We took an overnight flight (the cheapest available) into Punta Arenas and were in for a rude awakening - coming from 80 degrees and sunny in Santiago, we woke up to 19 degrees and cloudy at 5:30AM in PA. We made a quick visit to see some penguins before hoping on a 3 hour bus to Puerto Natales where we crashed for the night before venturing into the park.
[Puerto Natales - primary transit point to Torres del Paine National Park]
[Puerto Natales - view from the bus]
We woke up early Saturday morning and took a 2 hour bus ride into Torres del Paine followed by a quick catamaran ride across Grey Lake before arriving at our camp site.
[Made it!]
[Catamaran ride across Grey Lake]
[Camp site - night 1]
We spent the afternoon hiking up to a lookout near Grey Glacier (about 10 miles in total) - with beautiful weather and fantastic views - before returning to camp for dinner and an early nights sleep.
[Notice the icebergs!]
[Grey Glacier in the background]
Unfortunately, we awoke to rain and cloudy skies so opted to skip the hike to the French Valley and make our way back across Grey Lake to our second base camp. Instead of staying at the bottom of the mountain, we carried bags 4 hours up the mountain (what a treat) and set up camp closer to the top to prepare for sunrise the next morning.
[Bags packed, ready to start the hike up]
We woke up at 4:15AM to rain again but decided to hike up to the top of Torres nonetheless. We were all hoping that the early wake up, hiking in the dark, and freezing cold rain would be worth it when we made it to the top of the mountain for sunrise - unfortunately, we were all sorely disappointed when we found sleet/snow and fog awaiting us at the top...
Thankfully, the skis started to clear on the way down which made for a much more enjoyable hike back down the mountain. Although the trip was absolutely incredible, I've decided I either need to get better gear or forgo camping when it's freezing cold.
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