Hiking Stats
11 hours
20km distance
1900m elevation change
This is the big day I have been dreading. Double the distance, 50% more altitude to climb than Torres plus with a pack, and the stories of crazy weather at Paso John Gardner.
The hard boiled eggs set a good mood for the beginning of the day. Oatmeal is on the menu for breakfast every day, so this was a nice change. I kept glancing behind at the glacier as we left camp as it looked even more magnificent in the warm glow of the sunrise. The Torres gets all the fame, but unexpected gems that you stumbled upon are even better. We had the trail to ourselves again, this time because we were far ahead of the pack instead of behind like our second day. I got the most sick drone shots when I came across the Los Perros Glacier and Lago.
We had lunch at campamento Los Perros, which again had all the same amenities. There was a helicopter landing pad near the entrance which is how I assume they get everything. In the interest of time, we had a cold meal. We were able to add some tuna to our diet thanks to some previous campers who donated to the kitchen free pile. After lunch we made our way slowly up the mountain. The distance to the top was not far, but the steep elevation gain slowed me down and it took 4 hours to cover 5 kilometers. I was impressed by the glaciers so far, but once I reached the pass all of that was forgotten.
On the other side of the mountain was Grey glacier, a humongous ice field that filled the entire valley width (~4km) and length, stretching as far beyond the mountains as I could see. It was breathtaking the sheer size of this natural wonder and worth enjoying with a break at the top.
This side of the mountain was a bit windier and cold (makes sense there is a huge body of ice right there). We pushed forward to get to the campsite since it has already been about 9 hours of hiking.
Although the hike was long, the weather was in our favor with great visibility, low wind, and sunshine. The ranger at Los Perros was saying this was not typical for March. My solar panel actually was able to fully charge up my battery bank, which was good because Paso is the only we stayed at that has no amenities. It is run by the national park, so they are there to impress. Oh and it is free.
