Day 1: 11 km (6.8 miles), 4 hrs, to Campamento Grey
Day 2: 18 km (11.1 miles), 8 hrs, to Campamento Italiano
Day 3: 10 km (6.2 miles), 6 hrs, to Campamento Los Cuernos
Day 4: 18 km (11.1 miles), 10 hrs, to Campamento Las TorresDay 5: 7 km (4.3 miles), 4 hrs, back to bus
I'm back from the trail! I had a fabulous time hiking and camping for 5 days in
Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. I had been waiting around in Puerto Natales for awhile looking for someone to camp with and was starting to feel down because nothing was materializing. After talking to a few people who had just come back from the park, I decided to go on my own! At first the 
thought of camping by myself scared me, but then I got excited about the idea and started to feel empowered. I consider myself 
someone who likes backpacking, but I realized I hadn't actually gone backpacking since I was 15 and then it was with an organized group. So I rented the necessary equipment, carried all my own gear, and hit the trail! It's a wonder that we voluntarily strap 40 lbs to our back, walk for days on end, and sleep outside...but, man, it's the best! It was an awesome feeling to be totally self-sufficient.
I met 5 girls from the U.S. & Canada who were all teaching in Ecuador and 
here in Chile on break. The campsites turned out to be large group sites, so I hung out with them in the evenings. It was a nice balance of being on my own during the day but having people to hang out with at night - they kind of reminded me of my Macalester friends! Coincidentally, one of them was born in Milwaukee and is the niece of my high school principal. Small world, as always.
Torres del Paine is famous for the mountainous towers that we saw on the
final day, but the whole park is beautiful. And you can drink straight from any stream! The first couple days were a definite struggle, being that my pack was quite heavy and my body was adjusting to the hiking. No one told me there were going to be so many ups and 
downs on the trails! Poor knees, but they did mangage to hold me up. Each day brought a new gorgeous view, and we lucked out with 
awesome weather. I wore my rainjacket a total of one time, and that was just for the cold. The towers were indeed amazing to view. When I arrived at the last campsite after 8 hours of hiking, I decided to hike another hour to see them at sunset (this hike being more of a climb
straight up boulders!). Apparently I was the only one 
crazy enough to do so because no one else was there. Another moment of peace in nature. We woke up at 5:30am the next morning to see the mountains at sunrise. Freezing cold but rewarding!
I came back from the trek feeling very content, very sore, and very accomplished. It was definitely one of the best parts of my time here!
