The seventh day of our tour of the o circuit at Torres del Paine was unique in that it was a shorter day with bags on our back but a longer day overall. We packed up camp and headed toward Campemento Italiano a little more than 5 km away. The hike was windy and there were many people on the trail. The views of mountains on our left and over Lake Skottsberg kept our spirits high. A few hours later we crossed a suspension bridge over a raging glacier river and arrived at the next camp. We setup camp and ate some food before setting out for a day hike to a couple of famous viewpoints.
The hike to the first viewpoint was about an hour and quite steep, mostly through a forest. Eventually we arrived at the clearing and were spoiled by a tremendous view of glacier del frances. Though no where near as large as Glacier Grey, Glacier del Frances has carved itself into the side of a mountain and shows itself off as if in an amphitheater. We enjoyed the tremendous site for about half an hour before continuing the day hike into the valle des frances and the britannico lookout. This part of the hike seemed to go on for a long time but a couple hours later we came out into the valley and climbed our way up to a lookout. The views in the afternoon light were surreal as we were surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and great walls of granite. We took in the sites for a while before the wind and cold were starting to get to us.
Climbing back down to camp was a nice replay of the sites we had witnessed on the way up and the pleasure of not carrying a large backpack made us all feel light. The evening was spent in the company of friends and despite the lack of amenities at this camp the evening was enjoyable.
The hike to the first viewpoint was about an hour and quite steep, mostly through a forest. Eventually we arrived at the clearing and were spoiled by a tremendous view of glacier del frances. Though no where near as large as Glacier Grey, Glacier del Frances has carved itself into the side of a mountain and shows itself off as if in an amphitheater. We enjoyed the tremendous site for about half an hour before continuing the day hike into the valle des frances and the britannico lookout. This part of the hike seemed to go on for a long time but a couple hours later we came out into the valley and climbed our way up to a lookout. The views in the afternoon light were surreal as we were surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and great walls of granite. We took in the sites for a while before the wind and cold were starting to get to us.
Climbing back down to camp was a nice replay of the sites we had witnessed on the way up and the pleasure of not carrying a large backpack made us all feel light. The evening was spent in the company of friends and despite the lack of amenities at this camp the evening was enjoyable.
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