nature photography Archives - Page 7 of 7

Amble Through Apex Park

I was so excited to see the forecast…no snow and temperatures warming to the mid-50’s in Denver. As such, I planned a snowshoe with Tanya (and Ellie the dog) at Lake Isabelle in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Little did I know that the high in the area was only going to be 18 degrees. And that doesn’t include any windchill above the treeline. Fortunately, Tanya was open to adjusting the location.

Instead, we headed out to Apex Park, part of Jefferson County Open Space. The 700 acre park provides 9.4 miles of multi-use trails. We arrived at the parking area around 9:30. We were the only car in the lot aside from one other that pulled in simultaneously. It seemed odd that on this clear, sunny day only a few of us would be enjoying the trail, but at 9:30 it was still bitter cold at a mile high!

We grabbed a map, bundled up, and prepared for a hike around five-miles. We hadn’t decided on which route to take, but we knew from perusing the map we connect a few loops to get in a decent walk for the day. We started out Apex Trail where we quickly came to a trail junction.

Since much of Apex Trail caters to mountain bikers, we turned right onto Pick-N-Sledge Trail and gained close to 900 feet over the next 1.5 miles. Depending on which side of the mountain slope we were on, we either trekked along an orange path lined by golden grasses or a frozen path of snow. While I doubt this is true, frozen ground feels harder than pavement! At least we weren’t walking through slush.

From Pick-N-Sledge Trail we began to descend down Grubstake Trail. In the shade of the forest, however, Ellie’s feet started getting cold, so we turned around and took a half-mile short cut on Bonanza. From Bonanza we connected with Grubstake and soon retraced our steps back to the trailhead.

We found our steps along the frozen side of the slope to be beautiful. The pine trees and succulents were covered in frost, like a sprinkler system went off while it was below freezing. In places, we could see the shapes of the individual snowflakes.

While the landscape was pretty and the view of Golden was nice, what I think we liked the most was spotting a large herd of elk! I was surprised to see them so close to town. Usually, we are only blessed with deer sightings. They were quite grand and certainly cautious of our hunting dog! Overall, I think our jaunt turned out to be four miles…no big feat, but a nice way to spend a sunny day that eventually warmed up. I suppose we’ll get out there and snowshoe at some point, but I’ll be headed to warmer weather first…Cuba! ETB

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photographic note card, elk in rocky mountain national park — ELK

Henderson Mine…Second Attempt

Well, I’m 0-2 in trying to reach Henderson Mine in the winter…bummer! I went last spring with David, but we never found it despite being above treeline and walking around. This time, Diana, Jim and I made an attempt. I really thought we’d be able to reach it this time.

We started up Butler Gulch trail on packed snow through a forest of evergreens whose branches were adorned in snow. The sun poked through fast moving clouds as we climbed a somewhat steep grade. We followed the swithbacks at a slow steady pace until we started to leave the treeline.

The wind picked up dramatically and snow whipped across the trail stinging our faces. Our hands instantly turned cold despite heavy gloves and mittens, so we broke out hand warmers. We continued in the open space for only a short while more as we suddenly began sinking to our knees.

At this point, none of us wanted to sit down to strap on our snow shoes as we knew we’d only get colder, especially our hands and feet. In addition, our camelback hoses were freezing up. If we didn’t drink water about every five minutes, we were working hard to get ice out of our bite piece. The final straw for me was, one of the many off-leash dogs on the trail jumped up on me while getting ice and snow all over my camera lens. I tried in vain to remove the ice enough for clear photos, but that turned out to be an excercise in futility. It was time to turn around!

blowing snow

In the summer-time, we rarely ever turn around. We feel like there isn’t much of an excuse not to reach our destination (unless it is lightning). In the winter, however, we don’t mind trying another time. It isn’t worth getting hypothermia! Covered in four layers of clothes, none of us were particularly warm, and it seemed like we’d only get colder with thick, gray clouds enveloping the surrounding peaks.

I’m glad we threw in the towel as by the end of the hike, we walked through light snow. At least we got outside in the beautiful mountains and got some exercise. Our four to five mile hike felt like eight, but overall it was a very pretty scene. ETB

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A Day at Devil’s Backbone

I took the nicest hike with Ellie today. I take care of her Mondays-Thursdays, so she sort feels like mine. She loves humans, but isn’t quite as fond of other dogs. Ellie is a Plott Hound, a breed of which I have never heard. She is an extremely well behaved dog.

