Torres del Paine -- The Torres and the Meadows of the East Side

This section covers our side trip to see las Torres (for which the park is named), as well as our trek through the east side of the park (days 1 - 3 of our hike).

We approach the park under blessed conditions--here you see Las Torres (the towers) in the center, guarded by many other peaks, looking out over the dry, east side as we arrive by bus. We also saw flamingos in this lake! Our first day was to a camp just below Las Torres, where we spent New Year´s Eve. On New Year´s Day we awoke to mist and drizzle--not too surprising in this land of changeable weather. We hiked up to the lookout point and were happy just to see the Torres out, even in the mist. As it turned out, this was one of only two nights of rain (and the second was sleet...just below Jon Garner Pass...so I´m not sure it counts, but that is getting to the west side and is Michael´s tale to tell.)

Our second day was spent traversing the side slopes of the Patagonian steppe. Here the Rio Paine comes into view...and in the valley the start of the many fields of daisies, meadows, and fine views of the milky, glacial fed river.

A close-up encounter with another Patagonia local--a very curious and friendly horse. We were an hour from camp at 8:30 at night, and we so wanted to throw our packs onto the horses and let someone else bear our heavy loads. Instead we trudged onward, but our spirts were lifted by our meeting.

Typical east side vegetation--puffy looking clumps of light green bushes. Don´t be fooled--the plants of the dry east side are frequently spiny, and must be very tough to put up with the dry and very windy conditions. The little speck in the background is Michael cresting this little pass. On the other side awaited awesome views of Lago Paine and many peaks, but we were also assaulted by massive wind gusts here, as if Patagnoia was saying,¨"You want to see these views! You are going to work for it!!" If you have ever had the snot and spit blown from your nose and mouth, if you have walked on the side of a slope leaning downhill and not fallen over because the wind held you up, if you have almost suffocated on your own breathe until you learned to hold your hand over your mouth so that you could breathe out...then you will understand what the wind of Patagonia is like. And don´t forget about the spiney plants--you´d better make sure you are not near a cluster of that when the wind knocks you off your feet...

Our third night´s camp lies in the valley below... a welcome sight after another long day. This camp sits on Lago Dickenson, with the Hielo Sur (southern continental ice field) beginning just in the valley to the right. The next day we would turn left up the Valle de los Perros (Valley of the Dogs, so named because a sheep herder´s dogs once drowned in its turbulent waters) and leave the meadows and dry east side vegetation behind.