Nuevo Ritmo

On December 2nd, we started the ever-coveted W Trek in Torres Del Paine National Park. Torres is known to some as the “most beautiful national park in the world,” and therefore, it can be quite difficult to get reservations. Fortunately, we got pretty lucky and were able to reserve a 5 day, 4 night trek on the W. The two most popular trails in the park are the W and the O. The O takes 7-10 days and is a complete circuit of the park; the W takes 4-5 days and includes a few out-and-back trails in order to see the main highlights of the park. We tried to be self-aware about our physical fitness and chose the W… in hindsight, we are definitely happy with this decision!

The road to Torres began with a 2-3 hour bus ride from Puerto Natales, the closest town to the park. We took a bus at 7am, and once we arrived around 9:30, we checked in and started setting up camp. This campground was called Central. It seemed nice and we were happy to get to drop our backpacks off before the hike. The first day hike was twelve miles and involved hiking up to the Torres (towers in English), so we got going as quickly as we could. We anticipated about 3,000 ft of elevation gain, but the maps and information we’d seen so far had some inaccuracies, so we weren’t totally sure. This is part of the Patagonia adventure! The weather almost immediately showed us that it wasn’t messing around – as we struggled to pitch our tent against the strong gusts of wind, we crossed our fingers it would be there when we got back from the hike. The hike was a steady climb most of the way, a gradual incline up mixed rock and dirt paths, through forests, and across a few small creeks. The trail overlapped with a horse trail much of the time, which they utilize to bring supplies to the park and campgrounds. The trail got exciting towards the end, when we started climbing up and over loose rocks, trickling creeks, and the winds started blowing. We then heard the strangest noise. I had never heard wind howl until visiting Patagonia, but we had become familiar with that at this point. That being said, this noise was a one-of-a-kind loud clap that had to be caused by a very powerful swoosh of wind. We had heard people describe some of these crazy wind noises as “wind thunder,” but this one was unique. I felt like I was going to get blown down onto my hands and knees at times on this hike. Finally, we made it to the Torres, where it was snowing lightly. We sat for a few minutes to take in the view and have a snack. On the way up, we were worried that with the crazy weather we wouldn’t be able to see the towers. Some down-hikers we passed told us that they couldn’t see anything, that it was totally socked in. But somehow, the clouds cleared enough for us to enjoy all three beautiful Torres in their towering granite majesty. Of course, there was also a gorgeous green-blue glacial lake in front of them. We stared at them. They are much larger in person, and of course, photos don’t do it justice. The hike down left our feet in agony that surprised us. We actually felt a bit concerned that we had four days of hiking ahead of us! Especially because for this hike, we had gotten to leave our heavy backpacks behind at the campsite … We were in it now, so we just hoped for the best in the days to come. We were relieved to see the tent still standing when we arrived at the campsite. This campsite was also equipped with a bathhouse that had running water, a pleasant surprise for us. Before we passed out in the tent, we enjoyed a Dolbek Maqui. Yes, we each carried two 12 oz glass bottles in our packs even though more experienced backpackers would say, “every ounce counts.”

Day two was supposed to be an “easy” 7-8 mile hike to Cuernos (horns in English). When we booked the trek, we decided we wanted to stay in a nice accommodation one night, and Cuernos had availability in one of their mountain cabins for night two. We looked forward to this little bit of luxury, especially the hot meal we would have cooked for us upon arrival. This hike was quite nice, especially because the weather cleared and gave us some blue sky. We walked along a beautiful glacial lake for much of the hike which was very windy, and we ended the day by walking up to the towering Cuernos. These towers were way cool, maybe even cooler than Torres, but they get no credit in comparison. They share the same grey granite rock as Torres, but they have a distinct line that separates the granite from sedimentary rock, giving them a unique color scheme in addition to their funky shape. These towered over our cabin, giving us spectacular yet intimidating views. We relaxed in the cabin and drank our second Dolbek Maqui, lightening our load a bit for the next day. We proceeded to the restaurant for dinner and learned that they also had a bar, offering specials like “2 for 1 Fernet shots.” People were guzzling beer and bottles of wine as if we weren’t in the midst of very difficult trekking! But we, of course, had a beer too. After we enjoyed a nice hot plate of lasagna, the weather seemed to turn. Strong, howling winds began to blow across the lake and all around camp. We settled into our little cabin, and the gusts of wind literally rattled the cabin walls. We hoped it was sturdy enough to withstand the wild storm that was upon us. This night was supposed to be the most relaxing and restful, but we barely slept at all while the winds howled all night long. This is classic Patagonia!

