Day 8 (3/6): Torres to Hotel Las Torres (10 km, 6.2 miles)

After a cold and restless night, we awoke at 5 am to pack our sleeping bag, pad, every clothing item I brought and food in to our packs before hiking up the 1 km to Torres.  We ascended over 300 meters (1000 feet) by headlamp and since it was still dark, we kept going up the rocks as the faint light started to brighten the sky.  We found a rocky overlook with some wind protection and settled in to watch the sun rise.

Dressed in everything we owned to stay warm!

And waited and waited.  An hour later, the light started to reflect off the towers and it was incredibly beautiful!  We took a ton of photos, partly because moving around also helped keep us warm!  After sunrise, we came down to the waters edge.  

After 3 hours, we finally had to leave in order to pack up camp (I didn't even care anymore that the tent was soaked in mud) and make our way down to catch the 2 pm bus. 

With a light pack (almost no food left) and light feet (the prospect of a warm bed and hot shower are quite motivating!), we descended to Chileno, treated ourselves to a Coke and then kept going all the way down to Hotel Las Torres.

Wait, so you're saying I could have taken a horse up?!  

Right before the end, we paused by a beautiful lake with a view of the Torres and reflected on our 8 crazy days (we also counted countries visited... I think I'll be at 50 by the time I come home in May!). As we rolled in to the parking lot, the sun was shining, the mountains were looming and we were proud of our accomplishment!

Fist bump at the end!

 A sleepy bus ride home later, we turned in our rental gear, cleaned up and treated ourselves to beer, tacos and burgers at the local cervezeria with our San Diego friends and a table of hikers heading out the next day.  What a fabulous trip!  All in all, we hiked over 70 miles in 6 days and 2 half days and saw glaciers, mountains, lakes and rivers that were absolutely stunning!