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November 5th – November 9th, 2024
Day 5 – Grey to Paine Grande
Woke up early with the definite symptoms of a very inconveniently timed man flu. Today’s walk marks the beginning of where the ‘O’ trek meets the ‘W’, which means the foot traffic would now flow both ways, and there’d be far more people on the trail. The route from Paine Grande up to Grey is especially busy with day trippers trying to get a glimpse of the glacier, so in a way it did feel a bit like we were back in civilization again.
We decided to pack up and leave early to try and avoid most of the rain that was on the way. The walk was mostly downhill, following the cliffside along the river before cutting inland to descend into the valley. We were absolutely powering on through the whole thing, through a lot of rain and eventually quite a bit of snow too. There’s only so much water a rain jacket can keep out, and when you’re on the trail for hours at a time, you’re bound to get wet no matter how well you prepare.
We continued zooming towards Paine Grande, only stopping a few times to admire views of the river and the bright red flowers once we reached the valley. We made it to camp in about three and a half hours, after 11km, but soaking wet and freezing cold. It took me ages to unbuckle the straps on my pack due to the loss of the ability to use my fingers. Once we’d checked in, we braved the weather once more to set up our tent, for fear of the downpour worsening.
As we arrived quite early, there weren’t many tents set up, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to set up on one of the limited timber platforms instead of the less than desirable sloping, bumpy grass. I had a great system planned out where we’d quickly unroll the tent and cover it with the fly, then feed the poles through and erect it all without the tent beneath the fly getting wet. Sounds great, but we laid the fly on backwards in the beginning, which meant we had to rotate it. In doing so, the inside of the tent became quite wet, but once the fly was on we were ready to position the tent on the platform and tie it down. Of course, our tent was too big, so we then had to scope out a spot on the grass while the deluge continued to worsen, and the slack of the fly not being tied down meant that the interior of the tent continued to become more wet. We then carried the tent to a better spot and tied it down, and scurried indoors for a coffee while we watched and waited for the approaching storm, which never came. Instead, the rain stopped immediately after we finished setting up the tent, and we watched as newcomers set up their tents in lovely dry conditions, and listened to them talk of the beautiful stroll they had to camp through falling snowflakes the size of tennis balls. Not only did we miss out on the spectacle of gigantic snowflakes by leaving camp so early in the morning, but now we had a wet tent too. It was here we realised we’d overeaten lunch a few days prior, so all we had until dinner was peanut butter on a mini tortilla! Great!
Later in the day most of the tent dried out, and we dried the interior puddles with a towel, so all was good. Now that we were all out of tuna, it was time to start using the chorizo we’d been carrying for the last five days. It wasn’t quite as delicious as the tuna pasta, but it was still pretty good. By this point the last thing either of us want is more pasta, but beggars can’t be choosers, and every night we lose another 200g in pasta alone so that’s enough motivation to use it up.
We finally got a chance to hang out with a few people that we’d been making small talk with for the last few days; four aussies and a bloke from New York. It was great to have a laugh and a chin wag after dinner, we talked for hours and went to bed way too late.
Day 6 – Paine Grande to Frances
It seemed everyone woke up very early at camp, the place was bustling well before 7. Being sick as a dog by this point, I was unable to sleep and went for a little stroll down to the lake around 5am, and gazed into the water feeling very sorry for myself, freezing in the icy wind. We waited around for a good half an hour for someone to unlock the kitchen area, why they even lock it is beyond me, and then had a quick coffee before packing up the tent.
It was another very cruisy walk today, with better weather than the day before but still very windy. It was quite scenic, with views of mountains and glaciers to our left, and lakes and rolling hills to our right. We arrived at our very deserted camp after only 3 hours and 9km, and sat around waiting for a few hours before we were able to check in.
My new Australian mate tried really hard to twist my arm for a beer at a little, recently constructed bar on the hill side, and we managed to kill a good deal of time there. We welcomed more friends that we’d been chatting to along the way, Germans, Americans and Australians, and everyone had a few drinks and a good laugh. It was a very nice afternoon, definitely better sitting down with a beer in hand than walking in extreme winds. Rachael and I eventually had to leave the festivities to walk up the hill to the camp kitchen to cook dinner, but this was okay as we met a really nice Spanish couple, as well as a lovely Czech couple, and another couple who I’m sure were Italian. We shared some travel stories and got some great tips on places to see in Europe. By this point I’ve recognised how much easier it’s becoming to strike up conversations with strangers, and I’m also realising just how little people have turned up to this campsite, and the number of raised glamping tents around the campground.
Rachael and I managed to sneak into one of the very expensive raised tents while most people were already snoozing. These things go for $150US a night, which is insane as they’re still freezing cold. It was definitely the most comfortable sleep we’d had so far, but I do feel sorry for the people that forked out the money to stay in them along the way.
