The "Q"

Torres del Paine is a national park in southern Chile known for its backpacking.  What's funny is that the backpacking experience is much less serene than it should be because of how well known the place is and because of how developed it has become.  Some of the trails and lodging options are just downright silly.  But more on that later...

In general, Torres del Paine ("Towers of the Blue [Sky]") is absolutely stunning, containing jagged mountain peaks down to green pastures, huge ice fields and glaciers, as well as many amazing waterfalls.  I will let the pictures below speak for the natural beauty.

There are 2 main routes in Torres del Paine, named after the shape that they trace out on a map.  The "W" (in red below) is the easiest to access, has the most infrastructure, and can be comfortably done in 3-5 days. The "O", or the "circuit", (in red and blue below) combines the "W" with a loop over John Gardner Pass and is usually completed in 8-10 days (~110 km).  Those routes are fine and all, but we were hoping to enjoy a section of the park less traveled.  This is hard to do at such a popular park.

Enter the "Q" (red, blue, and yellow below).  The advantage of the Q is that you don't have to rely on transportation within the park (which is expensive), you can more easily leave Pto Natales in the afternoon rather than dawn, you have better access to free camping on the 1st and last night of your trek, and you get to see more of the park.  All wins.



(Torres del Paine trail map. Red shows the 3-5 day "W" route.  Red and blue segments comprise the 8-10 day "O" route.  Red, blue, and yellow make our "Q" route.)



A consistent highlight during our trip is when we get to see family and friends along the way.  David and Christie, friends from Colorado, were able to take a vacation from their new (again) home in Peru to hike Torres del Paine.  We are extremely happy that the timing worked out so well!

Jill and I hadn't planned on much backpacking, so we had a couple of things to figure out.  Basically footwear and backpacks, as we had the rest of our camping gear.  We found some relatively cheap and sturdy enough shoes in Ushuaia of all places, and were able to easily rent backpacks in Puerto Natales.  Not quite the perfect fit, but they worked.  Food planning was easy in Pto Natales - one stop at the grocery stores for all the oatmeal, tortillas, pasta, and cheese we would need for 10 days.  And one stop at this little hiker heaven:


(dried food superstore, Pto Natales)

A bus ride took us to the entrance to the park, where we plunked down our almost US$40 (!!) each to go into the park. And that was just the first of many expensive fees, as most of the free campsites have been closed, forcing you to pay between US$8 and 16 per person per night to camp. You can see why we wanted to avoid the US$20 each-way catamaran ride, and try to catch as many free camping nights as possible.

The amazing and varied views that constantly surround you in Torres del Paine make it pretty easy to get over the expense of it. That is, provided the weather lets you take in those views.


(David walking towards Cerro Paine Grande)


(Refugio Paine Grande, where a tent city sprawls below Cerro Paine Grande)


(the quincho, or picnic shelter, gets crowded all the time, especially in inclement weather)


(life on the "W" is still plugged in)


(us trying to stay warm at the top of Valle Francés)


(forest fires have hit this park hard in the past decades, usually started by careless backpackers)


(classic)

Even though Campamento Italiano, at the foot of Valle Francés, was officially closed, it turns into a tent city every night. It was one of the few free campsites that everyone anticipates staying at given its ideal location across the W. We got a bit of rain the night we poached it, and were in for a good solid day of it as we made our way past Cuernos (that place is crappy, and the most expensive - AVOID IT!) and on to camp at the Refugio las Torres.


(valley view, Valle Francés)


(Monte Almirante Nieto)

We spent basically one full day inside the lodge of Refugio las Torres drying out and warming up, even though we slept outside. Although we brought in our own food and spread our socks all over the place, they didn't seem to mind. We did buy a couple of boxes of wine from them to make it even. And we even helped them clean up the plates late at night. Well, we helped them clean off the plates, but it's all the same, right?


