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Published: March 7th 2011
"Cafe Del Mar - Volume 15"
When I was on the Navimag cruise we would have daily lectures about various things. One lecture was about Torres Del Paine and what to expect. They would describe the hikes and where they would lead you. The Torres, they said, is your prize after a moderately difficult hike. I would disagree with that statement. Rather, I would say the Torres is more of a gift. No amount of pictures could give their beauty justice. You have to see them for yourself. Surely there could not be anything more impressive in the park. If you start your hike with the Torres, you couldn't imagine anything more beautiful and awe-inspiring. Just wait, you have only just begun your hike of the legendary W trek at Torres Del Paine National Park! Before we had even entered the park I took in glimpses of beautiful pink flamingos, guanacos, giant jack rabbits and condors!
After my first attempt of the W trek was cut short from a knee injuring I rested up and began to plan my next trip there. I would advice planning your trek based on the weather. It would be a shame to come
all this way and not have a visual of the Torres or of the French Valley because of shitty weather. Some people will tell you to hike from Paine Grande towards Las Torres because you have better views or because that leaves the harder treks towards the end when your pack is lighter from eating all your food. First off, the views are friggin breath taking no matter which way you are hiking. And when you stop to take a photo, do a 360 and take pictures of all directions.
My first attempt at this hike, I started from Paine Grande because I knew the weather was going to be good the first day, poor the second, good the third and fourth. So really I could have gone either way. But I knew I would have good weather to see all the major attractions. The second time I went to the park I started from Las Torres because the weather was much different. The first day was amazing, so I had to use that day to see the Torres. The second day was rain. The third day predicted good weather, perfect for taking in the French Valley. I got
to see everything I wanted because I was conscious of the weather. But then I had time to wait out the bad weather. Come to Torres Del Paine with a few extra days so you can take your time and make sure you see what you want to.
On the way there I met Natalia who was hiking the W alone aswell so we decided to team up. We started from Las Torres Hotel. Its a beautiful hotel, but crazy expensive. Its for rich day hikers! The weather was amazing as we started our hike towards Campamento Torres. The start of the hike was actually far harder then I had expected. My bag was at its heaviest state with all the food and my body had not warmed up yet.
You start the hike with a tough up hill ascent of nearly 500m. Its not tough if you have no pack or are actually warmed up to hike. BUT I wasn't and I was dragging ass big time. I was also concerned about my knee, making sure not to push it too much. Natalia was having problems too, we were moving at a snails pace to be honest.
But that is ok, we had all day to make it to the Torres. After we finally made it to the top of the first leg of the hike we stopped to grab some water and food! We also had our first glimpse of the valley in which our hike would take place. Again, pictures do not do it justice and I lack the words to properly explain the view. It is almost emotional to see this. And we had just begun!
We hiked to Refugeo Chileno where we replenished our water supply and took a 5 minute rest. We fill up on water at any running stream or water fall, there are many and the water is fresh clean glacier water! You can camp at this Refugeo but I would not recommend it because they keep horses here and you basically camp right beside them. It stinks of horse shit all the time! Keep moving if you want to set up camp, and make your way to Campamento Torres. You hike through some amazing forests, along a rushing river, and up a mountain side until you reach the camp. Here we set up our tent, my gorgeous MSR
Hubba Hubba tent, dropped our bags and continued up the steep mountain slop to see the Torres, the main event! This hike was said to be very hard because it is so steep and you are hopping across rocks at a high elevation. It wasn't so bad. I thought it was exciting hiking on all those rocks looking down far below into the valley. You can gain a glimpse of the Torres and their peaks while you hike up. The last 100m or so the anticipation grows to large to contain and you find yourself scrabbling and rushing to the finish line. Then there they are, too breathtaking to believe they are a natural wonder. Natalia was almost drawn to tears.
I appreciate nature and what it has to offer completely. I met some people here that were not all that impressed with the park. They almost shrugged and said it was no big deal. But it is, its beautiful and that cavalier perspective I almost find insulting. Hike the W trek with lots of positive energy and truly take in what you are looking at. Seer it in your memory and never forget!
I took a shit
tun of photos of the Torres and we just hung around looking at them for nearly an hour as everyone did. The weather was beginning to turn and the sun was starting to set so we knew we had to leave soon. But we just could not pull ourselves away. I could hike to the Torres everyday and never get bored of seeing them. Unfortunately we had to head back to camp, finish setting up camp and grab some sleep before we set off back and start the next portion of the W!
That night we would get to bed early, everyone does that, your friggin exhausted after hiking your ass 20 km or so! Around midnight the skies opened up and it started to rain. The rain persisted until morning with out letting up even for a minute. I had no choice but to take my tent down in the pouring rain. This frustrated me, I hated having to put my tent away wet and dirty! The rain was relentless that day as we hiked back to Las Torres. When we arrived I knew we could not sleep in my tent again, it was to drenched. But the
Refugeo at Los Cuernos was fully booked. We couldnt stay at Las Torres because it was too expensive. Torres Del Paine was doing all it could to torpedo yet another attempt by me to hike it. So we called ahead to Paine Grande and asked if they had space. They had a few spots left but we had to hurry. So we grabbed a bus from Las Torres and went to Pudeto were we hoped on the Catamaran and landed in Paine Grande. I went to reserve a couple beds but they were full, damn it. Luckely mother earth threw me a friggin bone and decided to shine her sun down upon us. I quickly set up my tent and dried it off. By the time we needed to go to bed it was bone dry! Luck was on our side! The weather was going to be bad the next day, and this day was a complete wash because of the rain. We were not able to hike from Las Torres to Cuernos, but we stayed in the park when most others would pack up and head back to Puerto Natales with their tales between their legs.
The rain
started up again that night and wind howled like I have never experienced before. I thought, "great, another shitty night and another shitty day of weather." Not to be, when we awoke, the sun was out, the tent was dry and the wind was completely gone. We took advantage of this gift and headed off towards the French Valley! I really enjoyed the hike from Paine Grande to Campamento Italiano. It was an easy hike but still beautiful, yielding many many spectacular views. We arrived at Italiano, ate lunch then headed to the French Valley. This Portion of the hike was my favorite. It was the most "wild" portion if you will. At times the trail would vanish and you had to find your own way, I loved that. It was steep at times, bolder hoping, creek bed hiking and magical forests. You climb some elevation here, but the hike is fun and exciting. Some people were really sucking wind on this portion. But with out your packs, its mostly just fun, so enjoy it!
We were not able to hike all the way into the French Valley. The weather was set to change again. We hiked most of
the way in and saw a large portion of the valley. It is as breathtaking as the Torres or Glacier Grey! I thought about staying in the park another night and hiking into the French Valley again, but I had seen everything I wanted to and yes, the weather was in a bitchy mood once again as we departed. It has rained every day since, so I am glad to have left. But I could hike Torres Del Paine a million times and never get sick of it. I plan on coming back in April to hike the full Circuit where I will gain new perspectives of the park! I am beyond excited for that trek!
Hiking the W trek at Torres Del Paine was really something special. Take your time, expect rain, dress warm, and enjoy the views at every turn!
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non-member comment
Beautiful Tim. Love reading of your travels. keep exploring my friend...