Torres Del Paine Part 1

Torres Del Paine
February 11 – February 15 (5 days)

After the hard work of Patagonian nature watching, playing cards and eating every few hours on the Navimag, we decided to spend a few days in Puerto Natales preparing for our hike in Torres Del Paine. Puerto Natales is a small little coastal town that has a very relaxed feel, with some great places to eat, including good vegetarian food (El Living) and good Mexican and local-made beer (at the microbrewery); perfect location to rest up before and after Torres Del Paine.

Puerto Natales

Torres Del Paine (TDP) – or, as we now affectionately think of it, Torres of PAIN – is a national park that is over 2,600 square km in size and has an elaborate set of trekking paths that go through it, the most popular of which is the “W” circuit (as that is the shape you make walking one end to the other – if you squint your eyes and use a little imagination). It is one of the most spectacular trekking locations in the world – according to seasoned trekkers not just the guide books. It is a treasure chest of lakes (and is one of the biggest sources of natural water in the world), mountains and glaciers.

You can do the W in 3 nights and 4 days but most people opt to do 4 nights and 5 days (or more) – which is what we opted for.

The W circuit - well, W ish

Now – I did my fair share of camping growing up, and have trekked a little here and there, however it is an altogether different experience to be carrying your tent, sleeping bag, clothes and food for 5 days of serious trekking – in fact, I’m quite sure if it was described exactly as we experienced it the tourist numbers would plummet. Not that everyone does the W that way – the park also contains trekking shelters called Refugios that contain dorm beds and provide meals, so one can be a flashpacker of sorts if one chooses. Only problem is they charge champagne prices for the privilege - $100+ in some of them for a dorm bed and dinner starts at $20 for cup a soup and pasta type food.

Chileno Refugio

With our budget and the bullets we’ve already put through it refugios were out of the question; but we did find a compromise for the sake of my crusty reconstructed knee and Chelle’s dodgy hip: hire tents from the Refugios so we don’t have to carry them around. Genius!

So armed with cup-a-soup and food basics, cooking gear and clothes it was off to Del Paine we go!

Our trusty backpack loaded with only essentials

Day 1: Glacier Grey, 11km, 5-6 hours walking

Chelle had been knocked cold with a virus that was going around Puerto Natales, and being the sharing type of girl she had kindly given it to me on the morning of our departure to Torres Del Paine. Consequently I had razor blades in my throat that no multi-vitamins or bourbon could fix (the latter - my Dad’s (Marcel’s) sound medical advice). In retrospect it was probably not the smartest idea to do the W circuit with a virus, but dammit we’d paid for our gear and booked our refugio hire tents and we weren’t turning back.

Getting to the park involved a bus ride of a few hours, and then taking a ferry to the park. And what a ferry ride it was! We called Torres Del Paine “adult disneyland” for the breathtaking eye candy it provided and the ferry was the first ride. As with much of Chilean Patagonia the pictures tell the story.

Looking back from the ferry onto Disneyland

Where the white queen of TDP lives

More views from the ferry

The Day 1 walk involved a 11km walk to the Glacier Grey campground, situated right next to, you guessed it – Glacier Grey. The walk is meant to take 3.5 hours but as this was our first day in the park we decided to take it easy, and allow ourselves to be trigger happy on the camera (truth be told we’ve allowed that for 7 weeks now). It was a damn TOUGH walk too, lots of up and down hills and boulders and rocks attempting to roll your ankle. The walk, like many in TDP, provides constant viewing of snow-capped mountains and lakes and the walk itself nestles quite naturally into the terrain – you really feel like you are walking in nature, not just observing it from a tourist trail.

And we're off!

The natural walking trails of TDP

Part of walking trail from Chileno to Las Torres

Ankle killers on the walk to Grey

The most memorable part of the walk was coming to the top of an incline and as you peek over you get a panoramic view of Glacier Grey set against the backdrop of the mountains. I think Chelle and I both just said wow! Seeing these type of views brings a drop to the jaw and smile to the face. It also can't help but bring out your desire to get your photo in front of it.

You climb up and this view awaits

Nearly at the lookout

The lookout halfway towards Grey

More of the lookout

Green mountains, snow capped mountains, glaciers - TDP has it all

Not a bad location for a photo

Feeling on top of the world

Spot Chelle!

Taking time to take it in

Grey and the Mountains

Chelle and I made it Campaneto Glacier Grey about 6:30pm, and by that stage we were STUFFED. We both literally threw our stuff off our backs, and slumped on the ground. There was a Rastafarian type guy managing the camp site and he told us the best news of the day – the tent was already set up and ready to go! Sweet!

Chelle and I collapsed in the tent and devoured some of our snacks and then it dawned on us – where the hell is the Glacier?! It is here isn’t it?? There was a nice lake in front of us with some floating Glacial ice so we knew it had to be close by (call us Sherlock), but it wasn’t in sight of the campground. Sure enough – there was MORE walking to be done. Chelle’s hip was hurting and she decided to call it quits for the day and do the walking the next day. I’d been warned though so many times about how TDP always rains that I thought I’d carpe diem it and walk out to the lookout.

Gorging on fruit and nuts to stay alive

Camp Grey

Our little tent at camp Grey

What I came upon was the second “wow” moment of the day (yes – TDP is a wow-a-thon), particularly as the view of the Glacier from the Navimag was from a distance and in the rain. As you walk towards the lookout (it turned out to be only 15 mins from camp) you again come up an incline, and slowly as you walk high and far enough your eyes get that first glimpse of the mammoth ice structure that is the Glacier. I thought I was looking at giant blue clouds that had fallen into the lake. The Glacier spread out for as far as the eye could see back into the mountains, like part of the mountains had just melted off and was pouring down the lake. It was a spectacular sight and one that capped off a memorable first day in TDP.

