We have limited options on what we can do in the park on our current visit. The problem is that the ferry that runs on one of the lakes has broken down and this makes it difficult to reach some of the other key trails and sights in the limited time that we have. So we will do the one walk that is available, which is one of the most important ones.
We had set up our tent with a view of the towers, so when Lars woke up early and had to take a pee, he had a clear view of the towers. And it was a fantastic view - the rising sun lit up the towers and the scattered clouds in a golden glow. He forgot about taking a pee and ran off to get his camera and to take a picture of the towers.
Then back to bed (after a pee) to go back to sleep for a short while before we had to get up and get ready for our walk of the day. After packing up our sleeping stuff and a brief breakfast, we headed off in the truck to the main entrance to the park. There we arranged transport to take us to the trail head (the truck cannot pass over one of the small bridges). We arrive at Hosteria Las Torres at 8:30 AM. We first check out to see if we can do part of the walk on horseback, but the price is so exorbitant, that we decide to pass.
So off we go. The first part of the trail is steep and we slowly work our way up to the top of the ridge, where we pass over into the next valley. We walk along the valley wall on the slippery rocks down to Refugio Chileno. We decide not to stop here, but to push on. We now enter the forest and it is enchanted. There are flowers scattered in and amongst the trees. The grass is high and green. The trees are covered in old man's beard. The trail weaves it way through the trees and other obstacles.
After about an hour we exit the forest and now comes the tough part. We need to climb straight up a steep slope that is covered with large boulders. At first we can find a trail through the rocks, but as we get higher and higher, we start to have to climb up and around the boulders.
But we are rewarded at the top with fantastic views views of the towers that jut up from a small lake in a bowl at the bottom. There are scattered across the surface small blocks if ice and snow, but the towers are otherwise bare. We sit down and have lunch in the shadow of the towers. As we sit there, chunks of ice fall from the face of the tower. We observe that the rock face has two tones of color - black and light gray. Not sure why.
The walk back is much faster and not too difficult. We head back the same way, but as we have time to spare, we decide to stop at the Refugio Chileno for a drink. It is a nice place and we have views through large windows up to the towers.
We return to the trailhead about one hour early. After some shopping, we hang out in the hotel located there to wait for the mini-bus to pick us up and take us back to the camp site.
We arrive back at the campsite at 6 PM and take it easy for the rest of the evening. First a well deserved shower (hot and lots of water) and then some wine. After dinner we sit down by the lake and watch the towers as the sky slowly gets darker and darker.