On The Road Again: November 2007

Torres Del Paine, probably south americas most famous national park. Located in the middle of southern Patagonia, 112km north of Puerto Natales. This is where the most extreme hike I have ever taken on takes place (i havent done too many hikes so thats not really saying much, but it was hard, honestly). Firstly the park consists of 2 main hikes (among many others but these are the most popular) the circuit which is around 93kms long and should take around 7 days to complete and the W which is approximatly 76kms long and takes around 4 days. Originally we were going to tackle the circuit, but on further investigation we decided on the W, for a couple of reasons a. we both are running out of time in Chile and want time to spend time with our friends in Santiago, and b. we are lazy (as far as lazy goes walking 70 odd kms!!).

We easily sort out our transport and arrive at Torres Del Paine late morning on Friday 8th of November, fully stocked up with food, camp supplys and energy for what lays ahead......

THIS IS PATAGONIA!!!

(all the numbers on the map should correspond with the numbers on the pictures, so you can see the park how i did, well kind of.Enjoy.)

DAY ONE, approx 6 hours, 19.4 kms covered.

(1) Campsite numero uno, and check out the weather!! To our surprise on our arrival in the park we were greeted with awsome sunshine. We were totally expecting some harsh climate down here but so far so good. We set up our tent, leave our bags and head off for the first trek...

(2) The first part of the trek leads you up a fairly tough hill then into a valley of forrest and streams swirling through,

(2) Sweet little bridge constructions litter the way, some are indeed quite unstable, (as i find out later),

(3) Well this is what the park is named after. Here it is The Towers of Paine, on the right is north tower coming in at 2600m, central tower 2800m and the winner with 2850m is south tower (congratulations) on the left. After the forrests the valley opens up into a huge boulder field going all the way up to the towers base, about 45 minutes or so of scrambling up and here you are greeted with these magnificent granite stuctures, truly amazing....and then for the walk back to camp, awsome first day.....

(3) gotta get the happy tourist pic!!

DAY TWO, approx 7 hours, 16.5kms covered.

(4) Ok so this was going to be the test, our first walk with the back packs. We have to tackle the same first hill again to get on to the right track this totally proved more diffucult and took alot longer to complete but then the trail evens out and is really pleasant to stroll around, admiring the stunning views of the lake and the beautiful flora that surrounds you.... (a misson for you dad, find out the name of this flower im sure its a fire ......... something, i cant find the info anywhere...)

(5) Half of the walk is set around this, Almirante Nieto weighing in at 2640m.

(6) Almost half way there and getting a bit tired, but soaking up the views really gives you the energy to keep pushing on its just amazing trekking through here. In the background is Lago Nordenskjold.

(7) Just past the Refugio (where the hikers with cash go) takes you onto a really beautiful pebble beach, but in the distance I can see a hill, a pretty big one, to get over to the next valley where the free camping resides. This was a stuggle and once at the top I was told by a sign I was at the camping, man I was happy. However this was not the case I was then told by some passers by that I had another 40mins to walk, this was not pleasing news!!

DAY THREE, approx 7hours walking, 10kms covered.

(8) Camp 2, good food and sleep then waking up for another day of trek action.

(9) The first part of today takes us along the Frances river then past the huge Frances glacier (by the way weather is still good at this point). I hear what appears to be thunderstorms but then suddenly figure out its the glacier breaking away and forming avalanches, fortunatly nowhere near me!!

(10) And here it comes right at the end of the track a blizzard awaits me, killer winds apparently 100kms an hour fast but really i dont think they were that bad, but with knee deep snow and the track signs dissapearing i decide its time to head back...

(11) Just in time for the weather to clear and leave some stunning views of the Frances river.

(11) Oh yea, this is the part where I discover some of those logs are just not that stable, and inevitably my foot goes in the swampy marsh below.

(12) This pic is in the wrong order but heh ho. thats the winds blowing me around but still leaving an incredible view of the Cuermos behind me.

(12)Once again the Cuermos, but in clearer weather this time. At the back we have Co. Espada 2500m, then Co. Hoja, moving onto Co. Mascara 2300m, tucked behind the one in front is Cuermo Norte 2400m and the biggest Cuermo Principal 2600m. All the way through the middle part of the W these are looming over you dominating all the views.

(13) Once again we pick up our packs and continue the final part of day 3, and to our gleeful surprise is all flat and totally easy even with the lug of our bags on our backs. I get over the last mound and get a clear view of Refugio camp site which looked terrible (no wind or rain protection for the tents) so the hunt was on for an unofficial free camp site, and tho and behold here it is.....

DAY FOUR, approx 4 hours, 10kms covered

(14) Why noone else had done the same and camped here I am clueless, as this was by far the best spot we had camped. It was perfect tree cover from the elements and a beautiful lake front to chill out by.

(15) We get up earlyish and leave our bags at the camp and take on the final part of the W. Which will lead us to the Grey Glaciar. We wuddle through a deep valley then up some hils to get to the misty lake known as Lagoona Los Patos, a little further and we reach our target of the glaciar look out point.

(16) Just before the glaciar is the Lago Grey, where shards of the glaciar have broken away leaving little islands of ice floating in the lake.....

(17) and there she be Glaciar Grey, all is left is to get back to camp and the W was complete, but we had one more day up our sleeves...

