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Published: March 22nd 2007
This was what the mammoth bus trip had been in aid of: trekking in the world famous and extremely beautiful Torres Del Paine national park. We were just scraping in at the end of the season but the bonus to this was that we were able to pick up a load of cheap second hand equipment to buy rather than waste money hiring stuff.
Fully kitted out with tent, sleeping bags, roll mats and an alcohol cooking burner that I'd made out of two beer cans we were set. Our bags were pretty heavy but it was largely because we had to carry sufficient food for 7 days; we only took one change of clothes - didn't see the point in taking any more as we wouldn't have access to a shower anyway!
We took a bus out to the entrance of the park, through the spectacular Patagonian landscape, coming in through the mountains. On arrival the weather was pretty good so we took our time and had a bit of lunch before setting off on the first leg of the "W". There are two options for trekking in the national park - doing the full circuit, which
we heard mixed reports about and doing the "W". The "W" is so called for the way it appears on the park map and takes you to all the major sights in the park, whilst missing out the long boring days of nothing that are on the full circuit. It also allows you to stay at all the free campsites.
After setting off it didn't take long for the weather to change (a common occurrence in Patagonia) and we were soon walking head on into driving rain. Having shunned the idea of buying waterproof trousers we had the pleasure of slowly feeling our legs get soaked, then our socks and then the water running down and filling our shoes. Nice. Four and a half hours and nearly 18km later we arrived at our first camp. Needless to say we hadn't seen a lot staring at the ground to avoid getting smacked in the face by the rain but it had eased up just as we were arriving and we had a nice view across a crystal blue lake.
Our first campsite wasn't actually free, but this was quite good because it meant it had a heated kitchen /
common area we could go in to dry off a bit and cook in the warm. Knackered and cold we didn't stay up long after dinner: tomorrow was another 15km day and more up and downhill than today had been so we thought sleep would be good!
Day 2 started off a bit brighter but the clouds were still looming so we quickly had a cereal bar (the breakfast staple!) and packed up ready to go. The path climbed up in to the Paine Grande Mountains behind us weaving through little woods and round chunks of exposed rock leading to our first view point of the famous Glacier Grey. The front of the glacier was a frozen barrier blocking out most of the distant horizon and huge chunks of pale blue ice were floating down to Lago Grey beneath the cliff edge. Lago Grey was very grey in colour as the name might suggest! A fantastic contrast to the bright turquoise blue of Lago Pehoe we had left this morning. From our high viewpoint the trail continued steeply downhill following the edge of the lake until we came face to face with the mighty glacier grey from water level: this frozen mass of water reached back into the distance as far as the eye could see.
After staring in awe for a while we realised we still had at least another hour or so before we would reach our camp for the night. As our map threatened, the remaining section of the trail was mainly uphill and we thought we would never stop walking. Through the trees we were amazed to catch a glimpse of a huge section of the front of the glacier crashing into the water sending icebergs the size of houses off into the lake. Tired and sore after 6 hours hiking we eventually arrive at our first free camp, which being free was obviously a bit more basic and really nothing more than a clearing with a sheltered eating area and 'toilet'. Tonight was our first outing for the home-made cooker and we were hoping and praying that Kev's little contraption was going to pull it off! Our little cooker did a superb job and we had piping hot pasta ready in 20 mins! Result!
Thankfully
Day 3 was without our big food laden backpacks. We had opted to do a slightly extended
version of the "W" taking a couple of extra days to do some day hikes up to see some extra bits you wouldn't normally see. Our destination today was the highest point in the park - the John Gardener Pass. It was only 12 to 14km but as we were only just above the glacier at our camp it would be a long uphill and subsequently an equally long steep downhill coming back.
The first part of the walk took us along side the glacier winding through the forest to the next camp on the circuit, where we stopped for a quick snack and a chat to the park ranger before starting the assent to the pass. The path took no time to take an upward turn and it wasn't long before we broke out of the forest and had our first real panoramic view across the grey glacier and lago grey. The much improved weather gave us some fantastic views with the sun glinting on the ice. The views only got better the further we climbed - I must have stopped and taken the same picture about 4 times!
You could feel you were getting closer to
the top as the wind started picking up - the JGP is known for its harsh weather, sometimes making it impassable. The view from the top was fantastic: you could see the just how huge the glacier was - stretching off so far that it just blended into the horizon. On the other side you were looking down the back of the circuit bordered on one side by snow capped mountains and stretching off to the Patagonian plains on the other side.
