Prepping for Patagonia: What to Expect and What to Bring

How to Prepare for the 5 Day W Trek

Disclaimer: I’m a total city girl. I’ve never been camping, I’m 5’2”, and my goal was to visit Patagonia before I turned 40 (accomplished, but just barely!). I work out often, but I’m not an athlete. My weekly workouts pre-Patagonia was mostly yoga, pilates. and the occasional jogging and interval running on a treadmill (I’m slow, I generally run between 5.5 mph and 6.0 and sprint between 7.0 and 8.0 mph). Once I signed on for this trip though, I definitely changed up my workout routine.

For the average person with a desk job, no, you can’t show just show up and do the hike, especially if you’re carrying weight on your back. You could, but I think you’d regret it. Some parts of the trail are steep and requires a bit of leg strength and arm strength if you’re a shorter person like me who needs to pull herself up with trekking poles! If you’re not in a rush and you’re not in great shape, you can still do the hike. You just will have to take it slower. For my trip, I was on a tour group and most people in my group were seasoned hikers/outdoorsy people or taller (there was one guy who was 6’5”—for every step he took I probably took 10 steps!) so I felt the urge to keep up but no one rushed me.

For me, about 2-3 months before the trip, I started to increase my cardio/endurance workouts. This included taking HIIT Barry Bootcamp classes, running more, and increasing my strength with squats. I also tried to go hiking once every weekend and carried around a 20-25 lb. backpack whenever I went hiking or did stair climbing in my 18-floor apartment building. For stair climbing, I tried to do this at least 3x a week, walking up and down my building about 4x (this equated to about a mile). This took me about 40-45 minutes if my backpack was heavy; it takes me about 30 minutes without no backpack. The first time I climbed my apartment building up and down I only did it twice and my entire legs (thighs and calves) were sore for 5 days! It took me about a couple of weeks to no longer be sore in my legs. And since I’ve been home I’ve continued the workout as I think it’s great, easy and an efficient way to exercise without having to go to a gym. I didn’t really lose any weight (I unfortunately love to eat) but I did find my body shape more toned and changed in that regard.

Living in NYC I love to walk everywhere and I would aim to walk at least 8-10 miles one day a weekend as well. In general, I think it’s important to be in decent shape to tackle this trek as the hikes are long. I never found any hikes in the U.S. when I was hiking that were as long as the ones we did in Torres del Paine as I just didn’t have the time to hike 8-9 hours in one day. The longest hike I did before this trip was about 7-8 miles in Los Angeles and a 7 mile one in upstate NY. I even hiked once in the rain (which sucked) but I wanted to be as prepared as possible in case we had bad weather. Carrying a heavy backpack around really helped too and I ended up carrying less than what I practiced with.

On our way into Torres del Paine

REI Is My New Best Friend

I never set foot into an REI store until this past year. It is the Amazon of outdoor gear and clothing, I love it! They have everything you could possibly need and the people who work there are so friendly. And if you plan correctly, you can score big ticket items on sale (like around Labor Day Weekend). Everything I needed I bought from mainly REI. They also have an outlet with even bigger discounts.

Crossing one of the many bridges in the park over that fresh blue glacial stream.

Gear/Packing List for Patagonia

Below is a list of all the items I packed and what was helpful/what was not:

1. Woman’s Ruckpack 40: The more I visited REI last year, the more I learned about how much all the employees love it. The main takeaway I came away with though is that REI’s own manufactured products are amazing and on par with other brand names. This woman’s ruckpack holds 40 liters and was perfect for trekking. The straps are padded and comfortable and helped distribute the weight of my bag pretty evenly. It also came with a rainproof cover and you can even zip the straps in so it kind of turns into a duffel bag. This bag was ‘heavier’ (4 lbs.) than what my friends brought but I think mine was more functional. I also love how you can unzip the bag in a shape of the way of a suitcase and all the many compartments and hidden pockets were helpful. The shape is also wider than most bags (which are more narrow and taller) so I personally liked everything about this bag. I got it in green but doesn’t look like that's available anymore! I also got it for sale, under $100 during the Labor Day weekend sale.

2. Lock for locker: This was only helpful at one of the refugios. A small lock would do; I had one of those old school high school locker locks.

3. Lock for my backpack: Helpful when we had to leave our backpack behind and carry just a daypack. This gave me peace of mind but I never really left anything valuable in my backpack.

4. Quick Dry Towel: I got this microfiber towel from REI. I initially got a large, but it barely covered me and I am not a tall/big person! I switched it up to XL which was a lot better (and twice the size of L). This was helpful to have since not all the refugios give you a towel. It did stink after a while though because drying conditions weren’t great (too cold in the rooms to dry well) but it’s just for a few days that you’re using this.

5. Face Wipes: As a girly girl, I like to feel clean and though the water in the park is pretty clean, I felt better having moisturized wet wipes for my face.

6. Hand Wipes: Wet Ones—always great for travel, especially when there are no sinks or soaps around!

7. Shampoo, body wash, tooth paste, mouth wash: All travel-sized and needed, since the refugios may not offer anything.

8. Sunscreen: Primarily for the face and hands; it was not warm enough that more skin was exposed. Sunscreen is very important there!

9. Sunglasses: Also important!

10. Ear plugs: There was a loud snorer in our group and this was super helpful to drown him out. Mack’s worked for me, I brought a few pairs on the trip.

11. Cap: To keep your head warm and the sun out of your eyes (and rain!). I brought two caps—one baseball one and one wool one (made by Tilley—no longer on REI but maybe next season it’ll come out again. I got it on sale at the outlet. Looks similar to this little kid’s one).

