The Travel Chica

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Journey to the End of the World (aka That Time I Thought I Might Die in the Wilderness)

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Since Torres del Paine was burning, and I had already psyched myself up to be Super-Wilderness-Trekking-Camping-Travel-Chica, I decided to join up with some people from my hostel to do the Cabo Froward trek.

Cabo Froward

Cabo Froward is dramatically referred to as “The End of the World,” or at least one of them.  It is the southernmost point of mainland South America.  And in true Latin American style, there is a big cross at the top of a hill to climb at the end.

To be honest, I didn’t really care about where we were going or seeing a silly cross.

I wanted to go trekking.  I wanted to take photos of a beautiful and different landscape.

Had I bothered to  do any research on this trek before we left, I would have learned from Wikipedia that it is “extremely challenging” and covers “remote territory where help could be days away.”

This was the most challenging 5 days of my life, both physically and psychologically.

I am not exaggerating about how I felt during this trek.

There were times when I thought I may seriously injure myself.

There was a time when I thought I may develop frostbite and lose my feet, or at least my toes.

There was a time when I thought I may die of hypothermia.

I am not telling you this story to discourage you from doing this trek.  In fact, I am trying to encourage tourism to this part of Chile as much as possible.

If you are a hardcore trekking/ camping/ outdoorsy person (or German), you will probably love it.

But if you do this trek, be prepared for what you are getting yourself into.  Bring good gear (warm and waterproof).  And you should never do this trek alone.

I lost my sense of humor quickly.

Luckily, the people I was with did not.

Our group included:

  • Paul and Cham, two crazy (in a good way) Kiwis who trekked in rugby shorts despite the cold and biting Patagonian wind;
  • Julie, the world traveler from the south of France who baked delicious goodies at my hostel in Puerto Natales;
  • Claudia, the American career-breaker who really is a Super-Wildness-Trekking-Camping-Travel-Chica and had just spent a month camping in the back-country of Torres del Paine on a volunteer assignment;
  • and Rich, the American world traveler who trekked around 30km in one day to escape the park during the fire.

Despite the dreary weather, we started out in good spirits.

In addition to being more experienced trekkers/ campers than me, they are also more positive than me.  When I was wallowing in self-hatred for coming on this trek, they were still able to make light of our misery.

The quote of the trip is from Julie.

When I was complaining about something (or everything) and we saw a tourist boat transporting people to Cabo Froward, she said,

“That’s not the same experience.  You have to earn it.  You have to fight for it.”

Well, we certainly earned it.

I felt like I went through a physical and psychological battle to get there.

Now that my sense of humor has returned…

Let’s all have a laugh at the 7 Miseries suffered to reach The End of the World.

Misery #1 – Trekking in Sand

I knew the trek was along the coast, but I did not realize how much of it was actually in the sand.  The first day started off with 2 solid hours of this which completely zapped my energy.

Imagine doing this with a full pack.

Misery #2 – Trekking on Slippery-You-Will-Break-a-Bone-if-You-Fall-Rocks

The rocks were wet from the rain.  Many of them had this bizarre algae that made them even more slick.

Imagine doing this with a full pack.

Misery #3 – The Hobbit Forest

After trekking in sand and slippery rocks, I thought it would be a relief to get on a trail and climb into the forest for a bit.

No, not really.

I call it the hobbit forest because it was like some mythical, evil setting with tree roots that tried to grab your feet, mud that tried to steal your boots, steep drops, and possibly witches and elves lurking around the corner.

Many times we had to climb over giant fallen trees and pull ourselves up using tree roots and limbs.

Did I mention the full pack?

Misery #4 – The Sponge

It was some sort of mutant moss-like substance that just carpeted the whole area.  At first, it was kind of fun because you were bouncing like on a trampoline as you walked.  Then you realized you were just soaking your boots with water each step.

Misery #5 – Day 3:  Driving Rain, Hypothermia, and an Asshole Fox

I am listing all of Day 3 as a misery we suffered.  Nothing good happened on Day 3.  In fact, I felt like I was being punished.  Even though we were able to leave our packs at camp this day to make the final push to Cabo Froward, this was still the worst day.

At one point I said to the group:

I feel like that scene from Office Space where he says that every day  you see him is the worst day of his life.  Yesterday was horrible but today it actually got worse.

Our terrain involved Miseries #2 and #3. 

Plus, we had a solid rain for most of the trek that turned into a driving downpour just when we got to the ridiculously steep hill we had to climb.  Apparently, Chileans like to take the shortest path, and the shortest path between two points is a straight line.  The so-called trail was basically a 70-degree angle of mud.

