Torres del Paine and the W Trek: French Valley

Day 2

We retraced our steps back to Paine Grande Lodge. The W involves a lot of out-and-back hikes, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that hiking the other direction revealed entirely new and beautiful views. On the way towards the glacier, we had of course been looking towards the glacier and the lake that it feeds. On the way back we had a stunning view out over the rolling hills towards snow-capped peaks. 
At Paine Grande Lodge we kept going, approaching the Cuernos and skirting around lakes, until we crossed a raging glacial river and reached our next campsite, right at the mouth of the French Valley, which forms the middle leg of the W.

Marching towards Los Cuernos

The bridge to get to our campsite

In case you didn't realize where to refill your water. 
(hint: it's the river)

A glacial river and the source of our water

Matt icing his aching knee at a natural source!

Day 3

This day was a short hike- up into the valley to a lookout, then back out a few kilometers to our next campsite. The climb to the lookout involved a steep ascent at the end, but was otherwise one of the most pleasant hikes of the entire route. We walked along a glacial river, through shady woods, and enjoyed good weather the entire morning. Every so often the glaciers on the mountain side would break with a loud rumble. A few times we even saw the small avalanche as it happened. At the lookout we were surrounded by strange and striking rock formations carved by glaciers.

Another hiker was nice enough to take our photo. It came out crooked, so we asked for another one. He laughed, took a second photo, and said, 'there, that's better.' This is that second photo.

As usual, these glaciers were much bigger and much farther away than they appeared- their true size was evident when they periodically calved.

On the way out, we had a view out of the valley at a landscape dotted with stunningly blue lakes.

Torres del Paine and the W Trek: The Torres Themselves

Day 4

We still had 2 days of hiking left to get to the Base las Torres viewpoint. On the penultimate day, we found ourselves descending to walk along the shore of the beautifully blue Lake Nordenskold. It rained off and on, and we kept leapfrogging a group of slower hikers who caught up to us whenever we stopped to put on or take off our rain gear. Finally everyone settled on an outfit they were comfortable with- for some this meant getting wet but not overheating, and for others it mean staying dry but a little too hot. We were glad to leave behind out trail companions, who had begun to tease and mock us.

And speaking of leaving people behind, we eventually had to split our group in two- Maya and Matt to the El Chileno campsite, and Briton to the Hotel las Torres campsite. The trail to the El Chileno site wound through a meadow and a grassy region that had become almost too muddy to walk through due to the rain. The last stretch brought us through the appropriately named Windy Pass (that's Windy as in Gusty, not Sinuous- although in fact it was both). A train of horses passed us, bringing supplies to El Chileno, which felt like a nice bit of closure after stepping over horse poop the entire day. 

At El Chileno, it was fully raining and a sign hung outside the check-in area which read, "Don't ask us about the weather- we don't know." When we checked in, they handed us a hammer and a bucket of nails to secure our tent to the wooden platform.

Windy Pass 

On our way through the Windy Pass, we met some friends we'd made on the trail who told us that it was currently snowing at the Torres. The next day we had slightly better luck. The weather was nice and although the Torres were mostly covered in clouds, they did briefly appear (at maybe 75% visibility) while we were there. As we left, the clouds cleared again- but the trail was getting more crowded by the minute, so we left.

The lake at the base of the Torres- the Torres are to the left, covered in cloud

This is about as much of the Torres as we saw- enough for me!

We caught an evening bus back to Puerto Natales, where Karen was waiting for us with a Chilean specialty: take-out sushi!  Instead of raw fish, it features a LOT of cream cheese and (cooked) chicken.  The next day, we killed some time by checking out a cave where the remains of a Milodon (giant sloth) was found.

A replica of what the Milodon looked like.

A section of the cave where it's remains were found.

 For dinner, we indulged in some much-needed FRESH produce at home.

Torres del Paine: Rio Serrano

Views of Río Serrano

While Maya, Matt, and Briton backpacked the "W" for 5 days, Karen stayed in Río Serrano, the closest (and only) town that borders the Torres del Paine park.  So this is my entry!

