Looking back: Torres del Paine

"Not a happy camper." Touche.

Valle Frances

Refugio Grey

Glacier Grey

Turquoise waters of Lago Pehoe

Well, 3 months later, here I am again! My month of traveling turned out to be nothing short of incredible. Needless to say, I could write a book on all of our adventures and stories; But, for now, I'll stick with the hike in Torres del Paine- which turned out to be one of the most physically and mentally challenging experiences of my life. In return, we were rewarded with some of the most spectacular views and scenery I'll ever see. To avoid information overload for my loyal readers (and really, who wants to write a book in one sitting? Not me), I will be giving more travel recaps, stories, and life updates in my next entry... which will be soon!

We arrived in Puerto Natales very late, and spent the next day preparing for our 6-day trek through Torres del Paine National Park. We rented a tent, sleeping bags, mats, an extra pack, a cooking kit, gas, hiking poles, and other small things. A bus picked us up at 7:30 the next morning, and we were on our way to the wild wilderness. Nearing the park, as I jammed to my iPod, I stared at the intimidating peaks of the Torres and felt a little bit like Jon Krakauer described in his book "Into Thin Air", when he first set eyes on Mt. Everest: High and mighty, but with a distinct feeling of dread. Okay, so maybe I wasn't having to worry about oxygen depletion, altitude sickness and deadly elements... but still. They were huge, and glared at me as if to say, "Damn right you should be scared." The bus dropped us off at our starting point, and we were off! Without further ado, here's the journal I kept throughout the hike:

Day 1 (1/22/10)- Woke up at 6:45am, 7:30 bus, 3 1/2 hour ride on gravel road to the park. Began hiking @ 12pm. Walked through flat grasslands for 7.5 km. Lunch @ a campsite. Hiked another 10 km, most of it around a beautiful turquoise lake (Lago Pehoe). Fairly easy, but with some steep climbs. Arrived at Refugio Torres Grande at 5:30pm. Set up camp and took showers. Shitty showers! Ate chicken noodle soup and drank tea. Played mau-mau inside. Heated water for bottles, put in our sleeping bags. Guy in tent next to us is snoring obnoxiously. 11pm right now. Hiked 17.5 km today.

Day 2 (1/23/10)- Didn't sleep great last night. Wind is very strong here so it kept flapping our tent around. Woke up around 9:30, ate oatmeal & had coffee, packed up and left around 11:30. Harder trek today, though shorter in distance. Weather wasn't great- rainy at the end. I ate a bunch of dried apricots and raisins, and had horrible diarrhea afterwards. It's better now. Weird because I never get it- my stomach's made of steel. Diarrhea in the woods is no bueno. The Grey Glacier is really cool. Bright blue. Lots more people on the trail today. Got to Refugio Grey around 5:30. Had to pay this time to camp (got out of it last night). Set up camp, then I waited for a shower for over an hour. Only 2 and there were tons of people waiting. Then the cold water stopped working for 20 minutes and the people showering only had scalding water, so they had to fix it. Talked to some Chileno dudes for a bit while I waited. One of them wants to get a job at an architecture firm in the States so he wanted to practice his English. Now going to fix food and chill. Hiked 11 km today. 28.5 km total so far.

Day 3 (1/22/10)- It rained all night last night, but the day was beautiful. Sunny and warm. Walked back to Refugio Torres Grande and it was much easier (more downhill). Very windy at one point and Christian's pack cover and rain jacket flew off and away forever. I also lost my sunglasses to the wind. Had lunch at the refugio, then walked to Campamento Italiano (3.5 hrs from R. Grey to R. Torres Grande, 2 hrs from Torres Grande to Italiano). Very easy walk and lovely. Felt pretty good today. Italiano is really cool- buried amongst tall trees and therefore not much wind. Met some Chilean girls and we jammed to Jack Johnson for a while- they were obsessed with him. I bought some cool earrings from one of them (1,000 Chilean pesos, or $2). Saw the American guys from Montana that stayed in our hostel in P. Natales. They're going to climb the Torres for the next 3 weeks! Set up camp, had dinner, and chatted with Chris all night. 18.6 km today. 47.1 km total so far.