12. Advil/sleeping pills: I almost brought Imodium with me as well but honestly when you have to carry everything every ounce matters! So pick and choose what you think you might really need in terms of medication. Never needed the Advil but sleeping pills were helpful to lull me to sleep.

13. Nuum Hydration Tablets: Great to help hydrate you and all the flavors were great! I would continue using this in my every day life. Available at Whole Food’s too.

14. Band Aids and Blister Band Aids: I am SO glad I brought two different types of blister band aids as I ended up using ALL of them! I thought I would only use one but nope. Went through the pack. I really liked Second Skin, especially for this bunion I have on the side of my foot. There was another one I had that was more of a bandaid I had to cut down. Either way, bring more than you think you’ll need.

15. Knee Brace: I don’t have terrible knees but they do get sore after walking/hiking so much. These were helpful for the trek and I noticed the difference one day when I was hiking in El Chalten and didn’t have them.

16. Travel Adapter & Extra Battery Pack: My travel charger converter which is old didn’t work in Torres del Paine (different plugs). My friend had an extra universal one that worked though. Anker is great as an extra battery pack—lasts for days.

17. Foneleash: I was paranoid about losing my phone to the wind or dropping it somehow so I got this foneleash to wear it on my wrist if I wanted (which I never really did). It was helpful though if I took a picture from somewhere I was afraid to drop my phone.

18. Dry Bags: I got my dry bags (to waterproof your gear if it rains) from a Columbia outlet. They worked great but are no longer sold anywhere else.

19. Zip-lock bags: Used for holding and organizing misc. items like wallet, passport, etc. Bring a few clean/empty ones as you may need them during the hike to hold garbage or stay organized.

20. Biodegradable toilet paper: Yes I bought this!!! I used it only once, at an outhouse at a park in El Chalten that had a hole in the ground and nothing else. I actually NEVER went to the bathroom during the trekking portion of the 5 day trek. Any water I drank I sweated it out, But I also tried not to drink too much water either so I didn’t have to ‘go.’

The hardest/steepest climb of the W Trek is up to the Blue Towers. This was the also the ‘busiest’ trail of the trek for us (but I didn’t think it was that busy compared to NY!)

Gear/Packing List Continued:

21. Water bottle: I didn’t love mine (if I didn’t screw it well enough water leaked from the top) but the design was nice. I can’t remember the brand name of it but all you need is a water bottle that you’re comfortable with size-wise. The water was really clean in the park and I didn’t think a filter was necessary. Mine had a built in carbon filter but that doesn’t purify the water. I think mine was less than 1.5L big and that was fine for me. I filled up on the streams multiple times.

22. Bug spray: I didn’t end up bringing any and we didn’t need it in November (not warm enough). It was helpful in Mendoza though!

23. Sleeping bag liner: Didn’t really need one but was helpful to have. We slept in a sleeping bag once, and it seemed clean but I used the liner anyway.

24. Heat Tech clothes: Uniqlo is great. The ultra heat tech and normal heat tech wear kept me warm. In fact they were too warm to wear as layers since we had good weather! My initial intent was to wear them hiking but I ended up wearing them as pjs to sleep in.

25. Great hiking boots: Mine were from Ahnu and were waterproof and comfy (I have wide feet). They no longer sell the ones I bought two years ago at REI but I would use the Ahnu brand again.

26. Extra pair of comfy sneakers: I brought a very lightweight pair of sneaker from Skechers. You are going to want another pair of shoes to wear after hiking!

27. Flip flops for the shower

Typical trail in Torres del Paine

Gear/Packing List Continued:

28.Fleece. I almost ditched the fleece because the fleece and rain jacket took up the most space. I ended up wearing my rain jacket most of the time as my outer layer. The fleece came in handy when we were at the top of the mountains though.

29. Rain jacket. I got mine from Northface and loved it. Kept me dry.

30. My day to day outfit was a pair of windproof Northface pants. I would wear one of my heat tech pants underneath as a layer. I also had another lightweight pair of yoga/workout pants on the days I didn’t need the windproof pants. On top I had a quick drying top, a UV protective hoodie from Uniqlo (I love these and own like so many versions), and had an extra top as well.

31. Buff: I borrowed a friend’s but a buff is a multi use item that is great as a scarf or for headgear

32. Carabiner: I did not have one and had to borrow a friend and now I would buy one! This was great for clipping my water bottle to my bag for easy access as well as the lunches if I could. Sometimes the bagged lunch came in a pouch with a string on it, which is why I could clip to the outside of my backpack.

33. Trekking Poles: You will need these! I loved these foldable/carry on size one from Black Diamond. I got the shortest length based on my height (under 110 cm) and it was great. Easy to use and adjust. Held up well. Will continue using as long as possible!

34. Swim bikini bottoms: Not used to go swimming but to wear and wash and hang dry after every hike instead of bringing undergarments. I brought two and it was comfortable to wear on hikes and easy to maintain cleaning while hiking rather than cotton or other material.

35. Compression sack: I got this right before I left cuz I needed a way to downsize all my clothes! This was helpful.

36. Misc Items: Hair ties, Apple Watch, Kleenex, Q Tips, Comb, Neosporin, socks (for hiking and for sleeping/relaxing in refugios in). The Apple Watch was great because I would set my morning alarm on it and it vibrates, not causing any sound to anyone around me. I primarily got it though to track the miles we walked and calories spent. As I mentioned in a prior post, I spent 2000 active calories on the Blue Tower hike and 1500 resting calories. I don’t think I’ve hit that high in calories on any day since then.

