Last minute change of plans have always been part of my trip, and the excursion we wanted to do in Torres Del Paine National Park was no different. After looking at some pictures of the famous park, decided we HAD to go trekking there. After flying into Punta Arenas we did some last minute warm clothes shopping before a 3 hour bus to Puerto Natalas. We got in after 11pm and luckily found a hostel that would rent us the remainder of the gear we needed for the 3.5 day hike we had planned (and by planned I mean we still didn’t have a trail route determined). We booked a night at a nearby hostel and early the next morning we were on a bus to Torres Del Paine National Park.

There are two ways to do Torres Del Paine. 1) Expensively: Trek the park with little gear and stay in the warm refugios (cabins) and have all your food supplied which costs around $150 a day 2) Cheaply: Rent gear, carry a heavy pack, camp in the elements, and give up showering for days which would cost you about $20 a day. There wasn’t much of a choice to be made. Before I knew it, my rented backpack was loaded with food, a sleeping bag, toiletries and a pair of waterproof pants to cover my skinny jeans if it rained or got cold. Yes, I was that guy that did a 25 mile hike in skinny jeans. It was all I had, so I made do with it.

As we started the trek, the weather was complete overcast as clouds had engulfed the entire area leaving nearly no distance views from the mountain we were hiking on. We started with some steep terrain with shrubbery vegetation before entering the most enchanting forest I have ever seen. The trees were at their peak fall color and as we climbed higher in altitude they turned from green to yellow to orange to deep red near the top. After miles of hiking uphill we reached our base camp. Tucked under the fiery color of birch trees we set up our tent within feet of a stream of fresh drinking water. Once we got our gear settled and our tent up, we continued trekking up the mountain. We finally arrived at the rocky top of the mountain to a bright green/blue glacial lake and more clouds. As if we were waiting for the red curtains of a theater performance to draw back for a show, the cloud covering drifted away revealing the famous Torres Peaks. It was absolutely stunning and seemed like a dream.

After admiring the views we decided to hike back to base camp for some dinner and sleep before the next day’s long trek. We knew going into this that we were very ill prepared compared to most other trekkers. The first night was a bit rough. We battled mice trying to eat our food, and poor Logan got the shits. We awoke (as if we even slept) to snow covering our tent. At this point I was a little concerned for how I was going to survive the rest of the trek. I had one pair of warm socks and my shoes were built for breathability and running. They were not for what you wanted for snow, nor were they waterproof. Did I mention I was trying to hike in skinny jeans? To top it all off, Logan’s stomach was getting worse. We decided that it would be best to catch the bus back after hiking down the mountain. The only problem was, our bus company only made one trip back to Punta Natalas a day and we didn’t have time to make it down the mountain in time. We were only allowed to stay in our campsite one night and we wanted to get down in elevation to avoid more snow. Even though Logan didn’t feel well, we had to continue the original hike onward to the next free campsite.

It was a long 11 miles, but we couldn’t get over the scenery. Snow capped peaks of mountains towered over us as we hiked alongside and glacial fed lakes were visible in all directions. We battled winds stronger than I have ever seen, even taking me to my knees at one point. Whenever we needed to hydrate, we simply filled our bottles straight from the dozens of streams coming down the mountainsides.

The sun set and we found ourselves hiking by headlamp in the complete darkness. We thought we were getting close to our campsite when and finally we found a sign. Instead it was a low blow stating that we had one more mile of hiking to the campsite. I felt terrible for Logan. It was a hard enough hike for someone who was well, but it was even more exhausting for him with an upset stomach. Eventually, we made our way to the campsite and settled in for the night.

Once a day, a boat makes a trip across one of the large lakes to the other side of the park. It drops passengers off and picks passengers up taking them back to the buses. The last morning, we began our remaining 5 mile hike to the dock so we could make it back to the bus. The views were insane, I can’t even put them into words. As we climbed over our last hill, rain drops pelted our faces as we gazed upon a full rainbow.

On the right leg of the rainbow was the boat dock to take us back to civilization. It seemed like the end of a corny movie but it was true. The path through the valley took us straight to the end of a rainbow and onto a boat that not only took us back to civilization but overlooked the stunning majority of Torres Del Paine National Park. It was an unbelievable way to round out 2 nights and 2½ days of the most beautiful trekking imaginable. Though it wasn’t the easiest hike, I would do it over and over again. The scenery in Torres Del Paine National Park is like entering a whole new world that one could never comprehend unless scene first hand.