So Friday morning we were up early, packs ready, thermals on awaiting the 7.30am bus. Bill (the hostel owner) sent us off with a hearty breakfast of omelette and homemade bread and we boarded the bus wondering what the next few days would have in store for us.
In true Henderson style we decided to make life a bit harder for ourselves by adding an extra bit to the first day's walk. So we were dropped off by the bus at the Sede Administration CONAF office at the bottom of the park where we would walk (17.5km) round Lake Pehoe to Refugio Grande rather than taking the 30 minute Catamaran journey across the lake, like most of the others on our bus. This was a beautiful walk which starts crossing the flat plains leading up to the mountain ranges and lakes, from afar this allowed us a glimpse of what lay ahead of us and as we neared the lake this built up into an exciting picture of the terrain and scenery we would face.
We reached the first Refugio around 3pm and allowed ourselves a generous 1 hr lunch break before we started the hike to Glacier Grey campsite. 
The weather had been very kind to us that morning, with beautiful blue skies, however, as we finished our sandwiches and prepared to set off for the afternoon the weather broke and the heavens opened, lashing us with wind and rain. Luckily this didn't last too long and the sun made a welcome return as we continued our climb to the glacier. The paths were well marked but the terrain was mixed, at some points we were walking through muddy woodland paths, while at others we were marching across streams and scaling boulders. 
The hard work was rewarded with some truly stunning views of Glacier Grey on route. We made it to the campsite about 7.30pm, both tired and hungry. We quickly pitched the tent before succumbing to a hot shower, this was not a great idea - as soon as we were out the shower the cold, icy air hit and we were chilled to the bone. We brewed up on our stove and quickly discovered, tea has never tasted so good as when you are 
camping next to a glacier and can't feel your fingers and toes from the cold! Then we got on with preparing our pasta and sauce dinner, which disappeared within seconds! We were both shattered after the 7 ½ hrs of walking that day so it wasn't long before we were ensconced in our sleeping bags ready for bed. Unfortunately though, neither of us was to get much sleep that night, camping next to a glacier is pretty chilly and we were both awoke several times throughout the night trying in vain to warm up cold hands, feet, noses, etc!
Finally morning came and we were up and on our way again, after a satisfying bowl of porridge and a cuppa! David wasn't so keen on the porridge, luckily Lynne was ready and waiting to finish of the leftovers! We walked the 3 ½ hrs back down the trail to the Lake where we prepared and ate another exciting lunch of pasta and sauce, then we began the shorter (2hr), and considerably easier, walk to Los Italianos campsite at the foot of the Valle de Francés. The campsite was spread across some woodland and we found a sheltered spot not too far from the river (our water supply for the day). After pitching the tent we got on with cooking up some rice and vegetables before we heading off to bed, hoping for a bit more sleep than the previous night. Unfortunately, once again it was a chilly night, particularly for David, whose 'summer' weather sleeping bag wasn't really up to the job.
We got up early and set off on the climb through the Valle de Francés. The first hour was a steep climb over boulders and through forest trails. We were making good timing until we lost the path at a river crossing, instead of cutting over the river we headed up the bank, we walked about 20 minutes uphill before we agreed that this probably wasn't the correct route. We weren't too sure where we had lost the path but didn't think it could be too far away, 
so we found a bit of high ground to scan the area from, thinking we could see the path we cut across some shrubbery to find just another stream, it was at this point that David noticed some large, recently made paw prints, the evidence seemed to suggest that this was a watering hole for one of the park's resident pumas, so we quickly scarpered, retracing our steps until we finally found the point where we had lost the path and rejoined it, with hearts racing, not daring to think of what might have happened had we run into Mr Puma!!
The last half of the trail was less steep and we found our way to the Mirador where we could enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the snow capped mountainous landscape.
We then headed back down the trail to the campsite where we took the tent down, cooked a quick lunch then made our way (2hrs) to Los Cuernos campsite, a beautiful walk along the coast of the lake. This was Lynne's favourite campsite as it offered the opportunity to have a hot shower in clean bathrooms and then enjoy numerous cups of tea from continuously topped up thermoses in a cosy common area, with a wood burning stove providing much needed heat! After two fairly sleepless nights we decided to hire and extra sleeping bag from the Refugio (for about £4) which we used to sleep on providing some further insulation from the cold ground. We sat drinking tea for a few hours, chatting to some Californians, who were about twice our age and fairly hardcore walkers, the W was merely a walk in the park for them (although I hasten to add they weren't enduring the hardship of camping!!). We then retired to our tent where we huddled in our sleeping bags, considerably warmer than previous evenings and listened to the winds outside. You could hear the wind as it started out on the lake and built up as it blew inland through the forest, bracing yourself for it to hit your tent. Thanks to David's legendary Duke of Edinburgh skills our tent survived the night and we awoke early to find ourselves bathed in sunshine and beautiful blue skies.
