Tierra Del Fuego to the end of the World!!

Torres Del Paine

Our first night in Torres Del Paine National Park, we stayed with all our Dragoman friends at a site on Lake Pehoe. It was rainy and windy, so we erected the cook tent which Digga had been raving about. My(Liz) cook group made an excellent curry thanks to the one real cook in our group, Huw. We sat around the fire and Huw and Laura played guitar and sang. Unfortunately during the night a lot of tents flooded and people got pretty wet. Thankfully Shaun is a champion at picking the right spot to pitch, so we stayed pretty dry. The following morning was a bit hectic as people were heading off in different directions for different excursions. Digga, in his haste, set off in the truck with a group of people and failed to spot the large blue cook tent and took half of that with him as well. He was pretty devastated, but thankfully nobody was hurt. Shaun and Lorraine happened to be inside at the time making toast and the tent caught fire on the gas ring. Again, nobody was hurt, except the cook tent and maybe Digga´s pride.

The "W"

That morning was the day we were heading off on our four day trek along the famous "W", named for the shape of the trail. The weather was cold and wet and we expected more of the same. We were apprehensive, but we set off for the ferry. I think some of us were secretly hoping it wouldn´t go. It was Shaun and me, Lorraine and John, Andy and Jen, Clo, and Eric. Thankfully the ferry went, because within minutes of setting off, the sun came out and stayed there for the next three days. Just crossing Lake Pehoe we were in awe. When we reached the other side, we pitched our tents and dumped our large backpacks to lighten our load as we hiked to the Grey Glaciar. The scenery was astounding. There aren´t enough adjectives to describe what we saw over the next four days. We´ll have to let the pictures do that. We hiked 22 kilometers that day and were pretty tired, but when we waking up to the spectacular views the next morning renewed our energy. On day two we we loaded our stuff onto our backs and hiked the 7ks to the base of Valles Frances. We dropped our gear and headed into the valley. We heard a noise. It was a sound like thunder rumbling. Then we saw what it was on the snowy mountain across from us, Avalanches. We stood and watched as one after the other fell. We continued walking, following the river all the way to the top. Once again the sites were magnificent. After coming out of the valley we picked up our packs and made our way 5ks further to Los Cuernos. It wasn´t so easygoing as the trail was flooded and we got off course. We ended up walking up the mountain instead of along the lake. It was a bit disheartening after having already walked nearly 30ks that day. We were beat by the time we got to camp, but we cooked our dinner(I had to toss the first soup as Shaun didn´t realize it had llama meat) and tried to get some rest. We had a long way to hike the next with our full packs on our back. Once again we went a bit wrong when we missed the shortcut and had to hike all the way down to hike back up again. We took it steady and took our time. It´s hard to be disappointed for very long when you´re surrounded by the most beautiful sites that nature has to offer. After the long hike up a steep hill, we were again rewarded by the breathtaking view of the Rio Ascensio Valley. We arrived at the final Refugio with plenty of time to spare. We stopped for a beer and a nap at the refuge. They didn´t have much else to offer as the only way to receive deliveries is by horseback. It was enough to revitalize us before making our way to our final camping site at the base of Los Torres. Once at camp, we were entertained watching Clo cook her dinner. She cooked an entire pack of pasta, 8 servings, somehow creating a starchy stew that resembled paste. We helped her skim off some of the glue and then watched her eat the entire thing, only stopping when she could only tast the charred bits at the bottom of the pan. She´s a funny girl. We went to bed early that night, not only because we were tired, but because we wanted to rise before the sun so we could watch it come up at the torres(towers).

Sunrise at Los Torres

Waking up before light, it was hard going, scrambling up boulders in the dark on a trail that wasn´t clearly marked. We just kept on climbing higher and eventually we made it. We were wisely advised to take our sleeping bags because of the cold and wind at the top. It was a really great moment, the hour or two we spent at the view point , huddled in our sleeping bags while Shaun cooked tea and porridge. A great way to finish. It took us only two hours to get down the mountain to meet our transfer. We had a plate of fried eggs and chips (French Fries), beer and chocolate. A strange meal but I would have eaten just about anything after having walked nearly 85 kilometers in three and a half days. When Digga showed up with the truck to pick us up we were all surprised to see many of our truck mates who had come to greet us. It was like coming home from a school trip and having your parents there waiting for you. A great reception. That night we watched the sky as the sun was setting and the clouds changed shape. We were joking we might lose our replacement cook tent to a whirlwind when a massive cloud took the shape of a tornado funnel.
That was our last night in Torres del Paine, the next day we set off for Ushuaia, the southern most city and literally the end of the world.

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