This was the big one, the longest hike I (and we) have ever done. The area is separate from the Andes range and has something like 17 distinct ecosystems within the protected area. Visited by around 150.000 hikers a year, Torres del Paine was something on my ist of things to do for years. We did the famous “W” hike of 5 days/4 nights camping all the way. Here are some of my thoughts on the experience and then I”ll get to the photos…
We covered around 75 kilometers during the hike and it was a whole lot of up and down and up and down and up and up and up. The mountains tower over you, but the park itself isn`t all that high. I think we topped out at about 900 meters and the highest peaks were around 2500-3000 so altitude wasn`t an issue. Overall it was a really fun time with Emma, Sam, and two girls we picked up in the hostel, Cat and El. Unfortunately, El got really sick and had to pack out on day 3, but the 4 of us finished strong.
The park was amazing in it`s diversity of ecosystems and while we got poured on 3/4 nights and some of the days, we had a great time and managed to stay relatively dry when it mattered most (at night). Lots of spaghetti and really good gorp and we finished off the trip back here in Puerto Natales with a nice big dinner with a Belgian couple, a couple from England, a couple from Colorado, and a guy from San Fran, and a guy from Montreal who we essentially traveled with off and on for 5 days as they were doing the same W trek.
The photos are in chronological order and there are none from days 1 and 4 due to heavy rain. The first 5 are from a long trekking day (2) and then the next 10 or so were from my personal favorite part, the Valle Frances (French Valley). Photos really don`t do this place justice, but you`re essentially surrounded by these huge peaks one 3 sides and you pass glaciars and waterfalls on the way up. Truly amazing place and we were lucky the weather cleared up enough for the sun to come through. The dark ones are from our 4:45 am wakeup day when we hiked up to try and catch the sunrise on the torres our final morning. Alas, it was not to be, but we did catch a glimpse of the peaks and the lake before the fog/cloud rolled in and turned everything to pea soup. The last sunny photos were from our hike out and it was so nice to be able to enjoy that view of the mountains on a beautiful and warm sunny day.
Now I need to rest my legs!
