Day 2
I arrived in Torres Del Paine late in the afternoon of my second day. After completing the safety briefing, I grabbed my pack and started the short ‘hike’ to Central Sitio Suelo where I would be camping the first two nights.
After a 10 minute walk, I arrived at the campsite and checked in. Since it was late, most of the good campsites were taken, but I was able to find a small spot along the river.
The refugio was located just on the other side of the river so after setting up, I headed over there and grabbed some wine and enjoyed the wonderful weather.
Day 3
I woke up to find it overcast and rainy. I wasn’t sure how great of a view I would get, but I still wanted to get an early start on the hike to the base of Las Torres.
About an hour into the hike I had to stop and put on my rain jacket and pants. Looking back at the storm had me a little worried, but I continued on.
It continued to drizzle a bit. After an hour or so, it did start to clear up a little… less rain, but still a lot of low clouds… the sun did poke through every now and then which was promising.
I finally made it to the top. The last part of the hike seemed like it went on forever… a lot of uphill through a rock garden!
I hung out at the top for a bit, but it quite windy and chilly. The number of people up there started steadily increasing so I decided to go ahead and head back down beat the crowds. The weather was much better on the way back down!
Day 4
I woke up and packed up my stuff and began my hike to Los Cuernos. It was already sunny out which was nice.
Most of the hike was along a gorgeous turquoise lake.
I made it Los Cuernos around 1 pm – quite early! I checked into my cabin for the night and unpacked my bag. My cabin was up on a hill overlooking the lake, and not far from a fairly large waterfall.
Since it was so early and the weather was so perfect, I decided I would go ahead and hike to the Britanico overlook. It was going to make for a super long day, but I didn’t want to risk waiting until the next day and possible having horrible weather.
I didn’t take too many photos the first hour or so as I was in a rush to get to the main trailhead by 2 pm (the park rangers will not let anyone start the hike after 2 pm). I made it to the trailhead with 5 minutes to spare!
I finally made it back to Los Cuernos and was exhausted. My cabin looked even more inviting after a long day of hiking.
I decided to grab a bottle of wine from the refugio and enjoy the sunset from my front porch.
Day 5
When I woke up and saw the weather outside, I was immediately happy I had hiked to the Britanico lookout the day before. With that said, the storm clouds caused a rainbow to form over the lake! I went ahead and started my hike to Paine Grande in hopes the weather would clear up, and maybe I could make it Refugio Grey and go kayaking.
The wind was incredible – there were times I thought I was going to fall over! It was also causing water to spray up from the lake. Brrrrr
I made it away from the lake and crossed the river.
I was hoping the weather would improve once away from the lake, but boy was I wrong. It got much colder and much rainier. At one point, I had to stop and put on all of my winter gear – gloves, hat, etc. I turned back at one point and saw the storm I had hiked through. I felt bad for the hikers I passed headed that direction. Glad I had the worst behind me!
I made it over the ridge and to the next lake and could see blue skies. Yessss!
An hour or so later I could see the lake Pehoe where I would be camping.
I checked into camp and setup my tent. They had some windshields setup which I took advantage of.
I debated hiking to Grey Glacier, but I knew kayaking was out of the question due to the high winds and constantly changing weather. I decided to grab some wine and hide out in the refugio.
Day 6
I woke up super early on the last day to hike to Grey Glacier.
The hike goes through a small little valley with super high winds. At times, I had to stop and put my poles down to brace myself so I wouldn’t fall over!
The intense wind continued along the lake to the point that little white camps were forming!
I made it to lake Grey and could see chunks of the Glacier. I knew I was getting close.
I made it the first overlook for Glacier Grey. The wind was so intense I had to sit on the overlook to avoid being blown over!
Looking at the weather and knowing how intense the wind was, I knew that kayaking was out of question for the day. I decided it would be better to turn back and catch the early catamaran back so I could get back to Puerto Natales early evening and try to get a good hot meal.
