The Torres (cue dramatic music)

Amazingly, we awoke with the alarm at 4 - unwilling to risk a snooze that might compromise what seemed to be "the" experience of the entire hike. Headlamps ablaze, we did 45 minutes of boulder scrambling in darkness, eager to reach the viewpoint.

We weren't alone. A trail of headlamps bobbed quietly in the distance.

Though shrouded in morning clouds, the granite spires where somewhat visible shortly after we reached the top. I hid between some rocks and settled into my sleeping bag - attempting to cook up an oatmeal breakfast. The wind, no surprise, was violent, blowing my stuff around, knocking over the stove, and blowing out the flame every minute or two. Eventually, I succeeded, but in the end would probably have rather just sat there quietly between the rocks watching the sun come up - as 30 or 40 others hidden around me had done.

Finally, just as the sun came up, the clouds began to dissipate, revealing the torres. Three spikes of granite shot up several thousand feet into the sky, rising from a small lake bored into the rock below. For days we had feared that we wouldn't get a clean look due to the weather, so this moment was as much a of a relief as it was a majestic natural wonder.

It began to drizzle, so I quickly packed up my things and went looking for Kip. Unable to find him (and worried that he wouldn't be able to protect his camera from the rain), I climbed to the top of a several hundred foot high pile of boulders/rubble. Once on top, the wind became fierce, knocking me to the ground where I was forced to curl into the fetal position for several minutes - waiting for it to die down. When it subsided, I realized that a rainbow had formed, diving into the lake at the base of the Torres. Incredible.

Thought: I wonder how many of the day hikers we passed would actually make it to the Torres. Many of them could barely survive the first mile of the hike!