For those more detail-oriented, here’s some numbers, etc. about our trek…
First, our “W”, we mostly followed the ‘traditional’ “W” circuit – starting on the western branch and heading eastward. When traveling from Ref. Paine Grande to Ref. Cuernos, we did the central leg, following the path through to the Mirador Britanico. And we followed the shortcut when trekking from Ref. Cuernos to Ref. el Chileno. Unfortunately, our plan had been to visit the Mirador Torres del Paine on the morning of 4-Feb, but the morning broke with clouds over the entire Valle Ascensio and the Torres del Paine, so we never did make the full trek into see the towers.
From a numbers perspective, this was a 100 mile trip. According to the data on Jeanne’s fitbit, we clocked 100 miles, door to door. That includes everything from our travel days to/from South America, our trekking, of course, and our excursion to Perito Moreno glacier and our exploration of Buenos Aires barrios.
Our longest was something north of 17.5 miles – on the trek from Ref. Paine Grande to Ref. Cuernos – the center leg of the “W” – with our visit to the mirador Britanico in the French Valley.
here’s the full list of fitbit stats:
date | Steps | Miles | Floors | activity/hike |
---|---|---|---|---|
28-Jan | 6,614 | 2.8 | 15 | Fly through Santiago, arrive and dinner in Punta Arenas |
29-Jan | 11,943 | 5.0 | 33 | Arrive Punta Natales, explore town |
30-Jan | 20,972 | 8.8 | 204 | Enter TDP, boat to Paine Grande, hike to Refugio Grey |
31-Jan | 21,354 | 9.0 | 151 | Return to Refugio Paine Grande |
1-Feb | 42,277 | 17.7 | 366 | Hike to Refugio Cuernos via French Valley and Britanico |
2-Feb | 22,654 | 9.5 | 243 | Hike Refugio Cuernos to Refugio Chileno |
3-Feb | 9,096 | 3.8 | 44 | Hike Refugio Chileno to Hotel Las Torres |
4-Feb | 17,694 | 7.4 | 121 | Day hike around Las Torres, depart park to El Calafate |
5-Feb | 22,334 | 9.4 | 108 | El Calafate and Perito Moreno glacier |
6-Feb | 15,450 | 6.5 | 21 | Travel to Buenos Aires |
7-Feb | 10,403 | 4.4 | 7 | San Telmo fair and market |
8-Feb | 18,082 | 7.6 | 28 | Visit Teatro Colon and Cafe Tortoni |
9-Feb | 13,446 | 5.6 | 7 | Recoleta Cemetery and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes |
10-Feb | 5,545 | 2.5 | 15 | Return home |
237,864 | 100.0 | 1363 |
with a final, parting gallery of other photos:
- All packed and ready to go
- At the end of the world
- The "W" Circuit, our trip
- At the end of the world
- First views of the Andes from Puerto Natales
- Sunrise over Last Hope Sound in Puerto Natales
- First views of Torres del Paine park over the wide-open steppe of southern Patagonia
- stark contrasts and amazing vistas in all directions
- and blue water like you've never seen
- Wow!
- on the boat to the trailhead
- finally, on the trail... with Cuernos in the background
- First views of Grey Glacier, on our way north on the left leg of the "W"
- relaxing at Refugio Grey, a bit of refreshment on the deck before dinner
- The common area - not unlike the huts in the NH's White Mountains
- Leaving Refugio Grey and headed south back to Refugio Paine Grande - never tire of that view!
- nor of this view!
- Refugio Paine Grande - our digs for the 2nd night.
- small, but service-able bunk room for the night
- Leaving Ref. Paine Grande behind on day 3, headed toward the French Valley and Refugio Los Cuernos; only 17 miles to go.
- Glacial streams/rivers, and this is their mid-to-late summer.
- Leaving our backpacks at Campamento Italiano and taking only our daypacks, we head north up the central leg through the French Valley and Mirador Britanico.
- big elevation today
- Head of the valley
- Whence we came, back to Campamento Italiano and our backpacks.
- but not before more views and some avalanche thunder
- Approaching Refugio Los Cuernos
- Refugio Los Cuernos
- Day 4, leaving Los Cuernos and yet another river crossing, heading toward Ref. Chileno
- This is late summer - not sure I'd want to cross this at high water in the spring!
- ... not that the shortcut is a secret or hard to find
- View northward into Ascencio Valley on the right leg of the "W",
- Refugio Chileno, and stickers from around the world, including Sugarloaf and Mad River Glen!
- The weather didn't cooperate - the closest we got to Torres del Paine.
- Watch out for those Rolling Stones!
- Hotel Las Torres and our final day in TDP National park
- More of the Hotel - and the spa - nice way to end a trek!
- Leaving Chile at the border crossing - the only store/civilization for 25+ miles around!
- A day excursion to Puerto Moreno Glacier park, west of El Calafate, Argentina
- Snout of the glacier - 20 stories high! Can you find the tour boat in the picture?
- More amazingly blue water and a massive icefield
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