Torres Del Paine O-Circuit, Patagonia

At the beginning of 2026, I had some travel plans fall through and found myself in possession of a bunch of airline credit and about two weeks' free time with nothing planned. This happened to line up with a situation in Chilean Patagonia that had left some openings on the Torres del Paine O-Circuit trek – an adventure that normally you have to book 6-8 months in advance. Within a few hours of realizing this, I had flights and reservations in hand, and began packing my bags for a winter jaunt down to South America.

Jan 9 - Almost missed my flight connection in Houston; had to SPRINT about 3/4 mile across the airport. If I had missed that connection, it would have been a heinous bounce through Bogota. Miraculously, bags made it onto the flight too. Thank god for AirTags. At the Santiago terminal, cóllectivo driver (Carlos) says my Spanish is good (it’s not great, but I’m holding my own). Carlos is 72 and he’s six months away from paying off the financing on his minivan. He tells me that after that he’s going to head south to Patagonia and work as a driver there, away from the city.

I have a roughly 24-hour layover in Santiago, and Rest of the day ends up pretty chill - I have big plans to explore but the temps quickly ramp up to 90 so I end up reading and snoozing through the hottest part of the afternoon, then unsuccessfully wander for an hour or so trying to find somewhere to have dinner that isn’t either fine dining or a huge chain. I always struggle a little with big cities in any country - seems that Chile is no different.

Jan 10 - It's a 5am wake up for the domestic flight to Puerto Natales. 8 hours of solid sleep last night has me feeling human again, which is good because I’m going have to deal with a LATAM airlines baggage snafu today (their payment system is absolutely terrible). I'm looking forward to escaping from the heat in the capital and being somewhere smaller. When I get to Puerto Natales, it's pretty quiet around town. The place I'm staying, Puma Hostel, seems like it’s off the beaten track; if I was splitting room costs instead of going solo the nicest reasonable place to stay looks to be Big Sur hotel - close to the water, modern/rustic vibes. I get a nice long road run in and brave the wind for a coastal walk to see the sunset. Feels good to move the body. The smallest isobutane canister you can buy in town seems to be 200g which is twice as big as I need, unfortunately. Kevin & I had the same issue in Peru. Why does nobody in South America stock the 100g ones? It’s a mystery.

Jan 11 - Woke up and read my book in the hostel and then got sucked into a whole drama where I act as translator with a tour company for the Korean woman who stole my bunk the day before. She missed her tour bus because she didn’t tell them where she was staying. Lots of Google translate and sighs. I don't have much to today, since this is my "padding" day to make sure I wouldn't miss my trekking permit window in case my flight was delayed. In the morning I go for a run in the wind and rain sprinkles, which cast nice rainbows in the sky. For breakfast/lunch I go to the fancy coffee shop and the KAU cafe. So far I’m pretty unimpressed by the food in Chile, but I have a nice set of chats at the coffee shop with some Brits who were off for an Antarctic cruise, a Chilean named Vincente who works at one of the hotels, and an Irish couple that had just finished the W Trek.

Jan 12 - Day 1 of the trek proper! Bus logistics were super chill. I opted to walk the ~6km from the entrance at Laguna Amarga to the start of the circuit at Central. Super pleasant weather - t-shirt and shorts! Start of the trek was ho hum, in the trees looking away from the mountains but then I descended down to endless fields of daisies in the Rio Paine valley and it was incredibly beautiful. Laid in a patch of grass and clover next to a stream and dozed for nearly an hour, then did yoga and stretched. Folks on the trek are universally quite nice. Lots of Europeans, Brazilians, and a sprinkling of Americans. Serón camp is quite pleasant, although rooftop tents are a baffling choice for a permanent tent situation in a very windy zone. I’m in a pre set up camp tonight, not by choice but because the Serón reservation system forced me to book it despite having plenty of room for tents here. Quite a few people are in the same situation, it seems. Highlight of the hike today was a pair of Crested Caracara raptors that I spotted at the crest of the hill before starting the descent to the Rio Paine. The Canadians and I decide they look like space chickens.

Camp activities tonight - catching up with Yas and Josh (turns out they’re actually fairly serious sport climbers and have been to Tondra Gorge!) & helping Yas with blister care, hanging with the Euro Squad (Schuurt, Liska, and Jerome), and eating both of my Pad Thai pouches, (3 nights of food left now) which I suspected would happen and am fine with. 1p serving sizes in backpacking meals continue to be fake news haha. The ala carte prices for meals here are actually quite reasonable and ordering ala carte also means you don’t have to wait for the refugio staff to get the pensión dinner ready, which didn’t happen tonight until nearly 7pm. Excited for tomorrow, which isn’t a particularly long day (18km) but should provide some good views of the Dickson glacier.

