Before, During, and After Five Days in Heaven
BeforeOn the Navimag ship I met a tall dude from Denmark (Jens),a cute Norweigen (Brigt), and a smart American (Ken) and the three of them let me tag along with them on the W-shaped trail in Torres del Paine National Park.
Day 1 (Dec. 31)
Upon arrival the weather is beautiful so we take advantage of the time and set up camp with a beautiful view of the namesake rock towers of the park. At around 11 we hit the trail that should take about 4 hours to the base of the towers. About an hour into the uphill hike, the rain starts to come down. We make it after several breaks past the midway point and eat lunch. Jens decides to go back. The three of us push on.
At the very rocky, steep end of four-plus hours we reach the base of the rock towers which we can´t even see because it is too cloudy and rainy. But it didn´t matter because it was still breathtakingly beautiful. The whole hike was.
On the way down, I slip and nearly break my leg. I shed a few drops of blood but all of my limbs are intact so I´m ok.
By the time we reached camp at 8 pm, it had stopped raining but we were soaked to the bone. Jens was sleeping in the tent- nice and dry. Brigt started a great fire, we cooked some dinner and celebrated with a few swigs of pisco the turn of the new year with the Italians that were camping next to us.
Day 2- Happy New Years!
We pack up camp and head out on first curve of the bottom of the W towards Italian Camp. The weather is nice and the terrain varied with surprises around every corner-green lakes, pebble beaches, snow capped mountains, side views of the towers, several rivers, a bit of mud, and of course the best company.
Camp set-up isn´t too easy because I´m sharing Ken´s two-man complicated tent. Jens and Brigt get their stuff set up within five minutes and Ken is still struggling to show me how to stake down the tent properly. Once that is done, we concentrate on dinner which is a huge task because Ken´s stove sucks. But it´s quite entertaining because it causes all kinds of expletives to escape from his mouth. We finally crash around sunset, or 11:30 pm.
Day 3- Jan. 2
It´s up the middle of the W. All uphill. Luckily we can leave our packs at camp.
Jens leaves us to go at his own pace and to "think thoughts". During the hike we pass a snow covered mountain with huge icebergs that are crashing into the valley below. Amazing.
We manage to get lost on the trail and end up scaling the mountain and doing some rock climbing. Brigt is hopping along like a gazelle while I hold on for dear life and manage to not fall. Its a long route but we end up in a pristine area by the side of a river runoff. The sand´s texture makes it feel like we are walking on bread. It´s cool.
We finally find the trail and decide to have lunch before continuing on. Since I have already seen magnificent views for the day I decide to take a nap by the river while Brigt and Ken finish up the trail.
On the way back down my knee starts to hurt. Uh oh. I don´t remember falling wrong or twisting it. Hmmm...
Back at camp Jens has already packed up the tent. We have a two hour easy hike to the next camp but I am starting to struggle a bit with my knee.
Day 4
My knee´s pretty tender but not really swollen. We have the last arm of the W to do today and we hit the trail at around 11:30.
The hike takes us through a valley and up towards Grey Glacier. We know its close when we come upon a lake with ice burgs floating in it. I suggest a swim but no one is up for it...
At lunch time we find a brilliant view of the glacier and sit down for yet another day of salami and crackers. Brigt is allergic to wheat (have you ever heard of that before? I hadn´t...) so he just eats the salami. I can´t take it anymore so I eat the only can of tuna that we have. It is the best tuna from a can that I´ve ever had.
We press on and arrive at Camp Grey for our last night of camping. We try to arrange a trip for tomorrow to trek on the glacier but the situation is uncertain because of some problems the company is having with their boat. I´m limping at this point because of my knee but don´t really care- I have a chance to walk on a glacier!!
Before sunset we walk to the lookout point that is pretty close to Grey. It is even more powerful than I expected.
After an hour of bonding, we turn in for the night with good news from the tour company about the ice climbing...
Day 5- Glacier Day!
We´re supposed to be at the office at 8:50. I arrive late (does that surprise you?) at 9-something because I was waiting in line for the camp bathroom. Brigt will later give me a speech about arriving late and wasting other people´s time....
We get on the boat and ride to the far end of the glacier. There are 7 or 8 of us in the group with the guide. From the moment I put on my crampons (the spikes that attach to your shoes to give you a grip on the ice) I can´t wipe the smile off of my face. I´m walking on a huge, million year old ice cube!
We check out the crevices, waterfalls, the Jesus lake (because it looks like you are walking on water when you cross it), and climb a vertical wall. It cool. Literally.
I take advantage of the endless supply of ice and ice down my knee that is swollen and really hurting. I am mentally preparing myself for the return journey to the previous day´s camp in order to catch the catamaran back to the bus. It`s going to hurt. A lot. Luckily my pack isn´t too heavy.
At 2:00 we return to Grey Camp and start our return hike. Today, we need to complete the hike in 3.5 hours that lasted five hours yesterday. I`m not looking forward to it but it is pretty much the only option that we have.
We leave. Twenty minutes into the hike I take off my favorite hat and leash it on to my jacket. Five minutes later I realize that it has fallen off. I`m pissed. Brigt runs back to try and find it but doesn´t see it anywhere. Now I`m really pissed. And upset. I want to cry.
Then I get mad at myself for being so attached to a hat. The adrenaline starts pumping and acts like a drug to numb my knee. We make it back to camp in under three hours.
I`m still pouting about the hat on the bus ride back to the city. Brigt tells me to stop acting like a kid. I am one. But I knock it off anyways because he`s right.
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