Teskes Gone South: Patagonia Part II

By Dana

After enjoying beautiful Argentine Patagonia, we headed across the border to explore the Chilean side. We arrived in the lovely town of Puerto Natales, which acts as a base camp for Torres del Paine National Park, our next backpacking destination.

The coast in Puerto Natales

Here we met an extremely nice older woman who was working at the bus terminal. She recommended we head into the park the next morning, due to the wonderful weather forecast for the coming week.

She also happened to own a little hostel which was an amazing price, so we headed over to Hostel Paulette to check it out. It was an older building, but it was extremely clean, had a kitchen to cook in, had a private bedroom (a luxury free of snorers, compared to the multi-bed dorm rooms we've been in lately), and breakfast was included. They even stored our extra bags free of charge the entire time we were in the park! Amazing people!

Hostel Paulette in Puerto Natales

After a quick trip to the store, we were ready to go hiking!

DAY 1: Administracion to Paine Grande

The next morning we took off bright and early for our first day of backpacking. I was extremely excited to finally be back in this beautiful park. After coming to backpack in Torres del Paine over 6 years ago (during my 21st birthday) with my wonderful friend Janet, I was estatic to finally get to show Brent this place.

Our first view of Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

As we were on the edge of winter in Patagonia and were unsure about the coming weather or the conditions of the trail, we planned food for 10 days, hoping the weather would hold until we got over John Gardner Pass. If the pass was still open when we arrived, we would likely be able to do the entire circuit in the park (known as the "O") rather than just the popular and shorter "W" hike.

In town we were told that the pass had been closed for weeks. When we arrived at the park headquarters the ranger there told us that the entire section before the pass was also closed due to land slides. It was not looking great, but we decided to head into the park and try our luck anyways.

Nice and clean at the start of the hike on day 1

Rather than taking a shuttle into the park we went for the quieter and more uncommon route of hiking in.

Our day started off a bit foggy.

As the weather started to clear, we approached the burn area of the park from 2011.

When the fog finally lifted, we were amazed by the view we had been missing!

After about 5 hours we arrived at our campsite at Paine Grande. Here I was met with the first of many shocking surprises (and in this case disappointments) of the trip. I had no idea how much a park like this could change in 6 years.

At Paine Grande, I was plesantly surprised to find the tiny little Quincha was still standing. This is the little shelter Jan and I cooked in 6 years ago.

However, the modest little refugio at Paine Grande had been replaced by this monster

You couldn't even call it a refugio anymore. It was a full fledged hotel.

Complete with water towers, right where there used to be a lovely view of the lake

They also installed all sorts of fancy signs along the trail, which we quickly learned were all flat out WRONG! For example: according to the placement of the maps, on a relatively flat section of the trail in our first 45 minutes that day we covered 4km, the second 45 min. got us 1.5km further, and the last 45 min was 5km. I don't think we have quite that spastic of a hiking pace.

On this sign for example we predicted we were about where Brent is pointing, rather than where the map indicates. It was hard to know at any given time where were really were on any of their posted maps.

Regardless of the changes, we enjoyed a lovely dinner in the Quincha. Ben, here's proof that your cat food stove is still being put to use! We couldn't believe how efficient it was out of the wind!

And we enjoyed watching the big jackrabbits hopping around our tent that evening before going to bed.

DAY 2: Paine Grande to Campamento Paso

The next morning we woke to the first of many frosty mornings we would have on the trail. After some oatmeal and tea we packed up and headed north towards Glacier Grey and John Gardner Pass.

The frosty boardwalk

We hiked along this lovely lake. . .

. . . and through a forest. . .

. . . until we finally caught our first glimpse of Glacier Grey.

The weather that day was absolutely gorgeous and as every park ranger we talked to seemed to have no idea of any landslides in the area and only had good news about the weather, we decided to jump the campsite at Glacier Grey in order to get to the pass asap.

We were hoping this slightly sketchy bridge would be the scarriest thing we encountered today. . .

. . . and then we got to the ladders. . . .

In order to cross a number of deep ravines, park rangers had installed some very sketchy ladders. As one of our Aussie friends described them, "When you are on the ladders they feel solid, but they don't look it!"

Some were rusted and hanging in mid-air

Others didn't seem to be connected

And some were even bent

At least this one had a rope to make us feel extra safe

Despite the ladder excitement, we were able to enjoy some pretty unique views of the glacier through some of the ravines

And we finally made it safe and sound across them all!

That night we picked a quiet little campsite by the river at Campamento Paso and watched the sun set over Glacier Grey.

