Travel Notes of Torres del Paine in Chile | Four Seasons in One Day with Three Towers and Cape Peak

We two lazy people directly passed the option of pure hiking when we made the itinerary. We chose the self-driving + short-term hiking method to focus on the highlights. We left Los Cuernos Point and the Three Towers, and took a look at various lakes along the way. In the end, it turns out that this itinerary is enough for non-hiking enthusiasts, and it can already absorb most of the essence of Paine. In Torres del Paine, we mainly rely on self-driving, and the scenery along the way unfolds like a picture scroll. The end of November is spring in Torres del Paine, with wildflowers blooming on the roadside and the lake bluer than the sky. And as soon as we turned, the sharp peaks suddenly appeared in front of us, clearly black and white in the sun, silent and huge. We hiked a short distance to see Los Cuernos Peak, one of the postcard views in Torres del Paine, but we were almost blown away by the strong wind. But the scenery is really beautiful, and its reputation should not be inferior to that of the Three Pagodas. It’s no problem if you don’t want to walk. Along the Y-150 highway, you can see the magnificent scenery generously presented by Jiaofeng. · Climbing the Three Pagodas of Torres del Paine is much more rigorous and takes 22km/8 hours. Many people choose to go there in one day. I think it’s a bit challenging, so I climbed for 2 hours on the first day and stayed at the famous Chilean camp. Then I climbed for another 2 hours at 3 a.m. the next day to see the sunrise, and then went back down the mountain in 4 hours. . The weather was not good when we went up the mountain, and it was rainy all the way. It was very cold in the tent at the camp, so I put on all my clothes and got into a sleeping bag to keep warm. I fell asleep listening to the constant rain, and in my dreams I was worried about whether I would be able to see the sunrise. I woke up at around two in the morning and was pleasantly surprised to find that the rain and wind outside had stopped. Set off at 3:50, put on a headlamp and walking sticks, and set out to climb the mountain. The first half of the journey was quite relaxed and enjoyable, but the second half started with irregular stone roads, endless ups and downs. When I thought the big stone staircase was over, the gravel stream slope came; after the stream slope ended, endless piles of rocks came... My energy had long been exhausted. Seeing the Europeans and Americans passing me easily, I could only starve. I cursed in my stomach while using my hands and feet, and vowed never to hike again. After numerous crazy retreats, we finally saw the Three Towers. It was a pity that there was no sunrise, but luck was not bad. Although the red light did not penetrate the thick clouds and fog, at least we could still see the Three Pagodas when we arrived. Ten minutes later they disappeared completely into the clouds and mist, and no one who came up that morning could see them. It snowed heavily when we were going down the mountain, and soon the sky and the earth were completely covered with snow. The boulders were even more difficult to climb, and the slopes of the stream were frozen, but I was in an extremely happy mood and began to talk nonsense again. It’s just that my body is more honest than my mouth. After returning to Chile, I didn’t want to move. God knows how much willpower I used to make myself walk for another two hours back to the car. When we went down the mountain, Bai Nei finally showed us its softer side. On this day, we felt the four seasons to the extreme. With heavy rain and snow, strong wind and blue skies, the weather forecast is useless here. All you can rely on is your own luck. But in the end, it doesn't matter whether you're lucky or not. It doesn't matter if you can't see the best scenery. The process of climbing is the whole point.