Day 7 – Frances to Los Cuernos
We did this part of the O trek quite unconventionally compared to the usual way people make their way around the circuit. Our end destination for the day was only 3 km down the trail, but we thought we’d need a bit of a rest day, and took advantage of the detour to a viewpoint a kilometre back the way we came. While it was good to just take it easy, as we both needed a bit of a break by this point, it was also disappointing that we’d be leaving the new friends we’d made over the last week, as they’d be continuing to another campsite further down the trail, and finishing the trek a day before us.
We were able to leave the tent (that we didn’t even use) at camp and hike up to the viewpoint with only cameras and water, which was a very welcome change. We watched a few small avalanches make their way down the mountain, which made an insanely loud noise compared to the size of them.
We packed up the tent and cruised on down to the lake just before Los Cuernos, where I realised that my tent bag on the outside of my pack had opened at some point along the trail, and it no longer contained the ground sheet we’d packed earlier. With a worsening man flu, I opted to mind the bags down by the water while Rachael backtracked two kilometres to find it. She spoke to a few people who said they’d seen it on the trail, but she never found it. I had another good chat with the lovely Spanish couple from the night before while I awaited Rachael’s empty handed return. We ate more smashed avo tacos down by the water and then walked the final kilometre to camp, in total it was only a short walk of 9 km, which took us 3.5 hours.
We set up the tent on yet another timber platform, that I’m becoming really quite sick of. They just suck. You can’t tie down anywhere good and wind comes up from underneath, they’re dumb as. This whole campsite was pretty garbage to be honest. More than half of the amenities were under construction, and they only had one tiny little dining hall for the entire campsite to both eat the dinners prepared by the restaurant, and for the legit campers to cook our chorizo pasta in. We sat around for ages before dinner time, listening to some really obnoxious Australians and Americans drink beers and get way too into a game of Jenga.
Finally at dinner we were able to talk to a nice Australian/Norwegian couple, which killed a bit of time. Washing the dishes was a bit of a shit show, with only one tap out on the deck of the dining area. Rachael would wash the dishes and I’d stand there with her in the rain, drying everything as best I could.
Getting into the tent, we were both feeling very exhausted and pretty over it. I managed to fall asleep by 7:30, but awoke around 2am to some of the craziest wind I’ve ever experienced. You could hear what sounded like giant spheres of ravaging winds approaching from hundreds of metres away, making their way through the trees until finally reaching our little tent and bitch slapping it around like a rag doll. I got up and tried my best to secure the tent to the platform, and looking around, everyone else was up and about trying to do the same. It was nearly impossible to sleep due to the tent constantly caving to the wind and slapping us in the face. It is an absolute miracle that nothing broke.
Day 8 – Los Cuernos to Chileno
We managed to drift in and out of sleep through the early hours of the morning and packed the tent up with slight difficulty in the continuing ravenous wind. We stumbled into the dining area to have our typical very bad tea bag coffee, and were pleasantly surprised to find a big thing of hot, black coffee we could help ourselves to. After sitting down and admiring how much better this coffee was than what we’d been drinking for the past week, Rachael noticed a decent setup of cereals, yoghurts, ham and cheese on the counter, and people were just helping themselves. Unsure whether or not we were entitled to this all you can eat breakfast, I approached the counter with full confidence and helped myself to five bowls of coco pops, four plates of ham and cheese and a few bowls of strawberry yoghurt. I absolutely stuffed myself silly, and we found out later than we were actually supposed to have paid $50USD for that breakfast, but I felt absolutely zero shame in taking what I obviously deserved after a week hiking.
Leaving camp with a ripping, sugar induced headache, we hit the trail with a handy tailwind. The trail now is becoming less scenic as we approach the area that we started the hike in, and also significantly warmer. Finally we were able to wear the shorts we’d been carrying with us all week, and we soaked up the sunshine as the wind started to die down. We met a delightful American couple from Wyoming who started the O trek the day after us, and we also crossed paths with our Spanish friends again, who had walked up to the infamous towers for sunrise earlier that morning. They had stayed at ‘Central’, which is the second closest camp to the towers, but to get there for sunrise they had to leave camp at 2am. Screw that.
The trail became steeper as we made our way into the valley, and we climbed for a very long time, which I don’t think either of us were really expecting. After 13km and nearly 5 hours we finally reached Chileno, which was undergoing more renovations like the previous camp at Los Cuernos. This is probably the most sought after campground in the whole park, as it’s closest to the towers, and people who don’t want to commit to the O or W can spend a night here to see the towers at sunrise, and don’t need to do a 20km return in a day.
The dining hall here was even smaller than the last one, and trying to cook dinner was difficult due to the amount of people being sandwiched together on the limited tables. We met a really nice couple from Melbourne, another couple from Oregon, a couple from Vancouver, a couple from England and a couple from Denmark. Everyone was high-spirited as we were all finishing either the O or the W, and we had a few beers to celebrate our accomplishments. Again, we washed our dishes under a tap in the rain, and then made our way up to our tent, perched atop yet another cursed platform on a very steep hillside. This one at least had nails hanging out all over it which people had previously used as points to tie their tents down. The weather report for the following morning promised clear skies, which meant that we were going to get up early to hike up to the towers.
