The trek to the Magnificent Glacier and finally doing something right!

PC 1 to PC2

We entered PC1 (Punto de Control or Control Point) feeling exhausted. Two teams were still at the transition area. Again we felt we were not doing ‘that’ bad… in perspective. Transitioning took longer than we originally planned but at least we had made it. 

We left PC1 feeling a little tired but very motivated. That was the most amazing aspect for me. Even when super low in energy as soon as we managed to finish a stage I felt fresh again, ready and eager to take on the next one! Ahead of us was a 21 km trek to the Tyndall Glacier.

Torres del Paine is beautiful. Green grass, flowers, rivers, big mountains and glaciers! It is the perfect setting for a fairy tale story. The first part of the trail was really easy: flat grounds to recover our sore muscles and then we started climbing up.

Our packs were heavy. I was carrying extra food, the Jet Boil, gas and a smoke bomb in addition to my mandatory gear. Sam and Tom were each carrying an Alpaka packraft. We are planning to save precious time on the treks legs by packrafting through lakes.  Sam was feeling sleepy through this leg and I felt like my back was about to give up. I truly wondered if I could manage all this weight for 10 days. At some point Tom took a bunch of weight out of my backpack. I could finally come out of the agony. Soon after, we had our first river crossing. Not big enough to open the pack rafts, but to get our feet wet.  We were all amazed at Sam’s reaction to the cold water. He aroused from his sleepy state instantly even more than eating 5 packages of Surge. Finally we were moving at a better pace.

Taz was really energetic and kept moving ahead, way too far for our comfort. Tom saw this as an opportunity to equalize forces and gave him some extra weight to carry around. After more climbs up through gorgeous rocky mountains, we arrive at PC2 with about 38 minutes to spare and passed two teams on the way there. Not because we were faster, but because our navigation was spot on! Big yeah! to Tom and Taz for that one.