So it´s time for my last trekking expedition in South America. I catch a bus from El Calafate in Argentina to Puerto Natales in Chile to prepare to attack the ´W´ hike in the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. This is within several hundred kilometers of the southern most part of the terra firma and it sure feels like it. Its freezing and super windy here but there is a nice feeling of being so far south. I can´t explain it but it´s nice.

I hire my tent, stove, back pack and equipment ready for the trek. The tent is new so I´m assured it won´t leak. I´m not to confident of peoples advice having been in South America for over three months now but we´ll see. You have to be prepared to get wet, cold and frustrated here in the park otherwise you shouldn´t be here.

Day 1 consists of busing it to Refugio los Torres where en-route I glimse the famous Torres (peaks) of the park´s mountains. Little did I know this would be the best view I was to have of them so I sleep on the bus instead of peak gazing. Right, straps tightened, boots on and rain jacket ready I set off with my heavy back pack of tinned food and camping gear. Experts say that you shouldn´t bring tinned food as it´s by far and away the heaviest to carry but it´s also about 50 times cheaper than eating at the refugios or bringing dehydrated packets.

The sun is out and I reach camp in under 1.5 hours and set up the tent in the trees. Its a nice setting but then it starts to rain and doesn´t stop for about 20 hours. Geeeeez. I hike up to the mirador of the Torres and I´m soaked to the bone but the scenery is stunning. I already like it better here than in El Chalten. There´s a lovely lagoon filled with some milky turquise colored water and the Torres mountain peaks are towering above. Nice. I hike back down and have a hot chocolate in the refugio with all the other wet hikers. It´s miserable, smelly and damp but I still have high spirits.

Day 2 and after some muesli in the tent it appears that the rain has stopped and I set off for Camp Italiano. It´s a really long day hiking for about 10 hours with the heavy pack but the scenery is again nice and a little different with views out over the lakes and plaines, instead of marching through forests. I run into some english lasses on the track who were knocked onto their little bottoms by the mighty wind. If it´s not raining it´s windy. They are nice gals and so we team up for a few days more walking and sipping hot chocolates in the refugios.

Day 3 starts off with rain and finishes with rain. In fact it rained all day. But there was no wind. Not sure which I un-prefer the most. Along with some more english lads I hike for 2.5 hours up Valle de Frances past glaciers, through forests and up peaks for some more nice views (in between clouds and rain). Some delicious chocolate keeps my sprits up before actually heating my ravioli up today back at camp. A long hike in the afternoon, soaked to the bones again and we reach Refugio Pohoe, where I set up camp in more rain. The color of the lake in front of us is a stunning milky turquise and it just doesn´t look real. Im not sure who´s been messing with the glaciers that feed it, but somebody must have made it blue like that. We have a civilised evening sipping wine before I head off back to my freezing tent.

Day 4 (the final day trekking). It takes all my discipline to muster up the energy to hike today as we´re already at the port where the catamaran will take us home. So, we hike in more rain and ridiculously strong wind most of the way to glacier Grey. It´s roughly a 6 hour round trip and the weather is so bad you can´t see the glacier well at all unless you trip over it. Hiking back the wind actually dries us out and following another tin of cold ravioli for lunch we celebrate with fine hot chocolate in the refugio. Trek over......Yes!

But now for the journey back to Puerto Natales which involves the 40min catamaran and then a 3 hour bus ride where we arrive at nearly 10.30pm exhausted. I sleep with a smile that night. A dry bed and mattress under a solidstructural roof are most appreciated.