment – partly because if you weren’t something bad might happen – but it was so very peaceful.

We made it to the summit around 3 pm. So we’d been trekking without more than a 5-minute break for more than 6 hours. And we’d gone from 190 meters to 970 meters elevation. It was quite difficult! But it was worth it!We had such a great view of the towers up there and stopped for 30 minutes or so to refuel.

None of us were looking forward to going back the way we’d came but we made the most of it. We slipped and slid back down through the snow and mud and made complete messes of ourselves. There was a bet made between 2 of our guys that whoever fell – on their butt – not on their hands – had to buy the other a beer. Probably needless to say, I did go down. But not all the way and only once.

It’s fascinating listening to the conversations that occur in the middle of a trek – from music to politics to cartoons. It’s fun getting to know these people. We all have something in common, right, so it’s great getting to know them day by day.

After repeating our way up and getting past Campo Italiano again, we were on our way to our final stop. At this point we’d been going for over 8 hours and were whipped! But we still had quite a while to go. However, on our way back we got to take advantage of more Patagonia flat. But at this point my neck and knees and feet where just aching! The only other time my feet had been in such pain was when I ran the marathon. Ouch!

Fortunately nature felt the need to give back to us. There was no wind and we could see all of the mountains perfectly reflected in the Largo Pehoe – a gorgeous lake we followed home. I’ve always seen pictures of snow-capped mountains perfectly reflected in water. Now I was seeing it in person. It looked like the clouds were perched right on top of the perfectly still water. Simply stunning! I’m not sure a picture will ever do it justice but I certainly tried to get the right shot.

Finally! Finally we got to the Refugio and we all went in the direction of our highest priority. Mine happened to be a shower at that point – followed shortly by a nice Chilean white shared with a new friend, Chelsea.

I feel like I haven’t done this day justice with my writing. I simply can’t describe the peace and contentedness of being on this beautiful mountain surrounded by snow. There were so many moments when I would just look around and smile. It was remarkable and a day I’ll never, ever forget!

To more…’night

Although it was cold in my ecodome, I slept like a baby and woke up to the most beautiful day feeling refreshed and excited. It was gorgeous outside – perfect trekking weather – 60s and sunny. We had a yummy breakfast and set out. Today was to be an “easy” day. We were only trekking 11 km – less than 7 miles – and there wasn’t too much of an elevation change.

From the beginning the vistas were breathtaking. We passed by Monte Almirante Nieto and could easily see the towers that Torres del Paine are named for as well as Lake Nordenskjold which was so blue and lovely. There are 3 towers that the national park was named for – Torre Sur (the South tower), Torre Central (the Central tower) and Torre Norte (the North tower). They’re the most majestic sight! And since it snowed relatively hard last night it was even more stunning.

We stopped a few times during the 5-hour trek. The day was just perfect. We ended our day around 4 pm at Refugio Cuernos. It’s hard to describe the refugio. There’s a central dorm-type area where the bar, kitchen and restaurant are. And then there are “huts” that sit on the mountainside and – similar to Ecocamp – contain 2 twin beds and a couple of tables. This refugio, however, contains a wood stove so there’s heat if needed. I was assigned one of the huts – which is like a hotel upgrade. Some of our group are staying in a room in the main area with 7 others – in triple bunk beds. But me and an Aussie named Stuart were given this sweet hut.

We all decided a beer was in order after our day and had a local beer called Austral which was just what the doctor ordered after the day. And it was still so beautiful outside that Stuart and I sat on the little bench outside our hut and talked about life. He told me about his 2 and a half month holiday with his wife – who had to return to Australia for work – and about all of the places I should visit when I go there.

We had a nice dinner of “pork chop with love sauce”. Yes, seriously, love sauce. A local played some traditional Chilean music on his guitar and we drank some yummy Chilean red wine.

Today was an 11k trek. Tomorrow is going to be a 28k trek. So it’s time to get some sleep. We’ll be at it tomorrow for 10-12 hours and the elevation change is much larger.

I will say, I sit here in my hut on my twin bed looking out the door at a little slice of heaven. Not many people get to see this sight – I’m just blessed to be one of them.

Honestly day 9 was about 10 hours in a bus! Not much to tell there but – I did get to meet the people I was to spend 7 days – and a ton of amazing experiences – with.

We are a group of 15 trekkers and 3 guides. Our treks will be broken up into 2. There are Bobby and Satinder – 2 cousins from the UK and Australia respectively; Deb, Mark, Erin and Martin – a family of 4 from the Midwest; Annie and Chelsea – friends from LA; Helen – a health professional from London; Mike – a sweet family man from the UK; Shayne – an adventure traveler from New England; Christina – a 21-year-old amazing young woman from Austria; Linda – a surgeon! from Germany; Stuart – a finance professional from Australia and me. So far we’ve all gotten on great. And our guides are Roberto Carlos, Claudio and Diego – all from Chile.

On the way to the national park – which is what Torres del Paine is – we stopped by the Mylodon Cave. This is a protected cave in Patagonia where a settler found a strange skin with thick hair that ended up being an extinct animal called a mylodon. Since that finding the cave has become a place where archeologists cove from all over the world to dig.

From there we drove to Torres del Paine. Remember the stunning vistas I was expecting upon entering El Calafate? Well I’d found them. Simply magnificent! Snow covered mountains and the setting sun. So lovely. We pulled up to Ecocamp around 9 pm. It was exactly like the pictures. Small standard domes, suite domes and what they call core domes which is where we eat, relax, drink great wine and do yoga. What an incredible place! Ecocamp is dedicated to leaving no trace of ourselves in Patagonia. They even have compost toilets – that was a new experience! I have to have to say that I was completely unprepared for how DAMN cold it was. When it got dark I was seriously worried about how I’d handle it. You all know how evil I can get when I’m cold! And only the suite domes and the core domes have heat. Oh well, I’d have to make do. I’d heard about the amazing food and wine at Ecocamp and wasn’t disappointed on night 1. We had a yummy pumpkin and ginger soup followed by a traditional Chilean beef roast. So good! And the vino tinto (red wine) served with the meal was so delicious. It reminded me of a pinot noir. With the wine and conversation and the HEATER in the dining dome, I finally warmed up. We were briefed about the trek the next day and I was off to bed. This girl really can’t do 2 nights in a row of going to bed at 3:30 am! The domes – although super cold! – are absolutely adorable. There are 2 twin beds and a couple of small tables and that’s it. The beds are actually gorgeous and covered by about 5 heavy blankets – thank goodness! It was hurry-up-and-change-and-hop-into-bed-freezing! But once I was under the covers everything was just fine. I had my water bottle filled with hot water and my gloves on. And all was good and peaceful with the world. A third of the roof is a clear plastic so you can see the millions of stars in the sky as you lie in bed. There is a quote on my refrigerator that says “You are not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world”. That is exactly like I felt!