Recap of Hiking the W in Torres del Paine-Part 3

Lago Nordenskjold

Day 4

Starting Point: Refugio Los Cuernos

Synopsis of the day: While the Valle de Frances the previous day was stunning in its own right, the views on day 4 rivaled day 3.  As we continued hiking east along the lake, the terrain suddenly turned to more rolling green hills reminiscent of New Zealand than the rocky crags we had seen the previous three days.  The variety of terrain and views within the park was simply amazing.  Several small lakes or ponds along the way, combined with the sun, created some awesome mirrored lake effects.

Mirrored lake

It was nice to see some green on the hills

The hike itself was quite nice and enjoyable.  Ups and downs, sure, but nothing too demanding (until the end).  Despite our beer consumption the previous night, we were again on the trail early.  We reached our sleeping area for the evening, Campamento Chileno, by around lunchtime.

Side Note: I had failed to mention up until this point the agony that Megan was in by now.  By the time it was all said and done, she lost EIGHT of her toenails to Torres del Paine.  She wore the same hiking shoes she had worn all trip, to Colca Canyon, the Inca Trail, and El Chalten, so I’m not sure why they caused blisters in TDP.  By this point, she had nasty blisters underneath most of her toenails, making every step painful.  Eventually those blisters pushed 8 of her nails off.  Crazy stuff.

By the time we got to our tent and ate lunch, she was about done.  We knew we still had a few hour hike to get out of the park the following day, and while she really wanted to hike up to the Mirador de Las Torres to see the Torres (Towers) that the park is named after, she just didn’t have it in her, and who could blame her.  She was a freaking trooper as it was.

The Torres (Towers)

She insisted I go ahead, so I did.  So I took off through the woods towards Campamento Torres, the closest campground to the Towers themselves (yet still an hour away, straight UP).  The hike to the campground was really nice, actually, meandering up and down through the woods.  Once the campsite is reached, it’s one final asent to the lookout.

This was the most difficult part of the whole hike, and by now I was really happy Megan decided to stay back.  The final hour plus involved heading straight up, with no discernible trail to guide you.  Worse, it was very rocky and gravely, with hikers constantly loosing their footing.  Every step took the effort of three steps, and though the top could be seen, it was slow going.  The payoff was great once you arrived; however, it wasn’t the be-all-end-all of views. While I’m certainly happy I hiked up there, it wasn’t the best part of the park.  There is no ONE highlight of TDP.  It’s the entirety of the park that’s  incredible; there’s no giant payoff at the end like Machu Picchu at the end of the Inca Trail.

TIP 5: Many TDP hikers decide to stay at Campamento Torres one night in hopes of waking up, hiking to the Towers, and watching the sun rise.  While I have no doubt that it would be spectacular, given the fickleness of the weather and the fact that you would have to complete the hike straight up this gravely trail in the dark, after waking up at 3am, no thanks.  That’s just me though.

Ending Point: Campamento Chileno was a nice little place that did have a refugio as well.  We ate our only meal at a refugio here as we decided to reward ourselves with a dinner that wasn’t ramen noodles or trail mix.  It was excellent, and the bottle of wine we had with it didn’t hurt either.  A bar accompanied the small, quaint little lodge, and the bathrooms were fine.  Nothing to write home about, but not terrible either.

Sleeping Arrangements: We rented a tent from Campamento Chileno and slept in their campground.  Again, it was set up upon arrival, which was very nice.  This campground is SMALL and was packed by evening time.

Length: 9.5 miles (15 km) to Campamento Chileno.  It’s another 7 miles (~11 km) round trip to the Mirador de Las Torres.  16.5 miles (26 km) total

Day 5

The End! Hosteria Las Torres

Starting Point: Campamento Chileno

Synopsis of the day: A short, uneventful final day as we descended back to civilization.  At this point it was all about getting my wife to safety so she could get out of her hiking shoes and try to salvage at least some of her toenails.  The views were nice, but we didn’t see anything we hadn’t seen already.  Getting back to Hosteria Las Torres was very nice.  It was funny seeing all the grubby hikers in such a nice place.  And while we prepared for rain (as nearly everyone we heard from hiked in at least a day or two of rain in TDP), we didn’t see any, until the minute we hit the doors of Hosteria Las Torres.  No joke.  I couldn’t believe it.

So we hit up the restaurant for a well deserved greasy, cheesy, fatty sandwich and french fries, and of course the obligatory beer, before hopping on the bus bound for Puerto Natales.

Ending Point: Hosteria Las Torres

Length: 3 miles (5 km)