Video: At End of the World | Torres del Paine, Chile

After 8 days off-the-grid, we were ready to end the hike, sleep in a real bed, eat some hardy food and plug ourselves back into the MATRIX. I guess we’re city boys after all, but getting deep into nature every so often is like pushing the reset button- it gets the bugs out and gives our circuits a needed break.

I must admit something slightly embarrassing- even worse when knowing that I work in the landscape architecture profession. This thing, that I really can’t quite believe, is that I have not been camping since I was 13 years old- when I was a Webelos (what a terrible name for a junior Boy Scout). Maybe I’m more embarrassed that I was something called a Webelos. In any case, it’s ridiculous… I know.

What makes it a tad bit better, nonetheless, is that my RTW partner, Joe, is in the same boat. How can two fully-grown men not have gone camping their entire adult life?? Yeah, we did a 4-day trek in Colombia, but it’s more like glamping; when all meals are cooked for you and you get a cabin and bed to sleep in.

Who should I blame for this travesty? My friends for not taking me camping? Should I blame South Florida for not having mountains, though you don’t need any for great camping- so I hear. No, I should only blame myself for not doing it sooner. I needed to remedy this tragic situation.

Luckily enough, I’m traveling the world for a while and can make this goal happen. And we would do it in a grand ol’ fashion in one of the most spectacular landscapes I’ve ever seen, and maybe one of the most picturesque in the world: Patagonia- The End of the World.

Getting There

We were ending our time in Buenos Aires; A few weeks earlier, we had found a very good deal on a flight to El Calafate and decided on a date. It was sad to leave BA, like most of the other big cities we visited for that matter, but especially here, as I only had a total of 10 days to get to know the city; Not nearly enough and much less than I originally had hoped for. But, we needed to get south before it was too late in the season. As it would turn out, we would arrive to El Calafate at the most perfect date possible; in time to catch a 3-day only event at the glacier Perito Moreno (see a video about our lucky visit here).

El Calafate is like a resort ski town without any skiing. It’s really just a fancy little pueblito that acts like a base to the Perito Moreno Glacier and other trekking around the area. After a few days there, we would take a bus across the boarder to Puerto Natales, Chile for the adventure of a lifetime- Torres del Paine.

Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine is considered the mecca of hiking in this region. I didn’t even hear about it until very recently, but as with so much on this trip, you listen to other travellers and follow their advise- and they all said, overwhelmingly to GO! We did, without any hiking gear or much winter clothes. Fortunately, there were thrift stores and rental gear shops to help us with that.

The day before we planned to go, we had a lot of prep-work to do. We spent the whole day, until about midnight, scrabbling around town getting clothes, food, supplies, a tent, hiking gear and then packing our backpacks as light as possible- all before we needed to catch a 7:00am bus to the park. It was a scramble. We were exhausted before we did any hiking at all. We even spent over an hour walking all across town searching, desperately, for the most important food item of all- peanut butter. After 5 months on the road, I have not had even a single spoonful of the stuff. Hence, I was determined to find some. We did… finally. We were set.

We had all the food we would need neatly separated into ziploc bags; 5 days worth. This consisted of oatmeal with nuts and condensed milk for breakfast, trail mix for snacks, tuna for lunch, pasta for dinner, tortillas and salami for added variety, our treasured peanut butter, of course, dulce de leche (because we are in South America after all).

We get to the park around 10:30am and we’re pumped for these 5 days of hiking and camping. We waiting to get our pass and transfer to the starting point of what they call the “W,” but something is happening. It’s windy as hell. The bus driver is talking to a ranger and then the ranger tells us that the driver won’t go any further. “He says the wind is too strong and the bus might tip over.” Well, that throws a wrench in our plans. The only option now is to either do the “W” the opposite way we had planned, or do the full “O” circuit; an 8 or 9 day affair.

Well, Joe and I looked at each other and we were like, screw it, lets to the full circuit and see what happens. And, for shits and giggles, we actually decided to see if we could ration our 5 days worth of food over the entire 8 days. I don’t know why we decided that? Maybe to see what we were made of; Or maybe to be a bit stoic and feel what it is like to be hungry. Whatever the reason, we made the decision and stuck to it, almost.

Needless to say, we were always hungry and talked more about food during this hike than anything else. It was hilarious. We did accept some surplus food from other hikers that brought too much and were trying to lesson their backpack weight, which seemed to be a common thing. So, we got some extra oatmeal, two hard-boiled eggs and a bar of chocolate (Thanks Greta and Kathryn!).

There was no risk of starvation though, as almost every camp had a tiny shop to buy pasta and cookies. We ended up caving and bought some pasta for the last two nights- we could only be stoic so long. By the end of the 8 days, I was buckling my belt a notch tighter (which makes it two notches since this trip began almost 6 months ago).

7 nights in a tent; 8 days of trekking; one sunrise hike at 6 am– It was a spectacular experience! More than I could have imaged. The landscapes were more varied than anything I have ever experienced. Every few kilometers the surrounding would be completely different. Snow capped mountains, pristine lakes, barren Martian-scapes, pebble beaches, lush forests and grass prairies- it was just so beautiful.

Not only were the hikes amazing, but the nights at the Refugios and camp grounds were so fun; cooking pasta on gas canisters, drinking box wine and sharing stories with all the other hikers- it was just so fun. I kept telling myself, “Why haven’t I done this before,” and “I need to do this more often!”

8 days of trekking does take its toll on thirtysomethings though. It must have been a funny site, seeing us on those last 2 days; I was limping along due to a strained achilles tendon and Joe rolled his foot and was hobbling on a swollen ankle- our bodies were telling us it was time to end this thing.

After being off-the-grid for over a week, we were ready to end the hike, sleep in a real bed, eat some hardy food and plug ourselves back into the MATRIX. I guess we’re city boys after all, but getting deep into nature every so often is like pushing the reset button- it gets the bugs out and gives our circuits a needed break.

However, you don’t have to go to the end of the world to get a reset like we did. Get out to your own nearest park; pack a backpack, tent, food and some cooking gear. Spend 2 or 3 days hiking a trail and experiencing Mother Nature’s natural beauty. I guarantee, if the weather is nice and you don’t injure yourself, you’ll be happy you got out there.

Check out this video of our epic adventure surrounded by the natural beauty of Torres del Paine… And thanks for reading!