All right, first things first, a confession.
I did not do the W trek end to end. The W trek is touted to be the hike to do in Patagonia. The one that most visitors hear about, and then decide to go there.
Instead, I ended up going to Torres del Paine with Chile Nativo, a tour group that offers a moderately individualized and unique experience to see the highlights of the park (More on how incredible they are later). I will explain my reasons for choosing this option in another post. Do give it a read if you are contemplating going to Patagonia.
To learn more about why I did not do the complete W trek, read this post highlighting the pros and cons, as it may convince you to do the same!
Planning for hikes in Chilean Patagonia
Even though I did not hike the complete W trek in Chilean Patagonia, I did train for it. On the tour with Chile Nativo, we covered the main famous sights of the W Trek – the Tres Torres, the French Valley, and the Glacier Gray. We essentially skipped the not-so-fun areas of the park, e.g. the hike between Camp Torres Central and Camp Frances. As a replacement, we filled those days up with other exciting adventures like puma tracking. Pretty cool, right?
Note: For the Argentinian Patagonia portion, we decided to create our own itinerary and did the main hikes in this region on our own.
Anyway, when we started planning our Patagonia trip, I calculated our hiking distance to be about 10 miles per day on average. Some days, it would be up to 17 miles. That was pretty steep for me, as someone who, when she started thinking about the trip, could only hike about 3-4 miles at a time, and that too, with plenty of breaks.
Therefore, I had to increase my stamina to be able to hike such long distances. I am also not a super active, outdoorsy person, so this was all new territory for me. Luckily, my husband has had plenty of experience hiking, trekking, and camping. So, he was able to help me come up with a plan to achieve my endurance goals with a realistic timeline.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that I am not a fitness expert or trainer. This post documents my personal journey only which I have decided to make available in hopes that it gives you ideas on how you can start your preparation. If you have any medical conditions or need expert advice, please check with appropriate sources.
How I trained for Patagonia treks and hikes
When I started to train for Patagonia, I could do about 3 miles of hiking in a day. Any more than that, and I would need frequent breaks. In fact, I don’t believe I had hiked for more than 5 miles at a time before this journey.
However, with the steep goal of being able to do 16 miles in a day, and be able to do multi-day hikes, I set out to get in shape and increase my stamina gradually.
These are my main tips on how to get ready for your epic Patagonia trip!
Do your homework
Considering that you plan to stretch your stamina and fitness for this trip, it is important to do your homework and know what your goal should be. Figure out the longest distance you need to hike in a day, depending on how you want to explore Patagonia (full W trek, O trek, etc.). Read blogs to learn more about the trails (since you are already doing so by reading this post, kudos, you’ve already started!).
Then, set that longest single-day distance as your goal.
Get in the right mindset
Prepare to stretch yourself with this goal. Unless you are an uber-focussed person, getting in shape and ready will require a lot of determination and effort. After all, you are setting a fitness goal for yourself and will train your body to change in some way. Be sure to dedicate yourself fully to this goal, but also don’t stress out. Hiking is supposed to be fun!
Break up the big goal into smaller chunks
I’m sure you have heard of the saying “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Okay, sure, you won’t be walking a thousand miles. However, this journey of yours starts with you taking a single step. And to do that, you need to break it down into bite-sized portions.
Then, divide up the time you have to prepare and spread out those portions into short-term milestones. You can use my experience as an example.
I had a total of about 6 months to prepare before my trip. At the beginning of this period, I could hike only 3 to 3.5 miles. I knew that the longest hike I would do would be about 16 miles for El Chalten’s Mt Fitz Roy hike (Laguna de Los Tres). So, I needed to increase my ability to hike from 3 to 16 miles in about 6 months.
Thus, I decided on the following milestones at the end of each month:
- Month 1 target – 5 miles
- Month 2 target – 6 miles
- Month 3 target – 8 miles
- Month 4 target – 10 to 11 miles
- Month 5 target – 12 to 14 miles
- Month 6 target – 16 miles
In addition to increasing the length of the hikes, I also made sure to increase the elevation gain on each hike. All hikes in Patagonia require gaining significant elevation (the highest ones are above 3000 ft or 1000 m).
