Torres del Paine Patagonia Part 3: the “w” trek.

Day 5: Refugio Grey - Refugio Paine Grande

It’s Saturday morning. I wake up feeling better than I thought I would. My legs aren’t too sore. My cough is letting up. And now, I have 6 beautiful fresh tabs of Sudafed to use for the last 4 days of the trek. The sun is up outside. Things are looking up.

There is a beautiful picture window next to our breakfast table where we can watch the birds fly in and out. There are a huge variety of birds in the park, and I wish I knew more about them. I can’t eat much at breakfast after watching my beans and rice come up last night, so I nibble. The hike should be easy today, 11km(7mi) and 3.5 hours, basically flat, over to Paine Grande.

We pack up and say goodbye to our Australian friends. They’ll be heading out for some kayaking by the glacier today and possibly a glacier hike. I’m jealous of their rest day.  I’ll miss them. 

We head out toward Paine Grande. I took one Sudafed with breakfast because I figure I won’t need 2 today. I plan to take just enough to take the edge off. It feels great outside. Not too cold, sunshine peaking through the clouds. It is a beautiful day. It almost feels like a different world over on this side of the trek. The trails are wide and well-maintained. They aren’t too muddy. There is a ton of foot traffic, mostly heading the opposite direction. Most people do the “W” trek from east to west, while we are doing the “O” trek counterclockwise and moving eastward. We keep having to step aside to let droves of people through, sometimes groups of 20- 30 people. It’s so different. We chat about feeling a little sad to lose our tight-knit “O” community, despite – or maybe because of – our shared misery. It is a totally different experience on this side of the trek. Less intimate. 

The hike is fabulous. We get excellent views of the Grey Glacier from different angles as we hike away from it. There are birds singing and flowers blooming. It’s like summertime over here! This is more like what I was expecting all along! 

At one point, we even decide to sit and eat lunch! We have new bagged lunches from Refugio Grey, so we don’t have to eat the tuna sandwiches any more. I am hungry and pull out my sandwich only to find: a chicken salad sandwich. I throw my head back, laughing at the irony. Oh well. I’m able to eat an entire half of the sandwich for lunch along with my fruit and snacks. 

We stop and take lots of pictures today. It’s very casual and easy hiking. 

 

We arrive to Refugio Paine Grande in the early afternoon. The sun is shining without a cloud in the sky. The refugio is set on a magnificent lake, Lago Pehoe, with a deep blue color. I can smell the grass. The colors are vibrant. I’m definitely feeling better. 

We check into the Refugio. We see "wifi" advertised on the front desk. They have wifi here. My veins itch with the craving for a hit. Maybe just a few minutes. No, we decide. We don’t need the wifi for a few more days. We’ll be fine. It's one week. 

We head in and drop off our bags. It’s a huge refugio. There are maybe 100 rooms here with 4 bunks each. There are also lots of little sitting rooms with leather sofas to relax and unwind and read books. It’s charming and inviting. 

We can’t shower until 5pm, so we head outside to explore the area. The camping area is behind the refugio. It has an outdoor concert venue atmosphere with everyone laying outside, enjoying the sunshine, talking and laughing. There are even a few guys with guitars scattered around playing music. I see the Italian kids running around and wave to them. This will be their last stop. They were unable to find reservations past Paine Grande.

We head back down and sit at the picnic tables outside to eat lunch. There is a suspicious batch of people congregated in a small patch of grass interacting intently with their iPhones. My veins itch again. It’s data! We can’t resist the urge this time and wander to the vicinity to check Al's phone. No service. Phew. That was a close one. It’s chilly in the wind, and we head inside to eat instead.

We decide to take a short hike up a nearby hill to get a better vista of the lake. It’s beautiful. I feel like the sunshine and warmth has done more for my health than anything else so far.

