Q THE PATAGONIA TREK

We were total rookies in the wrong shoes but we had a blast by ERIKA HARKINS

“Oh no,” I said, staring out over the teal lake at the base of Mirador los Cuernos, the starting point for our trek into Chile’s Torres del Paine national park. Jake turned to see my panic-stricken face. “No, no, no, no,” I repeated as my eyes welled up with tears.

“Erika, what is it?” he said, now deeply concerned, as I began frantically searching my pack, only to realize that my prized Sportivas were back at the hotel, two hours away. Of course. On the most epic adventure my husband and I had ever attempted, I made the gravest mistake an ultrarunner could make. Now, I had to accept that I would be doing this 10-day trek without my running shoes.

Torres del Paine, National Park - Laguna Torres, famous landmark of Patagonia, Chile

“The initial 29-ish-mile stretch included the beautiful Chileno Refugio (Chilean Hut), where I traded Kind Bars for mosquito repellent. Turns out, overpacking has a few advantages.”

Jake and I are not seasoned backpackers. But when friends asked if we wanted to join them on the 120mile hike we said, “Yes, of course!” Then quickly Googled what to pack. Naturally, we put most of our efforts into snacks. As a trail runner, I hadn’t thought twice about the difficulty of the hike ... until that moment in front of the lake. Now, I found myself weighing my 35-pound pack against the 9 - 13 miles we would be doing each day.

There were six of us in all. Jake and I are IBMers. Julia, is a self-sufficient attorney who carried the lightest pack and could absolutely survive if left to her own devices in the wilderness. Bailee, is a fearless, young software developer with energy to spare. Doug, a renewable energy engineer and avid photographer, was the trip instigator. And his easygoing colleague Josh, who was pretty much up for anything. Together, we were destined for the full Q circuit, which includes the popular W route and is a tad longer than the O. After flying into Chile and ferrying to the start, we set off from Paine Grande at a relatively easy pace.

Three days of humble pie, please

Prior to the trip, Jake and I had been warned about Patagonia’s legendary winds. And boy, were those warnings accurate. Jake lost his hat. A gust tore a hole in our borrowed tent, bringing in a gush of rain. My shoulders ached, I got a weird pain in my Achilles tendon, and my feet burned with blisters. All rookie moves that we tried, and failed, to hide from the group. Busted!

The initial 29-ish-mile stretch included a run from Camp Italiano to dramatic Frances Valley, plus rolling hills, wide open prairies, and the beautiful Chileno Refugio (Chilean Hut), where I traded Kind Bars for mosquito repellent. Turns out, overpacking has a few advantages.

Oh, and we also got lost! Which should have been impossible because Doug’s itinerary was sooo specific. At first, when we asked questions, he’d say, “If you had read the itinerary ...” with a little-bit-o-snark. Eventually that became a sound bite that made us all burst into laughter.

The sunrise on Torres is a fickle thing

Of course, Doug’s mission was to capture the sun rising against the Torres del Paine and Almirante Nieto peaks. As an engineer, he had a precise image in his mind of the morning light striking the tops of the Torres. We were all looking forward to celebrating when he got it.

On our third day out, Doug and Josh rose at 2:00 a.m. and hiked five miles to Las Torres Base Lookout Point to ready the camera for the “money shot.” Normally, I would have been right there with them. But, exhausted from our humbling start, Jake and I decided instead to set our alarms for 4:30 a.m. Sleep hounds Bailee and Julia followed a couple hours later. As we climbed, clouds moved in, the weather shifted, and rain began to fall. Craning my neck towards the peak, I was one hundred percent certain there was going to be no sunrise. But where Jake and I were, at the saddle, the fiery orb suddenly came into view. It was so calming and peaceful!

Further up, we found Doug and Josh, disappointed and cold, with a smattering of other photographers wrapped in sleeping bags. From their vantage point, the fog had obstructed the view. Slowly, we gathered the gear and headed back down, with Doug sporting my bright pink Patagonia fleece. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

You gotta’ love friends in high places

The middle section was more remote and truly magical. As we walked along, we started to recognize other hikers from previous days. We shared our stories and played cards in the This award-winning film follows photographer Robert King as he hikes Patagonia’s most stunning trekking route, the Torres del Paine “O” Trek. A story of raw beauty and transformation.

“Jake and I learned we could pay $20 for a spacious North Face tent, already set up, with mattresses inside. Our luck had turned!”

refugios. Julia schooled us in skipping rocks in glacial lakes. Josh ate a whole package of creme brûlée that the rest of us thought had gone bad. (It hadn’t.) There were quiet moments like when we watched a cute fox explore our camp. And loud, crazy, fun times like when Jake jumped in the icy lake!

At the finish of the fourth day, the trail opened out into a large valley that was covered in daisies. At the camp, set beside the Paine River, Jake and I learned we could pay $20 for a spacious North Face tent, already set up, with mattresses inside. Our luck had turned! The next day, we met a father and son from Argentina and a couple named Jimena and Gonzales who had found Jake’s hat on the trail! He was so happy to have it back.

The stretch to Lake Grey was full of treacherous up-hills, slippery descents, and swampy slogs. Atop John Garner Pass, the breathtaking view made us feel quite small. Stretched out before us was one of the huge, crevassed tongues of the Southern Ice Fields, painted in the rarest shades of blue and green.

Glacier party in the mountains, anyone?

Near the end of the O, with easy access for day hikers and tour boats, Grey Lake is a total a party spot. We hung out there for a couple nights, relaxing and kayaking in the glacial lake. Bailee and I went on runs. Josh and Doug captured the scenery. Jake soaked up the sunshine. Julia read a book and sipped wine. Ooh! And Jimena and Gonzales got engaged!

Bailee and I had such fun on our runs, we conspired to have Jake take our gear back on the ferry instead of hiking the final section that would make our O into a Q. Free of our packs, Bailee and I ran the last section, reconnecting with the crew (and my shoes!) back in Puerto Natales. The grand finale was a tour of coastal Valparaíso and some Santiago wineries before heading back to the States. Phew!

Whether you’re thirsting for a rugged adventure or an effortless guided tour, your travel advisor knows all the best ways to experience Patagonia.

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