Patagonia!!!

It has been a long time since my last blog!! I definitely have a few past experiences I would like to blog on (the west coast trail and Moab, Utah included) but those will have to wait. As for now I will write about Patagonia as I just finished the famous W hike in Torres del Paine National Park and enjoyed it tremendously. The trail is called the W as it has three valleys and when mapped appears as a W.

My trip started with a flight from Santiago to Puenta Arenas. From the airport I was able to take a bus to Puerto Natales. I stayed at this great hostel (Erratic Rock) where I was able to obtain all the gear needed for the trip as well as some solid advice for trekking in Patagonia. I met up with Sarah (from the USA) who became my hiking partner as well as the English girls (Kate, Natalie and Katherine) who we hiked most of the trek with.

The W hike is most frequently done in four days but we wanted to add an extra day so we hiked into the start point. I am so glad we took that option as it was an easy 5 hour hike with great views along the way. It also allowed me to make friends with my pack and my hiking boots! We arrived to the first campsite at Lago (Lake) Pehoe which was gorgeous. There was a common area to cook in and hot showers. Luxury camping! The tent we rented was ridiculously small so Sarah and I got cozy right off the bat and called it an early night!

The second day we woke to pouring rain. We stayed in the warmth of the common area until 10 am and miraculously the weather cleared and the sun came out! We then started our hike up to Greys Glacier. It was a full 8 hour day and took us into the first valley of the W. I had seen glaciers previously in Canada and was not sure what to expect but this glacier took my breath away. It was massive in size and crystal blue in color. The glacier feeds into a huge lake where you can see icebergs floating. The views are pristine. The winds got up to 35 - 75 km/h and comically pushed you off the trail so we had a few good laughs at our awkward maneuvers. We hiked back down to the same campsite for the night which was great because that allowed us to hike the day with only a day pack.

The third day was a LONG but great day. Being autumn the hours of daylight are limited. The sun comes up at 7am but doesn't really get light until 8am and sets to darkness at 6pm. We were pressed for time so we hiked quickly to the second valley called Valle del Frances. It took two hours to get there and four hours to go up and down the valley. The valley was really gorgeous and the fall colors were stunning. From there we trekked on to our campsite Los Cuernos which was another 3 hours away. After 9 hours of hard hiking I thought my feet would fall off. The blisters were well set in by this point. Darn Tutt feet!! It started pouring so we set up the tent and went straight to bed with no supper. Each day we would eat as we hiked to save time which worked well but after five days you get sick of trail mix all day! Food becomes more of a necessity when hiking than a pleasure.

The fourth day started with low morale. Our tent was soaked which made it feel 10 pounds heavier to carry. The weather was still pouring rain. We set out into the third valley towards the famous Torres del Paine lookout. The hike was a bit tough and 9 hours in total including the hike up to Torres del Paine. The rain slowed half way through the day and we stopped to eat trail mix. I had a hole in the bag and realized that mice and eaten through my bag and into my trail mix! Needless to say I spit what I had in my mouth out. After that my feet continued to pain so I stopped to tighten my shoelaces and they broke! I did pack extra shoelaces so I threw my pack open in the middle of the muddy trail only to discover that I had lost them. As a last case solution I decided to wear my cozy keen sandals, not ideal but manageable. Imagine my desperation when I put together that I had left them at the last camp (I was trying to dry them and forgot them in our hasty departure)! I managed to re-lace my boots with the shortened lace and have a chuckle as to my stupidity! Later on we met up with the English girls again and one of them had fully fallen in a river crossing and was still hiking like a tropper so I couldn't complain. Things can always be worse. We got to camp (Campamento Torres), set up our wet tent to dry and headed up the last hour hike to see the Torres at sunset. The hike was straight up hill with no level parts. The view was worth it. Lentil soup never tasted so good that night and with our tent dry we felt great!

The last day we got up early and it really poured that day!! The map said we had a four hour hike to the hostel where the shuttle picks us up and must have partially ran as we made it there in under two hours! We were soaked to the bone and able to dry off in this posh hotel. We ordered some well deserved burgers and beer (for over $20!). The celebrations continued on through the night with a great meal at Carlitos and beer at the Irish bar. What a great trek! The views were unlike any I have seen, the people great and the physical challenge uplifting. I hope to do more hiking on this trip and can wait to see what the lakes region will bring!