I spent seven days in Torres del Paine National Park, being blown head over heels by high winds, and being mind-blown by the incredible scenery. There's way too much to talk about, so here's a quirky little synopsis of what happened:
Day 1: Puerto Natales to Campamento Torres:
=== Two large, brown birds soar by us while we waited for a shuttle to the trailhead.
" Condors!" Kyle says, pointing.
I look. "No way," I say, "They're too small."
"Too small?? They're huge!"
The birds land on the edge of a cliff and stretch out long necks. "Hijo de puta!" I shout, "They are condors!"
=== Gusts of wind on an exposed hillside send our clothing and hair whipping around. It's our first taste of Patagonian Wind, and we're impressed.
Day 2: Campamento Torres to Campamento Italiano:
=== The alarm goes off at 5:15 am so we can hike up to the Torres and watch sunrise paint them red. I turn off the alarm and listen--there's rain falling on the tent. Bugger. I call over to Kyle, who pokes his head out of his tent and looks at the sky. He can't see any stars. So, we abandon the idea and I roll over to go back to sleep. I have a dream that I am Buffy the Vampire Slayer, chastising her mom for giving her such a ridiculous name.
=== We're walking down the trail and a German couple pass us in the other direction, talking excitedly in a language I don't understand. And yet, I know exactly what they're saying: they're complaining about rude people on the trail who shove right by without an "hola" or anything. Kyle and I had been complaining about the same things just moments earlier. Kyle turns to me and says, "We speak different languages, but we all say the same things."
=== Walking by a long glaciar lake we are blown over by enormous gusts of wind. It's our first real taste of the Patagonian Wind, and we are impressed.
Day 3: Frances Valley (basecamp Campamento Italiano):
=== We hike up the valley, leaving camp while everyone else is still asleep. It's the Coloradan in me, I can't help it: get an early start, or die by lightning strike. We reach the lookout and are unimpressed. After all, there's a pass just ahead of us, and the view from there has got to be better, right? So we nearly kill ourselves trying to get to this pass, which looks temptingly close but ends up taking ages to get to. It wasn't very fun, and I'll admit it--we both got injured in the process. Lesson learned, I suppose.
=== On the way back down we start talking about the food we want to eat back in Puerto Natales. A gigantic hamberguesa completa, a vaina and helado are on the top of my list. Kyle craves sausage and empanadas. Note that it's day 3 of a 7-day hike that we have these dreams. Not a good sign.
Day 4: Campamento Italiano to Campamento Los Guardas:
Kyle stops me to point out a log on the forest floor.
"Cool, isn't it?" he gushes.
"Well, yeah, I suppose. It's just a log."
He sends me a withering look. "This coming from the girl who took pictures of a rock yesterday?"
"Tuoche."
=== We see ice bergs in a lake, chunks that have fallen off the impressive Glaciar Grey. They're Kyle's first ice bergs.
"They're blue!" he marvels. "I mean, really damn blue! I mean, holy cow, who went out there with food dye and did that??"
Day 5: Campamento Los Guardas to Campamento Ilegál:
=== "Gee, I say, the trail isn't so bad here. Maybe the pass isn't as steep as everyone makes it out to be?" As soon as I say this, we round a corner and the trail heads directly straight up the mountain. No switchbacks, nothing, just up. "Oh. Well, hell."
=== We are rewarded at the top with clear blue skies and a rainbow over the glaciar, which is far bigger than we could have imagined. Rainbows over glaciars? Come on, seriously!
=== We are nearly blown over on the top of the pass with the strongest winds yet, thus receiving out first real taste of Patagonian Wind. We are impressed.
Day 6: Campamento Ilegál to Campamento Still Ilegál:
=== The back side of the route, where a fraction of the trekkers go, is stunning. The valleys are wide open, the weather is sunny and cool (perfect), and we're not being shoved off the trail at every turn. Feet are starting to hurt at this point, and we don't like to stand downwind of each other. I've almost eaten an entire jar of peanut butter on this trip (which, by the way, cna only be found at Don Bosco in Puerto Natales).
=== We are literally blown off our feet as we pass Lago Paine. That's with full packs on. The wind is so strong that one can't even think straight while it's blowing. It's sustained at 60 mph, and gusts up to about 75 mph. It's our first real taste of Patagonian Wind, and we are terrified.
Day 7: Campamento Still Ilegál to Puerto Natales:
=== We cruise on out of the park on cloud nine, flying with the condors and running with the guanacos. Well, okay, so we were actually dragging our feet and dreaming of showers and real food. Same difference. The views back over the Torres are phenomenal, the perfect fairy-tale ending to our week in the park. Chau!
