I took 9 days to hike the Q and spent 9 nights sleeping on the trail, waking up for the ferry back on the 10th morning.

I used “a cicerone guide by Rudolf Abraham” – which was written in 2010 and I found to be quite out of date. On top of that I got information from the 3 o’clock talk and the map they give you on entry to the park and it was more than adequate. This isn’t a route you need navigation skills on.

Day 1 was hard. I had a heavy pack and my body wasn’t used to it.

Day 2 the side trip up Valley Francés without by pack was beautiful and great to take my pack off.

Day 3 I took the “shortcut” up to Chileno. This was a long day.

Day 4 was a very relaxed short day.

Day 5 my body was happy again and my bag was getting lighter, my pace began to pick up.

Day 7 was a snow storm and very windy so slow moving.

Day 8 was heavy snow but the wind had dropped.

All I had was the map they give you on entry to the park and it was more than adequate. This isn’t a route you need navigation skills on.

Day	Camp	km	Campsite
			Shower	Shop	Enclosed Shelter	Comments
Start	CONAF Admininstration
1	Refugio Paine Grande	17.5	N	Y	Y	Big busy campsite with good facilities and the ferry.
2	Campamento Italiano + Valley Francés	7.5 + 13	N	N	N	Busy campsite, but sheltered and friendly
3	Refugio Chileno	~18	Y	Y	Y	Camping and huts. Busy but more spreadout.
4	Campamento Torres + Mirador Las Torres	2.5 + 1.5	N	N	N	Limited numbers – reservations required. Pretty site.
5	Campamento Serón	14	N	Y	N	Exposed site. First campsite of the O. Much quiter and friendlier.
6	Refugio Dickson	18.5	Y	Y	N	Beautiful campsite, next to a very big, very cold lake.
7	Campamento Los Perros	9	N	Y	Y	A nice indoor cooking area and well sheltered.
8	Campamento Paso	12	N	N	N	Only a drop toilet and a 3 sided hut. A most minialist of the TDP sites. Very intimate.
9	Refugio Paine Grande	21	N	Y	Y	As above a big busy campsite but on return I had friends to share it with and there was a warm feeling of returning home.
	Total	134.5