Around 5pm, we head in for a shower before dinner. The food service area here is a huge cafeteria-style dining area. There is a bar above the cafeteria advertising “happy hour” on a colorful chalkboard with “drink specials.” It feels strange and surreal to hear the music pumping above, mixing with all the noise of human chatter. It feels totally out-of-sync with where we are in the world. The food is a tough, salty roast beef with mashed potatoes. I scarf the entire thing down. I am so excited to be able to eat. Al watches me, incredulous. “It’s disgusting!” he announces. I don’t believe I have ever heard Al say that any food was disgusting. It must be pretty bad, I think vaguely, as I shovel the last bites into my mouth. Ahhh. I lean back satisfied, my stomach content, calm, and full.

We are sitting next to a couple from London who are finishing their “W” trek. They tell us about the Torres del Paine. They are somewhat dull, so we wrap up our conversation quickly and head up to find a cozy warm nook to read. We find the perfect sitting area right next to our bedroom shielded from the noise of the bar. There is a wood-burning fireplace blazing. The chairs are comfy and inviting. We sit and read for hours. Eventually, some amusing middle aged Australians sit next to us. The only man in the group proceeds to massage each woman’s feet in turn. They are hilarious to listen to, and it distracts me from my book. I hear one mention she paid for the wifi. They charged $35! Talk about knowing what the people want.. 

I get up from the chair to stretch in front of the fire. I look at the time.10pm already! Amazing how time flies with a good book. We get ready for bed. We are sharing our room with an Brazilian couple tonight. They head out of the room as we head in, and I am long asleep before they return drunk, late into the night.

Gray to Paine Grande.

Day 6: Paine Grande to Refugio Cuernos

Today is another big hiking day, if we choose. We will ultimately be hiking to Refugio Cuernos, but there is a (semi)-optional side-trek up to Mirador Britanica. Supposedly, we can leave our packs down at Acampar Italiano and run up the 5.5km(3.5mi) 2 hour uphill trail to the Mirador. According to word-of-mouth, it is well worth the detour. Our legs are strong and feet are fine, so we plan to complete the diversion. All told, it should be about 20km(12mi) - or estimated 9 hours - of hiking today. The elevation gain and loss is about 700m(2300ft) today. 

But, we do have a golden egg awaiting us at Cuernos. Refugio Cuernos has meant one thing to us since we booked the trip months ago. Hot tub. If you purchase a private cabin at Cuernos for a hefty fee, you get time in a hot tub. We have been looking forward to this hot tub the whole trip. We can get through anything to get there.

We set out early and make good time to Acampar Italiano. 

We dump most of the heavy gear from my pack to Al’s except for water and lunch, and he takes my lightened pack. I am hiking with no weight. I feel light as a feather. The first third or half of the trail is straight up a rocky terrain, nearly scrambling at some parts. It feels like cake without a pack. 

I recall back to when I first moved to Utah from New Orleans 10 years ago. There is a similar, rocky steep hike up to Mount Olympus. On my first attempt, I was out of shape and hungover from drinking the night before. I made it about 2/3 of the way up then laid on the ground panting while waiting for my friends to return from the top. It was a real moment of reckoning for me. I had to admit to myself that at 25 years old, I was overweight, out of shape, and drink way too much alcohol. I have slowly turned my life around. By the end of my 3 years in Utah, I could easily hike up to the top of Mt Olympus. This trek is like doing that hike 4-5 times every day. It makes me feel good about where I am at 35 years old as we easily overtake everyone we come across.

The trail flattens out for a while as we pass through Mirador Frances. This mirador is a magnificent view of a massive granite, snowy wall. If you sit for even just a few minutes and watch, you hear avalanches and can see them falling off the granite face, crashing to the ground below. It’s mesmerizing. 

There is a pretty large crowd at Mirador Frances of people who have chosen not to hike further, but we power through. The final part up is another scramble, but then wow! Panoramic views all the way to the valley floor. We can see Lago Nordenskkold to the south, the Torres del Paine to the east, and the towering Cerro Catedral, Cerro Castillo, and Punta Negra peaks off to the west. It is definitely well worth the hike. It is staggeringly beautiful.

We sit and enjoy some lunch and a rest on the rock. There are some loud American women in their 20s nearby sporting legging yoga pants with high-top hiking shoes. That seems to be the “in” fashion on the “W” trek. Seems pretty impractical to me. No pockets or weather protection in the middle of nowhere Patagonia? Priorities.

