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Published: April 11th 2010
We set off at 8am and had a 6 hour hike (the longest stint with our packs so far) to our lunchtime resting point. 10 minutes in I had to give Sophie a quick pep talk and show her the map, proving that carrying on rather than retreating backwards was shorter.
The path from sea level to 750m was a steep one, but our korfing fitness allowed us to power ahead of Duncan and Mahnee (and many other trekkers) on the inclines. We arrived at our lunch stop (a refugio) looking forward to another bottle of Fanta, only to discover it had closed for the season and having to make do with glacial water. Having arrived ahead of schedule, we decided we would make the summit (the viewing point for the park’s name sake - Torres del Paine) this evening instead of getting up at 5am to see them at sunrise. We hiked for 5 hours to the free camp, where we set up our tents and stashed our bags, and the others refuelled with tea. With just one big pack between us, as we began the hardest ascent of the 4 day trek (it was marked on the map
Post pep talk!
Armed with my iPod, doesn't look like the painkillers have taken effect yet though!that the mere 1km distance would take a whole hour to complete - the camp was at 456m and the summit at 890m). The first half was a steep sandy path, punctuated only occasionally by rocks to steady our feet, followed by boulders and rocks requiring hands to pull ourselves up. We made it up in 45 minutes, exhausted as I did the last stint with the bag, but satisfied as we saw a sign saying ¨end of trail¨. The view was amazing, and my trigger happy finger took many pictures, none of which even came close to doing it justice. We then scrambled down into the lake area below for some better photo ops. On returning to the free camp we cooked a well earned dinner (you guessed it, more pasta!) We could’ve eaten anything after our 18km day, the shortest distance but definitely the toughest. Being at a free camp, we went straight to bed after dinner at 8pm.
That’s How Sophie Sees It Clearly the painkillers had not taken effect by the time we started walking at 8 - even walking on flat ground was unbearable, and when we started uphill I was reduced to
Safety first!
One of many rickety bridges tears, hence the pep talk from Chris. I have to say he was an absolute angel - helping me down every downhill slope and steadying me on every rock scramble and river crossing. By the time I’d got out my iPod for some moral support from Bon Jovi, the painkillers set in and we were on our way. Somehow, I could power uphill without pain, so today was a good day, especially seeing as we came across a signpost for a shortcut which took 1.5 hours off our walk and hence we were able to reach the Torres (towers) viewpoint before dark. The view just took your breath away; the push up to the top was totally and utterly worth it. All 4 of us tried to pick out the best day of the three so far, and concluded they were all on a par with each other. But I was certainly glad we’d left the Torres for the last day - definitely the most grand and awe inspiring of all the landscapes.
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