Once Delta and I had set our sights on hiking in Torres del Paine national park in Chile, we quickly realized there wasn't too much literature available either online or in books to help us prepare for what it would really be like. We knew it would be breathtakingly beautiful. We knew it would be windy and cold. We knew it would be the single-handedly most challenging experience we had ever put ourselves to. But other than that, the rest remained for us to find out when we got there.
It isn't an easily accessible park. To get there, we flew from NYC -> Atlanta -> Buenos Aires -> El Calafate (Argentina), followed by a six hour bus ride to the park. So when we finally got there, Delta and I were quite ready to stretch our legs and rid ourselves of the planes, trains and automobiles.
Our plan was to spend 10 days hiking the 90 mile hiking circuit around the park. Donned with our 40-lb backpacks that contained our clothes, food, tent and stove that would take us through the next two weeks, we staggered off the bus bowlegged under the weight of our own packing.
I think the best way to describe our first experience of the park would be to say it wipes the cockiness out of a hiker straight away. As soon as we hit the trail the wind whipped around the corner, slapping us in the face. Gusting at 50 miles an hour, it instantly knocked us off balance and kept pushing us off course. It felt like it was going up my noes and out my ears. Then it started raining on and off, a sideways precipitation that whipped around us from all directions. We tried to pull on ponchos, but they caught the wind like sails and once almost blew me away. Twice, I got knocked over and left by the wayside, gasping for air on my posterior. The wind howled around us, making talking impossible. Twice I yelled, "DELTA!!!" to get his attention. But Delta, just two feet in front of me, was already deaf to my shouts. I squeezed my eyes shut against the wind, and they started tearing like leaky faucets. I wasn't sure if it was the wind, or I was just crying.
Delta and I were shell-shocked. We simply didn't know what had hit us. We had certainly expected inclement weather, but nothing had prepared us for this onslaught. And yet, neither of us thought of turning around. It didn't even occur to us. We simply struggled doggedly on, using our poles to brace ourselves against the wind, determined just to reach the campground, where we could get an evening of respite and gather our senses.
It was about 3-4 hours into the hike before our bodies started adapting (if only slightly) to the environment. Gradually, we got better at maintaining our balance. We learnt how to find ditches where we could shelter from the wind, get a spot of rest, and drink some water. We even got comfortable enough to pause and take in some of our stunning surroundings. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't easy, not at all. And my pack weighed down on me like a ton of bricks. Yet, very slowly, I was getting better at learning how to deal with this situation in which we now found ourselves.
It took us more than six hours to get there, struggling against the wind the entire way. I had just reached the end of my tether and was about to just demand that we set up tent right where we were, when we caught sight of the little refugio far out in the distance. I've never seen a heaven as heavenly as the tiny tin roof of that little shack. My heart soared, and my legs got a new lease on life. Excited despite ourselves, we completed the last mile, located the refugio owner and paid our camping fees.
That evening, we had just enough energy in us to set up tent (blew over twice in the wind before some kindly strangers helped us and we finally managed to stake it down), cook ourselves a quick freeze-dried meal, and crawl bone-tired into our sleeping bags. I wouldn't call our first day enjoyable. Not enjoyable in the least. But we had, despite our unpreparedness, survived it, and I fell asleep with a smile of exhausted elation on my face. That night, both Delta and I slumbered the sleep of dead men for a solid twelve hours.
Taken right after one of the times I was knocked over by the wind.
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