https://www.wikiexplora.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Lilian 2026-09-20T06:01:25Z Contribuciones del usuario MediaWiki 1.26.1 https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT36H_(Ruta_De_Los_Pioneros)&diff=115113 2024-04-08T21:31:39Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Apr-02 to 2024-Apr-07 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR - {36H-G} - RR - {36H-D} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> A beautiful section, especially from km83.9(Puesto La Pampa) to km66.5(multiple crossing), nice views with remote area, i love it so much!<br /> <br /> Because of late season, all the river crossing are super easy, only 4 place need to wet feet, all others can go around or rock hopping. Some of trail go in the water(lake, pond, pool) directly, but all you can go around by side trail, some CC or light BB.<br /> <br /> Snow still not a problem, snow start at 950m at south, and covered some of the trail above 1100m but didn't matter, i go around most of the snow easily. And didn't find any knee deep snow(maybe melted again), the deepest posthole just above ankle, easy walking. Because of lot of cairns at the area of two pass, so it is easy for navigation although some parts of trail is covered by snow.<br /> <br /> The most annoying is WIND. It is crazy windy almost everywhere except last day. The most windy part is at the second pass, i even can't open my eyes to look at the trail and walk on it straighly because of crazy freezing wind. (Be careful of hypothermia, crazy windy + rain/snow/after river crossing is horrible)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My friend give me a 2hour ride from Villa O' Higgins to Lago Christie( X[142.0/550] ) , so i save about 50km road walking, a huge thank you to him!<br /> <br /> Km138.5 : shelter(-48.16236, -72.41397) made by woods, can cowboy inside when summer time, not rainproof but can be some wind protection. Can fit 2 tents outside with fire ring, some small stream flowing good with clear water just beside it. Weather protection by forest and the shelter.<br /> <br /> Km135.35 : old refuge(-48.14246, -72.43808), half of the roofs is collapsed, but still can provide some protection for emergency. Nice grassland for camping beside the refuge, can fit 3-5 tents with fire pit and rock seats, not much protection by trees or bushes. A river flowing good beside it, trail crossing it with wet feet, half of calf. It is the first wet feet point for me.<br /> <br /> Km134.1 : a lake, i cleared out a spot and camped here, some animals go to this lake and walking in it when midnight. It is very quiet and i heard the sound clearly. Not much protection, just some bushes here, not recommended with bad weather.<br /> <br /> Settler[132.8/525] : from here to Refuge[126.1/512], trail becomes very easy to follow and walk, it is a frequency used trail. Look like some people living here, but i met noone when i passed.<br /> <br /> Km129.3 : shelter(-48.11808, -72.48252) with just one side, weather protection by forest, can fit 1 tent here. A small stream flowing beside it.<br /> <br /> Refuge[126.1/512] : refuge(Puesto Entrelagos) already gone just left some woods here, and like Natalie said looks like someone wants to rebuild it. Some flat spots here can fit 2-3 tents.<br /> <br /> Lake[198.8/489] : Lago Alegre, a boat and a camping spot here, can fit 1 tent with fire ring and nice lake views but no protection, it is crazy windy when i was here.<br /> <br /> Km119.3 : junction of RR and {36H-G}, i go straight and didn't go to Settler[118.9/486](El Caleuche). It is easy to follow and walk on {36H-G}, but you need to climb over a 2m wooden fence at north.<br /> <br /> {36H-G} km3 : river crossing, cross it on a huge log easily.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> RR Km117.2 : flat spot(-48.02468, -72.49029) can fit 1-2 tents with weather protection by forest. A small stream flowing beside it.<br /> <br /> Km117 : river crossing, several logs crossing selection here, because raining and wet, so i crossed by the combination of multiple logs, it looks like more stability and safe. Huge flat area and grassland can fit many tents at both side of the river, weather protection by trees and bushes.<br /> <br /> Camp[110.9/500] : can fit 2-3 tents with lake views, easy to collect water, weather protection by trees.<br /> <br /> Then i did the short cut that Natalie said, from here walk through the open forest NW to the other valley(Río Bravo). It is completely CC or light BB on some animal path, fun and doable, but just recommend on good weather, otherwise you'll soaking wet by bushes.<br /> <br /> Río Bravo is a grey water river, better collect water from some small stream.<br /> <br /> Km104.3 : a small stream(-47.97355, -72.55419) flowing good with clear water, small flat spot can fit 1 tent after crossing.<br /> <br /> Km103.95 : camping spot(-47.97095, -72.55524) can fit 3-4 tents with fire ring.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Puesto[98.4/553] : Puesto Las Tablas, huge and beautiful grassland for camping, refuge is a small cabin, have a wooden bed, bench, fire pit and some dry wood sticks (for burning) inside, it is possible to sleep inside with a warm fire night, good wind protection but not for rain. Didn't see any water nearby.<br /> <br /> Km95.05 : cross a stream with a small waterfall, it'll be completely wet by the waterfall if cross at trail, so I climb to upstream and rock hopping for dry feet.<br /> <br /> Puesto[92.3/660] : Puesto El Burro, large grassland but most of them are steep, only small grassland beside the refuge is flat for camping, can fit 2-3 tents with table and fire ring, refuge is a tiny cabin but half of roof is already collapsed, can fit 1 small single person tent for some protection if bad weather, a small stream flowing with clear water 200m before here. Very windy when i was here.<br /> <br /> Km85.4 : easy and beautiful walk start!<br /> <br /> Puesto[83.9/820] : Puesto La Pampa, large grassland for camping, refuge is a small, nice and clean cabin, have 2 wooden bed, wooden seats, table and fire pit inside, it is a nice place to sleep inside with a warm fire night, good wind protection but not sure for rain. Just like Natalie said you also can pitch a small tent inside. Tiny stream flowing low just in front of the refuge. Have a open toilet with views at here too.<br /> <br /> Fords start/end[81.3/854] : rock hopping.<br /> <br /> Then i take {36H-D} instead of RR, save 2 times of wet feet crossing of Río Bravo, it is doable and sometimes have an animal path(old trail?) to follow, but easy to lost the path, and overgrown at some part you need to BB, I'm not sure it can save time or not, and only recommend in good weather, otherwise you'll be completely soaking wet by bushes.<br /> <br /> Ford[78.6/888] : river crossing of Río Bravo, the second wet feet point. I crossed it at 50m downstream(-47.79880, -72.52101) where the river breaks to 2 parts by island. First part easy rock hopping, second part is just above ankle, the water is grey so i didn't see through the bottom, otherwise I'll throw some rocks for hopping to keep my feet dry.<br /> <br /> Ford[77.4/981] : i follow some cairns and crossed it much downstream with rock hopping. It is a beautiful viewpoint for waterfall and the glacier at west! Snow starts here.<br /> <br /> Ford[75.4/1023] : easy rock hopping, look at the rocks underwatee here, the west side of valley is white colour, the east side is red, amazing!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Border,pass[73.9/1225] : snow here, but still not problem, go around them easily, or just above ankle posthole. A beautiful lake looks like good for camping 200m before here, but just for good weather because very exposed.<br /> <br /> Km72.9 : between two pass, before the second pass you need to go in a wide riverbed, but snow covered the water. You know there is water flowing, you can hear them flowing, but you can't see them. And the snow(bridge) is not thick, not stable enough to walk on them directly, so it take me some time to find out which part is water, which part can walk on it.<br /> <br /> Ford[71.8/1262] : snow covered most of the river, and river flowing a little wide here(can't step over), take me some time to find the way to go on it.<br /> <br /> Border,pass[71.5/1304] : crazy crazy crazy windy, beautiful views but too windy that i can't open my eyes to look. It is the first time for NOBO to see Cerro Los Mellizos(black sharp tower mountain) at here. Mostly you can arrive there after 1 day. North of here lot of snow but still doable and navigation with lot of cairns easily.<br /> <br /> Camp[68.4/1089] : can fit 2-3 tents with log seats and fire ring, some(not much) weather protection by trees and bushes. Stream flowing nearby. Then i continues RR.<br /> <br /> Km68.1 : flat area(-47.72665, -72.49681) can fit many tents with amazing glacier views, but no protection. Stream flowing here, also old fire pit beside a tree. Still lot of snow here.<br /> <br /> Water[67.3/1041] : snow end and i didn't see any water here. I took RR for going down, it is actually a trail, easy to follow. But some point is steep and a little landslide, walk easily when dry, but maybe a problem if wet or covered by snow.<br /> <br /> Fords starts/end[66.7/867] : old camping spot with fire pit 100m before here, nice view but no protection. River breaks into many streams at here, I took about 20min total for putting rocks in streams separately for all the way dry wet crossing by rock hopping.<br /> <br /> Km65.85 : shelter(-47.70890, -72.49466) with 1 side protection in good condition, nice for cowboy under it when summer. Flat spot can fit 2-3 tents with fire ring just beside it. Trail easy to miss it because covered by some trees.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From here to km53.2(road), HURDLE RACE start! At least 500 blowdowns you need to step over. No climbing, just step over, easy to walk and follow but muddy and blowdowns, you know that.<br /> <br /> Km64.45 : camping spot(-47.69803, -72.49788) under trees, can fit many tents with fire pit and log seats, weather protection by forest.<br /> <br /> Km64.05 : i cleared a flat spot(-47.69555, -72.50008) for a single person tent, with great lake, mountain views and i stayed here for 18 hours because of snowstorm, just beside the lake so it is easy to collect water. Weather protection by forest, but if the wind comes from south then nothing help. If you have 15min more, i think can fit one more single person tent here.<br /> <br /> Km61.95 : junction of RR, {36H-A} and {36H-05}, easy to miss. Pay attention to wood cutting trace on ground.<br /> <br /> Km58.45 : swamp area full of water, you can jump(a huge jump) over it for dry feet. After swamp is a river crossing by narrow log, after the crossing don't go away immediately, looks inside the river, lot of beautiful green water plants here!<br /> <br /> Puesto[57.6/677](Calloqueo), Puesto Cayuqueo, refuge is locked, looks like no more people until next summer, because the gate nearby is completely locked by wire too. Beautiful grassland for camping at here, and a shelter with fire pit inside too. Easy to collect water because just beside Río Pedregoso, at here Río Pedregoso still a clear water river.<br /> <br /> Fence[56.5/657] : it is a gate and completely locked by wire. Climb it at right side just wooden fence, at left side is barbed wire with fence. Huge exposed grassland with views in this area.<br /> <br /> Ford[55.4/656] : third wet feet crossing, also is the deepest crossing at late season April. Looks like above knee at trail crossing, better go upstream 10m walk on the red rock bar, it is flowing very fast but just above half of calf, easy crossing. Flat area for camping at both side of river.<br /> <br /> Ford[54.8/650] : crossing a grey water river, so better collect water before it joins main river. Trail crossing looks like up to half of calf, better crossing point at downstream just before 2 river combined, rock hopping there. But be careful for rock hopping, rocks not stable and rolling there, also a pool looks deep just at downstream, don't slide!<br /> <br /> Km53.85 : nice flat spot(-47.62754, -72.46476) can fit 2 tents just beside the trail. Looks like camped by someone before.<br /> <br /> Ford[53.7/630] : river breaks into 3 parts here, the first and third part is easy rock hopping. The second, main part above ankle at trail crossing, easy. It is the fourth, also the last wet feet crossing.<br /> <br /> Puesto[53.1/611] : didn't see anyone when i passed here, but looks like still in using because lot of cooking equipment is outside the refuge. The refuge is not locked but I just take photos and didn't go inside. Can be emergency use for bad weather.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> After here, all the way road walking.<br /> <br /> Km49.25 : viewpoint(-47.59724, -72.49715) of Laguna Calluqueo, Glacier Calluqueo, Cerro Los Mellizos and Monte San Lorenzo o Cochrane. I camped here, with a 2m rock wall that covers the wind from south, also lot of things can hold my tent's line. A super beautiful spot with amazing sunrise coming up from the glacier!<br /> <br /> The next morning i saw a bus coming to here, that i met it before outside Cochrane tourist information, so maybe possible to arrange a shuttle at Cochrane for SOBO?<br /> <br /> Km48.5 : Glacier Calluqueo Camping Spot(-47.59382, -72.49962), i look it from high on road, looks like no views but covered by some trees with protection, can fit 2-4 tents with log seats.<br /> <br /> Bridge[46.2/394] : Puente Calluqueo, camping spot after the crossing at downstream, can fit 1-3 tents with fire ring.<br /> <br /> The next 2 Danger waypoint i didn't understand, it looks like very safe walking on the road?<br /> <br /> After 10 minutes i hitched a car to Cochrane, this is the second car i saw in that day. They also take me to Lago Brown and followed {36H-23} to viewpoint(-47.46236, -72.38094) of Cerro San Lorenzo, huge huge huge thank you to them!<br /> <br /> Lastly i stayed at Calafate Camping in Cochrane, 6k CLP for camping, good spot with nice refuge(kitchen), hot shower and clean toilet. You also can camping under some shelters if bad weather.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Mar-19 to 2024-Mar-23 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 24A + 02 + 04B / Joscha<br /> <br /> Day 1: RR [5.5-50.0] + OH36H-24A to the Glacier and back<br /> <br /> I got a hitch to the junction at km 5.5. From there I walked for about 2 hours until a car took me to the junction at km 33.9. There is a fence between Rio del Salto and the RR. At the Danger Waypoint (km 43.2) is the fence broken down and the river is accessible. I got a 3rd hitch from there to the Calluqueo Glaciar. I took OH36H-24A to the glacier. Its a good trail, but mostly through forrest without view. Around km 3.0 you can see the glacier + the lake. Its really nice. At the end of OH36H-24A you get a close-up look at the Glaciar. There is a lot of water between km 3.5 and 6. At km 4.1 is a decently flat spot for camping. I camped at km 49.7 next to the RR. I would not recommend the spot in a windy night.<br /> <br /> <br /> Day 2: RR [50.0-79.9]<br /> <br /> There was snow above 1000 meters. Around the Bourder/Pass Waypoints the snow was more than knee deep. It was possible to do it without any snowgear, but it took some time. There was plenty of water along the RR and all Fords were max. knee high.<br /> <br /> <br /> Day 3: RR [79.9-107.3]<br /> <br /> The RR crosses lots of small streams, so there is plenty of water. Puesto at km 83.9 can be used as shelter and has a open outhouse. I camped at km 107.3 on a flat meadow.<br /> <br /> <br /> Day 4: OH36H-02 [0.0-26.6]<br /> <br /> The first 2 km of OH36H-02 are more CC than a trail. After that the trail is easy to follow and in good condition for about 5-6 km. Than the trail starts to become overgrown and later very muddy. Therefore it wasn't to much fun walking this trail. But the valley offers some nice waterfalls and snowy mountains. There was plenty of water and fords were easy.<br /> <br /> <br /> Day 5: OH36H-02 [26.6-29.0] + OH36H-04B [122.5-132]<br /> <br /> I hiked about 2 1/2 hours along the Carreterra Austral until a group of cars passed me and one of them took me to Villa O'Higgins.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Feb-28 to Mar-03 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matthias<br /> <br /> Took transport till end of road near glaciar Calluqueo (Jonathan +56940246832, 65000$) as I wanted to walk the pass before the predicted snowfall sets in. Traverse was quite tedious cause of the rainy and cold weather. Met Natalie and Luca halfway, hi :-) Did not meet anyone else during 4 1/2 days! Was accompanied by a smelling(!) dog (of Ruben?) from the camp at Lago Christie until next morning near Rubens house. He slept a bit windsheltered next to my tent - it was cold and a lot of wind! Keep in mind (I didn`t) that once you have reached Lago Alegre there are still 2000hm to go uphill before you reach the MR!<br /> <br /> Campsites: <br /> 300m before Camp km68.4 on a +-exposed meadow with glaciar view,<br /> in front of Puesto ElBurro (rainshelter inside and a table outside), <br /> Camp km110.9, <br /> on the shore of Lago Christie km 129 just before the path leads uphill in to the forest (a bit wind protection by bushes and Wood)<br /> <br /> Did a shortcut between ca. km103.5 and km 100.5. Sometimes good trail, sometimes obstacle course over fallen trees. <br /> Was very lucky with transport to Villa O`Higgins. Got a motorcycle ride all the way from the refugio at km148.6 at 6 pm with a short detour to the border at Rio Mayer. Stayed in Hostal Rio Mayer in Villa O`Higgins (very friendly and talkative, no internet).<br /> <br /> <br /> 28-Feb-24 to 03-Mar-24/4days/ Hiking/ NOBO/ RR/ Natalie &amp; Luca<br /> <br /> Took a few days off to reconnect with an old friend in Villa O'Higgins and then decided to take him for a test trial on the GPT.<br /> <br /> With the help of Martin from Mosco we found out the day we left was the day the subsidized bus leaves from O'Higgins to Lago Christie. Left around 1130 and got to the TH ~13:00. The bus only goes 4x a month and it went twice in the last week of February, not sure how it is organized. Only 3500 each. <br /> <br /> A little bit of rain The first day and a lot of rain/snow at the end.The trail was fun, mellow and in good shape, next to no mud. We met Ruben and all of his animals (cutest puppy atm). He offered a camping spot but I am sure the dogs would be all over you at night. We camped at the beginning of Allegra near Refugio entre lagos (NO refugio), -48.09404, -72.49798__. At this moment there is no shelter but it looks like someone is working on one, there is a boat at the lake. There is a creek with only still puddles so we drank from the lake. <br /> There are few nice camping spots along both Christie and Allegra that are not marked. Did not stop to fish :(. I heard Margarita is in O'Higgins atm. <br /> <br /> We made a short cut to avoid the big intersection near Puesto 107. We cut off after camp 110 and ended ~800m near a river camp marked on osm. It was easy and mostly open forest, mainly just a quest to stay on the best animal track as there are a few of them. We basically followed close to where the hill is but not too close bcs that is where the bush is no good.<br /> <br /> Camped outside Puesto 98.4, Las tablas. It had no water so fill up before of just go down to the river.<br /> <br /> Met Matías- Hi Matías! Even though we were both trying to beat the rain I very much enjoyed the conversation/laughs!