Submitted by Pat

We broke camp late because the wind had howled all night and had not let up for us to make an early crossing to the trailhead for our Lago Cachorro hike. It took us a long time to get ready. I kayaked over on the sixth boat out with Greg. No one knew where to land our boats so they either waited for us or went exploring. The landing zone consisted of a near vertical cliff (about 35 feet high) with a few rocks at the bottom to stand on. Greg and I looked at each other and shrugged. Roberto's idea of a landing area was not ours. But we didn't argue and set about unloading until Roberto arrived and galvanized us into somewhat of a team. As each boat approached, Roberto assisted the people up the cliff - they used a rope to hoist themselves up since the footing was sketchy at best. I made it up without the rope, but not without some trouble. Greg and some others were on top and Roberto tied the bow of the boat and the boat was dead hauled up the cliff. Gear was handed up from Roberto to me since I had decided to do my She Hulk imitation and stand part way down the cliff to assist with people and gear.

Once everyone was up we put on hiking gear and loaded our backpacks with enough clothing for two nights. The guides asked those who had room and were able to carry their tents. Katie carried our tent, Don carried their poles and tent stakes, and I carried their tent. I had room since my pack was the biggest of the three of us. The hike itself lasted a little over an hour - another cow path, rock slide, bushwhack trail. We walked in the middle front of the group with Greg. Kate and Frank were first with Roberto. Beautiful views of the river siphoning off Lago Cachorro as we hiked. We took our time and took pictures.

We arrived at a small beach and watched as Roberto, Kate and Frank took one kayak over to the camp - about a 5 minute paddle across the lake. Greg, Don, Nancy and I stood around and waited and waited and waited. We took stock of the other kayak there but it had no seats and we only had one paddle. We expected Roberto to come back with seats and paddles but he never did. Greg finally ferried Nancy and Don across when one of the guides arrived with extra paddles. I went over on the next trip and the rest followed in time. The brothers decided to swim the crossing - I was impressed - I would never swim in glacial water, but they made it. I was glad Greg decided to pace them with a kayak.

Roberto was busy making lunch while we were waiting for him to return so we ate and set up camp. The plan was for some members of the group to do a long hike up to one of the high peaks with views of a different glacier and the other members to kayak down to the end of Lago Cachorro and do a short hike up a waterfall with great views. Because we were late, only Roberto, Juan and Frank decided to do the hike so they could blaze it for the rest of the group that had decided to attempt it the next day. The rest of us got into the kayaks and paddled down the lake. I went in a threesome with Don in the stern and Nancy behind him - not very comfortable since she ended up sitting in a puddle of freezing cold water, but the sun was out so she was ok.

The views of waterfalls cascading from high glaciers along the walls of the cliffs surrounding the lake were astounding. It was hard to remember to paddle. When we made it to the end of the lake, we got out, stretched, and ate some snacks. We couldn't see any trail markers and Greg didn't know the trail so we hung around, took pictures, and eventually started back. I was in the stern, Nancy in front and Don behind me on the way back. I hated steering. Either I was defective or the rudder was defective, because I kept over steering which resulted in paddling farther while I made a course correction. I was cussing a blue streak all the way back. And to top it off, the sun went down behind the mountains and all of us got cold, especially Don sitting in the ice water behind me and wearing only cotton.

When we finally got back to camp, it took a while, a sleeping bag, and putting his white cold numb feet on Nancy's warm belly to get Don warmed up. He was well on his way to hypothermia. Poor guy. When he started feeling better, I grabbed some Nancy time. We sat on a kayak because my butt was so sore from sitting on rocks. If they can bring food, a toilet, a table, and the like, couldn't they bring some fold-up camp chairs? Had I only known that not being able to sit comfortable was going to create such discomfort and stress for me, I would have brought my own.

I was beat and all of us rejoiced when we saw what Eduardo had prepared for dinner - spaghetti and meat sauce. Most of the group sat around the fire and talked for a while longer, but I was finished and went to bed. It was cool and I slept relatively well.