Torres Del Paine

Torres Del Paine has been the highlight of my trip thus far. It is a national park in Chilean Patagonia and one of the most famous hikes in the world. There are many different hiking options available - the "W," the "U," the "I," or the "circuit," among others. I did the full circuit which incorporates all of the others and typically takes 8 days, which is how it worked out for me. The entire way the path is very clearly marked out with markers and well-trod clay, so getting lost is very difficult to do. The weather is capricious and when it really acts up the winds can reach 120 km/hour - enough to knock a grown man off of his feet. Fortunately, I didn't experience that although there were some strong gusts on the last day. People told me stories that when a gust like that comes in, you can see massive waves along the lakes getting sucked up with it, providing a bit of warning.

The full circuit goes around the mountains and then leads into the more crowded "W." In total it's about 120k or so - very tiring. A good bit of it was up and down mountains, including one day when we ascended to 1240m from 540m and then descended to 540m again. That was one tiring day, but when we reached the top we got an incredible view of a glacier that stretched out further than the eye could see. Every day you stop at a designated campsite and they normally have a bathroom and shower, but they cost money. Sometimes they don't have those facilities, but it doesn't really matter because who wants to shower every day when you're hiking, right? I started off on my own like many others but we quickly settled into a group of sorts. We would hang out at night and sometimes hike together, going ahead or falling behind as we felt like it.

On the last day, it is best to get to the Torres at sunrise to see the spires turn a bright orange, which then fades. So we duly set out at 5 in the morning in pitch black on a 2 hour hike, sweating up a mountain in a t-shirt with the snow falling in the pitch black - a pretty cool experience. We ultimately were unlucky with the weather and couldn't see the famous view on the last day but it was still not a bad way to end the trek.

Along almost the entire way we were surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.

There are way more pictures if you want to see them on flickr - just click on the photo stream at the top right.