After a good night's sleep with full bellies at Camp Serón the sun, rising over Rio Paine, greeted us as Eli and I climbed out of our tent. Today we would be rounding the north-east corner of the park hiking above Lago Paine toward Dickson Glacier. Though there were a few other backpackers moving from camp to camp with us, this back-half of the O-trek already had a much more remote feel. It felt less touristy and more like the Patagonian wilderness I had always imagined.
Our feet were starting to show the wear and tear after miles of hiking at the bottom of the world. Bandages and moleskins covered our blisters and it took a concerted effort to slide our hiking boots back on and start moving again. But once we got into a rhythm the going became easier. Not long after leaving Camp Serón our path joined the meandering shore of the Paine River. It's turquoise-blue color was an indicator that somewhere upstream a glacier was feeding 'glacial flour' into these waters. Created by the slow grind of a glacier against bedrock, these incredibly fine particles of sediment were coming from Dickson Glacier and had flown all the way down through Dickson Lake, along the Rio Paine and into Lago Paine. Our entire day's hike would follow the course of water flowing through these lakes and rivers.
We soon found ourselves facing a steep climb up in elevation. Eli and I paused long enough to heave our packs higher on our backs and take a deep breath before starting the climb. We only stopped once to catch our breath. The two of us were able to maintain a pretty good pace. Soon we crested over the ridge and as we did a cold wind blowing directly off of Lago Paine greeted our faces. High above the lake, beautiful green lichens we had never seen before grew in clumps at our feet.
Our path turned westward now high above the lake with the wind unrelentingly whipping about us. This was the Patagonian weather these regions were famous for. Amazingly, the sun continued to shine all around us in this part of the world known for inclement weather. It illuminated the sprawling expanse along the northern perimeter of Torres del Paine National Park. As we continued westward far below, to our right, Lago Paine narrowed back down to become Rio Paine again. Ahead, on the horizon, lay the mountainous landscape we would be ascending in the days to come. Eventually our trail descended into plains on level ground with the winding river. And then, as if out of nowhere, Dickson Glacier unexpectedly came into view. It seemed to fill the horizon and melt into the cloudy sky. It seemed surreal and totally natural at the same time. Eli and I traversed over marshes and through fields like two ants making their way toward a giant frosted treat.
After a long day of hiking the end was in sight. As Dickson Lake came into view, we could see our welcoming camp situated on a peninsula beneath the looming glacier. There was still plenty of daylight remaining as we made our way into the National Park's northern-most camp. Two flags waved as we entered camp: a Chilean flag and the Magellan Flag for Chile's Antarctic region which shows the Southern Cross shining in the night sky above a golden mountain range.
We passed through camp and pitched our tent by the lake shore with views of the glacier. We were past the half-way point of our trip and had hiked 56 miles around more than half of Torres del Paine National Park. We enjoyed the sweeping views while we could. Tomorrow's trek would take us up into the narrow valley of Los Perros (The Dogs) where we would start a two-day ascent to John Gardner Pass and camp by a glacier-fed lagoon.
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