Hiking in Torres del Paine, Patagonia

Our first trip to South America took us all the way to the Southern tip of the continent, to Chilean Patagonia.  Having recently gotten more into backpacking after our awesome experience in New Zealand, we were eager to try the 5-day W trek (named for the route traced on the map) in Torres del Paine National Park.  Making reservations early, even for camping, is essential.  We’ll cover planning in a separate blog entry.

We knew Patagonia was remote, but we weren’t quite ready for the amount of travel time required to reach the starting point of the trek.  Chile’s main international gateway, Santiago, is a 10+ hour flight from most of the US, frequently with a connection.  The flight to Punta Arenas, the capital of Chilean Patagonia, is another 3 hours due South by plane.  From there, the park gateway town of Puerto Natales is a 3 hour bus ride.  Finally, it’s another 2 hours on a bus to get to the park’s entrance, and then yet another connection via bus or catamaran to get to the starting points of the W.

Along the way, we spent 2 nights in Puerto Natales to prepare for the trek.  We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of food, specifically carb-loading at Pizzeria Mesita Grande and the delicious Chilean cuisine at Lenga.  The complimentary 3 PM talk at Erratic Rock was informative and is recommended before setting off on the trek.  We also picked up some trekking poles which were helpful to save the knees on longer descents and help with stream and mud crossings.  Wandering outside to explore the town was a good introduction to the gusting winds and rapidly-changing weather conditions; we enjoyed strolling along the waterfront gazing at the snow-covered peaks.

We caught a 7:30 bus to the park.  The ride is quite scenic, passing through the pampas (plains) and spotting occasional guanacos (llama-like creatures) while approaching the Torres del Paine massif.  First stop upon arrival: waiting in line to pay the entrance fee and being informed of the rules (no fires!).  From there, we continued on to the catamaran that would take us to the western terminus of the W.  The boat offered the first glimpses of the famous cuernos (horns) rock formations.

Once off the boat around 1 PM, it was finally time to start trekking.  The first leg was 4 hours long finishing at Glacier Grey.  After a steady uphill climb for about an hour, the first mirador (lookout) was over a small lagoon.  Taking photos at the mirador, replacing unsuccessful selfie attempts, was how we met our companions for the remainder of the trek: Erica, Michele and Albert from New York, and Grant and Kendyl from South Africa.  The trail continued along the side of the impressive glacier-topped Cerro Paine Grande and led us to a spectacular overlook of Glacier Grey calving into Lago Grey.  The glacier is nearly 20 miles long and fed from the massive Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

After another few miles of impressive scenery along Lago Grey, we arrived at the Refugio.  Refugios are located throughout the park and provide simple bunk rooms, camp sites, meals and drinks.  We opted for bringing along our own tent but eating dinner at the refugios.  We took our time setting up the tent, ensuring that all guy lines were in place and loops were firmly secured, weary of waking up wrapped up in our tent due to strong winds.  (Shout-out to Brittany for the masterful knot skills.)  After that, it was time to relax in the refugio with a bottle of Chilean sauvignon blanc (which would become a nightly ritual) followed by dinner with our newfound friends.

On the next morning, we had reserved a kayak tour around Glacier Grey.  Unfortunately the winds were too strong so we got a boat tour to explore the glacier instead.  We donned as many layers as possible since the un-shielded winds on the lake were quite strong.  It was impressive seeing the different shades of blue present in the glacial ice.  Only a few weeks prior, a large iceberg broke free from the main glacier.  It was a rare occurrence, quite beautiful to see but disheartening at the same time since it was caused by rising temperatures.  Sadly, the glacier now retreats by over 400 feet annually.

After the excursion, we back-tracked the 4 hour hike from the previous day to Refugio Paine Grande.  There was light rain when we started and then the wind started howling along the way.  Fortunately it was in our backs and thus its impressive strength wasn’t too bothersome – the people heading the opposite direction weren’t quite so lucky.  For the second half, the clouds parted and we were treated to some amazing views of the cuernos descending towards the refugio.  Paine Grande was especially exposed to the winds so we set up our tent in the protection of a building.

Day 3 took us into the heart of the park.  After 2.5 hours along Lago Sköttsberg in light drizzle, we dropped our heavy packs at Campamento Italiano to head into Valle del Frances with less weight.  The valley is located on the interior of the massif and involved a steep ascent next to running streams and waterfalls.  The reward at the top was worth every step as this was arguably the most beautiful part of the entire park, an absolutely stunning panorama.  On one side, the park’s largest peak Paine Grande is covered with snow and a massive glacier with the occasional sound of ice breaking off and crashing down the side.  90 degrees to the right are rugged peaks and cliffs towering over the forest.  Turning the other way reveals several turquoise blue lakes in the basin below.

The last part of the day’s hike to our refugio was also quite wonderful.  We walked around the impressive cuernos in vistas of wildflowers and overlooking Lago Nordernskjöld.  The trail merged with a rock beach along the lake before arriving at our refugio.  Refugio Los Cuernos offered the most scenic campsite of the trip.  We set up on a wooden platform in the rolling hills under the impressive granitic rock formations that make up the cuernos.  The bar featured a view over the lake that, due to 16 hours of daylight, was visible until well after our bedtime.

We rose early the next day since we had a lot of hiking ahead of us.  We wanted to make it all the way up to the namesake towers along with the rest of our group.  The time estimates on the trails can be quite variable so we had somewhere between 7 and 11 hours of hiking ahead of us, depending on who you asked.  After breaking down our tent in the rain (no fun…), we took off towards the Torres area at a brisk pace.  Around 2 hours in, part of the trail was flooded.  The poles were helpful for keeping our balance but we still ended up ankle-deep in mud.  Fortunately we avoided the parts that were over a foot deep.  After two mud crossings we were in the clear and welcomed a gradual incline over grass covered hills.  Despite the estimates given by hikers that passed, it wasn’t long before we were at the intersection that took us towards the Torres and, sadly, the trail became increasingly more crowded with day hikers.

Ahead of schedule, we took a lunch break at Refugio Chileno and then left our big packs behind as we pushed on to the Torres.  The last hour consisted of scrambling up rocks and dodging others on the congested path.  We reached the base of Las Torres del Paine set behind a glacier lake.  It was quite full but we were able to find our own space.  The granite peaks are a majestic sight to behold.  We bundled up in all our layers and took some pictures before heading back down to our refugio for the night.  We were faced with one last challenge climbing up to our tent platform, set on the side of a steep hill, before grabbing dinner and settling in for our last night in the wild.  The last part of the trek was 2 hours downhill where we met up with our friends for several beers in celebration of finishing the 40+ mile journey.

The W trek was an incredible experience.  Torres del Paine National Park is absolutely spectacular: towering mountains with unique rock formations, vistas with diverse flora, glaciers, turquoise blue lakes, and rock beaches.  It’s hard to believe that everything can be found in a single park.  Bringing all our gear and doing our own planning increased the sense of accomplishment, and meeting a fun group of friends along the way made the experience!