day 7 - pooped pups

the alarm went off at 5:50... I slept right through it.
      luckily it woke pete up and he in turn woke me up. we dressed
      quickly, packed extra layers, and took off with our small
      packs, trekking poles and headlamps. there was no hint of
      morning light, just the moon glowing faintly behind a few
      wispy clouds. we followed the reflection of trail markers,
      scanning above with our headlamps when the path was not
      obvious. we were in the center of a sparse trail of fellow
      headlamps, all headed for the same destination. it was a
      steep climb and the lights ahead looked far too high for the
      short distance away that they appeared. we scrambled clumsily
      over boulders and up a scree field, our depth perception
      thrown off by the dark. an hour later the trail ended. the
      hint of light from the sky, ever-warming behind us, was
      revealing the towers ahead, just barely visible at first
      approach, in the dim morning.
    

      we found a boulder where we could watch both the sunrise in
      one direction and the brightening towers in the other. our
      sweaty bodies were instantly chilled and we began piling on
      the layers we had lugged with us until we were comfortably
      indifferent to the cold.
    

      as the towers got brighter we moved to get a better view.
      before long they were glowing pink over the magical blue lake
      below. the fluffy clouds behind them brightened to an even
      more intense pink. we didn't want to leave but were forced to
      by the day's schedule - critically, making the 2pm bus back
      to puerto natales. yes, it is our final day in the park...
      sigh...
    

      we finally dragged ourselves away from the glowing rock
      spires and started our hike back to camp. we would have been
      faster going down and aided by daylight had we not been
      repeatedly looking back longingly at the ever brightening
      towers, reflecting the neon pink of the sunrise in the other
      direction. a condor flew low overhead and we felt like the
      park was bidding us farewell...
    

      back in camp we had a PR for packup + breakfast time and we
      were out of camp at 10am sharp as planned. figures the last
      day we finally get our routine sorted out. the hike to the
      hotel torres (where the shuttle leaves to the bus back to
      PN), was faster than expected thanks to mucho downhill
      trails. we passed tourists on horseback and friends from
      campgrounds past and day hikers from the fancy hotel who I
      think held their breath as they passed our
      7-days-without-a-shower bodies...
    

      as we had consumed literally our last crumb of food with
      breakfast (the only edible thing that made it back to the
      hostel with us was one pack of emergen-C and arguably our
      half used tube of travel toothpaste), we were hungry by the
      noon hour when we reached the bottom and we weren't the only
      ones. thankfully the park takes advantage of this and had a
      gazebo of food for sale set up next to the shuttle stop where
      the post-Patagonia trekkers hang out.
    

      2 packs of chocolate filled cream chocolate cookies and the
      very last two hotdogs (possibly the best of my life) later we
      were happy campers, literally. as we sat digesting and
      commenting on what we would do for the final 1h40min until
      the shuttle arrived, we made a split second decision to hike
      the remaining 7.5km road to the bus station. of the large
      group of fellow trekkers we found only one other foolish... I
      mean energetic enough, to hike with us. 
    

      the view looking back on the park was amazing and I regretted
      our decision to hike that last bit probably only during 5 of
      the 7.5km... honestly, I think the hot dog cookie combo
      fooled me into thinking I had more energy than I actually did
      and about 3 minutes into the hike I had burned through it all
      and was wanting to be back sitting in the grass waiting for
      the shuttle. too late, my pride was on the line now. we had
      to hustle, and thanks to a shortcut, just barely beat the
      shuttle to the buses. right before getting there, with an
      epic view of many snow-covered peaks ahead, we spotted a bunch
      of guanacos, including babies!! it was amazing! this was the
      closest we had seen them...
    

      with our bags safely under the bus we said goodbye to
      beautiful torres del paine as the bus sped toward puerto
      natales. out the window were more herds of guanacos, and
      oddly enough, a few flamingos in a lake we drove past... this
      place is so awesome. 
    

      our gear exploded in our room when we unpacked and we've got
      to admit, the smell isn't exactly what you would describe as
      pleasant. we fit right in until our showers. 10 layers of
      brown skin later and I am finally feeling back to my normal
      self. took more of the dirt from the park back with me than
      I'm thinkin is legal...
    

      dinner was pizza and beer at base camp pub - the last 2 he
      had ingredients for this night... how lucky are we?! we maued
      every last bite washed down by the local brew that was a
      fraction better than I remember chilean beer to be.
    

      our evening was perfect, spent by the bonfire out back with
      long lost friends and new ones... trisha played guitar,
      others took turns with the drum, we all sang along when we
      knew the words. I wish we didn't had to leave this fairy world
      so soon; it really is a little piece of neverland...