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OK, Iｴm a little hungover at the mo so please excuse my typos and lack of any sensibility... I just got back from what seemed like a really rushed decision but whihc turned out to the most amazing and best decision I have made so far. While in Calafate after Ushuaia, southern most city in the world, I visited the perito moreno glacier which was aweesome, but thats another story. anyway after that day a few of us who had met in the hostel in Ushuaia were sitting down drinking and one Canadian guy who we had come up from there with was talking about wanting to do some trekking in torres del paine a national park in the Chilean andes. well, the girl he was travlling with, Jaymie, just wasnt up for this at all but it was something I really wanted to do as well (the park wont allow solo hikers) so the two of us decided to head for chile the next day and meet the others in Puerto natales the nearest town. We got our tickets for the bus that night at midnight and the next morning at 7 am we set off on the bus, crossed the border, found out what we could and totally unprepared we made our way to the park. Well, this park was just incredible. the main trail that hikers did was a 5 day trek around a w shape. Havng only 3 days Logan, the canadian guy, and I decided on the right and the central valley (Valle Frances) and to miss the last part of the ｴwｴ as it just consisted of a glacier and we had seen the best and most famous one in patagonia just days ago. So the first day we arrived at this campsite and set up camp and immediately began running ahead in order to seperate ourselves from the other hikers. The first hour was hell, all uphill and we were carrying my backpack with very little in it as a daypack but it was really cumbersome. Anyway after a while the trail levelled out and it got a little easier. Suddenly we looked ahead and we were walking on the ridge of a mountain looking down into a valley with a river running gushing past. The tree line which stopped about halfway up consisted off hundreds of red, orange and brown leaves following the river upstream sat a small wooden cabin nestled cosily amongst the trees with a little wooden log bridge leading over the river to its welcoming door. This was our first point and we were really glad to see it. It took us another hour to get there but the walk was lovely and we had warmed up nicely with all the uphill before. The track wound in and out of forest and it was so pretty. After about another 2 hours through forest and over streams and past little waterfalls we reached the penultimate point which was another campsite for those that had the chance they could camp out here and walk up the last 45 minutes to the peak to see the torres at sunrise. Unfortunately, Logan and i didnt have time but this wasnt a problem as their beauty was just outstanding anyway in any light. The weather wasnt the greatest, the clouds were really low and covered the highest peaks but it kind of lent it a mysterious air. All the way on the trek Logan and I were making up little fantasies about how we were walking through an enchanted forest and then passing trees that were the homes of elves and gnomes and then the great huge mountains were just these huge majestic stately beings that were almost alive themselves and hid many deep dark secrets in their shady pinnacles. From this point nearly at the end we could see the Torres three soaring granite pinnacles ascending in size and magnitude and the feeling was one of complete awe. We decided we could attempt the last 45 minutes which was the most difficult. We had to scramble over rocks and follow a leprachauns river upstream surrounded by little shrubberies. The tree level was beginning to level out again and the trees and bushes changed their form and became grey silver and white rocks and bouldors. We were on hands and knees at this point and refused to stop. Very near the top there was a huge rock which Logan was on first. All I could hear was him saying 'oh my god, oh my god OH MY GOD!' As the rock fell away I echoed his words as the full beauty of the Torres (bulls) hit me too. They were surrounded at their base by a huge glacier, glistening blue and disintegrating into thousands of tiny waterfalls which streamed down the huge cliff below into a the glacier fed lake which was an intense turquoise blue colour. The clouds were even lower and hanging in the crevices of the rocks. No one else was there, we were the first which intensified the experience immensely. The minute we stopped walking though the wind picked up and we had to shelter behind rocks to really enjoy this spectacle. It was really truly awesome. Unfortunately we couldnt stay long, other people started apperaing and killing our serentity and we had to head back in orderthat we wouldnt have been walking home in the dark. We trotted back full of energy and so excited about our achievement. The next day wasnt such an achievement although more of an adventure. To start we woke up to watch the sun rise over the beast of a mountain behind us, the light shining on it was fantastic...until the thick clouds swallowed up all the light and we were left with merely the base of the beast. We thought we missed our bus which was