Field Trip: Torres Del Paine

Nine other kayakers and I completed a private kayak/ sailboat charter in Chile that took us from Tortel to Puerto Natales for ten days, visiting many of the glaciers that are too difficult to see by kayak alone. With my late friend Ken Brunton, we expanded our travels to include a visit to Torres del Paine National Park. Ken was a great traveler and veteran instigator of many kayak explorations.

Chilean Patagonia is unique for its many glaciers pushing right down to the sea, a unique combination of high-country scenery at sea level. The remarkable topography of Torres Del Paine National Park is the result of a 12-million-year process of Plate Tectonics and erosion, leaving sculpted peaks and beautifully carved valleys.

Lago Grey (Grey Lake) is 146 feet above sea level. Its waters travel another 36 miles in two rivers to reach the sea near Puerto Natales.

On this particular day, the north wind had carried the Grey Glacier’s bergy bits to the lake’s southern end and against the gravel moraine spit that connects with Isla Mirador. After walking the spit, we stopped for a hot drink at Hotel Grey, where we saw trekkers walking across the strand, lending a sense of scale to the heroic landscape. ANW