Unfortunately, my friends couldn’t join me this week. They were headed out of town, have friends in town, renovating their house, and training a new puppy. But it was good, because it gave me a chance to play around with my DSLR. I haven’t used my good camera for over six months, as I don’t want to slow people down on hikes, though I have recently been inspired to practice as a friend asked me if I would photograph their wedding in Montana!

I feel so flattered and nervous at the same time. I’ve never shot a wedding, nor do I spend too much time with people as my subjects. Nature is my bread and butter. Anyway, I’m very excited about it.

On to the hike…today I decided to visit Devil’s Backbone Open Space. It is located near Loveland, just south of Fort Collins. We don’t generally travel north for hiking unless we head a little west as well toward Rocky Mountain National Park. I definitely was not familiar with the area. The forecast called for a windy day. As such, Ellie and I waited until 9am to drive the hour north to give the air temperature a chance to warm up.

Upon arrival at the open space, I studied the posted map. There were a variety of trails that connected to one another. I opted for a combination of three loops, Wild Loop, Hunter Loop, and Laughing Horse Loop. The total mileage added up to 4.9 miles.

We started out on the red, sandstone path on the interpretive Wild Loop Trail. Generally I’m not that fond of interpretive trails because they feel commercialized, but this trail felt different. The uneven, rocky path along with a simple numbered posts and brochures available at the trailhead were very well done by Larimer County Open Lands Program.

The Devil’s Backbone is composed of gray-brown to tan Dakota Sandstones of the Lytle Formation which is between 100-115 years old. It is home to a variety of nesting birds, including red-tailed hawks, prairie falcons, swallows, a pair of ravens, and a great horned owl. Apparently, it is rare to find a pair of nesting ravens in this area. Today, I saw hawks soaring in the cool breeze over the rock formation.

In fact, the cool breeze was most welcome. It turned out to be very warm for a November day beneath clear, blue skies. I made several water stops for Ellie, who seemed to always have her tongue swinging in the wind as she trotted along with me.

The rocks that create the Devil’s Backbone sure look like they would be fun to climb, though climbing isn’t allowed. I was happy to find that the trail did lead us quite close to the keyhole so we could get a better look at the formation and the views to the west that include Long’s Peak, a 14er. I can’ only imagine how pretty the view would have been if there was a bit more snow in the mountains, but as a non-skier, I’m not complaining about the unseasonably warm weather.The keyhole was formed by erosion of coarse-grained rocks that were weaker than the rocks around the hole.

From the key hole and rock formation, we continued on to Hunter Loop and then to Laughing Horse Loop over rolling prairie peppered with dormant bushes, golden praire grass, and cacti that had finished blooming. I bet during the right season, the flowers and color along the trail would be lovely. Since we were quietly strolling along the trail, we were blessed to spot a few deer!

I really enjoyed going at my own pace and testing out different settings on my camera. It has been a while since I hiked alone. I think I did a substantially good job of wearing out Ellie as well. It was quite a peaceful day! ETB

websites: http://larimer.org/parks/bbone.cfm

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Beautiful Birds and Interesting Icebergs!

Two days ago we tried to enter a passage that was blocked by ice. This morning, our expedition leader, hoping for better conditions, decided to try again. We were in luck. The winds and currents had broken the ice into large pieces. The captain of our ship carefully moved forward. We could hear the bow scrape the ice as we headed southwest.

While we stood outside on the deck admiring the beauty, we scanned the ice floes for wildlife. We spotted a walrus and lots of dirty ice that looked like seals to our hopeful minds until we came close enough to see that was not so.

EXPLORE

Reflections in the Arctic at Bockfjorden and Monacobreen

This morning on our Quark Arctic Expedition, we were called to breakfast at 8am. Along with the regular options, we could also order French toast. The weather was absolutely magnificent. The breezeless morning let us stand outside on the deck comfortably and snap photos of the surrounding peaks reflecting in the placid bay at Bockfjorden, a portion of Woodfjord, which is part of the Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. The area is home to an old, snow covered volcano and at least today, fantastic kayaking conditions!

GO FOR A PADDLE

Hiking to Mirador Torres del Paine in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

After a very good egg breakfast, we left Los Cuernos just before 8 with our box lunch in hand. The park map suggested it would take about 7.5 hours to Campamento Torres by taking the “short cut” and not hiking by the hotel in the valley. As such we prepared ourselves for a long day of backpacking.

We climbed up and down the undulating, rocky path and wondered why it wasn’t cut closer to the lake’s shore that seemed much more level than the track we were traversing. We passed through some intermittent trees, but mostly followed the shoreline of the lake for a few hours under a partly cloudy sky. Along the way we spotted a few hares and listened to chirping song birds.