Commit to the plan
Once you have created your personalized plan to increase your stamina and attain your fitness goals, commit to it. The more you follow through on this plan, the more habituated you will become to hiking regularly. During my preparation, I spent pretty much every weekend doing 2-3 hikes. Now, keep in mind that before this, I rarely hiked unless I was visiting a National Park. It was a big change for me!
Increase your goal slowly and then faster as your body gets used to it
Reviewing my milestones list above, you may notice that after the end of Month 2, I started to increase the target more aggressively than in Months 1 and 2.
There is a very good reason for that. Once your body adjusts to the new routine, you will find yourself more quickly able to increase your goals exponentially. Thus, if you increase your hiking limit by a mile in the first couple of months, then, in the next couple of months, you should be able to increase by 2 miles each month.
Be consistently diligent
Being diligent in sticking with the plan is important. Persistence will pay off very quickly as you get to tick off your achievements and feel good about meeting your milestones. Trust me, being consistently diligent will give you a nice dopamine hit every time you see yourself getting closer to your overall target.
On the other hand, be ok with setbacks too
Don’t get disheartened with setbacks. It happens to everyone. You may be doing your thing, being consistent for months, and then one week, you may feel like taking a break. Be ok with that, and take a break. Just make sure to come back to it, once you feel like you are ready to get to the next level.
This happened to me. During the 6 month period I mentioned above, I went through a slump when it was peak summer. At that time, I could not hike during the daytime in California as the sun was absolutely brutal. So, for almost a month, I decided to skip hiking.
Once the weather cooled down enough to venture outside for a prolonged time, I went back to the original schedule and plan.
Get the right gear
One of the most important ways to be ready and prepared for your Patagonia hike is to have the right gear. Having the right fit and the materials of your gear can take your trekking trip from good to awesome.
These gear are must-haves in my experience:
- Hiking shoes: Obviously, any hiking trip (and especially an intense one like the W trek) requires sturdy hiking shoes. However, pay close attention to the fit of your shoes, the materials it is made from, and whether or not they protect your ankle. In Patagonia, where the weather is unpredictable, and the trails are rocky/uneven, make sure your shoes are ankle length, waterproof, and fit well.
- Woolen hiking socks: Hiking socks made from wool are perfect for trekking in an environment such as Patagonia. The weather is not so hot that you will get sweaty, and even if you do, the socks soak up moisture well. This is my favorite brand of hiking socks.
- Hiking poles: Hiking poles are a must-have in my books for this trip. Not only is the terrain rocky with portions filled with gravel (read: super slippery), but you will also lose a ton of elevation at each hike since nearly all hikes are hilly. Then, the poles will be your best bud.
For a full list of hiking essentials that I have tried and tested myself, be sure to check out this post for all the details.
Practice with weight
While hiking in Patagonia, you will be hiking with a backpack filled with essentials like food, water, and layers. If you choose to do the W trek, you will be hiking with multi-day essentials (i.e. everything you will need for 4-5 days). The weight of these things can add up and get heavy.
So, when you train, make sure to practice with some weight. For a single-day hike, I recommend at least 10 pounds of weight. For multi-day hikes, you will want to account for the weight of all your belongings during those days.
Running helps (as well as other cardio exercises)
A fast and (perhaps) easy way to increase your stamina is to take up running. Other cardio exercises will help too. Basically, anything that gets your heart pumping would work well in making you stronger.
While exploring the trails of Patagonia, you will climb a lot of hills and mountains. This puts extra strain on your heart as it has to pump more blood for you to climb. So, if you are short on time and want to elevate your stamina quicker, cardio exercises are helpful.
Believe in your body
If there is one thing I have learned from my journey, it is that the human body is capable of doing incredible things. So, even if you feel like you are starting from the bottom, believe in your body’s ability to change and grow as you progress toward your goal.