One my favorite moments on the trek—sunny skies, pristine lakes, nothing but bliss all around.

Other Words of Advice

• Monitor the weather forecast before you leave. As I mentioned in a prior post, this website was great for forecasting the weather. I checked every day from a week before we left and it was fairly spot on (and in fact, we had a little bit nicer weather than predicted). Just be sure to change the altitude to the lowest level.

• Exchange some Chilean pesos before arriving. I was able to obtain it from my U.S. bank at a decent currency rate (it’s so cheap there compared to the U.S.). You won’t need much though as most places take credit cards, but you would need it for the taxi/tipping if needed. You could probably also use Argentinian pesos but Chilean money was preferred.

• Research the route you’re going to take and have an idea of how long it takes to get from one point to another! Luckily we had Chile Nativo organizing all our routes for us but depending on the time of the year you’re going, you should pay attention to sunrise/sunset times and make sure you allocated enough time to make it to your evening destination before it gets too dark.

• Don’t overpack. Try to be as light as possible. I definitely overpacked and repacked twice before I left.

• Bring an extra battery pack in the event the refugio you’re staying out loses power or there are not enough electrical outlets to go around.

Is Going to Patagonia/Torres del Paine worth it?

If you love adventure, unpredictability, and nature, YES! And if you’re from an area where you don’t get to see beautiful mountain ranges or clear teal lakes as often, DOUBLE YES. As I mentioned in a prior post, I think people who are already from gorgeous natural environments or have constant access to them may not find it as appealing (especially if the weather is terrible). Beauty is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. I thought Torres del Paine was unique in its landscape, terrain, and colors. Being so remotely caught off from the world was also wonderful. I can’t remember the last time I had zero access to the news/internet/communication for 5 days (some WiFi access is available in the refugios but really expensive and may not always be working). It was great to be present and in the moment with the soul of the earth.

Sunset at Refugio Los Cuernos

November 2018: Day 4 & 5 W Trek Recap

Day 4 W Trek Recap: 11 km (6.8 miles) from Refugio Paine Grande to Refugio Grey

On our fourth day of the W Trek, our luck with beautiful weather ran out. While I woke up early in hopes of catching a glorious red sunrise, I was greeted by dark clouds, wind, and light rain. After the standard breakfast (where we also heard music for the first time in days in the cafeteria!), we packed up to leave by 9:15 am. The hike to Refugio Grey was only 4 hours but after three days of trekking, we were all pretty worn out and 4 hours felt like 8!

The wind didn’t help either—it was so windy that I never looked up the first hour of the walk. All I could do was focus on the pair of boots walking in front of me. I knew if I looked up my hood/cap that I wore underneath would likely fly away as well as the winds were quite forceful. This hike is pretty much uphill to the midway point and then descends on the other side. At this point it was pretty hard to stay motivated and every time I thought we climbed the hardest uphill, there was more to conquer. Unlike the previous days, the minutes ticked by slowly.

There were tricky sections of the hike due to the steepness and the wetness. The coolest part of the trek was seeing Glacier Grey from afar. I didn’t allow myself to look at pictures before this trip and so I was surprised and delighted at the sheer enormity of it in person. The height and the width of this glacier was massive!

The last hour of the hike was a struggle. I felt like Phoebe, from the TV show Friends, when she flails her arms in all different directions when she runs. I was definitely flailing my arms and trekking poles around to steady myself and climb down towards the next refugio. And as soon as I caught sight of a gray roof through the trees, I felt like one of those characters from Lord of the Rings, when they light up at seeing their destination in the distance. I think I practically ran to the lodge in those last 5 minutes of the trek. I felt exhilarated when I arrived as it meant I was finished completing the W Trek! Even though it was physically and at times mentally tough, I did enjoy and appreciate the experience. It was great to disconnect from the world and just focus on what’s going on right in front of you.

We finished the trek at 1 pm but when we arrived, we found out that it may not be over and my heart sank. The W Trek can be done in 4 days (with the 5th day reserved for an optional kayaking tour or glacier hike before taking a boat out back to the south entrance of the park across the lake) but the weather forecast for the next day called for 90 km/hour wind (like 55 mph). If our boat ride out of the park from Refugio Grey got canceled, that meant we would have to hike back to Refugio Paine Grande and try to catch a boat from there. I really did not have the energy to re-do the four hour hike all over again, even though it’s the shortest leg of the trek! Or at least not with my backpack on as my shoulder had started to feel really sore.

After resting at Refugio Grey for a bit, we took a short walk to see Glacier Grey more up close in person. The glacier overlook is about a 15 min, walk from the refugio.

Afterwards the group split up a bit and I decided to go up to the suspension bridge overlooking the glacier. There are two suspension bridges and they’re supposed to be the most ‘exciting’ ones in the park. The first one is about 30-40 minutes away from Refugio Grey while the second one is another 30-45 min. away from the first bridge. The first bridge is soooo Indiana Jones! You have to climb up like you’re climbing a ladder to get on it and only 4 people at a time are allowed on it.

Walking across the bridge is a bit thrilling as well as you’re dangling high over a stream. It was the highlight of the day for me with Glacier Grey serving as a perfect backdrop.

I love how blue the glaciers are here. I’ve seen quite a few (in Alaska, New Zealand, and Iceland) and Patagonian glaciers are the bluest I’ve seen! They’re blue because they’re so compact.

