Date: March, 11, 2015

Daily Distance: Camp Torres to the Towers – 1 mi – (1.6 km) round trip                                                                   Camp Torres to Camp Seron – 10.5 mi – (16.9 km)

Time: 12 hours – Including 2 hours at Las Torres

Start: Camp Torres – With side trip to Las Torres at sunrise

Finish: Camp Seron

Notes: This morning Marielle, Marc and I got up at 5am, which was an hour before sunrise.  We left our gear inside our tents and only took water, sleeping bags, warm clothes and our cameras. It was a dark, especially in the beech forest of the camp so we used the light from our headlamps to find the trail leading to Las Torres. Like most of the people in camp we wanted to get a sunrise view of the three iconic granite pillars (Las Torres) or Torres del Paine. The Towers turn a bright reddish/pink color at sunrise.

The climb isn’t difficult but it’s definitely a climb from start to finish. All three of us were shedding our warm clothes immediately.  Once you’ve walked through the old beech forest, you have to scramble through a field of giant boulders  The Towers stand behind a glacial pool. Their names: Torre d’Agonsti (2850 metres), also known as Torre Sur, Torre Central (2800m) and Torre Norte (2600m), also known as Torre Monzino. They stand behind a glacial pool. As expected, the wind was gusting as soon as we came out of the beech forest. We took a seat on some large flat boulders and waited for the show. Marc brought his sleep pad and sleeping bag. He took off his boots and crawled in!

Las Torres – Waiting for the show

Thankfully, the skies were clear and we didn’t have to wait long.

Time to celebrate.

It was all over in 15 minutes once the sun came up

Date: March 10, 2015

Daily Distance: 15 mi (24.5 km)

Time: 7 hrs

Start: Camp Italiano

Finish: Camp Torres

Notes: Last night the wind sounded like a freight train when it came through the camp. It wasn’t constant. It would swirl around the mountain. Each rotation took about a minute, then the sound would gradually GROW as it came back around and CRASHED into the trees surrounding the camp.  I woke up with the first EXPLOSION and could see some headlamps from other campers shining through my tent. I could also hear someone pounding tent stakes with a rock. I assumed that their guylines had come lose. I brought extra stakes and guylines for this very moment. It was 3am. I jumped out of the tent and started pounding in more stakes, doubling up on my guylines, then I dove back into my tent and waited…. It never came back.

Today would be a longer day of hiking, as my plan is to camp at Campamento Torres tonight. Camp Torres is a free campsite used by climbers and anyone wanting to see The Towers turn pink at sunrise. When I left camp the sun was just starting to shine through the trees and within an hour the clouds were burning off and the morning was looking pretty good.

My plan was to have breakfast in the Refugio at Cuernos.

However, when I arrived Cuernos the dining room was packed so I just had a breakfast bar and kept walking.  Camp Cuernos is located on the shore of Lago Nordenskjold, which the trail follows until you come to the short cut, which bypasses the crowds around Hotel Las Torres. The walking was easy and the views were great as the clouds cleared and I had my first sunny day in Patagonia. As I approached Refugio Chileno I was passed on the trail by several horses taking visitors to the Refugio from the Hotel Las Torres. As you leave Chileno headed to Camp Torres, you hike one hour through a beautiful dense Lenga forest, although you are hiking up the entire wa. Las Torres Camp is pretty, quiet and located in dense trees .5 mi (.8 km) below the base of the famous Towers.  Shortly after I started setting up my campsite Mariele, from Yagan House came walking up and introduced me to her new friend Marc.  Marc was 6′ 4″  tall and was carrying an 85 liter backpack filled to the brim, which I was to find out later with great food! They asked if I was going to get up at sunrise to hike up to Las Torres. I said yes and we made plans to get up early and hike together, then they set up their tents next to my site.

After we got settled we went over to the cooking area and cooked our dinners. I boiled water and had rice mixed with powdered chicken soup. Marc was making ravioli with tomato sauce. While his ravioli was cooking he cut up some salami and cheese, which he shared with us. He also had a teapot and brewed enough tea for the three of us. Marc told me he was 28 yrs old and from Bonn, Germany. He just finished submitting his dissertation for a doctorate degree in math and science. His dissertation was on the math involved in the suspension of molecules in drugs!@#$%. He said he wanted to be a teacher or work for a pharmaceutical company after getting his doctoral degree. Most of the travelers I’d met on this trip spoke at least 2 languages and Marc spoke German, French, Spanish and English. He was 3 months into his 6 month journey throughout South America. This was his first camping trip. He bought all of his gear in Puerto Natales one week ago, after he arrived from Buenos Aires.

Mariele and Marc at Las Torres Camp

Date: March 9, 2015

Daily Distance: 11.7 mi (13 km) – Camp Italiano 4.7 mi (7.6 km), Valle Del Frances and back to Camp Italiano: 6.8 mi (11 km)

Time: 8 hrs

Start: Camp Paine Grande

Finish: Camp Italiano

Notes: I woke up this morning and opened my tent at sunrise to see the view below.