<br /> <br /> When we got to Puesto 83.9, La Pampa, the rain just began to start and even though it was only lightly raining at the time the forecast was not good for the evening so we decided to stay and enjoy the early day and nice Refugio. The weather got increasingly worse and very strong overnight with snow in the morning. The Refugio is large and clean. It has a fire pit in the corner, an outhouse, extra blankets and tarps, a good table and lots of tools and pots if needed. No other puesto compared. There were only a few small leaks during the night, we pitched a tent inside for added warmth. <br /> <br /> The next morning there was a lot of fresh snow and it was still snowing with strong wind at times- so the pass was interesting. We took variant D to avoid the Rio Bravo fords and got soaking wet in the bush, it wasnt very clear where the trail was, needed the gps. Although the Rio Bravo was very calm and shallow (barely to my knees, 167), the snow made it too cold for my liking. If one is curious about camping on the other side of the river I think you can make a camp,there are lots of flat spots but not so much wind protection. There were camping possibilities throughout the pass as well. As for the pass, &quot;most&quot; of the trail was not covered by snow bcs the water was flowing down the trail therefore navigation was still okay, a bit harder between passes. Of course the weather improved at camp 68.4...<br /> <br /> I know Tomáš managed the La Picota river and it made me curious to try but it made no sense to go for it, the RR now that follows the west is an easy trail and the fords afterwords were almost (all but one) jumpable. Sadly what I read about &quot;la playa&quot; is true, there was a dead horse (pieces of it) at the start of the fords, it seemed rather recent so I guess the La Picota ford still kills. <br /> The Refugio after the fords is just a &quot;lean too&quot;. The trail afterwards is okay, starting to get muddy but not bad. A nice camp is possible at -47.66704, -72.50032 bcs of the beautiful view but there is no water, actually not many places to stop between ford and puesto 57.6. We Camped at Puesto 57.6 and met Antonio, super lovely man and we had breakfast with him the following morning I'm return I gave him the rest of my walnuts and peanuts, hopefully that was enough. There is not much of a shelter there, teepee style, but you can camp under the trees by the river. His dogs are annoying, got into my food bag while we were talking and then never left us alone. Really nice camping just before his puesto in a big clover field.<br /> <br /> Next day super quick walk out to the view point and then got a hitch down to Cochrane easily, lots of people on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. <br /> <br /> 24-Feb-24 to 2024-Feb-27 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, Variant B, Option 2 / Tomáš<br /> <br /> Having parted ways with Natalie, who had other commitments, I was not able to get a taxi to end of road so I started walking and hitching at noon. Second car took me about ten km, then I was passed by ten cars in an hour and then got a hitch to the viewpoint three km from end of the road with a guide going to guide a group to the glacier (they go there by boat!). Our car's engine failed 4 km before the destination, but after 5 minutes a passing car took us there. Mount Cochrane is impressive. I ate there and in an hour another two cars passed, one probably from the puesto further on. It was a Saturday, still vacation period and a beautiful day, it seems hitching is promising under such conditions there. The road is in a very good condition and easily scalable by a 2-wheel drive.<br /> <br /> The puesto at 53.1 had barking dogs and seems used (maybe a settler?), I did not see it though, it is in the trees. All fords were easy and shallow: definitely under knees. In the beginning there are multiple trails, RR probably has the best route. You cannot avoid fording, I tried. After about ten km, the trail stops being ambigious. Took variant B (which is mostly a trail, not CC) and slept above the &quot;dangerous ford&quot; (would have been better to stay 500 m lower at the end of the flats). It indeed sounded and looked dangerous after such a hot day. In the morning, I realized the trail to the ford eroded and horses probably cannot go there anymore. A pedestrian still can. The ford was much calmer, very cold but under knees and not strong. I forded it six times unfortunately with bare feet - first to try, than with my backpack and then with my forgotten phone. It hurt even if it is just 5 metres. Going up from the ford, the trail goes to the left of a small stream on top of a small ridge, do not follow the stream as I did. The CC section thereafter is mostly a trail, only invisible on river flats and for about 20 metres in the pass. Going down from the pass, the trail is above the GPX for several hundred metres, going straight and not zigzagging. Rio Bravo was tame after dry weather and at the end of summer, so I took RR. The fords were easy, well under my knees. Puesto el Burro at 92.3 would be a nice place to camp. Utterly scaring a lonely large bull, I pushed to Puesto Tablas, which has a roof that protected me from drops of rain.<br /> <br /> Puesto at 107.4 looked nice and standing, not sure if it was locked, by any means very nice place to camp. I did not notice the bridge ?. The ford was mellow, wide but ankle deep. Option 1 at least to variant 01J is actually a used trail, the bridge on it is over a marsh, not sure why it is a waypoint. Decided to take option 2 thinking I would get an easier hitch on carretera austral and trusting others who did not like the lake part that much and hating mosquitoes. The first part to variant 01I is partly a cow trail, partly a BB through open forrest. Take 01J instead, should be a clear trail and the ford should be as easy as the one on RR. From there on, 8 km to an unmarked ford through a first creek marked on OSM (it originates from a lake on map), the trail is clear and looks used. 02A was overgrown after 100 clear meters, so do not take that (I did not see the other end of it either). From the ford, the condition of the trail worsens for 7ish km to camp at 16.4. It is partially overgrown, occasionally with thorns. There is still space for legs, but arms are needed to clear the way. This portion is also mostly over open tundra-like terrain above the river. It is a bit marshy but not much after dry days. The views are splendid! Somebody with a machete would have fun here. Took option 02B, which I think is the actual trail, but it is hard to tell as it goes through a marsh there. Overall the overgrown part is maybe 2-3 km. Puesto Chirola at 17.6 is actually an abandoned settler house, still locked but in heavy rain you could probably get in through a window, the roof is still mostly ok.I slept there, with dusk mosquitoes appeared.<br /> <br /> It rained during the night and probably because of that, the trail got muddy. It is however being used and mostly clear and mostly easy to follow. Refuge without water is without water. It is meant for cyclists and is in good condition. It would sleep easily four people amd uneasily double that. It is always well ventilated with always open windows (rain should not get through), so probably no need to fear the mouse virus. The occasional tundra, wetness and continous rain with occasional glimpse of a glacier finally made me feel like I am in proper Patagonia. On the carretera, there are not many cars. Started walking and hitching at three PM. As the road is divided by a ferry, cars pass you at (in high season) 2-hour bursts of at most 8, as I was informed by the one passing cyclist. The first burst was just three cars and two motorcycles and they all passed me. It is actually a one lane compacted road where cars in opposite directions must avoid each other. No luck with second burst of three cars. Finally a second car from the third burst took me after 4 hours on the road. The second refugio around km 35 did not look as nice.<br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-13 to 2024-Feb-18 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn &amp; Tess &amp; Lukas<br /> <br /> - Trail condition : good condition, a lot of fallen trees that slows you down but not really bad / the trail was not muddy as we had good sunny days <br /> - Water : lots of rivers and lagunas <br /> - Camping spot : the refugio at km 126,1 has been destroyed by a tree so we camped closer to the lake amongst the trees // at km 148,6 The refugio is really nice, we could make a fire and have a great night before heading the next day to O'Higgins on the long gravel road <br /> - Weather : sunny and a little bit of rain <br /> - River crossing : easy, the river Bravo was not too high and not too strong so we didn't take the variant D<br /> - Resupply : in Cochrane everything you need<br /> - Overall : we were lucky to have an easy hitchike for the first 20km and for the last 7km // we also liked this section that offers really different landscapes and you feel really remote<br /> <br /> From 2024-01-06 to 2024-01-12 // 6,5 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + OPT D // Quentin Clavel<br /> <br /> After the small part in the forest, I followed the gravel road, which began to be nice from the Laguna la Clara. Some nice miradors along the roads, especially the last one, salto Rio Perez, which was pretty impressive ! <br /> <br /> Then you begin the track los Pioneros. Pretty easy to follow, a bit muddy, but I thought it would have been worse, the last sunny weeks made it dryer than expected. <br /> <br /> From there, it's a sequence of up and down, with amazing views, on Lago Christie then on Lago Alegre, surrounded by mountains. <br /> <br /> Some easy bushbashing which is more like cross country at the end of Lago Alegre to arrive along the Rio bravo. <br /> <br /> The you go along the Rio bravo until cross it. I took the option D to avoid to cross it three times, it's bushbashing but pretty easy to follow as there's a kind of path which was created to go around the small cliffs, and have to cross rio bravo only once. <br /> <br /> On the section, at this time, I haven't got any problem at all to pass the rivers who were pretty low and with weak current. <br /> <br /> Then I arrived in the mountains and that was just amazing ! Even with an uncertain weather and lots of clouds ! <br /> <br /> I had an amazing bivy in front of the impressive calluqueo glacier then it was the looong Gravel road to Cochrane, but really scenic ! <br /> <br /> During all the section it was easy to find water as there's water everywhere ! Some nice camp spot too. <br /> <br /> Mosquitoes and these spiky plants who stay scratched to your shoes and socks are the only annoying stuff. <br /> <br /> Plenty of crowberry and Calafate on the track. Delicious and perfect snacks on the road ! <br /> <br /> Last but not least, if you've always dreamed to try hurdles in athletism, this section is for you ! You'll have to pass threw hundreds of fallen trees ! Enjoy ! <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-01 to 2024-Jan-08 / 7.5 days / NOBO / Villa O'Higgins - Cochrane / RR and Option 36H-D / Alex &amp; Christophe<br /> <br /> We really enjoyed this section, especially the part of the pass, with awesome views on glaciers and mountains. We found the 2 lakes part nice but less impressive.<br /> <br /> For us, the most difficult with this section was to walk with heavy backpacks and to deal with the hundreds of mosquitoes on the camps near the two lakes. We had the chance to have dry trails most of the time and it helped us a lot. If it rains a lot before you start this section, you will need more time because the trail can get muddy really fast.<br /> <br /> After the first 9km in the forest, we tried to hitchhike from Villa O'Higgins to Lago Christie but we weren't lucky and couldn't find a car on a 1st of January. We only had a lift the second day for 15km by the carabineros. There is nearly no car passing on the X905 road so plan a day or two of extra food if you plan to hitchhike here. Taking a private transport to Lago Christie could also be a solution but it's expensive (about 70'000 CLP according to Martin from El Mosco in Villa O'Higgins).<br /> <br /> There is not much to say about the 2 lake part, we found the trail easy to follow and some nice shelter along the route. Apparently, there is a lot of trout in Lago Alegre. We didn't try to fish since it was raining but we let a peanut butter jar with a spoon (hook) and some fishing line rolled around the jar in the puesto next to Settler {36H} [118.9/486] (Margarita Bustos). She's actually not living there but the puesto is open and a nice shelter to cook (we put the tent next to it).<br /> <br /> For the second part with the pass, we found the trail also easy to follow. The OH-CC&amp;BB-A {36H-D} didn't took us too long and saved us at least 2 river crossing. All the other fords were sometimes wide but easy to pass.<br /> <br /> After 7 days, we tried to hitchhike on the X901 road near the Laguna Calluqueo and were really lucky. After only 4km, a car stopped and took us to X {36H} [5.5/267]. Maybe there is more traffic on this road than on the other side, especially with good weather during the holidays.<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-25 to 2023-Dec-29 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> We arranged a ride to skip the first 50km of the roadwalk. The trail was surprisingly good and well-trodden throughout, i.e. visually easy to follow. Some muddy sections here and there and steeper climbs and descents. Plenty of water throughout.<br /> <br /> The river crossings didn't pose any difficulties and we were blessed with good weather, despite one rainy night. The views were amazing - that so low down you could be face to face with glaciers!<br /> <br /> We did not find the trail around lakes any harder than the rest of the section. A few times the route goes on the coast, i.e. you need to walk through the water, but it was not an issue. In two cases the route splits into two, the correct trail being the easier one to miss, so need to pay attention to nav. Met Ruben the settler, very nice and friendly guy. We also met 4 other GPT hikers on this section, which was a bit of a shock.<br /> <br /> We walked 30km of the dirt road after Lago Christie until we finally got a hitch to Villa O'Higgins. Barely any traffic on the road, especially in the afternoon.<br /> <br /> * 2023-12-07 EXP-OH-TL-I 1day / Anh<br /> There is a damaged and not yet reopened route from Villa O’Higgins to Glacier Mosco: EXP-OH-TL-I &amp; EXP-OH-CC&amp;TL-I<br /> Together they are 24 km return and with a daypack it could work.<br /> The EXP-OH-TL-I trail is very well maintained and relatively well marked. There is even a very nice Refugio Puesto Rivera + campsite for tents along the way. BUT from km 7 the trail is damaged by landslides and the section after that is overgrown. I tried the last km via BB through the forest. After that everything should be clear and only CC to the Mosco glacier. Unfortunately, I make very slow progress with BB, it simply takes too much time and with a temperature of 15°C the river crossing afterwards would be dangerous. Unfortunately I have to abort (safety first) &amp; return.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-12-10 / 4 days / RR + OH-TL-V / SOBO / Anh<br /> <br /> A very experienced hiker/local in Villa O'Higgins advised me against NoBo due to high water levels in the next few days regarding river crossings.<br /> <br /> Day 1: With a private transfer to Laguna Calluqueo I had to hike a few more kilometers to the end of Ruta X-901 because it is private land closed by a gate. The first two river crossings were a bit above knee and sometimes strong current. The trail after that in the forest is actually made for horses, there are a lot of obstacles like fallen trees, overgrown bush, swampy paths. It is particularly misleading when the RR and horse path separate because it is suddenly very strange without horse tracks. It has rained and with the snow melting, the paths and streams are almost indistinguishable. I make very slow progress through the obstacles.<br /> The river crossing (Ford km 66.5) was long but in the evening without any problems (knee-deep). The path afterwards RR-CC-A to the camp was steep uphill, but more pleasant than in the forest. As you can see, this trail is only for hikers and it was very rarely used.<br /> <br /> Day 2: It was CC up, across the border from Argentina &amp; back into Chile. At this time there are still many snowfields to cross and therefore Ford (km 71.8) was under the snowfield, which made it very precarious for me. The river crossing Ford (km 77.4) was up to my hips with a strong current, but is not dangerous. Overall, I was much faster because there were hardly any obstacles (only Fords and completely swampy meadow).<br /> <br /> Day 3: The way back from yesterday + 250m river crossing should be easy and pleasant like yesterday! But there was a strong headwind &amp; snow = snow confusion. Then there was the fog and the infamous white-out. My footprints from yesterday were already filled with fresh snow, but still recognizable. I didn't have a long break, so I reached the day's destination very quickly.<br /> Bored, I just carried on hiking and didn't find the way back in the forest from day 1 so bad. I got through all the obstacles surprisingly quickly with the following strategy:<br /> - I had put on remedies on the way out, it had helped a lot. And I run like a horse, don't think twice, just jump over obstacles. The path is made for horses.<br /> - The way back is from the top, the path is much easier to recognize.<br /> - New strategy: just follow the horse tracks, even if I leave the RR.<br /> In the end, I had completed the entire way back from two days earlier in one day. It was about 27km, only possible because it was mostly downhill (450m uphill, 700m downhill).<br /> The price for this strategy was scratches and mini cuts from knees to shoes, very unpleasant at every river crossing.<br /> <br /> Day 4: OH-TL-V to the glacier at Laguna Calluqueo. You have to cross the river right at the beginning, it was a bit over your knees but easy. After that it's a slow climb of almost 700m. There were only a few tricky places: mini path on the precipice or slippery downhill. Overall, the path was very easy to recognize and very pleasant to run. Water is only available again at km 3.5, so you should take your time and enjoy the trail at a leisurely pace.<br /> During the night, a tent pole broke and the tent was damaged. There are no outdoor stores in Cochrane and you can't buy a new tent. In addition, a section on RR-GPT35 from Tamango entrance through Patagonia Park was not yet open.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2022 Dec Frank 6 days mainly SOBO<br /> <br /> As weather was initially poor I split the section as follows: 1. Got bus from Cochrane towards Lago Brown, got out @ road junction near Rio Tranquilo bridge, walked NOBO back to Cochrane. 2. While I was waiting for the ferry in Villa O'Higgins I walked out about 25KM NOBO to Padre Antonio Ronchi chapel &amp; hitched back to O'Higgins. 3. I again got the bus towards Lago Brown, got out @ the same junction &amp; walked the central section of the route SOBO in 4 long days.<br /> <br /> 1. NOBO, nearly all on road. You pass by the 'mortal falls' on Rio Tranquilo (by the bridge) About 1KM further on the road was blocked by aggressive dogs who came up from a settlement about 800M off the road. I had to shout to the settler to call them off. Around 7KM out from Cochrane the road bends left at a metal crash barrier. I left the RR here &amp; went over the low crash barrier &amp; continued straight ahead on forest tracks, quicker &amp; nicer than the road. About 1KM from Cochrane you return to the road by climbing over a small wooden gate.