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|AltitudMedia=900
|Primer Autor=Jan Dudeck
|Imágen Principal=Greater_patagonian_trail.jpg
|ComentariosImagen=GPT16: [[Volcán Mocho]] on the background.
|KMLZ=GPT_Minimized_NOT_FOR_HIKING_AND_PACKRAFTING.kmz
|TipoDeMap=HYBRID|ComentariosMapa=GPT SAMPLE Minimized (NOT FOR HIKING AND PACKRAFTING){{colores|red|Trail.}}{{colores|blue|Packraft.}}{{colores|blue|Packraft.}}
}}
{{Table all GPTs}}
====The Feature Film “Unbounded”====
In the hiking season 2016/17 four novice hikers from North America and Europe walked parts of GPT to create a travel documen¬tary. The result of this endeavour is the 74-minute feature docu¬mentary “Unbounded” by Garrett Martin. This work of art displays fascinating impressions from the trail and highlights their cultural experience with the settlers and the natives along the route. I highly recommend watching this film to all prospective hikers as part of their preparation. You can download or stream this film from [https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/unbounded/id1371038057?mt=6&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 iTunes], [https://www.amazon.com/Unbounded-Garrett-Martin/dp/B07C26DK8L/%3Ftag%3Dfire-knd-20 Amazon] or [https://vimeo.com/ondemand/unbounded Vimeo]. This film focuses on the individual experience of these four hikers and does not aim to provide a comprehensive introduction to the GPT. Starting under-prepared and over-loaded they learned their lessons and gradually adopted to this challenging trail network. To draw the right conclusions for your hike read my comments to this film either before or better after watching.
====Publications to the GPT by other Hikers and Packrafters====
===Packrafting on the GPT===
When I started planning my first long hike through Patagonia in 2013 I could not find a continuous hiking route south of Coñaripe (GPT16) because dense forest hides most of the trails on satellite images. But I could see calm rivers and lakes that bridged the gaps and wondered if there exists a light enough boat to be carried in a backpack to traverse these waters. I googled and found the packraft. This is the cause for all the packrafting options of the GPT: insufficient planning information. It was not until after our first hike that I could add additional hiking routes that render a packraft expendable but not less beneficial.
In retrospect I’m so happy that I had such insufficient planning information at that time. Otherwise I would probably not have discovered the packraft as the ideal hiking partner for Patagonia. A packraft does not carry only your backpack but it carries you! What matters in this “partnership” is a good balance; you don’t want to carry your packraft most of the time but benefit from it as much as possible. And this is the case on sections GPT17 to GPT39. Here the packraft carries you on up to 40% of the distance and this makes it a brilliant deal. Further north on sections GPT01 to GPT16 a packraft is more burden than benefit and I would only recommend packrafting if you specifically plan to explore a certain lake and the surrounding area.
When packrafting on lakes and rivers we normally do not exceed hiking speed so the packraft does not make us faster. In contrast, all the packing and unpacking and the extra weight slows us down. But speed is not our objective. What we seek is diversity and a packraft opens up some of the most epic routes through Patagonia.
The required packrafting gear adds about 5 kg to a solo hiker’s pack or 4 kg if shared in between two. You need a boat, paddles, a dry suite, a PFD (personal flotation devise), an inflation bag and repair gear. A sail is optional. For an ultra-light hiker this is an unimaginable extra weight but if considering that the backpack weight drops on 40% of the distance to zero then this extra weight on 60% of the distance is a fair deal. What you need when packrafting is a dry suite; not only for comfort but as a life insurance. In Patagonia weather is volatile and water temperatures are normally low. Hypothermia can cause complete exhaustion and unconsciousness in less then 15 minutes if you get into a glacier lake with a water temperature at the freezing point. A dry suite can help protecting you in such situations. We were several times surprised by heavy wind, rain and even snow during lake crossings and the dry suite was our layer of defense till we reached a suitable landing shore. Without a dry suite your body temperature drops in minutes in such an adverse situation and with this you loose your capability to act properly. Chill makes dumb and numb and transforms you into silly zombie regardless how experienced and prudent you are at normal "operation temperature".
The extra weight of a dry suite is not that much if you replace your normal rain gear with it. And a dry suite is so much better than any rain gear, also when hiking. It keeps you completely dry and warm even when fording glacier rivers. No rain gear does this. When we need to walk in cold rain or snow we put on our dry suite and we don't take it off until we have cooked our dinner and can slide in our sleeping bag or quilt.
