Puerto Natales to El Chalten

---

---

The bus from El Calafate was relatively easy until we reached the Argentinian border where for some reason it took the border officer an hour and a half to stamp 30 exit stamps - ridiculous bureaucracy! In contrast the Chilean border despite us having to fill in the immigration forms and have all our bags searched only took 45 minutes go figure. On arriving in Puerto Natales we headed to our hostel called Erratic Rock which was run by an American guy. From the moment we walked in the door the service and friendliness was one of the best I have had anywhere. The owner was really open and chatty and you could tell he was the kind of person that you could talk with for hours without realising the time had passed.

Our purpose for visiting Puerto Natales was to go to the Torres del Paine National Park. The park is enormous and you have several options in terms of seeing the sights. To walk the whole tourist loop takes 8 days but most people do the´W´trek which traditionally takes 5 days. Due to time constraints and also not being sure if we could handle the full 8 days we decided to do the W. On our second day in Puerto Natales our first stop was to go for a talk about the park, routes to take and what to bring this was put on by the hostel it was really informative and a great help to novices like us. We set out to get all the supplies and equipment we needed as we would have to carry everything over the trek. Of course as we were both traveling that involved us renting sleeping bags, cooking equipment and utensils and a tent. We tested out the 2 man tent but like with all tents it was more like a one and half person tent but they had no more 3 mans left so it looked like Thijs and I were going to get to know each other a little more than we would like! This being both of our first major treks where we had to buy and plan everything ourselves and I think we did pretty well as when we got back to the hostel it was clear that some people had bought way to much stuff and would be carrying quite a burden out in the park.

So early the next day we jumped onto the bus for the four journey to the park entrance. On arrival we were struck by the amazing scenery with incredible snow capped mountains rising over an crystal clear lake. We decided to walk up to see a waterfall as we had time to kill before our boat departed and we started chatting to a couple of guys Dave from England and Coen from Holland. We decided to walk the first day together and so after visiting the waterfall we embarked on the boat to the other side of the lake where our journey would start. Our first days walk was relatively easily only 4 hours with the first couple hours being no different from a walk in England with woodland scenery surrounding us but it was very peaceful and the walk was not that challenging meaning we were all pretty excited for the next few days. After a couple of hours we reached the side of the glacial lake were we stopped to have lunch as the view was pretty impressive as although we could not yet see the glacier there were plenty of icebergs floating on the the lake for us to admire. After lunch we started heading down where I soon discovered my new shoes I had bought for the trek were not good enough as the grip on mine could not compete with the heavy duty boots the other guys were wearing. I managed until we reached a point where we had to walk down a small stream as the water made the path very slippery and was pretty steep. I normally have pretty good balance but the 15 kilo bag on my back completely threw me off so although I made it down I had a few slips and ended on my arse a couple of times! From the bottom it was only a short walk to the camp. Thijs and I had decided to stay in a paid camp site, where Dave was paying a lot of money (50-70 pounds a night) to stay in the chalets along the route but he would get a warm bed and cooked meals a luxury we could not afford. The campsite was pretty special set right against the banks of the lake meaning we only had to walk a few steps to get fresh glacial waters. After setting up our tents we headed a bit higher up to see the glacier. It did not have the grandeur of Puerto Moreno but as we were the only people there it felt much more special. From our vantage point we were also able to see the Patagonia ice fields which stretches for miles upon miles and is the biggest outside of Antarctica. On returning to camp we tucked into some ham and cheese sandwiches and a cup of bouillon - a well balanced meal. To celebrate completing the first day we headed to the chalet on site and enjoyed a couple of beers before heading to bed at a very early 8.30pm it was even still light outside. What we had not factored on was just how cold it got once the sun went down so after about an hour of sleep we both woke freezing and shut the tent flap we had left open for fresh air and put on a lot more clothes - first lesson learnt!

Our second day started started pretty early well it seemed that way as by the time we had had breakfast and packed up all our stuff everyone else in the camp site was still asleep. We met up with Coen who had stayed at a different campsite and headed off back the same way as the day before. We made really good time as it had taken us over 4 hours the previous day and we did it in 3. We stopped to have lunch and discussed the possibility of doing the whole trek in 4 days rather than 5 with me feeling good at the time I agreed to this (something I would come to regret). So after lunch we set off on the next section which would take us to the bottom of the French Valley where our campsite would be. This walk was similar to the previous day as we were walking along the side of another lake and the terrain was much like home obviously apart from the snow capped mountains all around us. Our optimism of achieving a large part of the section was dampened as this section of the walk was a little tougher with much more hills to go up. As a result by the time we reached the river which signal the start of our camp for the night I was starting to feel a little worn out. We were supposed to camp at the bottom of the Valley Francais that night and then walk up it in the morning but if we were to achieve our goal of completing the trek in 4 days we had to go up on the second day so we set off at just before 4 on the upward walk to the top of the valley were apparently the views are incredible. One advantage we had was that we did not have to carry our packs with us which certainly helped for the first hour or so but as we entered the 9th hour of trekking I was starting to struggle but my dutch companions seemed to have limitless energy and shot off ahead. It was a hard walk as before I had amazing scenery to admire this was all wooded and therefore there was little to see other than the next hill to overcome. However once I reached the end of the wooded area I could see some of the incredible scenery that would be possible from the top so it spurned me on. I reached the Mirador shortly after the other guys and it made that final 3 hour trek worthwhile because the view from this huge boulder sticking our of the trees was one of the best maybe even the best I have ever scene. On one side we had red rocks, the other snow capped mountains, the other the ice fields and down the valley and incredible view of the river running downing into the lake and the mountains beyond. It was breathtaking and if it was not for the fading light we would have stayed there much longer. The walk back was mostly downhill which helped but by the time I reached our camp we had been walking for 13 hours and I was exhausted - by far the most tired I have ever felt. I have to thank my trekking partners as they cooked my dinner for me that night and kept my spirits up with there general cheerfulness. After dinner we all collapsed into our tents as we had another long day ahead of us tomorrow.

