Puerto Natales through Torres del Paine

Road walking

We left Puerto Natales the day after Christmas, walking to Torres del Paine instead of joining the droves on the many buses that run daily from town. There was a nice bike path until we turned off the main road and onto a lesser-used side road. The first night, we camped in a field along the road; the second night, we had our first glimpse of the Sendero de Chile, a trail that allegedly exists down here. 

Almost there, and excited!

We followed the SdC for about 30 meters along the road before it turned into a muddy mess and we hopped back on the road and made ourselves a camp near the park entrance. Angelo, the guy we joined for Christmas, had dropped off our resupply at the park office, so we chatted with the park office girls while we repackaged our food bags before paying the entrance fee and walking into Torres Del Paine.  After watching the mountains grow  since Puerto Natales, I was excited to finally get to walk along them. The park was definitely overrun by tourists, with at least a third speaking English, or so it seemed.

Coming into the park along the Q route

We walked along the ‘tail’ of the Q route and then joined the masses hiking the W route along the base of the mountains. Despite the multitudes, I was able to avoid feeling overwhelmed by people and still enjoyed the beauty of the National Park I was in. 

Walking with new friends

Our first night in the park, we were approached by a couple, Rese and Jan, asking about our tent. They were trying to have lighter packs, and we talked about what kind of things they had done and offered them suggestions on what else they could do to lighten their loads. We then ran into them the next morning and proceeded to hike together the rest of the day, becoming fast friends as we swapped stories and thoughts. We parted ways in the evening with plans to meet the next morning at the base of THE torres, the spires of rock for which the park is known. At our campsite that night, everyone seemed amped up to see the torres for sunrise, though we were having none of that- get up ass-early? No thanks!

THE torres, in the morning

The next morning, Fidgit and I hiked up to the base of the torres, arriving mid-morning just in time for the clouds to part and clear for a spectacular view of the peaks. We were sitting there, admiring the view, when one of the sunrise cohorts from the night before popped up from behind a boulder, and after we called to him, he wandered over to join us. We asked how the sunrise was, “crap” was his response, which reaffirmed our choice to not get up. Soon after, Rese and Jan showed up, and we had ourselves a little new years day party on a boulder with some new friends. It’s always interesting to me how kindred souls find one another, even across the world.

New friends 'us-y', as Fidgit says. Laughter abounds