I was freezing.

My water-resistant jacket had given up the fight long ago.  When I got back to camp later that evening, I realized that even my camera case (yep, the D-SLR) was soaked through to the inside even though it was underneath my rain jacket.

I took no other photos during this hike due to the extreme rain and my lack of joy, but I did get this one at the top. I figured I might as well have proof that I made it to the top in case someone found my camera next to my frozen body.

Then we had to go back.  In the driving rain.  Soaking wet and freezing.

This is when everyone else lost their sense of humor.

This is when I thought I might die.

I have never been so cold in my life.  I was moving slow, afraid of slipping on the rocks and breaking a bone out in the wilderness with no help to be found.

The only thing that kept my feet moving was the fear that I would go into hypothermic shock, and nobody would help me because they were too far ahead to hear my cries for help.

As a special little FU, we discovered on our arrival back to camp that a fox had slashed all of our tents to take a look around. He didn’t even get any food out of my tent.  He was just being an a-hole.

Misery #6 – Destroyed Feet

After a full day of trekking in the downpour, our Goretex boots were fully soaked.  I warn you this is gross….

Here is what my feet looked like.

We still had two full days of trekking to do, and our feet were completely destroyed.  By the last day, I could barely walk.  Even when we finished the trek, my feet were painfully swollen for 4 more days, and I hobbled around like an old lady.

Misery #7 – River Crossings

Yep, that’s right.  We had to do three river crossings to get to Cabo Froward, and that means three river crossings to get back to civilization.

The river crossings had to be timed correctly with the tides.

We met other trekkers who did not cross at the right spot or arrived at high tide and had water up to their chests.

They were all Germans.  Germans are hard core. 

We got lucky and never had the water above the top of our thighs.  Otherwise, I probably would have cried like a little girl.

It was after a river crossing the morning of Day 4, so cold and traumatized from the day before, that I thought I might lose my feet to frostbite.  They were past the numb stage and felt like they were burning.

One more sign that we were getting closer to frostbite.

I was told by others who experienced both treks that Cabo Froward is more difficult than Torres del Paine.

Wish I had known that before.

Yes, this post is all about how miserable I was.  However, I will admit that despite the pain, the last two days were quite pleasant (didn’t take much to make us happy by that point).

Next time I promise to share the happy side of the Cabo Froward Trek :-)

Have you had a bad wilderness experience before?

Comments

  2. Your story made me laugh and feel very sorry for you at the same time… I don’t know if I would find it very amusing, I hate being wet AND cold…

    I hope you were able to recuperate in a nice place!!!

  7. One time in Tasmania John and I took off trekking on a trail that was marked as ‘unmaintained path’ or something like that and it was a bit harrowing but nothing like this! Good for you for accomplishing this – must have felt so good at the end =)
    Andrea recently posted..Our Next Move

  8. It does sound like a misery, especially since really? Torres del Paine can be windy, but there is little terrain that qualifies as murderous in the normal circuits that people hike (W, the Circuit). I have hiked there in brutal winds and ugly rain and even snow, but the distances aren’t that great, there are always other people around and it was never as cold as it was where you were.

    Ironically, the coldest I ever was while hiking was in Fitzroy, where you had awesome weather! Glad you lived to tell the tale, and how do I know that you will be markedly more careful in choosing your treks in the future?
    eileen recently posted..Returning from injury, now with feria report

  12. Never be the only one who is not German, Swiss German or French on a treck, they are crazy!!! Well done 4 getting back alive!! It sounds like my Lost city treck in Colombia, but it was the heat that nearly killed me!….After reading this I will opt 4 heat over freezing to death! You will look back and be amazed you did it.x

  14. You’re brave to even sign up for a trip like that :) I would have been on the tourist boat instead. But I am sure that you do appreciate the destination more if you actually had to work for it. Glad you made it safe and no toes froze off. Really hope you were able to enjoy and relax once you got there :)

    • After having to pay to replace the tent that the fox destroyed, it probably would have cost the same to go on the tourist boat :-)

      I have to say that there was no appreciation in seeing the cross when we got to the top of that hill. There are crosses on hills all over Latin America, and we had no view because there was a rain cloud sitting on top of us.

      BUT I will say that the views we had hiking back the last two days were beautiful since the weather had cleared. And I do have a bit of pride in the fact that I saw a part of the world that not many people see when they come to Patagonia.
      Stephanie – The Travel Chica recently posted..Foto of the Week from … Cabo Froward Trek – The Happy Side

  18. Sufría mientras leía! como un cuento de terror! Supongo que no olvidarás esta brutal experiencia, pero por suerte estás para contarlo! Y es lo único que cuenta: que estés viva! Un fuerte abrazo! Te sigo leyendo. Pero take care!

