"Live the life you love, Love the life you live"
The Atacama Desert
When the Aussies, Raj Majal, and I were planning our Salt Flats excursion we were told repeatedly by many other backpackers that San Pedro in Chile was a must see. Many of the tours of Salar de Uyuni start in Uyuni and end up in Chile. Furthermore, none of the other guys have been to Chile, so we decided to make our final destination from the Salt Flats San Pedro de Atacama.
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Yesterday I escaped Torres Del Paine. It was one of the most worthwhile yet extremely painful adventures of my life. We walked the equivalent of 35 miles up mountains, down mountains, through valleys, by lakes, up more mountains, over the river, and through the woods. We saw glaciers, wildlife, and natural wonders that I had only seen in books and movies.
When I say that this is one of one of the toughest endeavors of my life, I mean it.
I feel like there are four factors that attributed to just how hard it really was:
1. Torres Del Paine is a physically challenging place to hike. In the four days we were there we ran into backpacking and outdoor enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes. We met mountain climbers, mountain guides, park rangers, and trail runners.
2. Any day in the park you can encounter up to 4 seasons. It goes from 70 and sunny to 40 and windy in a blink of an eye. Then 15 minutes later it is 80 degrees. You are constantly putting on and taking off layers. The winds can be unpredictable and very strong as well.
3. We hiked the 35 miles in 4 days, where we should have broken it up into 5 days.
This was stupid and I paid for it.
4. At this point in my life I am in the worse shape of my life.
The trekking and backpacking options for Torres Del Paine are to take a day trip, to hike the 4-5 day “W” path, or to do the 10-12 day circuit. We choose the middle of the pack and decided to hike the “W”.
Pictured below is a map of the trail. The Red W shape is the path we took. The first day we went up the far right hand side of the W. The second day we walked from the top of the right spoke to the base of the middle spoke. The third day we walked up and back on the middle spoke, then to the base of the far left spoke. The fourth day we walked up and back on the left spoke. FYI: I would have died if I would have attempted the 10-12 day circuit.
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