Day 4 (1/23/10)- Woke up around 8:30, packed some snacks, and walked up to Valle Frances. Very, very tough hike! Rocky and steep. Weather wasn't great- cloudy, cold and rainy. But the views were incredible! Surrounded by mountains, and the Glacier Frances was awesome. Walked up to the mirador, had some snacks, then headed back down. Easier. Got back to Italiano, had lunch, packed up, and headed to Refugio Los Cuernos. It started raining 30 mins into the hike, and didn't stop the entire time. We were soaked. Arrived to Los Cuernos, set up camp, stripped down immediately, and tried to warm up. Rain didn't stop. Went into the refugio to order something to eat but they were all reserved. Damnit! Hung up our wet clothes and shoes inside, and bought some much-needed boxed wine. Got drunk quickly because we hadn't eaten yet. Saw a German dude that we've run across several times and chatted with him. Cooked our soup inside and ate. Lots of wet, cold hikers came through. Went to bed around 11:30- rained all night. 20.5 km today. 67.6 km total so far.

Day 5 (1/24/10)- Woke up around 9, went inside, showered and had coffee. Still rainy and wet. One guy told us the weather would be this way for the next 2 days. Shit. Hiking in the rain flat-out sucks, especially when you're camping too. Ate oatmeal in our tent and packed up. Contemplated staying one more night, but no - couldn't do it. Waterproofed as much stuff as possible. Headed out around 12- a little rainy still but not bad. Sky didn't look good and we expected another rainy, crappy day. Turned out to be great! Tough hike. Passed Christian's old high school teacher that he also ran into in Ushuaia. Small world. The last 2 hours of the hike were straight up. Incredibly hard. Then the last hour was insanely windy- right before getting to Refugio Chileno. Turns out that area's called "Paso de los vientos" (pass of the winds), and it's true. Knock-down winds and raindrops that felt like pebbles on your face. Arrived to R. Chileno around 5- took a break for 30 mins, then headed out again for the last bit to Campamento Las Torres. Only an hour, but pretty tough. All uphill. Arrived to camp around 6:30, set up, had tea, dinner, and wine. Waking up at 4:15am tomorrow to watch the sunrise over the torres- hope the weather's good! Tomorrow's the last day. 16 km today. 87.6 km total so far.

Day 6 (1/25/10)- Damn. It rained almost all night last night. Started around 2am and woke me up, because the raindrops were so heavy on our tent. I stayed awake, hoping it would stop so we could wake up for the sunrise. But it didn't. We decided not to go at 4:15, and wait an hour. Still kept raining. We finally woke up at 8:30, realizing we just couldn't go up there. I was really bummed, as this was supposed to be the "grand finale", if you will. But, what can you do. Our tent started getting really wet inside, and our sleeping bags and pads were getting wet too. We packed everything up, skipping breakfast, and headed out. Pretty crappy walk back, but it only took us 2 1/2 hrs (supposed to take 3 1/2). We really booked it back. Got to the Hosteria- which was a luxurious mountainside hotel- and immediately changed into dry clothes and washed up a bit. We had a celebratory Austral beer and ordered some delectable greasy, cheesy french fries. It felt so good to just sit on a soft couch! Shuttle picked us up, and we headed back to P. Natales. Slept the entire way back. Returned all rental equipment, showered, did laundry, and ate the most delicious hot sandwich ever- with meat, cheese, and avocado. Watched a movie at Erratic Rock, and hit the sack around midnight. What a trip. 5 km today.

92.6 km total.

El fin del mundo!

I´m currently in Ushuaia, Argentina - the first stop of my month-long trip through Patagonia. It´s the southernmost city in the world, and only 745 miles from Antarctica. See it at the very bottom of the map above? Yep, that´s where I am. I´ve been here for 4 days, and am having an absolute blast. The trip here was a bit of a struggle. Well, not so much for me... but for poor Christian (my travel buddy). He had his camera and 3,000 pesos stolen out of his bag on the plane! In total, about $1,000 (US) worth of stuff. No bueno, to say the least. Thank goodness he´s so resilient, though, because he refused to let this ruin the trip. We also tried to book buses on the first day for Puerto Natales, Chile - our next stop- and were informed that we´d have to stay an extra few days before we could get on the next available bus. This, however, turned out to be a blessing, because we´ve thoroughly enjoyed the extra days and have met some of the most interesting people. To give a quick summary of our adventures so far:

Day 1- Hiked up the Martial Glaciar, which afforded spectacular panoramic views of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. Ate at a delicious Chilean seafood joint, where I devoured an assortment of shellfish.