Jan 13 - Trek day 2. Windy morning and slow start. I head up into the windy saddle - it is, as promised, windy. Not too cold though and the water droplets in the air keep forming these really cool low rainbows. I try to take a self portrait with my tiny tripod and realize that my clothes for the trip (lichen green top, white running hat, grey shorts) perfectly match the green/white/gray of the landscape down here. The hiking today is entirely solo, and the rain kicks in big time once I pass the guard station at Coirón. I shift into high gear and arrive at Refugio Dickson around 1:30 where I check in and make lunch as the rain slowly tapers off. Dickson is nice and sits on the shore of a lake, across which you can see the Dickson glacier hanging off the peak. The kitchen is fully enclosed; I set up my soaked clothes on the clothesline I brought and have a truly amazing hot shower. I get to sleep in my own tent tonight finally.

My new trail buddy Jiaxin invites me to dinner in the Refugio tonight since her hiking partner Amos had to bail out early and isn’t using his meal tickets - it’s fun to hang with a whole new set of folks in there, the Canadians from Vancouver especially have some fun stories. Afterwards we hang out on the porch drinking Chilean wine and watching the sun set on Cerro Fortaleza.

Jan 14 - Mellow day, very short mileage-wise! Slow start - the sun comes out for a bit and I set up a clothesline to dry my gear out. I start the day in the back of the group and catch up to Yas & Josh after about 45mins solo, chat with them for a bit, then hike the rest of the way with Emma & Jack. The trail is a mellow hike up through the rich, mossy Lenga forest and then incredible views of the Dickson Glacier and Cerro Blanco after gaining a ridge that turns out to be an old glacial moraine poking out of the Lenga trees. Also some very fun rickety bridges above narrow creeks that cut their way through the granite bedrock.

Los Perros is tucked away into the trees at the foot of the glacier, cold and wet. We’ve got a pretty solid group of strays and English-speakers that’s formed - myself, Leopold the tall German, Jiaxin from SF, the Canadian trail runner duo of Emma and Jack, and Domingo from Santiago. I get the group going on a round of Slapjack which is well-received, then we all hike back out to the glacier viewpoint and skip stones across the lake. We set our alarms for an early breakfast; the rangers want everyone hiking before 7.

Jan 15 - I wake up at 5:25am well before my planned 5:45am alarm and methodically pack my bag. It was a cold and damp feeling night and moving feels good; the rangers are also very serious about getting everyone out of camp by 7. The hike up through the forest is wet and muddy, but I match pace with Domingo, Jiaxin, and Leo and the company makes for a bright morning. We gain the rocky part of the pass above treeline fairly quickly and it becomes obvious that we’re in for a treat. The weather is clear, crisp, and mild. The low angle early morning light reflects off hanging glaciers and makes the whole saddle glow. After the first few switchbacks in the talus hiking with the group, I speed up to my natural pace and pass quite a few other hikers, snapping photos of friends along the way. I catch up with Josh and Yaz with perfect timing and we all reach the top of the pass together and take photos. It’s an impressive view with peaks stretching off into the distance, but we don’t actually realize what we’re seeing until we start to descend and the whole Southern Patagonian Ice Field unfolds below us. It’s hard to comprehend the scale here, everything (ice, crevasses, trees) is fractal shapes. The deep glacial blue is striking as always. I’ve seen glaciers before but I’ve never seen them while looking down through the leaves of a forest.

The trail contours along the side of the glacial valley, staying high above the glacier and bypassing several stream-carved channels by means of three impressive suspension bridges made of steel cables and planks of lenga wood. Today is my first day without a proper lunch packed and even though I’m excited at the prospect of a hot meal at Refugio Grey, I still stop at every viewpoint to take in the wild contrast of the landscape and glacier.

At Grey, there’s lunch (a somewhat sad veggie burger) and a (much more satisfying) hot shower. The rest of the group trickles in and I start to realize that this will be the last time we’re all together - everyone’s itinerary seems to be slightly different tomorrow as we take on the denser and more populated portion of the circuit, overlapping with the W. I wander down to the water’s edge at the Mirador Grey and grab a piece of glacier ice from the water to put in my Pisco Sour. The forecast tomorrow sounds like it might not be as friendly, which poses some problems for my plans to try to make it all the way to the Mirador Británico in the Francés side valley (a 30km+ day). We’ll see? 