We chat with a strange little man who ran past us on the way – sprinting - up to the top. He is probably in his mid-20s, but is the kind of guy who will probably look similar from about 16 to 40 years old. He is wearing cut off jean shorts, a filthy plain white t-shirt, and old, cheap tennis shoes. He emits a strong smell of body odor and has a shifty look about him. He crouches in the shade of a rock crevice in a deep squat - resting on his heels - as he nibbles his lunch. He tells us he has been living here for weeks without any reservations. They aren’t as strict on the “W” side because there are just so many more people coming through. He has been able to move his tent around from place to place unnoticed. He looks like a chipmunk crouched in the corner nibbling his food with his head and eyes darting back and forth. Before we know it, he takes off again running back downhill.

We ask some fellow hikers nearby to take some photos of us up on the Mirador, then head back to Italiano ourselves. We are conscious of the time we need to get to Cuernos. There is no way we want to miss our hot tub window of opportunity.

We make it back to Italiano at about 3pm. We repack our backpacks and strap back in for the final leg. It should be an easy 2km, 0,5h, from Italiano to Cuernos. We take it at a fast pace and arrive in no time.

Paine Grande to Cuernos.

Each refugio has had a different vibe. This one has a mountain ski lodge vibe with long wooden tables, a bar, and music playing in the background. It's cozy and inviting. 

We check in and they walk us to our private cabin. It’s a bit of a hike. Ours is the furthest away from the refugio, but also the highest with the best views. 

We have a wood-burning fireplace, a balcony, and a nice view of Lago Nordenskjold. We ask about the hot tub, and the staff answers us in broken English, “Oh, don’t make me cry, but hot tub is no longer. The company decided too much fire risk.” 

Al and I look at each other, devastated. That was the whole reason we forked out all the money for this private cabin! How disappointing! I had a nagging suspicion that there was no hot tub awaiting us at Cuernos, so I wasn’t too surprised. Al was visibly disappointed, mainly because he paid a lot of extra money to give me that that perk as a treat. Oh well, nothing to do. C'est la vie. 

We sit on the balcony and watch as the wind whips up tiny tornadoes of water from the lake and whisks them away as quickly as they form. You can actually see the pattern of the wind because it picks up the water on its path. It’s mesmerizing.

After sitting for a bit, we take showers and head down to the Refugio for dinner. I have an Austral beer and enjoy it with my pork and rice dinner. The pork serving is ridiculously large, but I eat a decent portion before passing my leftovers to my camel-like husband. He dutifully shovels all the nutrients and calories into his belly without regard for the sheer volume of the food he has just eaten. Where does he put it all, I wonder? We head back up to the cabin. The staff has come up to light the fire to warm the cabin. It’s pretty nice to have some private space to air out our stuff, stretch, and relax. We take full advantage of our little retreat.

One problem is that it is not very cold tonight, so once we close the door to the cabin it is stiflingly hot with the fireplace burning. We can’t put it out. We just have to wait. We both lay sprawled out, layers thrown off, and sweating. I get up a few times to open the door to let some air circulate and breathe. Unfortunately, there are bugs, so we can't keep the door open. How ironic. I've been freezing on this whole trip, and here I am with a private cabin and fireplace. And I'm sweating my ass off. 

Eventually, it cools down enough. I drift off to a satisfying, deep sleep.

Day 7: Cuernos to Camping Central, acampar Los Torres

Sunrise from the Cuernos cabin.

Today should be a nice easy day. It’s 11.6km (7.2mi) and 4.5 hours, but pretty flat and easy. The weather is nice. I take only 1 sudafed, and we take our time. 

I spy a rainbow!

At about noon, we come across a fork telling us we can either head uphill toward Refugio Chileno and toward the Torres del Paine, or we can head downhill to Camping Central to our campground and do the Torres hike tomorrow before catching a bus out of the park. We have had a beautiful, sunny, and windless day, so we decide to go ahead and hike up to the Torres del Paine today. 

