South and Central America

My trip has mostly been planned and structured around this one footprint. The W trek had to be booked months in advance so everything else had to slot nicely around it. I arrived in the town of Puerto Natales three nights before my trek.

Accommodation: Hostel Last Hope. I love it and Diego, the owner, is a legend. We've been in contact for a few months as I've had several questions about the W that he's kindly helped me with.

Staying for three nights here prior to my trek allowed me to have some down time and get organised for the hike. I met some great people, cooked and drank wine in the hostel. The backpacker budget is getting a shock with how expensive everything is.

The W trek. It was simply epic. I trekked from east to west, starting with the iconic towers.
-Day one: I camped at Camp Central. I arrived, set up my tent in the rain and set off to the towers. I met Kartik, who would be my hiking buddy for the five days. We didn't get the desired blue skies at the towers but it was incredible none the less. This was a long 20km hike with a steep climb at the end. I also met Roz Purcell again and this time had a long chat. This would be my last hike of 2022. I rang in the new year with my fellow hikers at the NYE party in the Refugio bar.
-Day two: New year's day. Destination was Camp Cuernos. This was my first hike with my backpack (17kg). It was heavy but I did my best to ignore the weight and enjoyed the views. I met new friends along the way and experienced the full strength of the Patagonian winds (80kmph). At one point I was holding onto a tree branch thinking it was going to blow me away. I had the pleasure of staying in a dorm room as there was no camping space. At the time of booking this cost 115USD and it was worth every penny to be fully sheltered from the wind. The Refugio bar was gorgeous and reminded us of a ski chalet. I treated myself to an aperol and drank some much needed wine after a tough days hike.
-Day three. This was a long 25km day. Thankfully we could drop our big bags half way to climb the French Valley. We reached Britanico view point for a beautiful 360 degree view. Thankfully the blue skies came out so we could see all the peaks around us. I set up camp at Paine Grande where I had stunning mountain views from my tent. I spent the evening huddled up from the wind in the kitchen with my lovely Italian and Dutch pals.
-Day four: I hiked from Paine Grande to Camp Grey. I saw Glacier Grey and it was magnificent. The weather was pretty bad so I had some moody and atmospheric scenes over the glacier. I arrived at camp and met some friends from my hostel that were doing the O trek. Karthik jokes that I knew 95% of people on the trail. I camped in the woods and had blissful shelter from the wind.
-Day five: This was a speedy walk back to Paine Grande to catch the boat back to civilisation. We did this with Aisling and Doron and all four of us felt pretty chuffed and a little sad to be finished. It was the hike of a lifetime. My only regret is not doing the O trek to have made the experience longer.

Getting back to Puerto Natales was lovely. I met my friends again in the hostel, went to Last Hope gin distillery and partied the night away at Base Camp.

Recommendations: do the O trek!
Last Hope Gin Distillery
La Forastera - burger restaurantRead more