Day 9 – Chileno to Los Torres Welcome Centre
Of course, it rained all night long. When we awoke to our alarm at 4:30am I was sure we wouldn’t be seeing a sunrise this morning, but upon looking up through the tree canopy I noticed stars. We layered up and began the two hour climb up to the towers under the light of our head torches, crossing streams, tip-toeing over mud ridden sections of trail, and eventually reaching the very steep rock scramble to the top.
We reached the summit, exhausted and wringing wet, at the perfect moment to witness the sun hitting the rock face of the towers. It was quite a sight, with the golden rock illuminated above the grey, glacial lake, and clouds barely touching the top of the towers as they floated by. I finally understood the hype around sunrise at the towers, as shortly after arriving the sun began to move behind one of the nearby mountains, and no longer highlighted the landscape. We took a few selfies in which we both looked absolutely weathered by the last 9 days, and scurried back down the trail to get out of the strengthening winds.
We packed up our sopping wet tent for the last time on this trail and began to make our way down the big descent to the welcome centre. We passed an insane number of people heading the opposite way, toward the towers. Many of which were obviously struggling a lot, and it made me wonder if they knew what they were getting themselves into, or how many of them even managed to get themselves out of bed that morning. I think if we’d stayed down at Central like many other trekkers did, I don’t know if I could be arsed to make the trip all the way up.
Now that we’d completely run out of food, our packs were significantly lighter, and knowing that the walk was finally coming to an end helped us with the final push. We reached the welcome centre after 15km and 4 hours on the trail, stumbling to a park bench and collapsing, completely cooked. We were the first people to arrive, and therefore the people in the cafe were yet to turn the coffee machine on, so I ate a very underwhelming and expensive hotdog from the food truck that I’d been anticipating for a very unhealthily long time, and we waited for the shuttle bus to arrive to take us back to the park entrance. For four hours. During this time I became increasingly frustrated, as we’d purchased tickets ten days ago to Puerto Natales’ very first Oktoberfest, and I was very worried we weren’t going to make it there in time for me to participate in the festivities. Knowing that we were going to Oktoberfest on our last day was just about the only thing that kept me going for the last nine days, so you can imagine the foul mood I was in. I tried burying my worsening condition with a gigantic bag of Doritos, which did actually help a little. The Doritos here are significantly better than the ones at home, which I’m sure is due to the added MSG, which, to those who don’t know me that well, I’m a big fan of.
When the bus finally did show up, of course we ended up at the back of the line, which seems to always be the case for us. No matter where we’ve been in South America so far, or how early we get to a place, if there is a queue for anything at all, you can guarantee I’ll be at the back of it. So we missed out on the first bus and had to wait another half an hour for it to return, with doritos rapidly dwindling in supply. After the shuttle bus took us to the park entrance, we waited for another 45 minutes for the proper bus to arrive to take us back to Puerto Natales. Full of doritos, I fell asleep almost instantly.
We made it back to town by about 7ish, which was about three hours later than I’d imagined we’d turn up to Oktoberfest. Rachael desperately wanted some sort of cake, so we scurried around town, scouting out our options, with each passing second one closer to me not making it to the surprisingly elusive festival that I’d been so eagerly awaiting.
FINALLY, after making it back to our accommodation, catching up with our Airbnb hosts who wanted all the details of the hike (not now guys, please!), unpacking, showering, changing, and being back on the road, I was at last on my way to Oktoberfest. We arrived at about 8:45pm to a large grassy field in the blisteringly cold wind, with a small burger truck to one side, half a dozen tin sheds on the other, and a stage in the middle where a band played Chilean music to a total of about three people, the only ones willing to brave the elements.
I had four very nice, and very expensive beers from four different breweries, ate a very disappointing and very expensive burger, and decided to call it quits and walk down the road for a pizza and call it a night.
We both slept deeply, and for a long time, and I awoke vowing to never go on a 9 day hike ever again. The O Circuit was a lot of things; cold, long, wet, relentless, insufferable and painful, basically any word you could use to describe a hot dog prior to cooking. It was also other things; fulfilling, beautiful, surprising, fun, addictive and enjoyable, all the things a well prepared hot dog should be. With time, I’m sure I’d be willing to embark on a similar undertaking again. It’s only once you look back on the experience as a whole do you realise that the pain, suffering and challenges it brought are the things that made it so worthwhile.
This trek was completely Rachael’s idea, I’m not even that big on hiking. But I definitely finished the O with a new found love for being on the trail, carrying a silly amount of food to prepare in less than ideal kitchen areas, walking through absolutely stunning landscapes and really feeling like I’m in the middle of absolutely nowhere. It was an incredible experience and I’m so glad we were able to do it. It was great to meet new people from all over the world and get tips and advice on where to go next in our travels, and it was especially good to make some new friends.
Never eating pasta again.