(18) The vessel which was to carry us across the Lago Pehoe, the supposed finale to the W.

(19) Normally at this point you would catch the bus back to Puerto Natales and soak your feet in warm water and sip on hot chocolates, this was not going to happen for us today. We took a short walk to reach the Salto Grande, a fierce water fall in the middle of the park and then onto our final destination the look out point of the Torres range. We walk for maybe another hour or so and reach our goal. Dropping the bags we scale a short but steep hill and soak in the sunset over what I can easily say is the most impressive scenery in Chile.... Our mission was complete, we set up camp near by ate and rested. And to awake on day 5 to the most glorious day we had had so far, not a cloud in the sky leaving amazing viewsfor all to see. Not wanting to leave we pack up and catch the bus.

(21) Our final camp, on our final day. Super Glorious!!!

(21) trekking to the view point.

(20) WE MADE IT!!!

now it was definatly time for beer and pizza!!!

Thank you Torres Del Paine!

Hope you enjoyed guys, one more to go then its time for the familar soil of New Zealand...

until then, peace

tomx

Hello all, hope you are all well, here comes another entry and times are just getting better......
After eventually meeting up with Jose in Santiago, I tell him about my planned trip down south which will consist of visiting a small town then onto a port to catch a ferry named the Navimag to sail us down to the southern most regions of Chile. Jose was keen as, and so we sorted out the tickets and the next day catched the bus for Pucon, a small town nestled inbetween 2 glorious lakes and a huge active volcano!!
This is Chiles adventure capital with a ski resort nearby (where you can cruise down the volcano!!) awsome treks, bike tracks, water sports, and the list goes on..... I arrive in Pucon early and find that Pucon is almost a Chillean replica of Wanaka(new zealand)!! This place is amazing, an unbeleivable contrast from the landscapes I had just arrived from. This area of Chile is full of thick green forrests, beautiful pictuesque lakes and of course giant volcanoes puffing smoke in the background!!! I find a cute little hostel to spend my stay and await Jose (who arrives on a different bus) we hook up and plan some long bike rides to some amazing waterfalls and hopefully some natual thermal pools.
The next day we set off on what seemed to be awsome bikes but soon enough various problems arose, mainly gear changing up hill and chains continuously falling off but they made the destinations. We took on a roughly 50km round trip crusing over rivers, down intense dirt slopes, and through tranquil fields and eventually arrived at the water falls (whos name i forget and i dont have my book with me to remind me) a stunning collection of 3 waterfalls clustered together within a curtain of rain forest, pouring out the freshest mountain water which tasted absolutely delicious. We then set off for the thermal pools, the tack started getting harder going, up hill all the way for about 4-5km, nearing the top and we see signs for the thermals, almost feeling the delicious heat of the water we get to the entrance to find it was closed!!! gutted. But the view was incredible, so it wasnt all in vain.
The following day we decide on an éasier´ route, to get to the base of the volcano, this turned out to be an epic of a bike ride roughly the same distance as the previous day but to our great dismay totally up hill, (and not just pussy stowupland hill style but full on hills!!!). We got to the entrance of the national park. With legs feeling like their going to fall off and enough sweat to cure a drought, we decided we had, had enough of the bikes. We stashed them in the forrest and hitched the rest of the way!! (cheating-maybe, i think just wise!) We found ourselves at the base of the volcano, and with acces to some volcanic caves however the entrance fee was ridicuously expensive so we just opted for a cruisey walk around the site, along with snow ball fights and gawping at the incredible structure of mother nature that lay infront of us.
And so that was the end of Pucon and time for another bus ride to take us to Puerto Mont, the port that will be our gateway to Patagonia. We embark on our 4 day cruise that will eventually leave us at Puerto Natalles, upon the Navimag. With alcohol as our only supply, we were ready for a trip through the Patagonian fjords. The first day took us past the sweet island of Chiloe and the weather first amazingly bright and cheerful but soon deteriating into mist and fog and so views were bleak. The next day was much the same but with the crossing of the gulf of penas it got incredibly rough, with the ferry bouncing up and down and the sound of many people worshipping the porcelain god in the background. However day 3 was incredible, the sky lit up and the clouds parted giving us views of the fjords. A quick stop at a cute little port town called Puerto Eden, where we inevitably stocked up on more alcohol and then back on the boat.Sailing through lots of little uninhabitated islands littering the sea, with backdrops of snowcapped mountains marking the end of the Andes mountain range, truly stunning, and also impressive watching the captain navigate a huge ferry through sometimes 80m gaps between islands. This then took us onto the huge glacier that resides here, again another incredible piece of mother natures handy work, words just cant describe the magnitude of beauty this corner of the world has its just mind blowing!! Also as we were ´parked´next to the glacier i took the opurtunity to set up the slackline. Slacklining on a boat is unsurprisingly very hard!!! But to do it in front of a huge glacier was just awsome definatly the best place I have slacklined so far!!!! The last night a Butlins style party was to be had with the starter of bingo and then crazy dancing to truly terrible music, but all good fun.
And so 4 days of drinking, eating, smoking, watching incredible scenery float past us and slacklining infront of Glaciers marks another high point to this trip in Chile for me.
Hope you enjoy the pics guys!!!!
much love as always
tom
x