Now we had reached the small town of Puerto Natales it was time to plan. Plan for something that we had never imagined we would ever do on this little jaunt of ours. It is still shocking that if it was anyone out of the two of us, it was probably more Claire that was pushing for us to complete this next main event.

You see, back when we were in China, a seed was planted. An Isreali backpacker advised that one of his favourite memories of all South America (and he had spent over 3 years there) was completing the 'W''trek in the amazing Torres Del Paine National Park. At the time it was easy to say that we'd do it and we would be up for it when we got here, secretly never believing that Claire would ever be up for doing a totally independent 4/5 day, 50 mile hike, carrying everything including clothes, all food, a tent, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, etc.

We had almost forgotten all about it until we met an Australian couple in Mendoza who had just completed it and also said how amazing it was. They claimed that, like us, they had never done any serious kind of hiking before and yet they found it relatively easy and said that we too would find it easy.

'Easy' they said. Easy...

And so there we were thousands of miles South in Chile, near to the end of the world, looking around Puerto Natales and getting our last tastes of civilisation and comforts for the next coming days before we attempted the 'W' trek.

It is called the 'W' trek because on a map when drawn out it looks like a W. Each day offers something new to look at as you walk up each ?stick of the W. Highlights include getting up close to the famous Torres Del Paine, walking alongside the huge Lago Sarmiento, hiking up through the amazing French Valley, exploring the huge area that was burnt down by an Israeli backpacker a couple of years ago and finally seeing up close the Greys Glacier and the start of the immense miles and miles of South American ice fields.

In the town we visited a hostel that every day does a 'W talk'. The talk consists of various advice and tips on completing the W. Which way to go (West to East - though we had already planned on East to West), how to get there (we had the van), what to pack (tent, clothes, food, as little as possible), where to sleep (in the tent), where to get water (the rivers, upstream from the where the toliets are) and what to expect (80 kms of outstanding natural beauty, pain, wind, rain and an enormous sense of achievement).

So on our 'prep' day we hired a tent, walking poles, headlamps, a stove and mats. Next was food, we heard too many stories of people taking too much or too little food. We planned out every meal and snack, working out to the exact calorie to meet our needs. We divided each meal into carrier bags, we pre-prepared our porridge for the mornings with sugar and powdered milk and we decided to eat the Smash on the last evening because it was the lightest. We literally emptied bags of nuts and dried fruit and counted them out exactly into seperate portions, a small discussion was had allowing David to have slightly larger portions due to being slightly larger than Claire. We selected our warmest and lightest clothes and worked out what to wear on each day. We had contingency plans for all weathers, we wouldnt need a map because it was commited to memory. Ultimatley, we were prepared.

On our last night we filled up on a huge parilla (mixed grill) to get our only meat fix for a while and set off to the Torres Del Paine National Park which literally and very appropiately translates as Towers Of Pain.

We arrived in the evening and camped just outside the entrance of the park with an amazing view of the huge towers overlooking a small lake. We spent the evening packing our backpacks, which was much harder than expected and much much more heavier than we'd hoped. In the morning we woke up to bright sunshine and made the short drive to the park entrance. We left the van at the car park and with great big smiles on our faces we set off into the wilderness...

Day 1

Although we were carrying our backpacks that weighed about 15kg and the first part of the walk was up a steep incline to reach the towers we stayed motivated and marched on. The scenery was nice, nothing spectacular, but certainly nice enough to warrant the effort, which was already set to maximum. One of the first things we noticed was just how good the walking sticks proved to be. All the times we've mocked those who walk with them, we take it back, we would not of made it that first day without them. It took us about 4 hours to get up to the first campsite and we felt pretty good considering what we'd just done. The only problem was that Claire had really aggrevated her right shoulder, an old injury thats shes previously had physio for. We hoped that in the morning it would be sorted as carrying a huge backpack for several hours a day probably wasnt the best treatment. In mere seconds, David had the tent up and Claire had the soup on the go.

After lunch we left our bags and walked another hour up an even steeper hill to reach the famous Torres Del Paine. It was worth the effort and the view at the top is amazing. Three steep jagged towers stand over a turquoise lagoon, as they disappear and reappear behind the clouds. We spent a good hour just staring whilst we tried to keep warm and took our soon to be stolen photos. We realised just how high we must have climbed as it was sunny when we set off and now it had just started to snow! Once back at the tent we ate our dinner and put every piece of clothing on to try but unsuccessfully fight off the freezing temperature. Nothing prepared us for that night as it was the coldest in our lives.

Day 2

This was the longest day of walking on the trek, no specific sites, just lots and lots of walking alongside the huge and impressive Lago Sarmiento. It started off reasonably ok. The weather was still nice and we had to walk downhill for the first few hours. Claire's shoulder wasnt any better but she found that if she just used the one pole alongside a dose of Ibuprofen it was managable. As we walked it started to rain a little bit but nothing too bad, the down hill relief though was a blessing in disguise as this managed to aggrevate Claire's knee, her other injury that she has also previously had physio for! She persevered though and we reached the first campsite after about 7 hours of walking with our packs. It was in this part of the walk that we crossed a new relationship boundary for us, which was when Claire, who not wanting to remove her bag due to the effort and energy it would waste by putting it back on couldn't fully stretch her arms around her back and therefore had to ask David to pull her knickers out of her bum. A first for David, who happily obliged.

