Backpacking South America

Finishing the W trail in Torres del Paine was, perhaps, our greatest accomplishment. After countless training hikes, a few days of preparation, and bracing ourselves for the worst – we set off for Torres del Paine.  We were excited for the adventure and the sights, but slightly nervous about the well-being of our relationship.

Fortunately, we were blessed with great weather, aside from the wind on day 4. We didn’t have to contend with the rain. As we continued through each day, step after step, it seemed as if our goal was a bit more attainable. Sure, there were times when it was best that I didn’t say more than, “almost there” or “you’re doing great.” But, we were accomplishing what we set out to do.

During monotonous or overly arduous portions of our travels, we’ve had to push on in the hope that the best is yet to come. Torres del Paine was no exception, whether it was the vista that awaited us around the next bend or the cold beer and buffalo wings in Puerto Natales after the hike. The hike was only 5 days, but it seemed to be a reflection of our entire journey. Lots of preparation, a bit of hard work and finally, celebration.

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.

Read Days 1 – 3 of the Circuit

Day 4 – Thursday, February 25

Our day started a bit early. WIND found us! At 1:00AM, we were both woken by fierce winds slamming our tent. It was incredible and seemed to have come from nowhere. We sat up in our tent to make sure everything between the tent and rain fly was still there. Jared got out to tighten down the rainfly and make sure our camp was safe. The rain fly was intact, we still had all our gear and our tent had not been blown into the next galaxy.

The rain fly leaves about a 2 inch gap between the bottom and the ground, which is just enough space for the wind to pick up the dirt and push it through the mesh of the tent. It was like being stuck in a sand storm. We were pounded by dirt all night long. So much for a shower. I think I got dirtier in the next few hours after my shower, than I had been before I showered. We didn’t sleep real well that night, waking up every so often to strong, sustained winds.

We took a gamble and decided to try our hand at the Carretera Austral in southern Chile. The highway was Pinochet’s attempt to connect all of Chile by a highway. However, most of the road is gravel still, and in some places in fairly poor condition and we found bus service to be infrequent, leaving us stranded for a few extra days in some locations.

Our first stop was Futaleufu, a river rafting mecca – located just across the border from Esquel in Argentina. Prior to leaving Esquel, we couldn’t find the bus schedule from Futaleufu to other destinations south, so we decided to cross the border and determine our options once we arrived. Unfortunately, the next bus wasn’t for two days… So we were stuck. It was cold, windy and rainy the whole time, which presented its own aura of beauty – but it would have been great to see the mountains that this little town is surrounded by.

When we finally got out, it was on to Puyuhuapi to visit the hanging glacier at Parque Nacional Queulat. We found some other travelers and shared a car to the park. It was raining when we started, but we could see the glacier in the distance.

Some days I feel like I am, like the day I packed up my whole life and said yes to travelling South America, without any real agenda or true knowledge of the language. Sure, some might not classify that as fearless, but I think maybe you would if you knew me. That was a big step. But then, some days, I am so far from fearless that you could touch my fear with a 10 inch twig – it lingers and is on full display. What can I say, some days I’m more chicken than others? But FEAR is something we all have. We’re all afraid of something. It’s just that some of us are better at hiding it than others. And some fears, like eating guinea pig, aren’t as big as other fears, like never allowing yourself to get too close to somebody because you’re afraid to get hurt or never attempting to reconcile differences with people because you’re afraid of how it will change your life. I could go on and on.

But for me, I’ll be honest. There are lots of things I fear. I fear disappointment, change, mostly the unknown, totally mice, but most definitely heights.