To the end of the earth: an expedition through Patagonia

 

 Our party arrived in the sleepy town of Puerto Natales after leaving the hospitality of the Hernandez Family of Victoria de Chile. At this stage, the expedition consisted of myself, Dave ‘the nut’ Coutts, a trekking veteran of 25 over years, whose feats have included climbing Everest whilst maintaining a handstand, armed with only an elastic band, a can of WD40, duct tape and a hairdryer. Accompanying the nut was his adoring wife, compañero Sharon ‘Shazbot’ Coutts with over 20 years’ experience, known for her uncompromising stamina often compared to that of a mule. Sharon has demonstrated this by braving the extreme conditions of the Sahara for 86 days, surviving solely by extracting the moisture from Camels.    

After one day in town spent gathering provisions we set off. Upon arrival, which involved a bus and boat we arrived at the origin, where we were greeted by 100kmph+ wind, whose gusts resulted in lashings of rain and hail battering down against our already fatigued bodies. It was now that we realised – we have really made it to the end of the earth. The sideways orientation of the vegetation, and the extreme ruggedness of the areas animal populations, was evidence that for survival in Patagonia, life needs to adapt to the conditions.

 

After 2-3 hours of battling the elements, we were exhausted and in need of a rest, and still at least 3 hours away from our destination of Refugio Grey. We established Refugio Coutts on the Southern Edge of Lago Grey, in a rocky outcrop, which provided a small amount of protection from the Patagonian weather. After a stop to recompose ourselves and rebuild our shattered morale, we left the safe confines of Refugio Coutts and headed north, in search of a glimpse of our first glacier of the expedition, Glacier Grey.

 

Refugio Coutts

After two or so hours, we reached Glacier Grey, and immediately we were rewarded as it was truly an impressive sight. We then pushed onto Refugio Grey and spent our first night in a valley, which offered some respite from the wind. It was here that we added another compañero to our expedition, Johanna ‘Unbreakable’ Baron.

 

Our first glimpse of Glacier Grey

 

Close up of Glacier Grey. Our faces tell the story here

The following day, after a short detour to gaze upon Glacier Grey one last time our party set off for Campamento Italiano, at the entrance to the Valle de Frances. The walk was difficult – even stronger winds combined with ankle deep swamp crossings meant that our advance was frustratingly slow, however shortly before nightfall we were able to set up camp in the swamp/camping area, known as Campamento Italiano.    

Shaz and I with Jo

After spending the night, we set off at dawn for the next segment of the journey into the Valle de Frances, where we experienced some of the hardest terrain for the trip, caused mainly by the fact that the path which was actually a stream for most of the way. After struggling for over an hour, we reached a clearing where we were able to view the whole valley, another amazing site. Frozen waterfalls and glaciers clung to the side of the mountains, and even an avalanche were seen from our vantage point. However, as we left the protection of the forest, we were hit by extreme winds and horizontal rain which caused us to be frozen to the bone. With morale hitting all-time lows, we made the decision to return to Italiano to have some tea.

 

The conditions even got the better of our toughest compañero, putting on wet shoes was a tough job

After returning and regrouping, we pushed on to the next location Refugio los Cerenos, where we were greeted with one of most amazing sites of all… blue skies!

Los Cerenos

 

From Los Cerenos, we pushed onto the final segment of the hike, to the base of the Torres del Paine, where we set up camp, and waited eagerly for our first glimpse of the towers at sunrise the following morning.

4am on day five. We managed somehow to move our frozen, battered and bruised bodies from our slice of heaven: a 1cm thick bedroll and soggy tent, slammed a granola bar down our throats and commenced the 45 minute march to the towers along with around 100 lights coming from the headlamps of 100 other very dedicated individuals. 

 

While the hike up was the very definition of pain, we found our rock and waited until the sun rose over the mountains. Soon enough, the sun appeared and we were greeted by the most magnificent view imaginable; the morning sun setting the towers ablaze against a backdrop of an almost cloudless blue sky – apart from the few wisps of cloud which where bright orange.

 

 

The towers at sunrise...wow

After some time the clouds rolled in, however it made for an amazing photo

 

Everyone scrambling for the best spot!

After basking in the view for 2 hours with tea and porridge in our stomachs, we set off to pack up camp and finish hiking the last 28kms to the exit. Wet socks, empty stomachs and lack of sleep all were a distant memory as we pushed towards a hot meal and a warm bed back in Puerto Natales.

The hotel at the end of the trek, for those who prefer the more luxurious things in life!

Upon returning to Puerto Natales and parting with compañero Jo, we crossed over to El Calafate on the Argentinian side. Given the fact that El Calafate was about as touristic as you can possibly imagine (picture a town version of an airport, every third shop sells the same, expensive stuff. Also cheap meals were completely non-existent ), we quickly renamed the town to El Calasharte. Calasharte, did however have 2 amazing things. An absolutely massive glacier, Perito Moreno Glacier, which was absolutely breathtaking, as well as our first taste of Argentinian BBQ, referred to in this part of the globe as an Asado. Basically lamb cooked over coals for over eight hours. I’m sorry fellow Australians, we ain’t got nothing on the Argentinians!

 

 

 

Cheers,

The Nut