<br /> <br /> 3. I walked on the road past Calluqueo glacier then on a trail. After the first puesto the track fades out among fallen trees. Camped by a ruined shelter. I crossed the river on RR the next day. La Picota crossing is for horses &amp; best avoided on foot. The RR crossing was easy. After the crossing continue straight ahead &amp; go up the far hillside, pick up a small trail going left above a bluff about 70 metres up. Continued over the 2 border passes. There are some cliffs you need to go round when descending the first pass . There will be snowfields early in the season also. I crossed Rio Bravo high up between two waterfalls, descended to cross it again by the lake, then stayed on LHS of Rio Bravo. No trail initially on LHS of river &amp; a lot of bush bashing over bluffs but judging by later comments the route may now be improved. I continued down to Lago Alegre. There is a settler just as you reach Lago Alegre. She was friendly &amp; allowed me to sleep in her barn. She radioed Ruben, the settler who lives on Lago Christie, to let him know I was coming. It's slow going round the lakes with lots of up &amp; down over bluffs. The hut between the two lakes had been used by sheep &amp; was not in v. good condition. I met Ruben about half way round Lago Christie. He was friendly but I continued on to camp by a ruined hut after descending from bluffs to the lake. I walked out the road to Padre Antonio Ronchi chapel &amp; hitched from there to Villa O'Higgins. There is a good hut on the road at the junction with the X905 road. Another hut further on but it's dusty. All other huts marked on the route are in poor condition or ruined, they are mostly good for cooking &amp; camping outside. The weather for the central section was good so I didn't have any problems. It's possible to hitch part of the road sections - traffic is sparse but they will usually stop. In both cases when you reach the road there is nothing, you need to walk out about 15KM &amp; then start hitching.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *11/12/2019 - les 2 As - regular hiking route <br /> <br /> Hi! We finished this day the section 36 from north to south. It took us 6 days without the last 37 kms on the road (we hitchhiked on this part). It was rough, we have had 2 days of bad weather (only rain at our altitude but it changes everything). You are isolated in the middle of nowhere and we met no one during 5 days. Officially no bush bashing but sometimes the path is barely invisible and unmaintained so hard to walk. From the 3rd day to the end, we have had many rivercrossings. Some were easy, some not and some also quite dangerous. With all the snow melting, the level of the river is very high and the current is strong (I do not recommand to try these fords without walking poles, these saved us). Same situation with the lakes we walked near. Their level is high and often the path was submerged and we had to walk litteraly in the lake (sometimes up to the waist). Luckily we met 2 cabañas (2 last nights) to dry our clothes and sleep under a roof. This made the section even more wonderful than it already was. A great experience!<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019 Dec / Olrik / Northbound<br /> <br /> From O'Higgins there are 50km on a dirt road to the beginning of the sendero. There are some open refugios on the way to sleep. you can also arrange a paid transportation from O'Higgins. Hitchhiking is possible but there is not much traffic. The sendero was in pretty bad shape due to the weather conditions. Muddy and flooded all the way near the lakes. We ended up turning back as we did not plan to walk that slow and did not have enough food, and we felt it was safer. We met Matthieu (see below) and they completed it so his report seems better. Puesteros are really nice though.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019 Dec / Matthieu / Northbound Regular HR : 9 days<br /> A very difficil trekk for us. Lots of river crossings, sometimes unsafe, and we had very bad weather conditions that make us last 9 days on the trekk, with hitchiking 40 km after Villa and 30 km before Cochrane. It could habe been more rapid though, but we walked &quot;tranquilito&quot;. So I would recommend to take 10 days of food,and the chileans agreed with this.<br /> <br /> I wont talk about the routes parts, because just long and we hitchhiked most.<br /> <br /> So 1st Part : The 2 lakes : A very technical trekk, very aquatic. Sometimes we had to walk in the lake (not dangerous though), and the trail by the lakes is very hilly and muddy, and the progression can be very slow. It was for us, with mostly only rain. 1 dangerous rivercrossing : Before El Caleuche, Strong river but a big fat trunk above perfect for crossing.We didnt search for another way of crossing, so maybe there are some safe places by the water.<br /> <br /> On this part, a few puestos good for shelters : between the two lakes, a good caban with possibility of making fire and a roof of metal and walls, very nice, two beds of wood, we slept in it well protected. El Caleuche : at the middle of the Lago alegre, near a abandoned house. POssibility of fire, but not really a good roof. We slept aside in the tents. The place is really nice though<br /> <br /> 2 houses of settlers on the way : - Ruben at the beginning of the Lago Christie, always happy to have visitors and share a mate. - At the end of the Lago Allegre a little bit south west from the trail (a rivercrossing a bit strong to go to the caban, or a &quot;bridge&quot; called Bridge ?-4 on the GPS waypoints, with 2 trunks, that we took in the morning to go back to the trail. A bit dangerous though, better to let Carmen show you how to cross): Ringo y Carmen, amazing persons too who let us plant the tent and permitted us to warm with a good mate, a meal and a wonderful smile, during the Christmas night.<br /> <br /> 2nd part : Rio Bravo and the pass We thought that the worst was behind but we had more strong weather conditions in this part. A few advises for the rivercrossings of the Rio Bravo : I would advise NOT to follow the GPS tracks that follow the normal trail on GPS devices (that is made normally for horses). All the locals (local guides in villa o higgins, Ruben, Carmen and Ringo) were agreed and told us all to follow the east side of the Rio UNTIL the Laguna. The crossing here is very safe, the rio not strong nor profund at all, and you have to cross it ONLY ONCE, instead of 4 or 5 (dont remember). To stay on the east side, there is a little cross country by the forest, a little bit technical and slow but not dangerous, and you can camp at the laguna on the east side. We saw some cairns in the forest too, on the last hill before the laguna, so the locals indeed use this way. We (very badly) abandonned this plan and passed by the normal way just near the camping site west from the river before the Laguna (really bad weather, really bad decisions !) and the rivercrossings (3 I think) were, for me, very dangerous with strong current in profund water, but there was a lot of rain and wind, so I wont judge during good conditions. We were frozen when we arrived at the camping site. I was very angry at me though to not have listened to the locals and taken all those risks.<br /> <br /> For the pass, not very difficult, but we had (again) very strong weather conditions with even snow, and finished at the camp at the north side completely frozen. Know that it can be very exposed !<br /> <br /> Last Part : Rio La Picota After the camping : Two choices - Following the normal road, made for horses. The rivercrossing is completely impossible, unless you want to join the fishes. Even for horses I don't understand how they do it. The Waypoint &quot;Dangerous&quot; totally make sense. - The GPS tracks : perfect to follow, and finished by a beautiful trail of cairns by the cliff (the optionnal trail OH on GPS track), very safe. The river crossing this way is very safe, the river is extremely large, separated and never go far from the ankle.<br /> <br /> The rest we didn't have any technical difficulties. A trekk not to take lightly, and with much respect. Take advises to the locals before. Every one is happy to talk about it in Villa. They have the bad habbit to say that it's an easy way though !<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Nov-12 / Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe / 6 days / northbound / regular hiking route<br /> <br /> This was a tough section for us! It rained and it rained and it rained and the trail turned to mud and was pretty overgrown in parts. We took the optional Hiking route after reaching Rio Bravo heading South to the Carretera Austral because we didn't feel comfortable forging on, knowing there was a high pass that was probably getting tons of snow instead of our rain, and a &quot;dangerous river ford&quot; that we were afraid would be tok dangerous with flooding too. The snow-line appeared to drop as low as 700 meters one night! We made surprisingly slow progress because of the conditions (entire trail flooded knee deep and extremely muddy after 6 days of rain) - were glad to have extra food with us. On the bail out route, about 10km from reaching the safety of the Carratera there was a pretty big river to cross. It was swollen after all the rain and scary and nearly floated us away. From the Carratera we hiked about 20 minutes before catching a lift back to Villa O'Higgins<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> Walk through town and join Highway 7, a moderately trafficked dirt road. The Regular Hiking Route follows X-901, a beautiful but fenced dirt road that culminates in the view of a stunning glacier, for about 28 km until it ends at a blockade just after the Mirador Calluqueo. Along X-901 there are few residences but extensive fence line on both sides. At the end of the road, the route transitions into a braided single track trail that may be confusing to follow.<br /> <br /> <br /> Comment by Jan Dudeck: I recently changed the regular packrafting route of GPT36H. This change avoids 35 km of gravel and adds around 70 km of paddling on the two lakes and one river. It’s a big detour but adds impressive beauty. Note that paddling Lago Cochrane is very challenging as wind can be firce. Follow the regular packrafting route only if you are willing and prepared to possibly wait several days on the shore of Lago Cochrane if wind makes paddling this lake unsafe.<br /> <br /> <br /> The trail, called La Ruta de Los Pioneros since it is frequently used by the local people, occasionally passes run down refugios as it winds through the forest. At the beginning of the climb to the highest pass, the trail joins a glacial river. Eventually the trail leaves the river to the west and follows a higher route above the valley that is occasionally marked by stone cairns. The top of the pass is at approximate elevation 1.300 m. From this point, there are several kilometers of very exposed hiking among rolling hills.<br /> <br /> The track descends down to treeline at a small, unnamed lake which is the source of the Río Bravo. Join the river and cross it as necessary. There are some stone cairns that mark the way, but they can be hard to spot. When the route is unclear, just follow the river bed. Where the trail deviates from the river bed to the east, it becomes easier to follow. The trail soon climbs about 80 m and remains above Río Bravo. Here there is the occasional small area to camp. To reach Lago Alegre, the trail leaves Río Bravo and travels through an open forest.<br /> <br /> Packrafters put in for Lago Alegre at a red sand beach. In general, both banks are very steep and heavily vegetated, but there are some flat areas near the shore where it may be possible to camp. Take-out is located at a rocky beach on the southeast end. 100 m from the Lago Alegre shoreline is an intact refugio; if you look closely inside, you may spot the etchings of GPT trail blazers, Jan and Meylin.<br /> <br /> From the refugio, there is a well-formed track to Lago Christie. The Regular Hiking route around the east side of Lago Christie is generally easy to follow, but be aware of the occasional spurs that leads away from the main route. The track climbs and descends frequently as it makes its way around the lake and offers a beautiful view of several glaciers. Watch for the occasional stone cairn or red spray-painted arrow to indicate the way. Camping is possible in the forest.<br /> <br /> The route exits onto X-911, a well formed and lightly trafficked gravel road. X-911 ends at X-905, and hikers continue to follow this road for around 20 km towards VIlla O’Higgins. X-905 is fence lined most of the way with the occasional residence.<br /> <br /> Río Mayer is a big, no-nonsense river that is swift at higher flows. It does however mellow out where the GPS route indicates packrafters should put in (a small beach on the other side of the fence).<br /> <br /> The Regular Hiking Route follows the Carretera Austral into Villa O’Higgins.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Villa O’Higgins<br /> <br /> The biggest thing to realize about Villa O’Higgins is that nearly all of the lodging and restaurant options only take cash and there is no ATM in town. The closest place to withdraw money is Cochrane which is a 9-hour drive. Fortunately, there are two grocery stores in town thatl take credit cards. Lodging options vary from camping to a bed in a hostel.<br /> 2024/Joscha<br /> I would recommend Los Cuatreros (-48.463589, -72.559946) and Los Coigues (-48.464742, -72.559453) for resupply. They are cheaper than the other supermarkets.<br /> <br /> <br /> *Supermarket on the square in Cochrane. Several shops in Villa O'Higgins.<br /> <br /> *Banco Estado on the square in Cochrane. The ATM was open on Christmas day.<br /> <br /> *Cochrane: Campsite run by Patricia half a block from the Plaza. She does a good breakfast &amp; also has Cabanas &amp; a 4 bed dorm.<br /> <br /> *Zapatoria Cochrane: Little Blue house North side of Dr Stefan's Street, above Rio Maitén street. -47.2541386, -72.5761942.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *There are no resupply options &amp; you should bring everything from Cochrane or O'Higgins. There are only two settlers living permanently on the central off road RR: A woman at Lago Alegre &amp; Ruben on Lago Christie. All other off road puestos are only used occasionally.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *There is a minibus from Cochrane to Villa O'Higgins on Monday, Wednesday &amp; Saturday at 8AM &amp; one from O'Higgins to Cochrane on Tuesday, Thursday &amp; Sunday @ 8AM. Operated by Buses Katalina, they have an office at the bus terminal in Cochrane. There is a minibus from Cochrane to Lago Brown on Monday &amp; Thursday at 11AM. It comes back from Lago Brown on the same days &amp; passes the junction with RR at about 2PM.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT36H - Ruta De Los Pioneros]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> [[Archivo:IMG 7500.jpeg|miniaturadeimagen|Puerto Yungay - Rio Bravo Ferry Timetable February 2024]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT36H_(Ruta_De_Los_Pioneros)&diff=115112 2024-04-08T21:30:59Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Apr-02 to 2024-Apr-07 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR - {36H-G} - RR - {36H-D} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> A beautiful section, especially from km83.9(Puesto La Pampa) to km66.5(multiple crossing), nice views with remote area, i love it so much!<br /> <br /> Because of late season, all the river crossing are super easy, only 3 place need to wet feet, all others can go around or rock hopping. Some of trail go in the water(lake, pond, pool) directly, but all you can go around by side trail, some CC or light BB.<br /> <br /> Snow still not a problem, snow start at 950m at south, and covered some of the trail above 1100m but didn't matter, i go around most of the snow easily. And didn't find any knee deep snow(maybe melted again), the deepest posthole just above ankle, easy walking. Because of lot of cairns at the area of two pass, so it is easy for navigation although some parts of trail is covered by snow.<br /> <br /> The most annoying is WIND. It is crazy windy almost everywhere except last day. The most windy part is at the second pass, i even can't open my eyes to look at the trail and walk on it straighly because of crazy freezing wind. (Be careful of hypothermia, crazy windy + rain/snow/after river crossing is horrible)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> My friend give me a 2hour ride from Villa O' Higgins to Lago Christie( X[142.0/550] ) , so i save about 50km road walking, a huge thank you to him!<br /> <br /> Km138.5 : shelter(-48.16236, -72.41397) made by woods, can cowboy inside when summer time, not rainproof but can be some wind protection. Can fit 2 tents outside with fire ring, some small stream flowing good with clear water just beside it. Weather protection by forest and the shelter.<br /> <br /> Km135.35 : old refuge(-48.14246, -72.43808), half of the roofs is collapsed, but still can provide some protection for emergency. Nice grassland for camping beside the refuge, can fit 3-5 tents with fire pit and rock seats, not much protection by trees or bushes. A river flowing good beside it, trail crossing it with wet feet, half of calf. It is the first wet feet point for me.<br /> <br /> Km134.1 : a lake, i cleared out a spot and camped here, some animals go to this lake and walking in it when midnight. It is very quiet and i heard the sound clearly. Not much protection, just some bushes here, not recommended with bad weather.<br /> <br /> Settler[132.8/525] : from here to Refuge[126.1/512], trail becomes very easy to follow and walk, it is a frequency used trail. Look like some people living here, but i met noone when i passed.<br /> <br /> Km129.3 : shelter(-48.11808, -72.48252) with just one side, weather protection by forest, can fit 1 tent here. A small stream flowing beside it.<br /> <br /> Refuge[126.1/512] : refuge(Puesto Entrelagos) already gone just left some woods here, and like Natalie said looks like someone wants to rebuild it. Some flat spots here can fit 2-3 tents.<br /> <br /> Lake[198.8/489] : Lago Alegre, a boat and a camping spot here, can fit 1 tent with fire ring and nice lake views but no protection, it is crazy windy when i was here.<br /> <br /> Km119.3 : junction of RR and {36H-G}, i go straight and didn't go to Settler[118.9/486](El Caleuche). It is easy to follow and walk on {36H-G}, but you need to climb over a 2m wooden fence at north.<br /> <br /> {36H-G} km3 : river crossing, cross it on a huge log easily.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> RR Km117.2 : flat spot(-48.02468, -72.49029) can fit 1-2 tents with weather protection by forest. A small stream flowing beside it.<br /> <br /> Km117 : river crossing, several logs crossing selection here, because raining and wet, so i crossed by the combination of multiple logs, it looks like more stability and safe. Huge flat area and grassland can fit many tents at both side of the river, weather protection by trees and bushes.<br /> <br /> Camp[110.9/500] : can fit 2-3 tents with lake views, easy to collect water, weather protection by trees.<br /> <br /> Then i did the short cut that Natalie said, from here walk through the open forest NW to the other valley(Río Bravo). It is completely CC or light BB on some animal path, fun and doable, but just recommend on good weather, otherwise you'll soaking wet by bushes.