(Jill, Christie, David and Mike at Campamento Chileno with the Torres in the background)


(Rio Ascensio)


(we were lucky to have clear skies to catch the towers. This is late afternoon after a day and a half of rain.)


(proof that we were there)


(just in case you were tempted)

The next morning we were excited to start our way around the circuit, leaving the busy "W" trail behind. The W is really busy. Lots of hikers going both directions on the one trail. Some have etiquette. Many don't. But it's fun to guess what language you should use for an "excuse me". Mike was batting around 20% on that one. Jill fared much better.


(Lunch at Campamento Serón. We decided to make this day a long one, skipping over the mosquito infested Serón to head on back to Refugio Dickson. Although it's 26 km (~16 miles) or so, it was mostly flat. Flatish. Some ups and downs. Ok, it was a long day.)


(Christie and David on their way to Dickson)

With the expense of visiting this park, there are some amenities that you just don't find in other national parks. Like a chance to take a hot shower at the refugios, even when camping. The chance to buy box wine (it's Chilean and just find by us!) almost every evening for a bit of a mark-up - it's twice as much as in town, but still only US$8 per liter. Access to toilets in various conditions, some even quite clean. The expense does not include impressive bridge work. For example, in the flat valley between Campamento Serón and Refugio Dickson there is an area that must always be really marshy. The first couple hundred meters was on a very nicely constructed pontoon style bridge. Then it stepped down a notch for a few tens of meters. Then down again. Then kind of left you wondering who just dropped 2x4's from a helicopter and called it a bridge:


(Christie and David working their way through the marsh)


(I don't know what kind of cloud that is, but it's neat)


(after Campamento los Perros the mud fest continued)


(Looking up at the pass)


(Jill towering above the glacier)


(Mike, Jill, Christie and David on top of Paso John Gardner)


(Descending towards Glaciar Grey)


(Mike looking for a way out, Campamento Paso)


(Jill on the jungle gym that is the trail between Campamento Paso and the old Campamento Las Guardas, yet another closed, free campsite)


(wild and tasty Calafate berries. Supposedly tasting these berries will ensure your return to Patagonia...)


(magical forest)


(Mike's self portrait on top of the next ladder jungle gym)


(Nice campsite at Refugio Grey)


(Fire tree above Lago Grey)


(yet another example of the interesting bridge work you can find at Torres del Paine. Here, Jill crossing a bridge ON a bridge)




(Cerro Paine Grande seen from across Lago Pehoé)


(Jill hiking back out towards Campamento las Carretas, our last night on the trail)

Our return to Pto Natales allowed us to indulge on two wonderful evening meals of asado and pizza. Thanks again, Dave and Christie! That asado was the best! We also spent some time warming up in the kitchen of our hostel. You didn't even really have to be in the kitchen, just near it, and you can feel the heat from the traditional behemoth of a furnace that Chileans of the region call an oven.


(Cocina Magallanica. Typical stove for the Magallanes area of Chile. This thing turns the kitchen into a boiler room. And kind of heats food, too.)


(Mike and TA preparing to leave our hostel in Pto Natales. The staff at Koten Aike was super nice and helpful, allowed us to store the bike for 10 days, as well as lots of our riding gear)

With our camping gear back in its usual spot, our riding gear back on, we were ready to cover ground northwards...

Sweet procrastination

So...back again...

During our radio silence a few things have happened:

• almost 4 months have passed,
• we backpacked for 10 days in Torres del Paine,
• we helped pick over 25,000 kilos of plums,
• we rode at least 8,000 miles,
• we took over 500 pictures,
• we crossed 10 international borders (only 5 distinct countries),
• and we have settled in one spot for the next 6 months.

Over the next few days we will (finally) do our best to present to you a condensed version of all of that.  

Stay tuned...

