Torres del Paine, day 5
On Boxing Day morn (Dec. 26), we woke at Refugio Grey, and took our camp stove outside. Just for a lark, we walked over to the shore where an iceberg had beached itself, and popped off a chunk to melt and make coffee:
You haven't really had coffee until you've had coffee made with water that's been locked out of the hydrologic cycle for 14,000 years!
With warm coffee and a granola bar apiece, we walked over the small peninsula where Regugio Grey is located to the bay on the other side. There, a flotilla of icebergs had rafted up against the peninsula. We decided to spend a little bit checking them out, before heading out on the day's (short) hike to the next refugio. We had it all to ourselves:
The icebergs varied tremendously in size, shape, color, and texture.
So, presented with a wealth of icebergs like this, what would you do? If you answered "put one on my head!" then apparently you think the same way that we do:
Silliness expended and coffee consumed, we grabbed our packs and hit the trail again. Today's destination was the Paine Grande Lodge. It wasn't an especially long hike, and it was essentially parallel to Lago Grey for most of the distance. Here's some more icebergs, further down the lake:
One geological site that really caught my attention was this sweet outcrop showing gorgeously folded turbidite layers. To give a sense of scale, each of those green bushes is about 1 meter in diameter:
Here's (white arrow) the Paine Grande Lodge, on the shore of a new lake (you can tell by the color), Lago Pehoe.
Closer in shows the detail of this nice, modern facility:
It was our second night indoors, and while it was a bummer that we had to share our room (6 bunks) with 4 other people, one 'up' side was that the Paine Grande took credit cards, which mean that the pisco sours were on Callan and Lily!
This is the lounge, with a nice woodstove and great views of the landscape for birdwatching or just sitting back and feeling satisfied. We spend a while hanging out here, particularly as a few rain squalls moved through.
The usual routine followed: dinner, bed, dawn, coffee, hiking... on to Day 6!
You haven't really had coffee until you've had coffee made with water that's been locked out of the hydrologic cycle for 14,000 years!
With warm coffee and a granola bar apiece, we walked over the small peninsula where Regugio Grey is located to the bay on the other side. There, a flotilla of icebergs had rafted up against the peninsula. We decided to spend a little bit checking them out, before heading out on the day's (short) hike to the next refugio. We had it all to ourselves:
The icebergs varied tremendously in size, shape, color, and texture.
So, presented with a wealth of icebergs like this, what would you do? If you answered "put one on my head!" then apparently you think the same way that we do:
Silliness expended and coffee consumed, we grabbed our packs and hit the trail again. Today's destination was the Paine Grande Lodge. It wasn't an especially long hike, and it was essentially parallel to Lago Grey for most of the distance. Here's some more icebergs, further down the lake:
One geological site that really caught my attention was this sweet outcrop showing gorgeously folded turbidite layers. To give a sense of scale, each of those green bushes is about 1 meter in diameter:
Here's (white arrow) the Paine Grande Lodge, on the shore of a new lake (you can tell by the color), Lago Pehoe.
Closer in shows the detail of this nice, modern facility:
It was our second night indoors, and while it was a bummer that we had to share our room (6 bunks) with 4 other people, one 'up' side was that the Paine Grande took credit cards, which mean that the pisco sours were on Callan and Lily!
This is the lounge, with a nice woodstove and great views of the landscape for birdwatching or just sitting back and feeling satisfied. We spend a while hanging out here, particularly as a few rain squalls moved through.
The usual routine followed: dinner, bed, dawn, coffee, hiking... on to Day 6!
Labels: chile, glaciation, ice, patagonia, south america, structure, travel
2 Comments:
Yum, pisco sours! I may need a few of those by the end of the week...
Looks like an excellent trip. Killer turb shot. Suspect Brian R may have been there before...or wants to go now.
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