Date: March 10, 2015

Daily Distance: 15 mi (24.5 km)

Time: 7 hrs

Start: Camp Italiano

Finish: Camp Torres

Notes: Last night the wind sounded like a freight train when it came through the camp. It wasn’t constant. It would swirl around the mountain. Each rotation took about a minute, then the sound would gradually GROW as it came back around and CRASHED into the trees surrounding the camp.  I woke up with the first EXPLOSION and could see some headlamps from other campers shining through my tent. I could also hear someone pounding tent stakes with a rock. I assumed that their guylines had come lose. I brought extra stakes and guylines for this very moment. It was 3am. I jumped out of the tent and started pounding in more stakes, doubling up on my guylines, then I dove back into my tent and waited…. It never came back.

Today would be a longer day of hiking, as my plan is to camp at Campamento Torres tonight. Camp Torres is a free campsite used by climbers and anyone wanting to see The Towers turn pink at sunrise. When I left camp the sun was just starting to shine through the trees and within an hour the clouds were burning off and the morning was looking pretty good.

My plan was to have breakfast in the Refugio at Cuernos.

However, when I arrived Cuernos the dining room was packed so I just had a breakfast bar and kept walking.  Camp Cuernos is located on the shore of Lago Nordenskjold, which the trail follows until you come to the short cut, which bypasses the crowds around Hotel Las Torres. The walking was easy and the views were great as the clouds cleared and I had my first sunny day in Patagonia. As I approached Refugio Chileno I was passed on the trail by several horses taking visitors to the Refugio from the Hotel Las Torres. As you leave Chileno headed to Camp Torres, you hike one hour through a beautiful dense Lenga forest, although you are hiking up the entire wa. Las Torres Camp is pretty, quiet and located in dense trees .5 mi (.8 km) below the base of the famous Towers.  Shortly after I started setting up my campsite Mariele, from Yagan House came walking up and introduced me to her new friend Marc.  Marc was 6′ 4″  tall and was carrying an 85 liter backpack filled to the brim, which I was to find out later with great food! They asked if I was going to get up at sunrise to hike up to Las Torres. I said yes and we made plans to get up early and hike together, then they set up their tents next to my site.

After we got settled we went over to the cooking area and cooked our dinners. I boiled water and had rice mixed with powdered chicken soup. Marc was making ravioli with tomato sauce. While his ravioli was cooking he cut up some salami and cheese, which he shared with us. He also had a teapot and brewed enough tea for the three of us. Marc told me he was 28 yrs old and from Bonn, Germany. He just finished submitting his dissertation for a doctorate degree in math and science. His dissertation was on the math involved in the suspension of molecules in drugs!@#$%. He said he wanted to be a teacher or work for a pharmaceutical company after getting his doctoral degree. Most of the travelers I’d met on this trip spoke at least 2 languages and Marc spoke German, French, Spanish and English. He was 3 months into his 6 month journey throughout South America. This was his first camping trip. He bought all of his gear in Puerto Natales one week ago, after he arrived from Buenos Aires.

Mariele and Marc at Las Torres Camp