The Torres del Paine is the namesake for the park. It’s three towering peaks of granite set on an alpine lake. If you google “Torres del Paine,” it is the image you will see. We were planning to hike up there tomorrow, but my heart does leap with joy at the thought of completing the trek today. We can cut off some mileage and get out earlier tomorrow. It will be a 7 hour round trip tomorrow from the campground, gaining about 700m(2300ft) elevation. It would be much easier from up here.

When we decide to go for it, I pop my last 2 sudafeds for the extra boost and we pick up the pace. The hike to Torres del Paine is busy. It is the most popular trek of the park. The path is littered with hikers of all kinds. The hike to Chileno is mostly a dusty hike along a ridge. We make decent time to Refugio Chileno, but we have also been noticing a creeping storm swallow the Torres as we turn the corner. By the time we arrive to Chileno, we can no longer see the Torres under a mass of threatening, gray clouds! The wind is picking up and getting violent. It’s another 2h hike straight up to the top from Chileno. We go into the refugio to ask if there is any way to change reservations from Camping Central to Chileno. They tell us it is completely booked. 

I am crushed looking up at the towers – not only did we add some significant mileage (and elevation) to our hike today, but we have to repeat it all again tomorrow! Plus I took my last sudafed and have none left for the challenging hike tomorrow. The trek from the base Camping Central will be long and difficult. I look up and try to *will* the storm to blow over, but it only seems to be gaining strength. It's not worth going up today. Damn, I kick myself over taking my medicine. That was so stupid!

Oh well. We decide to settle down and eat our lunch at Chileno before hiking back down to our campground. We sit down at a picnic table facing the Torres to watch the weather when a beautiful, large bird flies down and settles right next to us! It stays posing right in front of me during our entire lunch before flying away. Some idiot comes to throw bread at it. Multiple others come to snap photos. Nothing really seems to phase the bird. This is where she wants to sit. I wonder what it is? I ask a few tourists taking photos, but no one knows.

(I find out later it's a Crested Caracara Falcon.)

After lunch, we pack up and head down. At least we won’t have to carry our packs tomorrow. We can leave them down at the base and just carry what we need.

It’s a long, steady downhill from Chileno. I’m feeling beat, both physically from all the exertion, but also mentally. I had really mentally prepared myself for this being the last day. Now, tomorrow will be another rough day - one of the hardest.

We get to the campground and check in. 

It’s another Fantastico Sur campground, so we have a nice Marmot expedition tent again on a platform with mattresses. Score! We rest for a while, then head over to the refugio for dinner. There is a long line for showers at the campground, so I bring my stuff to the refugio to sneak a shower inside.

Dinner is excellent! It’s fresh salad with tomatoes and giant rotisserie half-chickens each. I got a glass of Chilean white wine. It is a huge amount of food. I power through about half of my dinner. I’m surrounded by 3 men - including my husband - who beg to disagree about the serving size and pick the chickens all the way down to the bone. As Al starts to bite through the bones to suck out the bone marrow, I kick him under the table and shoot him a glare, passing my plate over to him to finish off my chicken instead.

The two men sitting next to us are Santiago residents visiting the Torres del Paine park for the first time. One is preparing to have a baby later this year, so he is trying to enjoy some activities that he won’t have access to for a while.

After dinner, we excuse ourselves. Food service is an operation here, and you are assigned to certain “shifts.” We quickly need to clear out for them to prepare for the next batch of dinner guests. We go over to one of the sitting rooms to relax and stretch by the fire before heading to our tent. I sneak in a wonderful, hot shower and slip back into my thermals.

We relax in the refugio for a while, watching the sun set over the Torres del Paine. 

Tomorrow, we can catch either a 2pm or 7pm bus back to Puerto Natales. We plan to leave at 6:30am immediately after an early breakfast to allow for the 7h roundtrip up to the Torres. It will be tight, but should be possible. We plan to aim for the 2pm bus.

We go to sleep early and sleep hard.

Cuernos to Camping Central.

Day 8: Camping Central to Torres del Paine

Our 5:15am alarm comes quickly. It’s a 9.4km(5.8mi) hike, estimated to take 4.5h to the Mirador Base de las Torres. We think it will be faster based on talking with others, more like 3.5h. We want to make it up as fast as possible to get there before the clouds come in during early afternoon. This is our last chance to see it because it’s our last day in the park.