<br /> <br /> Río Bravo is a grey water river, better collect water from some small stream.<br /> <br /> Km104.3 : a small stream(-47.97355, -72.55419) flowing good with clear water, small flat spot can fit 1 tent after crossing.<br /> <br /> Km103.95 : camping spot(-47.97095, -72.55524) can fit 3-4 tents with fire ring.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Puesto[98.4/553] : Puesto Las Tablas, huge and beautiful grassland for camping, refuge is a small cabin, have a wooden bed, bench, fire pit and some dry wood sticks (for burning) inside, it is possible to sleep inside with a warm fire night, good wind protection but not for rain. Didn't see any water nearby.<br /> <br /> Km95.05 : cross a stream with a small waterfall, it'll be completely wet by the waterfall if cross at trail, so I climb to upstream and rock hopping for dry feet.<br /> <br /> Puesto[92.3/660] : Puesto El Burro, large grassland but most of them are steep, only small grassland beside the refuge is flat for camping, can fit 2-3 tents with table and fire ring, refuge is a tiny cabin but half of roof is already collapsed, can fit 1 small single person tent for some protection if bad weather, a small stream flowing with clear water 200m before here. Very windy when i was here.<br /> <br /> Km85.4 : easy and beautiful walk start!<br /> <br /> Puesto[83.9/820] : Puesto La Pampa, large grassland for camping, refuge is a small, nice and clean cabin, have 2 wooden bed, wooden seats, table and fire pit inside, it is a nice place to sleep inside with a warm fire night, good wind protection but not sure for rain. Just like Natalie said you also can pitch a small tent inside. Tiny stream flowing low just in front of the refuge. Have a open toilet with views at here too.<br /> <br /> Fords start/end[81.3/854] : rock hopping.<br /> <br /> Then i take {36H-D} instead of RR, save 2 times of wet feet crossing of Río Bravo, it is doable and sometimes have an animal path(old trail?) to follow, but easy to lost the path, and overgrown at some part you need to BB, I'm not sure it can save time or not, and only recommend in good weather, otherwise you'll be completely soaking wet by bushes.<br /> <br /> Ford[78.6/888] : river crossing of Río Bravo, the second wet feet point. I crossed it at 50m downstream(-47.79880, -72.52101) where the river breaks to 2 parts by island. First part easy rock hopping, second part is just above ankle, the water is grey so i didn't see through the bottom, otherwise I'll throw some rocks for hopping to keep my feet dry.<br /> <br /> Ford[77.4/981] : i follow some cairns and crossed it much downstream with rock hopping. It is a beautiful viewpoint for waterfall and the glacier at west! Snow starts here.<br /> <br /> Ford[75.4/1023] : easy rock hopping, look at the rocks underwatee here, the west side of valley is white colour, the east side is red, amazing!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Border,pass[73.9/1225] : snow here, but still not problem, go around them easily, or just above ankle posthole. A beautiful lake looks like good for camping 200m before here, but just for good weather because very exposed.<br /> <br /> Km72.9 : between two pass, before the second pass you need to go in a wide riverbed, but snow covered the water. You know there is water flowing, you can hear them flowing, but you can't see them. And the snow(bridge) is not thick, not stable enough to walk on them directly, so it take me some time to find out which part is water, which part can walk on it.<br /> <br /> Ford[71.8/1262] : snow covered most of the river, and river flowing a little wide here(can't step over), take me some time to find the way to go on it.<br /> <br /> Border,pass[71.5/1304] : crazy crazy crazy windy, beautiful views but too windy that i can't open my eyes to look. It is the first time for NOBO to see Cerro Los Mellizos(black sharp tower mountain) at here. Mostly you can arrive there after 1 day. North of here lot of snow but still doable and navigation with lot of cairns easily.<br /> <br /> Camp[68.4/1089] : can fit 2-3 tents with log seats and fire ring, some(not much) weather protection by trees and bushes. Stream flowing nearby. Then i continues RR.<br /> <br /> Km68.1 : flat area(-47.72665, -72.49681) can fit many tents with amazing glacier views, but no protection. Stream flowing here, also old fire pit beside a tree. Still lot of snow here.<br /> <br /> Water[67.3/1041] : snow end and i didn't see any water here. I took RR for going down, it is actually a trail, easy to follow. But some point is steep and a little landslide, walk easily when dry, but maybe a problem if wet or covered by snow.<br /> <br /> Fords starts/end[66.7/867] : old camping spot with fire pit 100m before here, nice view but no protection. River breaks into many streams at here, I took about 20min total for putting rocks in streams separately for all the way dry wet crossing by rock hopping.<br /> <br /> Km65.85 : shelter(-47.70890, -72.49466) with 1 side protection in good condition, nice for cowboy under it when summer. Flat spot can fit 2-3 tents with fire ring just beside it. Trail easy to miss it because covered by some trees.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From here to km53.2(road), HURDLE RACE start! At least 500 blowdowns you need to step over. No climbing, just step over, easy to walk and follow but muddy and blowdowns, you know that.<br /> <br /> Km64.45 : camping spot(-47.69803, -72.49788) under trees, can fit many tents with fire pit and log seats, weather protection by forest.<br /> <br /> Km64.05 : i cleared a flat spot(-47.69555, -72.50008) for a single person tent, with great lake, mountain views and i stayed here for 18 hours because of snowstorm, just beside the lake so it is easy to collect water. Weather protection by forest, but if the wind comes from south then nothing help. If you have 15min more, i think can fit one more single person tent here.<br /> <br /> Km61.95 : junction of RR, {36H-A} and {36H-05}, easy to miss. Pay attention to wood cutting trace on ground.<br /> <br /> Km58.45 : swamp area full of water, you can jump(a huge jump) over it for dry feet. After swamp is a river crossing by narrow log, after the crossing don't go away immediately, looks inside the river, lot of beautiful green water plants here!<br /> <br /> Puesto[57.6/677](Calloqueo), Puesto Cayuqueo, refuge is locked, looks like no more people until next summer, because the gate nearby is completely locked by wire too. Beautiful grassland for camping at here, and a shelter with fire pit inside too. Easy to collect water because just beside Río Pedregoso, at here Río Pedregoso still a clear water river.<br /> <br /> Fence[56.5/657] : it is a gate and completely locked by wire. Climb it at right side just wooden fence, at left side is barbed wire with fence. Huge exposed grassland with views in this area.<br /> <br /> Ford[55.4/656] : third wet feet crossing, also is the deepest crossing at late season April. Looks like above knee at trail crossing, better go upstream 10m walk on the red rock bar, it is flowing very fast but just above half of calf, easy crossing. Flat area for camping at both side of river.<br /> <br /> Ford[54.8/650] : crossing a grey water river, so better collect water before it joins main river. Trail crossing looks like up to half of calf, better crossing point at downstream just before 2 river combined, rock hopping there. But be careful for rock hopping, rocks not stable and rolling there, also a pool looks deep just at downstream, don't slide!<br /> <br /> Km53.85 : nice flat spot(-47.62754, -72.46476) can fit 2 tents just beside the trail. Looks like camped by someone before.<br /> <br /> Ford[53.7/630] : river breaks into 3 parts here, the first and third part is easy rock hopping. The second, main part above ankle at trail crossing, easy. It is the fourth, also the last wet feet crossing.<br /> <br /> Puesto[53.1/611] : didn't see anyone when i passed here, but looks like still in using because lot of cooking equipment is outside the refuge. The refuge is not locked but I just take photos and didn't go inside. Can be emergency use for bad weather.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> After here, all the way road walking.<br /> <br /> Km49.25 : viewpoint(-47.59724, -72.49715) of Laguna Calluqueo, Glacier Calluqueo, Cerro Los Mellizos and Monte San Lorenzo o Cochrane. I camped here, with a 2m rock wall that covers the wind from south, also lot of things can hold my tent's line. A super beautiful spot with amazing sunrise coming up from the glacier!<br /> <br /> The next morning i saw a bus coming to here, that i met it before outside Cochrane tourist information, so maybe possible to arrange a shuttle at Cochrane for SOBO?<br /> <br /> Km48.5 : Glacier Calluqueo Camping Spot(-47.59382, -72.49962), i look it from high on road, looks like no views but covered by some trees with protection, can fit 2-4 tents with log seats.<br /> <br /> Bridge[46.2/394] : Puente Calluqueo, camping spot after the crossing at downstream, can fit 1-3 tents with fire ring.<br /> <br /> The next 2 Danger waypoint i didn't understand, it looks like very safe walking on the road?<br /> <br /> After 10 minutes i hitched a car to Cochrane, this is the second car i saw in that day. They also take me to Lago Brown and followed {36H-23} to viewpoint(-47.46236, -72.38094) of Cerro San Lorenzo, huge huge huge thank you to them!<br /> <br /> Lastly i stayed at Calafate Camping in Cochrane, 6k CLP for camping, good spot with nice refuge(kitchen), hot shower and clean toilet. You also can camping under some shelters if bad weather.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Mar-19 to 2024-Mar-23 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 24A + 02 + 04B / Joscha<br /> <br /> Day 1: RR [5.5-50.0] + OH36H-24A to the Glacier and back<br /> <br /> I got a hitch to the junction at km 5.5. From there I walked for about 2 hours until a car took me to the junction at km 33.9. There is a fence between Rio del Salto and the RR. At the Danger Waypoint (km 43.2) is the fence broken down and the river is accessible. I got a 3rd hitch from there to the Calluqueo Glaciar. I took OH36H-24A to the glacier. Its a good trail, but mostly through forrest without view. Around km 3.0 you can see the glacier + the lake. Its really nice. At the end of OH36H-24A you get a close-up look at the Glaciar. There is a lot of water between km 3.5 and 6. At km 4.1 is a decently flat spot for camping. I camped at km 49.7 next to the RR. I would not recommend the spot in a windy night.<br /> <br /> <br /> Day 2: RR [50.0-79.9]<br /> <br /> There was snow above 1000 meters. Around the Bourder/Pass Waypoints the snow was more than knee deep. It was possible to do it without any snowgear, but it took some time. There was plenty of water along the RR and all Fords were max. knee high.<br /> <br /> <br /> Day 3: RR [79.9-107.3]<br /> <br /> The RR crosses lots of small streams, so there is plenty of water. Puesto at km 83.9 can be used as shelter and has a open outhouse. I camped at km 107.3 on a flat meadow.<br /> <br /> <br /> Day 4: OH36H-02 [0.0-26.6]<br /> <br /> The first 2 km of OH36H-02 are more CC than a trail. After that the trail is easy to follow and in good condition for about 5-6 km. Than the trail starts to become overgrown and later very muddy. Therefore it wasn't to much fun walking this trail. But the valley offers some nice waterfalls and snowy mountains. There was plenty of water and fords were easy.<br /> <br /> <br /> Day 5: OH36H-02 [26.6-29.0] + OH36H-04B [122.5-132]<br /> <br /> I hiked about 2 1/2 hours along the Carreterra Austral until a group of cars passed me and one of them took me to Villa O'Higgins.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Feb-28 to Mar-03 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matthias<br /> <br /> Took transport till end of road near glaciar Calluqueo (Jonathan +56940246832, 65000$) as I wanted to walk the pass before the predicted snowfall sets in. Traverse was quite tedious cause of the rainy and cold weather. Met Natalie and Luca halfway, hi :-) Did not meet anyone else during 4 1/2 days! Was accompanied by a smelling(!) dog (of Ruben?) from the camp at Lago Christie until next morning near Rubens house. He slept a bit windsheltered next to my tent - it was cold and a lot of wind! Keep in mind (I didn`t) that once you have reached Lago Alegre there are still 2000hm to go uphill before you reach the MR!<br /> <br /> Campsites: <br /> 300m before Camp km68.4 on a +-exposed meadow with glaciar view,<br /> in front of Puesto ElBurro (rainshelter inside and a table outside), <br /> Camp km110.9, <br /> on the shore of Lago Christie km 129 just before the path leads uphill in to the forest (a bit wind protection by bushes and Wood)<br /> <br /> Did a shortcut between ca. km103.5 and km 100.5. Sometimes good trail, sometimes obstacle course over fallen trees. <br /> Was very lucky with transport to Villa O`Higgins. Got a motorcycle ride all the way from the refugio at km148.6 at 6 pm with a short detour to the border at Rio Mayer. Stayed in Hostal Rio Mayer in Villa O`Higgins (very friendly and talkative, no internet).<br /> <br /> <br /> 28-Feb-24 to 03-Mar-24/4days/ Hiking/ NOBO/ RR/ Natalie &amp; Luca<br /> <br /> Took a few days off to reconnect with an old friend in Villa O'Higgins and then decided to take him for a test trial on the GPT.<br /> <br /> With the help of Martin from Mosco we found out the day we left was the day the subsidized bus leaves from O'Higgins to Lago Christie. Left around 1130 and got to the TH ~13:00. The bus only goes 4x a month and it went twice in the last week of February, not sure how it is organized. Only 3500 each. <br /> <br /> A little bit of rain The first day and a lot of rain/snow at the end.The trail was fun, mellow and in good shape, next to no mud. We met Ruben and all of his animals (cutest puppy atm). He offered a camping spot but I am sure the dogs would be all over you at night. We camped at the beginning of Allegra near Refugio entre lagos (NO refugio), -48.09404, -72.49798__. At this moment there is no shelter but it looks like someone is working on one, there is a boat at the lake. There is a creek with only still puddles so we drank from the lake. <br /> There are few nice camping spots along both Christie and Allegra that are not marked. Did not stop to fish :(. I heard Margarita is in O'Higgins atm. <br /> <br /> We made a short cut to avoid the big intersection near Puesto 107. We cut off after camp 110 and ended ~800m near a river camp marked on osm. It was easy and mostly open forest, mainly just a quest to stay on the best animal track as there are a few of them. We basically followed close to where the hill is but not too close bcs that is where the bush is no good.<br /> <br /> Camped outside Puesto 98.4, Las tablas. It had no water so fill up before of just go down to the river.<br /> <br /> Met Matías- Hi Matías! Even though we were both trying to beat the rain I very much enjoyed the conversation/laughs!<br /> <br /> When we got to Puesto 83.9, La Pampa, the rain just began to start and even though it was only lightly raining at the time the forecast was not good for the evening so we decided to stay and enjoy the early day and nice Refugio. The weather got increasingly worse and very strong overnight with snow in the morning. The Refugio is large and clean. It has a fire pit in the corner, an outhouse, extra blankets and tarps, a good table and lots of tools and pots if needed. No other puesto compared. There were only a few small leaks during the night, we pitched a tent inside for added warmth. <br /> <br /> The next morning there was a lot of fresh snow and it was still snowing with strong wind at times- so the pass was interesting. We took variant D to avoid the Rio Bravo fords and got soaking wet in the bush, it wasnt very clear where the trail was, needed the gps. Although the Rio Bravo was very calm and shallow (barely to my knees, 167), the snow made it too cold for my liking. If one is curious about camping on the other side of the river I think you can make a camp,there are lots of flat spots but not so much wind protection. There were camping possibilities throughout the pass as well. As for the pass, &quot;most&quot; of the trail was not covered by snow bcs the water was flowing down the trail therefore navigation was still okay, a bit harder between passes. Of course the weather improved at camp 68.4...<br /> <br /> I know Tomáš managed the La Picota river and it made me curious to try but it made no sense to go for it, the RR now that follows the west is an easy trail and the fords afterwords were almost (all but one) jumpable. Sadly what I read about &quot;la playa&quot; is true, there was a dead horse (pieces of it) at the start of the fords, it seemed rather recent so I guess the La Picota ford still kills. <br /> The Refugio after the fords is just a &quot;lean too&quot;. The trail afterwards is okay, starting to get muddy but not bad. A nice camp is possible at -47.66704, -72.50032 bcs of the beautiful view but there is no water, actually not many places to stop between ford and puesto 57.6. We Camped at Puesto 57.6 and met Antonio, super lovely man and we had breakfast with him the following morning I'm return I gave him the rest of my walnuts and peanuts, hopefully that was enough. There is not much of a shelter there, teepee style, but you can camp under the trees by the river. His dogs are annoying, got into my food bag while we were talking and then never left us alone. Really nice camping just before his puesto in a big clover field.<br /> <br /> Next day super quick walk out to the view point and then got a hitch down to Cochrane easily, lots of people on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. <br /> <br /> 24-Feb-24 to 2024-Feb-27 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, Variant B, Option 2 / Tomáš<br /> <br /> Having parted ways with Natalie, who had other commitments, I was not able to get a taxi to end of road so I started walking and hitching at noon. Second car took me about ten km, then I was passed by ten cars in an hour and then got a hitch to the viewpoint three km from end of the road with a guide going to guide a group to the glacier (they go there by boat!). Our car's engine failed 4 km before the destination, but after 5 minutes a passing car took us there. Mount Cochrane is impressive. I ate there and in an hour another two cars passed, one probably from the puesto further on. It was a Saturday, still vacation period and a beautiful day, it seems hitching is promising under such conditions there. The road is in a very good condition and easily scalable by a 2-wheel drive.<br /> <br /> The puesto at 53.1 had barking dogs and seems used (maybe a settler?), I did not see it though, it is in the trees. All fords were easy and shallow: definitely under knees. In the beginning there are multiple trails, RR probably has the best route. You cannot avoid fording, I tried. After about ten km, the trail stops being ambigious. Took variant B (which is mostly a trail, not CC) and slept above the &quot;dangerous ford&quot; (would have been better to stay 500 m lower at the end of the flats). It indeed sounded and looked dangerous after such a hot day. In the morning, I realized the trail to the ford eroded and horses probably cannot go there anymore. A pedestrian still can. The ford was much calmer, very cold but under knees and not strong. I forded it six times unfortunately with bare feet - first to try, than with my backpack and then with my forgotten phone. It hurt even if it is just 5 metres. Going up from the ford, the trail goes to the left of a small stream on top of a small ridge, do not follow the stream as I did. The CC section thereafter is mostly a trail, only invisible on river flats and for about 20 metres in the pass. Going down from the pass, the trail is above the GPX for several hundred metres, going straight and not zigzagging. Rio Bravo was tame after dry weather and at the end of summer, so I took RR. The fords were easy, well under my knees. Puesto el Burro at 92.3 would be a nice place to camp. Utterly scaring a lonely large bull, I pushed to Puesto Tablas, which has a roof that protected me from drops of rain.