Journal Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile February 24 through March 5, 2013 Gary Nan Terry Dee Sunday 2/24 The bus from Puerto Natales, the nearest town, drops us at the trailhead at 1pm, with a six hour hike ahead of us. The weather is good, sunny with no wind. Good views of the mountains between clouds, and the trail is fairly level. We're in for ten days but only have to carry three days of food. We'll be eating at the refugios along the way. The hike takes us mostly through grasslands along the Gray River, then we enter a burned scrub forest which still smells of carbon and soot. The trail gets rougher as we get closer to our destination, over uplifted shale which is sometimes slippery under foot. More nice views over Lago Pehoe toward Cerro Paine Grande and the Cuernos. The peaks hold many small glaciers. We're camping at Refugio Paine Grande tonight where they feed us a generous cafeteria dinner and we pitch our tents among about a hundred others. Many languages are spoken here and the facilities are quite nice, except the showers don't drain and are nearly un-usable. Monday 2/25 Most of the tent city here is striking camp and heading out. We get breakfast at the refugio. Weather is nice, of high thin clouds, warm, and no wind. We look up to occasional views of the peaks. It's only 2:30 hours to Campamento Italiano, where we drop our packs and day hike up the French Valley. Wow. So beautiful. So impressive. We are surrounded by towering mountains, including Cerro Paine Grande (the highest) on one side and Los Cuernos (the horns) on the other. Nestled between are alpine glaciers, and at the mirador (viewpoint) we sit and watch massive blocks of blue glacial ice break free and crash down the cliff with a noise like thunder. Better than television, and somewhat like watching a meteor shower. Back down to Italiano, which is officially closed, and we ask if we can camp here anyway. No. They're putting in new bathrooms. Instead we have to hike two and a half more hours to the next place, Refugio Cuernos. This is the most expensive place on the route, charging 8,000 pesos ($16) per person to camp. We refuse, and after some haggling they relent. Tuesday 2/26 A long day of over six hours. It would've been longer if we had been allowed to camp at Italiano, but yesterday's extra hike cut a few hours off. Drizzly rain and mist through the morning with wet vegetation and a muddy trail. The toe on my new boots (bought about a month ago) has failed and leaks water. Vistas are generally short until the skies lift somewhat later in the afternoon. Our first views of Refugio Chileno are from a viewpoint high on the banks of the misty valley with the milky white and churning Rio Ascencio tumbling through it. It looks like the approach to Rivendell. Tent space is on wooden platforms perched on the hillside, and the recent rains has made them muddy. Horses supply this remote location and they are tied to a rail beside the tenting area. Fortunately we are given two platforms far enough away that we don't smell them. Wednesday 2/27 There is a mirador 1:30 hours further up the valley from here, and as we finish breakfast, yesterday's clouds are finally blowing away. Up we go. It's a steep climb to a terminal moraine of house-size boulders, with a stupendous view of the granite towers for which this park is famous for. Wow. Back down to Chileno where we take lunch, then do a three hour hike to Refugio Los Torres. Camping is pleasant on grass with shade trees and a few picnic tables. Dinner at the refugio is one of the best we've had in a long time, of pork with raisin sauce, rice with vegs, roll, and salad of tomato, avocado, and hearts of palm for Nan instead of the roll. Thursday 2/28 beautiful sunny day, warm with light breeze and high thin clouds. Scenery of high jagged peaks is lacking this day, so instead we notice wild flowers, golden bumble bees, a pair of hawks dancing on the air, a flicker, and crested cara-caras. We're in very different terrain today, with open forest, then down off the hills onto a broad river floodplain of savanna which reminds us of Africa. I almost expect to see elephant and zebra. The refugio is a run-down building with a surly caretaker, but nice grass for camping. We're off the very popular 'W' trail, so the population of tents is much less. Friday 3/1 The trail follows up the River Paine upstream through savanna when we're near the river, and rocky grasslands with shrubs when we're higher. We're in mosquito country too, worse in the campgrounds. As we proceed, we get nice views to the north and west onto glaciated peaks, the Los Perros Glacier, and Dickson Glacier, which comes out of Argentina. We're surprised by the lack of wildlife here. On the bus, before we got into the park, there were guanacos and rheas. We occasionally see big jackrabbits, and they say there are huemule (deer), more guanaco, rhea, fox, and puma, but in all this rich grassland we walk through, we don't even see signs of them. There are lots of birds, including hawks, condors, ducks, geese, and lots of small birds. The cold, silt-laden waters seem to be empty too, as we see no fishing birds, otters, or people catching fish. Refugio Dickson is in an idealic location with a big view over Lago Dickson to Glacier Dickson which glows pink as the sun sets. The staff here are wonderful, relaxed, and attentive. Dinner is a big piece of chicken with mashed potatoes and vegs. Very well presented. Saturday 3/2 Another carbon-copy breakfast at the refugio, but at least the eggs are well cooked. We also get toast with butter and jam, sliced cheese, and corn flakes. It's the same at every refugio. We have a steady climb through forest with rare views of peaks and glaciers. About an hour from camp we come upon a family of four carpintero negros, or large magellanic woodpeckers, flitting from tree to tree beside the trail. There's a waterfall on the Rio los Perros, where I watch a torrent duck on the rocks. The wind gets stronger as we approach camp. Hard to walk, but it keeps the mosquitos away. Sunday 3/3 There's no refugio here, so we're making our own breakfast and dinner for two nights. It's good for the variety and we can set our own schedules. We're on the trail before the sun is up. Today's goal is to tackle the 1100 meter high John Gardner Pass. It's a steady climb out of camp through the forest, where trail maintenance is way overdue. There are many bogs and muddy sections of trail. Soon we climb above the forest and are walking on broken rock scree. Snow patches and small glaciers high on the slopes above us make streams across the scree. I hear some peeping of a small animal beside the trail. It takes some time, but eventually I see two partrige-like birds well camoflaged amidst the rocks. They walk slowly and are hard to see. The view from the pass is incredible. Glacier Gray is spread out before us with a range of glacier-clad peaks beyond. The fars side of the glacier is six kilometers away. Glacier Pingo peeks out between mountains, and the edge of the great Patagonian Ice Field can be seen pushing over the peaks beyond. This ice field continues north beyond Mount Fitz Roy and is the world's third largest store of fresh water (behind Antarctica and Greenland.) The trail down to Campamento Paso is crazy-steep and takes a long time. Like the trail up the other side, it has been many years since a trail maintenance crew has come this way. Monday 3 /4 More horrible trail with views of Glacier Gray through the trees, until we arrive at a mirador at the snout of the glacier. At this point we rejoin the 'W' route, and the trail is smooth, rivers have bridges, trees that have fallen across the trail have been cut and cleared away, and there are many more people. Refugio Gray is home for the night, where the wind is blocked by the trees. Tuesday 3/5 Last day on the trail. We follow the shore of Lago Gray with blue icebergs floating about, then cross over to Lago Pehoe and Refugio Paine Grande, where we had camped the first night. We catch a ride on the catamaran ferry across the lake where busses are waiting to bring us back to Puerto Natales.