Good news: The rain and snow left with Santa and his reindeer. The winds aren't strong enough to fly a kite. The temperature isn't screaming "Beware of hyperthermia" like on Christmas Day.
Bad news: Fresh White Death clung to the hillsides, the trees and dotted the muddy trail.
As we progressed east, we glimpsed some streaks of blue above us. Glacier fed aquamarine lakes sat below us. Later on, the clouds parted. A mass of Patagonian mountains and ice fields materialized out of the mist. Wow! They really did exist. There was reason I was wearing fleece, a jacket and and a wool hat in the summer. I guess a little discomfort is OK for this kind of payoff.
At the Refugio, my fellow backpackers and me scan the high horizon and smile. The Southern Hemisphere sunshine defrosts us from yesterday's White Death chill and damp.
We have no idea on what variety of sociopathic weather will arrive in the next few hours let alone the next day. For the moment, we're all happy.
I'll take it.
The weather for the moment is even warm enough for Jenny. She makes me look like an Antarctica explorer when it comes to cold.
Cheers,
Jeff
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