"W" hike in Torres del Paine, Patagonia (Chile)

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We hiked the "W" path in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.

DAY 1: Getting There
  • 5 hour bus ride with a few transfers
  • Lots of guanaco (like llamas) roaming around (photo)
  • Handful of armadillos scampering away from us
  • Lots of beautiful vistas (photo)
DAY 1: EcoCamp
  • Stayed at a "eco" friendly camp with special composting outhouses & tents that are well insulated (photo)
  • Went on an 8 mile hike & saw a puma (photo)
  • Eduardo, the guide, said that he chose to work at EcoCamp because of the great chef. The food was the best we'd had so far on the trip.
  • Since it's the off season, there were only 4 people in our group (the guide, another guest, Li and me).
 DAY 2: Hike to the French Valley
  • Lots of red berry & yellow flower plants (photo)
  • Pumas attack many guanacos. This one didn't make it. (photo)
  • Beautiful, clear day, which isn't typical of Patagonia. It's usually rainy, windy, and really cold. (photo)
  • The reflection of the mountains and sky in the water was unreal. (photo)
  • It was a strenuous 12.5 mile hike. Our pace was really fast because we didn't want to lose daylight.
  • That night, we stayed at a refugio (hostel).
DAY 3: Hike to Grey Glacier
  • We hiked an easy-ish 10 miles to a glacier. (Us looking at a map)
  • Then, we hopped on a boat for a tour of the glacier before returning to EcoCamp (via a bus) (photo)
  • Finished reading Girl with a Dragon Tattoo (thriller recommended by 3 people) (photo)
 DAY 4: Hike to the Towers
  • Another tough 12 mile hike. The 2 major uphills at the beginning & at the mid-way point made my heart pound. (funny propaganda photo of Li)
  • Beautiful forest and mountain scenery. We hiked along a river with wind swept trees. Lots of bridges.
  • It started to snow when we approached the Towers. So, we had a quick 20 minute lunch before heading down. (photo)
  • On the way down, it started to rain and got really, really windy. After 3 days of unusually, blue, perfect weather, we experienced the real Patagonia.
  • We hiked back quickly so we could join the guides/staff in watching the Chile vs Columbia play-off games for the World Cup. There was a hidden TV in one of the "Eco" domes. They were pretty passionate about their football.
DAY 5: Travel back to El Calafate
  • We read the whole day (inside and outside of the EcoCamp)
  • The bus ride back was pretty uneventful. I was day-dreaming of washing my grimy, multi-day worn clothes.

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