We awoke to blue skies and almost no breeze. Is this Patagonia ? Oatmeal was simmered on the shore
of Lago Grey and we planned our day:
Return to Refugio Paine Grande and then hike to Campamento Italiano at the
mouth of the French
Valley
One last visit to Glacier Grey.
One of the amazing things about Patagonia
is that the water is “safe to drink,” from any of the mountain streams. We
found this a little hard to believe and still sterilized our water with a
UV-steri-pen. Nonetheless, a canteen full of cold stream water is delicious!
We sat at the overlook where we had first seen Glacier Grey
and enjoyed lunch. Kate is the sweat-monster!
Kate finds a fold. The geology in Patagonia is stunning.
We stopped at the Refugio Paine Grande for an espresso. How
very.
After an afternoon pick-me-up, we checked the map: 7.6 km to
Campamento Italiano.
Thus far, the trail had been a rather rough grade of cobbles
and loose rocks. The rough character of the trail continued as we trekked
toward Campamento Italiano.
The Cuernos del Paine came into view.
Finally arriving at Campamento Italiano.
The view up valley from Campamento Italiano is of the Paine
Grande, the highest peak in Torres del Paine. The camp thunders with falling
ice from the glacier on Paine Grande about once an hour.
Campamento Italiano.
Camp wildflowers.
The biting black flies were biblical, reminiscent of Maine
We enjoyed a delicious dinner of curried rice with tuna, and
garlic. After a 12 mile day, we quickly dozed off to the occasional roar of the
glacier.
No comments:
Post a Comment