Trip Report: Backpacking the W Trek in Patagonia
By Maliah Coolidge, KEEN Art Director
Patagonia was unknown to me.
I was in my early twenties when a friend of mine mentioned that Patagonia was on their travel bucket list. I had never heard of it. I followed up with a string of rapid-fire questions for clarification: “Where do you want to go? Pata-what-did-you-say? You mean that clothing company? What country is it in? It’s not a country—it’s a region?” I was fascinated that this place existed and I had never heard of it before.
As soon as the image results popped up on my Google search, I knew I had to backpack the W trek in Torres del Paine National Park.
It wasn’t until a few years later that I actually started to formulate a plan of how I could make this dream a reality. Step one was figuring out how to pay for it, specifically the most expensive part—the airfare. How does a recent college graduate with student loans racked up 3x higher than the national average pay for something like this? I had never had a credit card before, but I figured I was probably responsible enough to take the big plunge. I got a card with the most sign-on bonus miles available and, from there on out, every possible purchase was made on that card so that I could rack up more miles. And then I just kept saving them. Fast-forward three years, and I finally had enough miles to get a roundtrip ticket down to Patagonia. And somewhere along the way I made two friends who shared my desire to travel to that region of the world.
All of this just to say that the trip was a long time coming. And since it’s not an easy place to get to, my friends and I knew we had to do it right—because you never know if you’ll have the opportunity to make it back there.
PLANNING OUR HEARTS OUT
In the six months prior to our departure date, we researched. We Skyped. Some of us may or may not have made Excel spreadsheets. A breast surgeon living in Boston, a computer software engineer living in San Francisco, and an art director living in Portland. We’re planners. We can’t help it. Our jobs require it of us. We have a vision, we plan things to a T, and then we execute with the most control and precision we can muster. And that’s how we wanted to approach Patagonia, with our American fast-paced, results-oriented, insert-key-buzzword-here mindset. But what we found was that wasn’t going to work.
Between the language barrier, severely dated/non-functional websites, and email correspondence that was delayed by weeks if not months, we were finding it extremely difficult, and sometimes impossible, to make and confirm reservations. Yet after more than five months of intense planning, we had everything set, confirmed, and paid for—everything except one major component: We couldn’t secure backpacking permits for the W trek in Torres del Paine National Park—which was the inspiration for making the trip in the first place. I was torn, and so were my friends. We kind of wanted to wing it and hope that it would work out if we just showed up at the park with all our gear. But on the flip side, if we traveled all the way down there and showed up with the hope that we can get permits—and then can’t—we’d be pretty devastated and would’ve wasted two precious days of PTO just traveling to the park entrance.
Two weeks before our departure date, we decided we had to pivot. Our only option left to be able to do the W trek was by going with a fully guided group tour. We were bummed. We also had not been planning on the additional expenses that come with a fully guided trek. And to top it off, the only available dates to do the guided group tour didn’t align with the five days we had left open in our itinerary. But we signed up anyway.
WHEN PLANS DON’T GO AS PLANNED
The next two weeks leading up to our trip were filled with rearranging and rebooking all our previously confirmed plans so that they fit around the dates of our guided group trek. I was both extremely excited, but also kind of convinced our trip was ruined.
It was different. But different doesn’t mean bad, it just wasn’t what I had envisioned when I previously closed my eyes and pictured myself and my friends trekking through Patagonia.
And in this instance, different was really, really, awesome.
We booked our trek through a company that boasts of its “real dirty backpacking” approach that was founded nearly 15 years ago by a Portland expat with guides and porters that are from the region. The day before our trek, we met up at the company’s basecamp to have an initial meet and greet and go through the gear checklist. Our group included six hikers, one guide, and two porters. Everyone was really down-to-earth and open for this new experience and, surprisingly, had all booked the guided trek for a somewhat similar reason. I was slowly relaxing as I realized we were surrounded by like-minded, wild-loving, outdoor enthusiasts. For me, the highlight of this meet and greet was meeting our female guide, Anita, whom I would come to find out is a total awe-inspiring bada**.
It was different. But different doesn’t mean bad, it just wasn’t what I had envisioned when I previously closed my eyes and pictured myself and my friends trekking through Patagonia.
Before our new trekking crew went our separate ways for the evening, we were each given a heavy bag of group-shared items that we had to carry. We just found out that although the guide and porters provided and planned all our meals for us, we had to split the weight of the food—and we weren’t eating lightweight dehydrated meals either. All the meals were made with fresh vegetables, grains, fruits and—if you were lucky—Nutella! We realized that the added weight of fresh produce was well worth it, because we would soon be eating like trail kings and queens.
