Day Seventy Three--Sunday--March 6--Torre del Paine--Mother of all walks 22K to the Tower
I woke up today with lots of anticipation. I had a good nights sleep and I was ready for the challenge. I’d talked to many people who had been on the trek and they all said the hardest part was the last hour. O.k. I could do this.
I went to eat breakfast and then waited in the lobby for the guide. There were 11 people in the group but only 5 of us were walking the entire trek and 6 were riding horses for the first and last parts. There were two guides, one guide had been working at the hotel for 7 years and the other guide was a volunteer from France and this was his first time going to the Towers.
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| the first map |
Not long after walking away from the front of the hotel we walked across the river I had ridden across on the horse yesterday. Our first stop was at the map that showed the distance and elevation of where the trek was taking us.
Our guide explained how we were going and what stops we would make. We were to walk for several hours mostly up hill and then we would meet those on horseback at the refugio.
We would continue together to the campsite which would take about an hour and then we would ascend to the base of the Towers where we would have lunch.
We would continue together to the campsite which would take about an hour and then we would ascend to the base of the Towers where we would have lunch.
Hearing this and doing it were two different things but there was no turning back now.
Off we were up the hill.
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| the first part of the trail |
I started out with a decent pace but as the hill continued going up I took it very slow and stayed in the rear with Mattheiu from France. He was part of the volunteer program run by the hotel.
This was his first trek to the Towers.
Along the first part of the walk I saw a canyon far below where we were walking.
I could see the river making it’s way through the twists and turns of the canyon. What a beautiful sight. Oh yes, it was a fine weather day but again I was carrying all the extra gear and my bag lunch. Today I ordered a tuna sandwich. I figured I would need some protein to help sustain me during the day.
We arrived at the refugio about 2 hours after we started. We were very close to the rushing river and the weather was slightly cooler. There were many other people here as well. People who hike the W or the O camp in tents or can rent a room in the refugio.
The Torres del Paine National Park was created on the 13th of May in 1959 and forms part of the National System of Protected Wild Areas of the State of Chile. On April 28th in 1978 it was declared Biosphere Reverse by the UNESCO.
It has 227.298 hectors and altitudes that vary between 50 and 3050 meters.
(if you are interested in the trails go to this website for a better explanation. The W takes 4-5 days and the O take 9 days.)
There are also showers and food at the refugio.
We met up with the horse riders and took a bit of a break. I was appreciating the incredible beauty around me and not feeling too bad.
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| explaining our next move |
Before we continued we had a little meeting at another map where our guide explained what would happen in the next few hours. Two women in the group decided that they would only walk as far as the next camp ground which was another hour and mostly flat. They didn’t want to attempt the last hour’s ascent. The guide also explained that up to this point we were on private land owned by the hotel’s family and shortly we would be in the National Park.
The next hour’s walk was mostly flat and took us through denser forested areas. We came upon this very cool twisted tree.
Occasionally we encountered other hikers but there weren’t that many people on the trail.
As the forested area opened up we approached the next camp site. This provided a fantastic view of the extreme hill we needed to tackle next. We took another break here and discovered some condors flying around the towers. The weather was warmer now and I took off my coat.
We were here for only 10 minutes, said goodbye to the two ladies and continued on up the hill.
I was slow, it was hard and I could hardly believe I would make it to the top. I’m not sure how better prepared I could have been for this incredibly steep hill. There were huge boulders with reflectors on them because many people spend the night at the camp ground we just passed and climb to the top at 3 in the morning to see the sunrise. (This had been recommended to me but I doubted I would ever be doing that.) Every now and again there was a pole but nothing really to hold on to.
I was extremely careful with my footing as I didn’t want to twist my ankle or fall. It would be a long and difficult way to get out of here if there were to be a problem.
The group was getting further and further ahead of us but I didn’t care as I was concentrating on getting to the top and I knew I was slow. I told Mathieu (he stayed with me the entire time) that I was feeling pressured to move faster and I just couldn’t. Earlier I had asked him if he was familiar with the story of the tortoise and the hare. He said he was. I told him I was the tortoise. Oh, slow and steady wins the race.
