February 2, 2006
Day 127
I woke up this morning to the pitter-patter of a downpour splashing against the tent. None of us wanted to take down camp while it was raining so hard, so we waited for an hour or so for it to pass. Luckily, the rain completely stopped for half an hour, and we were still somewhat dry when we left.
We walked for a few hours, but the weather only got worse. At the top of the pass we had to cross, it was cold, windy and snowy. When we dropped down below the tree line, the rain and wind subsided, but the ground got extremely muddy. I don't have proper boots for trekking, so my shoes quickly became waterlogged. When we reached the highway where we planned to hitch a ride to another part of the national park, I decided to call it quits. I was feeling run-down and thought I might be getting a cold, exactly what I didn't want on my trip to Antarctica, so I walked back to Ushuaia.
My decision to go back turned out to be a wise one. After taking a nice shower, I slept all afternoon. I got up for a few hours for dinner, then went to bed early. A cold was definitely coming on, and sleeping in a cold, windy, muddy tent would only have made it worse. In the next few days, I might do some walks around town if I feel better, but otherwise I'll just plan to relax and meet John and Craig on Sunday night or Monday morning back at the hostel.
