03.10.08 - Torres del Paine

Day 4 – To Refugio Chileno

The morning was still and cool, providing a perfect beginning to our trek along the length of Lago Nordenskjold.



It was such a relief to have our make-shift family back together again. The dynamic is perfect and shifting, to float between the antics of the Dutchies and the reserve of the German contingent. We honestly enjoy each other.



Looking up the slopes of Monte Almirante Nieto, a perfect moraine semi-circle set the the clear forward boundary of an extinct glacier. This scene reminded me of the massive glacier that covered about half of North America and the ribbon of gravel left in a continuous pile stretching from New Bedford, Massachusetts to Dayton, Ohio and beyond.



A small lake was supposed to be our way mark, on the right-hand side of the trail, so we were all surprised to see it appear on the left. The morning was long past and the team needed food and a rest before the final push up Valle Ascencio.



Lipika and Linda took advantage of the chilled water to sooth sore toes and footpads.



Marijn, the constant humorist clowned at “wolfing down” crackers and jam, poured from a water bottle. Days prior he had decided to empty all his packets of jam into a single water bottle for centralized storage and hopeful ease of use. One out of two isn’t all that bad. The three of us shared a lunch of salami, soda crackers, jam, and chocolate. Perfect.



While relaxing and waiting for our 3:00pm trek reignition, wild horses came down for a drink.



Marijn attempted to sneak up on a drinking horse, by a feeder stream, but somehow missed the concept that an over two-meter man, complete with pack, may find it a little difficult to catch a candid shot of a horse at less than three meters away. The horse kept a good eye on the G-Star Raw wearing stranger.



The remaining 5 kilometers to Refugio Chileno tempted the favorable weather pattern. Gradually, the sun resigned to cloud cover, followed by building winds and mist. But, the good news remained that the refugio was clearly in view.



From the porch of Refugio Chileno the Torres (towers) were partially visible well off in the distance. With a little luck, we would be viewing the sunrise on the Torres from over the ridge, in the early morning.



Evening brought rain and dropping temperatures, but the refugio kitchen staff countered with definitive “comfort food” for dinner in the form of enchiladas. Each of us prepared for the worst, a blind morning hike to completely obfuscated views, while hoping for a weather-clearing miracle.