We hit the trail around 8, after some more of that delicious porridge and started the 11km trek which would take us to the foot of the Torres. We stopped off for a short break before beginning the steep 4.9km climb to Torres campsite, pausing for a hour to cook lunch halfway up at Refugio Chileno. The climb up to Chileno is the steepest part of this climb and when we finally reached the peak of our climb we were met with gale force winds which blew us into the mountain face and made moving forwards even more of a challenge. We were glad to have our walking poles to dig into the ground and help us progress along the track to the Refugio. Once again we were afforded outstanding views – this time of the Valle Ascencio.
The final part of the day's trek was just an hour's walk to the campsite, this was considerably easier than the first part of the walk as we were sheltered from the winds by woodland and the terrain was far flatter. We reached camp early after approx 5 ¼ hours of tough hiking. We pitched the tent and brewed up before our meal of packet rice and vegetables. We were due to get up before sunrise the next day to trek to the Mirador to watch the sunrise on the Torres so we were in bed by 6pm, fully clothed in all our layers!
We woke at 4am and along with a number of other campers began the 1hr climb to the Mirador. We were behind another walker and followed him for most of the way until we realised that he had veered off the path leading us and another German couple. It was pitch dark and with our limited torchlight we couldn't
find our way back to the path. We ended up in some forest and managed to locate a clearing where we had a good view of the Torres, so it was there that we sat and awaited sunrise and the snow started to fall around us! Sadly, the snow meant that the three Torres were shrouded in clouds and there was to be no beautiful sunrise turning them into the red towers seen on so many postcards. Once the sun was up we could easily see the path and were surprised by how far into the forest we had strayed, we quickly found a more direct route back to the path and headed up to the viewing point we had intended to reach a few hours earlier. Despite the clouds the Torres are still are remarkable and imposing view and we enjoyed a few moments taking in the wonder of our surroundings.
On our return to camp we dismantled the tent for the last time and quickly packed and set off on the 50 min walk back to Chileno where we would make breakfast and enjoy some tea and coffee in the warm dining room there. Then it was downhill for most of the way back! We took our time and enjoyed the walk and some victory banter reaching the bottom of the trek by midday. A popular game was to think of classic marching rhymes – David wanted to record some of his favourite in this blog, but with a threat of a divorce he has decided not to.
In true Henderson style we decided to make life a bit harder for ourselves by adding an extra bit to the first day's walk. So we were dropped off by the bus at the Sede Administration CONAF office at the bottom of the park where we would walk (17.5km) round Lake Pehoe to Refugio Grande rather than taking the 30 minute Catamaran journey across the lake, like most of the others on our bus. This was a beautiful walk which starts crossing the flat plains leading up to the mountain ranges and lakes, from afar this allowed us a glimpse of what lay ahead of us and as we neared the lake this built up into an exciting picture of the terrain and scenery we would face.
We reached the first Refugio around 3pm and allowed ourselves a generous 1 hr lunch break before we started the hike to Glacier Grey campsite. 
The weather had been very kind to us that morning, with beautiful blue skies, however, as we finished our sandwiches and prepared to set off for the afternoon the weather broke and the heavens opened, lashing us with wind and rain. Luckily this didn't last too long and the sun made a welcome return as we continued our climb to the glacier. The paths were well marked but the terrain was mixed, at some points we were walking through muddy woodland paths, while at others we were marching across streams and scaling boulders. 
The hard work was rewarded with some truly stunning views of Glacier Grey on route. We made it to the campsite about 7.30pm, both tired and hungry. We quickly pitched the tent before succumbing to a hot shower, this was not a great idea - as soon as we were out the shower the cold, icy air hit and we were chilled to the bone. We brewed up on our stove and quickly discovered, tea has never tasted so good as when you are 
camping next to a glacier and can't feel your fingers and toes from the cold! Then we got on with preparing our pasta and sauce dinner, which disappeared within seconds! We were both shattered after the 7 ½ hrs of walking that day so it wasn't long before we were ensconced in our sleeping bags ready for bed. Unfortunately though, neither of us was to get much sleep that night, camping next to a glacier is pretty chilly and we were both awoke several times throughout the night trying in vain to warm up cold hands, feet, noses, etc!
Finally morning came and we were up and on our way again, after a satisfying bowl of porridge and a cuppa! David wasn't so keen on the porridge, luckily Lynne was ready and waiting to finish of the leftovers! We walked the 3 ½ hrs back down the trail to the Lake where we prepared and ate another exciting lunch of pasta and sauce, then we began the shorter (2hr), and considerably easier, walk to Los Italianos campsite at the foot of the Valle de Francés. The campsite was spread across some woodland and we found a sheltered spot not too far from the river (our water supply for the day). After pitching the tent we got on with cooking up some rice and vegetables before we heading off to bed, hoping for a bit more sleep than the previous night. Unfortunately, once again it was a chilly night, particularly for David, whose 'summer' weather sleeping bag wasn't really up to the job.
We got up early and set off on the climb through the Valle de Francés. The first hour was a steep climb over boulders and through forest trails. We were making good timing until we lost the path at a river crossing, instead of cutting over the river we headed up the bank, we walked about 20 minutes uphill before we agreed that this probably wasn't the correct route. We weren't too sure where we had lost the path but didn't think it could be too far away, 
so we found a bit of high ground to scan the area from, thinking we could see the path we cut across some shrubbery to find just another stream, it was at this point that David noticed some large, recently made paw prints, the evidence seemed to suggest that this was a watering hole for one of the park's resident pumas, so we quickly scarpered, retracing our steps until we finally found the point where we had lost the path and rejoined it, with hearts racing, not daring to think of what might have happened had we run into Mr Puma!!