Jan 16 - Gray to Frances today! I slept well in the protected camping at Gray, but I’m feeling a little off in the morning (might be the two pisco sours from last night). After breakfast I stretch and yoga on the deck of the cafe area while I wait for Logan - as the only two people from our group that are doing a 7 day version of the trek instead of the more standard 8 days, we’re going to hike together as we leave the rest of the crew behind.

The original plan for today is to hike all the way up Valle Francés to the Mirador Británico, then back out to spend the night at Camp Francés. Almost immediately after leaving the relative shelter behind the headland where Refugio Grey is situated, the wind starts to nearly knock us over. We make it to Paine Grande where we sit and eat lunch next to the group of old ladies from Spain who seem to be having the time of their lives every time I chat with us. They pawn a half dozen of the (dry, inedible) protein bars from the packed lunches they’ve been getting from the refugios each morning off on Logan. I eat a Cup O Noodles from the refugio snack store and sunlight plays off the water of Lago Pehoé. Optimistic about the change in weather, I change into shorts. 

The sun doesn’t last long - within an hour of leaving Paine Grande, the rain is coming sideways at us in sheets. By the time we reach the turn off to the Valle Frances, both Logan and I are completely soaked and we opt to push onward for the 0.75 miles straight to Camp Francés, hoping that tomorrow morning will offer a better weather window for the viewpoints in the Francés valley. Check-in at Camp Francés is the usual drawn out and disorganized affair, with nearly a dozen drenched folks in line in front of me. This time there’s a new twist; there’s no covered area for us to wait so we all stand out in the rain and the wind looking like a collection of human sized garbage bags, shivering in our soaked layers. Stubbornly, I’m still wearing the shorts I put on at lunch. 

I’ve got a palatial pre-set-up tent again today that could fit four people, which was all that was available when I booked the camp reservations. Logan is unsuccessful in trying to negotiate with the camp host for a spot to pitch her tent, so I offer to share half of my setup. It works out just fine, as there’s plenty of room for both of us, and we watch an episode of a David Attenborough nature documentary on my phone to kill time while the rain blasts the camp from every angle. Eventually that evening the clouds lift and I can see the dozen or so little grassy islands that dot the middle of Lago Pehoé. I sleep like a rock - after being cold and wet all day, being in a dry tent and tucked into my warm sleeping bag is all it takes for me to pass out immediately.

Jan 17 - The weather, it turns out, does not miraculously cooperate today as the morning comes cold, windy, and wet. My 6am alarm goes unobserved. We wander up the Valle Francés with the weather gradually worsening the higher we go until it’s almost snowing on us as we reach the Mirador Británico. There’s not much to see between the sheets of rain/graupel, but it’s nice to have made it to the top. We head back to the camp and pick up packs, then move onward towards the Cuernos Refugio. The trail descends towards the Lago Pehoé which is this insane blue color that looks more like it belongs on a tropical island than anywhere else. Suddenly the dirt of the trail gives way to a black-and-white pebble beach, where the white granite pebbles and the smooth black limestone pebbles are all a uniform size, almost like giant Go stones. The weather shifts again and a sun break and a little bit of peer pressure from Logan is all it takes for me to quickly strip down and jump in - the water is cold, but not nearly as cold as I expect. 

Less than fifteen minutes after the dip in the lake, I hear a sliding/clunk sound and turn around to see Logan face down on the ground, pinned in place by her backpack. She’s rolled her ankle pretty bad, and I help her take off the pack and clean up the gash in her forehead. The rest of the day progresses slowly - our total distance is nearly 20 miles, and the trail section from Cuernos to Central is full of unstable, baseball-sized rocks in the trail. Despite this mishap, the views are incredible and the weather gets better and better as we work our way east. Finding food in Central is tricky, as we don’t get in to camp until well after 7pm. Finally, I make the trek all the way out to the welcome center to pick up a pair of veggie dog completos before heading back to camp for an early bedtime. I settle into my platform tent and set my alarm for 3am.

Jan 18 - Last day in the park! I wake up as soon as my alarm goes off, excited about the alpine start. It takes me about 20 mins to get all my stuff packed up and make coffee, and I’m on the trail and moving quick by 3:30a. The trail is gradual for the first few miles, and in the dark I can tell that I’m the only headlamp in sight. My goal is to reach the Base Torres viewpoint by first light, around 5:45am. Most people do this hike from a much higher starting point at Refugio Chileno; from my starting point at Central it will be about a 14 mile round trip. 

