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We had a week in the Torres del Paine National Park - so named because by the time you leave your legs will feel like 2 towers of pain. Not really, I don´t know where the name comes from, but your legs are guaranteed to hurt a little when you leave. This is when I discovered that I am not destined to be a professional hiker or mountaineer, but I did find 3 things that greatly improved my enjoyment of a week of hiking:
Chocolate - motivation, reward, pure indulgence - it is possible that I consumed close to my own body weight in chocolate
A stick - a companion for the week, support in those times of need
Music - keeps you going up those big hills - a couple of Mika tunes and before you know it you´re at the top of that nasty hill
So, back to the hiking:
Day 1 - This was a good day. We did a 3 hour boat trip through the Bernard O´Higgins national park - good scenery though a bit windy and rainy in the morning. After a short walk to the Serrano glaciar, followed by a 3 course
Who ate all the pies????
Here the latest fashion in Chile is beautifully modelled by Sarah and Russell. This particular style of outdoor wear has yet to reach the catwalks of London and Paris. lunch and a glass of wine, (essential elements in any day of hard core hiking) we took a smaller boat, kind of like a giant motorised rubber dingy along the river Serrano into the Torres del Paine national park. The best part about this was the particularly stylish coats we were given to wear. Camped next to Lake Pehoe, very pretty, but was slightly disturbed to find that this campsite appeared to be sponsored by Sodexho............
Day 2 - The first day of trekking fully laden, including 7 days´ worth of food (don´t worry, we´d left half of our 50kg of stuff behind in the hostel in Puerto Natales, otherwise I don´t think I would ever walk again). Was kinda lulled into a false sense of security about this trekking business - the road was flat, the sun was mostly shining, and we only walked for 87 minutes. Then caught a catamaran across Lake Pehoe to the next campsite and enjoyed the sunshine for the rest of the afternoon.
Day 3 - The start of the ´W´ trek, which is, as you might expect, in the shape of a W, and obviously means that you have to trek
fully laden at the bottom parts of the W. Today was the left hand side of the W, so no pack to carry, just the 50km/hr winds to contend with for 7 hours. Not fun. The trek took us up to Galciar Grey and back, but I have to confess I couldn´t give 2 hoots about the glaciar by the time I got up there, knowing I had to turn around and walk 11km back the way we´d just come, and knowing that the return journey was mostly uphill. Terrible I know. Consoled myself with chocolate and mulled wine, and went to bed praying that the tent wouldn´t get blown across the lake in the night.
Day 4 - This was the day I almost gave up. It was also the day I discovered that the term waterproof is open to interpretation. The weather was even more sh@te. Didn´t stop raining and was so cold that the rain was forming a nice layer of slushy ice on top of the tent. The idea of trekking with all our stuff was most unappealing. After lunch we reluctantly decided to go for it, after purchasing an emergency scarf-type fleecy thing from
the shop and stocking up on chocolate. It was only (ha ha) just over 2 hours to the next campsite but by the time we arrived everything was wet. My waterproof trousers, jacket and rucksack cover were not really. And this campsite had no facilities other than two (grim) toilets. There was a ranger´s hut (not for lowly campers though), with a fire inside, where the ranger no doubt sat warm and dry laughing at all those idiots out in the rain. There really was nothing to do except sit inside the tent and consume lots of chocolate, both liquid and solid varieties.
Day 5 - This was the day I was most glad we were having warming porridge for breakfast, just a shame I then had to put on wet clothes and walk up the 7.5km middle part of the W and back. Somewhat motivated by the thought of being warm and dry by the end of the day, we did this bit quite speedily. Most of the way up we had fantastic views of Glaciar Frances, and every 10 minutes or so you could hear a mini avalanche as a part of the glaciar broke off into
a cloud of snow. The rain had finally eased off by the time we packed up the tent, then walked the next 5.5km to the next campsite. This was a really pretty walk which took us right along the shores of Lago Nordenskjord, nice for a dip under different climatic conditions. Lots of chocolate, a lovely hot shower, put on my one remaining dry top, put on some make-up (yes, I know, but it helps me feel human again) and sat in the warm dry refugio contemplating tomorrow´s hellish trek. I also insisted on buying a very overpriced bottle of wine. For medicinal purposes of course.
Day 6 - Probably the worst day of trekking as it was continuing the bottom of the W so fully laden for 4 and a half hours. Somewhat tiring, even though it was fairly flat, couldn´t really do much more than 2 hours without having a proper rest because it just hurt too much. At least it wasn´t raining though. Set up camp, ate some inferior Chilean peanut m&ms and had a nice hot shower.
Day 7 - The last day.......hoorah. Discovered that if we made good time up the last arm
of the W, we´d be able to catch the bus out of the place tonight - now there´s motivation. Super speedy trekking, even on the uphill bits, greatly assisted by the fact that it was sunny - finally! Was even able to de-layer down to just a t-shirt. After a rather gruelling uphill scramble at the very end, the view at the top of this arm was the most spectacular of the trek - the mirador of the torres del Paine. Had to wait a couple of hours for the bus at the end of the day, but really didn´t mind knowing I had a bed to look forward to :-) and there was a certain sense of satisfaction knowing I'd walked no less than 88.5km in total (though I suppose I could've cycled that in a day.......).
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rebecca grundy
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Hey Sarah and Russ! Wow, your photos look amazing....hope you're having a fab time (even though it hurts and it's raining - you'll look back on it in a few years and feel a huge sense of achievement) The blog is very entertaining and keeps me going at work! Keep on with chocolate and wine, it is the way forward. Miss you The new 30 yr old :( xxx