I’m a little embarrassed to admit I’ve never actually backpacked in the woods for multiple days at a time.  Sure, I’ve done a lot of hiking, but I’ve never had to traverse valleys and mountains with sun and rain while carrying all my food and accommodation on my back.   All it took was incredible stories and photos, a different country, and a well-visited and straightforward backpacking route to convince me to jump aboard an approximately 100 km journey by foot.  Getting to Torres del Paine in Patagonian Chile was quite a hassle (a couple of flights, several cities, and numerous…