The Mirador Condor hike is named after a Condor nest found along the way. It is 2.2 miles and is identified as intermediate level of difficulty. It gets two out of four possible stars on the difficulty scale. It rises 830 feet and descends 731 feet where a van takes us back to the hotel. I left with a long sleeve shirt and my Scot-E-Vest. The Scott-E-Vest is travel wear with 15 or so pockets that I stuffed a raincoat, water, binoculars, camera, lip balm and many other items too numerous to list. It was too much clothing at the base of the hike and too little at the top. With our guide Sevi, we were a party of eight. I wisely took hiking poles with me. They were a great help on the steep parts and the poles were essential in the places that were covered in scree, loose rock that collects at the base of mountain cliffs. The entire hike took 2.5 hours and was a good test of my abilities. I would stick to the one star hikes as there is a fine line between hiking for pleasure and biting off too much to chew. When we reached the top I realized that the name of the hike may be Condor because the wind is so strong up here that if you flap your arms you just might be able to fly like a Condor. We were able to see 180 degrees around the entire park from this location. It was a difficult climb and I felt all of my 60 years as we reached the top.
Awaiting our briefing by the big map
I have my hat and I am ready to go
Time to explore
The terrain was varied from grassland to forest to bare rock
The shade felt good on this hot day
An Austral Parakeet loud and squawking as always
Burned remains of trees killed in a 2011 fire
Our first viewpoint
This is the famous Cerro Escudo peaks
A great day for a boat ride
The French Glacier
This accumulation of ice is unique. It is not hard ice like a glacier but very light ice that is deposited by freezing clouds. Anyone climbing to the summit has to tunnel through this ice as it is not strong enough to stand on.
the Shark Fin is a granite monolith that was carved on both sides by glaciers to get this sharp edge
A native terrestrial orchid
A parasitic plant blooming in a tree
After they bloom, its over
Primitive camping is allowed
More lateral movement
And now some vertical movement
Pea plant flowers
The Mother In Law Cushion, it looks soft but it is all thorns
Lichen covered rock
Puma poo!
A mini Shark Fin
We are getting up there
The poles are holding me up
Top left is the Explora Hotel
A hotel is on this island. The bridge is very tenuous
Rock don't roll!
The steep part
Is getting steeper!
Time for the last jump up to the top
I made it, now don't let the wind blow me down
Unencumbered views
So beautiful!
Sunny and bright
Breathtaking
Another waterfall between lakes
Top of the World!
A dung beetle looking for that Puma poo
Time to head down
Lady slipper flowers say, don't slip!
