Guest Blogger:  Russell Robinson-Grant

March 24th 2015

Somehow, my brother has managed to convince me to write two guests blogs about my time in Torres del Paine national park. These are the first, and hopefully the last blog entries I will ever write. [I begged and begged]

Trek to Base of the Torres:

Waking up early to catch a 7:30 am bus (12.000 pesos return) from Puerto Natales to Torres del Paine national park, my girlfriend Clara and I grab a quick breakfast [included at Yagan house Hostel]before getting into a taxi and heading to the bus station. After about 3 hours, we arrive at the administration building in Laguna Amarga, and transfer into a minibus that gets us to Hotel Las Torres, the starting point of the hike, around 10:50 am for 2.800 pesos each. After doing a few wardrobe changes because of the surprisingly hot weather, we start the uphill climb to the main attraction of the park at a pace that seems quite a bit faster than most of the other people on the trail.

The first section of the hike is pretty much entirely uphill, but never incredibly steep. After 20 or 30 minutes uphill, you can turn around and enjoy some great views of the hills below you. Eventually, we come to the first crest and get to look down at a rushing river and start heading downhill towards a campsite and refuge. The views of the mountains ahead, the hills and lakes behind us, and the river below us are all nice and we head briefly off the trail to a mirador (look out) to appreciate them all. After approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, we arrive at Refugio Chileno in a nice forest, at the bottom of the hill by the river.

We don’t bother to stop and break and continue the walk, starting to go uphill along the river. On the way to the next campsite, we see a few waterfalls in the distance that make me think of my brother and his strange obsession. On the trail, we also meet 3 nice British Indian people who show us 3 loud parrots up in a tree in the forest.

We also spot the first condor we’ve seen in South America, flying up by the peak of one of the many mountains that surround us.

As the ascent continues, we get some nice views of waterfalls coming down the mountain to our right and falling into the river below. In about an hour, we make it to the next campsite and stop just outside it to eat a lunch to give us some energy for the final, and most difficult part of the climb.

The hike from the campsite to the base of the towers is 100% uphill and through difficult and rocky terrain. On the way up, we stop to rest a few times, getting to appreciate the amazing views of the mountains, the valley, and some very steep drops. It takes us about 45 minutes to reach our final destination, both of us tired and sweaty by the time we get there. We ask a stranger what time it is and are slightly disappointed to find that it took us three hours and ten minutes to get to the base, when we were hoping that we could get there in under three hours, even though the estimated time on the official map suggests a four and a half hour hike. The reward, however, is very much worth the efforts, as we eventually come over a crest to be greeted by what is undoubtedly the most amazing landscape I have ever seen in my life.

A beautifully green lake sits below the amazing Torres del Paine. Many waterfalls from the glacier below the Torres flow into the lake as the sun shines behind us, lighting up the Torres. I won’t describe it anymore, but here are some pictures.

After a few minutes of appreciating the scene, I decide that I should probably try to swim in the lake. The water is by far the coldest water I have ever been in, but I manage to swim out a little bit in very shallow water, as do a few Chileans and an older German lady. The water is incredibly refreshing, especially after the hard climb.

After drying off in the sun while enjoying everything that surrounds us, I decide to go for another quick swim. The water feels even colder this time but it is still an amazing feeling, although it leaves my feet numb for quite a few minutes. Clara also wades in to the knee-deep water and dunks her head in. Eventually, the British Indian guys from earlier make it to the base. Impressively all three of them match my accomplishment, dipping their whole bodies in the water, even though one of them probably only weighs about 100 pounds.

After hanging around the area where all the hikers seem to gather at for a while, Clara and I wander off to our left on the rocks, to get a different view and to be slightly more isolated. After sitting for a while, drinking from the lake, and dunking our heads a final time, we decide that we should probably start heading back to the bottom to catch the last minibus that leaves at 7:30 pm. We leave the Torres at around 4:00 pm, after spending an amazing two hours there, thinking that we should be cautious with our time. This was probably a mistake because it takes us just over two hours to get back to Hotel Las Torres at 6:10 pm. We easily could have spent another hour at the base, and both of us would have been more than glad to do so.

The hike down was relatively uneventful, being mostly downhill, going at a really good pace, and never stopping for any extended period of time. Once we got back to the hotel, we bought some refreshing beers for 2.500 pesos each and enjoyed them in the common area of the hotel while waiting for our bus. As we get on to the bus, Clara spots a fox running in the flat area by the hotel, a good cap to a great day.

We get back to Laguna Amarga a little before 8 pm and transfer to our bus back to Puerto Natales. At 10 pm, we arrive in the bus station and head back to our hostel for some much needed food and sleep. In total, the hike took us about 5 hours and 20 minutes, plus 2 hours spent at the Torres. But keep in mind that we were walking at a very fast pace. Other people say that the hike takes about 7 hours, 4 to get to the top, and 3 to descend, which still gives you plenty of time to spend at one of the most amazing places in the world.  [This following picture sums up exactly who Russell sees himself as , I hope you enjoyed the first of two Guest Blogs]