January 25 - Starting back down

That's pretty much the end of the scenery pictures, but I took some shots on the way back to Paine Grande where I was going to catch the Catamaran the next day.

Here's a shot of Campamento Paso.  No beer here.

The ranger's cabin is on the left, the cooking shack is on the right (open to the other side) and the bano is on the right.  Someday I may show selected people (with strong stomachs) the inside of the bano.

 I've packed up and hit the trail for a roughly 20 km hike today.

This bush an interesting growth one it, the brown that you see.

Berries on the way down.  Looks like a relative of the cranberry.  I chewed on one and spat it out.  Not much taste and kind of chewy.

Next bit of botany - looks like a relative to honeysuckle, but don't trust my guessing.

The front entrance to Refugio Grey.  No beer today, but I did quaff a couple of orange Fanta for the sugar hit.

Now here's a cute, but slightly scary shot.  Check out the cute little kid between her parents.  Note the size of Dad's pack.  In addition to her pack, Mom has a 'kid carrier' slung to the bottom of it.

They were leaving just as I arrived at RG and had a half hour head start.  It didn't long to catch up to them on the trail.

I don't know when (if?) they made it the next 10 km to Paine Grande.

 Just south of Refugio Grey the wind came up with a vengeance.  Until now I had not really had to contend with the famous winds of Torres del Paine.  It was a tailwind, but strong enough to blow you and your pack around, so you had to be careful.

This is a small lake north of Paine Grande.  You can see how the wind is whipping up the waves in a very short distance.

Fire damage along the trail.  There were remnants of many fires all along the trail.  No wonder the rangers are very cautious.

A couple of shots of the tent city at Paine Grande.  The wind is still strong - you can see how some of the tents are deformed by it.

I managed to get my tent up without embarrassing myself.  There was some entertainment watching others, though. 

My tent, centre, with the back side of the Paine Grande building in the background.  This is early in the afternoon.  By the evening they were side by side all around me.

As it was, I was too late to get into one of the sheltered areas in the lee of the hills.

The lineup for the evening Catamaran back.  They were overloaded and made an extra run.

The next post winds up Torres del Paine.