Torres del Paine, which we named Tower of Pain, is a national park in Chile, where we spent 5 days/ 4 nights, 66.5 km with 17 kg on my back fighting Patagonian weather.
Meet the Team
There were four: french-canadian couple Raphaelle and Paul - they met in SE Asia and since then travel together; Emily from England, Witney, Oxfordshire, and myself.
Raphaelle and Paul has planned the trek and Emily and I just followed them.
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Day 1. Rain, pain, wind and tears
Well, not quite that dramatic, but it was the hardest day and I can proudly say that I survived it and I enjoyed it (later I decided that I did).
After getting off the ferry that finally brought us to our starting point, we started walking. The weather was nice and sunny, although VERY windy (sign in the Administarion said upto 102 km/h today). I had to catch Emily so she would not have got carried away by wind.
We started our walk to glacier Grey thought mountains.
The weather changed from sunny/windy to cloudy/windy and when we finally got to the coast of the lake, the rain started. By windy I mean huricane strong windy. Because of the wind, rain felt more like hale in my face (or maybe it was, I could not see).
We have reached a view point and people started telling us that campsite, where we were supposed to spend a night is closed. What??? We continued walking as we were halfway to the place.
Took us over 4 hours to get there! But we did. It was open. And it had hot showers and closed warm kitchen and there was hotel with fireplace. But we are just humble campers so we set our tents (struggling and my hands were freezing, I could barely feel them, could not move them much).
Once we were warm, we forgot all our day struggles and enjoyed our poor hiking dinner (for Emily and me it is was rice - we had different type of fast cooking rice for every day. I do not think I would eat rice anytime soon.
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Day 2. Glacier, sunshine and surprises
Reason for all these winds in a huge glacier that creates microclimate in the area. This glacier we went to see next morning before breakfast (for Emily and me it was instant soups every morning - I do not think I will eat this either, as well as nuts, cereal bars and snickers).
Then we headed back through the same winds again. It was sunny and sky was clear so on the way back we found out that the area is actually very beautiful and one can see the glacier nd another glacier from far away, as well as mountains and rocks and little unnaturally blue icebergs. How come they are sooooo blue, I have no idea!
After about 7 hours of walk we have arrived to a free campsite with no hot showers neither warm place to cook. But we were warm and happier, although very tired of walking.
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Day 3. Rest day
We only had 5 km to walk from this campsite to another, but we were between two mountains and there is a day walk (no backpack!) in a valley.
The walk was nice and quite relaxing, felt like a day off.
Next campsite was paid with 'stages' for tents and hot showers. It is also a hostel and restaurant. Can you imagine paying 50 USD for bed in 4-bed dorm or more if you need sleeping bag, with no light in bathrooms and filthy campers sneaking to your bathroom as theirs is 'not nice enough'?
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Day 4. Long way though the mointains
It was cloudy, but warm as we were far from the glacier and we had a long walk ahead of us to the last campsite.
This was probably the most enjoyable walk for me: slowly climbing up (I think it was 250 m in total) for 15 km. I mean, I enjoyed every day, and I am glad I had this 'rain/wind' experience too. Otherwise, that would be too easy, not challenging enough, we don't like it. The more challenging, the more exciting it is. Other girls complained (well, to be fair, Emily got into it as trek developed, she learned to enjoy it at the end). I loved every day and every sleepless cold night (not very warm sleeping bag).
Landscapes kept changing from forest to mounains, to 'desert over a lake' back to forrest, rocky mountains, lakes, Mars like terrain, and again and again.
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Day 5. Sunrise at Las Torres
Highlight of the trek. Meeting sunrise at Las Torres: 4 rocks stiking over the lake. We went there way too early climbing 45 deg slope in the dark. I have checked with my GPS, it said, sunrise is at 7.45am. Nobody believed me, so we ended up waiting for almost an hour at the top. Well, I could not complain as I was wrapped in my sleeping bag and I could not wait for night to be over as I was freezing: 3 night in humid and sometimes raining enviroment made everything too wet.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this hike and would like (and will) repeat it again. I would not say it was as hardcore as it was in Kamchatka (Лиля, привет). I kept remembering my Russian adventure all the time. Cannot believe I was hiking on skies with 21 kg backpack for 5 days in snow through mountains (ok, not exactly on my skies).