Prices were steep, but I splurged for the cheapest option available.  It cost about $80 USD/night to sleep in a bunk bed in a 4-guest room.  This is about 8x higher than your average shared place in Chile!!!  The next best option was staying in Puerto Natales, where hostels abound, but are a 2 hour drive from the park which adds up to a lot of travel time over 5 days.

Price aside, I really lucked out with my accommodations- Konkashken Lodge was excellent for a solo traveler!  The lodge is run by a warm family and has a delightful common room that includes a sofa, dining tables, a fireplace, and a shared kitchen.  Both staff and visitors were friendly, so it was easy to spend hours hanging out in the evenings.  It reminded me a lot of cooperative living setups back in SF.

Río Serrano has started being more developed in the last decade, so most hotels there are relatively new.  It's tucked away next to the Río Serrano river and some hills.  There are no stores/gas stations- just hotels among grazing horses, cows, and occasionally pumas!  I didn't see any pumas, but the night before I arrived a puma and her two cubs were seen on the premises.

The view of Torres del Paine from Río Serrano

The same view on a cloudier day

The view of Torres del Paine a bit closer, when entering the Park from Río Serrano.  The water was THIS BLUE.  Apparently the color comes from the minerals in glacial runoff.

Most days, I arranged for rides to some low-key trail heads.  Here are some highlights:

Salto Grande- this waterfall appears relatively small and short, but upon closer inspection, you can tell that LOTS of water is passing through.  It was pretty neat to watch.

Glacier Grey Beach- a flat but WINDY walk along this beach gives you a far-off view of Glacier Grey.  You can also pay for a boat cruise that takes you right up to the glacier or another smaller boat that drops you off at a closer trail head.

The horizon line from the Glacier Grey beach

Another day, I headed to the north end of the park and caught tons of guanacos.  When we stopped to take pictures of this group, the alpha male came right up to us.  Not sure if it was an invitation to join the herd or an aggressive stare-down.

Note the actual Torres of Torres del Paine in the background

Laguna Azul- a very quiet and tranquil spot compared to the rest of the park, due to its remoteness.  We had to drive about 2.5 hours from Río Serrano to get here. 

Flamingos!- We saw these not far from the guanacos at Laguna Amarga on our drive north through the park.

Some fun-looking bits of nature:

These pillow-y green shrubs dot the landscape of Torres del Paine.  Although they look soft when they're alive and green, this dead one reveals just how much bramble they are made of.

On a slow day, I hiked into the hills next to Río Serrano to get a better view.  A few minutes into the hike this dog joined me and stuck around for a full two hours!  Higher up on the hill, I ran into another group of German tourists with their own new-found dog companion.  Apparently the dogs of Río Serrano don't like to see people go wandering off alone.

The dog's company was much appreciated!  He would disappear for 5-10 minutes at a time but then come bounding back to me to check in.  On the way down, he got into a small a fight with a fox- they ended up growling and bearing their teeth at each other, before we moved on our way.  It was very neat to see the fox so close up, but I would not recommend.

Sadly, the dog ran off to chase a bike the minute I set foot back in town.  Many dogs in town are owned by horse and cattle stables, and they go out with people on horseback to herd wandering livestock in the evenings.  Maybe the dogs like herding people in their free time?  When I got back to the lodge, the staff told me his name is Mauricio :)

Los Cuernos

Karen's First Glimpse of Los Cuernos

 Far and away, Karen's favorite part of Torres del Paine was the "Los Cuernos", or The Horns, mountain.  They can be seen from several view points throughout the park, and they don't get old!  Words don't really do Los Cuernos justice, but here's a brief description: There are two larger horns, with a couple smaller ones surrounding them at their base.  The tips of the horns are also darker and contrast strikingly with the granite lower down.  The Los Cuernos mountain juts up behind Lago Pehoe,  Lago Nordenskjold, and a series of rolling green mountains, so there are plenty of beautiful backdrops to observe them from.

On the Mirador Cuernos trail

Overlooking Lago Nordenskjold

The following photos are from a particularly cloud-free day:

Observing from a bit farther out near the Explora all-inclusive hotel- guests spend a minimum of $1,000/person/day here.  Sounds more like all-exclusive to me.

This photo looks fake to me... 

But I'm in this one, so it can't be fake!  
(unless they photoshopped me in)