Torres del Paine W Trek, Patagonia, Chile (Part 1 of 3)
Finally, back in the mountains: Patagonia
The flight from Santiago to Puerto Natales was uneventful, except for the part when the captain piped up, “For those on the left side of the plane, you can look out the windows and see Torres del Paine National Park…” We were sitting on the right.
N. was still taking pictures of his view outside the windows, which we found later, according to GPS, was the massive Grey Glacier from the sky.
It was nice to be out of the cities, nice to see open expanses devoid of buildings, nice to see mountains covered with snow.
While waiting for N. to get our bags, I spotted a sign that would later feel prophetic. As far as I could tell, a PSA by the Chilean government warned tourists to refrain from buying crab from unregulated suppliers such as individuals. It warned against this gray market because of sustainability concerns (illegal catching of female crabs can devastate future catch) and health concerns (improper storage can lead to consumer illness).
Once we settled in our hotel by the waterfront, upon our host’s recommendation, we went to a restaurant that specialized in lamb, which now, upon second thought, was why my ordering a king crab salad was probably not wise. But hey, this was being served in a restaurant — the PSA surely did not apply?
Well, the warning PSA did apply. I was out of commission for the whole next day. N. had no choice but to go explore the town on his own and find himself dinner… all by himself.
***
We were in downtown Puerto Natales to (1) get information about the timing of fall foliage from the tourist information office; (2) find a rental car; (3) see options for hotels after our trek; (4) have lunch. The town itself seemed gritty, just a pit stop for hikers headed to the most famous national park in Chilean Patagonia.
The first tourist office by the waterfront was closed for lunch for two hours. So we headed inland to find lunch ourselves. I did not mind the plant-based restaurant; N. strongly objected. Luckily, there was a sister restaurant next door that specialized in mariscos, so he had seafood pasta while I nursed a pumpkin soup to soothe my still tender stomach. (This restaurant had king crab on the menu, but I forbid him from ordering it — I couldn’t stand even seeing a picture of the stuff).
We stopped by the grocery store to pick up food for breakfast and lunch for the first day of our hike; we stopped by several cerrado rental car places; we stopped by a different tourist information center by the plaza where the information was not helpful and unenthusiastically delivered. We also visited three hotels to check out rooms for after the trek.
***
Torres del Paine W Trek Day 1:
Bus from Puerto Natales to Pudeto
Boat from Pudeto to Paine Grande
Walk to Grey Refugio (11 km, up 398m down 367m)
The novelty of going to the rodoviario and taking a bus was partly responsible for our waking up on time. We packed our trekking bags, stuffed everything else in the bigger luggage to be left at the hotel, and picked up what later turned out to be a very nice bag lunch.
At the bus station, everyone was pretty much headed to the same place — easy to see because almost everyone was dressed in clothing from Patagonia, Arc’teryx or North Face, carrying heavy backpacks and wearing serious-looking boots.
We drove through Puerto Natales while it was still dark — a blessing really — and outside it, the bus picked up speed and lulled me to sleep.
Soon enough, we arrived at the entrance to Torres Del Paine National Park, where they checked our entrance tickets.
We returned to the bus and made our way to Pudeto to catch the catamaran (we chose to hike west to east in order to be able to see the famous towers at sunrise). When asked about which side of the boat was best for pictures, one crewman said it was upstairs. He was right, but as soon as the boat took off — with way too many people, it seemed — we discovered that the downside to being outside on a moving boat was the resulting frigid winds.
Still, it was a good overview of a few highlights of the park — we saw the Cuernos rising from the obstructing hill in front, Paine Grande jagged and rocky.
By the time we arrived at the Paine Grande refugio, the cold winds had frozen not only my face but also my enthusiasm for today’s trek — I felt sleepy, tired, listless. In the moment, it didn’t help that N. kept commenting on it and trying to fix things. “You OK? You’re slow today. No wonder; you haven’t eaten much for the last three days. Do you want to put some things in my bag? You should use the poles…” Arg.
It was hard to be impressed with mountains after visiting Nepal. The trail here began like any other ordinary trail and that’s exactly what annoyed me (along with all factors above): undulating hills, nondescript scenery, no animals. I felt weaker with every step. Once elevation increased, I felt even more sleepy, tired and listless, so much so that when we finally reached the first mirador of Lago Grey and I clapped eyes on the glacier, I looked at it as if I had seen it a thousands times before.
The only reason I didn’t get worse on the trail was because we ate a bit of lunch at the mirador. As far as the trail, it got worse — both steep descending and ascending sections were rocky, muddy, with some parts with both rocks and running water. And this trail also reminded me why I do not like out-and-back hikes: we will have to come down this way tomorrow and now I know exactly what the experience will be like.
We reached Refugio Grey just as I was about to blow my top. I could not have been less curious about the facilities — right after we checked in, I took my jackets off and, without washing, fully clothed, slipped into bed. (Our dorm room turned out to have 2 bunk beds with spotlessly white sheets.) I woke up later in the afternoon, disoriented because for some reason I thought I heard N.’s voice talking about Cusco.
Dinner was buffet style — beef stew, chicken in nameless sauce, rice, beans; a couple of soups, some greens as a sorry excuse for a salad. We were seated, I’m sure completely coincidentally, in the American table with a young couple from New York and an older couple from California. Dinner brought both positive and negative memories of a college cafeteria.
Signs all over the refugio claimed the tap water was potable, but it was cloudy grey — hey, like the glacier — so it looked just wrong to drink it. I used my filter.
We got ready for bed right after dinner — when we still had the room to ourselves. It was a bit weird to be sharing a room with strangers, especially post Covid. Our roommates were two Spanish-speaking guys who were trying to be considerate and tried to avoid making too much noise while we were in bed — they whisper-talked whatever they had to whisper-talk about.
***