DAY 3: Campamento Paso, over Paso John Gardner, and to Campamento Dickson

Ever since we decided to try to hike the Circuit, we had been hearing horror stories about John Gardner Pass. We heard stories of waist deep snow in January and Feburary (the middle of summer) and had a friend who had crossed it (oh so wisely in the early morning before the park rangers could close it) and had barely made it due to the driving rain and wind. We figured there was a slim chance we'd make it over in the middle of April!

In the morning we started the steep ascent from Campamento Paso towards Paso John Gardner.

The day started off with some clouds but zero wind.

The fall colors over the glacier were stunning!

The final climb

Brent arrived at the top of Paso John Gardner in a t-shirt and shorts (even I was wearing a t-shirt)! I don't know where the crazy Patagonian weather was that everyone had been talking about, but we sure lucked out.

It was so calm and beautiful at the pass, we stopped and had an early lunch there.

Then we started the descent into the valley on the other side.

We passed a waterfall. . .

. . . a glacier. . .

. . . and some cool green goey algae. . .

. . . before arriving at Campamento Los Perros.

As we had a quick trip over the pass, were still feeling good, and the weather was gorgeous, we decided to push on to the next campsite at Dickson.

That afternoon we passed an amazaing glacial lake

Relaxed at the base of a waterfall

And hiked along an amazing ridgeline that gave us a spectacular view all the way to our campsite.

We enjoyed another beautiful sunset over our campsite at Campamento Dickson that evening.

DAY 4: Campamento Dickson to Seron

The next morning we slept in and enjoyed another cloudy but calm morning at Campamento Dickson.

This was the only site on our entire hike that we had to pay to camp. That's one of the perks of hiking in the off season! Most of the camps we visited were more or less shut down and the park rangers had left. In a few places where they were still stationed, they just didn't really seem to care anymore about charging hikers. We had to pay 4,000 Chilean pesos each to camp here, which is equivalent to around $8 US dollars each. We thought this seemed a bit steep and were relieved we wouldn't be paying this at every site.

Despite not being thrilled about the price, it was a beautiful site. The park ranger that worked here was also extremely personable, nice, and helpful, so out of all the places we could have had to pay, this was definitely a good one to support.

We enjoyed a walk along the lake after breakfast and skipped some rocks.

And then headed on our way once again

We had another day of perfect weather!

And enjoyed another beautiful evening with some other extremely nice backpackers at our campsite Seron.

DAY 5: Campamento Seron to Torres

RAIN! We woke up today to our first rainy morning. It wasn't enough rain to even pretend to complain about. It was a light rain and only lasted half the day. That was the only rain we really hiked in the entire trip.

The beautiful rainy morning

Our one semi-gray day

Even though it wasn't a heavy rain, it was pretty cool out, and we were pretty soaked through and chilly by noon. Around that time we ran into some other hikers who we followed into a refugio that happened to have an unlocked door. It looked pretty closed, but we happened to find a wood burning stove heating the back entrance. :) It was perfect timing to dry out and enjoy a warm lunch indoors.

Brent by the cozy stove during lunch

Just as we were walking out the door, a ranger stopped in. He informed us that this refugio was closed and we should check out the next one over if we needed a place to stay. We thanked him, having already gotten everything we needed out of our little stop, and headed on our way.

At the refugio I was blown away and slightly repulsed by the prices. A bed and sheets for one night, with a bit of food included was over $100 US dollars! It's amazing what people will pay!

A sample of some of the prices

As we kept walking, we arrived back on the busy side of the park (the legendary "W"). I was pleased to see that a few things were the same. For example, this cute little "Grocery Store" kiosk was still standing exactly where it had been 6 years ago.

On the other hand, pretty much everything else was unrecognizable! We were now at the primary entrance of the park, where Jan and I had started our trek many years ago, and I barely knew where I was.

I need to go back and check my old pictures to be sure, but I'm pretty sure this used to be the old camping area. It is now a huge, fancy hotel at the base of the Torres.

I think my jaw was on the floor the entire walk past this. I couldn't believe how much things had changed. We were told later that some of the rooms at this hotel cost $500 US! So much for the remote feeling of being in the backcountry in a national park.

After our brief walk through 'civilization' it was nice to head back up into the hills again.

We arrived at our campsite near the base of the Torres that afternoon. . .

. . . set up camp. . .

. . . and had a tasty dinner with some tea and cookies (in our fancy tupperware mug) for dessert.

DAY 6: Torres!

That morning we woke up after a very chilly night's sleep. We wore just about every piece of clothing we had that night, were in sub-zero sleeping bags, were wrapped up in our emergency blankets, and still never really got warm.

Brent really appreciated me taking this picture in the morning. :)

Thanks Kathy for the wonderful scarves you knitted. They came in VERY handy down here.

