We are on trail a little after 7:00 AM, we
want to be sure we are at the dock when the Catamaran departs at 12:30 across
Lago Pehoe to take us to the bus....
Lago Grey trail |
The trail is excellent all the way, well
maintained even with the fire. Evidence of the fire is everywhere as soon as we
leave Refugio Grey. Not complete destruction, but substantial areas burned...
The fire seemed to jump from area to area, missing large areas here and there,
apparently forgetting to return to consume them.
Glaciar Grey and Nunatak |
Icebergs on Lago Grey |
Fire remnants approaching Paine Grande |
Paine Grande Lodge |
We are done the walking part of the trek, yes we didn't quite complete the entire "O" circuito as we missed the 5kms from Paine Grande to Italiano camp.... But we are happy with what we did and delighted that we had such good conditions... In all, we walked over 125 kms of trails through some of the most awesome landscapes on the planet...we are truly just lucky to be here...
In hindsight the impact of the recent fire
is small for trekkers doing the "O" or " W" walks, possibly
even a positive aspect as they see first hand the natural regeneration process
of fire...
Paine Grande Lodge |
A number of other folks arrive from Los
Cuernos to queue up for the Catamaran,
they complain of ash blowing in their face in the walk from Italiano camp. We
see the Catamaran coming across Lago Pehoe, apparently this is not bad wind
enough to keep it docked, we wonder what weather bad enough to cancel the boat
might be like, frightening I expect... We board the boat, trading places with new fresh faces arriving to start trekking....we are delighted to
pay $12000cl each for this pleasure cruise... The alternate being a 20 km walk back to Los
Torres...not a happy thought....
Lago Pehoe Catamaran |
The water is very rough, but the Catamaran
is sturdy and we are excited to ride the waves in it. We observe from the boat
that the fire has burned a lot of area around the Lago. At the dock on the east
end of Lago Pehoe, more fire damage is evident, the banos are still good to go,
but most vegetation is scorched. The wind is extreme, hard to stand up in, pack
covers and hats blow away, we are glad to escape the wind and board the bus
back to Laguna Amargo.
Torres del Paine is not done with us yet,
we travel maybe one km on the gravel road, I am marveling at the enormous waves
on the lake, we are the furthest back passengers, a couple rows from the back
of bus.... A gust of wind blows the back window into the passenger compartment,
bits of safety glass everywhere.... Absolutely amazing....
Lago Pehoe crossing |
The remaining 15kms or so back to Laguna
Amargo are in a bus cabin filled with dust to add to the scattered glass motif....
Rear windows it seems are not overrated... Some folks were concerned that we would
have to ride all the way to Puerto Natales in this bus...however it turned out to
be a local shuttle....we are delighted to board Bus Gomez heading back to
Puerto Natales.....
And just
like that it was over....
No comments:
Post a Comment