Torres Del Paine (Patagonia)-4th Day of O Circuit
Having not slept well during the night, I didn't come out of my tent until past check-out time. But the next leg of my trek from Dickson campsite to Los Perros campsite was only going to take 4 hours, so I had lots of time spare.
I took a nice long hot shower, not worrying about hogging it as everyone else at the site had left already, packed up my tent, and hiked out of Dickson towards Los Perros. This was the beginning of a long climb upwards where I would have to sleep at higher altitudes.
The day began with good weather, and the weather just got better. As I climbed up and out of Dickson, I looked back at the amazing views.
I travelled around the backside of what I can only call booby mountain . . .
. . . and as I climbed out of the valley, I took one last look back at the amazing scenery from which I had come until it only existed in my memory . . .
Climbing still upward, I focused on the wonderful views ahead of me . . .
As I approached Los Perros campsite, I came across a cool little glacier lake.
As you can tell from the pictures, there was not a cloud in the sky. I got to the campsite mid-afternoon, where I set up my tent, bought some goodies from the little makeshift store, and hung out by the river . . .
. . . doing work, and eating my last can of gourmet tuna fish . . .
. . . until the sun set . . .
Little did I know that the nice sunshine that I had enjoyed that day, much of it sitting by the river, would be the last time I would seem the sun for awhile. If I had to do this day over again, with a re-do on the reservations, I would have continued hiking to the next camp site to enjoy more of the sun lit scenery.
Once the sun set, I knew the temperature would drop very quickly, so I retreated back into my tent. I had to get up very early the next morning (about 630am) to get to a particular checkpoint by a certain time, so I went to sleep early.
Having learned that it is best to expose as much skin as possible in my sleeping bag, I again stripped down to my tighty whities. However, I found that it was much colder at elevation, and the heat did not billow out of my sleeping bag like it had before. I was freezing, so I decided to put on a long sleeve shirt and my stocking cap, which still wasn't good enough, so I zipped my sleeping bag up as far as it could, exposing only a small breathing hole. It was a long night, and I was slightly uncomfortable as it never really got that warm in my sleeping. I am a tosser and turner, so as I tossed and turned, I continually attempted to align my mouth with the breathing hole throughout the night.
I would later learn from the camping equipment guy that, not only does the additional elevation make it colder, as you progress through a long trek, your body weakens, and it is more difficult to sustain your body temperature in cold weather. I also learned after reading the label on the sleeping bag a bit carefully that, although the sleeping bag was rated for 20 degrees F, that just means your body will not be placed into a hypothermic state as long as the temperature does not drop below 20 degrees F, but you will still be uncomfortable between 30 degrees F and 20 degrees F. Nice.
#torresdelpaine #patagonia #Chile
I took a nice long hot shower, not worrying about hogging it as everyone else at the site had left already, packed up my tent, and hiked out of Dickson towards Los Perros. This was the beginning of a long climb upwards where I would have to sleep at higher altitudes.
The day began with good weather, and the weather just got better. As I climbed up and out of Dickson, I looked back at the amazing views.
I travelled around the backside of what I can only call booby mountain . . .
. . . and as I climbed out of the valley, I took one last look back at the amazing scenery from which I had come until it only existed in my memory . . .
Climbing still upward, I focused on the wonderful views ahead of me . . .
As I approached Los Perros campsite, I came across a cool little glacier lake.
As you can tell from the pictures, there was not a cloud in the sky. I got to the campsite mid-afternoon, where I set up my tent, bought some goodies from the little makeshift store, and hung out by the river . . .
. . . doing work, and eating my last can of gourmet tuna fish . . .
. . . until the sun set . . .
Little did I know that the nice sunshine that I had enjoyed that day, much of it sitting by the river, would be the last time I would seem the sun for awhile. If I had to do this day over again, with a re-do on the reservations, I would have continued hiking to the next camp site to enjoy more of the sun lit scenery.
Once the sun set, I knew the temperature would drop very quickly, so I retreated back into my tent. I had to get up very early the next morning (about 630am) to get to a particular checkpoint by a certain time, so I went to sleep early.
Having learned that it is best to expose as much skin as possible in my sleeping bag, I again stripped down to my tighty whities. However, I found that it was much colder at elevation, and the heat did not billow out of my sleeping bag like it had before. I was freezing, so I decided to put on a long sleeve shirt and my stocking cap, which still wasn't good enough, so I zipped my sleeping bag up as far as it could, exposing only a small breathing hole. It was a long night, and I was slightly uncomfortable as it never really got that warm in my sleeping. I am a tosser and turner, so as I tossed and turned, I continually attempted to align my mouth with the breathing hole throughout the night.
I would later learn from the camping equipment guy that, not only does the additional elevation make it colder, as you progress through a long trek, your body weakens, and it is more difficult to sustain your body temperature in cold weather. I also learned after reading the label on the sleeping bag a bit carefully that, although the sleeping bag was rated for 20 degrees F, that just means your body will not be placed into a hypothermic state as long as the temperature does not drop below 20 degrees F, but you will still be uncomfortable between 30 degrees F and 20 degrees F. Nice.
#torresdelpaine #patagonia #Chile
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