South America - Part 2

Day 2

Day two we ramped it up a bit and had 15.5 miles to cover. First we retraced our steps along Lago Grey back to Lago Pehoe and then had a nice flat section to Campo Italiano. The trek is called the "W" trek because, well, it is shaped like a W. So, day one was going up the left side of the W, day two is going back down and then over to the middle. We had more beautiful views of the glacier, the lakes, and it cleared up even more so that we got to see the beautiful mountains that we would be getting up close and personal with in the next few days. It was one of the less exciting days but still stunning all around. A few pics:

(in case you can't read it, the sign says 'only two people at a time on the bridge') A little sketch.

Lago Nordenskjold, on the banks of which we would spend the next two nights.

DAY 3

Day three was Valle Frances (French Valley in English) which was going up the middle part of the W and back. We had been told it was one of the more beautiful parts of the hike but also told that you can get some of the best views from mid-way up the valley and also that the mirador (look-out) at the very top was snowed in. To top it off the day started out windy and snowy. All told we knew we wanted to do the French Valley but didn't know how far up it we were really going to go. We had a steep 3-4 mile climb uphill before we even got to the valley and Valerie's knee started hurting her immediately. By the time we had almost reached the top she was in a lot of pain and despite the fact that 'valley' might sound nice and flat we knew it would be steep going for the rest of the day and that we had a big day the next day too. After all, we were in the middle of the W and you have to get out. Val made the sad but wise decision to turn back and give the knee a rest for the day to make sure it was up for the rest of the trip. Matt, Lance and I continued on as the weather continued to deteriorate. Despite the sideways blowing snow we got a great view of a mountain and another spectacular glacier, along with some cool waterfalls and miniature forests.

After an hour and a half Lance decided to turn back since we had already been gone 3 hours and Val would have been sitting alone at the refugio all day had he kept going. Matt and I decided to continue on "20 more minutes" and ended up not stopping. Boy were we glad we kept going. We had a nice peaceful walk in the snow through some cool forests and then stepped out into a clearing just as the weather was clearing...and had some spectacular view of the Cuernos. The mirador was a couple miles further up and in the company of a nice Australian guy we ran into along the trail we made it to the top just before the clouds and snow returned.

Matt and I raced back down the mountain and made it back to the refugio just as the weather began to furthur deteriorate. We were all tired (two 15 mile days in a row) and sprung for a box of wine that night. Yes, box. Stuff is expensive out there. And we were too tired to care. We had met two German guys who are our age on the trail the first night, and they showed up at the same place again that night....and followed us around for the rest of the trip. :) No, just kidding. But we did end up hangning out with them most of the rest of the trip, which was lots of fun. We learned lots of very useful German words like 'schmoshebearshin' (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) which means 'little cuddly bear' and 'bier' and 'wein', which are of course, beer and wine. No, I do not know how to ask where the bathroom is, or anything that might actually help me in Germany, but Lance can rap a little bit in German. That is way more valuable.