The “W” trek – Ref. Paine Grande to Ref. Grey and back

This was it – the real beginning of our trekking journey, so after saying goodbye to Rodrigo and Gloria, our gracious hosts at Keoken B&B, we took a short ride to the bus station and were off our trip into the park! Heading northward, we got our first real taste of the vastness that is southern Patagonia.  After 2+ hours of mostly nothing but grassy steppe, dust, and some periodic views of the Andes mountains on the far western horizon, we arrived at Laguna Amarga park entrance.

Paying the park entry fee, and collecting our passes for the week, it was back into the bus for more dirt roads to the ‘catamaran’/boat that would take us to the first trailhead at Refugio Paine Grande. It was here that we got our first view of the turquoise, milky lake waters that are so prevalent in the region – truly beautiful. We were surprised by the number of people who’d lined up for the boat, thinking they wouldn’t all fit, but this was a short ride, and standing room only was the rule.

It was also at this point that you could clearly tell we were in amongst the hiking culture, the pile of backpacks in the boat would have filled a small bedroom, floor to ceiling!   Docking at Refugio Paine Grande, we disembarked, got our bearings and our gear adjusted and then hit the trail for the 11 Km to Refugio Grey.

We knew this trek didn’t have the same sort of elevation profiles that we were accustomed to in New Hampshire’s white mountains. The elevation gain to Refugio Grey amounted to about about 800 feet, so this first section of the “W” was a good warm up for us, get our ‘trekking legs’, especially after all the traveling and the full packs we were carrying.

After about an hour and a half and a gradual elevation gain, we came to the height of land and the first real lookout onto Lago Grey and the snout of Grey glacier – definitely an amazing sight! Truly awesome, especially with the ice field spreading off in the distance.

The balance of time spent on undulating hills and a gradual decline into a more wooded area and to the Refugio, a charming little place nestled in a clearing that was flanked by a cliff to the east. This was our first stay at one of the Refugios – it was reassuring to see it was setup similar to the AMC mountain huts – a large common area that included a wine bar (!) and hallways that had the bunk rooms. This Refugio was set up with 4 bunks per room – we shared with two women from Holland.

With a such a late twilight (remember, southern hemisphere in the summer, near the antarctic circle),  there was still plenty of daylight, so once we got our gear settled and ourselves cleaned up, we decided to enjoy a local favorite – a Pisco sour – on the deck.  Now THAT’s trekking! As we’d come to learn, dinner usually happened 7ish or later – which left time for some good conversation with fellow Trekkers, folks from Holland, the U.K., and China, and a few tour groups. Talk often centered on journeys travelled, talk of the other Refugios, next stops, and fun experiences.   Dinner itself was nothing to write home about, but still good to have a solid meal.  Relatively early to bed, and thankfully with a room darkening shade, we were asleep quickly.

Rising around 6:30, we rustled some coffee as soon as we could from the common area and used the time before breakfast to get our gear together, expecting that we’d head out shortly after breakfast. The weather appeared much the same as it been the day before – high clouds, a slight chill to the air, but with lots of opportunity for some warm sun! Breakfast was a self-serve deal, grab your plate, collect some ham, cheese, yogurt, and oatmeal, certainly enough to get going in the AM.   A final gear check and and we were back on the trail shortly after 9 for our return to Refugio Paine Grande.

It’s always interesting to retrace your steps on a trail, seeing all the things that were to your back… We were treated to many more amazing views – certainly more of glacial icebergs floating in Lago Grey, with their brilliant blue against the milky turquoise, and a few more pauses to look back again on the grey glacier itself.

We arrived back at Refugio Paine Grande early afternoon and got ourselves checked in and settled. This Refugio is bigger than Refugio Grey, with many more bunk rooms and a larger common area. There were also quite a few tents set up on the side yard. Here we had a private room, with a bunk bed.  In fact, the room wasn’t much bigger than the bed itself, but certainly good enough for our purposes.

Again, getting our gear settled and ourselves cleaned up, we headed to the common area, and to sit outside for the afternoon, careful to avoid direct sun (it was surprisingly hot even though the air temperature was only in the 70’s). And again, more conversation, this time with an Aussie. And this was also the first time were we started seeing the same people we’d seen yesterday. As it happens, a common occurrence – those traveling in the same direction, or with some itinerary overlap.

Dinner here was cafeteria style, a similar sort of meat and potatoes as Refugio grey, but slightly better quality. With the late dinner time, we decided to call it a night shortly after dinner (sadly, no pisco sours today – the bar always seemed to be closed, despite the advertised hours).

Read more: Ref. Paine Grande to Ref. Los Cuernos via the French Valley