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For a w ild, . remote South America n trek try th e Torres d el Paine Circu i t In southern P ata gonia . Rising abruptly out of the surrounding steppe , the massif of the Macizo Paine is one of Chile's premier national parks and a UN ESCO World Heritage Area. The 60-mile circuit takes you through a dreamscape of varying scenery: the moss-hung temperate forests and bogs of the western lowlands, the dry, windy scrub- lands of the eastern slopes and the towering glaciers that calve into turquoise glacial lakes. The park is also dotted with massive pinnacles of ice-carved granite that seem to defy the laws of physics. The park was created in 1959 and some parts still bear the signs of overgrazing by sheep and cattle (now prohibited in the park!. It is home to rheas-ostrichlike birds of the Patagonian steppes-and guanaco, a wild alpaca like species. Andean condors with 10-foot wingspans circle the mile-high granite towers and flocks of pink flamingos stand in contrast to the iridescent glacial lakes. Comparisons with Yosemite and Yellowstone are not hyperbole although this half-million-acre park sees only a fraction of the hordes that head to those North American greats each year. It is best (read: required by park authorities] to take a partner for the full circuit , which can be done in a week but has enough side trips to warrant tacking on a few extra days. fie re uglos she ters on tfie tral are 0 ten 10 Isrepalr or crowoe . rna 109 a tent a necessity. And unless you want to live on wild mushrooms and gooseberries. be sure to pack a week's worth of food. preferably before you reach the visito r center at the trailhead. The weather can go through four seasons in a day, especially in the remote and exposed eastern sectLo,ns. so..waWl,.waterproof ear is a must (parts of the park get 14 feet of rain a year!. There's also a "no campfires" rule in the park. so if you want hot food, take a stove. Extreme conditions notwithstanding, there is an enormous amount to explore, from slender towers of rock to caves of blue glacial ice. Or you can just sit on the shores of Lago Dickson and watch glaciers drop chunks of ice the size of school buses into the lake below.