It’s not windy and I’m quickly down to just a base layer. It’s easy to stay warm as the grade of the trail increases and the way becomes more technical. I reach the final scramble up the glacial moraine around 5:40, right in line with my guess for how long the hike would take. On the way, I chat with a pair of climbers that are ferrying a load to their advanced base camp - they’ve spent multiple seasons developing a new route down here and they’re still only about halfway done with what they estimate to be roughly 34 pitches total when they’re finished. I think route development down here, with the incredibly precarious weather and long stretches of waiting, would probably require a lot more patience than I have for my climbing missions. 

The Base Torres viewpoint has around thirty or so people at it when I arrive. I’m pleased to find that people are talking quietly and standing out of the way of the views, being generally respectful of the space. I snap a few photos and pull out the thermos of hot coffee and the sleeping bag that I carried all the way from Central to wait for the sunrise light on the towers. 

The sunrise is subtle but beautiful, with the hues on the granite shifting from blue to gold. On the way back down the moraine I’m surprised but happy to run into Logan! Her ankle is super swollen but she’s clomped all the way up to the towers regardless, which is impressive. She continues upwards to see the towers before the busloads of day hiking tourists start to arrive, and I stop for a quick coffee at the Chileno refugio before heading back down to Central. On the way down, the busloads of day hikers appear en masse - thankfully, I’m already at the widest part of the trail when this happens and can scoot past them quickly. 

Back at Central, I have a shower and then sit in the grass at the welcome center and reconnect to the internet for the first time in a week. It’s actually not as overwhelming as I expect, although I do avoid checking any kind of world news - not quite ready for that yet. It takes over an hour for me to settle on which photos to share. In the end I manage to narrow it down to 72. It still feels like a lot but it’s the best I can do; the sheer variety and scope of the past week can’t be condensed any further. 

I bus back to Puerto Natales (and see a puma en route!) where I somehow stumble onto a wonderful little spot - Alveoli - that has fresh baked goods and really good looking pizzas. I order two pizzas to go, since the hotel I’ve booked is way out of town and leftovers will be essential for lunch tomorrow and snacks on the long trip back home. AKA hotel is simple and beautiful - an architectural meditation in grass and driftwood. Inside, the room has white walls and warm wood accents and a massive window forming the whole northwest wall with views of the sky and mountain range that I just left. I take a long shower, and break down and organize all my gear before passing out, with the 10pm dusk light still coming in through the windows. 

Jan 19

Slow morning, although I still wake up super early with the sunrise. It’s raining and I’m happy to be inside. After breakfast I sit in the soaking tub in the rain and fill in the journal entries I’d left half finished for the last few days of the hike. 

It takes me about an hour to hike to town along the shore road, stopping along the way to take photos of the more interesting cabins that are situated next to the water. Almost right away I bump into Logan and two coworkers, as well as Josh and Yas. We sit in the park in the sun and pet dogs and drink beers from the market on the corner. I change my dinner reservation at Lenga from one person to four. 

Dinner is a ton of fun - the prices are reasonable and the food is good albeit very Chilean - very plain and simple flavors. It’s fun talking to the Backroads guides and hearing stories about the trips they’re leading. After dinner we all drink wine and play Wavelength in the Backroads guide house until 11pm. The late night sun here is still throwing me off, it’s not until after my cab ride back to the hotel that I realize how tired I am.

Jan 20/21 - Long travel day. 3 hour flight from Puerto Natales, hot and stuffy. 8 hour layover in Santiago. 9 hour flight to Houston, immigration, customs. 3 hours to Denver, baggage claim, airport bus. I finish Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land which is absolutely brilliant. And just like that, I'm back in Boulder!

Trip Notes

• The O Circuit was so worth it, it made for a far richer experience than just doing the W would have been. I thought that the first couple of days in the grasslands and low foothills were incredibly beautiful in their own way, and having the first four days of the trek to really get to know the small group of O-trekkers I was with made the crowds of the W much more manageable, since I could just hang out with my O-Circuit crew.
• Puma House hostel was so-so, I’d recommend a different hostel like Nomad or something instead.

Gear Notes

• I always am happy to toss some spice packets in my food bag when headed to South America. The food in some countries like Chile or Colombia tends to use a lot less spices than places like Mexico or Peru, and it can be really nice to have some pepper flakes or salt/pepper packets on hand!
• Montbell windproof gloves were worth their weight in gold
• Loved having a proper camera down here but not paying for film. Having an SD card dongle and being able to airdrop pics to people in the evenings at dinner was really nice as well.