O Trek Day 4-Los Perros to Camp Grey
Day 4 was the most anticipated section of the trek taking us up the John Gardner Pass for a sweeping view of Grey Glacier and over to Refugio Grey for the night. We had 9 hard miles to cover with over 2500 ft. of elevation gain and loss on the other side of the pass. On top of that, there was a time stipulation. We had to check in at the ranger station part way down on the mountain before 2PM. That gave us about 8 hours to cover around 6 miles, which should be plenty of time, one would think.
From camp, we started climbing right away. There was no time to warm up the legs. The trail was full of roots, rocks, mud and muck so we had to take our time and carefully find our footing. If the trail continued like this, it might have taken us the whole 8 hours to get to the ranger station. Luckily, after a mile we cleared the forest and was granted our first view of the pass. It didn’t seem so high or far away. We were in high spirits.
During the planning stage, this was the section that gave us the most pause. If weather had been extremely foul, there would have been a possibility that the pass would have been closed. Had there been a recent snowstorm, we would have been in for a lot of hard work since we didn’t bring along our spikes. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day to hike a mountain pass in Patagonia. There hadn’t been a good snowstorm for a couple weeks so with no reservations we headed towards the pass after a short snack break with a view.
Almost to the top, we stopped for our first water collection straight from the glacial melt. Cold, sweet and refreshing water.
Can you believe that in this cold, snowy habitat, mosquitos were still a problem. A big problem at that. These mosquitos were giant, but they were pretty slow-moving though.
The way up John Gardner Pass was gentle and gradually. And being that it is at the southern end of the Andes Mountain Range, it isn’t even that high in elevation sitting at a mere 3872 ft. above sea level. Hiking the John Gardner Pass gives you the same sensational thrill as hiking any other high-altitude pass but with the bonus of no altitude sickness. You still get the panoramic views of deep green valleys flanked by sharp mountain peaks covered in snow. You still get the sense of accomplishment for having overcome a mountain pass. But best of all is the surprise of what awaits you on the other side of the mountain pass. And John Gardner Pass has the biggest surprise of them all.
Once we crested the pass and saw the ocean of white spread out in front of us, there were truly no other words to describe our feelings beside “WOW”! Grey Glacier is stunning, and stunned was literally how I felt being hit by a fierce gust of wind that sent me running backwards for a good 10 feet! My exhilaration was at its peak, and all I could do at that moment was to send my laughter up with the winds.
We spent a good hour at the pass trying to take pictures without anyway of communicating. It was hilarious. Lyle at the top of the pass and me at the drop off. A group of ladies lead by their guide caught up to us, so we knew that we still had plenty of time. If the guide had hastened his group off the pass, we would have followed suit soon after. They settled in at the top of the pass and joined the charade. Through dramatic body gestures and screaming at the top of their lungs, they all tried to direct me, but it was just too hard to see and hear. Through all that effort, we managed to get a couple seconds of good footage to use in the video.
After a quick lunch with an unsurpassed view of Grey Glacier, we headed off the pass, sometimes blown down the trail by surprise bursts of wind. The gales on this side of the pass were on-going and so strong. At times, we had to stop walking, hunch over and dig in with our poles and wait for the winds to subside. Taken unprepared, the force of these winds could easily knock someone off the trail. Unlike many other precautions, the warnings about the intensity of the winds on this section were not overexaggerated.
Grey Glacier is immense. It is the largest and most iconic of all the glaciers in Torres del Paine! Walking along the glacier, the determining factors of what makes Grey Glacier a valley glacier is so easy to point out. Between sets of mountains at three different points, the ice fields of Grey Glacier spill out onto the Lago Grey below. It was so cool to see where the glacier originates. At the front end, the glacier splits into two.
The two-mile hike down to the ranger station was dreadful on the knees. The trail was steep with tall steps requiring much more effort for short legs. At one point, it began to drizzle, but luckily it never got heavier than that. Add slick and slippery to the mix, and this section would have been a nightmare to get through.
