Ryan Greenberg

When I was backpacking in Torres del Paine last year I noticed that hikers were divided into a few tiered groups. Some people stayed at the high-end hotels at the edges of the park, others stayed in $40-a-night refuges along the trail. Others still paid to use campsites, while people like me camped at free sites. I made another observation that I mentioned in my coverage of the park:

… there appeared to be an inverse relationship on the trail between wealth and backpack size. Big rollers in the park traveled with tiny packs and rented what they needed at waypoints, everything from tents to stoves. Unsurprisingly, our packs were large.

I believe I have found another supporting data point for my inverse relationship hypothesis. The other day I was flipping idly through an REI Adventures catalogue filled with exotic travel packages when I found a trip to Torres del Paine. The sales pitch fits the high-roller profile:

So you have me, traveling Torres del Paine with a third of my body weight on my back (about 48 pounds) for about $300 including airfare, and other people carrying “only daypacks” for $3,650. Sounds about right.