Capacity Two People…We found this out after we crossed as most of the signs are only one direction!

boat on the lake

Nordernskjöld Lake

As we cut across the valley of rolling hills and wild flowers, the sun became more intense. We crossed many streams and tried not to kill ourselves on the primitive bridges and in mud pits. Soon we began a steep climb. From speaking with the group we met last night at dinner, I thought we had only just begun the climb to the intersecting trail from the hotel. I planned on refueling over lunch at the trail intersection to tackle the rest of the incline. We snacked on our pork tenderloin sandwich for energy and continued.

Little did I know, though winded, we had plowed through the hardest part relatively quickly. We reached a look out over the valley and saw a Refugio below. I thought this must be Refugios Torre Norte and Torre Central. From these we would continue the steep climb. As we rounded a tight turn, a young man commented, “You are almost there”.

David quipped, “Yeah, right”.

The young Asian replied, “No really! That building down there is Chileno.”

David and I looked at each other in dismay. We couldn’t believe we had reached El Chileno Refugio, operated by Fantástic Sur, so soon. We weren’t staying at Chileno, but we knew it was only 1.5 hours from Campamento Torres, and that we had just ascended the steepest part of the trail! About a mile earlier, we were discussing Chileno’s advertisement “Feeling tired, stop in to reserve a horse ride down the mountain”. Given we met 30 years ago riding horses, we thought it might be fun. By the same token, the weather was nice and we didn’t want to waste any time in the offices. Furthermore, we wanted the freedom to chose our schedule in the morning so with a bounce in our step, we strode forward.

view of the valley

Check out the Rolling Stones llips!

As we hiked past the Refugio and through the camp grounds along the powder blue river with the Torres in sight, signs displayed 1 km to Campamento Torres. I was trying so hard to contain my excitement and hike slowly, but I don’t think I was succeeding. Anytime I have ever seen a photo that made my jaw drop, and I looked to see where the photo was taken, it was always the Torres in Patagonia. I have wanted to come here for years. With each step, I just kept hoping the clouds would cooperate!

The path led us across several bridges, many only supporting two people at a time, some only one, as we climbed up and down the steep terrain through a beautiful forest. As much as we enjoyed the forest, this elevation change was slightly unexpected based on our review of the map and our conversation with the group we met at dinner last night.

Soon we reached a sign for the camp. We were amped! We had reached the camp in 5 hours instead of 7.5 hours. With smiles spread across our faces and an energized laugh, we began looking around for the check in building. It wasn’t in sight! Confused, we wondered if we should have split off the path somewhere. It wasn’t long before some fellow trekkers hiking the opposite direction came along.

We asked, “How far is it to the campgrounds.”

The European gentleman replied, “45 minutes with your luggage.”

We must have looked at him in bewilderment because he quickly pointed to his partner and exclaimed, “Her English is better!”

With the language barrier, David asked with hand gestures, “Did you see an area with tents where you can sleep?”

She confirmed that the campground was 45 minutes away and there we signs pointing down to the camp and up to the Torres.

Ugh…a few more Kilometers! We probably would have enjoyed the lush vegetation much more had we not been so demoralized! We prodded on and reached camp in six hours instead of the 7.5 hour projection. I suppose we still should have been proud of ourselves, but by this time we were ready to dump our heavy packs, set up camp, and hike the last hour to the Torres lookout.

We presented the ranger with our reservation slip that took me a little while to find given the countless bus tickets, food tickets, and reservations slips I carried in my travel purse. We immediately headed to the back of the campground, found a flat spot beneath low hanging trees, and set up our tent. We threw our packs inside, planned on laying our sleeping out later, and stashed some snacks, water, and layers in our day packs. We were ready to tackle the final kilometer.

kitchen and offices

I couldn’t contain myself as I zoomed up the path. David remarked, “You know how sometimes you say I get crazed over good meals?”

I replied, “Yes, I know. I’m crazed over this photo!”

We criss-crossed a small stream on ladder-like bridges as we maneuvered over boulders, stairs of rocks and loose scree. The terrain was slightly similar to the top of a 14er though at a much lower altitude. Coming from 5,280 feet was a blessing for us, as it made the climbs somewhat easy.

With the Torres in sight, we rounded the bend and soon found the grey lake with the granite columns towering above. It was spectacular! And much to our surprise, there were far less people there than we expected. With a limited hiking area, we were able to scramble over some boulders to an area that allowed us to snap photos without anyone else in the pictures!

