W-Trek Day 3 – Camp Central to Frances

Day 3 of our trek was by far my favourite one. In contrast to the hike the day before up to the Mirador Las Torres, this day’s highlight was the trek itself. The panorama was stunning and let almost forget the heavy weight of our backpacks on the shoulders. Almost 😉

• Route: Camp Central – Camp Chileno – Camp Frances
• Duration: 5 hours
• Metres of height: 400 m
• Length: 15,5 km

The trek starts similar like the one the day before with a walk through flat, green land. As soon as you get over the first little steep part you will see the turquoise lake in front of you. It will accompany you through the whole day with one angle and perspective being more picturesque than the other. Esupecially when the glaciers pop up in the background too.

Another highlight of the day was when a fellow hiker caught our attention by pointing into the horizon. First I thought he must have seen a fox or guanaco, both of which you find plenty of in the Torres del Paine park. But actually it was a puma that was strolling around in (luckily) save distance. It was far away but still we could see its elegance and impressive size. After it disappeared in the bushes I admit i got a little (or more) nervous and I added some extra speed to my hiking pace. Georg and I were silent for the next 30 minutes, finding out later that we were both thinking of how to react when the puma would be close up and even attack. We came up with the same solution: we would not have a chance.

After 3 hours of wandering along one of the most beautiful landscapes we arrived at Camp Cuernos, which looked great and very inviting. Especially the weight of our backpacks was tiring us by then, but we only stopped for a short break, having in mind the remaining distance to our pre-booked plattform at Camp Frances. According to all the signs in the park it was supposed to be only an hour away. Actually it were two hours though with some steep and. nasty parts. At the end we got pretty frustrated and tired. However, a warm shower in the fancy bathrooms of the campsite and a nice portoin of self-cooked pasta turned around our mood again, just in time for an early bedtime.