Unfortunately, it was Christmas Eve and everything was just closing as I developing plans for my next big adventure. Daniel had also told me about a meeting that takes place, free of charge, at Erratic Rock. This is the name of the hostel were I stayed before taking off to do my hike. Apparently it's where all the cool kids hang out and I was finally a member of the gang but even if you're not, you can still come in and hang out and listen to how to prepare for the W or the definitely-not-for-beginners 10 day circuit, which I didn't opt for. They not only told you the best way to hike the trek but they also went through what you needed to bring with.
I was hoping to meet another "single" at the meeting so I wouldn't be hiking alone and there were two guys. Both were from England and nice enough for sure but when they started talking about doing the thing in 4 days, then maybe in 3, I politely said "peace". I'm not in bad shape but I'm not a professional hiker either. And I was going to see things and take pictures, not break a world record, which I think is around 18 hours for the whole thing by the way.
Later that day, a few of us decided to go out for a nice Christmas dinner then on to a club, which is where I met my first Irishman, Ross. I will have to say that for a brief 12 hours we almost were on our way to Antarctica. He had met some American guys on the Navimag who were trying to get there. When he asked me if I'd want to go I don't even think I hesitated when I said "Yes!" He then wanted to make sure I was serious, which I was, so it was planned, the next day we would either go to Antarctica or pack our things to head on a 5 day trek. Obviously by the title of this blog, Antarctica wasn't in the cards for us.
After going to three different stores, we finally had rented everything we needed, including trekking poles, which if you haven't ever used them aren't just for losers. They really do come in handy, especially when the wind is gusting up to 90 km an hour and you have a 15 kilo pack on your back. We had also decided on our menu for the trip and had plenty of snacks. One of the coolest things about hiking in Torres del Paine is that you can drink the water out of the lakes and streams. It's amazing that on the same continent where in one country they warn you about eating fresh fruits because they were probably rinsed with water that hasn't been boiled, that you can also go and drink lake water. Something I try not to do even at home. But it's true and I did it along with probably 98% of the people who hike there. And it is delicious water. I know that sounds odd but it's the truth. It's amazing!
So, what did I experience? The same thing that Daniel had been telling me the first day we met. When we started hiking, it was raining and absolutely frigid and windy. It was absolutely miserable. It had been sunny just before we took the boat to the trailhead when we walked to the milky-teal colored waterfall. Which if we hadn't missed our boat we would have missed out on...some things really do work out for the best.
We started trekking at Pehoe which was 15 km away from where we wanted to stay the night, Los Guardas. Our plan was to sleep right next to Glacier Grey that night. And I can tell you, I found it really hard to put back on my boots after stopping at Refugio Grey for some hot tea. It was still miserable out and although I was seeing some beautiful scenery, it wasn't anywhere close to really fun and incredible, although it did have some moments with spectacular scenery.
We did make it to our destination though and once we got the tent set up and had gotten changed out of our wet clothes we were ready for our first meal, spaghetti. That was until we figured out that the gas cans we had wouldn't fit the burner. After searching the campsite for a burner that would fit, which only was the temporary home to about a dozen other trekkers, some very nice girls from Israel loaned us their gas and burner. Talk about relieved. I think we both needed that meal more than we realized. It had been a long, wet, and cold day and the night was about to get colder.
If you've ever been getting ready for your second day of lake bumming and realized that you had to put on a wet swimsuit, then you know exactly how I felt when I had to put my 'day clothes' back on the next morning. They weren't really that wet but they were definitely cold. So cold that when I touched them I almost decided it was better to stay at Los Guardas another night. That way I could just stay in my nice dry, semi-warm clothes I already had on. But that wasn't possible and I knew that come nightfall I'd be glad that I kept my 'dry clothes' in the plastic bag in my pack.
We had another long day of hiking which just so happened to include hiking back the way we'd come plus another 7.6 km for a grand total of almost 23 km for Day 2. Fortunately the weather was better as there wasn't much rain. It was still cold though and most of the time I was hiking with full on gear just to stay warm. That night we camped at Italiano. Because we left late we arrived about 10:30 that night...about dusk. It's pretty wild when you think about getting over 18 hours of daylight. While it makes it hard to go to sleep at 10 o'clock, it also beats hiking in the dark down a trail you've never been on.