The last half of the trail was less steep and we found our way to the Mirador where we could enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the snow capped mountainous landscape. 
We then headed back down the trail to the campsite where we took the tent down, cooked a quick lunch then made our way (2hrs) to Los Cuernos campsite, a beautiful walk along the coast of the lake. This was Lynne's favourite campsite as it offered the opportunity to have a hot shower in clean bathrooms and then enjoy numerous cups of tea from continuously topped up thermoses in a cosy common area, with a wood burning stove providing much needed heat! After two fairly sleepless nights we decided to hire and extra sleeping bag from the Refugio (for about £4) which we used to sleep on providing some further insulation from the cold ground. We sat drinking tea for a few hours, chatting to some Californians, who were about twice our age and fairly hardcore walkers, the W was merely a walk in the park for them (although I hasten to add they weren't enduring the hardship of camping!!). We then retired to our tent where we huddled in our sleeping bags, considerably warmer than previous evenings and listened to the winds outside. You could hear the wind as it started out on the lake and built up as it blew inland through the forest, bracing yourself for it to hit your tent. Thanks to David's legendary Duke of Edinburgh skills our tent survived the night and we awoke early to find ourselves bathed in sunshine and beautiful blue skies.
We hit the trail around 8, after some more of that delicious porridge and started the 11km trek which would take us to the foot of the Torres. We stopped off for a short break before beginning the steep 4.9km climb to Torres campsite, pausing for a hour to cook lunch halfway up at Refugio Chileno. The climb up to Chileno is the steepest part of this climb and when we finally reached the peak of our climb we were met with gale force winds which blew us into the mountain face and made moving forwards even more of a challenge. We were glad to have our walking poles to dig into the ground and help us progress along the track to the Refugio. Once again we were afforded outstanding views – this time of the Valle Ascencio.
The final part of the day's trek was just an hour's walk to the campsite, this was considerably easier than the first part of the walk as we were sheltered from the winds by woodland and the terrain was far flatter. We reached camp early after approx 5 ¼ hours of tough hiking. We pitched the tent and brewed up before our meal of packet rice and vegetables. We were due to get up before sunrise the next day to trek to the Mirador to watch the sunrise on the Torres so we were in bed by 6pm, fully clothed in all our layers!
We woke at 4am and along with a number of other campers began the 1hr climb to the Mirador. We were behind another walker and followed him for most of the way until we realised that he had veered off the path leading us and another German couple. It was pitch dark and with our limited torchlight we couldn't
find our way back to the path. We ended up in some forest and managed to locate a clearing where we had a good view of the Torres, so it was there that we sat and awaited sunrise and the snow started to fall around us! Sadly, the snow meant that the three Torres were shrouded in clouds and there was to be no beautiful sunrise turning them into the red towers seen on so many postcards. Once the sun was up we could easily see the path and were surprised by how far into the forest we had strayed, we quickly found a more direct route back to the path and headed up to the viewing point we had intended to reach a few hours earlier. Despite the clouds the Torres are still are remarkable and imposing view and we enjoyed a few moments taking in the wonder of our surroundings.
On our return to camp we dismantled the tent for the last time and quickly packed and set off on the 50 min walk back to Chileno where we would make breakfast and enjoy some tea and coffee in the warm dining room there. Then it was downhill for most of the way back! We took our time and enjoyed the walk and some victory banter reaching the bottom of the trek by midday. A popular game was to think of classic marching rhymes – David wanted to record some of his favourite in this blog, but with a threat of a divorce he has decided not to.As the bus wasn't until 2.30 we decided we had time to walk the 7km round to the bus stop instead of waiting for the shuttle bus, however Lynne's legs disputed this decision and her pace slowed to that of a toddler, when a kindly mini bus driver slowed and offered us a lift for a measly 1000 Chilean pesos we leapt at the chance and bundled in. The sun was out by this point so after being dropped off we both slept, basking in the sunlight until the bus arrived ending our siestas.
We stayed at a B&B for our final night in Puerto Natales and we were so pleased to be returning to a private double room, with en suite, heating and cable TV!! After some well earned pizza, empanadas, beer and wine we crashed out, enjoying the luxury of a mattress and central heating system!!
The W walk was undoubtedly a highlight for both of us. The scenic views make the physical challenges worth the effort! Camping and lugging all your stuff round in your packs does make this all the harder but the campsites are beautiful and we felt it added to the experience overall (particularly for Lynne whose pack was only half the size of David's!!).
Frank aka Dad says:-
ReplyDeleteThe whole adventure in the "Park" sounds fantastic - despite trying to get some sleep in a sleeping bag you bought for "Island Hopping" in Greece!!!
If Mr. Puma had turned up you could always have talked your way out of it by saying you always bought his families sports gear!
Regarding the marching rhymes I trust you managed at least one chorus of "Marching on together"?
Stay safe and happy.