Now imagine having to hike this with broken shoes, and you’ll get a feel for how one of the hikers we came upon felt. The sole of one of her shoes had separated at the toes, but she still had a few miles left before reaching Refugio Grey. She stopped and asked our group if we had anything to help. Anh Vu offered up some duct taped. We saw her the next day at camp, and she relayed that the tape hung on until she got within sight of camp. She was able to get help gluing her shoes back together from the camp staff. I bet this is a common occurrence. This would be our third time experiencing shoe problems on the trail second-handed.
Grey Glacier acted as a natural distraction from the discomfort of the descent since the trail weaved alongside the glacier. Looking out through the trees, sometimes we’d be confused and think that we were looking at the sky instead of the glacier. It would take a second before recognition dawned on us.
This lookout offered a clear view over the glacier. Now that we were closer to it, we could see the textures and colors with more details. The surface is so uneven with many long ridges and deep crevasses. Blue pools of water randomly filled in some crevices throughout the expanse of the glacier while blue streams of running water shimmered through the ice. It’s rare that we get to see a glacier from above and witness its raw, untamed beauty with our own eyes. Once again, Mother Nature reminds us of how small and insignificant we really are.
After the ranger station, I thought we were almost finished. I thought we’d hit the suspension bridges, 1, 2, 3, and Boom! Done. However, the most detrimental of all false thoughts I had was that we’d be on relatively gentle rolling trails from here on out. Oh boy was I so wrong on all accounts. Some of the steepest inclines of the day stretched between these three bridges. Even worse, some were etched on the side of the cliff and had to be maneuvered through while explosive gusts of wind threatened to push us off the mountain.
As we approached the first and longest suspension bridge, Las Guardas Bridge, the gusts of winds seemed to pick up in frequency. Anh Vu and Phong crossed first. Then it was Sandy’s turn. Being petrified of having to cross the bridge due to her fear of heights, Sandy had been calmly breathing and steadying herself for the challenge. At first, I thought that by crossing at the same time, me behind Sandy, I would be able to give her support, but when I took the first few steps onto the bridge, I realized the rippling effect that it caused was making the bridge even more bouncy. I knew it was better that Sandy crossed alone. We were unlucky with our timing though. Sandy had to battle through some of the strongest gusts of wind that visibly swung the bridge from side to side. At one point in the middle, Sandy had to freeze and let the wind die down before she could try walking again. Through clenched teeth, white knuckles and teary vision she overcame her fear, putting one foot in front of the other all the way to the other side. Hooray for Sandy! Facing one’s fear head-on like that is no easy feat! And then the agony of knowing you’d have to do it again two more times presented a real mental challenge to staying calm and trying to enjoy the moment! She conquered those too and even stayed positive to the best of her capacity at the time. At least the second and third bridges were shorter and more sheltered. The blasts of wind weren’t so prominently felt on these two as they were on the first bridge.
Yet, these were also among the most memorable spots on the trail. Colorful wildflowers at our feet, the solid face of the glacier pushing straight up out of that milky matcha green tea lake, the uneven surface of the glacier glowing baby-blue here and there spreading all the way to the horizon, sunny blue skies and white clouds gliding above a distant range of snow-capped mountains, all the while, the winds rushing pass our faces wildly blowing strands of hair in all directions…the sights and sounds of this section of the trail has already found a permanent place in my heart.
For those of us who were not restricted by the fear of heights, these bridges were so fun, beautiful and unique in their placement. As we crossed the bridge, the mountain towered on the left, the ravine, sometimes alive with water below flowed into the base of the glistening glacier to our right. The third bridge, named after the John Gardner (same as the pass) was quite fun also. Though short, the bridge was uneven, so it trended upwards at a steep angle towards the far side. The landing was small and right away, we then had to climb down a ladder that was positioned at a peculiarly acute angle, which felt like it was almost upright. And to add a little more fun, there were no handrails on either side of this ladder. Whoever designed this bridge wanted to give hikers an extra challenge. Another fun detail, the sun was positioned just perfectly, projecting our shadows onto the side of the mountain so as we were walking, we saw our shadows moving along the bridge in tempo with our real selves.