The next morning after a bowl of oatmeal with enough brown sugar to keep you buzzed for the rest of the morning we set off for Valle del Frances, without our packs. It was so nice to not be lugging around that extra weight and it made for much easier hiking. We hiked the 5 km up to the clearing, stood in amazement for a bit, then took some pictures, did our daily weather report (I have the video and will someday post it), and then took off back down the trail to pack up our tent and head out for Los Cuernos which was another almost 6 km and along the way to the final and toughest part of the W.
We got there much earlier than usual, which had a lot to do with our starting time. But still had a hard time finding a place to set up the tent. We finally did and since it was raining cooked our pasta dinner while sitting inside the tent. We were going to have a long day ahead of us, so long that one of the sections doesn't list how many kilometers (I'm looking at the map while typing so as to be as accurate in my storytelling as possible). Lets just say it was somewhere close to 20 km as we were going up to Campamento Torres and then on up to the Towers that night. We got up that morning, the earliest of the 3 days, and headed out with bellies full of the sweetest oatmeal on the planet, sore knees and feet, and fortunately, good spirits.
Several times we'd seen our friend Geronimo along with Owen, Jenny, Rustyn and his two boys, Noah and Finn. Before we got to Los Torres we headed with them up the short-short cut, the one that's not on the map. When we reached the top of the mountain, although our trail wasn't a walk in the park, I was sooooo thankful that I didn't have to walk up where those other poor people where walking. It would have been incredibly miserable, even on that beautiful, sunny day. From that point, we still had several hours more of walking, up and down until reaching Torres. Once there, it didn't take too long and we both had enough energy to head up to see the Towers that night after we set up the tent.
The entire trail, up to this point had been marked really well. But this part wasn't, and I could understand why. At first, it was like a field of small boulders, then the field turned into a mountain, which you had to climb. There were times when there were posts painted bright orange, in other spots they had put reflective tape on rocks. (Keep in mind that a lot of people hike the 45 minutes to the Towers at 3:30 in the morning, in the dark, so they can watch the sun come up and see them turn bright red.) Things were going really well, I was enjoying bouldering a lot more than hiking up and down the normal trails but then something didn't seem right.
Now, I'm a smart girl, and this smart girl started thinking, "Do they really expect tourist to hike up rocks that move?" It seems like every boulder I stepped on would either move while my foot was on it or shortly after I had progressed on to the next. Then I started thinking, "I bet this is how avalanches start." Like I said, I'm a smart cookie.
I started looking around and it looked like I was almost to the top but I couldn't really tell because the mountain was at such an incline. I also couldn't see much below me because there were some really large boulders at this point. I also couldn't see anyone else near me, that's when I thought, I gotta get outta here. I had ditched my poles a ways back because I needed both hands in order to be able to climb. I stopped, looked around and decided to head to the right as I could see a good portion of the Towers from where I was.
Once I got over far enough I knew I had gone way, way, way too far. I was almost at the top of the mountain across from the Towers and the mirador was about half-way up. Once I got to a point where everyone else could see me, they started yelling, "What are you doing up there?" All I could say was "Don't ask...you don't wanna know." It seems that Ross was at least worried about me as he had gone looking for me after I never showed up. He really is a good guy. Of course, he had quite a few things to say in a very strong Irish accent when he made it back and found me safe. We stayed for awhile but it was really windy and very cold, so cold that the rain had turned to snow. So, we headed back down and went to crack open the two beers we had bought to celebrate.(By the way, I did go back to the rock where I stashed my poles just in case you were wondering.)
The next morning we got up early again, as we had to catch the 2 o'clock bus back to Puerto Natales. After all, it was New Years Eve and although exhausted and sore, both of us had great visions of staying up to ring in the new year. And we did. After making the 4 hour hike in less than 2 hours, we were changed into our flip flops and Birkenstocks, and ready for a drink and a sandwich at the bar at Las Torres. Taking those hiking boots has never felt better and I don't think my feet had ever looked worse.
At the time, I was quite sure I was going to lose at least two toenails. I had some major blisters, one underneath a toenail??? I really didn't know that was possible. My ankles were also swollen beyond imagination. I think in my email back home to let them know I made it, I described my ankles as looking like I was about 8 months pregnant. My ankles didn't hurt though...my achilles, both of them on the other hand, really hurt. It took weeks for the swelling to go down but they finally look like my ankles and feet again, with the exception of 2.5 black toenails. But what do you expect after 82 km in 5 days?
But was it great? Oh yes. It was incredible. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.
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