We were shattered, Claire's knee was throbbing and her shoulder was playing up. But now we made a mistake - we decided to walk another 2 hours to the next campsite so that we would have less to do the day after. It was only another 2 hours, but it was hell. It was mostly up a steep winding track. Every step of the ascent took effort - it was a steep climb with every step heading upwards where we had to pull ourselves up the hill whilst also carrying the excess weight on our back. It was agony. Claire was actually sick in her mouth at one point, but we slogged on through. We eventually successfully made it to the next campsite and after a full day of walking 20 miles we basically just completely collapsed into our tent!

Day 3

We woke early and packed up. Claires knee was sore but she said she could manage the days walking. Today was supposed to be a highlight as we were walking up the French Valley which gives stunning views of glaciers, mountains and waterfalls. It is supposed to be amazing. We dont really know what it looks like because although we walked it to the very end up to the mirador on top of the mountain we didnt see a thing. The weather had turned bad overnight and we walked the entire way through a soaking wet, windy, grey, storm cloud. On top of this, Claire was now only able to hobble when going down hill and it wasn't looking good for the rest of the trek. The problem was we were past halfway and couldnt really turn back. So, after the French Valley we returned back to the same campsite where we were then informed that we shouldnt have been on the trail that we had just taken as it was actually closed due to the dangerous weather. Oops!

We weren't too tired after the French Valley and instead of staying at the campsite where we could rest and recover our aches, pains and Claire's knee, we obviously made the smart decision to march on to the next spot. Again this was a mistake. The 2 hours walk to the next campsite was the worst trek we have ever had to complete.

With the backpack on, Claires knee couldnt barely hold her up, her shoulder hadn't improved, and to make matters worse we were facing 100mph winds that you could either lean against or get blown over with. There were a few times when the wind got so strong it literally blew us off our feet into the side of the mountain! As we made it to our next site we were bruised and battered, but Claires determination (or stubbornness) would not relent. She was now severely limping along on her good leg at half the speed we would normally walk whilst her now useless arm hanged and flapped awkwardly in the wind.

Once we arrived at the next campsite we had to decide what to do. The campsite was actually at the end of the walk but we had originally planned on doing the third main trail in the morning, to the visually stunning Grey Glacier, which would take about 6 hours normally and comlplete the shape of the W. But it was getting a bit rediculous, David suggested more than once that we should call it a day, that Claire would end up doing herself a serious injury if she carried on, but she would not listen, nothing was going to stop her trying to complete this damn trek! We agreed to make a decision in the morning.

Day 4

Another day of brutal wind, rain and storms in the Torres Del Paine National Park - it was even brought to the walker's attention that some of the other trekking paths were closed for the day due to the weather conditions. But, Claire's leg was now 'better' - well, so she said, even though she still continued to hobble. David was saying it was stupid to carry on. In the breakfast common area of the campsite, fit, healthy experienced (uninjured) people were giving up due to the conditions. There was no chance that if we were to actually make it that we would be able to see anything anyway. We had even heard that elsewhere in the park (where we walked on day 1) there had been a fatal accident due to the winds. But guess who still wanted to have a go? Thats right, Claire was not going to be defeated! So off we went up the trail.

Even slower than yesterday and intent on just keeping her head down and hobbling like a wounded soldier, Claire pushed forward. The weather was not giving in though and it was battering us from all angles. At one point, a strong gust of wind knocked her balance where she subsequently raised her good arm up and angrily give the V sign to wind whilst shouting expletives. A few other brave people overtook us as we climbed. After an hour or so of this we stopped to have a break. We met a few people who had decided to turn back due to the wind, claiming it was suicidal to continue. A few more people came past who had previously overtaken us who said that the rangers had now started to close the more dangerous trails again, including this one further ahead. It was time to face the truth. It was time to admit defeat. It was time to go home.

And so, with heavy hearts, cold, absolutely drenched to the bone and exhausted we turned around and plodded back to the campsite in silence. As we waited for the catamaran (which was a rip off!) to take us back home, we then met several others who had been turned around by rangers as the wind was nearly blowing people off the side of the mountain trails. We actually very nearly became a victim of being thrown into the sea (thank god for the safety barrier!).

So that was our attempt at completing the W trek. At first we were gutted, especially Claire. Nature had won. But then the more we have thought about it since, the more proud we are. At the end of the day it was the weather and the rangers who stopped us. It wasnt our choice, our pain, our fatigue that turned us around, we were forced to turn back. It wasnt the fact that Claire could barely move her leg or use her arm, in fact if Claire had had her leg chopped off she would have probably hopped up that last trail. It's a strange thing to write and its hard to describe as this blog isn't supposed to be sentimental and serious but for David, on seeing Claire's iron will to complete something that she so obviously stuggled so much against was one of the the most proudest moments of his marriage so far.

Although, it should be said that several times during the walk Claire did admit that one of her motivations for finishing it was so that she never has to do another bloody walk again.

Things we have learned

1. Claire needs physio.

2. You can never ruin porridge with too much sugar.

3. Smash mixed with chorizo is awesome

Transport Stats
Planes used - 11
Buses/coaches used - 82 +2
Trains used - 25
Metros/subways used - 41
Cars used - 11
Minivans - 10
Russian Campervans used -1
Horses used - 1
Camels used - 1
Taxis used - 20
Cable cars used - 1
Bicycles used- 3
Tuk tuks/autorickshaw used - 31
Scooters used - 6
Elephants used - 0
Ferrys used - 5
CycleRickshaw - 1
Bamboo HouseBoat - 1
Tour Boat - 1
Combi Van - 2
Huge 4x4 Truck Thingys- 2
Catamarans - 1
Kms travelled in campervan - 4529