We hadn’t even left yet, and I was amped.
LEARNING TO TAKE MY TIME (AND TAKE IT ALL IN)
Day one of the trip started with a 2.5-hour drive to take us to the park entrance followed by a 30-minute catamaran ride over Lago Pehoe to Paine Grande. From there we started the first leg of the W, a 7-mile uphill hike to our first campsite. I was the fastest person on the trail, always right behind the guide. Racing against myself and pushing my cardio to the limits is fun for me, so that’s what I was doing. Trekking like I have something to prove, like I have somewhere else to be. After making it to Refugio Grey and setting up our tents, we shared our first dinner together and called it an early night and were asleep by 9 p.m. with a soft rain lulling us to sleep.
The most extraordinary gusts of wind I’ve ever experienced met us on our second day on the trail on the way to Glacier Grey. I’d gleefully throw my arms out in the air to embrace the wind, while proudly yelling through the noise of the wind to tell my guide how much it reminded me of the 90mph gusts I’ve experienced in the Chugach Mountain Range. Seconds later I’d be crouched down, bracing myself against a rock so I wouldn’t get knocked off the cliffside.
Even while I was surrounded by the beautiful Patagonia landscape I found myself trying to make sense of it, liken it to other places I’d been before, categorize it, meet the expectations that had been set by all the research that was done. I heard myself saying, “When I look in this direction the glacial lakes remind of Alaska, but if I turn this way it’s so arid and the plantlife looks African, but over here the peaks are so jagged like the Sawtooths.” After catching myself doing this several times I realized that no, it doesn’t look like Alaska, or Africa, or Idaho—it looks like Patagonia. Because that’s where you are. And that’s what makes it so magical. So I stopped trying to make sense of everything and began soaking it all up.
I stopped trying to make sense of everything and began soaking it all up.
Whether traveling uphill or down, by day four I was consistently the last person in our group. I was taking my time. Allowing myself to stop in sheer wonder at the golden light striking the impressive walls of Los Cuernos towering above me, watch the silty-blue water of Lago Nordenskjold lap against the pebbly shore, and listen to the subtle sounds of nature in the Patagonian steppe. It wasn’t a race anymore. No longer was I hurrying up to get to the next place.
The last leg of our W trek was bittersweet. The group became increasingly aware that with every step we gained toward Mirador las Torres we were also one step closer to the end of our guided trip together. After making our way through the beautiful Ascencio Valley and up through the peaceful Magellanic forest, it was time to make the final ascent of the trip. As we reached the final lookout point and removed our heavy packs, we sat in front of the pristine glacial lake staring up in awe at the three granite towers standing above us.
It was in those quiet moments where I felt like Patagonia finally made herself known to me.
When I started reflecting on my trip, I realized how greatly my outlook shifted over the course of just five days. That the speed of my movements directly correlated to my ability to be present and in the moment. And as an extremely goal-oriented person, I found that once I gave myself permission to slow down and be the last person in our group, it made such a huge difference in how I experienced the landscape and how I will forever remember my trip.
Am I happy that we put in all the hard work to plan the trip ahead of time? Yes! Will I continue planning future trips with such great detail? Most likely (especially if I’m traveling halfway around the world for three weeks). But mostly I will be sure to tell myself to turn off my brain and allow myself to just be and let it all come at me—even if that means setting a reminder on my phone telling me to do just that!
IF YOU GO
If you’re interested in trekking with a guided service:
Support the community you're visiting by booking through a local company with experienced and validated guides, instead of outsiders. There are many different companies in the region that offer guided services and most offer the alternative to book a privately guided tour if you’re not into the whole group thing.
If you want to get away from the crowds during the busy season:
Opt for the O trek, which takes you around the lesser-traveled northern side of the massif plus includes all the beautiful, yet highly trafficked, attractions of the W trek. The O trek takes about eight days to complete, whereas the W takes about four.
If you want super comfortable hiking boots that can handle multi-day treks:
Fun fact: I was the only person in our group who ended the trek without any foot problems or blisters. One guy even blew out his boots. I was happy and my feet were unscathed thanks to my trusty KEEN Gypsum Mid boots with high-arch footbeds.
Whether it’s working in some play time on a business trip, or making the most of the weekend, we love getting out of the office and bringing our KEEN shoes out into the wild. Find out more about our people and working at KEEN.