*this post is a few days old so keep reading for more uodates*
K and I just finished trekking the popular W trek in Chile. Many folks go on their own and camp like Sal and Fede bravely did almost ten years ago but K and I thought we should go guided so she found a locally based company with a strong sustainable bent called Eco Camp. It’s got these geodesic domes, solar hot water, composting toilets (which are actually not as scary as you’d think). The facilities were great. The dome even had a view to the starry skies.
So there are no photos in this post because I didn’t use my phone because I’d forgotten my Chilean adapter in Argentina.
This was recurring on a serious note too as my over efficient packing tendencies had me leaving my reciprocity fee form back in BA thinking I wouldn’t need it anymore. Alas, Torres del Paine is in chile and we had to enter Chile and eventually re enter Argentina….. More on that later…
So quickly it’s a seven day trip but really days one and seven are transit.
Day One
K and I paid for the semiprivate transfer to Eco camp as the regular bus would take twelve hours instead of six and make an extra stop in Puerto Natales. That meant we got to Eco camp at one and had a nice lunch with a sweet Brazilian couple. He’s a dentist and she was a pharmacist. We all took a nice stretching class after a nap.
At seven, the rest of the group and our guide had arrived and we has drinks (pisco sours) and some snacks to outline the the next few days. Then dinner. Dinner at Eco camp is quite nice–three courses and wine! Changes every day.
Our group was guided by Nico, 27, and a man who can answer with the fewest amount of words but say plenty. We had in our group Kyong and myself, Chad and Shayna from Chicago and rob and Laurie from Toronto.
We were given medium ish sized dry sacs to put our belongings for the next two nights, three days which would be carried by our porters while we hiked with day packs. While we were all a little amused at the size of the bags, Kyong was clear all she needed were her underthings and clean socks.
Day Two
The morning began with a late breakfast at 8:30 where we were pleased to find that the coffee was very good and there was peanut butter!!!
Our group of six headed out for our first hike to Refugio los Cuernos (about 12 km/7.5 mi). It was a relatively mild first day but overcast, occasionally lightly raining and windy at times. Everything advertised. We were hugging the base of the mountain range with low brush. It’s a popular trail so you never get lost and you see quite a few hikers with larger packs. At this stage of my life, I’m happy not to be camping or carrying the gear!
The first Refugio was charming like a ski lodge but way crowded. I had to turn off my architect’s eye at the iffy blocked exit corridors and the fact that I was on the third level of a bunk beds out twelve feet in the air. Thankfully, the ceilings were high and the heat rose so our gear dried out really quickly. Getting back to our dry sacks, Kyong learned the only thing she had wanted (clean under garments and socks) was the only thing she’d forgotten. This became the ongoing joke but she was a great sport. Because of the way the Refugio rooms are split we were in a room with nine bunks so we ended up sleeping in the same room as the other Eco camp group and this was fortuitous as we ended up organically mixing the two groups. In the this other group were Carlos and Laura from Mexico City, David and Sharon from Cape Cod and Lukas and Petros from New York. The cramped conditions of the Refugio forced some fast friendships and we ended up playing spoons before dinner. Nico had warned us not to have high expectations of the Refugio food so we were all pleasantly surprised. Not surprisingly, Kyong and Lukas became fast friends with similar senses of humor and banter while Lukas’s partner Petros and I bonded over our more boisterous counterparts.
Day Three
This was supposedly our most difficult day up the French Valley for a 22km/12mi hike. This day was a bit more in the woods. With our bonding dinner, the two groups hiked together and lunched together in the middle if the French valley. From this trail you see the ‘horns’ or Los Cuernos which are large granite slabs with darker metamorphic rocks on top. Nico’s excellent analogy was that if you had a block of sugar and cut a hot knife through it horizontally, the knife would melt the sugar on top of the knife. In this case, the granite is the knife and the darker rock on top is the sugar. Alas, the horns were dubbed the chocolate nipples by our group and it’s not something you can unhear.