We get to breakfast at 6am sharp, drop off our heavy backpack and bring mine with just water, lunch, and warm layers. We shovel our breakfast quickly, then get going. We are well on the trail by 6:30am, just in time for sunrise. It feels good to hike. So far, looks promising with clear skies. We were fooled yesterday, though, so we know how quickly our luck can change. We move quickly.

We pass right through Chileno after a quick bathroom break and continue on. It is 8:30am and is supposed to be another 2h to the Mirador. It’s going to be tight to make the 2pm bus, but I am motivated. I really don’t want to have to wait until 7pm and risk not having a seat with no sleeping reservation for the evening. Plus, it’s a 3h bus ride to Puerto Natales. I’m eager to see my boys again. My muscles get an extra boost of adrenalin.

As we ascend the steep climb up to the Mirador, we run into our lanky young German friend from the “O” circuit. He is on his way down. He left the campground at 3:30 this morning! He tells us that the trail is about to get steep and bad weather is moving in. 

“About to get steep?,” I think as I huff my way up the mountain. Great.

Sure enough, about 30 min later we hit a really steep rocky face. Every step is at least a 24 inch crossfit box step up. I’m thankful for my crossfit conditioning at this point. I would be destroyed right now without it. I’m praying we get to see the Torres before the clouds move in. It’s getting colder by the minute as we climb, and the wind is definitely picking up. Just when I think I can’t go any more, we round a corner and Voila! The Torres del Paine!

It’s fabulous! And cold! We quickly slip on our warm layers and climb over to the lake to take pictures. There is only one other group of 3 up there with us. They graciously take some photos for us. It’s February 13, and Al thrusts out 4 fingers for our photos indicating that tomorrow will be our 4^th wedding anniversary.

We sit down and enjoy a quick power lunch before packing up for the downhill. We arrive at 10am, and need to get going again by 10:15am if we want to make it down for the 2pm bus. It’s freezing anyway! And windy! Definitely feels like a storm is building.

 

As we climb down over the rocks to find shelter from the wind, we cross paths with a middle-aged man hiking alone literally wearing a sleeveless white mesh top, nipples poking through. 

He calls over, “is it cold up there?” 

“You’re gonna freeze your ass off,” I tell him. The sight of him makes me shiver despite my fleece hat and down jacket shielding me from the worst of the wind. I wonder if he lost a bet or something.

We make good time down, but the weather has turned bad. The wind is insane. It picks up rocks and launches them up off the ground. The wind knocks me over several times. I hug the mountain side of the ridge trail. It's a long way down. 

We make it down by 1:15pm. We quickly repack our bags, go to the bathroom, and head over to the area where we can catch our shuttle to the park entrance. Phew! We made it! What an adventure! We survived! 

I am exhausted. My feet ache. But I’m so grateful we saw the Torres! It was amazing. 

Camping Central to Torres del Paine. 

I’m also grateful that I can eat again. As we settle into the shuttle, a small but distinct part of me feels an aching sadness that I am about to return to urban life and smart phones. Email and electronic health records. Groan. We grab our lunches to eat on the bus.

The flooding from a week ago has subsided, and we are able to cross the previously flooded bridge. We are almost back to the Main Entrance to catch our bus to Puerto Natales when our shuttle slows to a stop about a quarter mile from the park entrance. What? We look out the window. A broken down RV is in front of our shuttle blocking the road! 

You’ve got to be kidding me, I think, as everyone lines up to get off the bus. We have to walk the rest of the way. Talk about adding insult to injury. 

The barely quarter mile is nothing physically, but a big hit mentally. I trudge each step, keeping the bus in my line of sight the whole time. You’re not leaving us, I tell the bus. I think I can, I tell myself. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp. 

We make it to the bus and find the same impatient bus driver ready to drive us back out of the park. We take our seats and gaze out the window as we exit the park. We again see herds of guanaco and rhea in the plains. It was quite an adventure here. This was truly an experience. I look out and try to capture the park in my memory, knowing that I will probably never return to this remote and isolated place on the very southernmost tip of South America.

Adios, Patagonia.