South America Trip - Day 5

Torres del Paine National Park Day 1!  While I’ve got more than three weeks of activities planned on this trip, the next few days are the main reason I traveled to Patagonia. Wake-up time (0515) came very early… I was ready by 0600 and met the rest of the group at breakfast (in the hotel).  Most of us were groggy from lack of sleep but were excited about the planned excursion to the National Park.  Seven members of our group (the family from Las Cruces, NM and JoAnne) were going to be doing something called “The Experience”, which involved doing short hikes and staying in fancy lodges around the park.  The rest of us (Kirk & Janice, Tony & Shelly, Shaowen and myself) were geared up for four days of the “W Trek” and a visit to the Grey Glacier.  At 0700, we all checked out of the Hotel Natalino, loaded up our 20 person touring van (we were also towing a small trailer for all the gear) and got on the road.  In addition to the 13 members of the travel group, we had our driver (Gerardo) and four guides (Alvaro, Chris, Victor and Camilla).  Our route proceeded north from Puerto Natales to the National Park via Ruta 9 again but the terrain was totally different from yesterday.  Instead of empty plains, almost every vista was filled with huge, snow-capped mountains!  We saw many, many condors - one highlight of the trip was stopping to watch a huge group of them scavenging on a hillside close to the road.  Along the way, Chris told us about the area and we learned that Torres del Paine means “Towers of the Blue Land” in a local, aboriginal tongue.  It took a little more than two hours of driving to reach the main entrance to Torres del Paine National Park.  By then, we’d passed several overlook points near the famous Towers (for some reason, we didn’t stop at any of them).  After passing the entry checkpoint, the six of us (plus guides) who were hiking the W got dropped off at a small Refugio hut called Torre Norte, where we stowed about half of our gear (to lighten our backpacks).  We then picked up box lunches and got a briefing on park rules and trail etiquette.  Today, the plan was to hike the right (eastern) side of the W, from the Las Torres Refugio to Las Torres Base Viewpoint and back.  All told, this would ultimately involve a 20 km (~14 mile) trek.  By 1000, we were on our way!  Chris headed up our group and Alvaro brought up the rear; the accordion-like procession allowed for some flexibility in speed and enjoyment.  Temps started in the 40s but there was almost no wind.  Even though the conditions changed as we hiked, I never needed to layer up on hiking clothes (I was already wearing a long sleeved shirt).  The trail was mostly crushed rocks, with occasional washouts of mud - much of it reminded me of hiking in New Hampshire.  With only the northeastern side of the Towers in view from the valley, we commenced a climb of about 500 meters (~1500 feet) over the first few miles of the hike.  The park seemed busy to me (lots of other hiking groups were around) but Alvaro told me we should feel lucky that we’d just missed a day where there were over 1000 visitors in the park.  Kirk and Janice were consistently out front, while Tony and Shelly stayed near the back.  Meanwhile, Shaowen and I ranged around (mostly independently) in the middle.  I was very happy to spend time at either end of the group and ended up talking a lot to everyone during the course of the day.  After our initial ascent, we had to descend back down to the bottom of the Ascencio Valley.  This location of the hike was very pretty, with high-walls on both sides and a loud, roaring river in the middle.  Our first major stop was at the Chileno Refugio.  While there, we enjoyed the cool valley breezes (drying off some of the sweat) and our box lunches (sandwich, nuts, energy bar, orange, chocolate).  After about 30 minutes, we resumed our hike.  It was only at this point that I became aware of a deadline we needed to meet: the park requires all climbers to reach a checkpoint (below the Torres viewpoint) by about 1430.  We were on track to meet this but didn’t have a lot of time to spare.  The next phase of the Trek took us through a deep forest of trees - for the first time all day, we had some shade.  The trail grade was up and down for several miles and the only real change was when we passed a valley that was recently (only 10 weeks ago) created by a mudslide.  The power of the Spring Thaw was quite evident there because everything was completely washed away - yikes!  Meanwhile, across the valley, there was even more evidence of that kind of power - I watched the snow melt gushing off the highest peaks and flowing (in waterfalls of increasing size) down to the base of the valley.  A little bit after this, we passed the checkpoint (prior to the deadline) and came out of the forest into an exposed boulder field.  By then, it was windy enough to worry about footing but I did like the feel of the breeze.  I worked my way to the front of the group, walking with Chris, Kirk and Janice.  While steep, the whole hike to this point (nearly seven miles) hadn’t been much more difficult than a walk in the Whites.  I’m glad I had a good Summer of Trek prep!  We started to see a lot of people going the other way (i.e., back down) and I soon learned that we’d be dealing with the bi-directional traffic throughout the trip.  This is mainly the result of hikers on the “O Trek” counterclockwise and day hikers entering from three on the “W Trek”.  