Backpacking Torres del Paine, Patagonia
I had always dreamed of backpacking the W circuit, but when it came time to actually do it, it was hard to find the information we needed. Here's a recap of our experiences - four of us went in Feb / March 2011 - starting from Punta Arenas, where we flew after a brief stop in Santiago.
A couple of notes before I start: be careful about the food you bring! The customs agents really do go through your bag (although they relied on us to point out the food), will very much fine you, and will confiscate anything that they think is suspicious. Freeze-dried packaged food was fine (we did have to open some of it, FYI) but generally nuts were not. If nothing else, please declare that you are bringing supplies into the country, as the fines are pretty hefty and someone in our party did have to pay (puppy dogs eyes and profuse apologies did not suffice.) Plan to buy supplies and fuel in either Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales.
From Santiago, the group of us flew into Punta Arenas, where we bought gas and some food supplies from the Zona Franca (Duty Free Zone; gas we found at the Baifer store which is in the mall kitty-corner from the big Sanchez y Sanchez.) Getting there can be done via cab hire (cost 3000), bus (the #8), walk (we were told about 20 min) or a cab-share program that is run. For the latter, you walk into the center of town (Magallanes Street I believe) and look for a cab with the number 15 or 20 on it. You will see people lined up at the “cab stops” for them, and just hail one down with an open seat. The cost is 350 pp. Another option is to buy supplies in Puerto Natales – I had heard that this is difficult in high season but there seemed no shortage when we visited in March.
While in Punta Arenas, we visited Isla Magallanes to see the swarms of penguins nesting there. There are multiple tours for this a day, at least one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We purchased our tickets through Comapa, a tour agency with an office right in town (cost 25,000 each). Alternatively, you can look for the Transbordadora Austral Broom tickets directly (http://www.tabsa.cl/Eng/Html/Magdalena.php#Novedades). Their boat is equal to other nice passenger ferries I’ve seen, with upholstered seats, bathrooms, and a small counter selling snacks and hot cocoa (there is no food on the island.) The two-hour (each way) boat ride is warm and boring, so bring something to do and the hour on the island can be chilly, so we were glad we had jackets and hats.
From Punta Arenas, it is simple to buy tickets to Puerto Natales (cost 4000). Go to the Bus Fernandez counter – there are multiple trips a day and you are assigned seats for the trip you want (http://busesfernandez.com/.) This is on Avenue Sanhueza near Ignacio Carrera Pinto. The bus ride to Puerto Natales is in a big passenger bus and scenic. There are no stops, so brings snacks. (There is a bathroom on board.)
In Puerto Natales, we stayed at the Keoken, where the owner was very helpful in arranging further travel, giving advice, and storing our luggage while we were gone. You can also do these things yourself; this would save cost - we know there were small markups on a couple of items - but we found it enjoyable to instead go out and see the city while he did the legwork. It was also great to have a place to store the extra baggage we had and not worry about it while we were camping.
Through him, we purchased tickets on Bus Gomez (www.busesgomez.com) to the Torres del Paine park. It’s also a big passenger bus, and takes a few hours, depending on where you are going. There are multiple stops – at the Administration office, Pudeto, and Laguna Amarga. Everyone, from multiple buses, gets off at the Administration office, where you pay your park entry fee (cost 15000.) Then for us there was a bus shuffle, with those of us going to Pudeto filing in to another bus.
Our “W” trek went as follows:
Day 1: Bus to the park, Catamaran across Lake Pehoe, and the hike from Guarderia Pehoe to Campamento Los Guardas (11km) with the quick trip to the viewpoint
Day 2: Refugio Grey to Campamento Italiano (18.6km)
Day 3: Day hike into Valle del Frances and back out, then onto Campamento Los Cuernos
Day 4:
Day 5: Pre-sunrise hike up to the Torres viewpoint, then out to Laguna Amarga for the shuttle + bus to Puerto Natales
Once you arrive at Pudeto, head down to the catamaran loading area. (There are bathrooms on the way.) You purchase tickets on the boat for the ~40 min ride, which I imagine would have been scenic had it not been raining. All bags are stored in one location so if you do want to have access to money / camera / etc, pack these in a smaller bag. The catamaran brings you to Guarderia Pehoe, where there are more bathrooms, a covered cooking area, and a ranger station. Since there’s a refugio too, there are also options to sleep there, buy food, etc. As this is a stop in/out, we found that there was extra gas there (don't count on this!) sitting in one of the covered food prep areas.
