A 22-kilometer walk Torres del Paine NP

March 19, 2012

The original, paid-in-advance itinerary called for us to visit all three of the major sections of the famous "W" loop.  Yesterday we did the not-to-be-missed section; but it appears that we will not get to see the others due to the December fire created by a profoundly careless hiker.  The fact that it burned up about 15% of the parkland is causing a great deal of consternation among the trekkers, including David and me.

It seems that there is a huge communication gap between the booking agent in Houston and the tour services down here; for there had been plenty of time to apprise everyone of the facts in advance.  So we will miss the trek to French Valley, reputedly the prettiest hike of them all.  There is nothing for it now, however, but to settle for whatever alternatives the guides come up with.

Although I slept better last night, my back still is bothering me enough that I am going to forgo today's outing, a 14-mile, relatively level trek southward from the camp to view Lago Nordenskjöld and Paine Grande — another prominent mountain feature.  I give David my little red backup camera for his trek and wish him well.  Excepting three or four others such as myself, all three groups at the camp head out together.

Meanwhile, I try out the camp shower.  The water is hot enough; but only a drizzle comes out of the nozzle, so it isn't much fun at all.  Then I grab my laptop and head over to the hotel, which actually has electricity.  As has been so often the case in this country, all available wall power sockets have been blocked off to prevent arbitrary usage, which is a mighty chintzy practice if you ask me.  Over in the corner of the lobby, however, is a floor lamp which I promptly unplug, giving me access to the precious juice.  Purchasing a small cup of coffee for six dollars (there are no refills of anything in Patagonia, by the way) satisfies the clerk, so I spend a few hours updating these pages.

The cooking tent is on the left, with the dining tent on the right

There are hardly any flowers around, which is disappointing

Sooner than expected, members of the group begin to return from their walk.  One of them proclaims that David turned an ankle on the trail.  Surely enough, my guy reappears with the stragglers, damaged but seemingly unconcerned about it.

Here are David's photographic recordings of the outing, for which my little red Canon seems to have served pretty well:

The group fords a creek
Lunch time

Paine Grande  -aka-  Los Quernos — The Horns

Those Catalonian guys from yesterday's trek are back, insisting that David join them for a photo

Lago Nordenskjöld

I really should not have missed out on this

After all that, another visit to the refugio for happy hour is in order.  From our table we watch the sun set over the Paine Towers.

The camp dinner includes a beefsteak — not the best cut of meat, but tasty enough nonetheless.

Tonight, the tent zipper has been fouled so badly that I am unable to repair it.  Now we are compelled to enter and exit through a tiny opening, like a pair of worms.  To top it off, I need to get up four times during the night to gaze at the stars.  Perhaps next time we should order a tent with snaps.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to do a shorter walk, then exit the park for good.