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Published: February 27th 2013
Highs: The W trek was awesome, in the true sense of the word (not awesome like a hotdog). The erratic rock hostal, owned by a larger than life American guy named bill, who makes his own bread and a fine omelette in the morning! And the people we met along the way, all so friendly and nice, particularly Stijn, who we met in El Calafate and Dragos, who we met in the hostal, both of whom we trekked the W with.
Lows: Heavy packs. Gruelling ascents. Uncomfortable roll mats. Mozzie bites!
Food: We had fun trying to guess weights and foods at a food weigh-house, where we stocked up on dry fruits, nuts, porridge oats and Quinoa. Then to the supermarket for pasta, sauce, biscuits etc. We ended up with
just enough food for two, if you wanted to lose a bit of weight. After the trek, we had yummy homemade pizzas at the bar next to the hostal (Bill´s bro) but sadly, it made me ill the next day!
Blog: The wind is so strong we can barely stand, let alone walk. The walking poles we´d tentatively hired were now invaluable, preventing us from being thrown into
the thorny bushes that flank the rocky narrow track, or worse, tumbling down the valley slope. This was the evening of day 2 of the ´W Trek´.
We'd hiked 15k with heavy packs the day before, taking in amazing vistas of glaciar gray which dispensed huge icebergs in the adjoining lake, and then wearily retraced our steps along the first prong of the W following a restless night of extreme winds buffeting our tent and bombarding our sleep. The fatigue was beginning to show in our legs. The middle of the W we´d thought would be sheltered, but as we rounded this bend, the wind thundered down the mountains on both sides of the valley, hitting us from every direction. Jaws clenched and eyes squint, we pushed forward into the swirl of dust and grit. This is when we decended on the most incredible 'lago'.
The lake was a deep and magnificent blue, in contrast to the creamy blue of lago gray, and the glowing disney-esque turquoise of the lake we had just left. Surrounded by steep valley sides, the winds plowed the lake from all directions, sending spray spiralling high into the air, which refracted the descending
sun´s rays in flurries of colour. We watched, in awe, as these impromptu rainbows danced and spiralled across the lake; the iridescent vapour lifting and rising before dispersing, along with our fatigue.
We still had three days of tough trekking ahead; an amazing view high up on the middle prong of the W surrounded by mountains dripping with glaciars, a night camping on a beach looking out over a glacial lake, a long hard ascent followed by a 4:00 am wake-up call to hurriedly climb to the feet of the mighty Torres del Paine. We would admire the striking granite pillars glowing orange, illuminated by the rising sun. We would meet wonderful people; find kinship with our hiking companions as we suffered fatigue, highs, lows and lack of food; we would have a triumphant feast of Pizza and Beer back in Puerto Natales while swapping stories with people we'd met along the way... But that was later. Right now there was nothing else. Only rainbows, dancing across a lake of impossible blue.
Lessons Learnt • Buy and pack your food with enough time left over to go "hmm, perhaps we need more if we will be walking
all day every day for 5 days and sleeping on the rocky ground.
• Dried cherry tomatoes go better in porridge than pasta.
• Tobasco makes everything taste better when you're camping.
• You can get food poisoning from gringo food prepared by a gringo in a highly rated (and clean) gringo-run establishment, so you might as well gorge on street food!
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Russ Swift
non-member comment
What app are you using to enhance these pctures!!
Firstly, who stole the top of this mountain?!?!?! Secondly, I'm not having it that every landscape you've taken a picture of is as jaw-dropping as it seems in your snaps. Whoever has released the image filter app your so obviously using needs to have a word with Mark Zuckerberg for a pay rise!!! Thirdly, joking apart stunning journey so far, keep up the good work, or lack thereof. Loadsa love, Russ.