Patagonia W Trek — Full Panorama Day 4

Description

The W Trek in Torres del Paine National Park is South America’s premier multi-day hiking route — a 74- kilometre trail traversing the full breadth of the park’s iconic landscapes. Day 4 of the westward version passes below the Cuernos del Paine — four granite peaks whose dark intrusion cap sits above lighter sedimentary skirts, creating the distinctive two-tone profile that gives them their name. The Mirador los Cuernos viewpoint provides what may be the park’s broadest single-frame landscape: the Cuernos peaks above, Lake Nordenskjöld’s turquoise water in the valley below, and on clear days the distant white arm of the Grey Glacier visible at the western valley end. This 5-frame panoramic photograph was made after 4 consecutive days of trekking carrying full camping equipment, in the 30-minute clarity window between morning cloud clearance and the afternoon Patagonian gale that typically reduces visibility and makes tripod stability challenging.