Hiking the “W” in Torres del Paine: Days 1 – 3

We finished the W circuit in Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chile. It was quite the endeavor – 5 days out on the trail for a total of just over 46 miles of hiking. Thankfully, we both made it through with no long-lasting injuries, but we thought we would share the highlights in the following posts.

Day 1 - Tuesday, February 23
Puerto Natales Chile to Refugio Grey

We got up early. We had spent the previous days gathering insights on the park (conditions, routes, highlights, etc. – Erratic Rock info session highly recommended) and buying supplies to last us through the hike (everything was closed on Sunday).

Our bus arrived at our hostel around 7:30am. After a few more stops, it was on to Torres del Paine. As we made our way around town, we spotted a “beast” similar to what we might find in the wild.

We decided to hike the W trail (named because it makes a W on the map) starting at Hosterie Paine Grande – view a map. So, upon our arrival to Parque Torres del Paine, we continued passed the Laguna Amarga entrance to the boat launch and took the Catamaran across Lake Pehoé to Paine Grande.

We got off the boat around 12:30, prepped our gear, ate our sandwiches and started our hike from there.

Our first leg was to Lago Grey. The trail took us up through a valley. Based on the info session at Erratic Rock, we were certain that within the first 30 minutes, we would be soaked by rain driven by hurricane-like winds.

Fortunately, we only had a slight breeze. The hike to Lago Grey was nice. We got great views down the lake to iceberg graveyards (the winds push the ice falling from the glacier to the far end, where it collects and slowly melts away), and eventually, we came to the pass and had an amazing view of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field (same one that we say at Glaciar Perito Moreno).

We arrived at camp, which was on the lakeshore, around the corner from the glacier. We went into this expecting the worst: wind, rain, cold, possibly snow. But we arrived at camp the first night to blue sky, light breeze and no threat of inclement weather. Our bodies felt pretty good; we were well rested. Our packs were comfortable, but with a noticeability that there was food to be eaten.

We were treated to an excellent sunset that evening and we prepared a delicious pasta dinner.

Hike Time: 3 hours 20 minutes.

Day 2 – Wednesday, February 24

We woke up and broke down camp – still no rain, wind or anything else sinister. On our hike out, we took some time to visit the Glaciar Grey mirador that was 10 minutes from camp. From the mirador, we got a little up close and personal, and were overwhelmed by the sheer size of this Glaciar nestled in around towering mountains. It makes you feel pretty small with so much ground to cover. The glacier was moving, so we sat to listen to the thunderous cries and see if we could spot any falling ice.

On day 2, we needed to reach Campamento Italiano. So, we backtracked the same 3 hours and 20 minutes to Paine Grande. We decided to eat inside the hosteria to get out of the wind that seems to always be strong at this end of the lake. We got a bit too comfortable and probably rested a bit too long because it was a bit difficult to get on the go again. After lunch, it was on to Campamento Italiano. It was marked as a 2 hour hike on the map. As we walked, the sun began to peak out a bit more, and as we approached our destination, we got excellent views of the Cuernos.

The second half of the day to Italiano wasn’t so difficult, but we were both pretty tired. Our bodies were complaining about the second consecutive day of abuse. Our pace slowed drastically and we fell a bit behind schedule. Finally we rolled into Campamento Italiano and set up camp. Dinner was curry rice and fresh red pepper – yum! We were sore and tired, and knew our packs needed a little re-adjustment for the next day.

Hike time: 3 hrs 20 minutes to Paine Grande; 2 hours 20 minutes to Campamento Italiano

Day 3 – Thursday, February 25

I peeked out the tent, just waiting to see gray clouds. We’ve gone two days with mostly blue skies and beautiful weather. Torres del Paine in notorious for extreme weather patterns and I was sure that we were in for a surprise today. However, I was delighted and a bit relieved to see blue sky peeking through the branches of the trees shading our campsite, at least for now.

We set out, pack-free, to hike Valle Frances. The air was completely still and we could hear the river and occasional crack from the glaciers on Cerro Paine Grande. As we climbed Valle Frances, we kept saying, I can’t believe how clear and how still it is. We met other hikers who said the valley was beautiful, but very windy. We felt so fortunate to be blessed with such a perfect day!

The hike was a bit of a scramble around rocks and up the hill. Once we climbed up the ridge, it began to smooth out and we were passing through the forest instead of rock fields. A little over an hour in, we reached the first mirador at the base of Cerro Paine Grande. From here, we sat a while to watch the ice break from the glaciers, crash down the mountain, only to be followed a few seconds later by a thunderous clap. It was mesmerizing and one of the most amazing sights of the entire hike. As we looked back in the direction we came from, we had a great view down the valley to the lakes resting below.

As we continued on, we headed deeper into the heart of Valle Frances. Another hour on, we arrived at the end point, a mirador nestled in the belly of a bowl surrounded by mountains. From where we had been looking at a glacier covered face at the previous mirador, we were now looking at the other side, where there was no snow. The mountains changed from slate to granite and varied in size. Valle Frances is characterized by so many contrasts and you’re nested right in its belly. We saw completely different views on all sides – it was truly 360 degrees of grandeur.

After some reluctance, we headed back down. Along the way, we stopped at the first mirador again to take in its size and to watch the glaciers drop more ice over the cliffs. It is just an awesome experience. We eventually arrived back at camp and had lunch. We packed up camp, once again, and headed out to Los Cuernos. Our legs felt strong and our packs felt comfortable on our backs.

It took us just under 2 hours to arrive at our next camp, Los Cuernos, which also has a refugio with a few items for sale and a restaurant. We had packed a little treat to be enjoyed on the trail – a big chunk of cheddar cheese. So we set up camp, took a hot shower (included in the camp fee) and bought an overpriced bottle of wine. We sat at our picnic table and had a well-deserved appetizer – cheddar and carmenere wine.