Hiking the ‘W’ – Part 2

When Hoff left you, we had just settled in for our second night in our tent. We awoke the next morning ready for a long day of hiking – our longest in fact – so we got up a bit earlier than usual and grabbed a spot in the tiny Refugio to cook breakfast. We still hadn’t quite got the baby food breakfast consistency perfect – today’s was a bit too chunky – but we did add some chocolate pieces which were a good twist. As we were finishing up and making our thermos of tea for the road, the heavens opened so we donned our waterproof jackets (now always stored on the outside of our bags for quick access) and plodded on into the rain. Luckily it was only a squall, as we were beginning to realise most rain was during the day at this time of the year, and soon we were taking off our coats again as we began the cheeky climb back over the hills towards Paine Grande once more.

As soon as we had taken off our jackets, we were putting them back on again as the wind on the ridge was biting. However, it was blowing us along from behind for a change so we made quick progress and once we dropped down into the valley approaching our first campsite, the weather warmed and the sun even threatened to come out. We reached the Refugio in good time and decided to stop and have a snack and recharge our watches. We were on a tight time schedule though as we wanted to be back out in the trail again before the 1100 boat arrived with a load of new walkers, so we wolfed our snacks and, with charged watches and tightened boots, we set off again heading north west towards our next campsite.

Five minutes into our next leg and the path began to climb. We’d been expecting a relatively flat route based on reports from other hikers but again it turned out that we needed to schlep out of the valley and into the next one. As we ascended the wind picked up, the sun disappeared and the rain came down in buckets, and sideways too. Before we knew it our legs were soaked – we didn’t even have time to get out our waterproof trousers – but it was just another passing shower (albeit a heavy one) and soon we could see and feel the sunshine breaking through again (Patagonia is the only place we have regularly experienced freezing wind, roaring sunshine and slashing rain all at the same time – it can be pouring water from blue skies above, which is very weird). Our legs dried in minutes and luckily the weather held for the rest of our walk.

Another wonderful thing about hiking here is the variety of terrain and vistas. Yesterday we’d been walking along rocky ridge lines overlooking huge iceberg filled lagoons and glacial fields. Today we were in the greener grasslands, with the trail winding its way through wooded areas right down to pebble beaches and then into muddy, gorse heathland. To our left were huge snow covered mountains, granite monsters rising almost vertically straight out of the ground, and to our right were Norwegian style fjords as far as the eye could see. One minute you would be surrounded by two metre high bushes and unable to see anything, the next you would be cresting a short sharp climb to be treated with magnificent views running miles to the horizon. To add to all of this, the sun finally came out properly so we were able to walk in our t shirts and our trousers dried out, and it was a thoroughly pleasant stroll. We filled up our water carriers from a mountain stream and enjoyed the freezing cold water as we walked the final few kilometres to our next stop, Camp Italiano.

When we got there, after 18 or so kms and 6 hours on the trail, we immediately went in to bag a spot before it got too crowded. Italiano is one of the few free campsites in the park and it has very limited facilities as a result. The loos were the long drop type (if you know what I mean), there were no showers or washing facilities (just a stream), water was direct from the source (not a tap) and there was no shop to stock up on supplies. The cooking areas were also very small. However, it was free and we bagged a good spot for our little tent, so we couldn’t really complain. Once we’d made camp we set off to climb the 5 km up to the Britanico view point. We’d seen that the trail had officially closed at 1pm however the campsite ranger said that it was still ok to walk up, so we set off on the climb, this time just carrying a small bag between us for water and snacks (which was a nice change from our heavy back packs).

The climb was quite challenging as we had to navigate through and over streams, around big boulders, and across rocky fields laced with muddy, boggy areas. Hoff led the way, picking the best route, and we zipped up the hill in quick time. As we reached the top, the wind began to pick up and it started snowing – we were in Patagonia after all – but the views were amazing.

We were surrounded on three sides by huge rocky peaks, and looking back down the valley we had walked up we could see a bright turquoise glacial lake. It was beautiful. We took a few photos and then decided to head back down. We were both getting hungry and the wind was rising, and the thought of a nice hot chocolate and our sleeping bags was too good a draw. The way back down was hard work and took just as long as the climb, and with sore knees and rumbling stomachs we got back into camp around 7pm. We quickly got the stove on and were munching down our noodles in no time, with Hoff shuttling back and forth to the river to fetch us fresh water as I tended to the stove. We took a big thermos of hot chocolate back to the tent and nestled into our sleeping bags, ready for a well deserved night of kip after a long day of trekking.

I was lovely and comfortable. I’d finally got nice and warm – tricky in an old sleeping bag (Hoff and I had swapped sleeping bags for the trip. She was in my nice, new down-filled one, and I was in hers, which, whilst small and lightweight, has sadly lost some of its thermal properties in the 15 years or so since it was initially manufactured). I’d also found a position that was nice to sleep in (my sleeping mat has also seen better days and I suspect left most of its comfyness in the Sahara desert). I was a little annoyed then to be woken up at 2am by Hoff telling me that she needed a wee and was too scared to go outside on her own. Her fear was that a puma might come and eat her. I did the manly thing of tightening my sleeping bag around me and telling her to get on with it, which she did, but it took her twenty minutes, by which time I was wide awake and very grumpy. Luckily I fell back to sleep again and it seemed like minutes later that the alarm was going off.

Today we were heading to Chileno, the last camp on our trek but also the most expensive. We’d heard good things and were looking forward to a nice shower. We packed up the tent in rapid time and headed off to the next campsite on the trail, Frances, only two kilometres away. They had showers and flushing loos, but it came at a price, hence we had roughed it at Italiano. At Frances we cooked breakfast – our nicest yet (Hoff had the brainwave to mix some left over raisin granola into the baby food and we also got the consistency just right, so it was actually nice as opposed to just being edible) – and we did our teeth, made a thermos of coffee (ruining three filters in the process and leaving half the grounds in the coffee itself so that later we had to chew, rather than drink it) and got on the road.

The trail to Chileno was just as beautiful as the day before. The hills were rolling, the vistas magnificent, and the streams as clear and refreshing. We had about 16km to cover and we stopped every hour or so to have a snack and a sip of warm brew. Eventually the track split and we headed north east towards the campsite. Here the countryside changed again and we were soon walking through alpine meadows, complete with long grass waving in the wind and thousands of flowers dotted here and there. It really could have been a scene from the Austrian alps, with the mountains rising in the background. We successfully navigated two very boggy sections with only mildly moist feet before we stopped for lunch – the usual salami and cheese on a pita bread (definitely a combo we will use in the future). It was lovely weather and we basked in the sunshine, enjoying the views.

It was only when i tried to get up that I realised that I had a small problem. The 75 or so kilometres we had already got under our belt had taken their toll on my knees, and my right one had swelled up magnificently. It took a while to get going but seeing as it wasn’t painful I soldiered on, hoping that combination of ibruprofen and elevation that night would sort it out. To take our minds off the now straight uphill climb, Hoff and I decided it was a good time to rank our favourite chocolate bars. Having both agreed that Cadbury’s was number one for us both, we moved in to bagged sweets, favourite roast, favourite vegetables, puddings, etc, etc. We continued until we could salivate no longer and mentally made a shopping list that we agreed we’d send in home in advance to make sure the fridges were full for when we got back with everything from Daim bars to roast chicken, bread sauce, trifle, sticky toffee pudding, and mint chocolate ice cream (to name but a few of the things we are missing). Lindy and Caro – full lists to follow!

Up next – we reach Chileno (spoiler alert, sorry) and get ready for our night hike.