Flashbacks to the Kepler Track

With a night of steady rain on the tin roof together with the waterfall outside, it was easy to get solid sleep. We had an early morning planned though, because today was supposed to be the longest trail day as it was 5.5 K to Campamento Italiano, another 5.5K up to Mirador Frances and then 5.5K back. The day would end with a 7.6K hike to Paine Grande Lodge, so a 7AM breakfast was necessary.

The killing fields of the mini-gnats the morning after.

More dead gnats on the wall.

That's the waterfall that roared all night long.

The menu from the previous night.

A rainswept Lago Nordenskjold.

Lots of characters including this Italian with the poncho and floppy hat combo.

After breakfast we returned to the cabin to find these gnats that accumulated after only an hour!

Only 5K, that's doable right?

A picturesque stroll along the cobbled beach.

Still raining.

Halfway to Campamento Italiano.

EF in her sheltered carrier.

With all the rain, the boardwalks came in handy.

Barely visible up the French Valley.

The shaky bridge over the River. Part of the Group (LF and EF with JD) headed this way to Paine Grande while the rest of us headed up the French Valley.

The first view below the clouds and fog to the glaciers above.

Tricky river crossing.

I thought I had more pictures but I may have gotten a little weary at this point. I'll see if others have better pictures and post updates. I'm glad we slogged up the rocks to this lookout because once we got there it cleared up and we could see most of the glaciers above. While making our way upwards we heard a hug avalanche but didn't really see where it came from or ended up. Occasionally we heard what sounded like smaller avalanches all during our time there in the French Valley.

The descent was challenging and rough on the feet and knees, but we made it back to Campamento Italiano to pick up our main packs. Unfortunately, I had left mine hanging on a tree thinking it wouldn't rain much under the tree canopy. I was wrong. Now I was soaked in my clothes from sweating mostly and my pack was soggy. I started to get cold so I struck out on my own on the trail to Paine Grande.

Striking out on my own, I quickly warmed up because I was wearing Icebreaker wool undies and Arcteryx shell garments. I was wet under the shell due to sweating and condensation, but I was warm enough. In fact, towards the end I was moving at such a good pace, I was hot. It felt towards the end like I was finishing a half marathon. I wasn't making any friends on the trail as I was a man on a mission and had little patience for dwaddlers, of which there were many, especially the French.

Get out of the way!

I motored on for the whole 7.6K, only pausing briefly. I rounded the corner here to see the lodge at Paine Grande. As I got closer I saw LF and EF making their way to the Lodge. I had almost caught up with them! I was possessed and it reminded me of the cold and wet hike on the Kepler Track in New Zealand. Miserable conditions but a great hike nonetheless.

Avian wildlife close to the Lodge.

A little damp but none the worse for wear.

 When I struggled in to the lobby, my feet finally gave up. I hobbled up to the room to find a rather chilly wing of the Lodge. I unloaded my pack to start the drying process before heading back down to meet the rest of the Team. We got our rooms sorted and all started to dry out. EF and LF attempted to take a shower only to get half a warm shower before it turned glacial.
I needed to clean up, so I steeled myself for the bone chilling shower. I spent five minutes getting angry at the lack of hot water before resigning myself and plunging in to the glacial cold shower stream. One of the coldest showers ever. I quickly dried and changed to start to warm up. Thankfully there was a common room nearby that had a wood stove going, so that helped.

We asked and apparently a pipe had broken, but that hot water would be back in 20 minutes. Riiiight. We all cleaned up as best we could and headed down to dinner. There was this weird potato and beef lasagna concoction so I went for the vegetarian option. An eggplant and cheese affair it wasn't half bad.

After dinner, we returned to find some hot water returning and the heat (hot water radiators) starting to warm back up. We all attempt to dry out sodden clothing and gear.

The menu for the night.

The gear drying process.

Dr. F does surgery. On a shoe.

DC's shoe had started to de-laminate the sole from the footbed, so Dr. F put his surgery skills to use and used some cordage to stitch it back together. His repair, while it looked interesting, worked for the remainder of the trip!

Next up: up to Grey Glacier for the last leg of the W!