<br /> <br /> Puesto at 107.4 looked nice and standing, not sure if it was locked, by any means very nice place to camp. I did not notice the bridge ?. The ford was mellow, wide but ankle deep. Option 1 at least to variant 01J is actually a used trail, the bridge on it is over a marsh, not sure why it is a waypoint. Decided to take option 2 thinking I would get an easier hitch on carretera austral and trusting others who did not like the lake part that much and hating mosquitoes. The first part to variant 01I is partly a cow trail, partly a BB through open forrest. Take 01J instead, should be a clear trail and the ford should be as easy as the one on RR. From there on, 8 km to an unmarked ford through a first creek marked on OSM (it originates from a lake on map), the trail is clear and looks used. 02A was overgrown after 100 clear meters, so do not take that (I did not see the other end of it either). From the ford, the condition of the trail worsens for 7ish km to camp at 16.4. It is partially overgrown, occasionally with thorns. There is still space for legs, but arms are needed to clear the way. This portion is also mostly over open tundra-like terrain above the river. It is a bit marshy but not much after dry days. The views are splendid! Somebody with a machete would have fun here. Took option 02B, which I think is the actual trail, but it is hard to tell as it goes through a marsh there. Overall the overgrown part is maybe 2-3 km. Puesto Chirola at 17.6 is actually an abandoned settler house, still locked but in heavy rain you could probably get in through a window, the roof is still mostly ok.I slept there, with dusk mosquitoes appeared.<br /> <br /> It rained during the night and probably because of that, the trail got muddy. It is however being used and mostly clear and mostly easy to follow. Refuge without water is without water. It is meant for cyclists and is in good condition. It would sleep easily four people amd uneasily double that. It is always well ventilated with always open windows (rain should not get through), so probably no need to fear the mouse virus. The occasional tundra, wetness and continous rain with occasional glimpse of a glacier finally made me feel like I am in proper Patagonia. On the carretera, there are not many cars. Started walking and hitching at three PM. As the road is divided by a ferry, cars pass you at (in high season) 2-hour bursts of at most 8, as I was informed by the one passing cyclist. The first burst was just three cars and two motorcycles and they all passed me. It is actually a one lane compacted road where cars in opposite directions must avoid each other. No luck with second burst of three cars. Finally a second car from the third burst took me after 4 hours on the road. The second refugio around km 35 did not look as nice.<br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-13 to 2024-Feb-18 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn &amp; Tess &amp; Lukas<br /> <br /> - Trail condition : good condition, a lot of fallen trees that slows you down but not really bad / the trail was not muddy as we had good sunny days <br /> - Water : lots of rivers and lagunas <br /> - Camping spot : the refugio at km 126,1 has been destroyed by a tree so we camped closer to the lake amongst the trees // at km 148,6 The refugio is really nice, we could make a fire and have a great night before heading the next day to O'Higgins on the long gravel road <br /> - Weather : sunny and a little bit of rain <br /> - River crossing : easy, the river Bravo was not too high and not too strong so we didn't take the variant D<br /> - Resupply : in Cochrane everything you need<br /> - Overall : we were lucky to have an easy hitchike for the first 20km and for the last 7km // we also liked this section that offers really different landscapes and you feel really remote<br /> <br /> From 2024-01-06 to 2024-01-12 // 6,5 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + OPT D // Quentin Clavel<br /> <br /> After the small part in the forest, I followed the gravel road, which began to be nice from the Laguna la Clara. Some nice miradors along the roads, especially the last one, salto Rio Perez, which was pretty impressive ! <br /> <br /> Then you begin the track los Pioneros. Pretty easy to follow, a bit muddy, but I thought it would have been worse, the last sunny weeks made it dryer than expected. <br /> <br /> From there, it's a sequence of up and down, with amazing views, on Lago Christie then on Lago Alegre, surrounded by mountains. <br /> <br /> Some easy bushbashing which is more like cross country at the end of Lago Alegre to arrive along the Rio bravo. <br /> <br /> The you go along the Rio bravo until cross it. I took the option D to avoid to cross it three times, it's bushbashing but pretty easy to follow as there's a kind of path which was created to go around the small cliffs, and have to cross rio bravo only once. <br /> <br /> On the section, at this time, I haven't got any problem at all to pass the rivers who were pretty low and with weak current. <br /> <br /> Then I arrived in the mountains and that was just amazing ! Even with an uncertain weather and lots of clouds ! <br /> <br /> I had an amazing bivy in front of the impressive calluqueo glacier then it was the looong Gravel road to Cochrane, but really scenic ! <br /> <br /> During all the section it was easy to find water as there's water everywhere ! Some nice camp spot too. <br /> <br /> Mosquitoes and these spiky plants who stay scratched to your shoes and socks are the only annoying stuff. <br /> <br /> Plenty of crowberry and Calafate on the track. Delicious and perfect snacks on the road ! <br /> <br /> Last but not least, if you've always dreamed to try hurdles in athletism, this section is for you ! You'll have to pass threw hundreds of fallen trees ! Enjoy ! <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-01 to 2024-Jan-08 / 7.5 days / NOBO / Villa O'Higgins - Cochrane / RR and Option 36H-D / Alex &amp; Christophe<br /> <br /> We really enjoyed this section, especially the part of the pass, with awesome views on glaciers and mountains. We found the 2 lakes part nice but less impressive.<br /> <br /> For us, the most difficult with this section was to walk with heavy backpacks and to deal with the hundreds of mosquitoes on the camps near the two lakes. We had the chance to have dry trails most of the time and it helped us a lot. If it rains a lot before you start this section, you will need more time because the trail can get muddy really fast.<br /> <br /> After the first 9km in the forest, we tried to hitchhike from Villa O'Higgins to Lago Christie but we weren't lucky and couldn't find a car on a 1st of January. We only had a lift the second day for 15km by the carabineros. There is nearly no car passing on the X905 road so plan a day or two of extra food if you plan to hitchhike here. Taking a private transport to Lago Christie could also be a solution but it's expensive (about 70'000 CLP according to Martin from El Mosco in Villa O'Higgins).<br /> <br /> There is not much to say about the 2 lake part, we found the trail easy to follow and some nice shelter along the route. Apparently, there is a lot of trout in Lago Alegre. We didn't try to fish since it was raining but we let a peanut butter jar with a spoon (hook) and some fishing line rolled around the jar in the puesto next to Settler {36H} [118.9/486] (Margarita Bustos). She's actually not living there but the puesto is open and a nice shelter to cook (we put the tent next to it).<br /> <br /> For the second part with the pass, we found the trail also easy to follow. The OH-CC&amp;BB-A {36H-D} didn't took us too long and saved us at least 2 river crossing. All the other fords were sometimes wide but easy to pass.<br /> <br /> After 7 days, we tried to hitchhike on the X901 road near the Laguna Calluqueo and were really lucky. After only 4km, a car stopped and took us to X {36H} [5.5/267]. Maybe there is more traffic on this road than on the other side, especially with good weather during the holidays.<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-25 to 2023-Dec-29 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> We arranged a ride to skip the first 50km of the roadwalk. The trail was surprisingly good and well-trodden throughout, i.e. visually easy to follow. Some muddy sections here and there and steeper climbs and descents. Plenty of water throughout.<br /> <br /> The river crossings didn't pose any difficulties and we were blessed with good weather, despite one rainy night. The views were amazing - that so low down you could be face to face with glaciers!<br /> <br /> We did not find the trail around lakes any harder than the rest of the section. A few times the route goes on the coast, i.e. you need to walk through the water, but it was not an issue. In two cases the route splits into two, the correct trail being the easier one to miss, so need to pay attention to nav. Met Ruben the settler, very nice and friendly guy. We also met 4 other GPT hikers on this section, which was a bit of a shock.<br /> <br /> We walked 30km of the dirt road after Lago Christie until we finally got a hitch to Villa O'Higgins. Barely any traffic on the road, especially in the afternoon.<br /> <br /> * 2023-12-07 EXP-OH-TL-I 1day / Anh<br /> There is a damaged and not yet reopened route from Villa O’Higgins to Glacier Mosco: EXP-OH-TL-I &amp; EXP-OH-CC&amp;TL-I<br /> Together they are 24 km return and with a daypack it could work.<br /> The EXP-OH-TL-I trail is very well maintained and relatively well marked. There is even a very nice Refugio Puesto Rivera + campsite for tents along the way. BUT from km 7 the trail is damaged by landslides and the section after that is overgrown. I tried the last km via BB through the forest. After that everything should be clear and only CC to the Mosco glacier. Unfortunately, I make very slow progress with BB, it simply takes too much time and with a temperature of 15°C the river crossing afterwards would be dangerous. Unfortunately I have to abort (safety first) &amp; return.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-12-10 / 4 days / RR + OH-TL-V / SOBO / Anh<br /> <br /> A very experienced hiker/local in Villa O'Higgins advised me against NoBo due to high water levels in the next few days regarding river crossings.<br /> <br /> Day 1: With a private transfer to Laguna Calluqueo I had to hike a few more kilometers to the end of Ruta X-901 because it is private land closed by a gate. The first two river crossings were a bit above knee and sometimes strong current. The trail after that in the forest is actually made for horses, there are a lot of obstacles like fallen trees, overgrown bush, swampy paths. It is particularly misleading when the RR and horse path separate because it is suddenly very strange without horse tracks. It has rained and with the snow melting, the paths and streams are almost indistinguishable. I make very slow progress through the obstacles.<br /> The river crossing (Ford km 66.5) was long but in the evening without any problems (knee-deep). The path afterwards RR-CC-A to the camp was steep uphill, but more pleasant than in the forest. As you can see, this trail is only for hikers and it was very rarely used.<br /> <br /> Day 2: It was CC up, across the border from Argentina &amp; back into Chile. At this time there are still many snowfields to cross and therefore Ford (km 71.8) was under the snowfield, which made it very precarious for me. The river crossing Ford (km 77.4) was up to my hips with a strong current, but is not dangerous. Overall, I was much faster because there were hardly any obstacles (only Fords and completely swampy meadow).<br /> <br /> Day 3: The way back from yesterday + 250m river crossing should be easy and pleasant like yesterday! But there was a strong headwind &amp; snow = snow confusion. Then there was the fog and the infamous white-out. My footprints from yesterday were already filled with fresh snow, but still recognizable. I didn't have a long break, so I reached the day's destination very quickly.<br /> Bored, I just carried on hiking and didn't find the way back in the forest from day 1 so bad. I got through all the obstacles surprisingly quickly with the following strategy:<br /> - I had put on remedies on the way out, it had helped a lot. And I run like a horse, don't think twice, just jump over obstacles. The path is made for horses.<br /> - The way back is from the top, the path is much easier to recognize.<br /> - New strategy: just follow the horse tracks, even if I leave the RR.<br /> In the end, I had completed the entire way back from two days earlier in one day. It was about 27km, only possible because it was mostly downhill (450m uphill, 700m downhill).<br /> The price for this strategy was scratches and mini cuts from knees to shoes, very unpleasant at every river crossing.<br /> <br /> Day 4: OH-TL-V to the glacier at Laguna Calluqueo. You have to cross the river right at the beginning, it was a bit over your knees but easy. After that it's a slow climb of almost 700m. There were only a few tricky places: mini path on the precipice or slippery downhill. Overall, the path was very easy to recognize and very pleasant to run. Water is only available again at km 3.5, so you should take your time and enjoy the trail at a leisurely pace.<br /> During the night, a tent pole broke and the tent was damaged. There are no outdoor stores in Cochrane and you can't buy a new tent. In addition, a section on RR-GPT35 from Tamango entrance through Patagonia Park was not yet open.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2022 Dec Frank 6 days mainly SOBO<br /> <br /> As weather was initially poor I split the section as follows: 1. Got bus from Cochrane towards Lago Brown, got out @ road junction near Rio Tranquilo bridge, walked NOBO back to Cochrane. 2. While I was waiting for the ferry in Villa O'Higgins I walked out about 25KM NOBO to Padre Antonio Ronchi chapel &amp; hitched back to O'Higgins. 3. I again got the bus towards Lago Brown, got out @ the same junction &amp; walked the central section of the route SOBO in 4 long days.<br /> <br /> 1. NOBO, nearly all on road. You pass by the 'mortal falls' on Rio Tranquilo (by the bridge) About 1KM further on the road was blocked by aggressive dogs who came up from a settlement about 800M off the road. I had to shout to the settler to call them off. Around 7KM out from Cochrane the road bends left at a metal crash barrier. I left the RR here &amp; went over the low crash barrier &amp; continued straight ahead on forest tracks, quicker &amp; nicer than the road. About 1KM from Cochrane you return to the road by climbing over a small wooden gate.<br /> <br /> 3. I walked on the road past Calluqueo glacier then on a trail. After the first puesto the track fades out among fallen trees. Camped by a ruined shelter. I crossed the river on RR the next day. La Picota crossing is for horses &amp; best avoided on foot. The RR crossing was easy. After the crossing continue straight ahead &amp; go up the far hillside, pick up a small trail going left above a bluff about 70 metres up. Continued over the 2 border passes. There are some cliffs you need to go round when descending the first pass . There will be snowfields early in the season also. I crossed Rio Bravo high up between two waterfalls, descended to cross it again by the lake, then stayed on LHS of Rio Bravo. No trail initially on LHS of river &amp; a lot of bush bashing over bluffs but judging by later comments the route may now be improved. I continued down to Lago Alegre. There is a settler just as you reach Lago Alegre. She was friendly &amp; allowed me to sleep in her barn. She radioed Ruben, the settler who lives on Lago Christie, to let him know I was coming. It's slow going round the lakes with lots of up &amp; down over bluffs. The hut between the two lakes had been used by sheep &amp; was not in v. good condition. I met Ruben about half way round Lago Christie. He was friendly but I continued on to camp by a ruined hut after descending from bluffs to the lake. I walked out the road to Padre Antonio Ronchi chapel &amp; hitched from there to Villa O'Higgins. There is a good hut on the road at the junction with the X905 road. Another hut further on but it's dusty. All other huts marked on the route are in poor condition or ruined, they are mostly good for cooking &amp; camping outside. The weather for the central section was good so I didn't have any problems. It's possible to hitch part of the road sections - traffic is sparse but they will usually stop. In both cases when you reach the road there is nothing, you need to walk out about 15KM &amp; then start hitching.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *11/12/2019 - les 2 As - regular hiking route <br /> <br /> Hi! We finished this day the section 36 from north to south. It took us 6 days without the last 37 kms on the road (we hitchhiked on this part). It was rough, we have had 2 days of bad weather (only rain at our altitude but it changes everything). You are isolated in the middle of nowhere and we met no one during 5 days. Officially no bush bashing but sometimes the path is barely invisible and unmaintained so hard to walk. From the 3rd day to the end, we have had many rivercrossings. Some were easy, some not and some also quite dangerous. With all the snow melting, the level of the river is very high and the current is strong (I do not recommand to try these fords without walking poles, these saved us). Same situation with the lakes we walked near. Their level is high and often the path was submerged and we had to walk litteraly in the lake (sometimes up to the waist). Luckily we met 2 cabañas (2 last nights) to dry our clothes and sleep under a roof. This made the section even more wonderful than it already was. A great experience!<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019 Dec / Olrik / Northbound<br /> <br /> From O'Higgins there are 50km on a dirt road to the beginning of the sendero. There are some open refugios on the way to sleep. you can also arrange a paid transportation from O'Higgins. Hitchhiking is possible but there is not much traffic. The sendero was in pretty bad shape due to the weather conditions. Muddy and flooded all the way near the lakes. We ended up turning back as we did not plan to walk that slow and did not have enough food, and we felt it was safer. We met Matthieu (see below) and they completed it so his report seems better. Puesteros are really nice though.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019 Dec / Matthieu / Northbound Regular HR : 9 days<br /> A very difficil trekk for us. Lots of river crossings, sometimes unsafe, and we had very bad weather conditions that make us last 9 days on the trekk, with hitchiking 40 km after Villa and 30 km before Cochrane. It could habe been more rapid though, but we walked &quot;tranquilito&quot;. So I would recommend to take 10 days of food,and the chileans agreed with this.<br /> <br /> I wont talk about the routes parts, because just long and we hitchhiked most.