6.54 miDistance
906 ftElevation gain
1,037 ftElevation loss
3 h 45 mTime
Last night was a sleepless one. There was a particularly loud snorer, and my earplugs kept falling out. Not a good combination. Today would be a short day in terms of hiking, but would give us extra time to do a little side-hike over to a place that had some amazing views of the mountain that dominated the place we were staying at tonight.
This mornings trek took us through some old bleached trees that were the victims of a forest fire some years ago (the reason we had to watch that mandatory video before getting our thru-hike permits). Purple flowers were growing all around them, which gave a nice contrast of colors.
The trail went along the lake created by the melting of Greys Glacier, and little icebergs could be seen floating in the waters. The glacier itself was still visible in the distance for a while, until we took a turn and it was lost to sight for the rest of the day.
All along the trail today were trees permanently bent into the winds, having grown that way over the years. What an interesting sight, indeed. Todays trail was mostly rocky, with little cover from the sun. If only there hadn't been that forest fire...
We passed through a cut in the rock and descended down a small valley as we came upon Paine Grande. There was a lovely lake nearby, and a small side-trek that we decided to check out after setting our tents up. I choose a flat grassy spot for mine, while others chose to pitch along the edges of the field near rocky outcropings or bushes. There were even fences set up at right angles throughout the field for tents, which should have given me a clue about how much wind this place receves. Sadly, I didn't pick up on it.
The side-trek took us out onto part of the "O" Circuit called The "Q", and from here we sat in the grass and gazed out of the lake and the pointy mountain next to the campsite. The waters were nice and cold, and shallow as well, and we spent some time going far out into them. We were there for maybe a couple of hours before we decided to head back. By this time the winds had picked up, and our tents at the campsite were holding their own against it, but you could tell that it was going to be a windy night.
