Day 4 on the W Trail: Ice and Fire: My Grey Refuge Experience.
I've finally made it to Grey Refuge, my last stop in this park! I'll be here for two nights. There are tons of adventures to be had around here. Today, my fourth day, I hiked a total of 13.5 miles (21.82 km) on two different trails. I still have two more days of hiking ahead. So, what am I going to do now that I'm here? The highest temperature today was 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) and the lowest was 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). First, a hot shower! Then, I'm going to unpack everything and hang up all my clothes. With my 50-liter (13.20-gallon) backpack now empty, I can head to the bar for a few pisco sours and catch up with the other hikers. After dinner, I'll warm up by the fireplace with a glass of cognac. And then, it's off to bed. The glacier and Grey Lake are only 2,362 feet (720 meters) away. I can hear the ice walls crashing into the lake. It's part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the second largest extra-polar ice cap in the world. It's 17.4 miles (28 km) long and covers an area of over 105 square miles (270 square kilometers). It starts on the western side of the Patagonian Andes and ends at the shores of Grey Lake. On average, it's 98 feet (30 meters) high and about 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) wide. Hiking summary: Day 1: 18.6 miles (30 km). Day 2: 10.6 miles (17 km). Day 3: 14.3 miles (23 km). Day 4: 13.7 miles (22 km). Total for the first four days: 57.2 miles (92 km).