Day 5: Glacier Grey + Boat Ride Out of the Park

It wasn’t until about 11 am the next morning that we found out the 2 pm boat ride was cleared to go. Our group was thrilled! Although the day was mostly clear, the winds were a bit strong but not as crazy as forecasted. Yesterday on our hike to Refugio Grey we had seen a group hike back to Paine Grande as their morning boat was canceled. So I was really happy we didn’t have to do that! Everyone in the group had other travel plans right after the trek so missing a boat was not an option.

Some people on our tour did kayaking while others did the glacier hike. As I’ve hiked on a glacier before in New Zealand, I had no interest in going again, especially since I was so tired and just wanted to relax. My friends that went loved it and enjoyed it though, and they shared that they had to a hike a mile to the glacier before putting on crampons to hike around the glacier. They acknowledged if they had to hike back to Refugio Paine Grande after the ice hike, there was no way they would’ve had the energy to do it (they left for the hike before 9 am and returned just around 1 pm so they didn’t know whether or not they had to hike back yet). The group that went on the kayaking tour ended up not kayaking at all—30 minutes after they attempted to kayak towards the glacier, the operators called it off and had them all head back to shore as the winds were so gusty and they didn’t think it was safe for them. However, they did take everyone out on a boat ride to the glacier instead as an alternative. They enjoyed it but this experience sounds similar to the boat tour they ended up taking with the rest of us at 2 pm!

Since I opted out of these optional activities, I went for a relaxing stroll back to the overlook instead and just sat admiring the gorgeous glacier.

At 1 pm we all headed down to the lake to catch our boat excursion. This boat leaves from the Southern entrance of Torres del Paine and is a sightseeing boat. Many people will take a day trip out to the glacier (and never doing the W Trek) so we were being picked up second as part of the excursion. The boat ride was really nice (they give out strong pisco sours!) and we sailed up pretty close to Glacier Grey, which has THREE not two front-facing sides.

Looking for the Night King, if you get my GoT reference :)

Looking like jagged teeth

One last look at Torres del Paine as we sail away from the glacier

Our ticket out of the park!

The boat tour was about an hour or so before we headed back to the southern entrance of the park. I was feeling a bit sad this leg of the trip was ending but as soon as we arrived on the other side of the lake, we were greeted by an unexpectedly arduous walk to the parking lot! Basically the winds here in this valley were probably the 90 km/hr (50 mph) winds we expected. And we had to walk across in sand with our backpacks. That 15 min. is seared in my mind as at one point if it wasn’t for my backpack I thought I’d be blown away and I almost lost my cap! Just a last reminder of how fierce the weather can be in this wild, wild place.

We reached the lot at about 4 pm where our private transfer van was waiting for us to take us back to Puerto Natales. I watched the mountains disappear from view as our van took us back to civilization. Every ache, pain, moments of hangriness, and missed hours of sleep was well worth it though.

Fin.

November 2018: Day 2 & 3 W Trek Recap (Patagonia)

Day 2 W Trek Recap: 13 km (8 miles) from Refugio Torres Central to Refugio Los Cuernos

Day 2 was my favorite day of the W Trek mainly because I woke up energized and ready to tackle the day. Part of this exuberance stemmed from these electrolytes that were laced with caffeine but who cares, I’ll take it! My muscles were sore and stretching them the night before and the morning of really helped. Breakfast at the refugio was nice but very basic (eggs, ham, cheese, cereal, bread and yogurt). We started our hike at 9:30 am and had to retrace some of the trail we took yesterday before it splits off to Los Cuernos vs. Mirador de Torres del Paine. After about a half hour, we reached ‘new trail’ and off we went.

We had another brilliant day of warmer weather, sun, and no wind. The hike was not super easy but definitely easier compared to the day before. There were a couple of intense steep uphills for 20 minutes but overall this trail was a gradual ascent and descent throughout. After about an hour after we started, we came to this gorgeous view. I love how these two lakes are completely different tones of blue.

We hiked alongside Lake Nordenskjold for most of the trail and it was a brilliant, clear aquamarine. I remember thinking how beautiful this part of the trail was and I couldn’t imagine seeing anything more beautiful. Pictures don’t really do the views justice, everything is magnified in person.

Even the guides remarked how still the weather was. Generally due to the winds, you’d see ripples and waves on the lake, not a perfect reflection. In the two years one of our guides has been doing this trek, he said he’s only seen it like this a handful of times, when the weather was gorgeously calm.

This is the main reason why I would never do the W Trek again. I can’t imagine my experience being better than what it was with the incredible weather we had. Although I braced myself for wind and rain, we luckily only experience one day of it.

Our initial plan was to hike all the way to Domo Frances, which would’ve been another two hour hike after Los Cuernos and this section of the trail is steep. However, when we arrived at Refugio Los Cuernos for a break, our guides checked with the lodge and they had space to take us! Apparently a lot of tour companies may block off rooms but I guess there was a cancelation. The lodge allowed us to switch (although Domo Frances and Los Cuernos are operated by two different companies, I guess they work together somehow and allowed it to happen). I was relieved as Domo Frances has pretty crap reviews, even though it’s one of the newer ones. Thus we ended up finishing the day early before 4 pm and just hung out and relaxed around the lodge. You can even hear the avalanches from the French Valley here (I heard a couple in late afternoon!).

