Travelwithjules: Patagonia [Day Three]

The worst weather we had was on [Day Three].

Remember that crazy weather I mentioned yesterday?

“Cloudy, sun, rain, sun, sleet, rain, and sun–all in one day”

This was the day.

Hence very few photos.

We left Camp Grey and headed back to Camp Paine Grande (7 miles).

I forgot to mention yesterday about the areas where fires occurred along our hike from Camp PG to Camp Grey. We heard people talking about a fire in 2011, but didn’t really know the details.

“More than 16,000 hectares (nearly 40,000 acres) were destroyed by a fire that forced the closure of Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park between December 29, 2011, and January 4, 2012, and caused permanent environmental damage in one of the most beautiful places in the world…on December 29, 2011, another Israeli citizen caused the second fire in one year when he tried to burn some toilet paper. The devastation, in this case, was far worse. So much so that volunteers from all over the world came to offer help, including Australian firefighters.”

Full article here.

Even after over 5 years, you can still see the devastation. This is probably why the park is very strict about their “fire policies”. All visitors also MUST have lodging reservations if they want to stay at the park overnight. You cannot freely camp along the trails.

And for good reason. Be responsible when you’re out there enjoying Mother Nature’s beauty y’all.

[Insert hiking photos of us in the rain, pushing against strong winds, and running in sleet]

We checked-in at Camp PG and dried off. I was ready for a nap, but the weather was sunny again so off we went on a 2-mile hike to a lookout at Lake Sköttsberg.

A closer look at Lake Pehoé.

When we made it to the lookout, a huge cloud was covering the mountain (still not sure of its name).

I asked Khang if we could wait a “little” to see if the clouds would move.

He was totally cool with it so we found a rock to sit on and waited for 2o minutes.

And what a difference 20 minutes make.

Now is the perfect time to praise Khang. He was so patient with me when I wanted to stop and take photographs. He didn’t once complain about me taking too long.

There was a moment when he even held his hat over the Nikon to keep it from getting wet so I could focus on focusing the camera!

Not only was he patient with me taking pictures.

He was just patient with me.

And I could not have been more surprised. Of course, he’s always been, but y’all I was so so slooooooow hiking up those inclines. It was really hard on me.

But his hand was always there to meet me when I struggled to get up on a rock,

or he was behind me lifting up my heavy backpack to take some weight off.

I feel like I really learned the meaning of “Love is patient” during this trip. If you’re searching for a “marriage retreat”, look no further.

Patagonia will not only test you, it will test and strengthen your marriage.

Okay, continuing on…

We headed back to Camp PG once we realized the clouds weren’t going to spoil us anymore.

[Insert running in the rain and realizing you have flurries on your eyelashes]

And there it was… waiting for us…a nice warm fireplace.

The final two days were my favorite. Can’t wait to share more tomorrow.

Thanks for reading and following along,

with me

Jules.

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Travelwithjules: Patagonia [Day Two]

The morning of [Day Two] was cloudy with drizzling rain on-and-off.

But that didn’t stop us.

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Glacier Grey.

Pictures just don’t do justice.

Even at this distance, in person, it looked massive and majestic.

At this outlook, we saw a spot on a rock for a closer view of Glacier Grey and an iceberg.

The only things in our way were these huge rock formations that we had to climb up and down over.

First time seeing a glacier.

First time seeing a rainbow on top of a glacier.

Windyyy. . .

Rainyyy. . .

On top of these rock formations were stacks of rocks placed by other people. I guess it was a way of leaving their “mark”.

So we left ours too.

We decided to get closer to Glacier Grey so onward we went for about 4 miles to another outlook. The incline was around 1,315 feet.

I should mention my thighs were loving me during this entire trip.

The closest we got to Glacier Grey!

Perfect timing for a picnic lunch with a “glacier view”.

We headed back down to Camp Grey after lunch and getting our full of Glacier Grey.

I thought it would be boring backtracking on the same trail, but I was pleasantly surprised.

It was like a whole new trail.

I was so focused on getting to the top while hiking “up” that I didn’t really notice my surrounding.

So as we hiked “down”… it was an eye-opener.

The terrain was beautiful. So green. Kind of had that “Lord of the Rings” forest feel.

Filling up our bottle with water from one of many streams.

We purchased a brand-spanking new water micro-filter just for the trip.

Never used it. No need to. Purest of water.

Notice the haziness on top of the mountains from the cloudy weather.

View from the porch.

After a hot shower, we took a nice long nap.

View from top bunk.

I woke up and saw that the weather cleared up! 

The weather in Patagonia is extremely bipolar due to the high elevation and strong winds.

Real life example: Cloudy, sun, rain, sun, sleet, rain, and sun–all in one day.

This was the campsite area for Camp Grey! Just beautiful.

Notice the absence of “haziness” on top of the mountains compared to before. 

Timing is everything in Patagonia.

I hope y’all are enjoying our days so far.

Like I said yesterday, didn’t get too many pictures. Please feel free to ask questions if you’re wondering anything.

Thanks for reading and following along,

with me

Jules.

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