We sheltered from the wind behind a big rock and had a rest before making our way back down. There were some handily placed ropes between trees that made it easier to control your descent in the thick mud on the trail. Going down was just as tiring as going up but it wasn't long until we were back at camp, the whole day taking 10 hours to complete. Another successful night with the beer-can-cooker not only cooked dinner but also boiled some water for a cup of tea as well.
The first 5 hours or so of Day 4 was walking the reverse of the trail back to our first camp; the first 2 hours passed quite quickly as it was mainly downhill, but this was followed by another 3 hours of mainly uphill! Back at the luxurious paid first camp with its shop and hotel/restaurant in tow we rewarded ourselves with some hot choccie and cake to fuel our energy for the last two and half hours hike to Campamento Italiano in Valley Frances. Thankfully the remainder of the day's hiking was pretty easy-going but the weight of our bags was increasing with every step and we were very grateful to eventually arrive at the river Frances bridge that brought us to camp. The river, like all water sources in the park, providing us with crystal clear cool drinking water right on our doorstep. Tent up and cooker at the ready, disaster nearly struck when the camp ranger came to register us and noticed our cooking appliance.... we assured him it was not a campfire, which are strictly prohibited in the park, and thankfully we were allowed to keep it!
Day 5 was another bag-free day, thank god! The plan was to hike up the central section of the "W" to a mirador that gave you panoramic views of all the surrounding mountains.
This was definitely one of the most impressive bit of hiking we did the whole trip. You felt completely dwarfed by massive snow capped mountains on both sides of you and in front of you too. The trail was also pretty flat as you were basically following the river - a welcome break for our knees after the previous few days.
We arrived at the last camp before the mirador in good time and thought we had about another hours hiking to go. It turned out that the last stretch up to the look out was only 20 minutes. Out of the protection of the forest the wind was pretty fierce but it was well worth it for yet more amazing views, we had been spoilt again with a nice clear day. We had only just gotten past lunchtime and had already seen what we had come to see, which was cool but at the same time a little annoying as it would mean sitting back in camp twiddling our thumbs until the following day. Then we saw the path.....
We had heard from a German guy at our hostel, who had heard from another guy at another
hostel that there was a "back route" to a second mirador from which you could see the famous Torres mountain range (the one that everyone normally just sees once on their last day). The path seemed pretty well trodden and went of in the general direction you would expect a path to go that would be taking you to another mirador - up! So off we went. The path followed the route of a river flowing down from a glacier with some nice little waterfalls along the way. It eventually reached a ridge, which seemed like it could be the end, but it wasn't. No Torres to be seen and now no obvious path, just a big steep slope with a mixture of spongy stream covered grassy rocks and big fat rocks and boulders.
Undeterred by the lack of path we picked a spot on the next ridge to aim for and carried on going up. Having reached the next ridge and still no famous mountain views we were starting to wonder if the German guy's mate had been full of sh*t but then we noticed other people behind us heading up too. They were either idiots, following two
people they had seen wander off (or had spoken to a German guy at their hostel), or we were heading the right way and they were going the right way too.
Hoping the latter to be true we picked a spot on the next ridge and carried on; this involved going down and then up (which is why we hadn't previously seen this ridge). By now our good weather was starting to look like it was going to turn nasty with the wind getting stronger and some clouds moving in. Thankfully on arrival at the top of ridge number three we were met by the view we had been promised - the Torres. So called for their tower like shape they were particularly impressive; you could appreciate the attraction to climbers from all over the world.
We didn't exactly stop to enjoy the view as Tash was concerned about the weather we very quickly headed back down again. When you're at the top of something you have the luxury of seeing the easiest route down - needless to say we hadn't taken the easiest route up. Foregoing the scrabbling across big boulders we followed a small valley back
down to the top of the river path and then back down to the original mirador and from there back to camp. From what started out as an easy day we were now both pretty knackered and hadn't given our aching knees much of a break having hiked up and down the steep ridges to get to the second mirador. Still it was worth it and it was nice to know that it was something that not everybody did.
