Torres Del Paine Day 4

Day 4 was the John Gardiner Pass day. The John Gardiner Pass is billed as the hardest day of the Paine circuit with the most eleveation gain, and it didnt disappoint. We tried to wake up early, but ended up sleeping in. Classic Ry and J move there, haha! Eventually we got up, had some oatmeal in the tummy and got on the trail. The trail started out with the mud pits of death. No bridges here like the previous day. We had to shimmy on slippery logs over knee deep mud. Not too fun. I almost got stuck at one point, and definitely got my boots dirty. But eventually we made it past bog land without being sucked down to the muddy depths.

We continued going up, and up and up. And up. We got above the tree line and then you guessed it, continued going up. Luckily it was a beautiful day with sun and not too much wind, so the views were incredible and we had no problem enjoying them. There were snow capped mountains on either side of us, a beautiful valley behind, and our destination at the top.

After about 4 hours of hiking up, we made it to the top of the pass. As we came over the top of the mountain on the gravelly rocky slopes, we saw the most beautiful scene I have ever seen in my life. All the hard work of the day had been worth it.

The view isn't even really possible to describe, but I'll try. There was a mountain range in the distance which was a bit reddish at the base and snowy at the top and above that was a blue sky with a few puffy clouds. In front of the mountain range was the biggest glacier I've ever seen! It was stretching for miles and miles seemingly with no beginning and no end. The blues and icy whites of the glacier were beautiful and almost made the mountains appear as if they were floating in space, or heaven. It was breathtaking.

We took in the view, had a lunch break, and then began the descent. The trail went straight down and I mean straight down. They seriously could have added a few more switchbacks here I think! It was so steep! This part nearly killed me! Hopping over huge boulders, sliding down nearly vertical slippery slopes of loose rocks, dodging big tree roots with meter drops below them, was not fun for me. After hiking UP all day and then going down this, was my worst moment. My legs did not want to function. Every step felt like I was 80 years old and my knees were going to give out any minute. I really questioned why I was putting myself through this?! I was also hoping for a massage therapist to be permanently stationed at the next camp! No such luck though, damn.

We reached camp, made cup-o-soup and munched on some chocolate and life seemed better. Remembering that amazing view and snuggling with my guy in the tent made it all worth it.