Torres del Paine

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After taking a bus from El Calafate into Puerto Natales Chile we began to prepare for our first trek. After buying all our nescessary supplies and having a last dinner and beer, we set off the next morning into Torres del Paine national park.

We decided to tackle the 140km "Q" circuit which should take us about 9 days. There is definitely a real sense of freedom and independence when you walk into the wilderness with your home (tent), food, clothes and bed on your back.

Sandra, it must be said, was a little apprehensive having not done anything like this before. Her longest camping experience to this point was a 2 day canoe trip a couple of years ago with my aunt and uncle. She was fantastic, she handled all the hardships, her pack and its weight, the steep uphill climbs, the unpredicable weather, and the simple bland camp dinners, never complaining. I'm a lucky guy!

The scenery in the park is absolutely beautiful, and on cloudless nights the stars and the sky are something to be marvelled at. Hopefully, some of the pictures we added convey the natural beauty better than I can possibley put into words.

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Photos

Hiking In
One of the amazing aspects of this trek was all the different terrains that we encountered. The trail wound its way through grasslands, rolling hills, garled beech forests, glacier carved valleys, mountain passes and beside an ice field.

Weather
We were warned that the weather was very unpredictable. It was not uncommon for a sunny day to turn to rain or snow very quickly in the mountains and we definately experienced it all.

Our new home!
It withstood the winds, rain and even some snow!

Glacier streams
This trek carrying water wasn't required as there were so many glacier streams and rivers along the trail. Nothing was better than taking a break from the trek and having a long drink of the ice cold crystal clear water.

Breaking the tree line
After trekking for a couple of days we finally gained enough altitude and broke free of the forested vallys and were treated to the views.

Glacier Lake
The colour of the water was fantastic

The towers pre-dawn
We woke up at 4:30am to hike the remaining 3km to catch the sun rise and hit the towers. It was very hard getting out of the sleeping bag and making the climb in the dark and near freezing temperatures, but worth it.

Morning sun
The morning sun turned the granite towers an orangey hue.

Sunrise
We really got lucky with the weather this morning.

Sandra in her sleeping bag
We took our sleeping bags and mats up to the tower basin so we could keep warm and stay for longer. Sandra looks pretty happy given its 6am and about zero degrees.

Full light
Me silhouetted looking at the towers.

Torres
We met some climbers at the camp the previous evening, appartently these granite mountains are some of the more difficult technical climbing in the world.

Us and Torres
I finally managed to get her out of the sleeping bag.

View from the Pass
This was the highest point of the trek at 1300m, which relatively is not that high. The issue here is the wind which is constant and can gust to 120km/h, the packs act almost like sails in the wind and can be difficult to control. Hard to believe that the previous day this pass was closed due to a blizzard and white out conditions.

Ice Field
Not sure how big this ice field is, but we walked beside it for about 12k and only covered a fraction of it.

Bridge building
Met some park workers building a suspension bridge over a gorge, which should make this aspect of the trail easier since we had to climb down and then back up the opposite side.

Finished!
After 9 days and 140km we are done! Time for a shower and a beer.