Hola! So, it's week 3 in South America and this is our first real blog post, but we do have a good excuse since we've been off trekking in the Patagonian wilderness! We snuck in at the very tail end of the season and were able to trek the full Paine Circuit and the W (they actually closed the circuit while we were on our 2nd day) in Torres del Paine. The trek was by far the most physically demanding thing that I have done but it was an absolutely wonderfully experience and 100% worth it.
We've spent the last week in Ushuaia, Argentina exploring Tierra del Fuego and leave tomorrow for a cruise that will take us down to Cape Horn and then back north through the fjords to Punta Arenas, Chile (It's not Antartica but still, sailing to Cape Horn will be pretty sweet!). Then we'll hop over to El Calafate for some more trekking near Monte Fitzroy before heading up to the Lakes District & hopefully warmer weather.
The TDP trek (including the Torres viewpoint) is 120km according to Lonely Planet (every map is a little different) and took us 10 days & 9 nights to complete, including 2 rest days where we didn't carry our packs.
Before the trek:
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| Arriving at the Puerto Natales Airport (4.5 hours from Santiago). They only started commercial flights here last year & it's little more than an airstrip and a warehouse/terminal (one airline employee and no TSA here)! |
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| Provisions! Trying to stock up on back packing food was a little challenging in such a remote area in another country but we had some pretty good meals. The best: instant mashed potatoes, instant soup, and tuna! |
Day One: Laguna Amarga to Seron
We started trekking in the rain, which was pretty miserable, but we made it to the first campground in a lovely meadow. The walk was easy, on an old 4x4 road most of the way. The weather cleared that evening and this was probably the only night where clear enough to see the stars. Beautiful!
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| Trail sign at the start of the trek (I swear they were only on our first and last days). |
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| Hiking in the rain |
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| Megallanic Woodpecker- we were luck enough to see a group up close on our first day! |
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| At Camping Seron looking back. |
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| Where we were headed... |
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| Wagon and flowers. This was a beautiful campsite that usually has showers and flush toilets but , like most things on the circuit, the services were closed for the season. |
Day 2: Seron to Dickson
The next day we walked what we thought would be our longest day in length at 19km (we had a 21km day later on). The path was long but the trail pretty easy, through a valley and along a lake, and I woke up feeling really strong. Tony weighed our packs on a scale a Seron and I was shocked to find out that my bag was 46lbs and his was 53lbs. I usually complain about a 25lb pack so all of that P90X must have worked!
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| On the trail-one of many rainbows we saw along the trek. Today we found the famous Patagonian wind that will blow you right off your feet! |
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| Backside of Paine Grande and the Torres Cirque from Refugio Dickson. |
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| Tony at Dickson |
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| Another rainbow! |
Day 3: Rest Day at Dickson
So, after only 2 days of hiking we took a rest day to refresh our legs (and eat some more of our food) before the difficult days that were ahead of us. The refugio was open for just 2 more days so we got a hot shower though we weren't able to buy any meals. Dickson is on a beautiful glacial lake with mountains all around. The fall colors were just starting to show and the tress went from green at the lake to red at treeline- beautiful!
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| Sunrise |
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| Sunrise at Dickson |
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| Having fun on our day off |
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| If you look in the lower right you can see the glacier at the end of the lake. |
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| Our home away from home. |
Day 4: Dickson to Los Perros
Fewer pictures from this day- we were out-running the rain and were lucky to make it to camp before it really got going. We met a couple heading the opposite way on the Circuit (with awesome gear) that were super excited to be on a regular trail after making it over the pass. Hmm....
The 10 tents or so our first night at Seron had diminished to 5 at Dickson and now there were only 4 couples at Perros getting ready to head over John Gardner Pass. The services at Perros had also closed but there was a room with a fire where we could get out of the rain for a few minutes. It was a welcome relief after a soggy night!
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| Waterfall on the way to Los Perros |
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| Our midnight civil engineering project to keep our tent from flooding. Tony dug this trench all of the way around the tent while it was pouring rain. We packed up a wet, muddy tent but at least we and all of our things were dry. Some of the other campers weren't so lucky. |
Day 5: Perros to Campamento Paso via John Gardner Pass
This day would take us to the highest point of the Circuit, just over 1200m, and promised a lot of challenge and (hopefully) some of the best views in the park. The ranger had heard that bad weather was coming in and suggested that we leave by 7:30AM, but with everything wet and muddy (& it was still raining) we didn't camp until 9:30. We were lucky and the rain cleared as we passed tree line and we were able to view the enormous Glacier Grey as we passed over the summit of the pass. I think the glacier is the most extraordinary thing I've ever seen- it extended as far as the eye could see up the valley to the right and far to left through a massive valley with smaller glaciers coming into in. Jaw-droppingly magnificient.
