Patagonia gets a lot of hype. I often am skeptical of places with so-called “mad hype” because of the detriments this hype can cause for a destination. I’ve seen it in countless cases – from Plitvice Lakes in Croatia to a whole lot of famous spots in China, to name a few. The hype tends to bring in hordes upon hordes of tourists, leading to scenarios that look something like these:

Mad Destination Hype is a double-edged sword, however – a nice remark of “Hey look at all these great tourists coming to visit!” that transitions into a “Holy shit where did all these tourists come from?” vibe. I will spare you and refrain from going off on a what-is-sustainable-tourism ramble…this post is about Patagonia, after all!

So the bottom line is: Patagonia straddled this line incredibly gracefully and effectively. It was obviously a popular destination, yet it never really felt like you were surrounded by crowds of tourists – perhaps because it’s rather difficult to get to, being close the southern tip of the world and all, or perhaps this was because there were systems in place that limited the number of visitors (such as limited camping sites in Torres Del Paine National Park). Regardless, in the end, as much as Patagonia is hyped in the worldwide outdoors community, it was 110% worth every stinking bit of hype.

Our time in Patagonia was split into two main chunks: the first being chilling (with glacier-peeking, scenic bus rides, beer, and ice cream), and the second being a 50-mile trek spanning 48 hours that was, quite literally, the opposite of chilling. Both were wonderful in their own unique ways. And although the chilling was glorious, what I’m really here to write about are those 50 miles along the famous W Trek in Torres Del Paine National Park.

As some background, most people do this 50-mile trek across 4 or 5 days. Although we would have very much loved to have done this, campsite reservations were pretty limited and didn’t give us much flexibility in our plans which meant that we ended up crunching this hike into a 48-hour period. “Sure, we can do it all in 2 or 3 days!” we said. “We’re young!” we said. Although we survived, the W kicked our butts. But, let’s be honest, we loved every second of it (or at least that’s how we’ll always remember it).

Perhaps the most fascinating part of our time on the W was the forces of nature that exist within Patagonia. As much as the park has stunning scenery, the variation in precipitation and winds are really why Patagonia knocks you off your feet (literally). Because of Patagonia’s position in the far Southern Hemisphere, it finds itself in the middle of warm air traveling south from the equator and cold air traveling north from Antarctica which leads to SUPERWINDS.

Having to duck down to establish your footing to avoid being knocked over by the wind is something I have never had to do while hiking (or during any other activity in life, for that matter). Feeling the sheer power of the wind was exhilarating. On the second day of our hike, we came across a calm lake and spent some time relaxing and taking in the serenity with some fellow hikers before continuing onward. 30 minutes later, as we hiked above the lake we had just been sitting at, we watched in awe (and ducked) as giant gusts of winds (and pelting rain droplets) rolled in waves across the lake, right in our direction.

Another other-worldly experience that we had in TDP also occurred on our second day. We spent the beginning of our day hiking from our hut up through the Frances Valley (without packs! what a glorious day!). Most of our time hiking up the valley was spent staring at this beautiful, beautiful mountain as we hiked closer and closer in range.

It was a glorious mountain poised in a glorious valley. As we were hiking up the valley, we suddenly heard the faint but startling sound of an avalanche. The sound was far in the distance, and as we looked around, we noticed it was coming from the glaciers perched atop this glorious mountain. The avalanche was small, happening in a tiny chunk of mountain, with a look similar to powdered sugar. So, for the first time in our lives, we sat down and watched some avalanches.

These incredible, one-of-a-kind experiences on top of some incredible days of backpacking were what made Torres Del Paine everything it could ever be and more. My brother, our high school friend and I each vowed to each other that it would not be our last time in this surreal part of the world. And more importantly, when we do make it back someday, we’re going to make sure to stick around for awhile longer.

 

 

Thanks for everything, Patagonia. You will forever be burning in my mind.