Parque Nacional Torres del Paine is located near the tip of South America in the Patagonian
region of Chile.
There are several trekking options in Torres del Paine. We chose the 4-day W route. Our
first day's hike was an out and back along the right hand side of the W to the lookout
point where we saw Los Torres or the Towers.
The central tower is an amazing 10,000 feet or 3,050 meters high. Because of its difficulty,
it wasn't climbed until 1963 by a British expedition.
On the third day, we covered the distance between Refugio Los Cernos and Paine Grande
or the distance of approximately 12 miles or 19.5 km. The Valle de Frances or French
Valley portion of the W fell in the middle of the day's hike. As we walked up the steep
terrain, we witnessed the calving of the French glacier.
On the last day of our trek, we hiked for 4 hours, most of it in the rain, with the
goal of meeting a boat on Lago Gray at 1pm.
On the way back to civilization, we were treated to fantastic views of the Great Glacier.
Here's an image of the Great Glacier from space. Whereas Lago Gray the lake is 10.5
miles or 17 km long, the Great Glacier is nearly twice as long at 17 miles or 28 km.
Seeing the blue ice of the Great Glacier was the perfect conclusion to our 12th and final
trek.