After taking a peek outside the tent around 6:30am only to see thick fog, we made the wise decision to skip the sunrise hike up to the Torres. After sleeping in and enjoying a relaxing breakfast, we got the report from other early morning hikers that they had sat up there for hours and could barely even see their hand in front of their face.

Around 11:00 that morning, it cleared up beautifully and we headed up to the Torres.

We had gorgeous weather and were two of about four people up there the entire time. It was extremely peaceful and so much better than sitting with 30 other hikers in the morning fog like so many of them got to do. :)

The Torres are probably the most famous and iconic part of Torres del Paine National Park.

We chilled on this lovely rock in the water and enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch in the sun.

It wasn't quite as warm, but this part of the park was equally as beautiful as it had been many years back when Jan and I sat in almost this exact same spot and enjoyed the incredible vista.

The colors on the hike down were absolutely beautiful.

That afternoon we relaxed at the site for awhile.

I wrote some letters by these lovely trees while Brent went out exploring a bit more. After getting snowed on for awhile, I moved up the hill into the sun to warm up and journal a bit.

While I was writing, this beautiful fox kept stopping by.

It probably walked past me about 8 times that afternoon while I was perched on my little rock. :)

It was another beautiful day in the park and a lovely rest day.

DAY 7: Campamento Torres to Italiano

We survived our second really chilly night and woke up to a beautiful sunrise. We had been told it got to around -10 degrees C. I kept telling myself that it was nothing compared to the winter everyone got back home this year!

The beautiful sunrise

It would have been amazing to have been at the base of the Torres at sunrise, but we needed to be on our way and our early departure meant we had time to do another special hike that evening. At least we got to enjoy the glowing peaks from our site!

We hiked down from the high campsite and back through the valley

Clever.

We passed some pretty horses and snowy peaks.

The extremely long lake we hiked along all day

There was still plenty of ice on the trail by midday. Brent and I enjoyed taking turns stepping on the ice pockets just like we used to do back home when we were kids. :)

We found a spectacular spot to eat our lunch.

Jan, remember this part?!?

Yes, the lake was actually that calm!!!

We finally made it to Campamento Italiano. This is the section Jan and I camped in years ago.

Where I spent my 21st birthday listening to Jaivas music and dancing with Jan, the park ranger, and his soccer ball named Wilson.

After setting up camp, Brent and I headed out for another hike. Due to rumors of some serious weather moving in the next day, we decided to try to hike up Valle Frances that night.

We power walked until we reached the edge of the trees, trying to make sure we made it back before sunset. I still can't get over the amazing fall colors.

We were surrounded by a phenomenal panorama of Glacier Frances on the left. . .

. . . these beautiful peaks in the middle. . .

. . . and Los Cuernos on the right.

It was the perfect end to the day as the sun began to set and some solid weather started rolling in.

DAY 8: Campamento Italiano MOUSE ATTACK to Las Carretas

The rain that came in the night stopped by morning, but our morning was still a bit dreary. We took down our food packs to discover that mice had invaded. We had heard about the legendary mice on the "W" and hung our packs accordingly, but it didn't seem to have made much of a difference here.

The mice chewed through both Brent and my packs in order to get to the goodies inside. As mice do, they ate about 1 bite out of just about all of our remaining food we had and left plenty of dropping gifts for us to clean out.

After salvaging what we could, we had just enough for our last 2 days in the park, whew! And thankfully they didn't get the chocolate bar, so at least I was still happy. :)

The rain had pretty much passed, but we got a good day of solid Patagonian wind! It just about pushed us off the trail numerous times during the day. Thankfully it was usually pushing us uphill rather than over a cliff!

Here's a good example what most of the trees down here grow like due to the constant strong winds. It's impressive we just got one day of it!

The huge Andean Condors were everywhere today soaring in the wind. They came extremely close numerous times.

That afternoon the wind continued, but the sun started to peak out more and more.

We had lunch in the warm and cozy Quincha back at Paine Grande, where we had spent our first night in the park, officially completing the Circuit! Since the mice ate most of our crackers it meant we got to use our emergency dinner for lunch that day, so we had some warm soup for lunch and the granola that the mice didn't eat. It was the best lunch we had all week! Thanks mice!! :)

After a relaxing lunch we took off and headed towards our last campsite.

We headed out of the mountains

And back onto the flats

We cooked our last dinner in the shelter at Las Carretas,

And enjoyed our chocolate for dessert that we had been saving the entire hike! Brent was less than thrilled that I was making him take a picture of the chocolate before he could eat it. :)

DAY 9: Las Carretas to Administracion

The next morning we just had a two-hour hike out of the park before our bus pickup at 1:00pm. We enjoyed a relaxed morning and then went on our way, eager to get back to a warm room and some food that was a bit more than something mice had left behind.

On the way some beautiful horses crossed our path