Another multi-day tour was planned for the next few days. We had planned a longer tour through the Torres del Paine National Park.
We had already booked the various campsites there before our trip to Argentina so that we could hike through the national park on the O-Trek. The 8-day hike covers approximately 140 km through the area’s beautiful landscapes. This time too there is a small pass to cross and some ascents and descents to overcome.
Day 1 – Thursday 14.12.2023
Today it finally happened. We got up at 6 a.m., quickly dismantled our tents and packed everything up. Since Anna had difficulty getting all the food into her backpack, some larger items had to go in with me.
Because of all the food, the backpacks were quite heavy and in the first few minutes the weight was a bit unusual. With our bags full, we headed to the bus station to take the 7 a.m. bus towards the national park.
Once we found the right bus, we handed over our heavy luggage and then made ourselves comfortable in the bus.
Since it was still relatively early and I hadn’t really slept in, I used the first few minutes of the journey to get a little sleep like many other passengers.
After about 2 hours we reached the park entrance, where we got out to show our ticket to the park rangers.
Unfortunately, this was much more complicated than expected. The ticket that Anna had printed out and I had also saved as a PDF was apparently not the right one.
They couldn’t find any registration for us in their system using our name or email address, which made me a little suspicious.
Since we hadn’t received any tickets by email, I looked again in the online portal for the right ticket, which wasn’t particularly easy given the very poor WiFi at the park entrance and the really poor online portal.
So while I continued trying to find the ticket, Anna checked on our luggage so that the bus wouldn’t move on without us with our things.
After a while I was actually able to find the tickets in the last corner of the online system and so after a few nerve-wracking minutes we were able to enter the park.
From here we took a shuttle bus a few kilometers further into the park. When we got out, we sat down at a table and made ourselves some coffee to recover from the stressful situation at the park entrance.
Since there was still internet at this location, I wanted to save all the tickets and reservation numbers for the next few days to avoid further problems.
I used the booking system’s chat and requested all reservation numbers etc. as a PDF from there. In fact, a few minutes later I was sent a PDF file with all the relevant information and I wondered why they don’t just send this PDF file to everyone by default.
At least we were now equipped for the next few days and could finally start our hike.
We left the center around midday and hiked to our first campsite.
At first we ran through easy terrain. In addition to the many hills, we could see the first snow-covered mountains in the distance.
Since, on the one hand, Anna had been under a lot of stress at work lately and had therefore done less exercise than usual, and on the other hand, she still had to get used to the heavy backpack, we walked around pretty relaxed today by my standards. I had to stop myself again and again so as not to move forward too quickly.
I take advantage of the leisurely pace to look at the landscape and enjoy the many different facets of Patagionia.
We kept seeing beautiful flowers and birds.
After a few kilometers we came to a river, which we had to follow on the way to the camp.
In a small plain we not only saw the mountains in the distance, but also a whole lot of horses that were grazing and running around in the beautiful landscape.
After just a few hours we reached the first campsite. We had booked a premium pitch here for tonight as there were no more pitches for our tents.
So we didn’t have to set up our tent on the first night and were able to stay in a ready-made tent, which was actually a roof tent for the car, but was mounted on the slope instead.
At least check-in went smoothly here. Apparently we were registered in the online system after all and I was even more surprised why that wasn’t the case at the park entrance.
After we put our things in our tent, I went to take a shower. Although we were promised warm showers, I ended up standing under ice-cold water, so it was a quick undertaking.
As I later realized, the gas bottle had apparently been empty.
After the cold but refreshing swim, we sat down in a communal tent and prepared our dinner there. Here we met many other hikers from different regions of the world.
Today we had spinach and cheese ravioli. Once our hunger was satisfied, we soon went into the tent, wrote a quick diary and then went to sleep.
Despite the nerve-wracking start at the park entrance and the rather unspectacular first hike, it was a nice first day on the trail for me.
Day 2 – Friday 15.12.2023
Today we got up at 7:30 a.m., had a relaxed breakfast and then set off for our second hike around half past ten. Today was another relaxing day planned so we were in no rush.
At the start of the tour we leisurely walked along the river to the back of the national park.
The progress was more or less flat until we reached a beautiful lake. After that the path became a little steeper and we were allowed to walk a little uphill for the first time.
From above we had a beautiful view of the surrounding area. Behind us we could see the river, the lake and the mountains beyond. As we slowly walked downhill on the other side of the mountain, we could look at the beautiful river in front of us, winding elegantly through the landscape.
The weather in this region was again very varied. We kept putting on the sweater or even the jacket, only to take it off again a few minutes later.
Once we reached the bottom we walked through the forest for some time.
In between we passed a ranger station. As one of the few Chilean hikers explained to us, you had to register here so that the rangers would know which people were where and whether they had arrived safely at the next camp.
So we also added ourselves to the list and even had to show our reservation number for the next camp to the park ranger, which I found almost a little excessive.
From the ranger station, we continued for another two hours of relaxation through the forest to our next place to sleep.
Shortly before the camp there was another small climb up a hill, behind which the camp was next to a river. On the hill we had a good view of the beautifully situated camp.