Day 2- Took a boat around the Beagle Channel, seeing sea lions, cormorants (look a bit like penguins), and many birds. Also stopped on an island, where we had a 360 degree view of the channel and mountains. Cooked a yummy pasta meal at the hostel.

Day 3- Took a van to el Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego with some friends from the hostel, and hiked the ¨Sendera Costera", a 6 mile coastal trail around a mountain. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the water and ate at a "tenedor libre", AKA all-you-can-eat joint. Mmmm.

Day 4 (today)- Crappy weather in the morning, so drooled over the photos of a British friend we met who just returned from Antarctica. 2 of our other new friends promptly ran to the local tourist office and booked tickets for the same cruise. Sun came out, so walked along the water in Ushuaia, climbing up a big hill and picnicking for a bit. Did some laundry at the hostel and ate the leftover pasta from the other night.


You just can´t believe how cool this little town is. It reminds me of an old hippie ski town in Colorado, only with Spanish-speakers and way more diversity. I knew it would be touristy before coming, but we´ve met some of the coolest, most interesting people. There´s a 25 year-old American dude named Alex, who bought a round-the-world plane ticket a year ago, and has been traveling ever since. He´s one of the guys who bought an Antarctica ticket today on the fly. The other guy was a 31 year-old Dutchman, Viktor, who´s also been traveling extensively for many months. Ushuaia, being the southernmost city in the world, is the main hub for cruiseships going to and from Antarctica, and so I´ve therefore met many people going to or having just returned from there. The guy whose photos we drooled over today said the trip was simply wonderful, and well worth the $4,000 pricetag. Yes, $4,000. This is the absolute cheapest cruise you can go on, which is an 11 day, 10 night trip - 3 of which are spent sailing to and from the continent. It seems most people buy their tickets down here at the last minute, as it´s the cheapest way. After looking at Paul´s photos, we were all speechless. Massive icebergs and glaciers, humpback whales, killer whales, seals, penguins of all types, birds of all shapes and sizes, beautiful water, and breathtaking sunsets and scenery overall. It really seemed like a National Geographic slideshow. And so, upon reaching the last awe-inspiring photo, Alex and Viktor bounced up and marched to the tourist office across the street, planning on "only looking at the dates and options". 10 minutes later, they ran back in and announced "We´re fucking going to Antarctica!" That´s right, they booked their tickets right then and there for the "Antarctic Dream", a cruiseship leaving in exactly 8 days. The same trip that British Paul took. I have to say that if I had the means to do so (translation: $4,000 to drop for a 10-day trip), I´d have done the same. That being said, I am ecstatic to move on to our next leg of the trip: Torres del Paine National Park. It´s supposed to be the best trekking destination in South America, and one of the best in the world. We´ll be doing a 5-day trekking/camping trip through the park, along a route called ¨The W¨. We catch a bus at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, which will take us to Puerto Natales, Chile (which you can also see on the map above). Here, we will attend an information session and stock up on all necessary groceries and equipment. The next day we´ll head to the park, and begin the adventure. I´m very, very excited... but a bit nervous, too. I´m not exactly a professional hiker, and understand that this is a pretty extreme trip. But, I´m ready and up for the challenge! It should be an incredibly rewarding experience.

Oh, and one thing I absolutely love about Ushuaia (and Patagonia in general): The sun rises at 6am, and sets at 11pm! No joke. It´s pretty strange looking outside at 10pm and seeing a completely bright sky, but I love it.

Okay- last night here, so we´re heading out for a bit with some of our new friends. Will try to keep the posts coming as often as possible along the way. Oh, and GO CATS! I hear my alma mater is currently ranked #1 in the country in basketball. Keep it up, boys!

Chile, here I come...