Sunrise Paine Grande

Paine Massif At Sunrise

After dinner last night I walked over to the Refugio and looked in the dining room and bar area. Only a few guests were eating dinner. However, the bar was standing room only. The downside to having a bar connected with a campsite is that things get pretty noisy at closing time, as campers try to remember where they set up their tent before settling down for some beers in the bar.

After sunrise I packed up , ate some oatmeal and headed out as most of the hikers were just crawling out of their tents. Within a few minutes I ran into another couple who asked if I would take their picture. After introducing ourselves we started hiking together towards Valle Del Francis. Their names were Donald and Margie and they were from the UK and taking a 3 week holiday. They were hiking the 4 day W Trek before heading to Ushuia, Tierra del Fuego. I enjoyed hiking with them, they were a fun couple and the time flew by as we talked, walked and took pictures of the beautiful scenery along the way.

Margie and Donald, UK

The Paine Massif was the dominant view and kept getting larger as we grew nearer. We also walked along Lago Skottsberg. However, the clouds blocked most of the view.

Paine Massif

We arrived at Camp Italiano around 9:30am. It’s a pretty campsite nestled in the woods with no Refugio or Bars to contend with. My original plan was to hike with Donald and Margie up to Valle Del Frances then go on to Los Cuernos Refugio and Camp. But after last night, Italiano looked relaxing. I decided to find a secluded site, set my tent up then hike up to see the Valle del Frances. I said goodbye to Donald and Margie and began looking for a tent site. Once I was set up I decided to eat lunch and relax. The rain had stopped and it looked like the sun was trying to come out.

Around noon I started hiking up to Valle Del Frances. It was a beautiful gorge filled with running streams and waterfalls.

Valle Del Frances

After about an hour I ran into Margie and Donald. They had replaced me with a young lady from Scotland.  When I reached the top I saw 2 men from Argentina enjoying some Mate while they were waiting for the clouds to clear. One of the men reached in his pack and pulled out a thermos and extra cup, then asked if I wanted to try some mate.  I accepted and the three of us sipped our Mate and listened to massive walls of ice fall from the glacier of Monte Paine and crash below.

Enjoying Mate Valle Del Frances

On the way down there was a stream crossing that proved to be more difficult to cross coming back down. A young man from Norway placed himself in the middle of the stream, offering a hand to hikers after he saw several people struggle ahead of him. His party of 3 other hikers had been patiently waiting for over 30 minutes while was helping others.

Valle Del Frances young man from Norway waiting to help hikers.

Day 1 – March 7, 2015

Daily Distance: 10.5 mi (17 km)

Time: 3.5 – 4 hrs

Start: CONAF Administration Building

Finish: Paine Grande Refugio Y Campamento

Maps: I used a CONAF water resistant map which are available at any of the gift or camping stores in Puerto Natales. I also used the smaller CONAF map below, which can be printed from their website.

Map – The Q Circuit TDP

As soon as I got off the bus I checked my backpack liner was sealed and that all of my gear was water tight in a ziplock bag or dry sack. The temperature was in the low 50’s to high 40’s, raining with high winds. The trail was well marked and headed into the howling wind. I took a few steps off of the porch and headed back within a few minutes, as the rain was pelting my face and I couldn’t see the trail ahead of me. Thank God, my nephew  Scott gave me some Smith sunglasses for Xmas with interchangeable lenses. I put in the clear lenses, which enabled me to see into the blowing rain. The trail was flat and muddy and would have been easy going had the wind not been gusting so hard directly into my face. A few times I had to brace myself against my trekking poles or turn my back to the wind until it died

I can’t remember. Why did I come here?

With the wind in my face, it took me about 2 hours to reach Las Carretas Camp. This is a free campsite but I didn’t see any inviting areas to set up a tent. I walked around to the shelter to get out of the wind and rain and met another couple cooking soup for lunch. They introduced themselves as Albere and Nancy from France and invited me to join them for some soup. At first, I turned them down but when they asked me again and it smelled so good, I decided to go for it. The soup was amazing! They told me they were both chefs and worked in restaurants in a small village in the Bordeaux Region of France. This was their last day of hiking TDP and the weather had been the same as today for the entire 5 days of their trip. They said they still had a great time and stayed in Refugios 2 nights and enjoyed soaking in a hot bath and eating in the restaurant after hiking in the cold rain all day. I was encouraged that they said it was still a beautiful trip despite the weather. I thanked them both and said good bye as some other hikers arrived. As I was leaving, Nancy told me the name of the restaurants they worked at, which I quickly forgot and she said to be sure and visit when I travel to Bordeaux.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the hospitality I had just been shown as I continued walking down the trail.

Albere and Nancy

After Las Carretas the trail continues to follow the Rio Grey. After about 30 minutes I saw two hikers with huge backpacks in front of me struggling in the wind. As I got closer I realized that they not only had large backpacks but they were wearing large capes over their packs, like ponchos made out of a thick woolen fabric material. The capes must have weighed 10 lbs each. As I came closer they were still struggling but did not want to let me pass them on the trail. No worries I just stuck on their heels and waited for a steep climb and flew by them. As I passed and got a good look at their set up, I realized their packs were HUGE! Maybe 80 lbs each and they both had a parachute thing going on with their capes. Later, at the campsite I saw them folding their capes and they told me they were from Austria and the capes were custom made to keep their packs dry in foul weather.

