- Photographing the sunrise
- Hike up into the Ascencio Valley
- Reunion with Jemma and Martin
- Tour through the parking lot
- Snap a sunset and a magical starry sky
The night was far from cold, even when I was at it sunrise get up, a sweater is sufficient. After half an hour and a few pictures of the short but wonderful dawn, I lie down again. At 8 o'clock they definitely get up.
We have breakfast in the restaurant that turns out to be far too expensive for what is on offer. Then we drive eastwards, where a Fox crosses our path. Once again there is absolutely nothing to complain about in terms of the weather, yes, it is even warm in summer and the wind is extremely bearable.
We park our car at the Hotel Las Torres and head towards Valle Ascencio. This is a section of the extremely popular 3-5 day W treks and seldom used, since it is extremely demanding 8-10 day route Circuit. The path climbs continuously in the direction of the steep valley without having to offer scenic highlights. And yet there are real crowds here, after all, almost everyone wants to see the Laguna de los Torres at the foot of the imposing granite peaks.
After a good two hours of strenuous ascent, we have it Refugio Chileno where there is a break for refreshments. We get into conversation with an Australian couple who have been on the W-Trek for three days. Speaking of Australians: Suddenly we see two familiar faces. In fact, we meet Jemma and Martin again, whom we met almost two months ago in Paraty, Brazil. Sometimes the world is really amazingly small! Since we will both be back in Puerto Natales the day after tomorrow, we will meet for dinner together.
The ascent to Base de las Torres - mostly done as a two-day hike - would take another 2.5 hours of mountain hiking, with the final ascent in particular having to be quite steep. Since the time is too short and the continuation to the next campground does not seem attractive, we make our way back. The hike gave us a good insight into the infrastructure and conditions of a multi-day trek in the park. Yes, with all these crowds, I somehow took away the desire to do such a trek myself afterwards, even if all the equipment could be rented on site.
On the way back we drive a bit through the eastern part of the park, where there are many Guanacos and some Rhea hold up. According to park rangers, there should be a little better chance of seeing a shy puma here.
Back at Campground Pehoé, you shower and enjoy the spectacular view. The restaurant's meager menu doesn't offer much choice for dinner. Before going to bed, I try something else Astrophotography, even if my equipment is only of limited use.
