Dave & Claire´s Travels: The Pleasure & Pain of Torres Del Paine

Torres Del Paine, Chile, 6-9 January 2008
Puerto Natales, Chile, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 January 2008

Our 16 hour bus journey to Puerto Natales was uneventful, other than the fact that we forgot that we would have to set our watches back an hour once we entered Chile and thought we had missed our connecting bus in Punta Arenas. All was fine. In Puerto Natales we pushed our way passed the hecklers trying to get us to go to their accommodation as we already had a reservation....or so we thought. When we got to the address there was only a locked up bar there. No one had heard of Hostel Nancy. Beautiful. No biggy though, we simply checked into Hostel Oasis instead.

Next day we set about getting all our provisions together for a 5 day hike in Torres Del Paine (TDP) National Park. We planned to do "The W". If you've been there you'll know what we mean but, put simply, it is a walk that takes the shape of a capital W. The town is superbly kitted out with everything the would-be hiker could possibly need. There are even shops that sell nothing but dried fruit. We were ready.

DAY 1

Next morning, carrying only what we would need for the next 5 days, we caught the bus to the park. Once we had taken the catamaran across lake Pehoe it was time for the fun to start in earnest. The map said it should take three and a half hours to get to Refugio Grey...but those things always over·estimate, right? About 4 hours and 15 minutes later we rolled into the campsite...exhausted. Can't complain too much though as weather conditions were perfect. With the tent erected and our energy levels slowly rising again we took an evening stroll up to the local mirador (lookout point). It was really quiet up there and we had excellent views of Glacier Grey and the surrounding mountains. We lingered for a while glad to have the first arduous day under our belts.
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DAY 2

After a peaceful, if perhaps a little chilly, night in the tent I, Dave, took an early morning stroll up around the mirador again. I had the whole place to myself. I climbed up a small hill to where a small cairn had been put together. Then I noticed there was a higher hill just next to it with no cairn. Twenty minutes later, cairn erected, photographs taken, one last look at the glacier, and it was time to head back to Claire to start our descent to Refugio Pehoe. Again conditions were perfect and once at the Pehoe we enjoyed a long lazy lunch at the Refugio. It was great. Boots were off, toes were wiggled, coffee was hot, and all was well in the world. Then it was time to re·don the backpacks (and the boots) for the two hour leg to Campamento Italiano in the center of the W. They say you can get 4 seasons in one day in TDP and it was on this stretch that we first experienced this for ourselves. As we set off the sun was still shining, then sun turned to hail stones, hailstones then turned to rain, and by the time we reached the campsite the sun was out again and all was calm.

DAY 3

Night two was considerably colder in the tent so extra layers were required in the sleeping bag. The next day was to be our easy day, following breakfast we would head up Valley de Francois.... without backpacks. Yey!! The weather wasn´t ideal but knowing how quickly it can change we determined to persevere & walk to the mirador at Campamento Britanico. The clouds did part every so often but for the most part our views were obscured, it was still a psychological victory though as this mirador marked the middle section of the W i.e. it completed half our circuit (not to be confused with the grand circuit as some hikers choose to do). Once back down at Campamento Italiano we dismantled our tent & commenced the 2 1/2 trek to Refugio Los Cuernos. Energy levels were definitely lower in this our 3rd day. I guess our bodies were adjusting to the new lifestyle mi.e. little sleep pn hard ground in cold tent, long days trekking with heavy backpacks, only cold dry food for brekkie, lunch & tea, and all whilst taking a constant battering from the fickle Patagonian weather. Well, maybe that last on isn´t entirely true. For the majority of our trek the weather was perfect, but every now & then you´d get a glimpse of what this place is capable of when a gust of wind would come out of nowhere & practically knock you off your feet. We tool a break to take a seat on the shore of Lake Nordenskjold. The sun was shinning & it was glorious. Next thing you could see that the wind had picked up water from the lake & was driving it towards us, it was like a visible wind. Needless to say the outcome was a quick showering in lake water. There were great views of Los Cuernos (the horns) along this stretch. These are huge blocks of granite rock with peaks of black slate on the top. Once set up at Refugio Los Cuernos, Claire enjoyed a hot shower.... I decided to remain au natural!

DAY 4

We struck off on what would be our longest day trekking. After about 6 hours we glad to come around the corner and see Refugio Chileno in the river valley. This section had treacherous drop-off to the right hand side of the path and you could imagine how a sudden gust of wind could cause a hiker to have a serious accident. Before we started our hike we were told it was along this section that an Irish man, Ronan Lawler, had gone missing. He was presumed dead but his body had not been found. At this stage he´s been missing almost 2 months. While it was east to see where someone could have a fatal accident it was difficult to understand why the authorities would have such difficulty finding the body. You couldn´t help combing the area with yours eyes as you walked along.

Once at Refugio Chileno we enjoyed a frosty beverage before completing the last leg of our journey to Campamento Torres. Claire was beginning to feel the strain from our long day hiking so it was a real spirit lifter when we arrived at the campsite after only one hour more. The map and signs had it down as 1.5 hours. Hallelujah! With the tent up & the last supper in our bellies I (Dave) decided to take the 45 mins walk up to the mirador. If I didn´t go up tonight & conditions were bad in the morning then I might miss the towers entirely. Claire decided to stay put in the tent. She was little nervous letting me off at 8pm at night. Weather & visibility were perfect & I had the whole place to myself. It was immensley satisfying after such a long day of trekking to be able to sit in solitude and gaze upon one of SA´s most iconic landmarks. After 20mins I headed back down to Claire and an icy cold night in tent. What we found out a day later was that Ronan´s body had been found up in the area.
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DAY 5
After a 4:45am alarm, I headed back up to the mirador to watch the sunrise. Apparently it´s the thing to do. Unfortunately the Towers/sun didn´t perform for us on this particular occasion. We then commenced the last hike of the 5 days, as with all these tough experiences it´s only when it´s all over that you are truly glad you did them! Then, back in Puerto Natales it was back to the good stuff:
warm shower
clean clothes
fantastic meal
hot stone massage
comfy bed
warm room
Ahhh, it never felt so good.