O-Trek, Torres Del Paine Chile

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 This trek is an all-time favorite.  We hiked it December of 2018.  They limited permits on the back side of the loop in 2017 so there is plenty of seclusion although permits are harder to get.  There are also cooking huts and small stores at every campsite.  The cooking huts bring trekkers together and you can share stories, play cards, get to know other people.  The stores have nice meal enhancers like bread, eggs, candy, beer, etc.  They are premium prices because they are brought in on a horse but worth every penny not to carry it yourself.

There are essentially 2 options for the Torres Del Paine; the W and the O trek.  The whole loop takes 7-9 days and you spend the first half of the O-trek among less than 80 other people. I suggest sticking to the standard 8 days.  We were scheduled to take 9 days but opted to continue on so we could stay on schedule with the other people we met.  You see virtually nobody while hiking since everyone is going the same way.

The W trek is the second half of the trek and I don't believe there is any limiting of permits, only a limit to how many people the campsites can hold.  After the peace and community of the O, the W felt like Disney Land.  There are significantly more people and, because they are going in either direction, you spend a significant amount of time letting others pass.  Small rant: The unspoken hikers etiquette: whoever is going downhill should yield to those going uphill.  On flat ground, day packs yield to bigger overnight packs.  Some people act like they are the only ones on the trail and assume everyone will yield to them.  Also, please don't play music - we are here for nature! It gets exhausting.  Be considerate. Rant over.

My point is this: if you're going to Torres Del Paine, do the whole O trek. Patagonia is FAR and EXPENSIVE; do it right.  If you absolutely can't do the whole O, make sure you at least spend one extra day to hike backwards from Grey to Paso to go see Grey Glacier.

Don't take my word for it, see highlights below for what you’ll miss (days 1-4) if you only do the W.

Based on the below weather data I compiled from weather-and-climate.com, the best time to go looks like November to March; January and February look the nicest.  We went in December mostly because I already had a week off for Christmas and we had excellent weather.  

The southern hemisphere has opposite seasons so it makes a nice winter getaway for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. 

 The most direct route is through Santiago:

1. Fly round trip to Santiago. 
2. LATAM flies Santiago to Punta Arenas for about $50/each (Round Trip).  
3. Take a bus  (BUS SUR) from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales.  It costs about $25/each.  The bus is about 3 hours.  Buy fuel and any items you forgot in Puerto Natales.
4. On the first day of your hike, you can take a bus to Torres Del Paine (Laguna Amarga/Hotel Las Torres).  This takes another 2.5 hours.  There are bathrooms at the trailhead so you can re-group and hit the trail.

If you can swing a little more time (and $$), spend some time in Argentina.  We did 1 day in Buenos Aires and 3 days in El Calafate.  There’s no direct flight from Santiago to Calafate which is why we went through Buenos Aires.  Plus it’s another place we wanted to see! 

1. Fly into Buenos Aires,
2. LATAM flies Buenos Aires to El Calafate (Argentina), $178/person (one way).  El Calafate was a gorgeous mountain town and is close to Perito Merino Glacier and Los Glaciares National Park.  From here, you can take a round-trip bus (Gray Line Bus Tour)  from El Calafate to Fitz Roy for $100.  Mount Fitz Roy was one of my favorite places in all of Patagonia.  It is absolutely worth seeing but it may be a better idea to spend more than a quick day trip there.  
3. Take a bus  (BUS SUR) from El Calafate to Puerto Natales.  It costs about $32/each. 
4. On the first day of your hike, you can take a bus to Torres Del Paine (Laguna Amarga/Hotel Las Torres).  This takes another 2.5 hours.  There are bathrooms at the trailhead so you can re-group and hit the trail.

 Permits are a nightmare.  They showed unavailable for several months when we were trying to book and then, luckily, I checked again sometime in September and we were in business.  There's three different sites, so it's a real pain to figure out which sites are available and when.  There is no way around it, as far as I can tell - and nobody we met down there had found a simpler way.

I also booked in Spanish because, for some reason, I found this to be cheaper for a lot of the things I booked throughout the trip.  I am not fluent in Spanish so it was risky, but it paid off.

You'll need these three websites and below is the day-by-day for where we stayed each night.

• Fantastico Sur
• Vertice Patagonia
• CONAF

1. Seron (Fantastico Sur)
2. Dickson (Vertice)
3. Los Perros (Vertice)
4. Paso (CONAF)
5. Paine Grande (Vertice)
6. Italiano (CONAF) - Alternative Frances (Fantastico Sur)
7. Torres Central (Fantastico Sur)

There ARE tourism agencies that will book permits for you.  I tried one and they quoted me $3000+ for the same self-guided trip I booked myself for $150.  

 Check out the Backpacking Gear page for an explanation of all my "core" backpacking gear.  Here is a list of the clothes I brought.  The weights given are after I've stuffed them into waterproof bags.  I'd suggest getting some of these because they are great for organizing and you don't have to worry about rain ruining your gear. 

 Stuffed in a 10L Dry Bag - Total Weight 4.43 lb.   Mens clothes are bigger: 15L Dry Bag - Total weight xx oz. (waiting on Jon to find this info for me) 

• (1) Women's Long Sleeve Hooded T - This is a must-have.  It's lightweight, has pockets and a hood. Never underestimate the hood. bonus: has thumb holes.
• Men's option: Men's PrAna Hooded T
• (1) Women's Longsleeve BaseLayer - Warm, fits nicely under the hooded T if you are layering.
• Mens option: Men's Baselayer Longsleeve
• (3) pairs Socks: (2) Darn Tough Socks, (1) Ankle socks - I like to switch it up.  Wash 1, wear one, sleep in 1, repeat.
• (3) Underwear - Anything you like.  Thongs are lightweight but aren't always great for hiking.  I'll bring 3 for a 10 day hike and wash them at the campsites.  Pictured is 2 GapBody grannies and 1 thong.
• (1) PrAna Tank - Only because it's lightweight.
• (2) T-Shirts - standard issue.  These are both lightweight athletic shirts I got from races over the years.  Cotton is bulky so look for something thinner that breathes.
• (1) Bathing suit - standard issue.  Optional.  We like to jump in lakes to cool off but they are frigid so if you're not going to do it, cut this weight.  I'm sure a skankier suit would weight less but I'm not that committed.
• (1) Shorts - for hot days hiking or for sleeping.
• (1) Bra - not shown. Whatever is comfortable or just don't wear one.
• (1) Fleece
• (1) Hat
• (1) Spandex or Thermal pants

 Jackets - stuffed in a 1L Dry Sack - 1.6lb - Get's it's own bag for easy access while hiking. 

• (1) Rain Jacket: Outdoor Research Helium Li Jacket - not shown here.  Shown and weighed here is a standard REI rain jacket.  Full disclosure: this link is the jacket I want - it would bring total jacket bag weight down to 1.2lb.
• (1) Down Jacket: Columbia 800 Down Jacket. Any lightweight down jacket with a hood will do.  Down is less bulky.  This one weighs in under a pound and is warm and durable.

 I had 1.8lb of snacks, 2.2lb dinners, 0.65 lb tuna packets for lunch.  5.5lb total for food.  This is Jon and my food for the trip.  Not shown is a pound of oatmeal and and some tortillas we bought in Puerto Natales for the tuna.