Torres Del Paine (Patagonia)-2nd Day of O Circuit

The next morning, I woke up early, packed my tent up (which took about an hour), and began hiking to the next site.  The plan for that day was simple--hike from Las Torres campsite to the Serrano campsite around the backside of the Park, which was about a 5-hour hike.

The weather was a bit better this day (although still a bit cloudy), and in hindsight, I would have hiked to Mirador Las Torres this day, and then hiked to Serrano the same day.  I certainly had enough time, although that would have been quite a long day. 

I did see some nice scenery along the way. . .

. . . but honestly at this point, I had not seen anything that lived up to the hype of Torres Del Paine, so I was getting a little antsy.

The last couple miles of the hike, while not difficult compared to other legs around the park, did get a bit tricky as I had to hike around or even through mud and some very thick brush through which make-shift trails were made to detour around the flooded areas.

Eventually, I got to Serrano, and to my surprise, they had Wifi in the middle of nowhere for a nominal fee of 10 bucks.  So I made a few phone calls for fix some flight arrangements and to check in for work for the next couple hours, and then set up my tent.  When the sun goes down in Torres Del Paine, or really anywhere in Patagonia, it gets pretty cold, so I spent the last part of the day and all night in my tent working on my computer, and of course sleeping.

I was a uncomfortably cold that night, and I was wondering why because my sleeping bag was rated for 20 degrees F, and although it was freezing outside, perhaps it might have been 30 degrees F.  I had slept with long johns and a long shirt, and as I understand it, the lightweight sleeping bags that are made today are most efficient when you have nothing on underneath, as the heat from your body is supposed to reflect back from the inside of the sleeping bag back towards you to keep you warm.  So I decided to do a little experiment on myself, because after all, I am a scientist.  I would keep one layer of clothing on that night, and the next night, I would strip down to my tighty whities.

#torresdelpaine #patagonia #Chile