Day 3 W Trek Recap: 17 km (10.5 miles) from Refugio Los Cuernos to the French Valley to Refugio Paine Grande

This day was TOUGH and might have been even worst than the first day as it felt much longer than the 8 hours it took. We left at 8:30 am and finished at 4:30 pm. I woke up super early at 5:30 am as I wanted to see the sunrise hit the mountains and exude the sky with red. However I just missed the golden hour and only caught remnants of it (I should have skipped brushing my teeth and headed out then!). The other days were cloudy in the morning so there was no other chance.

From Refugio Los Cuernos, we hiked a very pebbly path to the beach by the lake. At the end of this was the start of an uphill climb towards Domo Frances and Refugio Italiano. We got to use decent bathroom facilities near the campsite of Domo Frances (we never saw Domo Frances as you need to go down a different pathway) and then continued on to Italiano Campsite to start the roundtrip hike up to the French Valley to see glaciers and listen to avalanches.

The hiking along this portion of the trail seemed rockier and it was definitely steep but not as steep as the very first day. Once in a while I would look up to see the views behind us but for the most part it was just go go go.

We reached the Italiano Campsite (no refugio here, just tent camping) at about 10 am and dropped off our large hiking backpacks (everyone does this but don’t leave anything important just in case!) and switched to carrying just a daypack to the French Valley. It took about two hours to get up to the overlook and we had our lunch up there while admiring the view and listening to the crumble of avalanches. This picture below doesn’t capture all of it—it’s much wider and grander in scope. We stayed up here for about 45 minutes before heading back down to pick up our bags and continuing on to Refugio Paine Grande.

After getting back to the Italiano Campsite, we headed westwards towards Paine Grande and it started to get really hot and sunny. It didn’t help that there was zero shade. In Dec. 2011 an Israeli backpacker set this forest on fire by accident and it burned for two months, destroying wildlife and a lot of this area of the park. He has since been banned from the country but the damage is brutal. Due to the damages, there are quite a few boardwalks around here instead of trails. By this point I was really tired and had to start singing songs to myself to get through the hike and make the time go by quicker. In total it took us about 2.5 hours to get from Italiano to Paine Grande but it felt way longer than that. During the last 40 minutes, the bottoms of my feet began to feel like they were burning, which I’ve never felt before when hiking.

This view below of Los Cuernos though was the highlight of my day. I’ve seen a bunch of glaciers already (New Zealand, Alaska, Iceland) and so to me, the terrain of mountains, lakes and valleys are more appealing to me. I remember sitting here and staring at this and it looked so unreal even though it was right in front of me.

As we moved closer to Paine Grande, the wind REALLY picked up and apparently this area of the park is the windiest. We were so hot and sweaty though that the gusty winds helped invigorate us to get to the end. I remember feeling a small ounce of joy once the refugio came into view from afar. As I mentioned in my Refugio post, this was my favorite place to stay because I loved the scenery around it. It was a great relief to kick off our shoes and enjoy the warm windy evening outside by the lake and watch the sunset.

Skipping stones and chatting with everyone else from our tour group here was my favorite evening of the trip.

November 2018: Day 1 W Trek Recap

Day 1 of the W Trek: 22 km (13.5 miles) Round Trip to the Blue Towers from Refugio Torres Central

On Friday, Nov. 9, we were picked up by our private transfer van at 6:30 am and driven up to Refugio Torres Central, which is by the northern entrance of Torres del Paine National Park. We arrived within two hours and saw some ucos (llamas) along the way, grazing the grass before the park entrance. After dropping off our backpacks for storage and only carrying our daypacks and trekking poles, we started off for the long hike at 9:05 am.

The weather forecast predicted by Mountain Forecast was pretty reliable. I checked the forecast every day until we arrived in Puerto Natales and it called for a calm, sunny weekend with temperatures ranging from the 40s to high 50s. To have NO wind is pretty incredible as this area is know for its forceful winds. In fact, when we stopped to take pictures of the valley early on during the hike below, our guides mentioned it’s usually too windy to stop here for pictures.

Our hike started off flat before ascending up through a gravelly trail. The halfway point of the one way route to the towers was at Refugio Chileno and we stopped there after a couple of hours of trekking for a snack and to fill our water bottles.

After passing through some valleys and the refugio, we came upon the forest, which was the easiest hike of the trail and a much needed ‘break’ as this part was mostly flat. Along the way we crossed a few suspension bridges and filled our water bottles at the glacier streams.

I was really hesitant to consider drinking from the streams but honestly it was the best water I’ve ever had in my life! No one got sick from drinking the water straight. The water is so clear. I initially bought sanitization tablets but didn’t end up bringing them anyway. I really miss drinking this water. My water bottle did have a carbon filter on it but that’s about it. There aren’t really any animals in the wild here except for pumas (which we never saw) and hares and smaller wildlife.

We reached the base of the towers at noon and from there, it was about an hour hike through a rocky path to the top. This was the hardest trail of the trip, especially after you’re already walking for hours! My trekking poles really helped me get up there. It was exhausting but not impossible to get up there. I hadn’t really eaten much of a breakfast which was a poor decision on my part as well. You will be burning tons of calories on this hike! I got an Apple Watch for this trip and based on my height (I’m 5’2”) and weight (not telling!) I burned about 2000 active calories on this hike and over 1500 resting calories. So not eating much in the morning really hurt me since I was so tired from lack of food.

The views up here were picture perfect though and the first thing I did when I got up here was whip out our packed lunch and eat everything! The trail was busy but not overwhelmingly crowded. Although to our guides, they found it to be too busy but I’m a New Yorker and didn’t find it to be that bothersome. I would say about 75-100 other people were up here when we there. Everyone was spread out so getting pictures without people in it wasn’t a challenge. The sky cleared up and no wind made it even more magical as that’s the only way you’ll also see reflections in the water (as seen above at the top!).