We set off pretty quickly for Campamento Los Guardas (11km hike.) Although the map lists this at about 2.5 hours, we found that to be an underestimate. We probably hiked for about 3 hours, and had stops (including a lunch) for another hour. Some of this also depends on how many photos you want to take – we didn’t stop everything for pictures but we did take a few, especially when we got high enough that you can begin to see Grey Glacier in the distance. Although we generally had great weather, it was very windy on this part of the trail. The wind isn’t bad – you’re mostly hiking on rock and solid ground, so there’s not the issue of blowing sand / dirt – but I still lost my baseball cap. This probably also depends on what size pack you are carrying; we had about 35-45 lbs on our backs, but many others (staying in the refugios) are only hiking with daypacks and blew by us.
At Refugio Grey, you pay per person to set up your tent. There is a Refugio there, and you can generally buy “snacks” – chips, cookies, whole (raw) eggs, etc. The markup is high, but not as bad as I’d expect all things considered. You can also pay for a meal plan or for individual meals, even if you’re staying in a tent. We did this day four (about $10 a person) and it was a treat to not have to set up the tent, boil water, and eat freeze-dried food.
Another option, besides hiking, (that I am not entirely sure is possible, but did hear about) is to take the Grey Glacier sightseeing boat one way to the Refugio. If this is feasible, it saves you hours of hiking. The downside is that although you’re doing the exact same trip two days in a row, I would say the way towards the glacier is generally more attractive than the reverse. And since day 2 is harder anyway (since you continue to Campamento Italiano), I would see if you could arrange to hike out to Refugio Grey and boat back. I have no idea, if even available, if the times would work for this, but it might be something worth looking into.
Another option to “treat yourself” is to forgo the tent and stay at the Refugio. This would change your trekking of the W – our route involved some campsites without Refugios – but generally seemed like a pretty pleasant affair, if you are willing to spend the money. I do admit to being jealous of the hikers (carrying day packs!) that sped by us as we hauled tent, stove, food, etc up the same paths. The Refugios have showers (warm water too – I wish I had known this) that even tenters can use, so bring some soap, flip flops, and a quick-dry towel. If you do stay at the Refugio, I would pack lightly; there’s really no need for a big pack, as they’ll prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for you, and you’ll move much quicker. The meals packed also seem fairly healthy, fyi - on more than one occassion we passed people eating fresh carrots or fruit provided as their snack.
Day two takes you from Grey to Italiano, passing by Pehoe en route. There are beautiful views, especially just after Pehoe as you pass along the lakes. A great spot for a break is when you walk along Lake, where the scenery changes dramatically from earlier in the day and it’s peaceful to sit on the rocks lining the water. Campamento Italiano is tent only and was a mess when we went; with the toilets broken and people being pretty disgusting with their liberal interpretation of the rules. Please people! If you need to use the bathroom in the woods, do it away from the water and pack out your TP!
We left our tent up at Italiano while we hiked into Valle del Frances on day three. This hike was harder than we anticipated in the beginning, mostly due to the terrain on our we-haven’t-been-hiking-all-winter knees. I would suggest bringing poles. Before the viewpoint, the area clears, and you can sit and watch the avalanches on. It’s a great spot for lunch. After getting back and packing up our things, we continued on to Los Cuernos.
Day four was the roughest day because it was the hottest and sunniest and the hike is mostly exposed the entire day. Take the opportunities to rest in the shade when they come up and you are warm, because they’re not always frequent in parts. En route, there is a turnoff for a shortcut to take you around Laguna Amarga which shaves hiking time off (you’ll appreciate it) and is less busy.
While in Punta Arenas, we visited Isla Magallanes to see the swarms of penguins nesting there. There are multiple tours for this a day, at least one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We purchased our tickets through Comapa, a tour agency with an office right in town (cost 25,000 each). Alternatively, you can look for the Transbordadora Austral Broom tickets directly (http://www.tabsa.cl/Eng/Html/Magdalena.php#Novedades). Their boat is equal to other nice passenger ferries I’ve seen, with upholstered seats, bathrooms, and a small counter selling snacks and hot cocoa (there is no food on the island.) The two-hour (each way) boat ride is warm and boring, so bring something to do and the hour on the island can be chilly, so we were glad we had jackets and hats.
From Punta Arenas, it is simple to buy tickets to Puerto Natales (cost 4000). Go to the Bus Fernandez counter – there are multiple trips a day and you are assigned seats for the trip you want (http://busesfernandez.com/.) This is on Avenue Sanhueza near Ignacio Carrera Pinto. The bus ride to Puerto Natales is in a big passenger bus and scenic. There are no stops, so brings snacks. (There is a bathroom on board.)
In Puerto Natales, we stayed at the Keoken, where the owner was very helpful in arranging further travel, giving advice, and storing our luggage while we were gone. You can also do these things yourself; this would save cost - we know there were small markups on a couple of items - but we found it enjoyable to instead go out and see the city while he did the legwork. It was also great to have a place to store the extra baggage we had and not worry about it while we were camping.
