Day 12 - Chileno-Torres Del Paine

We got an early start, waking up around 5:30. We were hoping to make it up to the mirador of the Torres shortly after sunrise. We hiked as fast as we could through thick forest, before reaching a boulder field separating us from the lookout. Navigating and climbing up and between the boulders took nearly an hour, and left us tired and sweaty.

Luckly, at the top, we were rewarded with clear weather (apparently somewhat rare -- Morgan and the other girls from UCSF were rewarded with whiteout/blizzard conditions), allowing us to see the spectacular granite towers. I really should say more here about the awesome size and shape of the towers, but I´ll instead again refer you to the pictures:

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/555472721cHatVA

From that point, it was all downhill. We hustled back down to camp, took down the tent, and had some breakfast. It was then a 2 hour march down the valley to reach our endpoint of the W, La Hostería Las Torres.

Well, we thought that was our endpoint, but we ended up having to hike another kilometer to the Refugio Las Torres instead, where we caught a shuttle that took us out to the park entrance.

It was there that we caught our bus back to Puerto Natales, ending an unbelivably beautiful time in Torres Del Paine.

We were lucky enough to get a room again at the Erratic Rock II hostel. We grabbed a delicous post-backpacking dinner of pizza and hamburgers, and then crashed in a wonderfully comfortable bed.