Chile
At the border we met our Chilean guide Erick and driver Boris. We had a nice lunch and continued driving toward the Torres del Paine National Park. After looking in vain for wildlife in Argentina, we encountered many wild and domestic animals along the road. After a detour to a waterfall on the Rio Paine, we crossed the river on a creaky, narrow bridge and reached the Hotel Las Torres at the foot of several hiking trails in and around Los Torres (The Towers). On the drive we quickly learned that Erick is a walking encyclopedia about Chile and South American history!
Los Torres
Our good weather luck continued the next morning, February 17th. We left the hotel walking northwest along the Rio Ascencio, crossing it numerous times on rickety wooden bridges, some suspended on cables. After about two hours of mostly uphill walking we reached the Campamento Chileno, a building with rest rooms and a snack bar adjacent to a campground. We continued upriver to the campground at Campamento Torres, where we turned southwest and steeply uphill. The climb was rough as we scrambled up a few hundred meters of rock pile to reach what must be one of the most breathtaking sights on earth. We settled in behind some rocks for shelter from the wind and then sat in awe looking at the three Torres, the sheer cliffs below, the Cerro Nido de Cóndor to the right, and the green water of a small tarn at the bottom.
Transit to Lago Grey
The next morning, February 18, we hit the road again, southbound toward Lago Grey and Glaciar Grey. We stopped for a short walk to Lago Nordenskjöld and were nearly blown over as the Patagonian wind lived up to its reputation (40-knot gusts by my estimate). The wind increased when we reached the torrent through Salto Grande, draining Lago Nordenskjöld into Lago Pehoé and thence into Lago Toro. Continuing south alongside Lago Pehoé, we saw the historic Hosteria Pehoé built on a tiny island with a causeway and the famously expensive Hotel Explora. When we reached the north end of Lago Toro, we crossed Rio Paine on a rickety bridge (we walked and the van crossed empty) and proceeded northwest along the Rio Grey toward Lago Grey.