What Not To Wear!

After about an hour I could see Lago Pehoe in the distance.

Lago Pehoe

The view just kept getting better as the weather cleared up and the sun came out.

Lago Pehoe

After another hour I arrived at Paine Grande Refugio and Camp and I wasn’t alone.

Campamento Paine Grande

I was able to find a protected area that was somewhat secluded away from the masses. I was the only one in the park with a lightweight 3 season tent. I only saw 4 season tents, which made me nervous the first few nights as the wind began to howl at 3 am. I brought double tent stakes extra guyline but never used them. I just looked for a protected area away from the wind at each campsite.  In 2011 Torres del Paine suffered a larger fire caused by a careless camper. The fire destroyed several thousand acres. Since then fires are only allowed in designated cooking areas at each campsite. After I got my tent set up I went into the designated shelter for cooking and cooked dinner, then went to bed.

Campamento Pine Grande

My flight arrived into Punta Arenas at 5:30am. Puerto Natales is 150 miles and a 3 hour bus ride from Punta Arenas. I caught the 7am bus, which arrived 10am. The weather was cold and drizzling rain but I was tired of riding and decided to walk 10 blocks to Yagan House, (Guest House or Mini Hostel). The walk was not what I would call scenic, with the exception of the view overlooking the Ultima Esperanza Sound. I must have passed a dozen stray dogs on my walk from the bus station to the hotel.  Answers to all of your questions about Puerto Natales, including the stray dogs.

Yagan House, Piskol and Soul in Cusco and the few other small guest houses I stayed at, played a critical role for me in meeting other backpackers and travelers. Many of the people I met at Yagan House I ended up hiking, camping, sharing meals, and stories with at both Torres del Paine and later in Argentina. Yagan house is a converted cozy house that has 2-3 private rooms and 2 dorm rooms with 2 bunk beds in each room There are 4 shared bathrooms. The owner lives in the house with her 6 year old daughter.

Yagan House Kitchen

I booked a reservation in advance through Hostel.com for a single room, 1 night $21.0 and for 1 night upon returning from TDP. There is a common kitchen, dining area and living room and a a computer for guests to share. Guests can purchase food from the grocery store in town and prepare their meals in the common kitchen. A small refrigerator is stocked with wine, beer, soft drinks for guests to purchase on the honor system. Fresh baked brownies are on the kitchen counter and available for $300 CLP, chilean pesos = .50 cents ea.  I gave the owner all of my clothes to wash for $4,000 CLP = $6.50. My single private room was night 13,000 CLP = $21. They kept a bag for me in a locked area for 8 days while I was at TDP. After I checked in and gave the owner my laundry, I went to the grocery store and bought food for dinner and food for my backpacking trip to TDP the next day. When I returned to the guest house I unboxed and pre portioned all of my food for 5 days backpacking. (I only packed food for 5 days thinking that I could purchase meals or at the Refugeos during my 8-9 day trip). Afterwards I went up to my room and packed my backpack, then walked around town. When I returned, the house was full of guests from all over the world and by the time I went upstairs to bed I had talked almost all of them. I especially enjoyed meeting a couple in their early 30’s from Vermont, Tom and Cindy who quit their pressure packed career jobs one year earlier and began traveling the wold. They had been to Nepal earlier this year, where they did the Everest Base Camp trek.

Tom ad Cindy, world travelers

In the morning after breakfast, 6 of us walked together in the rain to the bus station where we would all catch the 8am  bus to TDP.  I was the only one hiking the Q but I would end up crossing paths with most of these people over the next 8 days. It was a cold rainy morning. On the walk to the bus station I spoke with Chris who was from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chris was in his mid 30’s and  grew up backpacking throughout the Southwest. including the Grand Canyon. He said he lived a very frugal, simple life, working various jobs throughout the year to pay for his backpacking trips all over the world. He had also backpacked in Nepal, New Zealand and throughout Europe.

While waiting in line to board the bus I spoke with Mariele, from Paris. She worked for French company  expanding into South America. So she was taking 2 weeks off to travel before doing an internship in Santiago. I would end up hiking with Mariele for 3 days later in my trek.

The bus ride makes 3 stops once inside the park entrance. My stop for the Q Circuit was the last, so I didn’t start hiking until 12 noon. It was a LONG morning!

Susan sleeping on the bus

On the bus ride I sat next to Susan from Chicago. This was her first backpacking trip. She had never slept in a tent or gone camping before! Susan also quit her job as a marketing VP for a large company three months earlier to travel trough out South America. She rented all of her equipment for the W Trek from the Erratic Rock Hostel in Puerto Natales. She also attended their free information and trekking seminar the evening before. I estimated Susan to be in her earl 30’s and about 5’2″ tall, weighing no more that 110 lbs. She needed help lifting her backpack off of the bus. As I lifted it and helped her put it on, I couldn’t believe how heavy it was. It MUST have weighed 40 lbs. Ouch! I took her picture with Mariele and wished her well as she took off in the rain.

Mariele and Susan

Chris and Mariele