Towers of Paine

(ed. note: The stories that will follow about the adventures of Chrissie and Ingrid hiking the "W" (see map to the left) in the Torres del Paine nacional parque in South America have been written a week later than their actual occurrence which may lead to the conjuring of memory being more fiction than fact, so consider yourself fairly warned.)

Dia Uno

Sometimes it is best to begin something with no idea of what you are getting yourself into. This can be said sometimes of relationships, jobs, and often adventures. Chrissie and I are not sure whose idea it was to trek in Torres del Paine in South America, but perhaps it is better left as a mystery.

The “W” circuit in Torres del Paine is, it appears, quite popular with the trekking types. Kids from all over the world, and let me affirm here, kids, like to load up their backs with tents, sleeping bags, hot dogs and grits and hit the trail. Thanks to amigo Bob, we learned we could trek like proper ladies and manage with a small daypack while spending our evenings in the refugios along the way and be given a hot meal and a place to sleep. Not exactly camping, but obviously not the Four Seasons, these refugios ranged from small cabins to small hotels with co-ed sleeping dorms and, sometimes, a warm shower, which most often required you to to tip toe in and out with your eyes narrowed so you couldn’t see what the shower really looked like.

A Three Hour Tour

(note: See small people walking up long, steep trail in photo to left)

Dia Uno we arrived at the park around 11:30 am and quickly unloaded a few items at our first refugio, conveniently located at the base of the trail, before we began what we had been warned was a long day, about 6 or more hours of hiking. This first leg of the trip led us to the main attraction: the Torres del Paine. One hour into it our legs were burning and I think both Chrissie and I were seething at each other, wondering how we could blame the other for this crazy idea. We kept silent and kept going up, up, up. We would pause for breaths and also for views, and often agree our month in Buenos Aires of cakes and cocktails may have dampened our fitness. However, oddly enough, neither of us had the wherewithal to maybe suggest that Concussion Chrissie might want to rest a few more days before climbing mountains.

The sun shone, the wind was mild (for now), and we rested at one of the campsites to enjoy our first meal on the trail (the standard queso y pan) and listened to the rush of the river.

The odd thing about South America and it’s “manana” mindset, is that when it comes to hiking times on the trail, it appears Chrissie and I are a little slower than average. When they say 3 hours, we take about 4-5. So when the trail map suggested 3 hours to the top and we were 2 hours in and only a third of the way there, well, we just assumed a translation error.

45 Minutos

We finally arrived to a junction where it said "mirador 45 minutes" which means the Torres (meaning towers) are only 45 minutes away. Sigh of relief.

The scramble up is just that, a scramble, and at this point Chrissie and I are simply just silent. Others are beginning to descend at this point, and they affirm to us, perhaps our weariness painfully apparent on our faces and with our slow pace, "It's not far, and it sure is worth it." I'm not sure what could be worth this, but I know from years of hiking, this little bit of pain is truly often worth the achievement and the view, but for some reason for both of us, we were having a difficult time remembering this important part of trekking--it's about the destination not the journey!

As we headed up the boulder-covered, slope the wind kicked in to a point where it nearly knocked us down, but we persisted.

Summiting the Summit

An hour and 15 minutes later, we hit the summit! And yes, the view at the top and the accomplishment were worth it. The colors of the towers mixed with the milky green water of the glacial lake remarkable and the vista breathtaking. A few bits of chocolate and some photos and we knew we needed to head back before darkness fell (given our timing vs. posted timings we had a good 4-5 hours down the mountain). And down we did go complete with a few gusts of wind that almost took us over the edge. That night we enjoyed a tall vaso de cervesa y mucho pain in our legs, but we slept like babies!

Again, muchas Gracias Herm for your words of encouragement and the ability to enjoy the summit!

Please enjoy viewing Dame Elgar's silent film debut, which will showcase the environs of the summit! More to come about Dia Dos en Torees del Paine manana!