Torres del Paine W Trek - Day Four

We had a slightly later start sine we slept in until 8 and decided to make breakfast at camp – oatmeal and coffee. Each refugio has a separate building for cooking that is sheltered from the elements. They have running water and trash. Even making your own food is much easier in Patagonia!

Our morning hike covered the distance to Italiano Camp, a free walk-in campsite which had no openings when we arrived at the park registration. The hike was mostly through a burned portion of the park and resembled a grassland with a couple large lakes. We entered a jungly forest before crossing a suspension bridge over a river and into the camp with views of Paine Grande. We dropped our big packs at Italiano and carried only cameras, lunch, water, etc… on our day hike up the middle of the W.

Frances Valley is unbelievable. Glacier-covered Paine Grande is on one side, the Cuernos on the other, and an aqua colored lake behind. 360 degrees of jaw-dropping views. We only hiked to Frances Lookout because the trail was closed up higher near Britanico and we were told it doesn’t get much better. We had the most epic lunch view at Frances Lookout watching avalanches tumbling down Paine Grande.

We returned to Italiano camp, retrieved our bags, and continued on to Los Cuernos Refugio beyond the new Frances Camp. The hike had spectacular views of Paine Grande behind us and the Cuernos came into more detail as we walked next to another gorgeous aqua colored lake.

Los Cuernos Refugio is right on the beach so we were able to lay in the sun for an hour or so. A few people were jumping into the glacier-fed water which was way too cold for me! The campsite itself is kind of weird. I reserved platforms where we put our tents but people without reservations were crammed all along the ground which was very rocky and uneven.

Dinner and camp bathrooms were the best at Los Cuernos! The showers had hot water, four stalls on the women’s side, and new construction. The food was served more like Grey and it was the best so far – vegetable soup and bread, shepherd’s pie for the meat eaters, and zucchini, eggs, and couscous for vegetarians. Dessert was apple bread pudding!