After the third bridge, the trail finally flattened out and remained mostly shady all the way to Refugio Grey. It was met with much appreciation from us all. It had been a long and tough day; we’d been on our feet for over 12.5 hours, covered around 10.7 miles and climbed over 3000 ft. All that hard work was well rewarded with some of the most incredible and unique natural beauty we have witnessed in our hiking adventures. We could have ended the trek here and we’d all still have been satisfied.
O Trek Day 5-Day Off At Camp Grey
We had purposely scheduled an extra rest day at Refugio Grey to explore the area. On the one day we didn’t have to wake up early, Mother Nature decided to send down some rain. We stayed inside our tents, listening to the pitter-pattering of raindrops on our tent without a need to rush. With nowhere to go and nothing to do. It was so nice to just be.
The rain didn’t last long. Eventually we crawled out of our tents. After breakfast, we strolled down to the lagoon for a frontal view of Grey Glacier. Again, I was surprised at what appeared in front of me. Naively, I still harbored the images from our first visit to this area twelve years back when the lagoon and lake were filled with giant chunks of ice floes and ice cubes covered the surface of the water. The waterfall, being a marker, showed us just how much further away the glacier was now compared to just over a decade ago. I learned the following day that Grey Glacier is receding about 150 meters (almost 500 ft.) a year. It was silly that I still imagined things should stay the same while knowing that everything is always changing…and yet, I felt sadness and a sense of loss as I looked upon the lagoon this time. I wanted so much to share the amazing adventure of kayaking amongst glowing icebergs and that ticklish sensation you get when you hear the crunching sound of breaking ice as the kayak glides upon on the water’s surface. I guess we were lucky that conditions at that time allowed for such a memorable experience, one I have and will always cherish.
Javi successfully found his way to Grey Glacier after arriving in Paine Grande on a ferry, making us a group of 6.
Glacier Grey Boat Tour
The next morning, we headed back down to the beach for our kayaking tour. Unfortunately, the weather had turned gray and windy making the waters too rough for kayaking. So instead, we were offered a boat tour, which meant less work on our part. Our only job was to listen intently to the guide who gave us lots of information about the glacier.
The front wall of the Grey Glacier is about 45-50 ft. high. With all the different textures, contours, and colors on different sections of the glacier, there was so much to look at. The colors were amazing, even the tinge of black dust outlining the edges added definition to the shape. The radiant deep blue, usually at the center of an iceberg or formation signifies that that area has not been exposed to water and air. Once an area has been broken down, it’ll have more air pockets turning the ice whiter.
Luckily the water was calm enough for a landing, and we were able to get off the boat for a close-up view of the glacier. We wouldn’t have been able to get this close in a kayak because of safety reasons, so in the end, we really enjoyed this backup plan: less work, better view, a little more knowledge in our brains, and even some hot tea in our bellies. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we suggested they offer this as one of their regular excursions, not just as a backup plan. I bet they’d get a lot of business from other lazy folks like us.
After the tour, we headed back to camp to collect our packs and begin the hike for the day. From this point on, we would be on the W section of the O-circuit. Saying bye to the backside of the O also meant leaving the one-way route behind, and from this point on, we’d have to contend with on-coming traffic. Everyone traveling in one direction was one of the biggest perks of the backside. Since we were among the slowest hikers, we’d let others leave before us or step aside for them to get in front of us, and then we pretty much had the whole wilderness to ourselves. The backside of the O exceeded our expectations in so many ways. From the changing sceneries, the remote landscapes and varied terrains the route passed through to the memorable views of Los Perros Glacier and the iconic view of Grey Glacier from above, this section of the trek packed in so many beautiful sights. To have the chance to behold the natural wonders on display here was well worth the time and effort it took to get to Patagonia.