March 17 Day 30 Day 5 of the "W" hike.
Today would be the day that we finished the "w" by hiking up to Torres Lookout. We didn't. While others got up in the rain and headed out at sunrise we slept in and headed over to our luxury breakfast. Our W would be shaped in a squiggly, sad way but today we would be comfortable. Meg had started coming down with my cold, so it was best not to push things too far.
Some luxury. Most of our hostels had better breakfasts and the staff kept forgetting to bring the food to our end of the table. We lingered in a lounge at the lodge afterwards and heard a guide lay out the day for a group of Chinese Americans who were hiking our hike from yesterday in reverse. We also chatted with a Brazilian doctor and sat on cushions and read our books. He was supposed to be hiking with two friends who had been planning the trip for 7 years but one passed away so the other two were completing it in his honour.
The rain stopped mid-morning and I saw a fox and a flock of parakeet-like creatures while we packed up our tent. Hikers coming back reported a few wet hours and one gave up 15 minutes before the mist lifted at the top, but most found the journey worthwhile.
We got onto our shuttle bus at a very modern station behind the lodge and painlessly transferred onto our bus back to Puerto Natales. On our way back we saw a few flamingoes at the far end of a lake and had to stop to allow a skunk to cross. There were a few farm animals grazing and the occasional group of llamas. Otherwise it was barren, semi-arid desert with almost no people or houses to be seen during the two hour trip.
Back in town we walked to our old hostel, dropped off our rented gear and picked up our bags from storage. it was about 10 minutes to our new hostel and Meg was fading so I took two trips bringing the bags over. Puerto Natales had no rain but had gotten very cold so keeping warm was an issue. Once I got there the second time, Meg was tucking into a big bowl of pumpkin soup.
After our hike we had calories to replace so we went to a place nearby for empanadas and fries. Meg set up next to their heater and we were well fed. Back in our nicely
laid out room, we got help with the Spanish instructions for starting the heater and settled in under our comforters for a well-deserved return to civilization.
Today would be the day that we finished the "w" by hiking up to Torres Lookout. We didn't. While others got up in the rain and headed out at sunrise we slept in and headed over to our luxury breakfast. Our W would be shaped in a squiggly, sad way but today we would be comfortable. Meg had started coming down with my cold, so it was best not to push things too far.
Some luxury. Most of our hostels had better breakfasts and the staff kept forgetting to bring the food to our end of the table. We lingered in a lounge at the lodge afterwards and heard a guide lay out the day for a group of Chinese Americans who were hiking our hike from yesterday in reverse. We also chatted with a Brazilian doctor and sat on cushions and read our books. He was supposed to be hiking with two friends who had been planning the trip for 7 years but one passed away so the other two were completing it in his honour.
The rain stopped mid-morning and I saw a fox and a flock of parakeet-like creatures while we packed up our tent. Hikers coming back reported a few wet hours and one gave up 15 minutes before the mist lifted at the top, but most found the journey worthwhile.
We got onto our shuttle bus at a very modern station behind the lodge and painlessly transferred onto our bus back to Puerto Natales. On our way back we saw a few flamingoes at the far end of a lake and had to stop to allow a skunk to cross. There were a few farm animals grazing and the occasional group of llamas. Otherwise it was barren, semi-arid desert with almost no people or houses to be seen during the two hour trip.
Back in town we walked to our old hostel, dropped off our rented gear and picked up our bags from storage. it was about 10 minutes to our new hostel and Meg was fading so I took two trips bringing the bags over. Puerto Natales had no rain but had gotten very cold so keeping warm was an issue. Once I got there the second time, Meg was tucking into a big bowl of pumpkin soup.
After our hike we had calories to replace so we went to a place nearby for empanadas and fries. Meg set up next to their heater and we were well fed. Back in our nicely
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| Our tent and wet stuff. |
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| The misty Torres from far below. |
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| Some of the birds that were squalking at our campsite. |
All these hikes sound wonderful and beautiful! But wet... I bet you were glad to get out of the rain.
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