Day 1 proved to be a challenge but with great reward. Katy and I were expecting hiking at the pace that we had hiked Lares....which allowed for altitude (read: sloooow pace). Not this hike. We were off and racing. The three of us managed to keep up decently, but there was a good thing that there was an assistant guide because he was able to bring up the back when necessary.
Our day's goal was to make it to Mirador Los Torres....this it the typical picture you think of when you picture the Torres del Paine W circuit. It was 9km in, 9 km out, and an extra 2 or 3 km back and forth to camp, bringing our day's total to right around 20km. It took our group about 8 hours, including a decently long lunch stop and then a beer break at a refugio on our way back from the Mirador.
 |
| Park entrance |
 |
| Our whole group at Mirador Los Torres |
 |
| Nurses :) |
The view at the lookout was absolutely amazing. We got extremely lucky weather-wise...within our first 30 min of the day's hike, we had all lost many of our layers and were soaking up the sun. That didn't last forever, which is extremely typical of this terrain. The weather conditions are ever-changing, and I was cycling between my bottom and fourth layer all day long, plus or minus hat, gloves, neck warmer, etc. Anways, back to the viewpoint. It was a steep and rocky final kilometer to the top, and I was happy when our whole group had safely made it up there. We stayed up to admire the beauty as long as we could tolerate with the wind and cold, and then headed back. Like I said before, we made a stop at the refugio about 2 hours away from our campsite to warm up and grab a beer and some snacks. The refugios are pretty neat because you feel a sense of comraderie with your fellow hikers....you also feel like you are at home as you are required to check your shoes and packs at the door to keep it clean.
 |
| All of our clothes drying by the fire |
The only unfortunate thing about the refugio was that it had started to rain/sleet while we were inside...so going back out into the weather was daunting. We geared up, made sure our packs were all securely waterproofed, and trudged on for the final 2 hours or so of our day. Lucky for us, our guide knew the owner of the refugio that was near our campsite so he provided us with a private room with a fire to hang all of our wet gear out and to hang out in before heading to our campsite for the night. The refugio fed us a delicious dinner and we were able to drink some wine and talk around the fire until we were ready to head back out into the rain and to our tents for bed.
Day 2 was a short day for us, only hiking about 11km in 5 hours. It was different in that we started at point A and ended at point B, instead of coming back to our place of origin as we had done the day before. We woke up to clear skies (yay!) after hearing rain pounding on the tent all night long. We hiked alongside a beautiful lake for a lot of the way. There were some short uphill stints but nothing too challenging. We were able to stop under a big tree for a great lunch....and I discovered if you climbed up a little hill behind us there was a great view of Los Cuernos to be seen. We made it to our high point for the day and were rewarded with a beautiful view of Lake Nordenskjold....and about 5 condors that started circling overhead as we were taking photos! And to think Katy and I booked a separate excrsion in Peru to Colca Canyon just to see condors a few months ago.....
We made it into Refugio Los Cuernos around 3pm and just in time....the weather changed quickly and we were very happy that we were all settled inside our warm mountain house for the night. The rooms had about 8 bunks in them each, stacked 3 high at some points. Our guide warned us to shower early as the refugio was expecting about 28 guests that night and hot water would be at a premium....so Katy, Reb, and I took that advice and jumped right in for some super hot showers, which was amazing.
 |
| Goofing around in the refugio |
We then spent the afternoon enjoying some beverages, playing lots of cards, enjoying the views of the lake and mountains from the windows, and listening to the rain and wind reek havoc around us. It was a very cool day. We all settled into bed by about 10pm that night after a warm, rich dinner, some vino, and some jenga :)
Day 3.....the long day.
Today's challenge was making to the third viewpoint, which would bring our day's hiking total to 25 km. For some in our group, that was no biggie...but for my friends and I it came as a challenge....one that we conquered, however :)
We started off leaving Refugio Los Cuernos around 9am. It was pretty beautiful out...we all de-layered quickly. The first part of our hike was alongside the lake and the winds were out of control. There were literally times when you would have to crouch down and hold on to the nearest rock or tree to keep yourself from being blown over. Our guide said that it took winds of 100km or greater to cause what looked like mini tornadoes on the lake....and those were in full force as we were walking. We trudged on for quite a while until a rest point called Campo Italiano, where we took a quick water and snack break. From this point, we were only an hour or so from the 2nd viewpoint, which would be about half of the group's endpoint...it was a challenging uphill hike to this unprotected area with great views but very high winds. At this point 6 people decided to turn back and 5 trudged on, Katy and myself included. We hauled ass to the 3rd viewpoint for many reasons...
1. We were starving, and the 3rd viewpoint is where we would break for lunch
2. Our guide is a super fast hiker
and
3. Katy and I decided that we were not falling behind the boys for this portion.....so we both kicked it into high gear and half hiked/half ran to this viewpoint...I think we did about 3km in 40 minutes or so over uneven terrain...I was exhausted by the time we made it there.
So we arrived....tired but in complete awe of what was in front of us. We were surrounded 360 degrees by AMAZING scenery that neither film nor video could capture. We found some shelter behind a rock and quickly ate our lunch while taking in the view. Our guide was able to name all of the mountains and formations surrounding us but I can't remember all of them at this moment.
 |
| Taking cover behind some rocks to quickly eat lunch |
As much as we would have loved to stay up there, the winds were extreme and the temperature was definitely below freezing...combine that with a sweaty, non-moving body and your tolerance for cold is not much. We left after about 15 minutes or so and started the hike back to camp. The rest of our group had went ahead on to camp for the night, so we ended up arriving an hour or so behind them.
We dodged any rain (unfortunately we can't say the same for the rest of our group) and made it to camp around 5. This refugio (Refugio Paine Grande) was nice as well but not nearly as accomodating as the one that we were associated with the first night. The rules were strict: if you stayed inside, you could use their facilities. If you were camping, you could not. Although the campsite bathrooms weren't bad at all.
You could, of course, buy things from the bar located upstairs...so this is where we settled ourselves before and after dinner...followed by some mild group karoake until none of us could keep our eyes open any longer. With day four (sadly, our last day) of the W in front of us, we scurried back to our tents in the rain and snuggled in for the night.
Day 4!
After watching 2 of the boys in our group jump in the lake for a quick swim (with an air temp of about 30 degrees Farenheit), we headed out for our last day of hiking to see the great Grey Glacier. Today was a short day, about 10km or so in 3.5 hours. Terrain was fairly even...a few uphill bursts on the way there but nothing too challenging. We made it to the glacier viewpoint in about an hour and a half...and it was awesome. Again, photos can't capture how cool this glacier was.....and I don't think any of us comprehended how big it was as we were still 5km or so away from it. We had to do a quick photo shoot because again (notice the trend)....it was freeeezing at the viewpoint with high winds.
 |
| Celebratory dinner back in Puerto Natales :) |
We made it back to the refugio for a quick lunch before taking a boat back across to the park entrance.....and the sad realization that we were all done with the W trek set in. Everyone was exhausted on the boat ride back and the 2 hour bus ride back to Puerto Natales....many well deserved naps were taken :)
And that was it! I would highly recommend the W trek for anyone considering......
No comments:
Post a Comment