March 13 Day 26 "W" hike day 1
I wasn't feeling great but had no fever, so we trooped to the station to get our 7 am bus. I was fun to see all of the backpackers in town converge there as the sun rose.
The bus took us to the park entrance and then to the catamaran dock where we had a one hour wait, so splurged on overpriced coffees. As we lined up for the boat, we talked with our fellow hikers. A bunch had never done overnight hiking before and one woman was going through Patagonia by hitchhiking. There were certainly all levels of adventurousness here. As we boarded we stopped a few times and were worried we wouldn't all get on the boat. Someone said that its capacity was 80 (we had several busloads of hikers, probably double that figure) but we all got on and it didn't sink.
The catamaran ride went by some scenic spots on a lake full of little islands. It was a bit of a crunch as everyone had to cram into a line in the main cabin to pay for the ride and all of the bags were far from the exit, making leaving the boat slow.
After 30 minutes we landed at Paine Grande camp, which had a series of large, modern buildings and near hotel-like conditions for the glampers (not us). We took a quick pit stop and got started on our hike at about noon. Water could be had in any stream, apparently it was all good in the park as long as you took water upstream from the trail. Neither of us got sick, so I guess it was true.
The weather was nice and the first few hours were a gradual elevation with views of Grey Lake. People were constantly going past us and coming the other way, it was the busiest multi-day hike we had ever seen. Apparently they had limited the number of overnight reservations so that the park wasn't overwhelmed but it was still teeming. We saw one woman with a wide-brimmed hat and figured that she would be in trouble with the legendary Patagonian wind, but she had the right idea. There was little wind during our hike and my hat would have kept lots of sun and rain off of my head.
As we headed north along the lake we began to see bright blue glacial icebergs in the water which became more and more common. Occasionally we'd go through small wooded areas but mostly we were hiking through open, scrubby and rocky terrain. At the summit of the trail, we could look over the lake to the glacier proper, which was cleaving the bits into the water. Quite a view.
On the way down from the summit we had the worst part of the entire trail as you had to descend along a stream of wet rocks with big jumps for a fair period of time. After that it levelled off and we were able to spot the roofs of the Grey Campsite.
As we walked into the site, we went by the main building with hikers out in lounge chairs with glasses of wine. The camp area had a small indoor dining area and washroom with showers and a store that sold alcohol, eggs and basic food. It was a much more elaborate setup than we expected.
We were told to set up our tent anywhere so we picked a flat spot in the corner of a field close to the dining room and set up our abode. We set up our stove in the cramped dining hall and talked to a couple from Connecticut who had been hiking the much longer "O" route. They warned us of losing some food to mice, who had ripped hole through their tent to get in. after dinner, we put our remaining food into two garbage bags, tied them together and threw them over a branch.
Most people were considerate but one idiot out a speaker out and was cranking dance tunes. It stopped before we got to sleep thankfully. Since I wasn't feeling great, I was in bed before 9 but had trouble sleeping for more than short bits of time despite my exhaustion. When we got up to pee in the middle of the night, Meg said that the stars were incredible but I hadn't brought my glasses and so missed out on the show.
I wasn't feeling great but had no fever, so we trooped to the station to get our 7 am bus. I was fun to see all of the backpackers in town converge there as the sun rose.
The bus took us to the park entrance and then to the catamaran dock where we had a one hour wait, so splurged on overpriced coffees. As we lined up for the boat, we talked with our fellow hikers. A bunch had never done overnight hiking before and one woman was going through Patagonia by hitchhiking. There were certainly all levels of adventurousness here. As we boarded we stopped a few times and were worried we wouldn't all get on the boat. Someone said that its capacity was 80 (we had several busloads of hikers, probably double that figure) but we all got on and it didn't sink.
The catamaran ride went by some scenic spots on a lake full of little islands. It was a bit of a crunch as everyone had to cram into a line in the main cabin to pay for the ride and all of the bags were far from the exit, making leaving the boat slow.
After 30 minutes we landed at Paine Grande camp, which had a series of large, modern buildings and near hotel-like conditions for the glampers (not us). We took a quick pit stop and got started on our hike at about noon. Water could be had in any stream, apparently it was all good in the park as long as you took water upstream from the trail. Neither of us got sick, so I guess it was true.
The weather was nice and the first few hours were a gradual elevation with views of Grey Lake. People were constantly going past us and coming the other way, it was the busiest multi-day hike we had ever seen. Apparently they had limited the number of overnight reservations so that the park wasn't overwhelmed but it was still teeming. We saw one woman with a wide-brimmed hat and figured that she would be in trouble with the legendary Patagonian wind, but she had the right idea. There was little wind during our hike and my hat would have kept lots of sun and rain off of my head.
As we headed north along the lake we began to see bright blue glacial icebergs in the water which became more and more common. Occasionally we'd go through small wooded areas but mostly we were hiking through open, scrubby and rocky terrain. At the summit of the trail, we could look over the lake to the glacier proper, which was cleaving the bits into the water. Quite a view.
On the way down from the summit we had the worst part of the entire trail as you had to descend along a stream of wet rocks with big jumps for a fair period of time. After that it levelled off and we were able to spot the roofs of the Grey Campsite.
As we walked into the site, we went by the main building with hikers out in lounge chairs with glasses of wine. The camp area had a small indoor dining area and washroom with showers and a store that sold alcohol, eggs and basic food. It was a much more elaborate setup than we expected.
We were told to set up our tent anywhere so we picked a flat spot in the corner of a field close to the dining room and set up our abode. We set up our stove in the cramped dining hall and talked to a couple from Connecticut who had been hiking the much longer "O" route. They warned us of losing some food to mice, who had ripped hole through their tent to get in. after dinner, we put our remaining food into two garbage bags, tied them together and threw them over a branch.
Most people were considerate but one idiot out a speaker out and was cranking dance tunes. It stopped before we got to sleep thankfully. Since I wasn't feeling great, I was in bed before 9 but had trouble sleeping for more than short bits of time despite my exhaustion. When we got up to pee in the middle of the night, Meg said that the stars were incredible but I hadn't brought my glasses and so missed out on the show.
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| Meg at the very beginning of our hike. |
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| A typical view during our day. |
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| The Grey Glacier. |
Quite the hike. Sounds like your knees are holding up. So fortunate that both of you are up for this level of adventure travel.
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