If I can choose on a rainy day between hiking or packrafting than I do not need a blink of an eye to make my choice. Sitting in my boat protected by my dry suite make out of a nasty rainy day an enjoyable day on the water. Without a backpack on my back and with only moderate exertion I’m not sweating nor freezing, provided that I wear appropriate cloth below my dry suite. Protected with proper gloves and a cap only the face is exposed to the elements. What stops us packrafting is only too strong wind, but not rain.
When we started investigating the GPT we had no pre-experience with packrafting or kayaking; we were complete novices. Looking back now I would probably have taken some packrafting or kayak lessons, just to get some practice and a better feel for such a water activity. While we lacked experience at the beginning we were very careful even with small rapids and did not paddle larger lakes. But we grew with every river and lake and gained slowly confidence.
What is essential when packrafting is knowledge and respect of the hazards of water and good judgment. Great care must be taken to leave a river latest at the last recommended exit point because mortal rapids are often downstream even if you don’t see or hear them at the last exit point. Streams change constantly with rising and falling water levels, riverbeds alter over time and the weather in Patagonia is volatile. The fact that someone took a particular water route before does not mean that it is safe anytime later. Therefore the track file for GPS is only an approximate guide and each packrafter needs to assess the situation himself; i.e. judge wind, waves and weather before attempting a lake or fjord crossing or scout a river rapid to decide if to paddle or porter around.
Packrafting gear is not cheap. If you don't have it expect to spend at least 2000 EUR or USD to buy the full set. That's a considerable investment but it's a lasting one if you treat it with care. Before attempting to hike on the GPT evaluate careful what sections to travel and if carrying a packraft or not. For this you need to study in detail the sections evaluation and trail type composition to make a smart choice that fits your capabilities and expectations. Thanks to the length of the GPT it is easy to fill an entire hiking season either with pure hiking or with a balanced combination of packrafting and hiking.
===Understanding the Host Nations===
[[File:Bethany_and_Lauren.jpg|thumb|500px|GPT13: Bethany and Lauren with the Pehuenche family of Olga and Geronimo near Icalma. Image: www.her-odyssey.org]]
====Bethany Hughes and Lauren Reed====
*Hiked: Ushuaia to Uyuni (Bolivia) and still going ... *Hiked on the GPT: Northbound GPT39 to GPT01 (other routes instead of GPT26, GPT22 to GPT20) *Packrafting: No *Link: [https://her-odyssey.org her-odyssey.org]
Bethany and Lauren are on their way to traverse the length of the Americas by non-motorized means to connect stories of the land and its inhabitants. They started in December 2015 in Ushuaia on the southern tip of the continent and were the first to walk the entire length of the GPT. We got in touch before they commenced their endeavor and while they walked northbound I developed the trail southbound. This resulted in a very fertile exchange of ideas and routes. Bethany and Lauren “gound-truthed” and recorded several of the hiking sections of the GPT in central Patagonia based on my drafts. This was a very important support since I traveled with my wife primarily the packraft options in central Patagonia. The following year, around October 2016, they asked me for my advice how to continue their journey north which led me to develop the fife northern section of the GPT extending the trail all the way to Santiago. Independently from Gerald Klamer they investigated and recorded these fife sections in the Precordillera (GPT01 to GPT05).
I’m deeply grateful for their contributions. They did not only provide important GPS records to get the tracks updated. Both were essential to get the message to prospective hikers right on how to approach this trail. Bethany and Lauren continue to support me in updating this wikiexplora article. I strongly recommend to read first Bethany's general advise to the GPT: [https://her-odyssey.org/2016/12/26/so-you-wanna-hike-the-gpt/ Blog: so-you-wanna-hike-the-GPT] . In addition you should read the blogs of Bethany and Lauren to the sections that you are planning to walk. Just browse their blogs to find what is relevant for you: [https://her-odyssey.org/blog/ Blog of her-odyssey.org]
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====Gerald Klamer====
*Hiked on the GPT: Southbound all sections from GPT01 to GPT11 *Packrafting: No *Link: [http://geraldtrekkt.blogspot.it/2017/04/greater-patagonian-trail-1-santiago-coya.html geraldtrekkt on blogspot]
Gerald is a highly experienced hiker who walked in many remote areas around the world. He learned about this trail though a common friend (Christine Thürmer, the German author of the book “Laufen, Essen, Schlafen”). When we got in touch I told him about the newly drafted but unverified fife northern sections (GPT01 to GPT05). He loved the idea to be the first to investigate and record them and so he did! When he reached the already verified part of the GPT he did not continue on the “path of least resistance” by following the already well documented regular route but instead he kept investigating and recording the more remote and mountainous options that I drafted mainly based on satellite images and descriptions from local arrieros. He liked it so much that he now prepares the continuation of his hike on the GPT in the coming season.
