Mount PainNov 2, 2009
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| As you may remember, one of my big hikes in America was Half Dome in Yosemite which I christened Mount Doom for obvious reasons. Well, today´s walk will now been known as Mount Pain. The hike was to the base camp of the Towers of Paine themselves, not a particularly long way, but mostly uphill and we´had been warned of " a bit of a scramble" at the end... Although I was feeling ok, my knee was really sore and swollen still from my fall in El Calafate so the prospect of uphill for 4 hours was not filling me with great joy. I was glad I brought some hiking poles though this time. The first hour was quite relentless and my annoying competitive spirit was forcing me to try and keep up with the front group even though my knee was telling me not to. We had a brief stop at a hut at the top of the first hill and there were promised 2 hours of "flat". The guide´s definition of flat must be slightly different to mine as it was pretty similar to a rollercoaster and although pretty scenery, was still a bit of a slog through the snow! There was worse to come. As we came out into the open from the forest, our guide pointed upwards and there were various cries of " you´ve got to be kidding" etc, as we looked up a fairly sheer side of morraine, decorated with a large boulder field a the top. "Only 45 minutes " he said and we´´ll be a the top... Another 45 minutes which were very tough as we climbed through wet sand, boulders, tree roots and snow. I really struggled and was very grateful to have a GP in my group who topped me up with ibruprofen and motivational speeches about focusing on the next boulder as we made our way up to the top. When we finally got there, it was pretty amazing. A hidden lake at the bottom of the 3 towers, gently snowing and blue sky styarting to appear. We ate lunch there but not for too long as it really was pretty cold up there. Photos taken we started the descent, which alhtough not as physically hard, was quite scary because at points it did feel like you were just going to slip down the side of the mountain! By 5pm it was beer time and a reflection on the hike. I probably wouldnt do it again in a hurry but was very glad to have made it although I suspect my knee may not thank me tomorrow. Another great dinner was very welcome after that day and once again, I slept through the snoring symphony. |
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