Torres Del Paine: Patagonia at its best

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The boys had arrived. After a few months of emailing back and forth Jb and Dunco had now made it to the continent. We met in the sleepy town of Rio Gallegos, where Argentinean life was uneventful so to speak. They didn’t seem to mind after a late night in Brisbane pre flight and then partying in Buenos Aires the previous night. I had sorted out or exit plan in a days time where we would travel to Puerto Natales and onto the Torres Del Paine National Park.

You could see the mountains in the distance over the Sena Ultima Esperanza as you pulled into Puerto Natales. There was also a statue of an oversized bear that I later found out to be a Mylodon on the outskirts of town…it was a weird looking creature that kind of looked dinosauric but at the same time like a bear. Apparently remains have been found in caves surrounding the town with a long folkloric tale to accompany it. We arrived after dark and thought that we might be able to start hiking in the national park the next day. However, with a few things to organise we decided to depart the day after.

Enter the Urban Trekker. Dunco had just purchased his walking stick (or puma stick as he liked to call it) and was showing everyone his urban trekking skills around the streets of Puerto Natales. The boys hired a few more pieces of gear and after much discussion we decided to book a bed in the refugios along the way instead of camping. A compromise was made that we would take our own food to make it cheaper. I will admit that I was pro camping mainly to save a few $$$ but afterwards I was so glad that we had stayed in the Refugios.

We were greeted with rain and mist at the main entrance to the Torres Del Paine National Park. Everyone huddled together in a little shelter waiting for the minivan to ferry us to Hosteria Las Torres, the start of our hike. Smiles were shared as we took some photos before we set off for the journey but I could see that Joel was a little nervous: was it his uncertainty over which shoes to wear or was it his own questioning of his fitness. To be fair I had done alot of hiking over the last 4 months and had a big head start on them. We would just take it easy I told him as we headed for the hills with the rain beating down on our backs.

Today would be a short hike up to Refugio Chileno where we would stay tonight. The paths were good and we pushed up and around a mountain for a couple of hours before we reached the Refugio soaking wet. All around the fireplace jackets and shirts were on hooks in an attempt to make them dryer. You also had to compete with the boots and the 5 people warming their hands. It wasn't too cold outside, just really wet and windy. The afternoon was spent playing cards and seeing how the weather would turn out. At around 4pm the rain had stop and the clouds were beginning to clear, so we decided to hike up to the Mirador Las Torres, the best vantage point. It was a gradual climb up until the last km which was more vertical and on loose scree. This was tough for me and it was killing the boys. But we all made it just in time to see the clouds dissapear briefly from the top of the Torres. Huddling down under some rocks to get some shelter from the wind it was an inspiring site looking over the lake and up to the sheer granite walls of the Torres.

It was really windy on the return journey and Bryan's hamstrings were as tight as our mate Woody on a night out. When we reached Refugio Chileno it was dark and everyone looked cosy in the warm light eating soup and chatting about the days adventures. Joel and Bryan went straight to bed but I made some dinner on the patio of the refugio trying to shelter from the cold and warm my hands at the same time with the gas cooker. Bryan and Joel briefly interrupted their sleep with some dinner and some cards: we would all need the energy tomorrow. We began chatting with Hannah, Gemma and Gavin who we briefly saw on the ascent and descent up to the Mirador Las Torres. They shared their bottle of wine with us before going to bed early, they too going the same direction as us. We made a decision to set off early tomorrow morning before the bad weather rolled in. Day 1 was an entree of what was going to come.



Blue skies and blisters were the talk of the morning on Day 2. Alot of people in our room had risen early to push up to the Mirador Las Torres for sunrise. It did cross my mind but it would add an extra 3 hrs onto our 5 hr hike and maybe we would need that energy on Day 3 or 4. Plus we had been up there yesterday, but boy did it look tempting from our Refugio where you could see the sun blazing off the granite faces of the Torres. Gav, Hannah and Gemma were about to head up to the lookout with the girls coming anxiously close yesterday before turning around due to fading light. We wished them good luck and told them we would have a beer ready for them at Refugio Los Cuernos.

Joel's heels were receiving a bit of a battering from his new shoes so he switched back to the trusty joggers. Bryan made sure his hamstrings were on fire with some deep heat treatment in the morning. This then reminded me how funny it was watching Bryan trying to explain in spanish to the pharmacist at Rio Turbio that he wanted some Deep Heat. Joel and I were snickering in the background as Bryan started rubbing his groin region in an attempt to trigger some recognition from the pharmacist. Funny stuff. The sun was out and there wasn't too much wind to talk about as we headed back around the mountain. The sweeping views over Lago Nordenskjold were amazing with the green hills in the foreground and even more snow capped peaks in the distance.

We found a small patch of grass a couple of hours into the walk where we cooked some soup and enjoyed the views over Lago Nordenskjold. The wind was really picking up now but we only had another two hours to reach Refugio Los Cuernos. We could now see the backside of the Torres with the black granite peaks. The snowy peaks of Cerro Paine Grande also came into view as we pushed further west along Lago Nordenskjold towards the Refugio. With the refugio in site we could see the wind rattling across the Lake. We were all glad that we had left early and now had the entire afternoon to refresh and relax. We played some cards and drank some whiskey whilst glancing outside to see people's tents being blown up into the trees: I was so happy that we weren't camping. The wooden shack at times felt like it was going to blow over, that's how strong the wind was. Every 10 minutes tired souls would trudge through the door triumphantly, the wind still on their backs even at the reception. Gavin, Hannah and Gemma had a tough day at the office so to speak, nearly 9 hours of walking. Not to mention Gemma fell into one of the river crossings. However the orange sun hitting Cerro Paine Grande simultaneously with a rainbow brightened up everyones afternoon.