Loaded with many snacks, we hung out for probably three hours as we watched the cloud formations swirl around the north torre and many times change directions. Of course, I could never decide when the sky seemed the clearest, so I just snapped one photo after the next. I had to capture the waterfalls, the surrounding peaks, the valley behind us, and of course the Torres poking through the clouds. What a way to spend New Year’s Eve! We celebrated back in the tent with ricotta and spinach ravioli drenched in red sauce with a sprinkle of cheese, a bottle of red wine that David lugged all the way from Los Cuernos, Godiva Chocolate that I got for Christmas.

Torres del Paine

left side

middle

right side

We hardly made it to 9pm, much less midnight, but we planned on waking at 3:45am to go up for sunrise as long as we could see the stars when we woke up. Today was all that I could have hoped and more! We had such good weather for the whole trip, I was worried our luck might run out. Fortunately, luck was on our side, and the landscape met my high expectations (which doesn’t always happen). ETB

For David’s map and corresponding pictures, click here: map of our hike

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photographic note card, old house in antarctica — WEATHERED THE STORM

Loved Los Cuernos in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

In doing my research and planning this trip, I read we could camp at Británico. This was old information as this campground has been closed a few years. Perhaps I should have purchased a book on the park rather than scanning the internet. The closest alternative was Campamento Italiano, so that is how we ended up there. Camping at Italiano made yesterday a few hours longer, but it made for a very short day today. According to the signs, we only had to trek 2.5 hours to Los Cuernos, operated by Fantástico Sur, where we had our next accommodations reserved. As such, we slept in (at least for our standards). David heated up some water, and we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and coffee in our tent.

The trail to Los Cuernos led us around rock formations, along the river and through the woods. The wind was so still that the temperature felt warm. We had to break out the bug spray and the sunscreen as we donned T-shirts. Soon we arrived on the shores of Nordernskjöld Lake. Its glassy turquoise surface reflected the clouds in the sky. We just chilled on the rocky beach and admired the scenery.

After a two hour stroll up and down the rocky trail, we arrived at Los Cuernos. We arrived 30 minutes earlier than expected, so we had to wait a little while to check in, but in the mean time we enjoyed the deck and adjusted for a few unexpected items that reared their head. We thought we bought two packages of ravioli in the grocery store, but we only bought one, so we adjusted our dinner last night and opted to buy one more lunch at Los Cuernos or perhaps more provisions at Los Cuernos. The small store at Campamento Paine Grande sold pasta and the like, but we did not know if Los Cuernos did the same, so we thought requesting an extra lunch would be the best choice.

We were unaware that Los Cuernos gets their food by horseback, so accommodating us was a little bit of a challenge for them, but they hooked us up. The chef prepared a hot pasta lunch topped with meat just for us. Los Cuernos did not serve a buffet style lunch as we were accustomed to at Campamento Paine Grande. Had we known this, we would have just asked for a boxed lunch like we reserved in advance for tomorrow. Our other option was to eat some of our other food and get food at the end of the W or buy some cookies and chips which were the limited options at Los Cuernos along with wine and beer! David got some wine and cookies anyway. He was insistent on carrying a bottle all the way to Torres del Paine tomorrow for New Year’s Eve!

Enough about the logistics. The staff took us up the hillside to our cabin. I planned one day of luxury during our five nights in the park, and I wanted it to be in the middle of our camping experiences. Our cabin was a treat! It was only a room, but it had a giant bed, a wood burning stove, and an incredible view through its skylights and from its porch. We were steps away from a powerful waterfall that tumbled down the cliffside and our porch looked out on Nordernskjöld Lake and Francés Glacier. If that wasn’t enough, we could look out our skylight at granite peaks and more waterfalls! And to think I suggested we could skip our reservations at the cabins to take advantage of the good weather and go straight to the Torres lookout, for which the park is named.

David thought I was crazy yesterday when I suggested to skip the cabins if the weather was good. And once he saw the hot tub, I would have been in hot water, no pun intended, if I insisted we did. Clearly, photos of the torres were more important to me than comfort, though admittedly it was really nice to enjoy the glorious weather relaxing! So it probably isn’t hard to guess that David’s first stop was the hot tub! It looked like a whiskey barrel filled with river water and a woodburning stove with a black pipe sticking up! It probably wasn’t the most sanitary hot tub with ashes and gnats on the surface of only fresh water, but at least there was a skimmer to remove any debris.

