Cambios

We ressuplied in Curiñe, with a minimatket there. To avoid the 15 first kilometers we took the bus from puerto Maihue to Rupumeica Bajo. We slept in the cabañas of Carmen Panguilef (+56 984 54 83 03) in rupumeica bajo who is very welcoming and a proud mapuche.Then the road ends and starts the path to cross the pass to rupumeica alto. Then you follow the minor road until los Venados. The road is blocked by barriers that we crossed easily. At los Venados the path is clearly private and is along the house of Hector. We met him and his wife and they easily let us go through. We overcarried water because we feared the lack of drinkable water. Until almost the treeline, you can hear little rivers not too far from the path. We also drunk melted snow at the top so we had enough. Later in the season, it might be drier (I assume, those little rivers come from the snow melting). The last real rio is just before los venados. After the forest, the volcanic terrain is very easy to walk in and the landscapes are wonderful. We saw many smokes from the volcanic activity but seemed not dangerous. Check the status of the volcano before to go (www.sernageomin.cl). Following the track, it is easy to go between the lava field. Campsites are absolutely great, with an amazing view on the vulcano. We felt an earthquake (5,2) that has been localized near san martin de los andes in Argentinia but it made nothing dangerous with the volcano, luckily. We have had a perfect blue sky without wind during the 2 days on top, it could not have been better. The refugio El Caulle, at the start of the downhill can be a good protection for a bad weather. We found a little spring, to resupply water in the dry rio just under the refugio. On the volcanic terrain, a bad weather changes everything and it must be really difficult and unpleasant to finish this section with rain, snow or wind and without the view. It was for us the most wonderful section we have had until today. NO WATER at the first refuge down the volcano, you got to go a little bit further up and west. All the west flank of the volcano is full of little stream coming from the snow. On this part no difficulties. "Water 12?" wasnt working when I was though, but there was a last stream after before going west to the desert ( at the div 128).You have a good half day of walking without water, so take some supply with you. The water comes back just before the div 126, on a place which looks like a dry lake, with little streams coming down some frozen snow. There is another part without water, that begins a little after Div 126 until the refuge of Neri and Hector. I personnaly thought easy to find water in the forest and got really thirsty because of that. There was nobody in the refuge, so I could find water a few meters after the north gate of the house, following a little trail that went on the right side, directly in the forest and to the river. (A little bit of bush bashing at the end, next to the river). Further on the road down there was some other rivers and there and good camping sites. You join the real road at bridge 63 and no problems of water after.