taking us around part of the track to where we would catch the boat across th lake and then begin our next adventure. Luckily though the bus came back and all was well. I have to cut a lot out here but just getting to the first 'base' of our next trek was tiresome and when we eventually got off the boat we set off immediately again racing ahead to get to where we could set our tent up. This time we had a two hour walk with our backpacks and full camping gear. the walk itself was lovely, past three huge lakes, one glacier fed which again had that wicked colour and through enchanted forests, pahs leading us over the rainbow and to the other side of the huge mountain where we could see the Cuernos (horns) of the Torres. It was quite a walk but it was pleasant and the packs werent too much of a liability. However the rain had begun and we were getting a little damp. We finally reached our first point after two hours and set up Logans excuse for a tent. A 1920ｴs A frame of which I had broken the zipper on the first night and which the tarp didnt have anything to tie it down with properly and so we were liable to get very wet if it rained too hard. Not wanting to miss anything and knowing that we had very limited time (it was 3pm by now) we set off to the Valle Franc駸 as quickly as we could. It was a much more difficult path than the previous day, we were scrambling ver huge boldours, struggling to find the orange markers which I had to spot becasue Logan is colour blind! Still the view was amazing, the lakes in the background, the torres and the cuernos all around and another huge glacier to our left which was calving and cracking dropping huge chunks of ice and causing snowslides down the mountain as it went creating this reverberence around the whole valley. Sounding at first like a gunshot then rumbling deeper like thunder and continuing, echoiung all around us. We were scrambling up ropes which were strategivally placed for our safety, along steep slippery slopes, jumping over waterfalls and rivers filling up our water bottle as we went. We had been going for about an hour and 15, the first base was two hours from our campsite and the weather had truly taken a turn for the worse. The rain was pelting down horizontally, the wind was trying its best to sweep us away feet first and it was tough just trying to walk. I found out the coat I had bought in Bariloche actually wasnt waterproof and we were freezing cold and soaking wet. The mountains were angry that day (!:O)) Logan, the voice of reason confirmed what I had been thinking but not wanting to say and after much deliberation adn a packet of cookies we decided it would be best if we turn back. The clouds were so low there would have been no point anyway as we could barely see 5 feet infront of us and wouldnt have been able to see a thing anyway. So we began heading back and decided we had definately made the right decision as it was beginning to get dark and there was no way we weould have made it in the dark. The markers were hard enough to find as it was and the trail was really difficult. We had nothing to do but try to get warm in the tent and we were soaking wet so we changed into our last dry clothes and snuggled up in our sleeping bags with as many layers as we could on. Luckily Logans friend Jaymie had lent me her really thick snuggly sleeping bag and I wasnt too cold. I wrapped myself up so well it was hard to fnd my way out in the morning I had pulled the drawstring tight and didnt want to let any air in. But all night the eind nearly blew us away. we were pretty sheltered where we were but still it was a harsh night and in the morning when I looked out of the tent there was a thick layer of snow everywhere and the river running past us had risen at least 50 cms! we packed up as fast as possible, put on our wet shoes and began walking fast to try to warm up. After about half an hour I was warm again adn feeling good, we had left the worst of the storm behind us in the mountains but looking back you couldnt see anything. it was a shame but it would have been pointless to try to attempt it again. When we got back to the refugio where we were going to wait for the boat to take us back home again there were about 6 people waiting there and when they saw us they all said how worried they had been about us all night, the refugio had been shaking and thye knew we were up there in a tent! It was really sweet of them and we warmed up pretty quickly with coffees and toast before boarding the boat whihc was full of people in the same situation who realsied it was a pointless exercise to try to see anything today and who were going home. Still we were in good sprirts and excited about seeing Jaymie and Martin the Aussie guy who had meanwhile got us ticket s for what is acclaimed as the best boat trip to be taken in south america, from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt. It goes for four days through the Andean fjords and past all the glaciers and icebergs. In fact I am about to go and board now so Iｴll let you all know how it goes afterwards. Cant wait, hope I dont get seasick! ok love to you all, big hugs and un beso grande Ems _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com/ |
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