The third started very early with us breaking camp at 6am. I awoke feeling better than the day before but definitely feeling it in my legs. The first part of our trek took us on an interesting route as once we had left the valley we had to head down even further until we were almost by the shore of the of the lake. It made for some pretty interesting going and I was definitely relieved to have rented some poles as this was the steepest and slipperiest part of the trek so far as a result although the distance traveled was not great it took us almost 4 hours to reach our first stop which was a chalet and camping site which had supposed to be our third nights accommodation. Having already come so far and it not being 10 yet we decided to cook a warm breakfast of some horrendous powdered porridge mixed with a lot of sugar - I think at any other time of my life I would have not been able to eat it but I guess exhaustion and hunger can allow you to put anything down.

After breakfast we headed started heading back up which certainly made the going tougher but we met some people on the road who informed us that there was a shortcut that would save us over an hour in time this gave us a little lift. So after another hour of heading up the hills the ground leveled out and we located the short cut. By this point it was 12pm and despite the guys warnings in the hostel that we would spend the whole time cold and wet we had had no rain and in fact it was very hot more like the heat of Brazil than the ice and cold of Patagonia. Although the shortcut did save us in terms of distances walked the big problem with this route was that a few years ago an idiot tourist had lit a fire and burnt down all the trees in this section of the park as a result we had no shade and it was by far the hottest it had been since we had entered the park. The walk was not that tough in terms of the terrain or steepness but the heat seemed to make the bag much heavier and we were forced to take breaks much more frequently. The ´shortcut´in the end did not save us anytime and the heat had left me feeling pretty drained. On reaching the end of the shortcuts path we were greeted by another impressive valley with a powerful river running through it at the bottom and a pretty daunting path for us to follow. The path was mostly downhill but there were points were it was all scree and when you looked up you had rocks looming above you waiting to fall and quite a steep drop on the other it was pretty scary and so I rushed through these sections as fast as my tired legs could take me. The end of the path brought us to one of the nice chalets which we could not afford. It was very hard after walking for 10 hours to see all that luxury and knowing you had 2 hours further to your campsite. After a short break and a sprite which I hoped would recharge my failing body we set off again. I was really struggling by this point and soon lost Coen and Thijs as my shumbling pace was too slow for them. I will admit that those final two hours were horrendous and I was pretty close to giving up but having come so far I did not want to quit. When I finally reached the camp after more up and down hills than I can remember I was broken but there was a sense of achievement with it and the evening was pretty enjoyable as we rustled up some pasta and sauce, soup and Coen amazed us all by breaking out a bottle of scotch he had been keeping a secret from us for this moment. Our final day was the earliest start of all so we were all in bed by 8 with all of us admitting we needed the rest.

Where we were camping was below some mountains called the towers which are 3 red sharp peaks which when the sun rises over them we were told made for an incredible site. The major problem with this was that we had to get up at 4am and set off 30 minutes later in the dark to get there before the sun rised. I only had a small hand held torch which made the going pretty tough. The first section involved us climbing up along the river and then over some boulders before the terrain turned to scree which turned into a major problem for me as because I needed to hold my torch I could not use my poles and my useless trainers had no grip and as a result it felt like I was taking one step forward and two steps back. I was saved by some light starting to emerge and once I could use my pole I made better progress but then I was confronted by some more large boulders to clamber over before we reached the top. I met up with Coen and Thijs at the top and we enjoyed one of the best cups of tea of my life. In the end the sunrise was impressive but the way it was talked up we all were a little bit disappointed and agreed that the view from the Mirador at the top of Valley Francais was much better. After enjoying the sunrise for an hour we headed back down to camp packed our bags before heading off back to the luxury chalet. It was much easier going back perhaps because I knew I was in the home stretch. We met up with Dave again as he was staying there and headed back along the scary trail. I was pretty relieved once we reached the top as the rest of the path was all down hill but in the end the path was so steep and uneven we all were feeling it in our knees and it made the going pretty slow. On the way down we saw some traditional Patagonian cowboys who supply the more remote chalets by riding horses through the trails to the campsites. It took another 2 hours to get to the end of the trek and despite my extreme tiredness I was really pleased to have completed the whole trek. The chalet at the end was more like a hotel with a very smart lounge and bar/restaurant. We stopped to have a beer as we had a little time to wait before our bus - we all agreed it may have been the best beer ever and very well earned!

On returning to the hostel a much needed shower was had then the four of us went to a restaurant called Afrigonia run by a Chilean man and his African wife the food was amazing with us trying the world famous Patagonian lamb which is the best I have ever had. The next day we all went our separate ways Dave heading south, Coen who is traveling around South America on his bike to where ever the road takes him in his own words and Thijs and I to El Chalten. The journey involved us crossing the border again and then changing buses at El Calafate. El Chalten is a small mountain town with its main feature being Mt Fitzroy which is one of the most difficult and therefore popular climbs for experienced mountain climbers. Thijs wanted to try some ice trekking/climbing but I was still feeling the effects of the trek so decided to just have some R and R. In the end the cost of the ice climbing was too much for Thijs so we enjoyed two days in what is quite a charming town as it is yet unspoiled by mass tourism but this will not be the case for long as apparently there are big plans to turn the town into a major site for trekking, climbing and skiing in the future. After the restful couple of days enjoying good food and even the towns small local brewery and beer we headed off on the famous route 40 to the town of El Bolsen.

---

Photos

2
View on the drive in

9
Our tiny tent!

26
Too tired to even smile