Chile 2001
MENCAP TREK PATAGONIA (March 2001)
RAISED THIS TRIP £3,712
CUMULATIVE TOTAL £3,712
I took part in my first charity challenge for Mencap in March 2001, a trekking expedition in Chile, to the Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia.
The challenge (and of course for the subsequent trips as well) was three-fold – (1) get fit, (2) raise the minimum sponsorship, and (3) complete the challenge camping and hiking in the Andes over several tough days. The target sponsorship was £2,500 but in fact I raised £3,712. See my fundraising reports page for more information.
It was a poster showing a spectacular view (similar to this) of the Torres Del Paine towers, rising a mile above the lake, that originally inspired me to take up this challenge. The picture here cannot possibly do the views, and the exhilaration of achieving the completion of the trek, any justice at all. This picture was taken on the last day of the hike, read on for some notes and a few pictures from the rest of the challenge.
The trek was a fantastic experience, but really hard work as well. The National Park is a spectacular place – the sheer scale and grandeur of the landscape takes your breath away.
Hiking a total of 126 km, we covered a wide range of terrains. We were very lucky with the weather with bright and clear days for the trekking, though it did get very cold, wet and windy during the nights.
.
First camp. (click on image to enlarge)
Campsites were basic but provided us with everything we need, and the local staff brought in to support the expedition did a great job of shifting the camps and preparing our meals … mealtimes were like scenes from MASH! I was fortunate that I did not suffer from any foot or stomach problems, as there were a number of the group who had difficulty with blisters, bad knees , and stomach bugs.
.
The Grey River. (click on image to enlarge)
The first days walking was fairly level until the last hour or so. Most of the trek followed the Grey River north, the river in fact flows from Grey Lake southwards. Beautiful views across the river and also looking ahead towards the Paine Grande mountain.
The second day took us further north alongside the Grey Lake (Lago Grey), a tough walk across lots of differing terrain and including a lot of climbing (or undulations, as the guide referred to them!). A very tiring day, but well worth the trip to the north end of the lake to see the Grey Glacier (Glaciar Grey) close up.
.
The Grey Glacier (Click on image to enlarge)
We had stunning close up views of the front of the glacier, and of the icebergs floating out into the lake.
Next a trip to the French Valley, climbing higher into the mountains by now and again crossing some difficult landscapes. Some wonderful views again in all directions, one of the most impressive being of the Fortress, a 500m sheer rock face rising above us. This part of the landscape is all granite, that has been exposed as the softer sedimentary rock has been worn away over millions of years.
.
The Fortress (Click image to enlarge)
The next day we walked the length of Lago Nordenskjold (yes the Scandinavians were here as well) to the Torres campsite. This was a long day, over 9 hours of continuous walking again over lots of “undulations” and differing terrains. Spectacular scenery again, and yes —- it really is this blue!
.
Lago Nordenskjold. (click on image to enlarge)
The final day was the hike to the base of the granite towers pictured at the top of this page. A fantastic trek, but very tough indeed, climbing the Torres Valley. We were blessed with what we were told was the best weather for views for many years, bright sunshine and completely clear, however the downside to that was of course the heat on the trek up!
.
Pathway cut into mountainside (click on image to enlarge)
.
The final climb. (click on image to enlarge)
The last hour or more was scabbling over the rocks and boulders above the tree line. Worth it for the view of the towers. The surface of the lake in the main picture is at about 1000m, the towers rise behind it to 2800m, over a mile above us. This is very difficult to describe, as part of the experience of being there is having struggled to get up the mountain in the first place, and I mentioned above, photographs don’t really show the sheer scale of the rock formations.
. (click on image to enlarge)
This first challenge gave me the travel bug and also opened my eyes to the work that Mencap do for and with people with learning disabilities, this is why I have subsequently completed other trips and raised nearly £13,000 so far (correct at May 2007).
You can comment on any aspect of this site or my fundraising and trekking by clicking on the ‘comments please’ page link to the top right of this text.
Thank you of course to everyone that helped with the fundraising.
David Head, March 2001
