Torres del Paine, Patagonia

I couldn't move to the other side of the world without visiting Patagonia, so as my last hurrah in South America, I decided to bare the harsh early winter conditions and make the trip down south for 9 days in Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia. I would have come sooner if not for knee surgery on my torn ACL 7 months ago, but since recovery takes time, here I am in May, the coldest time of year where you can still visit the park without completely freezing to death. My friend Jordan and I expected low-season conditions in the Torres del Paine National Park and nearby town of Puerto Natales - meaning we really expected very little to be open and no chance of hiking the famous "W" trek. We were fortunate that one of the Refugios in the park was open and we were actually able to spend three full days in the park hiking around craggy, snow-capped peaks, viewing blue glaciers and weathering strong winds. We stayed two nights at Refugio Paine Grande, making the lodge our base-camp within the park.



Milodon Cave

On our first day, we hopped on a tour bus that stopped periodically to gaze at the majestic views of the "Torres" (or Towers in English), the "Cuernos" (the Horns), and Grande Paine. One stop included a massive cave where the remains of a 10,000 year old Milodon (prehistoric relative to the elephant standing 12 meters high) was found by archaeologists. Our hostel had booked the tour for us, suggesting it was a good way to get into the park during low-season as the regular buses weren't running. We expected to arrive at the Ranger's Station to begin the 18 km to the Refugio by 1 PM, allowing us enough time to hike in before nightfall. Like all things in Chile, our driver took his sweet time throughout the day and we didn't arrive until about 2:15. Once at the CONAF station, the park ranger told us we couldn't begin our hike because we wouldn't make it before dark. Two other ladies from Mozambique had been arguing for the past hour with the ranger to allow them to go to no avail. I credit Jordan's manliness and apparent hiking knowledge as the convincing argument for the ranger caving in and allowing the four of us to venture out with promises of staying together and using our headlamps. I, however, had lied to the Ranger, as I did not actually have a headlamp. So, off we went at about 2:45 for a 5 hour hike across 18 km of Patagonia terrain. By 6 PM, the overcast sky was completely dark - not a star nor the moon in sight. I guess the ranger knew what he was talking about. Jordan lent me his headlamp and we trucked onward following the blind leader who claimed that he had great night vision due to all the carrots he eats. It must be true, because around 7:30, we arrived to the Refugio, surprising the man working the registration desk. Success!



View of Torres del Paine before entering the park

Jordan and I had planned to hike into the French Valley on Day 2, but strong winds and a brewing storm led us to change our plans for a hike up to Glacier Grey where we would get a better chance to view the glacier and complete the circuit. Unfortunately, the winds were equally strong on this route and we had to turn back about 7 km into the hike, but not before we made it to the Glacier Grey lookout point. The blue ice went on for days. While taking photos at the lookout, my hat blew off my head, lost forever, just before the strongest wind I've ever felt nearly knocked both of us over. After dropping to our knees for a few moments while the furious wind pounded against our packs, Jordan and I decided that we'd seen what we'd come for and it was best to turn back. Only half an hour after returning to the Refugio, a powerful rainstorm came in that didn't cease until midday the following day. We spent the afternoon enjoying Austral beer with a group of Chinese hikers who we befriended sitting by the fire.



Los Cuernos (so named because the peaks look like horns)

On Day 3, it was time to make our way back to the CONAF Station to meet our transport back out of the park. The rain hadn't stopped, but we had no choice but to put the raincoat cover over our backpacks, test out our waterproof gear and pray to the gods of Goretex. About two hours into the hike, the rain stopped only to trick us into thinking it was done for the day. Foolishly, we removed the rain covers on our packs only to replace them half an hour later. The highlight of any rainstorm is the rainbow at the end which in our case ended at the CONAF Station. I guess it is true about what they say about the pot of god at the end of the rainbow! We were able to see the entire arch of the rainbow and a double-rainbow on one side, which was really incredible.


View of Glacier Grey in the background right before my hat flew off my head

At 3 PM, we spotted our transport driving on the road near the trail (an hour earlier than scheduled....this guy wasn't great with timing). He picked us up so we could join the tail end of the tour he was giving up to Lago Grey where we saw some blue floating icebergs before running back to the van to stay out of the rain.


Hiking toward the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on the way out of the park after hiking 50 km in 3 days

I suppose I understand with the rain and the cold why most hikers come in the summer months of January and February but I really enjoyed the serenity of being virtually alone in the park. We only saw about 15 other hikers the entire 3 days in Torres del Paine. With the right gear (which we fortunately had), the weather is manageable. The views were amazing. I have a feeling I will be back!