The W

The more popular part of the trek is the front part of the circuit affectionately named the W after its shape.  We did the W on days 5-8; starting at Refugio Grey until Laguna Amarga; where we started our journey.

Up close and personal with Glacier Grey.

The results of the 2012 forest fire.  This was part of the W I saw before the fire.  Once a beautiful sub-arctic forest is now a wind-swept landscape.

Eating lunch after a really hard 100km wind hike at Paine Grande.

El Cuerno peaking out over Lago Skottsberg.

Into the Valle Frances

Enjoying wine at Refugio Cuernos.

Stones stuck into the roots of a fallen tree after the dirt has washed away.

Los Torres peaking out from the clouds.

Refugio Las Torres.

On the road back to Laguna Amarga with the view of the Torres.

Wild Guanacos at Laguna Amarga.

After 8 days, 134 km, 8 Snickers, 1200 meters in elevation change, 7 camping sites, 100 km/hour winds, 2 rainstorms, 20 kilos of food, 3 injured knees, 1 broken tent pole, and 0 showers we completed the circuit!

The O

The day trekking map of Torres del Paine.

Finally we reached the last Chilean Region of Magellanes.  Before that, we met a great Swiss guy named Tommy back in Cochrane and then met him again in El Chaltén.  We watched the Super Bowl together in Calafate and offered to buy his supplies for him for Torres del Paine if he'd join us.  In Puerto Natales we also met up with our friends Sarah and Edmundo from Santiago and my good friend Colin from Iowa.  All together, the 6 of us headed out for an eight day trek.  There were so many great pictures I decided to split the trek into two posts.  Torres del Paine has one large loop called the circuit or the O.  This post will cover the first 4 days and the back part of the O.  Many of the pictures (probably the better ones) were taken by the excellent photographer Tommy.

Our first night camping at Campamento Serron.

Refugio Dickson; second night.

Heading into Valle de Los Perros

 

Glacier Los Perros

Our third night at Campamento Los Perros

Jumping through the muck to start our fourth and hardest day over the pass.

Making it to the top of Paso John Garner

Overlooking Glacier Grey.

Lunching after summiting and descending the pass at Campamento Paso.

The pass between Paso and Grey had many very sharp glacial ravines that could only be transcended via shadily secured ladders and  pulley systems.

 

Finally camping at Refugio Grey.

No Man's Land

Villa O'Higgins is the end of the road.  When you reach Villa O'Higgins you only have two choices: turn around or do an adventurous trip over the border to Argentina.  In order to reach Argentina you must first take a boat across Lago O'Higgins to Candelario Mancilla on the opposite shore.  The only thing on the other side is a small carabineros hut where they can check you in and out of the country.  From there you must strap all your stuff on your back and walk.  It is 22km from the Chilean border post to the Argentine one.  The Argentine border post is located on Lago Desierto and half way in between there is a sign that lets trekkers know they have changed countries.  Of course the Chilean side of the trail is well maintained and clearly marked while the Argentine side looks like Argentina...  The crossing of Paso Dos Lagunas is one of the coolest things I have ever done.  Eva and I dragged 20 kilo bags on our shoulders between two countries.  We were stamped into Argentina after a grueling 6 hours and set up our tent in just enough time to miss a rain storm.

The view looking back from the boat over Lago O'Higgins.

The Argentine border and our first glimpse of Fitz Roy.

Chao mi Chilito!

Crossing Lago Desierto

The mountain you see in the background in called Fitz Roy.  Along with several other peaks, they make up the Fitz Roy range.  The neighboring town of El Chaltén was founded in 1985 as part of land grab by Argentina.  It has since become a major trekking capital as people from all over the world come to enjoy the easy trails and beautiful scenery. 

A view from El Chaltén.

The actual Fitz Roy range is neither in Argentina nor Chile.  The two countries have fought over the land for a long time.  Their fight has involved flag planting, carabinero killing, El Heroe del Siglo Viente-ing, and agreeing-to-disagreeing.  The Pope took the matter into his own hands and in 1998 the states decided that the area that Fitz Roy occupies and its neighboring glacial field are no one's in particular.  This has resulted in a nice white box appearing on the map.  Argentina de facto controls Fitz Roy and profits from all the tourism it brings since the mountains are inaccessible from Chile.