Torres del Paine: Done!

Long. Grueling. Exhausting. Trekking 80+ miles on rough terrain with a 35lb pack, and in about six days, might be one of the most difficult things I've ever done.

Day 1: Bienvenidos a Paine

Laguna Amarga - Campamento Seron

Distance Covered: 10.25 miles; Total trekking time: 4.5 hours

11 of us took a 7:30am bus from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine. Aftering paying a 15,000 peso entry fee, we were on our way. One of the guys in our group dubbed "Captain Football" (because he wanted to make it back in time for the superbowl) led us astray and we ended up taking the long way to our camp. Spirits were high though that first night, and bottles of whiskey and vodka were passed around, in the name of reducing pack weight. I sustained approximately 10 mosquito bites that night... three of which were in close proximity on my forehead so that when I woke up, I felt like I'd been socked in the face. Good times.

Day 2: Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Campamento Seron - Campamento Perros

Distance Covered: 17.40 miles; Total trekking time: 8.5 hours

Okay, the sweat is self explanatory but before we started trekking, a tent pole snapped, hit me in the face, and split my lip (blood). Anyone in Krav knows that physical trauma makes me cry (hence, tears). After that incident, it was hours of trekking with a full-fledged effort not to bite at my lip. From Campamento Seron, we did a lunch stop at Campamento Dickson with the possibility of staying the night there. But when we got there, the mosquitos were out in full force. Biggest mosquitos I'd ever seen and they weren't scared of 100% Deet. Saw a guy walking away with big red welts all over his back. Definitely not staying there. A group of us moved on to Campamento Perros, but in the end, only seven of us made it.

Day 3: The Pass

Campamento Perros - Campamento Los Guardas

Distance Covered: 11.18 miles; Total trekking time: 6.5 hours

The pass is supposed to be the most difficult part of the circuit. In all honesty, it wasn't that bad. But the 800 meter downhill got the best even of me and for the rest of the trip, my right knee would bug me after only a few hours of trekking. Two girls stayed behind to wait for the other four to catch up.

Day 4: My Body, Ow.

Campamento Los Guardas - Campamento Italiano

Distance Covered: 14.04 miles; Total trekking time: 8.25 hours

This was my hell day. The right side of my body seemed to be most tramautized by what I was doing to it. Growing blister on my right foot, right knee aching with every step, right quad muscle burning more than the left, and my right hip start hurting for good measure. I got used to beating trek estimates, but today I was really hurting and performing well above par. For the first hour, I walked by Glaciar Grey - incredibly beautiful. The next pass is from Refugio Grey to Refugio Paine Grande.

This too was beautiful... you have a view of the glaciar behind you, mountains and green forest surrounding you. Seeing these views, you remember why you're putting your body through all this. So getting to Paine Grande was a struggle but I rewarded myself by buying a sausage and a coke. (Luxury items that one does not pack on a 7-10 day trek). But Paine Grande to Campamento Italiano was hell. Everything hurt. I had hours ahead of me. I was alone. (We all walked at our own pace and that usually meant trekking hours by yourself and meeting up at the campsite later). All those dark "why the hell am I doing this" thoughts were in full force. I even started crying a couple times. Not good.

Day 5: And Then There Were Three

Campamento Italiano - Campamento Chileno

Distance Covered: 21.75 miles; Total trekking time: 10 hours

Only three of us made it to Campamento Italiano - team Zodiac Awesome. Originally, we had crazy plans of waking up at 5:30am and geting to a far away Campamento by nightfall, all in hopes of catching the gypsy train back to Puerto Natales the next day. (A group of travelers bought a bus, called it the Gypsy Train, and offered us a ride). But at 5:30am, it was pouring rain and that plan was scrapped. Still it was a long, long day. We went up past Campamento Britannico and back down to Campamento Italiano. From there to Refugio Los Cuernos. 6-7 hours more to go. I popped two advil because my legs were aching having already trekked 6.5 hours. Then I hoofed it. Determined to reach Campamento Chileno before nightfall I went as fast as I could up the stupid hill-ridden path. It was supposed to be a shortcut. Worst. Shortcut. Ever. But I made it in 3hrs 35 mins and had a beer to celebrate :)

Day 6: Finally, An Easy Day

Refugio Chileno - Campamento Torres

Distance Covered: 4 miles; Total Trekking Time: 1.5 hours

Only had to go --- kilometers today. Took about an hour. Nice. Not as nice: Thought I'd go the entire trip without having to dig a hole... but this short trek is the one that got the best of me. :/ Got to Campamento Torres, the base from which you can climb to the lookout point, the main attraction of Torres del Paine. The plan was to wait 4am and see it at sunrise, but we went up just in case. Clouds were partially covering the towers but it was good to see the super steep climb we had ahead of us (in the dark, at 4am).

Day 7: Why We Do This To Ourselves

Campamento Torres - Hotel Las Torres

Distance Covered: 6+ miles; Total Trekking Time: 4.5 hours

Two people from our original group joined us the night before so it would be five of us to make it up together. Awake at 4am to start the 45 minute climb straight up. Waiting for sunrise, I huddled in my sleeping bag while winds blasted us from every direction. (Winds at Torres del Paine reach up to 180km per hour. Crazy.)

The sky got lighter and lighter and then suddenly, there was a moment when the Torres were lit up, glowing almost red from the sunlight. It passed just as quickly as it came, but we got our perfect day. Supposedly, the Torres hadn't been cloud-free in a week but as we climbed up to them, you could see stars shining and when the sun was out, no clouds to obscure the view.

Really quite breathtaking. We all basked in our accomplishment, took pictures, and then started the long climb down. Torres del Paine circuit trek.... Done!

Took the bus back to Puerto Natales, had one of the best meals ever (lomo a lo pobre), made guacamole for Superbowl XLV, and watched Rodgers take us all the way there. Go Bears! (I mean, of course, Go Packers) :)

Body still hasn't quite recovered but I trust that it will. Moving on to El Calafate to see the Perito Moreno Glaciar and then more hiking in El Chalten on Cerro Fitz Roy.