Torres del Paine - day 1 - dest 5

So day 0 was the 28th of feb when I took the bus from Puerto Natales at 2:30 and made it to the park entrance by 4:30. Towards the last 45 mins you could see the weather change and my heart began to worry. On the bus I looked out for solo travellers and introduced myself to Anna, a Russian from Moscow. Luckily we were doing the exact same W trek so we got chatting. We went through the park registration and got to our first Refugio Central by 6. I had booked to do the trek myself without a guide throughout fantasticosur and it worked out pretty well for me. Their website can get confusing so I just emailed them and got everything I needed. This Refugio was big. It was very well equipped, clean with amazing food. Not what I was expecting so felt like luxury trekking.

But as the evening turned into night the worse the weather got. We were so worried if it would clear or not and if the rain would stop or no but hey we were here and there was nothing we could do but hope.

first complimentary drink hoping the weather will clear

Sleeping by 10:30 I was up by 6:45 and the rain and wind still seemed pretty strong. But this is Patagonia. You have no idea what the weather will bring and how quickly it will change.

So we had breakfast. Filled our bellies and were geared up with our big backpacks. My first attempt to do a multi day trek and with me carrying all my stuff.

my great trek buddy Anna

The first half of the day was hard. It’s a consistent climb for a good 2 hours and you have to do this with your big bag. Instantly my lower back felt like it was paining, but the excitement of day 1 is so high that the adrenaline just carried me through.

I was so glad I had company through this. Anna was such a positive support and kept me going. We reached an open gully and suddenly we got hit with the wind.

The wind was stronger than what I’d read about and been warned by people.  It was crazy. I’ve never experienced such strong wind. I had to do everything possible to not blow over with the big backpack. There were parts where you were struggling so hard against the wind, it took all your energy to keep walking and sometimes we just had to stop and wait until nature had its way and we could move again.

A few more hills over and we suddenly saw the next Refugio Chileno nicely located by a river. A beautiful setting that showed up sooner than we realised. Relieved that we would now be able to drop off our big bags and carry on with just our day pack, we ended up taking a good 45min break before making the next stretch.

Where the wind nearly knocked us into this valley

traffic on the trekking path of course

the first clear view of the very top of the peaks just by our Refugio Chileno

The next part was just boulder and rocks all the way through. You’re elevating approximately 300m with every climb so it is steep and tough. There’s a bit of grappling and holding trees to pull you up. The whole way we did really get lucky with the weather. It had totally cleared up and the sky was blue. Another break at the base before the last 45mins was needed and we could then see some clouds arriving and so wanted to make it before it was too late.

The last crazy boulder hill we climbed before reaching the peaks!

This stretch was definitely the hardest. You know you’re walking towards a good peak when you’re putting this much effort in towards the end. It was non stop steep accent and we really did have to encourage ourselves to make it. We got a little first glimpse of the towers which was great but we had at least two more turns to go. One step in front of the other and fellow passers by encouraging us helped. Then they emerge and you kind of can constantly see them as you keep getting higher and closer until finally you see the lake too! It was green, the sky was blue and there they were Torres del Paine right in front of me.

I had to remind myself that this wasn’t something I was seeing in a feed or on google as Anna put it but that I was actually standing right in front of the towers myself.

After stalking the hashtag for torresdelpaine for years now and following photographers I love, I finally made it to the very top and it was exactly like I’d seen and hoped for. The blue sky, the green glacier water and the three towers standing tall with the sun even coming out behind the clouds. We got so so lucky especially after the crazy rain and cloud cover we saw the previous night.

There was a dance and hopefully Anna  sends it to me. There were lots of photos, the same ones again and again. The wind was strong and it was suddenly a good 3-4 degrees colder. Also it wasn’t insanely busy, there were people but it didn’t feel like a massive crowd.

We found a spot away from the wind and finally rewarded ourself with lunch, all the while admiring and taking in this stunning view. It got overcast whilst we were there and then we met Silkie at the top too. A German lady we met the night before also doing the W. Super cool lady. This was her mommy holiday while her hubby took care of the kids. We all sat in silence and took in the view. It a divine place. The towers the glacier water calm. I was so grateful I got to see this with my own eyes. If you have the time and are physically able to I highly recommend bringing this up your bucket list. 

Then just like that the clouds starts to blow away and we could see blue skies again and so it was time for some more photos of course :)

A fair few more, yet another rest and we knew we had to leave but really I couldn’t get myself to move. I could have easily sat up there for longer. The first ‘must do’ of my holiday was actually complete, well I still had to complete the trek but this was done and with perfect weather. Thank you Patagonia for giving me your best. 18.1 kms 28,694 steps and 345 floors later I made it on the 1st of March.

Finally Torres del Paine

Finally made it! Surreal

The way down wasn’t too much easier and took us about the same time. We then showered, relaxed, got a bottle of wine and went to the room where there was a fire going. Everyone there had just done the peaks and was in great spirits. Most of them met while doing the O trek and so it was the end for them and they were getting up for sunrise. I sorta thought of that for a split second but then I didn’t want to over do it considering I have a good month of hiking ahead and I was very happy with the view and experience we got so it passed. We met a lovely American couple Shasha and Alistar who were apparently were on our bus yesterday today and so were doing the same as us. 3 course meal later I was in bed by 10 very exhilarated and exhausted at the same time.