I find that when I know that I have to rise early I sleep very badly. And this night was no exception. By 4am I’d had enough of the constant cycle of napping and waking, so I unzipped my sleeping bag, got dressed, had a poor excuse for a wash, grabbed the rucksack and camera and headed down from the tent to the refuge and slowly came around. The moon was out and there was the odd drop of rain in the air, which mystified my sensors, it seems that the Patagonia weather is going to keep me wondering what sort of sunrise they’ll be. It’s dark except for the light of the moon, I’m alone, which surprises me, I thought other photographers would be up and about to get to Torres Base before ‘blue hour’. My head torch is on, I pick out the path and slowly make my way towards my end goal, a spectacular sunrise over the Three Towers at Torres Base. Whether the weather would play ball has yet to be seen!

I make my way up the valley and took the steep path up to the cirque and that spectacular view that all the visitors to the Torres del Paine are here to see. Some are lucky, but many aren’t. As I take the rocky path up to Torres Base, my mind tries to make sense of this dark silhouetted 2 dimensional path and in this strange flat world my mind starts to wander, looking for that grey bearded man that as a child I followed up so many mountains, with him looking down at me smiling, encouraging me as I proudly walked at his side. That time in the night, between 3am and 5am seems to be a time of dreams and for me on this morning they were happy ones.

I crest over the edge of the cirque to eventually see the three towers silhouetted as the moon shone from behind them as it rapidly set leaving a darkness that only the dawn reveals. There are just four other people, so I can set up my camera and phone without pesky Instagram users, who I find have no manners, have no concept of other visitors, just their own selfish goals, facing away from the views, looking only at themselves… sorry, just can’t help myself. I set my camera up for the stills and my iPhone for the TimeLapse and sit and wait. It’s about 7am and very shortly the ‘blue hour’ unfolds. The sky turns a dark blue and the towers start to shake off the blackness of the night. Sunrise is at 07:55am and there are a few more people now, but still not as many as I expected. One of the youngsters, well young to me anyway, sat next to me and we chatted, he says, ‘it’ll be hours before the sun hits the towers’, however, at 08:05 the top of the towers are bathed in a dark red light which rapidly creeps down engulfing them completely. We were both mesmerised as the colour changed from a dark red to ever decreasing shades of orange. A picture paints a thousand words:

I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I started watching the view at 06:15am and eventually tore myself away at just after 08:30am. I can’t begin to describe what I saw or felt. The descent was a blur of passing people on their way up, including Holly and Andrew, I smiled, I think that was enough for them to realise that I’d seen what I’d traveled 8,000 miles for.

Homeward bound!

Camp Grey is the starting point of the ‘W’ Trek. I don’t think I’ve explained what exactly the ‘W’ and ‘O’ Treks are. The ‘O’ trek is the less popular 130km walk that encompasses the full circuit of the Torres del Paine Massif. It also includes the more popular ‘W’ trek, that covers the south side of the massif. The northern section of the ‘O’ trek is more remote and although there are campsites and refuges at regular intervals, they are, as a rule, a little more basic than those found on the ‘W’ trek. There are a number of ways to walk both treks, staying at the refuges, camping in pre erected tents or eco tents (don’t get me started on eco tents!!!) or being self sufficient and carrying your own tent. Wild camping is prohibited within the National Park, so you have no choice but to camp at the designated sites, which has the bonus of not necessary having to carry all your own food. The ‘W’ trek is far more popular as it’s both shorter and the accommodation, food etc. is somewhat better than its northern counterpart.

Day 5 of the trek was from Camp Grey to Camp Paine Grande. A fairly leisurely wander down by the side of Lago Grey. People were coming at us in all directions, as unlike the northern section of the ‘O’ trek, which can only be walked anti-clockwise, the ‘W’ trek can be done East to West or visa versa. I don’t mind people, but I feel a lot better about them when they are somewhere other than on the same path I’m on! Seriously, though, I love to see so many people enjoying, what is one of the most walked treks in the world and I was fully aware of that when I booked it. What I wasn’t fully aware of was that 90% of people on the walk used walking poles and it appears that most of them haven’t got a clue that they are even carrying them, never mind using them in a sensible manner! And I have bruises on both my legs and feet to prove it. It seems that moving to one side to let people past, means that they can stomp past you totally unaware that you also take up part of the path and when one of those titanium spiked poles is ;pressed onto one of your feet… it’s painful. While I’m ranting about trekking poles and their inappropriate use, I’m going to have another rant. As I’ve said the views and the joy they give me along this trek as on many treks I’ve wandered are the sole reason I’m there. I assume that’s why others are there. I believe from what I’ve seen that the human race will evolve over the next millennia to have eyes in the back of their heads… as many of the trekkers didn’t see any of the views. All they ever saw was a 12cm by 5cm screen reflecting their image on an out of focus landscape. You can call me what you like and I’m happy to identify as anything, but for me it’s all about seeing those views and taking the time to take in and digest Mother Nature’s beauty. I know I spend a great deal of time with a camera in front of my face, but I’ve learned that I also need to just sit and enjoy the scene.

The following day saw us walking up the Frances valley, the there and back of the ‘W’ trek. The weather was perfect as were the views. We dropped off our packs at Camp Italiano and made our way up to Mirador Frances and Mirador Britanico and it’s here that you really begin to I understand why this is one of the worlds most popular treks. At Mirador Frances the raw power of nature is revealed as hanging glaciers are precariously balanced on what appears to be a shear rock face. A sound like thunder would regularly fill the air and all eyes would scan the rock face, looking for the avalanche as the ice was no longer able to keep its purchase on the rock. Mirador Britanico was different again. as you gained height along the wooded path, the valley to the left suddenly opened up into a massive amphitheatre with a headwall of enormous rock towers. It was mesmerising, a time to sit and realise how privileged I am as I dozed in the heat of the afternoon sun.

Of mice and men… it seems that mice will often get the better of you! Why should I mention mice, well we encountered a few at Camp Frances. All I lost was a lightweight water bottle that I’d purchased especially for the trek, Holly was lucky she lost nothing, but Andrew was awakened by a mouse running over his head and a sinking feeling as his blowup mattress was no longer able to sustain the purpose that it was designed for. At 1am Andrew was busy repairing teeth holes in his mattress, not just one set, but three, the mouse, quite obviously felt comfortable snuggling in his down filled bed! At breakfast Andrew poured his granola only to find that the top was not the only place the contents poured from, let’s just say he had extra currents in his granola that morning! People squeeze toothpaste tubes in many different ways from the top, from the bottom and sometimes the middle, I think it has caused many a divorce or certainly been the last straw, but when you squeeze a toothpaste tube and the contents come out not only at the top but from numerous other small holes then you know it’s time to catch that mouse and give it a good talking to.

The penultimate day was another gentle wander by Lago Nordenskjold, giving some spectacular views south before we slowly ascended to Camp Chileno and the Three Towers.