Date of Entry:  March 25th 2016

Date of Writing: May 20th 2016,  Blue House Hostel, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

I wake up early at the campsite nestled into the bottom of the French Valley early, the sun only just rising in the distance beyond the mountains.  I head down to the river to fill up my water bottle before I do anything else and find that the sky is ablaze with colours in a spectacular early morning show.

I end up spending a lot longer than i’d planned down on the river side, even getting one of the other campers to snap some photos of me before I head back to my tent and get to packing it up.  Today the plan is to leave my big bag and tent packed and ready at the campsite while spending most of the day heading up into the French Valley before collecting my stuff and spending the night at Cuernos paid campsite.

With everything packed up I head up the trail that may well be my biggest test of the hike so far, with a significant elevation gain about 900 meters, and while I’m in better shape now than before, I’m still not in the best shape.

I wind up out of the campsite on a trail which starts uphill right away very much unsure of how far I’ll make it especially since my legs are sore and more than a little swollen, but I’m going to do my best, and the incredible views of the french glacier up ahead to my left as well as the continuous rushing of the river below me keep me moving happily.

As I carry on I head down off the path briefly to check out a waterfall rapid hybrid area to take a short break and bask in the spectacular view.  My leg is aching and I’m super glad I don’t have my big bag with me, as I think that might have been too much to handle.

I force myself to keep going though and after a somewhat arduous climb I reach the lookout of the french valley, a little less than half the complete trail and where I guessed I’d be stopping for the day.  Indeed from here the view is beyond staggering and it’s very tempting to stop and spend some time here before heading back, since I am very tired.  Instead though I take a few moments to bask in the glow, take some pictures, and then keep heading up the winding trail towards the britanico look out.

The trail keeps following the river  heading out and around the french glacier into a whole new much wider valley with a view of the back of the torres and so many more rugged mountain peaks that are beyond impressive.  Though I haven’t made it to the end of the trail yet I’m already glad that I kept going, all around me is one of the most impressive landscapes I’ve ever seen.

The path get’s steeper and I get more tired but there’s no way in hell I’m stopping now and I do my best to keep up my pace despite the tough trail which by the end is half climbing half walking, though still very achievable by any one able to hike there.

I’m exhausted but when I finally make it up to the Brittanico lookout climbing up onto some big mounds of rock alongside a handful of other people, and it’s all worth it.  The view, despite a blanket of clouds covering most of the sky, is unparalleled, and as I reflect back I think this may have been my favourite place in my entire 6 days in torres del paine.

Up on the rock I decide to spend a decent chunk of time basking in the incredible beauty and chatting with some friendly folk including a group of girls from seattle who give me a delicious chocolate peanut butter granola bar seeing me spreading peanut butter on some tiny chunks of flatbreads.  People are awesome.  That’s the lesson of the day.

Eventually I decide it’s time to head down back the way I’ve come.  We’re into the afternoon and I’ve got a long way to go today backtracking, and then continuing onwards to Cuernos, though up there I find out that tomorrow will be my longest day walking, estimates ranging from 21 to 28 kilometers.  (the shorter end of that turns out to be true.)

Heading back down the way of come the awe of the beauty around me has not begin to fade and I hurry back still taking time to snap some photos and lots of solitary moments to stop and appreciate where I am.

I make it back to the campsite around 3:30 pm and am utterly exhausted wanting to take a break but knowing that such a things is not a good idea.  Time is short and it’s still supposed to take two to three hours to get to cuernos campsite, so without a break or snack I shoulder my big bag and speed off along the trail doing the best to force myself into a fast walk and passing several trekkers as I go.

The path leads over closer to the torres and past some more beautiful glacial lakes nestled into the rugged and somewhat barren landscape like jewels in a pile of coal.  It’s very beautiful and despite my fatigue I find myself grinning from ear to ear.

I pass the french campsite (a paid alternative to Italiano)  and eventually come to a lovely pebble beach about halfway to Cuernos, where I decide I need to take a little break, shedding my bag and lying on the beach listening to the gentle sound of the water caressing the stones.  The winds from yesterday have disappeared and its startlingly calm today.

Eventually I force myself back to my feet, put my bag back on, and head along the beach to it’s far end and rejoin the trail where I’ve got another hour or so of walking before I’ll get to cuernos.  I’ve taken to many photos and am really hoping I’ll find a way to charge my battery there, but otherwise I’m doing much better physically than I expected to be after 4 days, my body seemingly adjusting to the new demands I’m putting on it.

As I walk past the lakes and eventually walk up to an already crowded cuernos refuge I step inside to register, somehow talk the kitchen staff into charging my battery, pay my camping fee and then find a place to set up my tent alongside two nice chilean girls and a guy from California.  I’m thrilled to be here and to still be feeling more or less good but I’m also worried about tomorrow, the hardest day yet I’m told.

I make myself take a shower (yes the campsite has good and warm and somehow mostly clean showers here)  and then go and cook some dinner in the form of a dehydrated dinner which is no where near as tasty as my pastas have been before heading early to bed.  I have every intention of starting early tomorrow, to make sure I make it to Torres camp site, my final one, in plenty of time to beat the ever earlier darkness.