<br /> <br /> So 1st Part : The 2 lakes : A very technical trekk, very aquatic. Sometimes we had to walk in the lake (not dangerous though), and the trail by the lakes is very hilly and muddy, and the progression can be very slow. It was for us, with mostly only rain. 1 dangerous rivercrossing : Before El Caleuche, Strong river but a big fat trunk above perfect for crossing.We didnt search for another way of crossing, so maybe there are some safe places by the water.<br /> <br /> On this part, a few puestos good for shelters : between the two lakes, a good caban with possibility of making fire and a roof of metal and walls, very nice, two beds of wood, we slept in it well protected. El Caleuche : at the middle of the Lago alegre, near a abandoned house. POssibility of fire, but not really a good roof. We slept aside in the tents. The place is really nice though<br /> <br /> 2 houses of settlers on the way : - Ruben at the beginning of the Lago Christie, always happy to have visitors and share a mate. - At the end of the Lago Allegre a little bit south west from the trail (a rivercrossing a bit strong to go to the caban, or a &quot;bridge&quot; called Bridge ?-4 on the GPS waypoints, with 2 trunks, that we took in the morning to go back to the trail. A bit dangerous though, better to let Carmen show you how to cross): Ringo y Carmen, amazing persons too who let us plant the tent and permitted us to warm with a good mate, a meal and a wonderful smile, during the Christmas night.<br /> <br /> 2nd part : Rio Bravo and the pass We thought that the worst was behind but we had more strong weather conditions in this part. A few advises for the rivercrossings of the Rio Bravo : I would advise NOT to follow the GPS tracks that follow the normal trail on GPS devices (that is made normally for horses). All the locals (local guides in villa o higgins, Ruben, Carmen and Ringo) were agreed and told us all to follow the east side of the Rio UNTIL the Laguna. The crossing here is very safe, the rio not strong nor profund at all, and you have to cross it ONLY ONCE, instead of 4 or 5 (dont remember). To stay on the east side, there is a little cross country by the forest, a little bit technical and slow but not dangerous, and you can camp at the laguna on the east side. We saw some cairns in the forest too, on the last hill before the laguna, so the locals indeed use this way. We (very badly) abandonned this plan and passed by the normal way just near the camping site west from the river before the Laguna (really bad weather, really bad decisions !) and the rivercrossings (3 I think) were, for me, very dangerous with strong current in profund water, but there was a lot of rain and wind, so I wont judge during good conditions. We were frozen when we arrived at the camping site. I was very angry at me though to not have listened to the locals and taken all those risks.<br /> <br /> For the pass, not very difficult, but we had (again) very strong weather conditions with even snow, and finished at the camp at the north side completely frozen. Know that it can be very exposed !<br /> <br /> Last Part : Rio La Picota After the camping : Two choices - Following the normal road, made for horses. The rivercrossing is completely impossible, unless you want to join the fishes. Even for horses I don't understand how they do it. The Waypoint &quot;Dangerous&quot; totally make sense. - The GPS tracks : perfect to follow, and finished by a beautiful trail of cairns by the cliff (the optionnal trail OH on GPS track), very safe. The river crossing this way is very safe, the river is extremely large, separated and never go far from the ankle.<br /> <br /> The rest we didn't have any technical difficulties. A trekk not to take lightly, and with much respect. Take advises to the locals before. Every one is happy to talk about it in Villa. They have the bad habbit to say that it's an easy way though !<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Nov-12 / Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe / 6 days / northbound / regular hiking route<br /> <br /> This was a tough section for us! It rained and it rained and it rained and the trail turned to mud and was pretty overgrown in parts. We took the optional Hiking route after reaching Rio Bravo heading South to the Carretera Austral because we didn't feel comfortable forging on, knowing there was a high pass that was probably getting tons of snow instead of our rain, and a &quot;dangerous river ford&quot; that we were afraid would be tok dangerous with flooding too. The snow-line appeared to drop as low as 700 meters one night! We made surprisingly slow progress because of the conditions (entire trail flooded knee deep and extremely muddy after 6 days of rain) - were glad to have extra food with us. On the bail out route, about 10km from reaching the safety of the Carratera there was a pretty big river to cross. It was swollen after all the rain and scary and nearly floated us away. From the Carratera we hiked about 20 minutes before catching a lift back to Villa O'Higgins<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> Walk through town and join Highway 7, a moderately trafficked dirt road. The Regular Hiking Route follows X-901, a beautiful but fenced dirt road that culminates in the view of a stunning glacier, for about 28 km until it ends at a blockade just after the Mirador Calluqueo. Along X-901 there are few residences but extensive fence line on both sides. At the end of the road, the route transitions into a braided single track trail that may be confusing to follow.<br /> <br /> <br /> Comment by Jan Dudeck: I recently changed the regular packrafting route of GPT36H. This change avoids 35 km of gravel and adds around 70 km of paddling on the two lakes and one river. It’s a big detour but adds impressive beauty. Note that paddling Lago Cochrane is very challenging as wind can be firce. Follow the regular packrafting route only if you are willing and prepared to possibly wait several days on the shore of Lago Cochrane if wind makes paddling this lake unsafe.<br /> <br /> <br /> The trail, called La Ruta de Los Pioneros since it is frequently used by the local people, occasionally passes run down refugios as it winds through the forest. At the beginning of the climb to the highest pass, the trail joins a glacial river. Eventually the trail leaves the river to the west and follows a higher route above the valley that is occasionally marked by stone cairns. The top of the pass is at approximate elevation 1.300 m. From this point, there are several kilometers of very exposed hiking among rolling hills.<br /> <br /> The track descends down to treeline at a small, unnamed lake which is the source of the Río Bravo. Join the river and cross it as necessary. There are some stone cairns that mark the way, but they can be hard to spot. When the route is unclear, just follow the river bed. Where the trail deviates from the river bed to the east, it becomes easier to follow. The trail soon climbs about 80 m and remains above Río Bravo. Here there is the occasional small area to camp. To reach Lago Alegre, the trail leaves Río Bravo and travels through an open forest.<br /> <br /> Packrafters put in for Lago Alegre at a red sand beach. In general, both banks are very steep and heavily vegetated, but there are some flat areas near the shore where it may be possible to camp. Take-out is located at a rocky beach on the southeast end. 100 m from the Lago Alegre shoreline is an intact refugio; if you look closely inside, you may spot the etchings of GPT trail blazers, Jan and Meylin.<br /> <br /> From the refugio, there is a well-formed track to Lago Christie. The Regular Hiking route around the east side of Lago Christie is generally easy to follow, but be aware of the occasional spurs that leads away from the main route. The track climbs and descends frequently as it makes its way around the lake and offers a beautiful view of several glaciers. Watch for the occasional stone cairn or red spray-painted arrow to indicate the way. Camping is possible in the forest.<br /> <br /> The route exits onto X-911, a well formed and lightly trafficked gravel road. X-911 ends at X-905, and hikers continue to follow this road for around 20 km towards VIlla O’Higgins. X-905 is fence lined most of the way with the occasional residence.<br /> <br /> Río Mayer is a big, no-nonsense river that is swift at higher flows. It does however mellow out where the GPS route indicates packrafters should put in (a small beach on the other side of the fence).<br /> <br /> The Regular Hiking Route follows the Carretera Austral into Villa O’Higgins.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Villa O’Higgins<br /> <br /> The biggest thing to realize about Villa O’Higgins is that nearly all of the lodging and restaurant options only take cash and there is no ATM in town. The closest place to withdraw money is Cochrane which is a 9-hour drive. Fortunately, there are two grocery stores in town thatl take credit cards. Lodging options vary from camping to a bed in a hostel.<br /> 2024/Joscha<br /> I would recommend Los Cuatreros (-48.463589, -72.559946) and Los Coigues (-48.464742, -72.559453) for resupply. They are cheaper than the other supermarkets.<br /> <br /> <br /> *Supermarket on the square in Cochrane. Several shops in Villa O'Higgins.<br /> <br /> *Banco Estado on the square in Cochrane. The ATM was open on Christmas day.<br /> <br /> *Cochrane: Campsite run by Patricia half a block from the Plaza. She does a good breakfast &amp; also has Cabanas &amp; a 4 bed dorm.<br /> <br /> *Zapatoria Cochrane: Little Blue house North side of Dr Stefan's Street, above Rio Maitén street. -47.2541386, -72.5761942.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *There are no resupply options &amp; you should bring everything from Cochrane or O'Higgins. There are only two settlers living permanently on the central off road RR: A woman at Lago Alegre &amp; Ruben on Lago Christie. All other off road puestos are only used occasionally.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *There is a minibus from Cochrane to Villa O'Higgins on Monday, Wednesday &amp; Saturday at 8AM &amp; one from O'Higgins to Cochrane on Tuesday, Thursday &amp; Sunday @ 8AM. Operated by Buses Katalina, they have an office at the bus terminal in Cochrane. There is a minibus from Cochrane to Lago Brown on Monday &amp; Thursday at 11AM. It comes back from Lago Brown on the same days &amp; passes the junction with RR at about 2PM.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT36H - Ruta De Los Pioneros]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> [[Archivo:IMG 7500.jpeg|miniaturadeimagen|Puerto Yungay - Rio Bravo Ferry Timetable February 2024]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT35_(Parque_Patagonia)&diff=114599 2024-03-08T02:08:51Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Feb-27 to 2024-Mar-04 / 5.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {35-S} - {35-D} - RR - {35-J} - RR - {35-L} - RR / Lilian &amp; Rainbow <br /> <br /> Safari = GPT35, we saw foxes, bunny, flamingos, ostrich, owl, woodpecker, and more than 100 guanacos at this section!<br /> <br /> <br /> We standing at the end of town more than 1 hour and found that it is really difficult to hitch out by low traffic. So we go to tourist information ask for help maybe a ride, a man at there said he can take us to x[8.1/505] for 10k CLP, but lastly he just took us to the junction at km5.9, and said he don't want to drive on a non paved road, then don't wait us to respond and throw our backpacks out from his car immediately, and ask for the money.<br /> <br /> So, DON'T ask any ride in tourist information at Chile Chico, they cheated our trust.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km12 : flat spot (-46.57669, -71.82779) can fit some tents at other side of a stream, the stream is flowing good and dry feet crossable by rock hopping.<br /> <br /> Km12.75 : viewpoint(-46.58294, -71.82549) of a valley with sky blue colour, super beautiful, don't miss it!<br /> <br /> Camp[14.1/923] : grassland spot, a small stream is flowing low beside it.<br /> <br /> Km16.6 : flat spot(-46.60658, -71.80980), have some covers can stay away from the wind tunnel in valley at north.(wind from north)<br /> <br /> After this spot, no more camping spot or flat spot have wind protection until camp[32.6/1300]. Wind is crazy at the plateau.<br /> <br /> Camp[32.6/1300] : tiny wind protection from a rock wall, just fit 1 tent for it. Better wind protection nearby camp[42.9/713].<br /> <br /> Short cut CC from 38.2 to 42.7, it doesn't save much time, better follow GPX track, MR is completely finished and super easy to walk. It also walk beside some beautiful meadows that are nice to camp(no wind protection).<br /> <br /> Camp[42.9/713] : spots at a wet muddy road. Better spots nearby at (-46.79053, -71.91127), dry and 2-3 sides wind protection by bushes, can fit many tents there.<br /> <br /> Didn't see any cars going south at morning, so road walking all the way to entrance. 11k CLP for entrance fee, 6k CLP for camping fee, total 17k CLP, can pay by credit card.<br /> <br /> Camp,$,bridge,lake[53.3/852] : El Silencio campsite and Lago Jeinemeni. This campsite is a little bit crown with car camping, and the lake is amazing beautiful!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> HIGHLY RECOMMEND walking on the shore of lake from km56.65 - km57.75(from the junction of viewpoint, to the point that trail met the beach), easy, dry feet and excellent beautiful!<br /> <br /> Bridge[58.9/856] : after this bridge, follow south route ( {35-S} &amp; RP{35} ) to Lago Verde, then take the bridge(-46.86056, -72.07982) to cross the river. Lastly follow {35-D} rejoin RR. Dry feet.<br /> <br /> Lake [59.2/840] : Laguna Esmeralda. Didn't find any camping possibilities. Better views at trail.<br /> <br /> Refuge[61.7/856] : beside Laguna Esmeralda, a super blue lake. This refuge is not a cabin, just a shelter with 3 side wooden wall, good wind protection, but I'm not sure about heavy rain, because i saw many holes at the wall. Better camping spot with views beside the lake(not much wind protection).<br /> <br /> Ford start/end[63.4/896] : late season, all the way easy dry feet crossing, walking on log or rock hopping.<br /> <br /> Pass[64.5/1132] : no camping spot here, the spot shown on OSM, is already covered by many blowdowns. Nice viewpoint(-46.84093, -72.10324) of Lago Verde just SW of here.<br /> <br /> Ford[66.1/877] : better river crossing point at (-46.83741, -72.11991), there is a sign at another side of river. Below knee, easy.<br /> <br /> Ford[66.4/859] : river breaks into some parts, below knee, easy.<br /> <br /> Refuge[68.1/867] : shelter with 2 walls, nice weather protection. Refuge with 4 walls, but huge air tunnel at ceiling, so just wind protection. A sign book inside refuge too. Camping spots at here can fit lot of tents, mostly have some wind protection, but not much, because trees are too tall, and just 1 spot behind a blowdowns have well wind protection.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Fords[68.4/869] - [71.6/905] : lot of river crossing, some trail can go around the river, but not much help and they are overgrown, so finally you need to be crossing and crossing then wet feet.<br /> <br /> Km74.7 : camping spot(-46.87204, -72.17630), can fit 3-4 tents with some weather protection by the forest. Have a shelter made by logs here, can squat 1-2 hiker inside for emergency, but not much help, because it is really small and too many holes on it.<br /> <br /> Km75.7 : camping spot(-46.87886, -72.16954), can fit 3-4 tents with some weather protection by the forest.<br /> <br /> Km78.9 :camping spot(-46.90498, -72.15591), and some more spots nearby, total can fit 4-6 tents with some weather protection by the forest.<br /> <br /> Ford[79.3/846] : Below knee, easy.<br /> <br /> Refuge[81.0/819] : no refuge, no shelter. Camping spot with views can fit 2 tents but no protection.<br /> <br /> Ford[82.6/805] : Below knee. Camping spot(-46.93485, -72.15869), can fit 2 tents with not much weather protection by the bushes, before the crossing.<br /> <br /> Km83.3 : camping spot(-46.94089, -72.15600), can fit 2-3 tents with some weather protection by some trees. Also one spot at south but not much protection.<br /> <br /> Km84.7 : camping spot(-46.95268, -72.15123), can fit 1 tent with some weather protection by some brushes.<br /> <br /> Km88.6 : camping spot(-46.98397, -72.15988), can fit 2 tents with weather protection by some trees and brushes. Flat area nearby can fit many tents with good views but no protection.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Bridge[90.9/635] : classic bridge! Worth to take a look and walk on it!<br /> <br /> We took {35-J} instead RR here, because less puds, also walking on a plateau looks like more scenic.<br /> <br /> {35-J} Km5 : viewpoint(-47.03902, -72.19077) of the whole valley, very beautiful! Don't miss it!<br /> <br /> Camp,$,refuge[98.9/379] : Casa de Piedra campground. Have some shelters with picnic table for cooking, and a refuge with hot(warm) shower, toilet and some tables for meals. If you decide to camp here, please expect sleep late. This spot mostly are campers and tourists. They'll speaking and cooking until 10 or 11 or midnight.<br /> <br /> You can take a shuttle form here to Cochrane(30k CLP per person) or Camping Los West Wind(15k CLP per person)<br /> <br /> Time schedule: 9am Cochrane - 9.45am Museo, 10am Museo - 10.15am Camping Los West Wind, 10.30am Camping Los West Wind - 10.45am Museo, 12noon Museo - 1pm Camping Casa de Piedra, 4.30pm Camping Casa de Piedra - 5.15pm Museo, 5.30pm Museo - 6.30pm Cochrane<br /> <br /> Start from here, the trail is not maintained anymore, but still in good condition.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km103 : Lago Gutierrez, amazing beautiful lake, have some minutes i thought back to Norway again.<br /> <br /> Km103.85 : a small stream(-47.07911, -72.22738) flowing good with clear water, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Pass[110.8/1126] : some fresh snow remain at here.<br /> <br /> Km112.45 : emergency camping spot(-47.10718, -72.28893), the ground is a little soft, but is flat and some wind protection, can fit many tents here.<br /> <br /> Km116.9 : Laguna Guagua. Camping spot(-47.13350, -72.30170), can fit 2-3 tents with some wind protection from west by bushes, SW of the spot have a side trail to lake. BUT, DON'T go for {35-02A} back to RR, it is completely CC and BB with spike plants, not fun. Better CC climbing up to RR from camping spot directly.<br /> <br /> Refuge,X[118.3/716] : no refuge, it is collapsed. The woods becomes a super small shelter here. If you lost your backpack, crawling inside maybe can save your life. Otherwise just for photos snapping function.<br /> <br /> From here to km125.0, you will walk beside 3 lakes, didn't see any wind protection camping spots there, but if you have good luck at a no wind night, you maybe find some spots at the last lake.<br /> <br /> Km125.0 : road walking start. Flat spot with some wind protection on the road can fit 1-2 tents at here too.<br /> <br /> Km125.9 : junction of RR and {35-L}, because the road is too easy to walk and follow, we completely miss this junction and walk a long time then realised RR is a different way, so we keep going on {35-L} and rejoin RR later.<br /> <br /> {35-L} km3.6 : a small stream(-47.17383, -72.37063) flowing good with clear water, easy to collect. Flat spot can fit 1-2 tents after the crossing.<br /> <br /> We walked the whole way{35-L} and rejoin RR at km130.8.