I on the other hand, do not share the same excitement as David over hot tubs. The uniqueness of this one smack dab in the middle of amazing landscape, however, called my name for a few minutes. So I joined David in the warm water (I still wasn’t in hot water). I actually liked it better than normal because it didn’t make my skin crawl like most hot tubs. I still didn’t soak long, as I wanted a hot shower! The shower house, located behind our cabins, was clean and the shower had great water pressure though the drain could have been better. Regardless, I enjoyed my first HOT shower in the park.

Los Cuernos

We lounged around for the afternoon, read, and climbed on top of the nearby waterfall. For those who have the luxury of hiking the W route at a leisurely pace, having two nights in each general area of the park is the way to go. It provides so much flexibility if the weather stinks. My limited knowledge of the park resulted in a few planning mistakes that have worked out perfectly for us so far! Though the one plan that worked out the best, is that six months ago I could not get reservations at these cabins for the prior day when I wanted them so I reversed our entire trip. In hindsight, this made getting bus transportation more difficult, but it also saved us from being in the park during the snow storm and missing everything! We were in El Calafate and on the bus during the nasty weather. LUCKY!! I imagine the cabins wouldn’t have been quite as exciting if the weather were bad except they would have been a dry and warm place to stay.

Due to the small dining space, Los Cuernos has two seating times for meals. We chose the early dinner slot at 7. We were served chicken broth, a beef burger with hot sauce and rice that I didn’t find terribly appetizing, but then again we didn’t have to cook. We sat next to a tour group at the community tables. They were hiking the opposite direction of us. They hiked up to the Torres del Paine yesterday from Hotel Torres located in the valley. They said it was steep, and when we told them we were back packing up to Campamento Torres, a free campsite operated by the park only an hour from the lookout, they suggested we were in for a long day. The Aussies we met in Puerto Natales said the same thing. This conversation left me feeling a little nervous about tomorrow. The forecast also called for clouds, so I suggested to David that we could stop at the camping in the valley not far from the Hotel Torres at the Torre Central and Torre Norte Refugios operated by Fantástico Sur if we felt bad and the weather was bad as we had the next two days to see the Torres del Paine. David thought we could handle the elevation change, but we planned to play it by ear. ETB

For David’s map and corresponding pictures, click here: map of our hike

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photographic note card, Waterfall in Yellowstone — TURBULENT TUMBLERS

Valle del Francés in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

We arose early today. It’s not hard to do given it’s light at 5am. The moon lit the sky over the towers briefly before the clouds blew in. We packed up our camp and sat for the traditional South American camping breakfast. Toast, cheese, ham, oats, yogurt and surprisingly eggs that didn’t look like grits (yesterday was the first time we were served eggs for breakfast, but their texture was strange).

We turned in our lunch tickets for a to go box and stuffed it in our pack before we headed toward Campamento Italiano and the Valle del Francés. The wind gusted violently this morning. I was thankful to be following somewhat flat terrain through tall grass and low bushes by the lake so I could keep my balance. Soon we entered a stand of dead trees. It is amazing how well leafless trees block the wind. We turned from cold to hot as the morning sun gleamed on the white trunks. Eventually the dead trees turned to live ones, and we were in and out of stunted forest.

Lago Pehoé

Nordernskjöld Lake

The path was muddy from the many waterfalls that spilled down the walls to our left into the lake on our right. Many of the boardwalks and bridges were in complete disrepair and may have been the only run down thing we’ve seen at the park thus far. Some of them looked rather dangerous. I was careful to walk on the boards with supports beams, and looked for ones that might pop up from being loose. Sometimes I just followed along the side in the mud.

Francés Glacier

After we made it around the lake and up and over the ridge, we walked through the prettiest forest yet with large trees and soon arrived at a rickety, suspension bridge over an aqua river with a fantastic view of Francés Glacier. This bridge led us to Campamento Italiano which is free and operated by the park. We filled out a form and provided our reservation tickets to the ranger before we seeked a campsite. We didn’t look long because we wanted to climb up to Británico whose trailhead begins at the camp. We found a flat spot not too far from all the amenities (a kitchen and bathrooms which were 80 yards away). Had we scouted at all, we could have found a quieter spot along the river.

our campsite at Campamento Italiano

ranger station

We set up our tent quickly, packed up our day packs and followed the trail up the Valle del Francés. Signs pointed us in the direction of Británico. Our walk took us through the campground in the woods and then along a scree path. The gentle sloping path turned steep as we exited the forest to the rocks where we enjoyed a nice view of Francés while eating part of our lunch. We were still at the bottom of the trail, and I was feeling antsy as I wanted to reach the top during the nice weather given it is so unpredictable. Though during our short stop, we did spot another ice calving.