Over the horizon and the first view of Glacier Grey

Closer to Glacier Grey

Glacier grey front view

Glacier Grey from the nearest rock viewpoint, and with some sun, beautiful

Other misc photos from Day 1 (the narrator is getting lazy):

Water that tastes like heaven

Ben, Chelle and Icebergs

Holding glacier ice goodness

Lake with floating glacier break-offs (on walk from Grande to Grey)

Day 2: Back to Paine Grande, 15km, 5-6 hours walking

Paine Grande is the Refugio where you first get off the Ferry. Our Day 2 consisted of getting back to the Refugio to stay the night. Simple, no?

Well, simple if you don’t feel LIKE YOU ARE GOING DO DIE from being feverishly ill! I woke up on day 2 having sweated through the night, muscles aching, throat still razor blades and feeling weak as feather. I’d carried our main backpack on day 1 but there was NO WAY I was carrying it on Day 2. Fortunately I’m engaged to a girl with superhuman abilities and one of the best power to weight ratios known to man, and she decided to take one for the team and carry the pack all day, all 11km to camp. And she did it alright! I was so proud of Chelle, carrying a backpack that looked bigger than her while I gasped behind her pale white, and doing bushman blowies every few metres (too much detail?)

Oh yes – we also decided to go to both the lookout I’d been to on Day 1, and the second lookout for the Glacier which has you climbing up the mountain to look down on it. Was it spectacular? Sure was! Was it smart to do when you have a man on deaths door? Probably not, but Chelle and I simply can’t bear to miss out on anything worth checking out.

Looking down on Glacier Grey

We spent about another 6 hours walking on Day 2, though it felt like a hundred. Upon reaching Paine Grande (see note 1) we slumped down and collapsed, and started voraciously devouring food in order to refuel and make peace with our tired sore bodies (see note 2).

Chelle, my hero, cooked up a sensational brown rice and vegetables dinner in a common kitchen they had at the Refugio. After eating that and showering it was straight to bed. We came into TDP with ideas of kicking back and socialising at night time with fellow trekkers, and all I can say to that is, HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Note 1: I should have picked up by now that the South Americans were trying to give me hints. On Navimag the rocky seas were called Golfo de Penas which means, literally, “Gulf of Pain”, and that is where you feel sea sick for 12 hours and feel like throwing up the whole time. Now we were in Torres del PAINe and staying in PAINEe Grande)
Note 2: Chelle was particularly happy that I was not eating chocolate due to my illness and had it all to herself!

On the walk from Grande to Glacier Grey

Camping at Paine Grande - not a bad backdrop!

For TDP treks Chelle recommends: Snickers

Day 3: The false departure and Los Cuernos, 14km, 4 hours walking

As we slept through Night 2 we were hit by gale force winds and torrential rain. It was so strong that Chelle and I muttered vaguely consciously to each other that there’s no way on earth we’d be trekking in that weather, especially with me so sick.

On the morning of Day 3 we woke up to grey skies and threatening rain. I had no energy and felt ill, and it was becoming clear that it was not sensible to keep going – “no need to be a hero! “ we kept telling ourselves. It was there and then that we bit the bullet and made the toughest decision to make: to turn back home and call it quits. Wave the white flag. You got us Del Paine, you got us!

Slightly forlornly we packed up our stuff and went to catch the Ferry and then bus back home. All the buses going out of the park stop at the park entrance for 15 minutes, so we decided to get off, and who did we see but one of our friends from the Navimag, Vera, who had just completed the W. I started talking to Vera and she told me that the part of the W we hadn’t done was, I quote, “so beautiful it made me want to cry”. Damn you Vera! How could I possibly leave the park hearing that? Forgetting in the heat of the moment how crook I was, I raced onto the bus to tell Chelle excitedly, “we’re getting off the bus, we have to do the rest of the W!” Chelle gave me the “are you serious?” look, and after realising the answer was affirmative we made a beeline for the exit. The bus driver looked at us surprisingly as we dragged out backpack back out and went to hop on another bus straight back into the Del Paine!

1 hour later we were back on the path, wearing a backpack, and yes – thinking who’s genius idea was it to do more trekking?? (I’m sure it was Chelle’s) The days trek was to Los Cuernos, about 13-14km and it was surprisingly easy. They marked signs along the way that we kept beating in terms of time (“take THAT Mr time estimator!”) and arrived in Los Cuernos surprisingly alive though still tired.

We had planned ahead of time to have one night in a Refugio, particularly as Day 3 was originally going to be a huge trek and we thought it a good idea to end it with a good nights sleep in a bed. Even though it had only been 2 nights in a tent, the fact that we were sleeping on rocky ground and waking up consistently meant sore hips and shoulders, and the thought of a real bed was music to the ummm, ears? Brain? One of the two.

We also decided to splash out and spend $20 on a Refugio meal, which may not have been the worlds greatest meal, but as they say “hunger is the best cook”. That night we both slept like a baby on the top bunks of triple decker dorm bunks. Little did we know how tough Day 4 would be.

Us getting in the way of a beautiful view yet again!

And the view without us (near entrance to TDP)

Lake views on the walk to Los Cuernos

There was a lot of this going on!

On the walk to Los Cuernos

Sitting in front of Los Cuernos

The final mountain to climb for the day: the dorm bunk

But for that, we shall leave it to the next blog, Torres Del Paine Part 2.

Until then, it's over and out!
Love
Ben and Chelle