Los Cuernos to Chileno

I feel like we are at the hub of Torres del Paine, camped at our final destination of Chileno.

Leaving Los Cuernos

We left Los Cuernos (the horns, named for the imposing granite peaks towering above the lake) at about 10am. No rush to depart; Karen and I were able to carry some of Michael’s gear so that he would be able to offload some of Kate’s later in the day when she rejoins him.

Los Cuernos is a great refugio. We appreciated the near boiling water on tap. I was up early and it helped get me rolling with my Starbucks Via.

This was a transit hike - one with no spectacular view expectations but a day spent to get where we need to be for our final day. It was still beautiful.

Early morning sun on the trail

The first half of the hike meandered along Lago Nordensköld, rising and falling with the various creeks that feed in from the mountains above.

Chimango caracara

A Chimango caracara greeted us along the trail, giving us time for some nice photos and a video. Sometimes I call Karen “carakaren”.

Turning up the valley to Chileno

The trail turns north as the end of the lake approaches, creating a shortcut to get into the valley where Chileno camp resides. It was another big climb to work our way up from the lake into the hillside contour in the valley. We could see the trail ahead leading all the way to the camp. Remember how I called this a transit hike? Nevermind… this view was spectacular.

Torrent duck

Coming into camp we crossed a bridge over the Rio Ascensio and I spotted a duck cruising around in the rapids. Meet the torrent duck – would effortlessly glide upstream then turn around and ride the rapids, popping out onto a rock before the next waterfall.

Two tents and one platform

Chileno was one of two camps where Karen and I were booked as a double, thinking we’d have to share a tent. There’s only platform camping here, with our group having three of the four available for self-carried tents. We counted planks on the platforms and took the largest of the three and managed to fit both of our tents. Thankfully the winds are calm.

Tomorrow morning we make the decision to leave about 5am to hike up the canyon for our final Torres view, or if socked in wait a bit and head up around 7am.

Chileno is crazy busy right now, mostly with hikers working their way down after a morning and early afternoon spent at the mirador. We can make eye contact with and chat with our fellow O trekkers, but most folks here are day hikers from the hotel or those starting or ending the W trek.