international stove fuel usage (TORRES DEL PAINE!)

are literally all over the place. you can get free partially used ones all the way to uber-expensive full ones on the circuit itself.

I don't remember seeing any other fuel type, including alcohol or white gas; it really seemed like canisters were the way to go. I was there in Feb 2012 (not 2011, as I previously posted……)

cool, thanks for the reply!
that's why I keep my microrocket handy- never know when I can't use my alcohol stove…

any other tips?
do they have gear you can rent there for people who don't have gear?

you could literally get to puerto natales with nothing and outfit yourself for the trek. I wouldn't recommend it unless you like to carry lots of things strapped to your pack, but it certainly could be done.

There is an issue of food – Chile does NOT want you to bring food into the country. The website says if it is PROCESSED food (i.e. Mountain House) in its original packaging it's OK, but nothing fresh, no nuts, etc.

So I brought some MH meals and repackaged them at the hostel before we left. Then went grocery shopping and bought lots of other stuff to round out my food supply. At the time you couldn't really buy any food on the trek unless you are staying at a refugio, but it sounds like that may be different now.

Do NOT expect a wilderness trek – it is decidedly NOT that. Very crowded (not nearly as much on the back side tho!) but gorgeous. You can read my trip report at backpackerPT.com if that interests you.

We stayed at the Singing Lamb hostel in PN and we LOVED it. Quiet, great food, nice operators.

I've never been to Patagonia.

Jon Fong of Flat Cat Gear sells a stove that has been optimized to burn isopropyl alcohol among other things. From the demonstration I watched of it, it seemed to work well and didn't have the same issues with soot as I found with other alky stoves.

I travel a fair amount and have noticed that finding isopropyl alcohol in the local drug stores is fairly easy.

http://www.flatcatgear.com/shop/iso-25-stove/

If this something you're interested in, you can reach him at jon@flatcatgear.com for a better explanation or look for a video of it on his YouTube channel.

I just returned from Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia. Fuel is readily available in the town of Puerto Natales, the jumping off point for Torres del Paine National Park. There are multiple outfitters that sell canister fuels and some of these are open 23 hours a day during peak tourist season (now).

The liquid fuels are available at hardware stores (ferreterias). Denatured alcohol is known as alcohol puro and it is purple. It is less volatile than HEET put worked adequately for my trekking. White gas is known as bencina blanca. The only challenging element (minor) to obtaining these liquud fuels is that the ferreterias are closed on Sunday.

"White gas is known as bencina blanca."

At the last time that I was in Argentina, they called it 'gasoline blanca.' The only trick was that we had to furnish our own empty Sigg fuel bottles, since the hardware store was getting the gasoline from a big drum of it.

–B.G.–

Nomenclature of these fuels is not consistent country to country in S.A. A five minute internet search and some quick notes made on the inside of your travel guide can make locating these fuels much easier, especially for those not fluent in Spanish.

The best list of international fuel names that I am aware of is the one maintained by Doron Papo: International Fuel Names.

It does vary quite a bit country to country even in countries that are in close physical proximity.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving
Hikin Jim’s Blog

Great info you guys! Very appreciated
Not to derail my own thread, but anything else I should know about chile/torres del paine in general?
I wouldn't say I'm going in blind, but I don't have nearly the knowledge going in as I prefer. This trip is more one of those last minute opportunities I really don't want to pass up, but feel like I'm slightly unprepared for