Comfort food, whiskey and some camaradarie made the evening pass ever so quickly. We again agreed that we should start early in the morning. However, Joel and Bryan were going to do the shorter route making straight for Refugio Pehoe instead of going up the Valle del Frances. Gavin, Gavin (yes two guys called Gavin) and I decided to make the push up the Valle in what would be a 22km day. With that in mind we all went to bed early.



We were all a bit slow to get going in the morning but Joel and Bryan set off about 30 minutes before the two Gavin's and myself. Gav was setting a cracking pace and it was hard to keep up a conversation whilst trying not to shed light on my heart rate going through the roof. We caught up with the boys on a hilly pass and wished them luck for the hike to Refugio Pehoe. I think they were happy that they only had a short walk and I was happy because the Valle was going to be awesome. We reached Campamento Italiano at record speed and then followed the river up the valley with the massive Cerro Paine Grande on our left. Green forest was all we could see ahead but we knew that the real treasures would open up over the hill. The trees up here were so windblown, their shape a testament to the extremes that they endure up here. A glacier crept up the mountain on our left with the peak shrouded in what looked like blue ice.

We reached a clearing and determined that this must be the lookout. The 180 degree view of the granite peaks was amazing. The Gavin travelling by himself decided that he would head back down to camp as he had an early ferry to catch whilst Gavin and I pushed on for another lookout further up. Unfortunately for Gavin we reached the next lookout in 15 minutes and it was the best lookout of all. Here we really did have a 180 degree view of the granite peaks. My thanks go to Joel for lending me his camera for this part of the trip (and his effort in stitching the panorama above) after breaking mine in the hostel 3 days earlier. No more words...just look at the pictures. I had the biggest smile on my face. This was what I thought Patagonia would be like: very rugged but so rewarding.

On the way back down the valley I realised that I had lost one of Joel's shoes which I had locked on my carabiner. Luckily about half an hour down the track someone found it, noticed I only had one shoe on my carabiner, put two and two together and my ass was saved. I know Joel wasn't having the best time with these shoes but I was so glad to find them. We also saw Hannah and Gemma on the way back down, encouraging them along saying that it was well worth the view at the top. We heard what we thought was an avalanche on the journey back only to see that some ice had calved off a glacier. Dammit, just missed it. The other Gavin was actually a bit further down the valley and was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

We reached Campamento Italiano for the second time and crossed the rickety bridge for the final push down to Refugio Pehoe. It really opened up and the track was fully exposed to the wind. Luckily for us it wasn't too bad and the sun beaming on the back of our necks willed us along. The track was boarded up in some spots which made things different. The sky blue Lago Pehoe finally came into view and so did the Refugio. Joel and Bryan were all refreshed and rested as I stumbled in with tired legs and sweat covered clothes. Gavin had turned back to rendezvous with the girls and accompany them on the walk home. I dont know how he had the energy because I was absolutely knackered. A hot shower and some hot food made me feel all the better and with the bar stacked with Austral, our favourite beer at the time, a good night was going to be had.

Gavin, Hannah and Gemma joined us for a few drinks and some cards in the evening, all of us a little worse for wear. We actually ended up getting quite smashed, with all the whiskey being drunk, many beers (its not our fault as we needed to sample the 5 types of Austral) and if my memory serves me right a bottle of wine was also polished off. The next morning when we gathered for breakfast we all noticed our table was still covered with the exploits of the night before, all refusing to acknowledge that it was our mess and avoiding it accordingly.

Our ferry was leaving around lunctime so we decided to walk as far as we could until we caught a good glimpse of Glacier Grey. It was hard to estimate how long this was going to take, and when we were so close to turning back we reluctantly pushed on another 15 minutes to be duly rewarded with an amazing site. Boy I loved this National Park. I really wish I could have made it around the back on the circuit but unfortunately this was all we could manage this time. We left the viewpoint on a high, all smiling despite weary legs.

Our remainding Chilean Pesos were spent on snickers bars at the refugio shop before we jumped aboard the ferry back to civilisation. Queue Bryan losing something else, this time it was his ever reliable Puma Stick, just waiting to be used to fend off the Pumas that apparently lay in wait somewhere in the park. It was probably the only hiccup from the trip but cruising across Lago Pehoe with the Cuernos Del Paine in full view it was easily forgotten. We all slept on the bus back into town and later that night we celebrated in style. A woodfire pizza house that also had a microbrewery beer on tap was the perfect place to unwind and reflect on what was an amazing 4 days. The pizza was exceptional, and I am sure it just wasn't because we had lived on rations for the last 4 days either!!

With El Chalten to come and more amazing hikes ahead, to say I had sweet dreams would be an understatement. My hair was permanently windblown, my legs were still cramping but it was hard to hide my smile as I snuggled into bed for some well earned rest....Patagonia Dreaming

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