[[File:Piia_and_Oliver.jpg|thumb|500px|GPT23: Piia and Oliver after a tough bush bashing part towards the end of their trip. Image: Oliver Barker]]
====Piia Kortsalo and Oliver Barker====
*Hiked on the GPT: Southbound all sections from GPT06 to GPT22 *Packrafting: No *Link: [https://www.nothingtwowrite.com/blog nothingtwowrite.com] Piia and Oliver, a Finnish-Canadian couple, walked sections GPT06 to GPT22 in about two month. Like Gerald Klamer they maximized their time on the trail by minimizing resupply stops, a strategy that we also apply and suggest. Combining several sections into longer legs is beneficial where you do not have a village with a shop at the section end but where you need to take a bus to a town far off the trail. Such a resupply bus trip can easily cost you two or three days until you are back on the trail. To efficiently cover longer multi-section legs Piia and Oliver paid a great deal of attention to gear weight and function. They applied a lot of the ultra-light principals but not so much to go fast but to get far. They normally got food for about 10 days each time they resupplied and then walked as far as feasible.
Piia and Oliver, a Finnish-Canadian couple, walked sections GPT06 to GPT22 in about two month. Like Gerald Klamer they maximized their time on the trail by minimizing resupply stops, a strategy that we also apply and suggest. Combining several sections into longer legs is beneficial where you do not have a village with a shop at the section end but where you need to take a bus to a town far off the trail. Such a resupply bus trip can easily cost you two or three days until you are back on the trail. To efficiently cover longer multi-section legs Piia and Oliver paid a great deal of attention to gear weight and function. They applied a lot of the ultra-light principals but not so much to go fast but to get far. They normally got food for about 10 days each time they resupplied and then walked as far as feasible.I’m impressed how they moved on even when they got in overgrown terrain and how they managed the sometimes unpredictable nature of the GPT. Where others turned around they just kept going but in a respectful and humble manner; a key attitude on the GPT.
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[[File:Unboundedthefilm.jpg|thumb|500px|Robyn, Aljoscha and Anthony. Image: Garrett Martin]]
====Garrett, Robyn, Aljoscha and Anthony====
*Hiked on the GPT: GPT06 (partly), GPT07, GPT10-GPT12, GPT17, GPT18 (partly), GPT19, GPT22 (partly)*Packrafting: Yes*Link: [http://www.unboundedthefilm.com/journal/ unboundedthefilm.com]
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| Maule (VII)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT_6:_Volcán_Descabezado]]. See also: [[Sendero del Cóndor extendido]] and [[Travesía de los Volcanes]]
|-
| GPT07
| Maule (VII) Bío Bío (VIII)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 7: Laguna Dial]]
|-
| GPT08
| Bío Bío (VIII)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 10: Laguna El Barco]]
|-
| GPT11
| Bío Bío (VIII) Araucanía (IX)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 11: Cerro Dedos]]
|-
| GPT12
| Araucanía (IX)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT12: Río Rahue]]
|-
| GPT13
| Araucanía (IX)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 14: Laguna Icalma and Volcán Sollipulli]]
|-
| GPT14
| Araucanía (IX)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 14: Laguna Icalma and Volcán Sollipulli]]
|-
| GPT15
| Araucanía (IX)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 15: Curarrehue]]
|-
| GPT16
| Araucanía (IX) Los Ríos (XIV)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 16: Volcán Quetrupillan]]
|-
| GPT17H
| Los Ríos (XIV)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 17 (trekking): Liquiñe]]
|-
| GPT17P
| Los Ríos (XIV)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 18: Lago Pirihueico]]
|-
| GPT19
| Los Ríos (XIV) Los Lagos (X)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 19: Volcán Puyehue]]
|-
| GPT20
| Los Lagos (X)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 20: Volcán Antillanca]]
|-
| GPT21
| Los Lagos (X)
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 21: Lago Todos Los Santos]]
|-
| GPT22
| Los Lagos (X) Chubut
| Published and Verified
| [[GPT 22: Cochamó]]
|-
| GPT23
Email of author: gpt.jan.dudeck@gmail.com
==Other trails in ChileGallery==<gallery>Lago Bergues y al fondo se ve el Glaciar Lucia.JPG|Lago Bergues y al fondo se ve el Glaciar Lucía, por Meylin UbillaGlaciar_Lucia.JPG|Glaciar Lucía desde el Lago Bergues, por Meylin Ubilla</gallery>
{{Trekkings Chile}}
[[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]
[[category:Parche Greater Patagonian Trail]]