Don’t be afraid of pushing yourself, while also paying attention to signals that indicate that you may need to take it slow. It is all about getting that balance of stretching yourself without injuring yourself.
Give yourself plenty of time
Very few things get done in one fell swoop. Like any fitness training, you will need time to see results. Be sure to plan with realistic timelines in mind. After all, the last thing you’ll want to do is rush it, and give up if you don’t see results.
Therefore, set aside at least a couple of months even if you are relatively fit at the beginning of your prep.
Don’t underestimate the trails of Patagonia
The most epic trails of Patagonia are grueling. Hiking there is an incredibly beautiful and unique experience. However, with the challenging terrain, there is also the danger of injuring yourself. Even though you won’t be doing any climbing or using advanced equipment, it is important to keep in mind that you need to be prepared.
So, my last piece of advice is this. If you are going to do single-day hikes only, make sure you practice hiking 15-16 miles in a day. Then, on the next day, hike at least another 10 miles. That way, you will truly test your endurance level.
If you plan to hike the W trek completely, make sure you practice multi-day hiking with an average of 10-14 miles per day. Additionally, hike for at least 22 miles one day of your multi-day hike since that is the longest hike on the W.
As you plan your epic Patagonia trip, keep in mind these 16 mistakes you should avoid in order to have an awesome trip.
What worked well and what was not so great
With all the advice from earlier, I also want to share what worked for my training plan and what did not. Here are some tidbits of information based on my experience.
Progress changes with time
Once I was able to hike over 5 miles with some elevation gain, my progress was more rapid than earlier. Getting into the habit of hiking every weekend was helpful for my body to get accustomed to such a workout.
Weight will be an added challenge
Carrying weight was a big challenge as I was not used to carrying a backpack on my hike. Normally I would only carry a water bottle. Additionally, I had never done a multi-day hike. So, I did not have any experience with carrying a heavy backpack while climbing up. This extra weight slowed me down considerably.
Invest in quality hiking gear
Quality hiking gear is expensive. If some things are cheap, be wary of the quality. I am all for a good deal and hunting for discounts, but not when it comes to hiking gear. Then, I would rather pay more to ensure quality. But, be mindful that you will spend a fair amount of money on this.
Rent gear as needed
As an alternative, you can also rent hiking gear in Puerto Natales (in Chile) and El Chalten (in Argentina). I did not rent any hiking gear in Patagonia, but can attest to the presence of several rental stores in these busy hiking cities.
However, one thing I would not recommend renting is a pair of hiking shoes. The reason for that is that sizing is very personal, and it is better to know exactly how a shoe fits you, especially when hiking really long distances like the W trek. If you don’t own your shoes, you will not have previous experience walking in them for a full day.
Be ready for the winds!
Patagonia is unbelievably windy. I had been warned about that before my trip, but I could not be prepared for such crazy windy gusts. On some hikes, we encountered wind gusts upwards of 60 mph (100 km/h)! You have to actually experience it in person to know what that is like. Plus, make sure to wear wind-resistant clothing from head to toe.
Watch your footing
As alluded to earlier, some trails were not well maintained. Specifically, in some trails we encountered uneven, loose rocks where you had to be careful stepping on them. In other parts, some sections of a trail were made of loose gravel. Going up that strip was fine, but coming back down was another story. Such situations meant extra strain beyond what I experienced on the practice hikes.
Final thoughts on training for Patagonia
Thus, overall, I felt that I trained quite well for our Patagonia trip. I planned ahead and knew my target, and committed to it. During the trip, I managed to summit all the hikes I had planned, and this made the entire effort all the more worthwhile. 🙂
I hope this personal experience will help you make your own training plan if you want to hike in the Patagonian wilderness.
Don’t forget to check out the other Patagonia resources I have for you to review. Out of the countless number of places I have visited so far, this is one region that required the maximum amount of preparation!