We stayed up here for about an hour before heading back down. Going back down was tough as your limbs are already tired and everyone is heading down around the same time too. However, I didn’t think it was that bad in terms of a crowd (compared to how it is at the popular upstate NY hikes!). Obviously starting earliest in the day is better to beat the rush. In addition, if you don’t get to the base of the towers by 4 pm, they won’t allow you to continue up for safety reasons (the sun goes down in November after 8:30 pm).

We left round 2 pm and passed through the same way we came, with a brief stop at Refugio Chileno again. All trash you bring into the park you’re expected to carry out (or throw it away in the bathrooms at the refugios!).

These horses carry the trash back down to civilization

We finished the hike at 5:45 pm. I remember as we headed back down that I must have blacked out during parts of the ascension up as I did not remember some of the areas we passed through! It was the longest hike I’ve done so far in one day. While I love the outdoors, I’m a city girl at heart and although I worked out and ‘prepared’ for this trip all year long, I still found it difficult (but not impossible).

The views of the turquoise lakes all around were beautiful and after we got back to the refugio, we did a LOT of stretching for our tired muscles. Overall it was a beautiful day and a beautiful hike. My friends will find it impossible to believe but I think this was my favorite HIKE of the trip (but not my favorite day since I was hangry half the time, but that was totally my fault!).

November 2018: The Refugios of Torres del Paine

The refugios of Torres del Paine are hostels inside the park and serve as points of rest and refuel after a long day’s hike. I didn’t know what to expect and for the most part, I found the refugios to be clean (as they can be given the amount of people who stay in them!) and I’m glad we booked early (in May 2018 for the November 9th trek with Chile Nativo). Some people in our ten person guided tour had to sleep outside in tents as beds were booked up (they booked about a month or two before we left).

The four we stayed at during the 5 day trek were:

1. Refugio Torres Central

2. Refugio Los Cuernos (we were supposed to stay in Domo Frances, which is one of the worst-reviewed places and further west on the trail but when we got to Los Cuernos, they had room and allowed us to switch!)

3. Refugio Paine Grande

4. Refugio Grey

Of all the refugios, I think Paine Grande was my favorite. It’s one of the newest ones and it’s nicely decorated inside, huge, and cozy and the landscape of Los Cuernos in the back is breathtaking (see last pic below). The dinner here was also the best (juicy big piece of chicken) but the bathrooms were kind of terrible by the time we left in the morning. Paine Grande is different than the others as I think it’s owned by the government who leases it and operated by a private company. You’ll just notice the service is different. The other Refugios are run by private firms.

I also liked Torres Central—it’s a big beautiful cozy lodge with warm common rooms but I just thought the view of Los Cuernos at Paine Grande was the best view of any refugio. In terms of comfort and cleanliness though, Torres Central was the best. Torres Central was also the ONLY one of the four lodges that had personal closets for your bags/personal stuff (you need a lock to lock it though).

Refugio Los Cuernos was my least favorite. Although it was nice, the food wasn’t as good, the staff didn’t seem as friendly as the others, and the rooms and bathrooms were the smallest. We were also given sleeping bags to sleep here inside the beds as there’s no heating.

Refugio Grey was also nice, the staff was friendly and the rooms were clean and cozy and the food was good too.

Staying at the Refugios vs. camping is more expensive but includes all your meals. I’m not sure the price of each since we booked with a tour but it’s not cheap given the fact you’re sharing rooms and bathrooms with everyone else. But there are no other options so it is what it is, unfortunately.  

Pretty sure this bag from REI weighed anywhere between 16 and 19 lbs. during the trip, depending if I wore my fleece jacket and how big the bagged lunches weighed. Glad I practiced hauling 20-25 lbs. on my shoulders weeks before the trip! This bag is great though—it really distributes weight evenly and is comfy (the shoulder straps are cushioned).

General Characteristics of the Refugios (Here’s What to Expect)

• Bring your own toiletries and towels. Even though a couple of them offered shampoo/soap, it didn’t mean it was always available. Only two of the four (Torres Central and Cuernos) had any soap for the showers.  The bathrooms are cleaned certain times of the day (generally when everyone is out/sleeping) and hot water is also only available at certain times (generally after 5 pm). Towels were not always given.

• Lights out at 10 pm (maybe a little later at others). This goes for electricity too so if you’re charging your phone, you might need to wait until the morning to finish up.

• Dinner is served buffet-style or by meal times. There’s usually two meal times and you have to sign up for them. Our group sometimes had the early dining seating, sometimes later. Same with breakfast.

• Water may/may not be available to fill up. For example on the first night, I was able to get water from the bar at Refugio Torres Central (they had a big water jug) but by the morning they ran out and wouldn’t offer anything for your personal bottle. Glacier water from the rivers and streams around the park is way better anyway but it’s so dry out there that having your bottle full is important! Bring electrolytes for added hydration!

• Toilet paper must not be thrown in the toilet. As a result, the women’s room would stink after a few hours especially in the morning and late at night. It’s all thrown in the garbage, which may/may not be efficiently taken out (although the staff seems to try to keep up with it).

• Any trash you take in with you into the park you’re expected to take out. The only trash cans that exist are the ones in the bathrooms so I would throw away the little litter I had in here. Trash is carried out by horses since there are no cars around either.

• Hot water is a commodity but I never had any issue with getting a hot shower at any of the refugios. One shower you had to press every 90 seconds to keep the water going but otherwise I was able to take a decent shower at each refugio after every hike.