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> RR Km132.4 : flat spot(-47.17220, -72.42231) can fit 1 tent at the end of lake. With some wind protection by forest.<br /> <br /> Camp[136.9/162] : can fit 2-4 tents with weather protection by forest, but if the wind is come from south, it is not much help. Excellent views on the beach.<br /> <br /> Camp[137.6/173] : can fit 2-3 tents with wind protection from east and north by trees. Excellent views on the beach. Just beside a port, looks like can take a boat to here.<br /> <br /> Km138.3 : camping spot(-47.20064, -72.46718), total can fit 3-5 tents at several stage, some spots have good wind protection by trees and bushes.<br /> <br /> From here to km146.0, lot of up and down beside some cliffs (maybe slippery in rain), but it is a trail with lot of amazing views, we are really enjoyed it.<br /> <br /> Km139.77 : a tiny stream(-47.20803, -72.47813) flowing good with clear water, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Km141.73 : side trail to viewpoint(-47.21986, -72.49280) and cell service for Movistar.<br /> <br /> Km142.15 : flat grassland(-47.22231, -72.49623) can fit 4 tents just beside the beautiful lake, some wind protection by valley itself.<br /> <br /> X[143.9/244] : cell service for Entel(-47.23128, -72.50780)<br /> <br /> Km146.0 : RN Tamango campground, some shelters for cooking, large arae for camping, hot shower and trash can, 7k CLP per person.<br /> <br /> Km146.5 : the last flat spot(-47.24353, -72.53067) before Cochrane, some wind protection by brushes, can fit 1-3 tents with nice sunrise, you can arrive there by a clear trail beside ranger station, the trail is shown on OSM map.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Cochrane : <br /> <br /> Lot of accommodation, markets and restaurants, and 2 outdoor gear shops.<br /> <br /> 230g gas canisters, power bank, chargers and tent stakes at Supermercado Melero(-47.25386, -72.57414).<br /> <br /> Sunglasses, micro spikes, snow shoes and some clothes at La Ruta 7 Patagonia(-47.25591, -72.57320).<br /> <br /> Sleeping bag, tents, boots(just 1 trail runner), socks, base layer, warm clothes and pants at Kalfu Patagonia(-47.25474, -72.57018).<br /> <br /> Clothes at Vansy(-47.25417, -72.57431), not a outdoor gear shop, but some sporty clothes and pants for a low price at here.<br /> <br /> Some campground and lot of indoor stays at Cochrane. The only hostel is Camping, Refugio ,Cabaña y Hostel(a long name) (-47.25446, -72.57497). And most of the rooms here include breakfast(without kitchen), 20k CLP per person. The only one we found with kitchen(but no breakfast) is Casa Raíces Hostal(-47.25113, -72.56848).<br /> <br /> Bus terminal to Coyhaique, Villa Cerro Castillo, Villa O' Higgins, Chile Chico, Puerto Rio Tranquilo and Tortel at (-47.25137, -72.57317).<br /> <br /> Tourist information(-47.25439, -72.57283).<br /> <br /> I recommend La Martica(-47.25112, -72.57266), local restaurant with nice food in a good price.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 24-Feb-17 to 2024-Feb-22 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, Variant L / Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> There were several hitchhiker groups out of Chile Chico so we took a taxi (990250968) to the settler at 8.9 for 10,000 CLP. Nobody was there, but there is a locked gate so it would not be possible to take a taxi further up. For pedestrians, there is an unlocked door. One can shortcut the first zigzag of the road thereafter and several others, it is open terrain. We camped in a dry lakebed (for windprotection) about 1 km after the first pass. Despite strong wind in Chile Chico and a forecast of wind gusts over 60km/hr, the night was largely peaceful with just one hour of wind. The plateau has terrain features and it seemed to us it is not that impossible to camp there, but maybe we were just lucky.<br /> <br /> The next day was like a safari, lots of animals and little wind. Pawprints on lake bed turned out to be a big dog and not a puma according to the rangers though. Going down from the plateau, it is possible to shortcut the GPX track to the SE and end near the puesto at 34.6. Trail starts above the puesto but is not so easy to follow and the GPX does not seem to be the most precise. It is advisable to take a CC shortcut to bridge at 42.7 as mentioned by Adrien Kunzli: - about 1 km before the end of MR 38.2, veer right aiming for a black outcrop on the mountain on the other side of the valley and you will pop out above the bridge. We got lucky and got a ride at around 1630 to the parkoffice. We paid 15000 only for one person - they forget to charge the other one. They were friendly and told us the weather forecast. We did not get any receipt or pass though. Walked two hours to campsite Raleigh, there were two other foreign tents there. The new trail is technically the old &quot;laguna Esmeralda&quot; (RP 59.2) trail with a new bridge, so keep left to avoid fords, combined with variant D it seems preferable to RR even when not intending to camp.<br /> <br /> From Raleigh, the first fords were possible to cross without fording thanks to logs and stones. The next valley is indeed beautiful, especially Lago Verde. There were about ten tents but no people near the refugio at 67.6. Tomáš tried to go around the second fords through the forest on the left and he eventually reached variant F, which exists but partially goes through a marsh and does not avoid fording anyway: it is pointless, just ford. Initially the start of the fords seem like a marsh, go around it from the right through the river, it is a nice riverbed thereafter. Rio Aviles was kneedeep and ok. Ford 71.2 is mighty - go downstream about 200 m, it splits and is easy there (there is a cairn in the middle). We camped at a camping site marked on OSM about 2 km further down from there. There is a place for one tent about 20 m from a creek. Very nice spot. Having a headstart to people starting from the park office, we only met three groups of foreigners all day.<br /> <br /> Variant J does not avoid any substabtial fords, water at 96.1 is easily jumpable and the river is bridged on both J and RR. <br /> Casa de Piedra is a nice spot with resident guanacos (and some tourists). Tomáš had a hot shower! We were asked for our passes - we explained we were not given them and it was ok. We went on. The Siete lagunas trail is surprisingly in a rather good shape. It is little used but not much overgrown and generally easy to follow, needing a GPS only occasionally. Tomáš liked it tremendeously. Did not meet anyone on it.<br /> <br /> We slept near the pass next to a marsh. It rained most of the night but stopped before morning, luckily the trail was not too wet the next day. The first stream after the pass is very weak (not flowing if not raining?); it flows from the marsh by which we slep and is about 500 m after the pass waypoint. The next stream is about 1 km further down, it had more water. After that, water is only in the lakes. Tomáš cleaned a lot of the logs and branches from the trail, if you can spare a moment, please do likewise. We could not see any traces of option 02A or option K. We took option L near km 129.9 - we were confused by other reports because we thought people were taking the much longer part of L that follows a MR. RR leaves the Siete lagunas trail at the end of option L after 29 km. The trail probably goes to Valle Chacabuco. [OSM has Variant F and L marked as &quot;Sendero 7 Lagunas&quot;, this is wrong. Variant K looks to be indeed CC and variant L looks to be an unnecessary detour on a MR (overgrown and with logs at first when RR is on this MR - when you cross the MR again after four km on RR, it no longer looks that overgrown).] On L, one can easily take a CC shortcut from top of the hill to MR. We found two shortcutting trails to the MR. We met Daniel who was coming back from cutting invasive pines with his chainsaw, he had a friendly and humorous attitude. Camped at the lake at the wind protected camp.<br /> <br /> The night brought surprisingly strong wind and rain - try to camp deeper in the forest. We followed a faint trail tracing the shore of the lake instead of CC 137.6, in the middle of it there was an apple tree that will be ripe in March probably. Did not meet anybody until the viewpoint above the lake that says &quot;signal Movistar&quot; (we have Entel, which has a sign 2 km further on but it did not work, just wait one hour until Cochrane proper), from then on, there were daytrippers. CONAF had a lunch break so we passed unnoticed. Cochrane as a town is ok.<br /> <br /> <br /> Nat's Notes:<br /> The Bulk shop in Chile Chico (Güenta Emporio) is not open on weekends, they have weird hours and sometimes need to call before; Andrea +56 9 9540 1708. I recommend the hospedaje Rio Baker, 15mil pp which is the general price here. <br /> The plateau <br /> -besides Descabezado, this area was one of the most visually interesting sections for me. I haven't had that much fun taking photos in a long time. At first the guanacos scared me a little, I felt like I was surrounded by ninjas, eventually I warmed up to them. A good place for a zoom camera.<br /> -For me the going was slow, besides being tired and equipped with rash-covered feet I found the navigation tricky. I kept aiming for the wrong pass because there are many rolling hills. However I found things got better near and after pass km28.8.<br /> -water in the plateau is still frequent. If one wants to camp as close to the plateau as possible (SOBO) I suggest this spot:-46.62397, -71.81920. Also there is a nice grassy and fairly sheltered spot near water km23.9: -46.66437, -71.84393 and a big flat grass patch at water 30.6. There is a huge boulder for wind protection if needed here; -46.65469, -71.83997. In the valley bottom near the puesto, there are less/no camping spots. I did not like all the dogs at puesto 34.6, so I purposely avoided it. <br /> -when finishing the plateau section I filled up on water at the last stream that wasn't the main river here: -46.72842, -71.89633, as I didn't think we would get a hitch to the park office.<br /> <br /> Sendero Avilés<br /> -The descent from pass km64.5 is nothing, just a bit of dirt dust that makes traction hard. The only part on this track that I would worry about safety wise (apart from the two river crossings) is a new steep traverse 2ish kms after pass km74.1: -46.88996, -72.16428. I decided to throw my bag down 5m instead of walking down the &quot;free fall&quot;. (Alternatively you could ford rio Aviles twice.)<br /> -The series of mini river crossings were all fine, there is a nice water source before pass km74 in the forest once you finish all the fords, it comes from a waterfall not far away. <br /> -Near the end I took VariantJ bcs I thought it avoided a river crossing (no rivers to cross but RR doesn't either). If you do this option I recommend still going to the hanging bridge at the X of JandRR bcs it is a fun and unique bridge!<br /> -Cassandra at Case Piedra was nice and easy to get along with.<br /> <br /> Siete Lagunas<br /> - The water we took from the marsh was probably the grossest water I have had to drink, lots of algae and oil, I filtered and boiled. (The second stream was much better)<br /> -As noted the trail is not hard to follow at this moment, only a handful of times I lost it. That being said it could be because we were walking near the end of the season and therefore it was obvious where ppl had been walking (pushed down grass), I think it would be a lot harder at the beginning of the season. Another bonus was that most spikees were gone.<br /> -Near camp136.9 there is a water source.it is at the end of the beach, 200-300m west of camp. There are two or three more water sources on the first part of the trail but after the look out there are no more.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-6 to 2024-Feb-11 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + option L / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn &amp; Tess &amp; Lukas<br /> <br /> - Trail condition : really nice overall // the trail is sometimes overgrown and easy to loose from km 113,5 to km 122, so just keep an eye on the gps<br /> - Water : easy to find plenty of rivers and lagunas<br /> - Camping spot : we camped at km 32,6 and it was a bad idea, too exposed and we got snow and a lot of wind during the night, would really recommend to go down more // we camped near the lago Gutiérrez at km 106,15 there is place for 2 tents<br /> - Weather : windy, sunny, snow, rain <br /> - River crossing : easy<br /> - Resupply : in Chile Chico (a bulk shop just opened in front of the camping Nandu) // in Cochrane everything you need<br /> - Entrance fee : for park Patagonia 11 000 pesos per pp + 6 000 pesos for camping per pp<br /> - Overall : really nice section, we were happy to encounter 3 huemuls<br /> <br /> 2023-Dec-28 to 2024-Jan-04 / 8 days / RR / SOBO / Roshi<br /> <br /> I hitchhiked from Chile Chico to X{35}[8.1/505] and did not see the settler at El Ciprés. It was very windy and I decided to cross the plateau at midday which was maybe not the best idea. The cross country I found very challenging and the extreme head wind across the plateau was in relentless. Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed the amazing landscape and the challenge, although a less windy day or starting earlier would have made it more enjoyable. I camped close to Camp 32.6/1300 at a dry spot and the next day followed the fence down to the road and walked to the Park entrance at Jenimeni. The park rangers told me of an alternative route to the start of the Avilés trail to Casa de Piedra and gave me some maps and info, they were very friendly. I paid 3000 pesos for park entry. I camped at Valle Hermoso which lives up to its name and then did a day hike to the glacial lake leaving my tent at the Refugio Valle Hermoso and following Estero Ventisquero or part of OH-CC-A {35-06} After packing up I then hiked a couple of kms down to a next campsite (there are a couple of established places to set up your tent on the way to Casa de Piedra). From Casa de Piedra I followed the Site Laguna's trail which was overgrown and difficult to follow and navigate and for me probably my least favourite part. The kms are marked but you really have to follow the GPS me there aren't many places to pitch if you don't feel like hiking anymore. I think going down into Chacobuco (which I had done previously) would have been nicer. I loved the Lago Cochrane and Tamango reserve the views and colours were amazing and the trails very easy to follow and not very busy. I got a lift into Cochrane halfway from the entrance but the road walk is not long anyway and I was not actively hitching. <br /> <br /> Annoyances were horse flies but I got good advice to &quot;out Zen&quot; them and to be honest once you let it go and enjoy the views and being in nature generally they are easy to deal with. Just don't stop between 2 and 8 PM ;) <br /> And from Jenimeni to Casa de Piedra is lots of river crossings so just accept wet feet :) and try do river crossings in the morning especially on hot days ( esp Avilés) Be safe and sensible obviously!<br /> I would have maybe even liked to stay longer on this part of the trail, there were lots of little day hikes and alternative routes I'd have loved to explore, but I didn't have enough food. It's a beautiful part of the world, enjoy it! <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From 2023-01-15 to 2023-01-19 // 5 days // Hiking // NOBO // VARIANT P + OPT3 + OPT3A + RR + VARIANT J + VARIANT I + VARIANT D + Sendero Laguna Esmeralda (no variant on that one yet) + RR // Quentin Clavel<br /> <br /> From Cochrane, I thought it was sad to go straight along the Lago Cochrane without checking what's going up there, and have a view over the vallee Chacabuco. So that's what I did. <br /> <br /> I just took the beginning of Variant P, you have to pass threw a gate saying &quot;no passar&quot; then you have to bifurcate to the option 3 (tamango) to reach the pass between vallée tamango and chacabuco. Very nice views. Then instead of going down into vallée Chacabuco, I went straight, and continue on the sendero de las siete lagunas, wich is an old track, sometimes hard to guess, so check the GPS, but mostly easy to folllow (you still have the mark every kilometers). <br /> <br /> Really loved the colours at the end of Lago guitterrez ! <br /> <br /> Main difficulties on the section are these horrible horseflies, and the no less terrible little spiky plants that stay sticks in your shoes and socks. <br /> <br /> Then you reach casa de piedras. I took the variant J to don't have to put my crocs for the river crossing (yeah, I'm a lazy walker aha). <br /> <br /> Then follow the river until the vallée hermoso, wich lives up to its name. And at this time it's just a mix between walking and crossing rivers. No need to ask, I putted my crocs on aha ! <br /> <br /> The pass up to Lago Verde was steep but the view so outstanding and the colours .. same amazing colours on Lago jeinemeni ! <br /> <br /> Didn't stayed at, but the Raleigh camp is very nice if you may choose a camp around ! <br /> <br /> Second part of NP was CC, and that was so cool ! Just have the directions and go straight to this point. Passing from mountains to others, surrounded by an unnumerable number of curious guanacos ! <br /> <br /> Hardest part is to deal with the strong wind during the ascend and at the highest point. And the descent is quite unstable, stay close to the GPX tracks, I tried to shorttrack but it led me down to slippery slopes, so I had to backtrack to find again the GPX. <br /> <br /> Then it's 15 km down to reach Chile Chico (8km on the asphalt). Settler wasn't angry against me and saluate me kindly when I passed threw his land.<br /> <br /> <br /> Very nice stretch. Very diversificate, great landscapes, wildlife. I loved it ! <br /> <br /> And about the entrance fees, It was not my intention, but I haven't paid for as I entered by variant P which is not a porper enter. And haven't seen any guardaparque at all. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-30 / 1 day / Packrafting / SOBO / Option 10 C / Tom Pieper<br /> <br /> I attempted this option as an alternative starting point for section 36G. Hitchhiked to the bridge of Carreterra Austral over Rio Chacabuco. I scouted rapid {35-10C} [2.3/121] from 100 m above and it looked feasible. This was not true when I approached on the river after entering just before the bridge. The rapid was impassable (late afternoon) which brought me into serious troubles. The canyon is pretty steep here and there is no way back. It was not fun to climb the steep slopes cliffs to escape the 100 m deep canyon. Its really dangerous. The rapid is pretty hard to investigate from above. I would recommend to only go later in the season and only in the morning or at least with company.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-21 / 8 day / Hiking + Packrafting / SOBO / RR + Option 10 + Old and new tracks to Administration Parque Patagonia Valle Chacabuco / Tom Pieper<br /> <br /> Most have been described by Kris and Stina. The plateau and the entire track is awesome. After the kind Arriero at the puesto {35} [15.8/1075] (actually its his house) I found it a little bit tricky to find a good route first but then just ascended and found a nice cross country route. Camped before the plateau. There are nice spots just before 1400 m, after that its just rocky until you descend to the Water {35} [23.9/1586]. Camp {35} [32.6/1300] was a little bit swampy. Found a better spot 300 m south. Try to be early at the road if you want to hitchhike. I was lucky and got the last car passing at 14.00 to the park at day. On the 25/12 the park entrance (but only the entrance) is always closed! Keep in mind if you come around christmas. At the park entrance you must disinfect your packrafting gear due to Didymo algae. I could not packraft lago jenimeni and verde due to wind but its still stunning. Between Water {35} [75.5/937] and Ford {35} [79.3/846] there is a approx. 