Peru and Bolivia videos

Our friend Mark (aka Radioman on ADVrider) put together some nice compilations of his riding in Peru and Bolivia.  We happened to spend a bit of time with him across those 2 countries.  Here's a link to those videos so you can catch a glimpse:

PERU: 


[LINK to his video post in his Ride Report]

We met Mark up north, but didn't ride with him until Cusco to Aguas Calientes. We did take a few of the same roads, though. Here's a breakdown of our overlap:

 - 00:17  Huanchaco, where we met Mark, but then split ways until Cusco
 - 01:04 we make our brief debut, followed by an intro to Ollantaytambo and stills of Machu Picchu
 - 02:03 Ollantaytambo, riding through
 - 02:31 on the way to Sta Teresa
 - 02:55 we left the 1st hostel the same way (which happens to be in Potosí, Bolivia, but no matter), but weren't with Mark in Arequipa (03:10 until end of video)

 BOLIVIA:



 [LINK to his video post in his Ride Report]

We were with Mark for most of the riding that we did in Bolivia, but split ways after the Salar de Uyuni.  Here's the breakdown of this video:

 - until 04:18 we were with Mark, and the video is really well labelled, so just watch it

Thanks Mark! Your videos are well composed. But most of all, thanks for letting us join you for a small segment of your South American travels!

"So...now what?"

The ferry direct from Punta Arenas doesn't run on Mondays, building yet another full day into our time in that town. We were ready to get to Tierra del Fuego.


(The TABSA ferry was a nice boat, took about 2.5 hours to cross, and cost about 30 USD for the 3 of us.)

Porvenir is a small town that has a gas station and a couple of small shops, as well as a few places to stay. But we only took advantage of the gas station and continued on.



There is a 115 km loop known as the Circuito del Oro (= Gold Loop) where many gold seekers set up during the late 1800's, continuing today. The ride was beautiful and the best part is that we only passed a few other vehicles that whole way. The majority of them (+ 1 helicopter) happened to be in one convoy for the Prime Minister of Croatia. There is some strong connection between Croatia and Punta Arenas that we never quite figured out.


(bordering Bahía Inútil (= Useless Bay))


(finding gas at Russfín took us into a timber facility, where we had to ask around to find the actual pump. We also met a chef who had worked all around the world and was super nice. Random)


(this is the gas station)


(We were vastly outnumbered by sheep, on our way to reten Pampa Guanaco)

Talking with the Carabinero at the Pampa Guanaco stop about 15km short of Argentina, he pointed us to a nice spot to set up a tent - Lago Blanco. The ride there was nicely wooded, and we had heard that the camping area was protected from the wind.


(Mike and TA thinking about camping, but the strong, cold winds said otherwise. On the shore of Lago Blanco)

The wind was strong and a bit chilling. We saw a sign to a refugio just 1 km away, so we figured it worth a question to see how much it would cost to have a roof. That turned out to be the best decision we made in awhile!


(Refugio de Caza y Pescar at Lago Blanco)

Standing in the parking lot we spoke with the caretakers, Francisco (Pancho) and Roxane for awhile. Asking how much a bed cost (~US$30/ppn) caused us to quickly turn the conversation back to free camping by the lake, among other things. After chatting for a few minutes, they invited us into the kitchen/lodge to see all of the stuffed (as in shot and stuffed) animals. Inside was the owner of the land, as well as 3 other guys who were retired from ENAP, the national petroleum company, staying there for a week or two. Then they invited us to coffee...and bread...and fried ham. And when Francisco mentioned that we didn't want to pay, the owner said that he didn't mind, we could just tip Pancho and Roxane instead of pay him. Perfect! So we gave them a good tip the next day, still half of what we should have paid, but got 2 meals, a snack, and multiple rounds of coffee with it. Not only that, we got to spend some time with Pancho and Roxane who were fantastic!


