Our plan is to stay at the refugio Paine Grande for 2 nights (which will allow us to explore the Grey Glacier and the French Valley) and 1 night at refugio Chileno (for the sunrise over the Torres del Paine). It’s our take on the classic ‘W’ park trek. It’s a 3-hour bus ride from Puerto Natales to Pudeto in Torres del Paine NP. Here, a catamaran crosses Lago Pehoe to refugio Paine Grande, although we have time for a quick peek at the nearby waterfall, Salto Grande, before the launch leaves.
Considering it’s still early in the season there are a surprising number of hikers on the catamaran all requiring accommodation. Being irredeemably anal, Christi and I would have normally booked a bed in advance but the park offices have been closed recently in celebration of back-to-back national holidays. This could be a problem, but we have a plan. Once the boat docks, and this Hunger Games-style contest begins, Christi is going to run like buggery to snag whatever limited accommodation is available. If necessary, she’ll employ a series of lethal poisons concealed within her pharmaceutical bag of tricks to take out the opposition, so we’re pretty confident of success. I’ll be struggling along in Christi’s wake shouldering an overstuffed backpack (that holds everything we’ll need over the next few days) but I fully intend to delay as many contestants as possible along the way. And you think I’m joking!
Thankfully Christi secures us two bunk beds without having to resort to the poison. We unload our gear, and trusting to the fact that no-one wants to steal our grungy thermal pajamas, we have a bite to eat and head out on the trail to Lago Grey glacier. In light of the fact that tomorrow will be a long day we choose the shorter of the two hiking options available: a 4-hour round trip journey to a viewpoint overlooking the lake and the glacier. It’s cool and overcast as we stride out of the valley and around the slopes of Cerro Paine Grande, which dominate the views from the refugio (at least they do when not covered in clouds). We cross a narrow strip of land from Lago Pehoe to Lago Grey and follow the shoreline to the cliff-top viewpoint of the glacier. The three fingers of glacial ice appears to be literally crushing the volcanic rock it encounters during its relentless passage down the valley towards the lake. The wind here is absolutely ferocious and we have to crouch-down to avoid being blown away. We put on sunglasses – not to shade us from the sun, but so that we can keep our eyes open in the teeth of the gale. The hike sure builds up an appetite and we’re absolutely ravenous by the time we reach the refugio again.
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart, a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching, laugh-wrenching tale
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