After a short descent we reached the camp and set up our tents there.
Afterwards I took another shower, which was actually warm today, which made me even happier.
Later we cooked the dinner we had brought with us. Today we had noodle soup as a starter and then rice with tuna and tomato sauce, which tasted extremely delicious.
While we ate our food, the weather outside kept changing between sunshine and rain. Sometimes within a few minutes.
After eating everyone went to their tent. I still wrote a diary and read a book a bit. Before going to bed I took a short detour to the lake.
Overall, it was a rather relaxed tour for me today, which was probably good for my body after the stressful day yesterday.
Day 3 – Saturday 16.12.2023
I slept very well that night. At 7:30 a.m. my alarm went off and I quickly packed everything up. By the time Anna had sorted and packed her things in the tent, my tent had already been taken down and stowed in my backpack. Here I noticed again that I had been on the road for a long time and was able to set up and take down the tent really quickly.
So while she was putting her tent together, I looked at the mountains in the area, which were partly covered in clouds despite the sunny weather.
After a short breakfast we finally started. When the weather was good, we first went into the forest and slowly walked up the mountain between the trees. For a long time only the trees alternated.
Sometimes the forest seemed quite young and there were mostly smaller trees, but in other places there were also quite large trees that seemed very old.
We walked along a river for a long time, but we couldn’t see it for a long time, we could only hear it. Every now and then we also got a view of the water and often had to cross the river.
Later we got to see the first glacier and the rest of the tour took us closer and closer to it. Shortly before the glacier lake the view got better and better and we soon reached the crater.
On the inside we descended to a viewpoint and looked at the lake with the glacier behind it for a few minutes, which was, as always, a beautiful sight.
After that it wasn’t far to where we sleep today. Only a small hill separated the glacial lake and our current campsite.
Once there, we set up our tents. Before we want to have dinner tonight, Anna built herself a makeshift windbreak for the night.
Today we had rice again for dinner, although there was a curry mixture for a change.
Since it wasn’t particularly late, we made ourselves some coffee and ate a piece of cake. Otherwise, we just rested for the rest of the evening to be fit for the longer tour the next day.
In order to be able to cross the pass safely the next day and complete the 10-hour tour, everyone had to leave the campsite by 7 a.m. at the latest. So we went to bed early.
Day 4 – Sunday 17.12.2023
Since we had a longer tour ahead of us today and had to cross a snowy pass, my alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. We were one of the first groups to set off in order to leave the pass behind us in time before the snow began to melt due to the midday sun and would therefore become significantly more slippery.
We quickly packed up the tents and had a quick coffee. Afterwards we set off shortly before half past seven.
It went straight uphill through the forest and at the beginning the path was characterized by lots of roots and often a lot of mud.
Further up the forest became increasingly smaller and soon we were increasingly traveling in rocky terrain. Running was really fun here because we could already see the pass with some snow fields in front of us.
We walked further and further up through the rock and got a better and better view of the surroundings. We kept taking a quick look behind us, marveling at the beautiful valley. We were able to admire not only the forest and the river, but also the mountains, which were illuminated by the morning sun and therefore looked particularly beautiful.
Even before the sun had risen over the mountains, we reached the first snowfields. Walking on the snow was very easy and we made quick progress, whereas other people found it much more difficult in the snow. Here it was clear that we had both been out and about in such terrain several times before.
When the sun came over the peaks a little later, we attached my solar panel to Anna’s backpack to charge her power bank. At first glance it looked quite unusual and funny, but it served its purpose quite well.
A little later we reached the actual pass. Here too we had to climb through snow fields for some time, but we both really enjoyed it.
After one last look back, we reached the apex and were able to see down to the other side.
The sight was truly fascinating. In front of us was a huge glacier surrounded by many snow-capped mountains. We sit down at a suitable place for a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful view and take in the enormous ice.
Once we had taken enough pictures, we started descending again. We kept marveling at the ice in front of us, which always offered a different sight due to the quickly passing clouds.
After a while we finally left the snowfields behind us and the path led us increasingly through the forest, which meant we could no longer have a permanent view of the glacier.
Further down we passed some viewpoints again, from where we got a nice view of the glacier.
We soon walked past the edge of the glacier and were able to actually admire the entire glacier at a glance from front to back, which was a very impressive sight overall.
Then we continued through the forest to today’s campsite. The path led partly steeply along the mountain down to the glacier lake, where we were also able to cross a few suspension bridges.
After a long descent, which was quite strenuous for the knees and joints, we finally reached the destination of today’s tour after almost 8 hours and were therefore a lot faster than the planned 10 hours.
When we arrived at the campsite, we set up our tents again. Today we had rice with tomato sauce again, and this time we even had an onion and cheese to refine it. So the food tasted really good after a strenuous day.
Since today was Sunday and we had such a nice tour behind us, we each treated ourselves to a Snickers and a Fanta at the kiosk to toast the day. Both tasted really delicious and it almost felt like a feast, which at least gave us a bit of energy for the next few days.
After the delicious dinner it was time to go back to the tent, where I quickly fell asleep after the strenuous day.
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