• My trip was in November and while the refugios seemed full to me, not sure if they were. I never felt like it was overcrowded though. If you’re paying to tent outside, they set up the tents for you and provide everything but the tents may be a bit far from the bathroom areas. There were howling winds at night in a couple of the places we stayed at—not sure it’s pleasant to sleep in a tent but it is cheaper. I had bunk beds the whole time with my friends, anywhere between 4-7 people in a room. Co-ed as well. Bathrooms are not co-ed though.

• Each refugio provides a bagged lunch. It was enough for me, I never ate any of the extra snack bars I brought on my own! It’s usually some kind of sandwich, and chocolate or sugary snack and fruit and/or cereal bars. Sometimes a juice as well. The best lunch was from Chile Nativo, who created the first day’s lunch for us to the long hike up to the Blue Towers. Second best was from Torres Central but don’t expect much. When you’re burning so many calories everything will taste good. Our sandwiches were either ham, turkey, or tuna. Breakfast was usually scrambled eggs with ham/cheese and cereal and yogurt and bread.

• Pisco sours are delicious! The bars take credit card.

Pisco sour rewards for finishing a long hike

I loved the bar at Paine Grande as it had this amazing view of Los Cuernos.

Seeing a refugio towards the end of a hike was a great boost to finish. I remember on the fourth day, I was so winded but as soon as I saw the roof of Refugio Grey from half a mile away, energy surged back in my bones and I practically ran to finish the W trek the last 5-10 minutes of the hike.

Definitely book early if you want a bed at a refugio. My guess is most refugios only have about 30-50 beds.

November 2018: Planning for Patagonia

Planning for Patagonia is not logistically easy. It basically took me and my friends three days to get to Torres del Paine (pronounced Torres del “Pine-ay”), which resides in Chile, from NYC. Most people fly into Santiago, Chile to travel to Torres del Paine but we chose to go through Buenos Aires, Argentina as we wanted to end our trip visiting the vineyards of Mendoza.

This is the fourth time I attempted to plan this trip and I’m glad I waited this long. The first time I looked into going was more than 10 years ago and information on Torres del Paine is not as plentiful as it is today. The internet/communication infrastructure has probably improved over this period of time as well and a lot of things in place years ago are no longer. Four years ago I went to Argentina to visit Iguazu Falls (amazing, highly recommend waterfall lovers to go) and had to pay a $100 or so reciprocity fee (valid for 10 years) to get into the country. Well, apparently as of last year that’s no longer in place. In addition, the last time I was in Argentina, I had to exchange all my money on the ‘black market’ because the exchange rate was fixed as $1 USD = 8 pesos (on the black market you could get up to 12 or 14 pesos) and today, $1 USD = 35-38 pesos!

Anyway, planning a trip to Torres del Paine is no easy feat unless you have a lot of time on your hands. You need to register with the park and also make reservations in advance if you want to stay at the limited number of refugios (hostel lodges) in the park. From what I read on the internet, booking a bed or tent at the refugios was frustrating (payment won’t go through, people don’t respond, sold out, etc.) so early on my friends and I decided to bite the bullet and sign up with a tour guide instead to do all the bookings for us.

After a bunch of research, we decided to go with Swoop Patagonia. They have a flashy website and were very responsive and their itinerary worked out for us. However, as soon as we said yes to booking, they turned us over to Chile Nativo! So it turns out Swoop Patagonia is a 3rd party seller of tours and Chile Native is the local operator who actually takes you on the tour. It worked out anyway though as we LOVED Chile Nativo (and after speaking with them, I can see why they need Swoop—the agency has been around for over 15 years but is a small-run tour operator which has grown bigger in the last year and they just haven’t done as much marketing as they can be doing).

We found the price to be reasonable for our budget (we did the 5-day trek for $1695) though yes, if you planned this on your own, you’d be saving more than half. We just didn’t have the time to plan it all ourselves so to us, it was worth it. And no one in our group is an experienced camper or hiker so we felt more comfortable going with a guide in case something happened or someone got sick/injured but you don’t really need one. The trails on the W Trek are all well marked paths.

When I was doing my research for the tour, I read many mixed things about going either west to east or east to west on the W Trek (the other option is the O trek, which is much longer and you’ll see all of the park while the W hits the highlights). As Torres del Paine is known for its wind, most people suggested going west to east (to move along with the winds) but I am SUPER glad we went with Chile Nativo and did the route from east to west. I think this route is better because:

• you’re moving along with the sun (if it is sunny—this will be incredibly helpful, hiking without the sun in your eyes)

• we got the hardest part of the hike over on day 1, going up to the Blue Towers (which is what Torres del Paine means)

This is literally what you can expect from hiking Torres del Paine. Our trip started at Refugio Las Torres and we stayed overnight in Los Cuernos, Paine Grande, and Grey. The first day of the hike to the Base of the Towers was the hardest (22 km roundtrip back to Refugio Las Torres) and took 8 hours.

In addition to planning all our accommodations, meals, and guides in Torres del Paine, Chile Nativo also booked our first and last night in Puerto Natales (the gateway into the park). We stayed at Hotel Vendaval, which was a wonderful stay, and you’re able to leave whatever luggage you’re NOT taking into the park here (which we found to be safe and we had locks on our luggage as well).