suspension bridge

The path, peppered with location signs, crossed countless waterfalls. At times when the trail leveled out, it turned into a small stream. We trounced through the water, climbed over boulders, and wandered through more forest until we stopped again at Francés lookout. Several people had stopped here for lunch as it provided a close up view of the glacier. We didn’t stay long, but kept going toward Británico lookout. We passed through an open space with dead trees, more forest, and more rocky steep areas before we finally reached our resting point surrounded by granite towers and walls a few hours later. What a magnificent panoramic view!

Francés Glacier

Nordernskjöld Lake from Francés Lookout

Francés lookout

Francés Glacier

took three pics from left to right…this is the left side

middle

right

cloudy

clear a few hours later

Británico Lookout

bird visited us

view from Británico lookout

Lucky for us, while slightly breezy, the usually windy lookout point was rather pleasant. We hung out with a handful of hikers for a few hours as we watched the clouds shift. Each set of peaks and walls, once wrapped in clouds soon protruded into blue sky. We sure have been fortunate with the weather! Come late afternoon, we ran out of snacks so we meandered slowly back to camp. Hearing several thunderous booms in the warming day, we decided to make one more stop at the glacier and wait to see ice calve. On the way up, we saw a few poofs of snow. At our final stop, we basically saw a waterfall of ice tumble down the rocks. With that, we finished our descent. After a ten mile day, we chopped up cheese and sausage and complemented it with dried fruit and walnuts for dinner. We were asleep by 9:15! The only disappointment is neither our pictures nor my description can do this place justice. It is so beautiful! ETB

For David’s map and corresponding pictures, click here: map of our hike

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Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop. Each card has a travel story associated with it. 20% of proceeds are donated to charity.

photographic note card, barn in colorado — THE BARN

Hiking to Glacier Grey in Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine

Our bunk beds were rough for David. He nearly killed himself before we started the W route in Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine. Still in one piece, we had out breakfast at 6:30am. The lodges are very accommodating for those who leave before the scheduled breakfast time. As usual we got cheese, meat, yogurt, and toast. Eggs would be nice. They put eggs in soup, on pizza, and with a million other things, but not with breakfast.

We shared a cab with two more hikers to the bus station. The 30 minute walk is only a $3 cab ride! We had Buses Gomez tickets that our lodge purchased for us in advance for the 7:30am bus. As soon as it pulled into the terminal we walked outside. This was a brilliant choice. David threw the bags underneath, while I handed over the tickets, and we were the first of five to board the bus and to snag good seats. Being early kept us from waiting for a second bus, though they caravaned together so it didn’t matter too much.

at the bus station

The bus took us past estancias, guanacos and several farm animals during our two-hour transport to the park. We even spotted a grey fox trotting across the hills while waiting a few minutes by a construction site. As the park scenery came into view, at first I was very upset to be sitting on the right-hand side of the bus. Eventually, the road turned, however, and I got to snap some photos.

llama

view from bus

Several companies operate at the same time. They stop at a small town for a restroom break and soon arrive at Laguna Amarga. Here all passengers must fill out paperwork, purchase park passes, make campsite reservations for free locations, and watch a video on the rules of the park. David’s papers were in his backpack as was the itinerary I made which had the dates for reservations I needed. While I had it memorized, I felt better to have this in hand when making reservations, so we had to do some digging under the bus. I don’t recommend this. Luckily, we were able to get reservations at the free campgrounds when we wanted because some dates were already full. It was amazing that with all the people, no one seems to get left. The buses wait around a while, but it a little chaotic.

I read that we should take the ferry ride for beautiful views so instead of starting the hike at Laguna Amarga, we took the bus to the second stop…Pudeto. Here, we started the line for the 12 o’clock ferry. Boarding the ferry first allowed us to get seats up top for good pictures, however, our bags got stored at the bottom of the pack. I didn’t mind having to wait for our bag, as we had to pay for our $22 one way tickets in cash before we left the ferry anyway. We could have done that anytime during the boat ride, but we wanted to enjoy the view. We felt a like sardines on the ferry, but the spectacular weather made it worth the thirty minute ride across Lago Pehoé.

