A Four Day Backpacking Journey Through Patagonia and Tips on What Food to Bring in the Backcountry

Day One

This March, my boyfriend and I set off on an epic journey through the most beautiful part of Patagonia. We went to Parque Nacional Torres Del Paine, which is in Southern Chile. We began a four day backpacking journey along the park’s “W” route. On our first day, the hike was 8 hours there and back with about 2,500 feet of elevation. Our goal was to reach the Torres, pictured below. It seemed as though we had entered another world, with every turn bringing us a jaw-dropping background.

The hike to the Torres was hard but worth every step, especially since we were surrounded with views like the picture of the mountain shown above. When finally reaching the Torres, we were exhausted, but all of that exhaustion was immediately taken away by the sheer beauty of the Torres. We were met with a breath-taking site of stone pillars that surrounded a surreal, blue lake. There were about 10 others at the Torres, but every one was completely silent for the hour that we were there, simply taking in this treasure that we had found from a 2,500 foot climb.

---

Day Two

The next day we packed up our tent and gear and set off towards our next campsite, Campamento Italiano. This day’s hike was much easier, only lasting 4-5 hours. We saw almost no other hikers along the trail, and enjoyed walking by a massive lake for the majority of the day. All around us were rushing waterfalls, lakes, rivers, and massive mountains. I truly felt like an ant in nature.

We finally arrived at Campamento Italiano and set up our tent. The nights were cold, reaching almost freezing, however we had hot soup, tea, and very warm sleeping bags to stay cozy.

---

Day Three

We woke up bright and early to begin our trek to Mirador Britanico. This day we had 6 hours of trekking there and back to a beautiful lookout of the valley and sheets of ice. I have a busted knee from summiting Mt. Shasta in California (about 14,000 ft), and my knee this day was calling for me to sit it out or take advil. Since I was in one of the most beautiful places in the world, I succumbed to advil and set out with a sturdy walking stick. It was worth every step.

---

Day Four

On our final day, we packed up and headed to Refugio Paine Grande. This day’s hike was only 3 hours long but it felt like the longest day we had! We had heard about Torres Del Paine’s notorious wind, but hadn’t experienced the gusts until this day. We were heading straight into the wind, and at times it was so strong that I thought it was going to blow me over. On top of that, four days of backpacking food and hard grounds to sleep on made us anxious to just make it to the end. We finally reached Refugio Paine Grande and made friends with some Chilean workers at the refugio, who gave us warm pizza and a sweet peach dessert. This was the topping on the cake, and we headed back to civilization full in our stomachs and grateful for the incredible peace and beautiful views that Torres Del Paine offered us.

---

Entering the Land of the Glaciers

To top it all off, the next day we headed to the Argentine side of Patagonia and were able to see Perito Moreno, a glacier that is the second largest contiguous ice field in the world.

---

A Grocery List for Backpacking Adventures

I love food, and never like to skimp. That being said, there is an art to picking out groceries for a backpacking trip. You have to carry everything you bring out with you, so the most calorie dense food or dehydrated food is going to keep you full while giving your back a break. Here is what we brought with us:

• Breakfast - Oatmeal, Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Instant Coffee
• Lunch - Tortillas, Avocados, Tuna, Cheese
• Snack - Nuts, Dark Chocolate, Electrolyte Powder
• Dinner - Dehydrated soup for a starter, Couscous, Ramen, Dehydrated Lentils, Dehydrated Garbanzos, Risotto
• Don't forgot your spices as well!
• We also had a life straw, pictured as the blue water container in the picture, that filtered any river water. This way we had a steady supply of filtered water without having to use a pump or iodine.