We have been chatting to our guides over the past few days to determine what they think will be the best day to hike to Base Torres........the biggest of the "W" hikes, and by all accounts the most spectacular, so you wouldn't want to do it on a cloudy or rainy day if you can help it. Today or tomorrow were not going to be that day, so we scheduled a couple of others........this morning, an all day hike, 18km, to a viewpoint known as Alto del Toro overlooking, you guessed it Lago Toro.......weather should be fine as this is in the east side of the park, but guess what.......it could be windy. This one was recommended by our guide Manny from Tierra Atacama who used to work here at Explora Patagonia. Tomorrow we will hike directly from the hotel on a short but steep one, 5km, to Condor Ridge overlooking the hotel.........weather should be improving, but guess what......it could be windy.
ALTO DEL TORO
Our day started with a beautiful rainbow right out of the van. Ben was our guide, and a wealth of knowledge on most every subject........a very experienced guide to whom we delivered a bulky envelope from our guide Maggie in Chiloe.........honestly we thought it was dope, but turns out to be a special spice mixture that Ben loves, and we sprinkled on our lunch later in the day. We were told there would be three distinct up's on this hike and the first would be the longest and hardest.......it was, but once we reached that first level we hiked through beautiful valleys with small lakes and ponds, with the occasional distant view of mountain vistas.........amazing. At the top of the second climb it was pretty windy, but Ben advised that this was pretty tame compared to what we would get into after lunch. The guides always pack a pretty good lunch to go along with the canister you carry in your pack from the hotel.......they usually pack soup, some hot coffee, cookies, smoked salmon or prosciutto. You never go hungry.
It was as advertised at Alto del Toro........I was hanging on for dear life , and wouldn't go closer to the edge than about 6 feet..........probably 90km wind gusts. Fantastic views as you can see from the pictures below.........no pictures of the descent down the back side as I was concentrating on footing the whole way down.......one section in particular was a narrow path across a steep fine scree slope.........Jutta told me she was scared, so you can imagine how I felt.........Ben hung back with me........gave me a tip on walking ledges like this.......worked well, and we strolled across together........still scared the crap out of me. It is always nice to get back to the van and have a cold one after being out for a long day on the trails.
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| Our morning rainbow |
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| Top of second ascent.........tame compared to top of the third |
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| View from the top |
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| If I had wings I would fly away |
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| Thats Ben |
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| Jutta living on the edge |
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| Jutta was sitting way up on that rock plateau on the right |
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| Back down in the valley......... |
CONDOR RIDGE
No van ride this morning as we just crossed the road and started up the hill. It wasn't long before we gained some altitude and the views started to appear. This is Condor Ridge, but we din't see any on the hike.........later, when we were at the hotel, we saw them flying above.
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| View of our hotel from above. |
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| Hotel Pehoe down the road.......been here for years.....all guests have to walk the bridge |
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| Top of the hike.........windy like crazy up here also |
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| Couple of B&W's of the burned trees |
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| Zoomed in on the French Valley glacier from up top |
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| Jutta on the way down |
It was nice to give ourselves the afternoon off after days of constant activity.........we visited the spa, hot tubbed and swam in the pool, then Jutta decided she was going to have a dip in the lake!!! I stepped in off the side of the dock..........freezing cold........but Jutta went for it and jumped right in. She wasn't in long, but kudos to her for taking the plunge.
It looks like tomorrow is going to be our big day........looking forward to hiking the towers.
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