We had reservations for camping and food at Vertice Patagonia’s Refugio Paine Grande which was located adjacent the ferry dock on the south side of Cerro Paine Grande with magnificent views of los Cuernos del Paine. We checked in, received our laminated food tickets and set up our tent. Fortunately we had our own tent, as tent rentals sold out by the afternoon. The refugio was equipped with mens’ and womens’ bathrooms which included sinks, flush toilets and showers; a kitchen for campers to cook on their camp stoves; a large dining area; a small shop selling limited food supplies; and of course hostel style rooms with bunk beds should guests wish to share a room with strangers and not sleep in a tent.

After getting the lay of the land, I suggested we hike to Glacier Grey today as the last weather update I saw called for rain tomorrow. David was in a more lackadaisical mood until we checked the latest weather forecast with the staff. In Spanish, English, and hand gestures, we learned that tomorrow there would be a chance of rain and low clouds. The gentleman suggested the hike to Lago Grey was only two hours and told us to “go NOW”. Fortunately I had scheduled some buffer time upon arrival at the park because I didn’t have full confidence in the transportation system that they somehow have down to a science with paper tickets!

So we hustled back to our tent, tossed together our day packs and headed toward Glacier Grey around 2:30pm. Just near the turnoff to the trail, I read a sign “11K and 3.5 hours to the glacier”…hmmm. At a quick pace, we followed a light incline up an impressive valley through dead and stunted trees until we reached Los Patos Lagoon. Only 30 minutes into the hike, and we enjoying superb scenery which only got prettier as we climbed. Snow capped peaks towered over the Lago Grey which stretched the entire length of the trail. After about 1.5 hours of hiking, the glacier came into view. It looked magnificent in the nearly cloudless, sunny sky.

beginning the hike

Los Patos Lagoon

We stopped for a brief time to enjoy the grandeur before we continued toward the lookout point by the glacier. This is when we figured out the hike would take three hours at a steady clip as we were going beyond the lake and close to the base of the glacier. The sign and the staff were both right. We were the challenged ones! We had to hurry to finish as we had purchased dinner which ended at 9pm. At least we didn’t have to worry about the light given it doesn’t get dark until 10pm, and we had our headlamps anyway.

While we rushed toward the glacier through intermittent forest, I did not fail to take pictures. Flowers sprinkled the trail and waterfalls tumbled down the mountainside. Soon we reached Olguín bridge not too far from Refugio Grey, also operated by Vértice Patagonia. We passed by the refugio and through the campground to the final lookout point. We climbed out on the rocks, enjoyed a quick snack and view before racing back. Admittedly, I would have liked to enjoy a slower pace, but I also didn’t want to be the last one on the trail or miss our dinner. We capped our hike off by spotting six hares as we descended to our campground.

For David’s map and corresponding pictures, click here: map of our hike

Our cafeteria style dinner was good, though nothing spectacular. The burger patty, potatoes, corn soup, salad and peach tart beat cooking dried camp food. After dinner, we admired an absolutely fantastic sunset that lit up the rocky Cuernos del Paine! We couldn’t have asked for a better day, especially when the clouds blew in just after dark at 10:30 and the rain began at midnight. ETB

view from tent

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photographic note card, belize sunset — SERENITY

Day Seven – In Antarctica, The South Shetland Archipelago

Half Moon Island

We started out the morning with 30 knot winds, gusting up to 53, so kayaking was not an option for Half Moon Island. The staff wasn’t even sure if they would be able to launch the zodiacs. We walked the deck to get a feel for the weather and with our back to the wind we were literally being pushed forward! Luckily for us, though delayed, the captain was finally able to anchor the boat, the zodiacs got launched, and we got a choppy ride to shore.

To help with the shuttling process of 100 passengers and to comply with restrictions pertaining to how many people could be on land at a time at certain sites, generally we were separated into three smaller groups the Adelie, Chinstraps, and Gentoos (types of Penguins) and the groups rotated in order of first, second and third, respectively. The Adelie’s were the first off the boat while the winds were higher, and we watched a few of them get drenched as waves crashed at the bow of their zodiacs. Nicole and I were in the Gentoo group and enjoyed much calmer seas. We landed on the rocky beach, home to an old boat a few Chinstrap penguins.

While our yellow parkas remained dry from ocean spray, upon landing we walked through a fine mist. The lens on my camera was the only item unhappy with this weather. Otherwise, without the wind blowing, it wasn’t particularly cold. I think I was unzipping my parka, and wishing I could shed layers after walking around a bit.