(Pancho and Mike going fishing)


(The walk through the Refugio de Caza y Pescar took us across this very strange terrain that was deep, soft, and squishy)


(beaver dam and extensive damage)


(beaver leftovers)


(Jill sees her first penguin up close, with no risk of getting bit)


(Terry with his first round of sticker accumulating complete)


(dinner with Pancho (at left), Roxane (at head of table), don Horacio (to Roxane's left as she sits, viewer's right), and others)

The next morning we finally got out of there and made our way towards Argentina.




(Luckily the river was low, allowing us to cross to Argentina)


(Even with the water low, it was moving pretty good and shifted the bike around a bit. Nothing more than wet socks on the Argentina side, though. Which we changed in the Migración building.)


(pulling into Ushuaia)



After nearly 2 years and ~32,000 miles (over 50,000 km) we can now no longer head south. Jill's quote sums it up with simplicity: "so...now what?"



We had arrived at the park at 8pm, when entrance is free. It was also nice because there was not many other park visitors then. We met a few people from Ushuaia (who take advantage of the after 8pm effect, too) and saw a few animals.


(this little guy was hanging out in the parking lot at Bahía Lapataia)


(fox face)


(view of Bahía Lapataia)

Ushuaia is home to a lot of reverence towards the Islas Malvinas, as this town was greatly affected by losses during the war with the Brits in 1982. The Islas Malvinas are a touchy subject throughout Argentina (don't call them the Falkland Islands), but especially so in Ushuaia. The unsuccessful war was launched by the military dictatorship in Argentina as a way to bolster patriotism, improve the economic state (perhaps just distract from it), and show their power. I don't think the war accomplished any of those goals. Scary thing today is that Christina (current president of Argentina) has made mention of the Malvinas, as if she were considering an invasion for the same goals. Please teach us a lesson, history.




(view of Ushuaia)

We had a wonderful celebration dinner at Christopher's - a bottle of malbec, a bife de chorizo and some merluzza negra. It was tasty!




(The bike back outside of the Hostal Cormoranes. They let us park in their office for the days we were there. The staff at this hostal was some of the nicest we have run across, and while the price was high, it was reasonable for Ushuaia (US$16/ppn).  They even gave us a nice private room with bathroom for the price of a discounted dorm bed.  Score.)

After about 5 days in Ushuaia, some used for errands (including an only partially successful attempt to mail a box of souvenirs home that taught some lessons, including:  even though the post office is open until 5 does not mean that they send boxes until then, that stops at noon; sealed foods cannot be sent; the customs office down by the water has some nice staff and some not-so-nice staff, but they have the power to release a shipment after noon if you lean on them hard enough), other days used to wait out the wind and weather, we were ready to move north (still a strange concept).


(view from Paso Garibaldi)

On the way we caught up to this French unicyclist, living in Vancouver now, attempting to make it all the way to Santiago in the next 6 months. That is quite the undertaking!


(she had just lost her sunglasses that day, so we gave our extra pair to her, and we gave her 2 alfajores for later. Hopefully those small gestures picked up her day a bit. Not that she needed it - she was in great spirits - but unicycling through Patagonian winds still seems crazy to us)


(we forgot her name, something with 2-3 syllables that starts with "An". But whatever, here she is getting going...)


(...and on her way!)

Crossing back into Chile at San Sebastian was much different than Paso Bellavista. It was much more built up, there was a lot of traffic on the road (for us, another guy said it was light that day), and the officials weren't as interested in chatting (less bored, I guess?). But it was smooth. Then onto the ferry, which is less than a 30 minute crossing here.  It is also free if you forget to find the person to pay.






(view from camp, outside of Pta Arenas)


(beautiful sunset with lots of depth and texture, outside of Pta Arenas)


(view from our tent, outside of Pta Arenas)

On the 3 hour ride between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, we took advantage of a few stops to just get out of the wind for a minute.


(this roadhouse was a common bike traveler stop)

Now that we are back in Puerto Natales, we have a few days to find a backpack and get sorted for a hike in Torres del Paine with some good friends. We are looking forward to it!