Okay, Day 6, the day we had been dreading. The map showed we had over 20km of hiking ahead of us, with bags, and that it was supposed to take 9 1/2 hours. Oh my god! Assuming we managed to complete this ridiculously long hike in one day, then day 6 would be our last full day in the park. Somehow our bags did not feel any lighter even though we had now eaten the majority of the food? Determined not to be beaten we headed out in the direction of the famous Torres Mountain range.
The first 5 hours hiking passed relatively quickly following a low-lying trail through the brush around the edge of the immense Lago Nordenskjold. 
Forest Waterfalls
We had to cross a few of these - and there weren't always bridges!!The path occasionally turned out to the shore and followed some small stony beaches, which made a nice change to the scenery. It was a dry day but the trail was very exposed and the wind raced brutally around the lake edge and through the little valleys threatening to throw us off the paths. The windiest section was whilst we were trying to cross a river on very slippery stones. By the time we reached the base of the Torres the wind had dropped enough for us to have an enjoyable lunch in the sun by the edge of another lake.
Ahead of us the trail climbed steeply up as far as our eyes could see - it was going to be a tiring end to our day! We pushed on up the exposed grassy hilltop with the weight of our bags pulling us down and the soaring midday heat pounding down on us making every step an extreme effort. We were happy to eventually reach the top, only to have to climb steeply back down again to the next hostel. We could see a fire burning through the hostel door and were very tempted to put our feet
up for the night but we were still determined to reach our next campsite. Exhausted we somehow managed to reach the camp after about another hour or more of hiking up and down hills and over rivers through a forest. We set up camp next to the little stream and then cooked up a feast from all our leftover food to congratulate ourselves for our efforts, whipping out Big Paul's last two army ration packs for dessert - the long awaited chocolate pudding and treacle pudding!
Day 7, our last day in the park and the final push up to the base camp for the Torres mountain range. As with all great natural tourist attractions they're always supposed to be better at sunrise (or sunset), so like the dilligent tourists we are we were up in good time to do our last climb to arrive at our destination to see the sunrise.
Having nearly killed ourselves the previous day getting to our campsite we were glad we'd put the effort in as the final climb up to the Torres was enough on its own, let alone having to do it from the previous camp - an hour back
down the mountainside! After leaving the vaguely flat campsite the trail immediately climbed upward, winding between huge boulders.
As with our previous climb to see the Torres the trail soon disappeared and we were faced with a huge (and extremely steep) mountainside covered in loose rocks, gravel and dust. We could see some other people further up and so aimed for them, which turned out to be a good idea (they were all the really hardcore tourists with huge cameras). We took up a spot on the ridge opposite the Torres; we were much closer than our previous visit and could not only see the full extent of the huge peaks but we were also overlooking a lake with hundreds of glacial waterfalls trickling down the rocks into it. All in all a very impressive sight.
We weren't quite sure if we had missed the sunrise as sometimes it comes a bit later over the mountains. We asked one of the hardcore, huge camera touting tourists if we'd missed it and it turned out that we had, however, because it had been cloudy it hadn't been the spectacle it should have been. He was clearly disappointed! After taking
Mmmmm baked beans
Kev enjoying a taste of home in Pauls Army rations! a few pics and enjoying the view we were eventually driven off the ridge by the wind, quite possibly the strongest we had experienced in our whole trip. The wind was whipping something in our face - I couldn't tell if it was the light rain that had started falling or the small rocks on the slope but it definitely hurt!
Down off the ridge we escaped the vicious wind and made our way back to camp. By the time we'd packed up our stuff and gotten moving the clouds had cleared and we had a beautiful sunny day to walk out of the park. It only took about 3 hours to get down to the big expensive lodge where the buses left from, where we rewarded ourselves with a nice cold beer. This made a change to the straight whiskey we had been drinking for the past week! After one last outing for the campstove (cooking up the last of the pasta and sausages) we caught a minibus to connect with the big coachs heading out of the park. Needless to say we slept most of the way back.
Back in Puerto Natales we felt that we
had definitely not had enough meat in the past week so went to a "tenedor libre" (literally translated as a free fork) all you can eat restaurant. This particular tenedor libre specialised in Patagonian lamb and the owner was more than happy to keep bringing us more and more meat! After god knows how many kilos of meat and 2 litres of wine (the owner kept topping our glasses up too) we were thoroughly stuffed and well ready for bed!
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Igor
non-member comment
so jealous of you guys doing all that climbing, the only climbing we do in mitcham is up and down the stairs to our office...