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Here's my patagonian hairdo, I plan to cut them this way. What do you think?
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Meet the Team
There were four: french-canadian couple Raphaelle and Paul - they met in SE Asia and since then travel together; Emily from England, Witney, Oxfordshire, and myself.
Raphaelle and Paul has planned the trek and Emily and I just followed them.
Day 1. Rain, pain, wind and tears
Well, not quite that dramatic, but it was the hardest day and I can proudly say that I survived it and I enjoyed it (later I decided that I did).
After getting off the ferry that finally brought us to our starting point, we started walking. The weather was nice and sunny, although VERY windy (sign in the Administarion said upto 102 km/h today). I had to catch Emily so she would not have got carried away by wind.
We started our walk to glacier Grey thought mountains.
The weather changed from sunny/windy to cloudy/windy and when we finally got to the coast of the lake, the rain started. By windy I mean huricane strong windy. Because of the wind, rain felt more like hale in my face (or maybe it was, I could not see).
We have reached a view point and people started telling us that campsite, where we were supposed to spend a night is closed. What??? We continued walking as we were halfway to the place.
Took us over 4 hours to get there! But we did. It was open. And it had hot showers and closed warm kitchen and there was hotel with fireplace. But we are just humble campers so we set our tents (struggling and my hands were freezing, I could barely feel them, could not move them much).
Once we were warm, we forgot all our day struggles and enjoyed our poor hiking dinner (for Emily and me it is was rice - we had different type of fast cooking rice for every day. I do not think I would eat rice anytime soon.
Day 2. Glacier, sunshine and surprises
Reason for all these winds in a huge glacier that creates microclimate in the area. This glacier we went to see next morning before breakfast (for Emily and me it was instant soups every morning - I do not think I will eat this either, as well as nuts, cereal bars and snickers).
Then we headed back through the same winds again. It was sunny and sky was clear so on the way back we found out that the area is actually very beautiful and one can see the glacier nd another glacier from far away, as well as mountains and rocks and little unnaturally blue icebergs. How come they are sooooo blue, I have no idea!
After about 7 hours of walk we have arrived to a free campsite with no hot showers neither warm place to cook. But we were warm and happier, although very tired of walking.
Day 3. Rest day
We only had 5 km to walk from this campsite to another, but we were between two mountains and there is a day walk (no backpack!) in a valley.
The walk was nice and quite relaxing, felt like a day off.
Next campsite was paid with 'stages' for tents and hot showers. It is also a hostel and restaurant. Can you imagine paying 50 USD for bed in 4-bed dorm or more if you need sleeping bag, with no light in bathrooms and filthy campers sneaking to your bathroom as theirs is 'not nice enough'?
Day 4. Long way though the mointains
It was cloudy, but warm as we were far from the glacier and we had a long walk ahead of us to the last campsite.
This was probably the most enjoyable walk for me: slowly climbing up (I think it was 250 m in total) for 15 km. I mean, I enjoyed every day, and I am glad I had this 'rain/wind' experience too. Otherwise, that would be too easy, not challenging enough, we don't like it. The more challenging, the more exciting it is. Other girls complained (well, to be fair, Emily got into it as trek developed, she learned to enjoy it at the end). I loved every day and every sleepless cold night (not very warm sleeping bag).
Landscapes kept changing from forest to mounains, to 'desert over a lake' back to forrest, rocky mountains, lakes, Mars like terrain, and again and again.
Day 5. Sunrise at Las Torres
Highlight of the trek. Meeting sunrise at Las Torres: 4 rocks stiking over the lake. We went there way too early climbing 45 deg slope in the dark. I have checked with my GPS, it said, sunrise is at 7.45am. Nobody believed me, so we ended up waiting for almost an hour at the top. Well, I could not complain as I was wrapped in my sleeping bag and I could not wait for night to be over as I was freezing: 3 night in humid and sometimes raining enviroment made everything too wet.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this hike and would like (and will) repeat it again. I would not say it was as hardcore as it was in Kamchatka (Лиля, привет). I kept remembering my Russian adventure all the time. Cannot believe I was hiking on skies with 21 kg backpack for 5 days in snow through mountains (ok, not exactly on my skies).
Here's my patagonian hairdo, I plan to cut them this way. What do you think?
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