We had our first experience last night of communal living. Swapping stories with a cross section (albeit mostly older travellers – relative to those sleeping in the tents that is. We got an amazing list of places we need to see on the rest of our adventure. However the night did not end so well in the communal 8 person Dome. What with the white noise being played from an iPhone (sounded like a cistern filling) and the snoring, it was a terrible night sleep.
We got away early at 8am so we were waking in pretty poor light. Dropped off one bag at the Italian Refugio and then headed to the Brittanico Lookout Point. 20 minutes in we got to see at least 4 avalanches high up in the mountains. Pretty cool.
Once again walk was 800m longer than expected, including a brutal 50 climb at the end. It was worth it thoug at the views of Paine Grande, Castillo and Catedral was amazing
The 13km walk to our hotel for the night – the Paine Grand Refugio – was relatively easy. Part of the trip was through a portion of the park that was burnt in a fire back in 2011. 83,000 acres were badly burnt – the dead trees make for an interesting landscape.
Deryn and I were both feeling the effects of 60km of hard trekking over the 3 days. It’s forecast for snow tomorrow so we’re not heading up to the glacier and will get back into Puerto Natales mid-afternoon rather than 10pm at night. We’re both relieved!!