Half of the group chose to climb higher to the Britannica lookout with Roberto, the other guide, and the rest of us headed down with Nico. During our walk, I chatted with Carlos about the Mexican way of dating/courting, remembering stories that Sallie has told me. Carlos confirmed that the process did indeed really hinge upon the day that the man asks the woman to be his girlfriend. The best part was when after the entire story, his wife, Laura reminded him that she asked him out! I also had a nice chat with Sharon about her experiences adopting her and David’s three children. The walk is still quite long after you’ve climbed the valley but its generally flat without wind and low scrub so we finally landed at the Refugio Paine Grande which was just as crowded as the first Refugio but much larger. While waiting for the others, Sharon, Kyong, Carlos, Laura and I hung out in the bar and bought Nico beer. Laura showed us photos of her kids and Kyong and I thought Nico and her eldest daughter would be a great match if Nico didn’t have a girlfriend already!
When the others all arrived tired but happy, we had another group dinner and stayed up talking about the day.
The actual hike was undulating except for the climb in the valley but the main difference between the hiking in El Chalten and here is that you’re quite close to the mountain while in El Chalten, you are basically walking towards the mountain the whole time so the vegetation doesn’t seem to vary quite as much.
Day Four
This was our supposed active recovery day with an 11km/7mi hike to the Grey Glacier and then a boat ride around the glacier and then a van ride back to Eco camp.
The guides kept us on a quick pace as we needed to meet the boat. The terrain was lightly rolling but towards the end, the descent was rocky and hairpins. I saw many people with full packs coming up that hill and learned that the guides call that trail something that translates into ‘the trail that makes girlfriends cry’.
The glacier was lovely but less impressive after seeing Perito Moreno. I ended up getting a bit seasick but recovered in the van. The sky had dramatic clouds and occasional spots of sunshine.
That night it was fab to be back at EcoCamp if only for fresh clothes! Our combined groups, freshly bathed and refreshed stayed in the bar but not too late since we were going to have to climb up to the famed towers of Los Torres.
Day Five
We woke for an early breakfast and headed out in our trail at 8am. I will add a post with photos (remember no iPhone photos) when I return.
The climb was divided into three sections. Two hours uphill to the Refugio Chileno then one hour in the woods somewhat flat and then one hour steep uphill with some rock scrambling to get up to the lake at the base of the granite towers. We were lucky to get a clear sky and sunrise glowing the towers red.
We climbed up and Kyong and I kept Nico entertained with our chatter until the steep uphill when he chuckled at our silence as we tried to concentrate on going uphill.
The top was stunning like the tops of Fitzroy and Torre in El Chalten. It gets windy but we lucked out by having a sunny, mild day without much wind.
The long hike down, I hiked with Petros and Roberto. We climbed up and down and kept passing a river. I wanted to sit in a bucket and ride down in the river as it was going to end up in the same point. At about five thirty we walked back into camp. The long walk from the end of the trail felt like forever.
Dinner, bar and celebrations and a thankfully late morning call for breakfast.
Day Six
We were all grateful for the later start and ten am departure. We headed out to the eastern lakes of the park primarily to look for animals. We saw a flock of flamingoes — I had no idea they had black wing tips. We saw many llama like animals called guanacos and sadly we were unable to find any pumas.
Some of the group rode mountain bikes for a while back and we ended the day under cloudy skies. Our group had a joint dinner together and ended the night in the bar reflecting on what surprised us during this trip.
Kyong and I stayed a little longer to chat with Roberto and Nico. Roberto is from the area–Punta Arenas and will retire from guiding to start his own excursion business and start building his house. He’s ten years older than Nico but has the energy and attitude of someone much younger. Always smiling and fill of energy. Nico heads to the states for five months to get certified in sky diving.
Reflections:
I saw many young early twenty something’s hiking this trail and I hope if I ever have kids that they have the adventurous nature to do something like this. It seems more challenging and growing than just traveling around Europe. There is time in your youth to travel and meet people. I wish I had more of that nature in me even today.
The rambling recipes & travels of a home baker 