More Hiking, More Coldness

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Well we ventured into yet another country, and even further south to accomplish what we are not even sure we are trying to accomplish. We crossed into Chile someplace (no idea where really but it would have been in between El Calafete and Puerto Natales) and made our way successfully through customs and immigration even though we carried a delicious medley of animal products that were entirely against regulations but didn´t bother any of the border officials any. Cheese, meats and honey which were all strictly forbidden turned out to be no issue whatsoever, which was great because we did not want to consume 6 days worth of groceries in the lineup at the border crossing. Apparently it is fine to bring these things across the border when they are stowed beneath the bus.

Regardless, we found ourselves in Puerto Natales, which is a really delightful little town resting on the ocean and consisting mainly of tour agencies promoting various adventures in the nearby park: Torres del Paine. We enjoyed some drinks and a nice dinner before turning in and taking the early bus into the park. The park was more expensive than we thought, dinging tourists as much as possible with a $20.00 USD entrance fee and a $20.00 catamaran ride across beautiful Laguna Torre.

We headed north that same day and stayed at a refugo just at the foot of glacier grey, on lago grey, which was the coldest lake in the world (I don´t care what Ryan says) any lake with floating ice in the "summer" connected to a glacier is &%$ing cold! The glacier was spectacular, but not quite as exciting as the Moreno glacier in Argentina. We heard at least, the two of them were actually connected, but have yet to confirm this fact. The valleys and surrounding area of the glacier are extremely unique due to the glacier itself. We walked back the same route after exploring the glacier a bit closer, and stayed at another refugo the second night. Day three consisted of a 23 km day, with a much larger vertical gain into the frances valley where the surrounding mountains really make a name for themselves. We went as far as possible before the gale force winds almost blew us to Antarctica and we quickly retreated into the safety of the copper, yellow and red trees.

From there we B-Lined it east to yet another refugo where we enjoyed a great nights sleep. Day 4 brought us a much more leisurely pace up the last edge of the "W" (the "W" is the rather popular 5 day route through the park) where we rested our final evening, being entertained with easily, the most manly man on earth, who literally strutted around in the alpine shirtless, with mutton chops, white rubber boots, a pipe full of tobacco the size of Jords head and so much hair on his chest it would make Alec Baldwin cry out in jealousy. This guy was no joke, simply his preparation for what we later determined was an all night hike right up the tallest of the peaks brought awes of amazement from all the curious hikers. Unfortunately, we could not catch his manliness on film, and with deep regret we fell into a fitful sleep dreaming of what he was doing. No joke though, this guy would destroy any competitors in a Popeye lookalike contest.

All in all it was an absolutely wonderful expedition, much was accomplished outside the actual trek including the framework for the greatest board game of all time and Ryans introductory lessons on how to program. We now head onward, to Puerto Arenas for our penguin hunt!

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Photos

Lago Grey
The coldest lake in the world!

Another hike shot
Another generic hiking picture above.

Refugo Bunks!
It has given me all kinds of new ideas for Whistler, three level bunks in tiny rooms are only the begining!

Valley of Frances
Taken from inside the valley overlooking the nearby lakes.

Torres Del Paine
This is prettymuch the motivation for doing the entire hike. Only a small part of the collection of mountains (taken here as one part of my panarama) it is probably the nicest section, shot from inside the valley of Frances.

Emerald Ice!
Not sure where they came from, but it certainly had to do with it being the coldest lake in the world.

Hmmm
Let us just say we agreed to disagree.

Comments

[Jode]

Nice face
I love the 'agree to disagree' shot, you have always been completely unable to be serious when need be. You're trying ridiculously hard not to smile. Love it. Oh yeah and that picture of the emerald ice is incredible, it looks professional! Gorgeous!

[Devon]

Where's the old man?
I want to see a shot of the old man in this. Essentially the old man VS the Mountain shot....come on you must have one jas!!

[Hassan]

Nice pics!
Hey boys, awesome pics!! Keep relaying it back Cheers!

[Aunt Pat & Uncle Jim]

Hi Jason!! Great pictures! Love the first one ("another hiking shot") of you and Jordan. Jason............. you look so much like........... your Grampa Lush in that picture!! You guys are having a great time, and that's awesome.