Patagonia Trek – Paso Los Cuernos (Day 2)
Day 2 marked the first day of the hike. In total we would be covering 65 km (39 mi) over the course of the next 4 days. We set off from the EcoCamp heading towards the Los Cuernos Refugio where we would be spending the night. Today’s hike would prove to be a good warm up since it only took 5 hours (see route map) and the weather was absolutely fantastic – perfectly sunny with almost no wind which we were told was really unusual. The trail itself was also fairly easy with some gentle ups and downs which offered some really spectacular views. In the last mile there was a 10-15 minute climb upwards but once we made it up, the rest of the route was all downhill until we hit the Los Cuernos Refugio.
Los Cuernos Refugio offers 3 different accommodation options: cabins, hostel, or camping. We stayed in the hostel which was more than adequate since it had running water, hot showers, and a dinning area where you could pay for breakfast, dinner, & other refreshments. Since the refugio is in the middle of nowhere everything has to be brought in by porters which fully justifies the $5 they charge for a single beer.
One thing to note if you’re considering hiking Torres del Paine, you can drink water straight from the stream without needing to add any tablets. The water in the local streams is basically melt water from the glaciers that is very well filtered by the rocks on its way down the mountain. Everyone in our 14 person group drank glacier water almost exclusively without any ill effects. If you’re heading to Torres del Paine don’t worry about stocking up on water or water tablets for that matter since you can simply fill up at one of the many streams to keep yourself hydrated.
Read more about our trek in Patagonia:
- Patagonia Trek – Intro
- Patagonia Trek – Recommended Gear
- Patagonia Trek – Milodon Cave (Day 1)
- Patagonia Trek – Paso Los Cuernos (Day 2)
- Patagonia Trek – Valle del Frances (Day 3)
- Patagonia Trek – The Grey Glacier (Day 4)
- Patagonia Trek – The Towers (Day 5)
- Patagonia Trek – The Eastern Lakes (Day 6)
