The W trek in Torres Del Paine (NS)

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Our next stop on the cold road south was Puerto Natales, not a particularly attractive town aesthetically but attractive as a base camp for our trek around Torres Del Paine National Park. We arrived late Sunday afternoon and after the disappointment of 2 full hostels we found a little place on the edge of town. The landlady was most helpful in advising us where we could hire all the necessary things for our trek but her missing teeth and moustache were a little off putting. Our trek was to last 5 days/nights at a maximum of 1000m above sea level and a minimum of minus 15 degrees c. Our only night time shelter was our tent so we had to be reasonably well prepared. In total we would walk almost 90 kilometres, not a great distance but through mountainous (and snowy/icy) terrain, certainly a challenge.

I had my sleeping bag but as the expected temperatures were well below its rating we decided to hire a better one, we could have hired a tent that was more up to the job too but it was too expensive so we decided ours would do. We also hired a stove and bought loads of dried food, easy to carry and full of carbs.

We left our hostel early the following day. The first leg was by bus to the National Park´s administration office where the park fees were paid. Half a mile down the road we were dropped off at the point of our first camp and the trek started. There was a closed hotel nearby and the caretaker kindly let us leave our bags there to save us heaving them up the mountain. Over the previous couple of days we had picked up a few fellow trekkers: Jan from Belgium and Cesar from Spain joined me, Tas and Yuval.

We ascended the first leg far too rapidly, what should have taken 3 hours took 1.5. The terrain was steep but not that rocky - regardless me and Tas were puffed out and started to lag behind. We were not enjoying ourselves so we encouraged the others to go on ahead so we could get some rhythm going at our pace and enjoy ourselves a little better. We walked for 3 hours - the last hour was a climb up a granite boulder-strewn incline of about 60 degrees. Because of the altitude there was lots of snow and ice around making the climb more perilous. We were shattered by the time we reached the highlight of the days walk - The Torres Del Paine (towers) which give their name to the park.

The park is dotted with odd-shaped rock formations carved by the glaciers that are currently here and the many more that have disappeared since the last ice age. The towers are granite so withstood the force of the glacier that eroded the rock around them. At the base of these magnificent towers is the lake where the tiny child of the once huge father glacier drains. The scene is magnificent and photos do not do justice to this mammoth spectacle. The fact that it cannot be seen without the rough hike only adds to the glory. We sat mesmerized for about half and hour before the realization that the trek down would be just as slow and arduous as the hike up.

By the time we got back to base camp it was dark so we had to put up our tent by torch light. It was also getting cold so we gathered some wood and lit a fire. We were fairly near the closed hotel so me and Jan 'borrowed´ some season logs left over from last year.

We had dinner - dried stuff with sauce, and sat around the fire for a couple of hours. We were all shattered after the walk so went to bed early. Tas´s sleeping bag provided protection to minus 10 degrees c. She woke at 1.00am quite cold so we swapped sleeping bags, the one I had hired provided protection to minus 45 degrees c (somehow) but as I don´t feel the cold as much we figured minus 10 protection would be enough for me, it was barely. The night was fairly sporadic as far as sleep was concerned, Jack Frost woke us up on a few occasions. We woke properly at 8.00am and it was still very dark. Inside the tent was freezing and the ice on the walls did nothing to motivate us to move from our sleeping bags.

By the time the sun had risen at 9.00am we had finished breakfast, packed everything away and were ready to go. We were infact glad to go, to walk the chill from our bones. The second day was the most physically demanding, 7 hours over medium to hard rocky terrain with lots of uphill and all of it with our packs. The W trek as the name suggests forms a W shape. We had already covered the right hand leg of the W and this day was to take us form the base of that right hand leg to the middle of the central leg where we could drop our packs and pitch our tent.

It was a demanding walk but as the sun came out it became quite pleasant, the views of Lago Nordenskjold helped take our mind off the journey. Being slower than the others me and Tas set off earlier than them and we soon had our rhythm and were chatting with each other. In 6 months of traveling the longest we have been apart is 3 hours (when Tas was in surgery) and we still have things to talk about.

We arrived at our destination around 4pm, there was still some daylight so we quickly pitched our tent and collected wood for the fire. The others hadn´t caught us up by this time. We were spending this night in a much more remote area where sightings of Pumas and just as menacing rats were common so the fire was to burn all night to scare then away. Being a townie I was also quite glad of the light. On our journey that day we met a wanderer from Denmark called Per, he was out in the wilderness for a week in total, he arrived at our camp a little later with the others.

