Patagonia Trek – The Towers (Day 5)
Day 5 was the last major hiking day of our trek. Setting off we knew it was suppose to be one of the most strenuous days with a 4.5 hour 800m ascent and an equally time consuming decent. This was the last leg of the Torres del Paine “W” Trek and would hopefully provide us with an up close view of Las Torres (aka The Towers).
The trail was broken down into 3 sections (see route map). The first 1.5 hours of the ascent was rocky with vegetation close to the ground which leaves you pretty exposed to the elements. This portion ends when you cross the river at Refugio Chileno. From the refugio the next 2 hours of the ascent meanders through a lush forested area that is very similar to trails in the Cascade Mountain range outside of Seattle and other trails in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. You eventually exit the forest to enter a large boulder field which is when the trail becomes extremely sandy. You have to continue to climb through the boulder field for another hour before you reach the Mirador Las Torres lookout.
By the time we made it up to the lookout, The Towers were unfortunately completely hidden by clouds so instead of rejoicing at the wonderful vantage point the AllTrails Team celebrated the fact that we had successfully completed the Torres del Paine “W” Trek. Like completing any ascent, only half the work was done since there was still a long journey back down the mountain before Day 5 would be complete.
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)