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| We started the day with a rainbow...must be a good sign! |
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| The trail was a bog after the heavy rain. (I watched a guy step in up to his knee!) |
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| Autumn color and new snow at tree line. |
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| Heading up to the summit. |
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| Small glacier at the top |
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| Looking back into the valley- at only 3.600 ft above sea level it was a strenuous up-hill hike, but you don't feel any of the affects of the altitude that you do in Colorado. I kept anticipating that kind of dizzy-ing vertigo you get above tree line at 12,000 ft! |
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| At the windy pass- Tony and our first glimpse of Glacier Grey. |
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| Glacier to the right |
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| and to the left... |
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| Incredible |
Day 6: Campamento Paso to Refugio Grey
After much glacier admiring we made it to Campamento Paso and ended up camping with only 1 other couple in the camp ground. The others had continued on another 3 hours to the next campground which is a real feat since this turned out to be the hardest portion of the entire trek! It was steep, wet, freezing, windy, and exposed with some seriously sketchy ravine crossings. I ended up falling down the trail at one point, narrowly missing hitting my head on a thick log (that probably would have done some real damage). Thankfully I walked away with scrapes and bruises on both legs that are still healing. Walking into Refugio Grey was like entering another world- with endless hot showers (no time limit!), fireplaces, comfy leather couches, and people just starting the "W" trek with clean clothes and brand new gear. It felt pretty bad-ass to say we were on day 6!
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| Campground all to us |
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| Path down |
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| Where I fell (that's the log) |
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| Ravine crossing 1- it was blowing snow like crazy and that hazy thing in the distance was the ladder we'd have to climb. Oh, it's really 3 ladders made of metal rods tied together with rope. Don't forget you're carrying 40lbs of non-aerodynamic pack. |
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| "And they call the wind Mariah...." |
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| Glacial "waves" in the sun |
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| Ravine crossing #2- heading down the ladder this time. |
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| After crossing the 2nd ravine, probably the closest we got to the glacier. |
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| Front of the glacier at Lago Grey. |
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| Glaciated mountain peaks from Refugio Gery |
Day 7: Refugio Grey to Campamento Italiano
We splurged and bought a hot breakfast at the refugio (huevos!) before heading out. One day 7, scambled eggs and actual toast tasted incredible. This was our windiest day with consistent gusts up of 90km/h and also the most barren as we walked through the huge area destroyed by the December fire.
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| Burnt |
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| Last view of Glacier Grey |
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| Icebergs at the end of the lake. Just think about how old this ice is and how far it's traveled. |
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| These birds were all around the park. |
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| More fire damage |
Day 8: Campamento Italiano & Valle Frances
We spent this semi-rest day at Italiano and hiked up part way into the French Valley, one of the highlights of the W. Because it was so late in the season we were able to spend 2 nights at Italiano (usually you move on after 1 night). The campground is right between the massive Paine Grande peak and and cirque that makes up the "Torres" of Torres del Paine. The steep rugged nature of Paine Grande results in constant avalanches as snow and glacier bits release and fall to the valley. All night it sounds like you're surrounded by a huge thunder storm that's really these avalanches. We were able to see a couple of small ones when hiking up in the valley. It was amazing to see and hear avalanches while still at a safe distance. The sky cleared but the winds were still roaring at 85km/hr so we didn't hang around too long!
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| Summit of Paine Grande |
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| Paine Grande |
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| Across the valley |
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| "Dangerous" Waterfall- funny b/c it's pretty mild compared to those ravines we saw 2 days earlier! |
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| Mucho Viento! |
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| Looking back down the valley |
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| Paine Grande- where snow falls like water |
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| Another one showing the glaciers near the summit |
Day 9: Italiano to Torres
Our last campground and longest day; 21km mostly uphill! We were thankful for good gear after another rainy night. At this point we were used to the rain but most of the other campers at Italiano turned back to town after only 1 night in the park, their tents and clothes soaked through. As we headed east from Italiano we could see the weather building in the Valle Frances and were happy to move on. It was a long trudge up to Torres but we pushed on for over 8 hours to find the campground mostly covered in snow!
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| Weather building |
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| More snow headed our way |
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| Bracing against the wind |
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| Why did we come up here? |
Day 10: Torres Mirador
SO, the thing to do in Torres Del Paine is camp at Campamento Torres, wake up at 5AM (or there abouts), and hike up to see the sunrise as it lights us the towers. However, we woke up to a snow storm, a serious snow storm, and who but my husband would still want to hike up the snowy slope when the only view we're likely to have is of more snow. So of course we got up and hiked to the top. :) We then packed up our gear and hiked down to where we started at Laguna Amarga (ate some fantastic papas fritas) and caught the bus back to town.
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| Night #9- before the snow started to fall |
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| Our tent- she's heavy and takes a long time to set up and take down but is oh so worth it... |
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| Snow! |
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| Tony making coffee at the Torres mirador- our Jetboil was still working! |
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| At the top! |