  20. You deserve a pat on the back….well done. Just started to look at you blog after seeing you on Hecktic travels so will interested to see where else you have done snce I will be out in S America later in the year. :)
    Gary recently posted..Where to start in Greece?

    • You would have been smart enough to not put yourself in this situation :-)

      I just kept wishing I had carried in a bottle of red wine. Would have at least helped numb the pain in my feet and maybe made it possible to sleep on the hard, uncomfortable ground in the freezing cold. Would have been worth the extra weight in my pack.
      Stephanie – The Travel Chica recently posted..Beware the Sex-Crazed Troll in Chiloe

  23. Must have been a great feeling reaching your destination. It definitely does sound like a hard journey but I guess only once we through these moments, it makes us all the more stronger!

  26. Excellent!! I wish experiences like this could be more… pleasant. I’ve finished so many hikes, etc where I felt like I was going to slip for an hour or two straight and just thought never again.
    Abby recently posted..Dating in Las Vegas

  28. Oh wow! That does not sound pleasant at all. The best thing about a painful and cold hike is the hot shower at the end of it. Which is why a five-day trek would have been particularly tough – so many nights to wait until that hot shower. Good on you for completing it, though! That’s an achievement to be proud of!
    Turtle recently posted..My Mendoza love affair

  29. IS the river crossing really that bad? Trekking certainly requires determination because it will get you down easily. At least you made and I’m glad you made it because you got to post this. Thank you for sharing!

  32. I read and heard horror stories about the Torres del Paine trek, like people getting into a snow storm and no light outside at one point during the DAY because of the weather. A friend of mine and someone else literally flew in the air with their backpacks because of the Patagonian winds (the someone else broke a rib or more). My friend worked really hard to convince me not to go to this park, because I (figuratively speaking) drooled over Torres del Paine photos for months. Eventually I listened to her…. Had no idea there was a worse trek, though!

    I hope you give yourself credit for going through this trek and making it back. It could have been so easy to give up, and you didn’t. Plus, you took photos! I couldn’t stop reading the post – it sounds very horrific, even though NOW it’s great story material :)
    Ayelet – All Colores recently posted..Up Close & Personal With a Penguin – A Video

  33. First of all, you’re amazing! I never could have done this … I’m the girl who suffered my way through the Inca Trail and that’s nothing.

    Second of all, you’re amazing. Way to go for keeping up with the others and making it through the trek. I can only begin to imagine how tough it must be.
    cheryl recently posted..It’s A Dog Life’s In Costa Brava.

  34. I love a good honest post every now and then, that reminds us that we are not travel failures if we aren’t having a great time 110% of the time. My most recent travel fail was joining some Bolivian friends on the pilgrimage from La Paz to Copacabana. As much as I wanted to enjoy it, the 02.30 starts, the cold, all the fried street food along the way and the uber-pace set by my comrades just did not make for an enjoyable experience. Anyway, As your post shows, these little “oops” make for some good stories right?
    Catherine recently posted..Toilet Gems from Bolivia

    • That definitely does not sound like a good time to me. I didn’t even know that was a thing to do!

      A girl on this hike wrote about me on her blog in a very negative way (making up a few things) and inferring that I claimed to be an experienced long-term traveler but hated camping. Well, yeah. I hate camping. I only do it when there is a really good reason like seeing something incredible. There’s nothing wrong with that :-)
      Stephanie – The Travel Chica recently posted..Foto of the Week from … Buenos Aires: A Dark Past

  35. Hey there! I’m not sure if you’re still checking comments on this post, but it equal parts amused and horrified me. The horror being primarily due to the fact that I agreed to go on this very trek. Without having any idea of what I was getting myself into. Until I found this post.

    I really appreciate you putting all this information online! There is so little to be found about Cabo Froward on the internets and I’m glad I have a good idea of what this will really entail. We leave in a month and I’m going to need every second to mentally prepare myself. I sent this post to my sister as well, who is going with me. She cried a little bit and then suggested bringing flasks. She might be onto something . We are of German descent so we should be fine, right? ….

    Quick question – where did you find the little magical mentos-shaped cleansing cloths? I was planning on bringing baby wipes, but would prefer something dry for weight reasons if possible. I’m adventurous, but have my limits. And going completely unwashed for five days is definitely past that limit.

    I have a feeling that this is one of those things that is miserable in the moment, but you’re glad you did afterward.

    It’s only 5 days. It’s only 5 days. It’s only 5 days.

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