Chris showed us where we could (safely) fill up our water bottles from a stream of cascading glacial water and I sampled some.  It was cool, clear and refreshing!  We kept climbing up the boulder field, at times walking through a stream that co-mingled with the trail, until we had reached the area near the top (an elevation over 1000 meters or 3000 feet).  From there, we could see Shaowen, Tony, Shelly and Alvaro below (I waved and they told me later that they had seen me).  A bit after that, we entered an old glacial valley below the towering Torres.  WOW!  I can’t really describe how beautiful the scene was but I’ll note that the whole image of the area looked like a painting.  From a distance, Torres del Paine is impressive but, up close, it is breathtakingly spectacular.  Prior to this, I’d been comparing the terrain and views to other places I’d visited.  This view, however, was unique and inspiring.  Chris gave us high fives for reaching the top of the W (right side) and told us we had 45 minutes to relax and enjoy our surroundings.  I took full advantage of this respite, collecting lots of photos and sharing in the joy of it all the other folks (dozens at that point) who’d reached the view.  Chris told me that we had arrived on a day of weather that only occurs about 10% of the time - I felt VERY lucky. Eventually, our whole group had reconnected and we got some good photos together.  Alvaro then told us about the formation of the geological wonder in front of us.  I was a bit sad to learn that the whole valley had contained a glacier as recently as 100 years previously.  Sadly, there is almost no evidence of it now… At 1530, Chris gave the word that we needed to go back to our Refugio (people were only allowed to stay at the viewpoint until 1600).  When most of us ignored his request, he started (with Alvaro) down the rock slide.  At that point, everyone got the message!  We managed to stay pretty close together for a little while but eventually started spreading out again.  As usual, the descent was tougher on my knees than the climb had been.  Fortunately, we continued (as we had all day due to Chris’ steady gait) at a good pace and I never felt any pain.  Chris and Alvaro had maintained connection all day with the use of walkie-talkies and, eventuality, it appeared that they wanted to get together to help Shelly and Tony to finish the hike.  As a result, the rest of us were given the freedom to walk downhill independently.  I took full advantage of this opportunity and ultimately located a small pocket of mountain silence without any other hikers.  I stayed in this quiet bubble all the way to Chileno Refugio, where those of us in the front waited for the rest.  After we were all together again, we crossed the river and then Chris led us back uphill along the other side of the ravine.  Eventually, we could see the Refugio area where we’d started our day.  By that point, I was still feeling pretty good but knew there were at least four miles left to hike.  When Chris let us head off on our own again, I found myself in the front of the group and hiked quickly downhill.  On the way, the other group members that were nearby joined me in reveling in the vibes of our amazing day.  Some of us were also imagining getting beers at the Refugio… As we descended, I saw the Torres and the glaciers on the mountain from yet another angle/lighting - despite getting dozens of such glimpses, I was blown away by the beauty… We encountered our only wildlife of the day just before finishing: a large hare/rabbit that was descended from the ones first brought to the area by Europeans. By 1900, we’d returned to our starting point again after more than 14 miles.  What a hike!  I’d expected to stay in the building where we’d left our belongings but Chris soon arrived to tell us we could move to the main building (Torre Central).  When we arrived there, we checked in and then proceeded to our six bunk lodge room.  We found that the room had sleeping bags and we wondered why we needed to carry one in our backpacks all day…  The Refugio had charging stations but we learned that internet costs money.  One more unusual item: the signs everywhere asked everyone to avoid putting toilet paper in the commode - it’s a different approach from how the AMC huts manage waste but I got used to it.  A bit later, our group was all together again.  In the short time we’ve been traveling together, it has seemed like we only ever have 20 minutes before we have to be ready for dinner.  Fortunately, I was hungry!  We joined Chris and Alvaro in the dining hall at 2000 and enjoyed a nice dinner of pumpkin soup, salmon over risotto and a flan-like dessert.  We all tried some more of the local beers (Astral Calefate) and I got a round for our guides to a round (2030) - got to practice some more of my Spanish while ordering… Everyone was in very good spirits as we talked about the day and upcoming itinerary events.  I’d told Chris and Alvaro about my upcoming visits to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro and they offered a lot of suggestions and encouragement (“you look Brazilian”).  Dinner ran until almost 2130 and then I headed back to the bunkroom.  Shaowen had indicated an interest in getting up for sunrise photos and several other members of the group requested that he not wake everyone too early.  We’ll see how that goes… I settled down for bed at 2200 after an amazing experience of adventure, natural wonders and camaraderie.  Unbeatable day!