Getting to Torres del Paine from New York City

We traveled through four airports, two taxi rides, and two buses over a 72 hour period to get to Torres del Paine. We flew with Aerolineas Argentina (pretty decent airline, I have no complaints—besides the very first 5 minutes of my trip, the check ins were smooth, service was friendly, and had no issues traveling with this line). In summary, these were our travel logistics:

• On Tuesday, Nov. 6, we took a 3:30 pm direct flight from JFK to EZE, the international airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The trip may have started off on the wrong foot had I not watched out for my luggage! I ended up bringing just two pieces—a carry-on size hiking backpack for the trek and a carry-on size suitcase that I checked in. Well, while the Aerolineas Argentina agent gave me my plane ticket at check in, I noticed he totally forgot about my checked-in bag! When I asked him about it, his eyes got wide and said “Oh, yes! Sorry about that!” and ticketed my luggage, stuck the slips on, and put it on the conveyor belt. Had I not watched/said anything, who knows if my luggage would’ve made it out! Probably not, since he didn’t even issue a luggage ticket until I asked! My other friend also had an issue with her luggage and bringing on her trekking poles. Mine were foldable and hidden but hers were bigger and sticking out and had metal tips and they had to recall her luggage (after she checked it in) to put the metal tips away. They wouldn’t let her pass security otherwise. Anyway, after the luggage issues, we otherwise had a smooth overnight flight and arrived in EZE by 4 am, and in November, Buenos Aires is two hours ahead of NYC.

• By the time we got our luggage and through customs, it was 6 am. I was paranoid about getting money from the ATM (last time I was in Argentina my cards didn’t work at all!) so I exchanged U.S. dollars at Banco Nacional, a local Argentinian bank. The bank is located directly outside the luggage, to the right. ATMs may have a limit to how much you can withdraw every day so I withdrew $600 USD which was more than enough to get me through the two week trip (most places except taxi cabs take credit card). The exchange rate I got it for was AR 34.60 vs. the official rate at the time of 35-36 pesos so not much of a difference. And if you do use the ATM, you will probably pay additional fees there too.

• We booked a car transfer with Taxi Ezeiza. I made the rsvp a few days beforehand online and they charged $35 USD for 4 people. They’re also located right outside the luggage terminal, at a big booth and if you make a rsvp your name will be on a sign at the desk. You can pay in dollars or pesos (or in credit card). We had rush hour traffic and it took just over an hour to get to AEP, which is the domestic airport in Buenos Aires.

• From AEP, we took a 12:15 pm flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, Argentina. You can either fly to El Calafate to get to Puerto Natales (the last town before Torres del Paine) or to Punta Arenas, Chile (which is further south than Puerto Natales). Two of my friends told me there was NOTHING to see in Punta Arenas whereas in El Calafate you at least have the Perito Moreno Glacier so I’m glad we stuck to El Calafate. Also, if you plan to visit more of Argentina after Torres del Paine, it’s cheaper to fly within Argentina than to fly to Chile and then back to Argentina. We arrived in El Calafate by 3:30 pm and grabbed a taxi to pick up our bus tickets for the next day’s trip to Puerto Natales. The bus terminal is about 15 min. away from the airport and costs like $10 USD to get there by taxi. We had to pick up our tickets the day before because they needed to verify our passport info for the border crossing. The bus office (Cootra) closes at 4:30 pm so keep this in mind if you choose to use them and fly into El Calafate before then! We stayed overnight at Hostal Gnomos, which is a 5 min. walk from the bus station.

• The next day: woke up early to catch the 7:30 am bus to Puerto Natales. We got to the bus station by 7 am though as we heard horror stories of buses leaving without people if they were not on time. The Cootra bus was quite nice and comfortable. It’s a double decker bus (you can reserve seats in advance) and there is a bathroom on board for the 5-6 hour drive. The driver didn’t really speak English though but we figured things out. By the time we got to the border crossing it was about noon and the whole process took an hour. On the Argentina side, they just stamp your passport. On the Chile side, they stamp your passport but they also scan your luggage (we had no problem bringing in snacks or food—I think someone got fruit in—but from what I heard it really depends on the mood of the officers!). The Chile passport security check has bathrooms which was much needed after the long drive. The Argentina side does not, and going on the bus is not really fun. So after security check it was another 45 minutes to Puerto Natales. When we arrived, we grabbed a taxi for 2000 Chilean pesos to Hotel Vendaval (like $5 USD). I had gotten Chilean pesos before the trip at Chase Bank (they didn’t offer Argentian pesos though and all I took was $60 USD equivalent in Chilean pesos which was more than enough. I never needed Chilean pesos on the W trek, just for the taxis. We ended up using the money for dinners in town though but they take credit cards). Checked into Hotel Vendaval.

• In the evening, we had our briefing at the office of Chile Nativo (literally a 2 min. walk from the hotel) and met our two tour guides, the rest of our tour group (10 people in total!) and got the details of the trip.

• The next day: got picked up at 6:30 am on Friday morning, November 9, 2018 for the hiking trip of a lifetime!!!

Other Info

Other resources that really helped me for the trip:

• This website someone recommended on Trip Advisor was amazingly helpful to check out the weather forecast in Torres del Paine: www.mountain-forecast.com. Just be sure to pick the lowest altitude and convert it to Fahrenheit if needed. I checked the forecast every day for a week before arrival and it was 90% spot on in predicting the weather we would be having in an unpredictable place.

• REI. I love this store. I know I’m late to the game but I grew up as a city slicker. I never grew up camping or being in the outdoors! But REI and the people who work there were wonderful resources for me in terms of what gear I needed for this trip. I got my backpack, trekking poles, jackets, windproof pants, blister bandaids, everything here. I’ll do a post later on the gear I got.