In a matter of speaking, yes, I was going to go slow and finish in my time.
Mathieu and the other guide had a walkie talkies so they were able to talk with each other. Mathieu told the other guide to go ahead and we would get there when we could. What was suppose to take one hour took me an hour and 20 minutes.
I’m not sure looking at the photos can truly illustrate the extreme steepness, and for sure cannot show the difficulty in navigating the terrain. I can tell you when I got to the top I was very happy not only for being able to rest but for the accomplishment of making it. I asked Mathieu to take my photo. I didn’t care what I looked like but I wanted documentation that I was here.
Climbing up was only half the battle, getting down was going to be difficult as well. What goes up, must come down (but I didn’t have any spinning wheels). For the moment I didn’t want to think about that, so I sat down and ate my lunch. I think anything would have tasted good at this time. Sitting and looking at the towers was an incredible sight to see.
There was lots more wind up here but overall I think we were extremely lucky with the weather. There weren’t too many clouds and the temperature was quite mild. I did put my coat on because once I stopped walking I was a bit cold.
We stayed here for about 45 minutes and then had to get going. I decided that I would put my camera in my backpack so I could concentrate on walking and not on taking photos.
Actually, the walk down was not as difficult as I’d thought it might be, except for the people behind me that were in such a hurry. I “pulled over” several times and let people go ahead of me because frankly, I just wasn’t in a hurry. Again, I was more concerned over getting down safely and not getting hurt.
About half way down this most difficult part, having patted myself on the back for “making it”, in front of me I see a man who looks to have cerebral palsy being helped by another man. I’m in disbelief at what I am seeing. I’m patting myself on the back for getting my old self to the top and here in front of me is a man clearly with a physical disorder.
When I was able to catch up to another man, who was with the group ahead of me, I asked if that man had cerebral palsy.
“Yes”, I was told
“how old is he?” I asked
“38” the man told me.
“Wow. And where is he from?” I wanted to know.
“France” was the reply.
O.K. so not only does he have cerebral palsy, but he traveled all the way from France to climb here. I was humbled.
It took less than an hour to get down to the camp site and another hour and a half to the refugio. Again, I was in the rear and didn’t understand why people were in such a hurry. I wanted to enjoy the walk and at times felt like I was racing down the hill. I told Mathieu, who stayed with me the entire time, that I would need a break when we arrived at the refugio.
No problem he told me.
When we arrived at the refugio there were lots of people around both inside and out. Everyone had to take their shoes off to go inside the building. Oh I liked this. The people inside were eating, drinking and playing different kinds of games. I sat down and rested for a bit knowing that there was still two hours of walking to get back to the hotel. This is also where the people who came on the horses were getting back on the horses.
The guide asked me if I wanted to go back on a horse because there was an extra horse.
“No, thanks” I told him and asked why there was an extra horse.
The woman standing next to me told me that it was her horse and she didn’t want to ride back because she was uncomfortable riding in the morning. She had never ridden a horse before and preferred to walk back. Her boyfriend or husband ended up riding back for her.
Anyway, she was very nice, (from Brazil) and I walked most of the way back with her. She agreed with me that so many people were in a big hurry running down the trail and she wanted also to enjoy the nature.
The walk back was much more enjoyable, probably because the biggest hurdle had been accomplished. We arrived back at the hotel around 6:30 p.m. Only a nine hour day.
Wow, I was hungry and decided to go to the buffet. I was sitting by myself eating when an English mom and son who had been on the hike came in and asked to sit with me. Sure, why not.
They were very pleasant and on a little tour of Patagonia. The son was living in Santiago doing an internship through his university and the mom came to visit him.
It’s always nice to have company for a meal.
After dinner I was pooped and went to my room. After all, I needed to pack since I was leaving in the morning.
I was very proud of myself.
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