From our riverside campsite in Patagonia, I peered at the grand Paine Massif, a snow-topped mountain range that looked as if powdered sugar had been dusted across it from the heavens.
The jagged peaks were both rugged and majestic. Bundled in multiple layers—wool, fleece, down, windbreaker—the bitter wind stung my cheeks as I pondered how the next days would unfold. I was gearing up to trek across pampas and up mountains in the challenging but inspiring terrain of Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park.