Through him, we purchased tickets on Bus Gomez (www.busesgomez.com) to the Torres del Paine park. It’s also a big passenger bus, and takes a few hours, depending on where you are going. There are multiple stops – at the Administration office, Pudeto, and Laguna Amarga. Everyone, from multiple buses, gets off at the Administration office, where you pay your park entry fee (cost 15000.) Then for us there was a bus shuffle, with those of us going to Pudeto filing in to another bus.
Our “W” trek went as follows:
Day 1: Bus to the park, Catamaran across Lake Pehoe, and the hike from Guarderia Pehoe to Campamento Los Guardas (11km) with the quick trip to the viewpoint
Day 2: Refugio Grey to Campamento Italiano (18.6km)
Day 3: Day hike into Valle del Frances and back out, then onto Campamento Los Cuernos
Day 4:
Day 5: Pre-sunrise hike up to the Torres viewpoint, then out to Laguna Amarga for the shuttle + bus to Puerto Natales
Once you arrive at Pudeto, head down to the catamaran loading area. (There are bathrooms on the way.) You purchase tickets on the boat for the ~40 min ride, which I imagine would have been scenic had it not been raining. All bags are stored in one location so if you do want to have access to money / camera / etc, pack these in a smaller bag. The catamaran brings you to Guarderia Pehoe, where there are more bathrooms, a covered cooking area, and a ranger station. Since there’s a refugio too, there are also options to sleep there, buy food, etc. As this is a stop in/out, we found that there was extra gas there (don't count on this!) sitting in one of the covered food prep areas.
We set off pretty quickly for Campamento Los Guardas (11km hike.) Although the map lists this at about 2.5 hours, we found that to be an underestimate. We probably hiked for about 3 hours, and had stops (including a lunch) for another hour. Some of this also depends on how many photos you want to take – we didn’t stop everything for pictures but we did take a few, especially when we got high enough that you can begin to see Grey Glacier in the distance. Although we generally had great weather, it was very windy on this part of the trail. The wind isn’t bad – you’re mostly hiking on rock and solid ground, so there’s not the issue of blowing sand / dirt – but I still lost my baseball cap. This probably also depends on what size pack you are carrying; we had about 35-45 lbs on our backs, but many others (staying in the refugios) are only hiking with daypacks and blew by us.
At Refugio Grey, you pay per person to set up your tent. There is a Refugio there, and you can generally buy “snacks” – chips, cookies, whole (raw) eggs, etc. The markup is high, but not as bad as I’d expect all things considered. You can also pay for a meal plan or for individual meals, even if you’re staying in a tent. We did this day four (about $10 a person) and it was a treat to not have to set up the tent, boil water, and eat freeze-dried food.
Another option, besides hiking, (that I am not entirely sure is possible, but did hear about) is to take the Grey Glacier sightseeing boat one way to the Refugio. If this is feasible, it saves you hours of hiking. The downside is that although you’re doing the exact same trip two days in a row, I would say the way towards the glacier is generally more attractive than the reverse. And since day 2 is harder anyway (since you continue to Campamento Italiano), I would see if you could arrange to hike out to Refugio Grey and boat back. I have no idea, if even available, if the times would work for this, but it might be something worth looking into.
Another option to “treat yourself” is to forgo the tent and stay at the Refugio. This would change your trekking of the W – our route involved some campsites without Refugios – but generally seemed like a pretty pleasant affair, if you are willing to spend the money. I do admit to being jealous of the hikers (carrying day packs!) that sped by us as we hauled tent, stove, food, etc up the same paths. The Refugios have showers (warm water too – I wish I had known this) that even tenters can use, so bring some soap, flip flops, and a quick-dry towel. If you do stay at the Refugio, I would pack lightly; there’s really no need for a big pack, as they’ll prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for you, and you’ll move much quicker. The meals packed also seem fairly healthy, fyi - on more than one occassion we passed people eating fresh carrots or fruit provided as their snack.
Day two takes you from Grey to Italiano, passing by Pehoe en route. There are beautiful views, especially just after Pehoe as you pass along the lakes. A great spot for a break is when you walk along Lake
We left our tent up at Italiano while we hiked into Valle del Frances on day three. This hike was harder than we anticipated in the beginning, mostly due to the terrain on our we-haven’t-been-hiking-all-winter knees. I would suggest bringing poles. Before the viewpoint, the area clears, and you can sit and watch the avalanches on
Day four was the roughest day because it was the hottest and sunniest and the hike is mostly exposed the entire day. Take the opportunities to rest in the shade when they come up and you are warm, because they’re not always frequent in parts. En route, there is a turnoff for a shortcut to take you around Laguna Amarga which shaves hiking time off (you’ll appreciate it) and is less busy.
posted by Janine @ 9:09 AM
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