We all had dinner and sat around the fire chatting. Me and Tas told stories of our travels. Per told stories of Vikings (he sounded very much like Eddie Izzard which made his stories all the more interesting) and Ceasar told stories of his previous treks including Macchu Pichu before it was regulated, the Darian Gap through Columbia and many treks through Africa. Ghost stories were not told, just as well given our remote surroundings, so we all slept well. The night was warmer too because of the tree cover, a healthy 2 degrees.

Day 3 and we were ready to go by sunrise. We were to leave our gear where it was and trek up the remainder of the middle leg of the W where we would see the reverse view of the towers, a mountain glacier, and an elevated view of much of the park.

The climb was steep to the highest point of the trek but made less strenuous by the lack of backpack. The path dipped in and out of the forest offering fantastic views of the Frances Valley we were loosely following. It took around 2.5 hours to reach our destination and by the time we got there we were sweating. We had not brought water with us as there was no need, all the water was supplied by the Glaciers and not only did it taste fantastic it was perfectly chilled. We took plenty of water on board and headed back down the valley. When we arrived back at the campsite we packed up our tent, boiled the kettle for a cup a soup and headed off for our next stop.

It only took 2 hours to get to Acampar Paine Grande as it was only 8k over fairly even ground. We had been told that the hardest part of our journey was over. The intention was to camp but we found a hotel nearby which was closed for the winter and the caretaker was kind enough to let us sleep in there, not in the guest rooms however, they were closed and locked. There was however a raging fire. The only downside was electricity - only available between 6pm and 11pm, outside of these hours there was only the fire to protect us from the cold eeriness. The caretaker sold me some eggs and potatoes and as we were allowed to use the kitchen and all its gear I cooked some egg and chips, a delight after all the rehydrated food we had eaten over the last few days.

After dinner we watched Saw 2 chilling enough, but made even more so by 'The Shining-like´ environment we were in! 11pm soon came and it was bedtime, luckily I had my torch handy so I read for a bit to take my mind off the goriness of the film.

The next day was a return trip up the final leg of the W, an 8 hour walk that was to take us up the edge of Lago Grey - the melted residue of Glacier Grey, the Glacier being the final destination and highlight of the day. The lake was spotted with Icebergs, discarded lumps from the Glacier. The walk was hard going and by the time we´d reached the glacier we only had a few minutes to take in the views before turning round and heading back. The air was fantastic, a pleasure to breathe and perfect for exercising in. Both me and Tasmin had rosy cheeks, just what the Victorian Doctor would have prescribed for Tasmin´s recovery.

By the time we got back it was dark. We were both shattered so as soon as the electric was on we prepared dinner. There was a new guest at the ´hotel'- an Englishman called Jem, who made the mistake us asking us where we´d been. We proceeded to talk his ears off for what must have seemed like an eternity to him.

The next day, our final day, was a late start as we only had 5 hours walking to do and it was the home straight. The route was mostly downhill too, following Rio Grey the outflow of Lago Grey. The scenery was much more pastural than the mountainous scenery of the previous 4 days. We passed many wild horses and a few golden meadows each one causing Tasmin to break out in song.

We arrived at the pickup point around 3pm and were promptly met by our bus. We were very relieved as we were absolutely shattered. It was as if our bodies knew it was the end and they were using pain to tell us that was enough. The good news was the bus´s presence, the bad news was that there was already passengers on board finishing their day tour of the park. The bus spent another 2 hours driving around the park before starting the 3 hour journey back to our hostel.

We had heard there was a vegetarian restaurant in town so we dropped our bags off and headed out straight away. The place had shut down so we ended up with pizza, not very good pizza at that but the beer it came with made up for it. After a hot shower it was time for bed.

The following day was a rest day which was just as well as we were aching and as stiff as boards. We spent half an hour plodding around town, catching up on email and I had the strange concoction of Malt Beer and Egg which sounds awful but was delicious. On the way back to our hostel we watched a carnival which was to celebrate the towns birthday, lots of singing and dancing and semi-naked carnival queens, it was just above 0 degrees C so they must have been freezing!

The next day we were up early for the bus to Punta Arenas a town on the northern side of the Magdalene Straight which would allow us to get to Ushuaia (Argentina). We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the wilderness, it was fantastic. We are not experienced trekkers and we learned a few things on this trip. We are still aching as I write but the good memories of our experience will last longer than our aches I am sure.

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Photos

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Our trekking companions with the Torres in the background

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Finally arriving at the Torres

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Day 1: Trekking up to the Torres

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Noel

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The frozen stream after a cold first night's camping

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Beautiful scenary and fresh air - just what the Dr ordered

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Keeping warm by the fire on our second night

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Blue sky

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The last day of the trek was a lot flatter

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An Iceberg down river of the Glacier