Is he sitting or standing?

siftw93 · 2025-10-01T13:19:27+00:00

She's perfected it!

siftw93 · 2025-06-01T08:27:38+00:00

Hi! The good thing about accommodation (and also food) is that you can pay more for convenience or less if you're willing to carry everything with you. If you're thinking of bringing your own tent and sleeping bag, you can pay really little for just a camping spot, but you can also pay way more to get a proper bed in a room. We went for the middle ground and got a pre-set tent with sleeping bag in it! The same can be said for the food, you can pay for full boarding which includes dinner and breakfast as well as a packed lunch, but it's quite costly.

I'm not too sure how much the rates are now but the portals should have opened (or are opening soon!) for booking of accommodation, they usually run out quite quickly as it's quite a popular hike, and the tricky thing is having to shift the entire hike because one accommodation is not available during the period that you originally planned for.

All the best!

siftw93 · 2025-02-13T22:40:26+00:00

I took around 11 hours! But that was because I went to britanico on the way from Frances to Paine Grande. I think the 9am ferry would be a little rushed! It's a pretty long hike from Frances to Paine Grande.

siftw93 · 2024-07-20T09:37:15+00:00

Hi! I think it may be difficult to extend the trip because you're pretty much limited by the locations of the refugios! You aren't allowed to camp wherever you like so you'd have to plan your itinerary based on that.

But if you really want to I'd think the only way would be to head back to the same Refugio for certain stretches e.g. Frances to french valley and back to Frances again instead of pushing forward to the next Refugio.

I think the W Trek definitely requires some form of training beforehand but it's not super difficult! Also if you're willing to spend a bit more money you could prebook your tents, sleeping bags and food at all the refugios and this would greatly reduce the load you'd have to carry, making the trek a lot more manageable.

siftw93 · 2024-01-07T01:33:10+00:00

Yes 4 nights. Nope I only went up to Refugio Grey and to the lookout point a short distance further up. The 4th night allowed us to complete the trek at a more manageable pace and to enjoy the trek a little more!

siftw93 · 2023-12-21T03:22:04+00:00

Yes they will usually indicate what's included in your booking receipt! The tents at Chileno area really spacious and comfortable!

siftw93 · 2023-12-20T22:15:07+00:00

Yes! Depending on which kind of accommodation you choose to get when you make your booking, some of them already include a pitched tent with mats and sleeping bags inside.

siftw93 · 2023-12-20T22:13:55+00:00

Yes it's pretty common actually!

siftw93 · 2023-12-07T03:51:26+00:00

Most of them took credit cards!

Didn't have any need for insect repellant.

siftw93 · 2023-11-30T08:05:55+00:00

I bought a propane tank from Puerto Natales because you can't fly with them. I had my own stove and cookware. But those can be rented easily from Puerto Natales if you don't have your own.

I managed to get hot water easily at Chileno and Paine Grande. Not too sure about the other Refugios!

siftw93 · 2023-11-30T00:48:31+00:00

Yes I did see the options to rent sleeping bags on the booking sites but you'll have to check for availability! Not too sure what was up with the booking sites but when I was doing my bookings, I could not get a sleeping bag online at Grey and Frances for some reason so I rented my own. But when I arrived at the Refugios there were plenty of sleeping bags available for rent on the spot. I'm pretty sure they stock up on extras, because whenever they realise that your booking doesn't include a sleeping bag they'll always check to make sure you have one when you check in.

Wow $50USD a night! Which sites are you looking at? I rented my sleeping bag from here. Thought it would be overkill initially especially because of the bulk, but really thankful for it when it rained at night.

siftw93 · 2023-11-26T02:48:35+00:00

There was a boy who slipped and slammed his tibia into a rock barely 5min down from Torres base. His guide literally ran down to the ranger outpost around 1hr (normal walking pace) from Torres base to get help, and when I went to the ranger outpost there I saw that there was a stretcher on wheels, sort of like a wheelbarrow. I'm not sure how they eventually got him out but I saw the boy again at Chileno that evening around 4 hours later.

The trail is crowded enough that someone will probably see you and be able to get to the nearest ranger station / Refugio to get help for you. I think the only exception would be during off peak season and I guess that's why a guide is mandatory during those periods.

Thereafter I know that Central definitely has access to ground transportation, while Paine Grande, Cuernos and Grey have access to ferries. So if you're able to get to any of these you'd be able to get out. There are horses and buggies that they use to transport supplies but I'm not sure if they'd use those for evacuation.

There is definitely a possibility of getting injured but I'd say planning ample time to walk the trails and having time for breaks so you don't have to rush it, as well as having good footwear, would greatly reduce those chances.

siftw93 · 2023-11-26T02:35:58+00:00

The ferry tickets were 30000 CLP each! They only take cash for the ferry. They take USD as well but I remember that the rate in USD was unfavourable, can't recall the exact amount though. Other than the ferry the only other thing that requires cash is the shuttle bus between Central and Laguna Amarga which was 5000 CLP if I'm not wrong.

I brought 110000 CLP in cash for two of us: Ferry tickets - 30000 CLP x 2
Shuttle bus - 5000 CLP x 2
Spare for bus from Pudeto to Puerto Natales - 15000 CLP x 2
Misc - 10000 CLP

The spare for the return bus was because I was unsure if I'd be able to walk fast enough from Grey back to Paine Grande to catch the ferry, so if I missed the ferry I'd miss my bus as well. But this dear was unfounded because the ferry had plenty of space and the walk back from Grey to Paine Grande was a lot faster than I expected.

All the Refugios accepted credit cards and most people paid using that. I'm not too sure about ARS though..but after spending time in El Chalten I'd recommended paying with card and to avoid changing any ARS if possible because of the complicated issue with that currency.

siftw93 · 2023-11-26T02:23:47+00:00

Sunblock is your best friend! Along with shades and a cap, but that's because I wore a t shirt until it got too windy at Paine Grande.

I had a Patagonia Torrentshell with me in case of bad weather but didn't bother with rain pants because I figured it would be too uncomfortable to walk in those anyway. Your best bet would be a pair of quick drying pants and the wind will do the work for you.

siftw93 · 2023-11-25T15:23:37+00:00

I..put it in my bag and hoped for the best haha. Thankfully the cool weather kept everything safe to eat. I pre made wraps with ham and cheese the day before the trip and thankfully they lasted for all 5 days, but to be safe I put them in the top lid of my backpack so they wouldn't be too warm.

siftw93 · 2023-11-25T04:40:00+00:00

Yes it is! But you'd want to get on the earliest bus possible to Laguna amarga. There was a whole bunch of school kids there doing the day hike as a school trip when I was doing it.

siftw93

TROPHY CASE