After such a brutal walk in the wind, we had the option the next day of easy hiking with the whole group, or a challenging 6-8 hour round trip jaunt up to the base of the spires of Paine (for which the park is named). Only Jenny and I chose the hard way.
We went with a local guide, leaving for sunrise (which, granted, was at 7:45 a.m.) and beating the crowds which flock to the park for this very hike. It wasn't too steep until the last scramble up the boulders of the terminal moraine (that's glacier-speak) to look down on the glacial lake as the base of the spires (see photo). It was worth it, however, and we were entertained with stories of climbing the spires by our local, rock-climbing guide. It was freezing up there, even in the bright sunshine, and I couldn't imagine trying to cling to a rock face while my hands went numb!
Reflecting on the trials of the trip, we realized how lucky we had been with the weather in this unpredictable part of the world. We were never caught in real rain, or forced to change plans because of weather. While we wore our rain gear every day it was more for the wind than threat of rain. It seemed like a ray of sunshine was following us....
No comments:
Post a Comment