October 20, 2008
Torres del Paine- Day 1
written by Spencer Alexander on October 20, 2008 at 03:24PM in Traveling
Our first day in the world renown Torres de Paine. I must say, it has been everything, if not more, that I expected from one of the top outdoor retreats in the world. We are lucky to have come during the down season of the park. All of the trails have been completely empty of humans[(but they are filled with tiny, chippering birds waiting for you to drop a corner of your sandwich)], and getting around has been a breeze.
Arrival to the Park
We left Puerto Natales this morning at 8:30, and arrived here in the park shortly after 11:00. When we departed Puerto Natales, the sky was dark with clouds, and a constant sprinkling was falling out of the sky. When I woke up from my short nap[(two hours later)] the sky was completely clear; not a cloud!
Thanks to this beautiful weather, we’ve decided to conquer the Torres section of the hike first. Had the weather been poor, we would’ve headed on over to Glacier Grey, and hoped for a clearing in the next couple of days for the Torres.
For those unfamiliar with Torres de Paine, a very popular path choice for hikers is the ‘W’. Imagine taking the letter W and laying it flat on the table. Where the Black lines form the W is the path that we will be taking through the park; where there is empty space above the black lines of the W, there are mountains; and where there is empty space below the black lines of the W, there are lakes. The entire ‘W’ normally takes four to five nights (depending on your hiking speed), but unfortunately, we must do the ‘W’ in three nights. None the less, it will be incredible.
Setting Off
Before setting off on our hike today, we met a nice couple, Torry and James, from England, whom we’ve been hiking with all evening. The four of us together set off on a great adventure into the wildness. We started up a steep, brown, dry slope. It took us about an hour before we reached the cumbre[(top of a mountain)], where we squiggled down into a green valley carved by a large river. The pure scale of the scene was incredible, and unfortunately, not something that I could capture on camera; as I looked around, the scenery looked like normal mountain scenery, but double the size. I would find myself staring at a single mountain for an extended period of time, wondering to myself shouldn’t that be just a bit smaller?.
After reaching the first mountain Refugio, our last glimpse of ‘civilization’, we continued up to the free camping area for another two hours. The scenery drastically changed every ten minutes; at one point, we’d be trucking through a forest filled with small-trunked aspen trees; a few minutes later, we would find ourself on a windy, narrow pass along the side of a gravely mountain; and after a few more short minutes, we would be hoping from rock to branch to path and back in an attempt to stay out of the icky marsh below our feet. But regardless of what scenery we were walking through, we were able to look up and see the ever growing figure of the Torres del Paine.
Hiking Thoughts
A few quick observations while hiking:
When passing my days as normal, I find my mind plauged with tasks relating to technology and the internet; I have to email so-and-so, I need to search google for this, I should look on wikipedia for that, I need to add this to my blog, I need to read that blog, etc. I never really realized how much I thought of these things until I entered into Torres del Paine, and the thoughts stopped. Just completely stopped. I think it has something to do with the knowledge that I can’t access the Internet for the next four days, or the overwhelming presence of natural beauty around me, or my mind concentrating more on survival in the wild, or a combination of all three. But whatever it is, I like it. It’s a nice break from the burdon, and blessing, of modern technology, bringing me back to classic technology. No longer am I typing to complete my tasks, but using a lever made out of a fallen branch to help balance a beaten up tin pot on a rock. No longer am I sending email, but actually walking over to another campsite to introduce myself to a couple from Colorado. No longer am I completing tasks the way I have been trained, and in some cases have trained myself, but I’m completing tasks creatively, using methods and inventing technologies that I’ve never seen before; the methods and technologies might be simpler, but none the less, they are mine. I’m not talking about a lack of technology, I’m talking about a simplification of technology. And it is nice.
I’ve also found myself incredibly optimistic and excited. Unnaturally, and in some cases, excessively, optimistic and excited. I could fall in a river, and instead of being a burden, it would be an exciting experience. A bear could wobble up, remove my backpack, put it on his own back, and wobble away; apart from being an awesome encounter with an incredibly smart bear, it would be a fun challenge to survive the rest of the trip without food and extra clothes. All of the barriers that usually burden me while completing my tasks seemed to have disappeared, leaving nothing but hope and dreams in it’s place. We’ll see if this continues after a day or two of sleeping on the ground in a tent slightly shorter than my height, and waking up to the cold air without the easy escape of a heater. Not to mention no showering after four long, exhausting days of hiking.
Thirdly, it has been incredibly nice hiking for hours with no distraction other than natural beauty. I find it almost meditative, being able to think for hours upon hours with no distractions. Rather than thinking a great number of thoughts caused by the incredible bandwidth of information entering your mind in the cities, I find myself repeating the same thought over and over, refining it and perfecting it until I am ready to move onto another thought. It brings about more quality thoughts, rather than a large quantity of thoughts.
Arrival and Base Torres
After arriving at our campsite and setting up tents alongside a small stream carrying potable water from the cold snow to the valley’s river, we made the grueling hike up to the base of the large towers that stand as a symbol of the park. Luckly we were able to do the hike without the 30-40 pounds of weight on our back.
Where as the first section of our journey was a nicely carved path through the mountains, this section is not so nice. We find ourself hiking through a wet stream that leads directly into a steep boulder field that peaks into a slushy snow-marsh. Without a doubt,this has been the hardest section of the hike. It takes a bit over an hour.
But wow was it worth it! When finally reaching the top, we were greeted by a mystic view that I never expected. When looking at the Torres from a distance, they look young and energetic, splashed with sun and contrasting greatly against the blue sky. But when looking at the Torres from the base, where you can see the small misty clouds, always surrounding peaks of this elevation, and the aqua blue-green lake at it’s base, the towers look old and wise. The first and 60th minute I spent staring at the scene brought equal amounts of awe, and this is a gift rarely given; the beauty of this unique view did not seem to be wearing off, and no matter how long or often I started at it, my mind refused to believe it was anything other than an exquisite painting carefully placed to trick visitors.
What I experienced sitting at the base of the Torres is something that everyone should experience. It doesn’t have to be at one of the most southern locations of the world, but it should be real; don’t trust the lies of pictures and painting, but let your eyes see the scenery without borders.
Off to Bed
Tonight will be the first night in years, or possibly a decade, that I have gone to sleep before darkness. While normal Spencer would find the idea of going to sleep before dark laughable, outdoors in a cold tent and tired Spencer finds the idea absolutely delightful.
Nighty night.
Tags: torres, technology, hiking, Park and beauty
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4 comments | hide comments
Sounds like you’re having an awesome time in some beautiful countryside. I’m excited to hear about the rest of your adventures!
You are absolutely welcome to visit me anytime and I’ll do my best to teach you the dances…mzungu style (the Swahili equivalent of gringo).
Oh, by the way… I don’t think the puckered up photo is “me”!!
wait…a couple from COLORADO?!!!?
Man and Woman vs wild!!
Incredible!
Website’s looking good. How’s your spanish?