Geological Society of America's Student-Oriented GeoTrip

"Patagonia--New Year's at the End of the World"

JR's Journal

Torres del Paine National Park
January 4, 2005

Day 9 Fotos


 

We slept until almost 10:00. Angel arrived saying he had driven to Puerto Natales and returned with the papers to find the border closed. After spending the night on the Argentine side, he crossed without needing the papers! He was not happy and was very tired. He brought the food with him so we had the standard bread and marmalade breakfast, with coffee and or juice.

A bunch of us walked to the edge of the campground and started climbing the adjacent hill. Guto got into the rocks and everyone else joined him. They are turbidites from the Cretaceous Rocas Verdes Formation that was intruded by the Tertiary towers. We climbed for about an hour, looking at the view and the rocks, until hunger started to get to us. Then, we returned to camp where Angel had soup and bread prepared for us. It wasn't enough food. Many people went over to the hotel to get more to eat.

After lunch, a group of us walked over to the hotel and started hiking along the trail along the north side of Lago Nordenskjöld into a moderate headwind. The tops of the towers were mostly in the clouds but it was crisp, clear and sunny with a moderate breeze, otherwise. The dikes, folds, and faults exposed on both sides of the lake were exquisite. We made many stops to look at he rocks. At one point we stopped by a pond fed by groundwater which was a dark color and could also see the main lake that was light green from the rock flour.

We ended our hike on a small promentory that overlooked the lake. From there, we returned to camp along the same trail. Chris appeared to be feeling better at camp and he and Nicole camped with us the second night. Angel prepared milenesas which were a big hit with everyone, even though they weren't served until midnight.

    

Previous
Calendar
Next

Email Dr. James Reynolds JR's Home Page

Division of Science & Mathematics