Hard graft

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The last day of the trek would take us from Refugio Paine Grande along Lago Grey to refugio Grey behind which sits Glaciar Grey. The names might not be especially evocative but people we'd met had said it was spectacular. Added to that it was only about 3.5 hrs which suited our sore legs.

The blue skies were gone but it looked pretty bright so we set off looking forward to an easy day with plenty of stops for taking in the views.

As with day 2 that got walloped pretty quickly. Ascending away from the hut the weather got worse and the wind became pretty wild. The rain joined in properly and it got pretty nasty. We were getting soaked and it was tough going in the wind. A few precarious points didn't help the nerves. It was a case of head down and slog it out. For me it was like a normal weekend in the Lakes for Lousa the prospect of a warm drink drove her onwards.

The naffness of the weather can be illustrated by the number of photos taken - 1! We didn't even see the glacier.

About half way we met our american buddies coming in the opposite direction. This was a surprise as they were to take the ferry back down Lago Grey ( as we were the next day). Alas the wind had prevented the ferry from sailing and they were having to walk back to refugio Paine Grande to get a different boat. They were in remarkably good spirits! We crossed our fingers that our ferry would be ok tomorrow.

Nearing the hut the path dips into the woods giving some respite from the wind and rain - this was the highlight of the day.

We arrived at the hut soaked but relieved. Dumped our gear and got a warm drink. The hut was heated by a central boiler type affair. due to the weather the campers had crammed in so the boiler was covered by the campers clothes and didn't give off a great deal of heat. The hut was also pretty small so there was little room to sit down. Personally i rekcon they should have booted the campers out, if you reckon you're hard enough to camp - prove it - get in your tents.

The bad weather had brought some amusing items of kit. My personal favourite was a lass we passed whose waterproof was a bin bag with holes in it. The economising on the waterproof appeared to be due to the flash handbag she was also carrying! That's commitment in my book!

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