Packs and Boots: Hiking Torres del Paine: Day 5

Before we fell asleep on Day 4, Tom and I made a deal. He'd wake up an hour before dawn and take a look at the sky. If the sky looked clear, he'd wake me and ask if I wanted to hike an hour up to the base of the Torres to watch the sun rise over the mountains. If it looked cloudy, he'd let me sleep in.

All night, I dreamed of clouds.

Tom woke me up in the middle of the night and said to me, "I can see the stars."

My response: "[unprintable] stars."

"You don't have to come," he said.

I paused for a minute. Tom was going to hike an hour uphill over big rocks and potentially watch a spectacularly beautiful sunrise. If I didn't get up, he'd climb without me. And I'd have to hear about his experience for the rest of my life.

Climbing a mountain in the middle of the night, looking like a miner

I put on my shoes and bundled up as quickly as I could manage. I'll admit, I grumbled for the first half hour or so up the mountain, even though Tom was carrying a pack, both of our sleeping bags, and some water and snacks for us so we wouldn't freeze, starve, or die of thirst at the top of the mountain.

At one point, I asked him what time it was. "6:45," he said, without one moment of hesitation. I knew he was lying in an attempt to hurry me up.

When we got to the top of the mountain, we quickly pulled out our sleeping bags and bundled up together for warmth. As we munched on some snacks, I asked him what time it really was.

"6 AM."

We waited.

In my cocoon

Finally, the sky started to lighten up... and then clouds settled in.

Instead of a pink and orange sunrise over the tips of the Torres, we saw clouds. And then rain. We laughed, perhaps because we were delirious with exhaustion. After awhile we gave up, and laughed our way down the mountain. I was so glad that we went up on the afternoon of day 4, or else I would've been really disappointed not to have seen the Torres!

We ate a quick breakfast, then began our descent to the very end of the trail. It was fairly easy hiking, but less scenic than the other sections.

Tom's eye decided to freak out about the weather. Don't worry, he looks normal now.

Hiking alongside a cliff

The LAST rickety old bridge

We made our way all the way back down to the very end of the trail. When we arrived, we found the best thing in the world: Hot dogs and Coca-Cola!

It was such a crazy feeling to be finished with the trek. On Day 1, I really doubted myself and my ability to actually tough it out for 5 days. But somehow, I actually started to enjoy myself along the way. The views were beautiful, and the social part of the experience was a pleasant surprise. I'm actually looking forward to doing another trek like this... and soon!

Success!

One by one, our new friends made their way down the mountain and joined us for some unhealthy and delicious snacks. We exchanged stories, and made plans to meet up in town for some pizza.