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| Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine |
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| First day of hiking |
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| Near our 1st campsite |
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| Iconic Towers |
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| Clouds clearing |
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| Perfect view |
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| We made it! |
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| Las Torres |
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| View from the final climb to the Towers |
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| Day 2, picnic |
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| Day 2, hiking to Los Cuernos |
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| Our view from our campsite, Los Cuernos |
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| Our tent |
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| French Valley |
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| River, French Valley |
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| Near French Valley |
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| Snow-capped mountains, glaciers |
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| Burnt Forest |
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| Striking view amongst the ashes |
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| Our final hike |
Having successfully completed our King Penguin mission, we headed northwest to the city of Puerto Natales. On arrival, our hostel, Lili Patagonico, gave us helpful information for hiking the W circuit of Torres Del Paine. After a few days of preparation which included shopping for groceries and renting camping equipment, we were ready to hike.
Day one, February 8th: We arrived at Hosteria del Torres where we initiated our hike to the iconic Towers. The first four hours was a steady climb uphill that finally leveled off and led us through a forest to our first campsite, Campamento Torres. There we set up camp, ate lunch, and resumed the last hour climbing up a steep rock slide to the viewpoint of the Towers. We'd be lying if we said it was easy. The truth is it was incredibly hard and the first day kicked our asses but it was worth the sweat and tears. The Towers were breathtaking.
Day two, February 9th: After a rough night of tossing and turning (first night of camp is always the worst), we dragged our exhausted bodies out of the tent and started to pack up. Unfortunately, one of us, didn't make it out of the tent so smoothly. My leg fell asleep causing my shoelace to tangle on the front zipper of our tent. The only way to get out was by propelling my body several feet away and landing on a huge rock knee first. It hurt A LOT not to mention I felt like an idiot but there was no time to complain. We had a long hike ahead of us to our next destination, Refugio Cuernos. The hike took us along a path of snow-capped mountains, lakes, rivers and meadows. At one point, we had to cross turbulent streams on foot by hoping on stones. It was hilarious and intimidating to see travelers gather the nerve to accomplish this small yet challenging feat. One by one, they hopped their way until safely arriving on the other side. It took us about thirty minutes of watching before getting the courage to do it ourselves. We did it, and after the first two streams, we became pro's. A few hours into the hike, we felt confident that we were nearing Los Cuernos, so far so good. Then of course, the weather turned on us. Just as we were curving around the mountains, hurricane strength winds picked up to over 60 mph. Several times we were blown down and had to huddle our bodies together to prevent the winds from blowing us away. All travelers were in the same position as us. It was terrifying. Jeff, got the worst of it. He was literally blown off the path, tumbled down a hill and landed head first on a small bush. We signed on for an adventure but now it was starting to feel like an "I Survived" episode. Luckily, we made it to the campsite in one piece BUT the weather only worsened. Relentless rain and wind continued through the night. Several tents were blown down. One traveller woke up immersed in a puddle of mud. It wasn't pretty but we all survived, and that morning the sun rose to greet us with its warm rays.
Day three, February 9th: We opted to stay another night in Los Cuernos, to enjoy a leisurely hike to the French Valley without our backpacks. It was incredibly beautiful and the weather was perfect. All around us were glaciers hanging out of mountain peaks, and down below we saw lakes, trees and rivers cascading down the valley walls. At one point, we witnessed an avalanche and heard the eery sound of ice chunks crashing from a distance. After a few hours of hiking, we headed back to our tent, all nicely built and waiting for us, and got drunk on boxed wine.
Day four, February 10th: This was our last day in Torres Del Paine. We decided to finish our journey at Pehoe. We didn't have the energy or means to continue the last leg of the W onto Camp Grey, and felt it was the right decision to end our journey here. Our last hike was through the burnt forest. In December of 2011 a massive fire destroyed 14,000 acres of land causing several of the campsites to close down. Dead trees and ash covered the landscape. It was eery but still beautiful, and reminded us that new life always arises from the ashes.
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