At breakfast the next the morning, no one seemed to be phased by last night’s events. Jay and I made comments to other hikers and even asked, “do you think it’s safe to hike in these conditions?” People seemed confused by this, carrying on with their plans and hikes as if everything was normal. So we decided to do the same! We were a little nervous about this day because it was a fifteen mile hike with over 3,000 ft of elevation gain, and our legs and feet were feeling the pain from the past two days. The structure of the hike was about 2 miles to Frances, 1 mile to Italiano, a 7 mile out-and-back through the French Valley, and 5 more miles to our campsite at Paine Grande. Fortunately, we learned that we could drop our packs at Italiano (an old, run down campsite with a shelter), so that we wouldn’t have to carry them through the French Valley hike. This helped tremendously. The weather was brutal this day, cold and rainy almost all day, but fortunately the wind wasn’t as bad as it had been overnight. Much of the hike was woodsy and fairly easy, until we got to the French Valley. This portion of the hike has almost all of the elevation gain and the rewarding views. About 1.5 miles gets you to Mirador Frances, and another 2 miles gets you to Camp Británico: the talk of the town on the W trek that boasts 360 views of Torres, Cuernos, Paine Grande, and more. The weather was iffy, but we came here to do the entire W trek, so we went for it. Greeted by hail, sleet, and of course, wind, we struggled through the French Valley. We made it to Mirador Frances and finally to Británico. We were so tired but still thought it was worth it. We stood in the middle of snow-capped mountains on all sides, including a glimpse of Paine Grande, which had been covered in clouds for the entirety of the hike so far. We hiked back down, cold and wet and tired, and enjoyed a nice long break at Italiano. We cooked freeze-dried backpacking meals, made coffee, and even took our shoes off. Sweet freedom. All that was left was an easy 5 mile hike to camp at Paine Grande, which we did with no problem. Paine Grande had an excellent lodge where we enjoyed some Cerveza Austral, Calafate of course, and the best Pringles we’d ever had. Being able to warm up and relax in this lodge was a game changer after a long, hard day outside. It was pretty cold this night, but we still passed out in the tent in a matter of minutes.

We made it to day 4. I remember waking up this day and thinking, for the first time, “Wow, I do not feel like hiking today.” It was a beautiful morning, which helped, but wow, I was tired. The thing about a trek like this is that you kind of have to keep going once you start! So we packed up camp and carried on. This day was about a 7 mile hike to our next campsite at Grey, named for its close proximity to the Grey glacier. Paine Grande camp had a little shop that we visited on the way out where we picked up treats for the hike. Having little treats to look forward to actually helped a lot, and today I picked a Coke Zero and a white chocolate Toblerone. A few miles into the hike, we reached a pass that was so windy I finally got knocked down. Still standing but leaning with both hands pressed against a rock, I felt a moment of having to dig deep. My hands were almost numb, and I struggled to get my gloves out of my backpack; of course, it had the rain cover on due to the morning’s drizzle. For the first time I felt tears swell in my eyes as I tried to get myself and my gear together, and the wind continued to whip around me. This moment was a turning point in the mental toughness game … Nature had literally knocked me down, but I was going to get back up and keep going. We made it about 4 miles into the hike when we found refuge under a tree, blocked from most of the wind. We ate chocolate and drank Coke, the weather calmed down a bit, and it seemed like the rest of the hike to camp might be a bit better. It was! More sheltered with some wooded segments and mostly downhill. Phew. The glacier came into view, along with a beautiful, iceberg-filled lake. We made it to camp and were happy to see another lodge like Paine Grande. This time, we enjoyed pizza AND beer. We deserved it. It was cold this night, so I even took a hot shower in the little bathhouse. What luxury. We slept surprisingly well, bundled up in the cold, wet tent. Falling asleep, I thought about the hike. I was surprised by how I felt earlier. The trek had been undeniably physically challenging, but this was the first time it challenged me mentally. The W trek definitely required some resilience, and this is something I’ll remember most about it.

The next morning, we had signed up to go kayaking around Grey glacier. We were once again tired, cold, and wet, so we almost bailed, but we decided to go. It was of course worth it. It was so cold we wore wet suits 😅 Jay and I shared a two-person sea kayak and followed our guide around icebergs in front of the glacier. The contrast between the bright blue glacial ice and the grey water was really beautiful. In fact, the icebergs were so blue the guide estimated that they’d only fallen off the glacier a few hours prior. After we were done, the guides gave us chocolates and some tasty hot tea. I didn’t bring my phone, but below is one picture from Jay’s GoPro.

After kayaking, we packed up camp and booked it back to Paine Grande. We had to catch a Catamaran from here, and we were told there was one at 3 and one at 6. It was already noon, so we hoped we could make the one at 6. The weather wasn’t so bad today, and the wind was behind us this time, so we made excellent time. We arrived back to Paine Grande around 4, where we were able to enjoy pizza, beer, and watch the Portugal vs. Switzerland World Cup match. What a way to celebrate finishing the W Trek! The whole bar was packed with fans singing the Portugal fight song, as well as one shameless Swiss fan. We were so happy we could hang out until the 6 o’clock Catamaran. To top it off, the sun came out, so we could FINALLY see Paine Grande. It was beautiful. 6 o’clock came too soon of course, and we boarded the catamaran. We enjoyed some gorgeous final views of Torres & Cuernos as we sailed away. We caught our bus back to Puerto Natales, got to our hotel, and slept like we had never slept before. What a week in wild Patagonia.