Thanks for checking in. Your efforts will be rewarded with a harrowing tale of trekking the "W" in Torres del Paine National Park. Actually, it wasn't so crazy or dangerous or anything, but it was good fun.
First of all, the town of Puerto Natales is home base for excursions into Torres del Paine. I arrived a week ago (last Monday), and really liked what I saw. Sure, it's a bit touristy, but it's also an old fishing port and you can tell there's more going on than just the tourism. Here's are a few pics of fishing at sunset with a fella from San Francisco I met while hiking:
Pretty cool. Anyway, I stayed two nights in a great hostel called Backpackers Kaweska (and have since returned after *spoiler alert* finishing the hike alive and well). Very chill atmosphere, and largely empty since my arrival. Que lastima. Their loss is my gain, though, as I've largely had the place and the friendly owners to myself.
Anywho, I attended a free info session on hiking the W on Tuesday and decided to start on Wednesday. That was after several failed attempts to infiltrate others' travel groups. Observation: people seem rather wary of the solo traveller and generally protective of the travel group they've assembled. Other solos and duos tend to be more friendly and open. I've tried to not take it personally and just move on.
Okay, so after several hours of bus Wednesday morning I arrived at Torres del Paine. I was immediately greeted by insane winds. I'll post a video to Facebook when I get a chance. I'm guessing they were consistently nearly 100km/h. I hiked the "tail" into the park, which was about 15km or so and straight into the wind. It was wild. I did have some wicked cool trekking poles that I happily rented from my hostel. Those helped.
There was even a rainbow! Basically puppies, candy, and unicorns. Plus wind. I made good time, though, and continued on past one Refugio (basically a large cabin/camping ground) for another called Refugio Grey. This refers to Lago and Glacier Grey, which are both nearby. It was another 10km and only a bit less windy. A long first day, but the views were worth it, per usual.
Unfortunately, it got a bit cloudy toward the end. I set up camp, took a brief ice cold shower, bought a beer from the shop, and was social as I cooked dinner in the dining area. Met some folks who, because we were headed in the same direction, I'd continue to see throughout the next 4 days.
Unfortunately, this also marked my first of several encounters with mice. Although some may claim otherwise, they are most definitely a problem, as nearly everyone I spoke to had some encounter. For my part, I hung my food too low and woke up to find my dried fruit infiltrated and my orange juice leaking. Waaaah.
But onward and upward, right? Backtracked at first (the route is the shape of a W, and the first night was spent at the tip of the first arm). Hiked a bit with my new pal James from San Francisco. He's travelling for a year. This day ended at Campamento Italiano, which was a really sweet little campsite. The weather was beautiful.
Guess who I ran into at Campamento Italiano?!
For those not in the know, that's my former coworker Nellie and her now-fiancé (!!) Mike. We knew we'd both be down in the area, but otherwise this was completely by chance. We ate dinner and chatted and marveled at the small size of the universe. There was no Refugio at this campsite, but that also meant no light pollution, which in turn resulted in perhaps the most beautiful starry sky I've ever seen. Couldn't really take a picture, but trust me.
I was mouse free that night after hanging my food much higher. Nellie and Mike were not. I think the little buggers knawed on the nozzle of their camelback.
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