The O circuit was unbelievable, beautiful, breathtaking and so much more. It's been a couple days since we finished it, but with unpredictable and slow wifi and traveling the last couple days I wasn't able to write a complete blog about it. But now, I'll jump right into describing and sharing pictures from the trek.
Day 1 - Hotel Torres to Seron, ~13 km
As you may remember, the airlines lost Reed's baggage so we spent the morning buying stuff for him and replenishing our food supply and took a later bus out to the park. Thankfully, as this is low season the bus had few people so we were able to go through the park orientation fairly quickly and got on the trail by 4 pm. I haven't backpacked in awhile and man, putting on that pack with food and such for 8 days was no walk in the park. It was heavy! The scenery from Torres to Seron was pretty, but nothing spectacular beyond the view you see when you drive into the park. We made it to the campground around 8 or so that night, set up camp, cooked a quick dinner and went to bed.
Day 2 - Seron to Dickson, ~ 18 km
We started the morning with cloudy skies, but still were able to see Paine Lake. The first portion of our hike was overlooking this lake. By noon the clouds had blown off to reveal gorgeous snow covered peaks. The afternoon we hiked through meadows and hills surrounded by beautiful mountains and glaciers in the background. Reed and I have been in continual discussion about which view we liked the best, Dickson is definitely one of my favorites. We spent the evening around the lake and drank our morning coffee overlooking it as well. I couldn't get enough of the view. Contentment. That is what I felt as I drank my coffee on the lake. The state of complete happiness and satisfaction. The stress of life forgotten for a time.
Refugio Dickson
Day 3 - Dickson to Los Perros, ~ 12 km
After our leisurely breakfast of instant oatmeal and coffee along the lake at Dickson we packed up our bags and hiked over to Los Perros. There was a bit of up on this hike, we gained about 400 meters over the 12 km. We were slowly making our way to the pass of John Gardner which we had to go over the next day. The weather was once again perfect, barely a cloud in the sky. We arrived at Perros mid afternoon, set up camp and then walked up the hill behind our campsite to overlook what Reed told me was a cwm, a glacier run off with no outlet. I was skeptical the word actually existed as it has no vowels, but apparently it is a word.
It was peaceful at the top of the hill overlooking the glacier. A time to reflect, meditate, take in the surroundings and just breathe. We spent a couple hours up there. Despite the fact that we made a decision not to specifically study medicine, both of the books we brought backpacking with us are medically inclined. Reed is reading House of God by Samuel Shem, which I think in some ways helps one mentally prep for intern year. I'm reading Forgive and Remember by Charles Bosk, which is essentially the philosophy and theory behind surgical residency training. Also a good book to help mentally prep for intern year. It was nice to take the time up there and read and write in such a peaceful location.
Day 4 - Los Perros to Grey, 13 km
This was by far the hardest day, because we had to cross the pass and then descend down to grey. We hiked up 600 meters in a few kms and descended 1200 kms. It was a tough day, with the long down being the hardest part. Our knees and calves were feeling it by the end.
We woke before sunrise, about 5:30 to get on the trail early and get over the pass before bad weather could hit. We were lucky once again. We were over the pass between 8 and 9 and the weather was pristine. The going up wasn't as hard as any of us expected. At the top we could see glacier grey. We got into the campground at Grey around 4:30 or 5. Set up camp and then hung out in the Refugio for most of the evening with others from the circuit.
Day 5 - Grey to Paine Grande, 11 km
After crossing the pass the day before, we took our time in the morning. Hiked out to the mirador to see more of the glacier and the lake, ate our instant oatmeal and drank coffee then got on the trail around 11. The hike over to Paine grande mostly overlooked the lake. We had a few climbs and then descended down again to Lake Pehoe. Reed had been telling how beautiful Paine Grande was and I remember telling him when we were a few minutes out that yeah, it's okay...but I was thinking, huh, why was he so ecstatic about this view, it's a nice lake and all and pretty hills, but really, I was a little underwhelmed...then it hit. The horns. . We took a run along the lake trail and took so many pictures of the horns and the lake. Absolutely gorgeous.
Day 6 - Paine Grande to Italiano plus French valley, 13 km
The weather forecast for this day predicted rain with a little reprieve mid morning so Reed convinced me it would be a good idea if got up around 5 to pack up and get to Italiano so we could drop our stuff off and hike up to the French valley in hopes the clouds would clear enough to see the valley. It rained some overnight and we woke up to some sprinkling, but nothing heavy enough to hinder packing up camp and heading out.
We arrived at Italiano around 9, set up camp, made a quick breakfast of our usual, instant oatmeal and coffee and then hiked up the 600 meters to the French valley. And the view...Absolutely incredible. And the weather, besides being a little cold, it was perfect. Reed had told me this was his favorite place on earth and I am inclined to agree that it is one of the best I've seen.
Day 7 - Italiano to Campmento Torres, ~20 km
Once again we got up before sunrise, though I must say sunrise at this time of year isn't until like 8, but still, we got up around 5:30/6 to get out early and catch the sunrise along Los Cuernos. Normally I love waking up early, but when our sleeping bag is so nice and warm, braving the cold air is not the first thing I want to do. Anyway, we got out early and caught the sunrise at Los Cuernos. It was, as everything else here is, spectacular. The horns turned red and orange as the sun hit them. It made for incredible views with the horns on the left and the lake on the right as we hiked. After passing Cuernos the views decreased. It was mostly the plains like we hiked on the first day. We made our way up to chileno, stopped and bought lunch there because our food rations were running pretty low and we were hungry. The lunch was simple but oh so good. A big bowl of warm lentil soup and bread. We felt energized and hiked up the rest of the way to Campmento Torres. Set up camp and then made our way up the towers, probably the most iconic view of Patagonia.
Day 8 - Campomento Torres to out, 9 km
The O circuit was an amazing 8 days and I was sad to leave, but the idea of a warm shower, a bed to sleep in and a huge meal sounded very appealing as we hiked down the mountain. Besides the beauty of the park and time to meditate and destress from life, we also met some awesome people from all over the world, had interesting conversations and had great weather. The nature we were in and the scenery we experienced was like nothing I have seen before.
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