Torres del Paine

Patagonia

By Yes Mom I'm Alive

DAY 1: PUERTO NATALES, CHILE

After 36 hours - that's five planes, two buses and a long layover in Panama - we arrived at the End of the World: Patagonia. We arrived in Puerto Natales, a small port town that would serve as our base to Torres del Paine National Park, and immediately set off to gather supplies and equipment for a five-day hike.

TORRES DEL PAINE PARK

We set out for Torres del Paine National Park early the next morning. It was cloudy and overcast. We were warned to expect the worst - Patagonia is, afterall, known for its unpredictable stormy weather and strong winds.

But true Oregonians we are, we were determined not to let a little rain and clouds get the best of us. We wrapped all our gear in trash bags and put on a brave face.

LAKE PEHOE

As we boarded the catamaran to cross Lake Pehoe to officially begin our hike, the clouds began to lift. We would have nothing but clear skies and sun for the duration of our trip.

LAGO GREY

Our first day we hiked 11 kilometers along Lago Grey, where small icebergs floated on the water. We reached camp in the late afternoon and set up our tent before continuing on a little further to Glacier Grey. The glacier is part of the enormous Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the world's second largest contiguous ice field.

DAY 2: CAMPAMENTO ITALIANO

We broke camp in the morning and headed back down the trail toward Campamento Italiano. We would hike a total of 18 kilometers on our second day through what I considered the most beautiful section of the park.

DAY 3: THE FRENCH VALLEY

On our third day, we hiked up the French Valley on the eastern face of Paine Grande. Every 15 minutes we would hear a loud crack and see large chunks of ice and snow falling down the mountain.

A few kilometers into the valley we got lost - too mesmerized by the mountains around us to see the trail marker, I guess. We made our own trail, climbing up a river bank until we found a small clearing with large boulders and an amazing view.

LOS CUERNOS

After descending the French Valley, we gathered our gear from camp and headed toward Lake Nordenskjold and the southern face of Los Cuernos.

CABIN

Faced with a forecast of rain, the week before we left for Patagonia we decided to rent a cabin for our third night in the park. We thought that if it did pour on us on the trail, by our third night we would dearly need a night to dry off. While we fortunately did not get rain on, we were nevertheless very grateful we booked the cabin. We lit the small pellet stove, showered, and had a feast before collapsing into a warm, soft bed.

DAY 4: TO LOS TORRES

I took only one picture on the fourth day on the trail. This was the hardest part of the trail for me and I didn't even have the energy to fuss with my camera. Even though it was a hard and long hike, somehow Jeff and I arrived to camp hours earlier than we predicted. We spent the remaining half of the day recovering from the strenuous hike and reading in the sun.

DAY 5: TORRES DEL PAINE

For many visitors to the park, the big finale of the W Trek is seeing the towers - three stony fingers rising straight above a glacial lake - at sunrise.

We woke up – the morning of my 30th birthday! – at 4:30 am. Jeff and I grabbed our headlamps and made our way up the steep rocky trail in the dark. We huddled together to keep warm until the first light of the day hit the towers and turned them golden pink.

It was an incredible place to celebrate turning 30.

THE FINISH

By the time the sun was fully up, we made our way back to camp to pack up and begin the end of our hike in Torres del Paine park. The last day on the trail was a blur; Jeff and I have never hiked so fast. We sprinted the last two kilometers to the hotel, where, after an elated celebration with the friends we made on the trail, we caught a bus back to Puerto Natales.