Towering mountains, glacier fed lakes and seemingly endless ice fields are home to 130 km of infamous hiking known as the Circuit trek in Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia. Gale force winds are par for the course and rain, snow and hail are all likely possibilities on the seven to ten days it will take you make your way around the Torres. Being prepared for anything is one of the charms of Patagonian weather.
Over the seven day trek in November, 2011, I pushed myself up snow covered passes, through near-debilitating knee pain and towards a greater understanding of what kind of an outdoor experience fills me with passion and excitement.
While considered to be the more remote of the two popular options in the park (the second is the W trek, which is encompassed in the second half of the Circuit trek) the trail is very well travelled by hikers and porters carrying gear and supplies to the various refugios. Click here to see a map of my route.
What the trail lacks in remoteness and technical difficulty it made up for with kilometre after kilometre of astounding views and incredibly varied landscapes. Our days were often long and many were demanding, especially in distance, but only once did I collapse at day’s end, swollen feet raised to the sky in benediction.
