W-Trek Day 6 & 7 – Glaciar Grey and exit the park
Day 6 – Camp Paine Grande to Glacier Grey
Yet another stormy day was ahead of us when we embarked for our last trek to make the W of the W-Trek full. Our goal for the day was the Glaciar Grey and its same-named lake. In contrast to all other days in the Torres del Paine park, this hike’s highlight was the final destination, rather than the tre
k itself. Maybe we might have gotten a little spoiled though with all the beautiful views and panoramas from the days before. Also the wind made the hike itself a little tricky and less enjoyable. All of which the glacier itself made definitely up for.
- Route: Camp Paine Grande – Glaciar Grey – Camp Paine Grande
- Duration: 6 hours
- Metres of height: 750 m
- Length: 24 km
The way is again very diverse with some slightly steep parts, mainly on the return route. Once again you better don’t trust the signs along the way as the distance indications are not accurate. After the first 4km you get to the first mirador, a nice lookout into the valley across the dark blue lake. The rest of the hike takes you another 7 km until you reach the Refugio and campsite Grey. From there it is about another km to the impressive glacier. We were more or less the only people there and took our time to take pictures and wander around to see the glacier from as close distance and many angles as possible. You can only imagine the massive size of the Patagonian icefield when gazing at the glacier. The seemless transition from the glaciers ice into the lake is something I haven’t ever seen before.
Day 7 – Exit the park from Camp Paine Grande
There are 2 options for exiting the park from the campsite Paine Grande. either by taking a boat, that leaves about 4 times a day (during main season). It takes you across the lake Pahoe, which must be a nice experience with a sceneric view. The 45 min boat ride costs about 35 Euro per person, which made our decision easier in favour of the second option: walk out of the park.
- Route: Camp Paine Grande – Administration Office
- Duration: 5 hours
- Metres of height: –
- Length: 18,5 km
Our backpacks were very light after finishing all the food for the past week. The way itself is mostly flat and shows yet again another side of the beautiful park. Just make sure to leave early enough and an additional 2-3 km to the signs in the park in order to catch the bus from the Administration office to Puerto Natales.Tthe campaites have the latest timetables. It was a great ending of our W-Trek and the huge Burgers we had later that evening felt especially hard worked for.
