Adventurer Part 2: Failed, but Exhilarated

This is a guest column written by my daughter. She just wanted to write one blog, but we’ve morphed it into a series that we alternately write. Two people, two perspectives, narrated in acts, like a play’s script, describing an epic journey that we took as a family to the Torres.

By: Ishani Ghosh.
February 21, 2020

As much as our tired legs would allow we almost ran (mmm… a steady trot?) the last few hundred yards to the Paine Grande Camp. It was closing in on 6 p.m and we had been on our feet since 4 a.m in the morning, with a break of about 90 minutes at Camp Grey, 7 miles and some change behind. Our backs hurt, our legs had stopped hurting, which wasn’t a good sign and we were worried sick that we’d reach Paine Grande and not find a tent to stay in for the night. The previous 24 hours had been the absolute worst of the backpacking trip and perhaps ranked well into a top-5 bad days of our lives (I speak for all of us).

Baba and Shubhi (Shubhangi – my little sister) had gone ahead. Mumma and I were about 5 minutes or a quarter of a mile behind. As we walked into the camp and slowly came up to the office, I saw Baba at the counter talking to the Camp Manager. We were outside the office and couldn’t hear what was being said and Baba’s face was hidden, so I couldn’t see his expression, but those few moments between opening the door and walking up to the counter to see for myself if we had wrangled an accommodation for the night were some of the slowest in my life. As we got to Baba, he turned – there was visible relief on his face as he triumphantly declared that we had secured two double tents for our party. Relief and the adrenaline draining, came crashing together and I sat with a thump on the closest chair, without fully realizing our Torres adventure was coming to an end. I would in a few weeks, look back at this time and wish, just wish we had a few more days to continue on. But that’s perspective, for now I just wanted a place to lay flat and close my eyes shut for 12 hours…maybe 72.

Our “O” circuit backpacking had started 5 days back at the Torres Central Park Entrance. Planes, more planes, buses and rented cars had been involved in getting to the start, with some missed baggage, last minute scrambles to change the camp reservations et cetera thrown in for good measure. Travails which adventure blogs warn you about. Expect the unexpected. Be prepared for surprises – those clichés are like a placebo, you think you get the treatment, but your body is prepared for nothing when the disease finally strikes. Anyway – a word from the wise (ahem!), if you’re in Torres “expect the unexpected” (snigger! snigger!). Get back to topic Ishani. Aah! yes. So we had started the O Circuit 6 days back. The plan was to hop camps thus:

Day 1: start from the Puerto Natales to the Welcome Center and start the backpacking trip nice and early. Day 1’s trek would involve us getting to Camp Seron about 8 miles away.

Day 2: start from Seron and hike 11 miles to Dickson (as an aside, that’s a really unfortunate name for a one of the most scenic campgrounds – perhaps the most scenic campground in the O)

Day 3: hike to Perros from Dickson – a relatively short 6 miles away, but with breathtaking view of the Perros Glacier and Lago? Perros.

Day 4: the hard day. We planned to trek from Peros to Refugio Grey, crossing the highest point on the trek at John Gardner Pass, past Glacier Grey. We had to do 11 miles climbing up and then down about 3000 feet. Camp Paso was a stop on the way after descending from John Gardner, but it was a Chilean Forestry (CONAF) run campground and lacked the creature comforts (a pitched tent and toilets with running water) that the other camp grounds had, so we had to get to Grey

Day 5: Grey to Paine Grande: start early to trek 9 flat miles to reach Paine Grande by 11 a.m and then exit the park using the Lago Grey ferry service, take a bus back to Torres Central (the Welcome Center) and then camp overnight at Torres Central

Day 6: do the trek back and forth from Torres Central to Torres Del Paine, see the golden hues spread over the granite and then head out of the park. 8 miles back and forth, but we would need a 3 a.m start to see dawn break over the magnificent Torres towers

Notionally, we were skipping a few stops along the O, to be able claim that we were completing the O fully, but with Atacama planned for later in the trip, 6 days were all we could afford.

We were at the end of day-5 and had made it to Paine Grande, but not in time to take the ferry out of the park and then a bus back into the park to Torres Central for our planned 8 mile Day-6 hike. Tomorrow, we would take the ferry out of Paine Grande and head back to Puerto Natales. Torres – specifically the descent from O had beaten us – mentally, physically.

If you’re still with me, stick on, because while our destination – the goal to complete most of the O and then take on Torres was unfulfilled, the backpacking hikes were perhaps the true fulfillment of our unique personal journeys in Torres. Torres, unseen, unconquered had spurned us this time, but perhaps that was for the best. This small nook tucked away at the end of Earth, had captured our hearts, taken our breadth away frequently, driven us quite insane. In short, we were smitten and that meant there would be a next time.

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