Chinstrap Penguin Colony

Speaking of walking around, we followed marked paths to different penguin colonies always giving way to the penguin, of course. In certain places, two flags marked a penguin highway. All humans had to stop if penguins were in the “highway” area, as this was their path from their colony to the sea. Half Moon Island is home to a Chinstrap breeding colony. It is one of two places to view a good Chinstrap colony in the Antarctic. During breeding season, the penguins lay two eggs, and if they survive they obviously have two chicks with grey feathers.

It seemed like most of the eggs had hatched and the mothers were watching their two chicks on their rocky nests. The penguins use rocks to build there nests so that melting snow water will drain through the nests and not drown or freeze their eggs. While they waddle back and forth to retrieve rocks, they also steal from one another. Obviously, the nest building was completed several weeks ago as these chicks, I believe were a few weeks old, though it doesn’t stop the penguins from snagging another rock occasionally.

snapping a photo of the colony

They were pretty fun to watch, and they didn’t seem to concerned with humans. In fact, many times they walked right by us; though, I suspect if we got too close to their nest, they would honk and flap their wings more often than they were currently.

While other bird predators might want to get close to the nesting area to snatch a chick, the stench of the penguin poo kept us from staying in one spot too long! Since the moms had to stay on their nests to protect their young until they grew larger, they could not wash off in the frigid water. Many had a white belly stained a reddish, brown hue. Beware of picture of a perfectly black and white penguin that is not right by the water…it has probably been photo shopped!!!

We did see a few porpoising penguins as well, but given the young age of the chicks, most of the Chinstrap penguins were near their colonies. We were also able to spot a few Gentoo penguins, though we will be visiting large Gentoo colonies further south, so we expect to see many more, also with their chicks.

From Penguins to Shore Birds

Several shore birds soared overhead and a few landed nearby, including a cormorant, a Great Skua that was picking on an unlucky penguin, a Kelp Gull, a Snowy Sheathbill, and an Antarctic Tern to name a few, but admittedly, I was more taken by the birds who have evolved to not fly! I’m told being in the Gentoo group, we arrived too late to see some seals…maybe next time!

Whalers Bay on Deception Island

The wind continued to blow for the afternoon, so kayaking was cancelled for the day, but it didn’t keep us from joining the land-dwellers, also known as the “Beautiful People” in yellow jackets according to our kayak leader Val. Whalers Bay on Deception Island is home to a deserted whaling station and the caldera of an active volcano. With remnants of boats scattered across volcanic rock and fog hanging overhead, it looked like a scene in a horror film. The scene was so eerie!

Whaling Station

Glaciers towered behind the whaling station which operated from 1906 to 1931 and was once home to approximately 200 hundred men and 13 factory ships. The station did not process whale blubber, this was completed on the ship, but instead it boiled the whale carcasses to extract additional oil which was stored in large iron tanks. It was abandoned when it was no longer economical and when the whale supply was exhausted.

In the 1940’s and 1950’s, both the British and the Chileans established scientific bases (including an airstrip and hanger by the Chileans) on the island, but they were destroyed by volcanic activity in the 1960’s as was the island’s cemetery. In addition, a portion of the side of one cliff has fallen away, now called Neptune’s Window. After checking out an old row boat, digging up six inches of volcanic ash to feel 90 degree water rush into our hands, and inspecting some whale bones, we hiked up to the “window” to see the bay on the other side. We also got a good view of the town, old metal shacks, and scattered wooden debris.

deception island, whalers bay, antarctica

On our way back down, we had to stop an enjoy the tiny bit of green, mossy growth on a rock before we wandered through the entire town. We passed by the rusted tanks tagged with graffiti as well as the boilers on our way to some living quarters.

moss on rock

remnants of exploration in antarctica

We splashed through some melting glacial water on our way past two graves, the British Scientific station house and the Chilean aircraft hanger, before following the shore back to admire a lovely female, leopard seal resting on land and a handful of penguins! Our two stops today were so different from each other…one nature galore, the other nature deprived…but both very interesting.

Whalers bay, deception island, Antarctica, grave

Whalers bay, deception island, Antarctica,

Whalers bay, deception island, Antarctica, airplane hanger

Whalers Bay, Deception Island, Antarctica, penguins

Whalers bay, deception island, Antarctica, leopard seal

Entertainment on Sea Spirit

Our evening included a quiz of random questions by the staff…Val led the event. Our Team Deceptors, which included our Canadian friends, got five out of twelve! Not so bad, as the highest score was eight! It has been great fun so far. The staff has been fantastic…very knowledgeable and very entertaining…until tomorrow. ETB

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Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop. Each card has a travel story associated with it. 20% of proceeds are donated to charity.