3-4 steep bluff. I felt really uncomfortable with my heavy backpack as a lot of erosion happened to the steep ‘steps’. Maybe exploring an additional bush bashing route is feasible here. The ford was rather deep and could be a problem for shorter persons but I crossed in the evening, so in the morning it should be fine. Collapsed Refuge {35} [81.0/819] makes a nice camp spot. The other forts were fine. Stayed one night at Casa Piedra were I met Tobi and Fangwen and spend dinner and breakfast together the next day. CONAF first denied to packraft Rio Chacabuco due to conservation reasons, but after I mentioned that I came along all the track with my gear and rangers et sector jenimeni they were fine with me going on that river. The river is a bit unspectacular. I left at the River Out {35} [119.8/277] and I followed the old trail/road to Park Ranger, Refuge, Camp {35} [123.2/263]. There is a new picknick hut and I spend the night in there with a spectacular view of the valle chacabuco to the rims of campo hielo norte. The next day I continued the old track right side of the river (not in the GPT track files) until the bridge {35-10} [4.7/265]. Track is still in good conditions and occasionally used by the horses and guanacos there. A wonderful hike with massive views. I than continued on the CONAF trail (also not in the GPT track files) to Park administracion at Lodging $$$ {35-03} [1.9/340]. Would not recommend the restaurant. 65 $ for a 3 course meal but nothing fancy. Better spend for dinner in Cochrane. But for a post hike drink at the bar it is a lovely place and staff is kind. Also liked the museum and stayed the night at the campsite approximately 2 km away. The puma still seems to be there occasionally. Next day I hitchhiked out to Cochrane.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-18 to 2023-Dec-23/ 5.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> Got a taxi for the first 8 kilometers of the roadwalk. Nobody present at the farm where the dirtroad starts to go uphill, gates easy to get through, friendly dog. We hiked just 6km and made camp by a stream.<br /> <br /> The next day passed the puesto at km15.8, owner seemed friendly and waved. Slowly climbed up to the plateau, lots of water everywhere, very few snowpatches en route. Perfect day - not much wind. Saw lots of guanacos, hares, flamingos. Moving cross-country was ok throughout. Climbed a few barbed-wire fences. Finally found the dirt road, hiked to camp at km42.9.<br /> <br /> In the morning hitched a ride to the park entry with a ranger. We had no online booking as we didn't know when we'd arrive, they had us make one on site. Super friendly guys, said that there is currently fewer visitors than normally at this time. The route between Rio San Antonio crossing and Camp Raleigh has been changed, partially new trail built; follows mainly the Lago Esmeralda trail. There is now a brand new hanging bridge over Rio San Antonio right next to Camp Raleigh, avoiding all the needless crossings.<br /> <br /> After the camp there trail seems new in places, but then resorts to many rivercrossings again. The way up and down the Puertozuela La Gloria is steep and loose. After Lago Verde there are a million more crossings until you turn South. Here the trail is not much maintained, lots of fallen trees. The next 25km to Casa Piedra the trail is a bit harder to see at first but then gets much better. The guy (not a ranger) at Casa Piedra informed us that the Siete Lagos trail is closed but couldn't say why. It's definitely overgrown in parts, lots of fallen trees - need to keep track on the gpx at all times. After settler at km135.2 the trail has been recently maintained and bushes cut.<br /> <br /> For photos and stories, you can follow us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-31 to 2023-Apr-06 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option J / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We enjoyed this section a lot, especially with all the beautiful autumn colors in early April and basically without people until the last part before Cochrane. PN Patagonia closed some sectors on the first Monday in April, so we were the last ones to get a permission and do this section ‘legally’. Be prepared for this if you want to do this part in April or later. The problem is they close Casa Del Piedra and probably won’t let you pass to that sector from Lago Jeinemeni, where the entrance stays open for longer time. Sneaking around the guards house early in the morning or just not be specific about your plans might work if needed, its very unlikely you would meet anyone on the way from the main entrance.<br /> <br /> Just like others we found the plateau between km 20-28 very very windy. Definitely don’t count with camping there. We found a good spot right after the secound pass, aprox. 500m down the hill where you can find a wind protected place. The descent down is a little slow but with nice views, guanacos, horses.. simply amazing. Once back on the road, it’s not too far to the PN entrance where we met a guard, but fortunately were able to get a permission as described above. The trail from Lago Jeinemeni was one of our favorites. All the fords were easy, but expect quite slow progress in the CC parts. We camped in a forrest at km 81 where is a destroyed refugio but still a good spot for camping. The rest of the trail to Casa Del Piedra is again straightforward and the landscape is somehow more dry. We didn’t cross the first bridge but went with the J option which turned out to be a good decision as we met a xx of guanacos that let us come really close to them. Closed and locked refugio still provides a good shelter, but when open it must be a perfect stop in the middle of this long section. Water was turned off as well but there is a stream behind the house.<br /> <br /> We spent the next night on the beach of Lago Gutierrez where is enough space to build a tent - bushes around the trail are otherwise very thorny and sharp. After the ascent to the pass was a good stream of water, probably the last place to safely take unfiltered water for the next couple of kms. The trail from there leads around all the lakes and is nice and easy. We spent the night in a refugio at km 134. This one was the only one standing from what we have seen and its a good shelter when it rains, however we decided to stay in our tent anyway. You can make fire inside. Closest water is actually the one in a lake uphill, the stream on the other side of the path was very dirty and hard to gather anyway.<br /> <br /> From there its a one more day until the finish with a good pace. We haven’t met the settler Daniel, but he’s definitely still living there. Beautiful beach of Lago Cochrane and from there we started to meet more and more tourists, doing just a day hike or some circuit around the lake - might be a good option as well in this beautiful region. The last kms felt a little long for us as we were looking forward to have some rest and enjoy all the fun in town. At the official campsite were a few people but no one asked us about anything. There are nice toilets and shower. From there its around 30m to Cochrane. Good to remember they celebrate Easter holidays in Chile as well, but we still managed to find some shop and bakery open.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 12/03/2023 - 18/03/2023 / RR SOBO / Jakub+Veronika:<br /> <br /> Doing section 35 was due to closure of the Patagonia NP caused by heavy rains with helicopter rescue of several tourists from Valle Hermoso quite complicated, we did walk all we could in Tamango reserve and later (when it was opened) in Chacabuco valley. Be sure not to miss the museum. It's really worth it. The northern part was opened as the last one, that's why we've skipped it and hitchhiked back to Caretera. All paths in great condition. When going from Tamango to Chacabuco there's one suggestion:<br /> <br /> It seems that on RR (35, km 141) ends new 11km long track ”Huemules” which starts at the parking in Chacabuco valley on RP (35, km 132.5). That trail might be a nice alternative to RR (mud road) leading over private land of settler David Huemul.<br /> <br /> <br /> *8.02. - 05.03.23 / Anna &amp; Christopher / SOBO, Chile Chico - Cochrane<br /> <br /> We started in Chile Chico around 5 pm walking the first km on the road. After a while we got a ride to the Bahía Jara cross and camped a few hundred meters further near the street (we carried water from Chile Chico).<br /> <br /> The ascent to the plateau is mostly easy dirtroad walking and the last CC part easy to navigate. The whole stretch on the plateau until the street at km 41.5 we had extreme wind, which made walking super tiring and nearly blew us away a few times. We found a tiny and steep, but wind protected place to set up our tent at around km 28 in the ridge dug by the river. We had to get a bit inventive to set it up and to be able to sleep properly there. There were almost no other places that were protected by the wind until you get off the plateau. As almost all previous entries say, it's better to camp off the plateau. But it's really worth doing it because you can see Guanacos and flamingos on it :)<br /> <br /> When we reached the street at km 41.5 we were lucky and a car passed by a few minutes later, which brought us to the entrance of Parque Patagonia. We payed 15k CLP p.p. and walked to the camp Raleigh at Lago verde. There are some sheltered places to set up the tent, with an unfamiliar amount of people for the GPT. Lago Verde is beautiful though.<br /> <br /> The next day involves lots of river- and stream crossings and it started to rain not particularly heavy, but after some hours we were completely wet. Therefore the rivercrossing at km 82.6 was really hard for Anna (1,63 m) but we managed by inertlocking our arms and doing it step by step slowly. After that the trails get really good and you can walk way faster. We camped at the unofficial camp site at km 84.7.<br /> <br /> We had good weather the next day and the trail was really good until Lago Gutierrez. Up to the pass the trail gets a bit worse with some navigation issues, but you always find a good path again. As the others wrote there are only some tiny streams within the first km after the pass until the next Laguna, so we filled up our bottles there and camped somewhere in the forest soon afterwards once it started to rain again.<br /> <br /> The next day there were still not too much water sources and we fetched the first water at the first Laguna which wasn't super easy to access. The trail until Lago Cochrane wasn't in bad condition neither. We also took Option L, which follows the 'regular' siete lagunas trail. The stretch from Lago Cochrane until the Conaf office at the end of the lake is absolutely amazing with great views of one of the clearest lakes in the world. We camped at km 145.7 and took a bath in the lake.<br /> <br /> The last 8 km to Cochrane went super fast on an easy trail until Conaf and 4 km road walking to the town, so happily we could escape from the starting rain.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 20 to 24 of February 2023 / Silke &amp; Hans / Loop - Fachinal -&gt; Chile Chico<br /> <br /> We didn't do the regular route, but read about an intresting loop starting in Fachinal and entering the normal route at Valley Hermoso. We then continued along the regular route to the entrance at Laguna Jeinimeni, and back to Chile Chico. The first 3 days from Fachinal we didn't see any other hikers, but it was pretty clear why. The trail was completely overgrown, full of fallen trees and a lot of the time there is no trail at all. But we managed our way through pretty good, and is was an awesome alternative to enter the Park. We recorded our GPX for others, waypointed some POI's and added some photo's to it: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/114121493<br /> <br /> DAY 1 / 18km / +740m /<br /> Although we heard of a bus to Fachinal from Chile Chico, nobody really appeared to know any information about it.. In the terminal the people we spoke said there were none. So we started hitchhiking the following morning. But after 3-4h of no luck we went back to the terminal, and all of a sudden there was a bus leaving at 11:30. 10.000 pesos pp, a little expensive but being unsuccesfull hitchhiking we took it. We had lunch at the turnoff, and starting hiking around 13:00. The first part is on a clear double track, but soons turns into a clear singletrack. We took the wrong intersection twice (waypointed on our GPX). We camped right before the first big river crossing. There is one steel cable, so if you bring a harness you could tiroller across. <br /> <br /> DAY 2 / 22km / +1100m /<br /> First up, we crossed the river. The water level didn't seem a lot lower than the day before, and at the deepest part it was about halfway our thighs. After taking another wrong intersection and backtracking, we reach the second river crossing. Again a steel cable is provided but the crossing was pretty straightforward, and the water level was only slighty above our knees. Just across the river is a an old cabin, and then short after a very new refugio (locked, used by a trekking agency). The trail gets super dense after this, climbs steeply on the mountain side and dissapears completely on numerous occasions. After the climb it flattens out, opens up and you reach a laguna. After the laguna it's the easiest to just follow the river bed down to the open valley floor (possible sheltered campsite in the forest). Follow the valley floor to another amazing laguna where you can camp near a second locked refugio.<br /> <br /> DAY 3 / 14km / +440m /<br /> We started the day with a side-trip to a mirador looking over the glacier high above. Takes about 1,5-2 hours return. We then packed up camp and headed for Valley Hermoso. You pass another beautiful laguna and follow the river down to the main valley. Lots of river crossing here. We camped at the Refugio Valley Hermoso, arriving earlier than expected. <br /> <br /> DAY 4 / 15km / +200m /<br /> Very short and easy daytrip to another laguna. About 3 hours return. We just chilled the rest of the day.<br /> <br /> DAY 5 / 36km / +830m /<br /> Final day along the normal route to the entrance of Laguna Jeinimeni. The day started off with some heavy rain for a couple of hours, but all the river crossings were still very doable. We arrived at the entrance around 13:00, and there was no sign of anybody leaving soon. So we decided to continue hiking untill we could find a ride along the way. We ended up hiking an extra 19km before finally a car was willing to take us along. There is an established campsite at the entrance for 3000 pesos pp.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 19 to 24 of February 2023 / Will / SOBO, regular route<br /> <br /> Not too much to add on this one. I had a good time but the section felt long.<br /> <br /> On the way up to the first plateau there were a few somewhat sheltered places to camp past the puesto. I camped around km 19, just before the last steep climb up to the plateau. Lots of streams around there.<br /> <br /> None of the river crossings went above my knees, after a dry week.<br /> <br /> I liked the detour up to the Lago Jeinemeni mirador. I also took variant I out and back to a glacier lake, I'm less sure whether that was worth it. I couldn't find any real trail, it was nice easy cross country walking through the woods followed by some open rocky ground. The glacial lake was cool, but not as spectacular as some of the ones I've seen in other sections.<br /> <br /> I camped at the casa de piedras and took a luxurious warm shower. The ranger said you're supposed to pay at the office in valle Chacabuco, but since our route doesn't go there she just let me stay for free. She also said that sendero de siete lagunas (our route) was closed, but that I could do it since I had my gps and satellite communicator. She made it sound tough/dangerous though it turned out to be fairly quick trail.<br /> <br /> Not much water or campsites along the siete lagunas. There's a nice campsite at the tip of the pencil lake just after the (still intact!) refugio at 133.9.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-12-19 / NOBO / RR + Option 35-L / Ondrej and Bara / Cochrane - Chile Chico / 7.5 days<br /> <br /> We really enjoyed this section! We went from Cochrane to Chile Chico. Our favourite parts were the descent through Valle Hermoso and the descent on the cross country section to Chile Chico. We spent 7.5 days on this section, taking a relaxed pace and including a half day break.<br /> <br /> We only had to pay 9,000 CLP per person entrance fee at the Cochrane park gate (sector Tamango). We then showed the pass three days later to a ranger at Casa de Piedras and he let us go. The final checkpoint for us was the CONAF park exit/entrance at Lago Jeinemeni. The ranger there didn’t want to see our pass at all, he just asked from where we hiked (we said Casa de Piedras).<br /> <br /> Some details: - Starting from Cochrane, the trail is easy walking up until km 144.9. As you leave Lago Cochrane, the trail is harder to follow. Fortunately this lasts only up to km 138, where the trail becomes easy to follow again. We camped next to the refuge on km133.9. The refuge has a good roof and can serve as an emergency shelter. There is no good water next to it though - we needed to climb the hill to the laguna to refill. - From roughly km 125 to km 99, the RR follows the old Siete Lagunas trail, which is not maintained anymore. Expect some fallen trees and slightly overgrown parts but the trail is beautiful and easy to navigate in general. - We took Option L to cut some overgrown road walking as recommended by others. We really liked it. - We camped next to the destroyed refuge at Laguna Guagua (km 118.3) and really loved the place - there is an amazing pebble beach at the laguna. - If you don’t want to camp at Casa de Piedras, there is a place for a small tent and a stream at roughly km 97 (-47.07463, -72.20439). We camped there. - The river crossings in Valle Aviles and Vale Hermoso were maximum to our knees. The deepest one was at Lago Verde (km 66.1). However, the river levels can change rapidly when it rains the days before - do check the weather. - We camped at the eastern shore of Lago Verde (km 61.7; campsite Raleigh) and really loved it - it has picnic tables and a spacious cooking/eating shelter. - We hitchhiked the part on the road between km 53 and 41.5. Few cars go by but the hitch was easy - we stopped the first car. - The cross country section from km 41.5 is very different from the rest - semi-desert like and lots of animals. We saw llamas, flamimgos, condors and hares (among sheep, cows and horses). - Between km 38 and 33 the path goes along a fence. We had to get over the fence once (we scrambled below it without problems). - If you are going NOBO, expect stunning views of the General Carrera Lake and Torres del Avelano when coming from the last pass (km 20.8) down to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> A ranger in Casa de Piedras wanted to prevent us to walk the RR NOBO from Casa de Piedras to Valle Hermoso. He claimed that route is closed now as the rivers are too high to cross. To avoid conflict, we said that we will only do the “loop trail” which is basically the RR from Casa de Piedras up until the bridge where the RR joins Option J. The Option J is then used to return back to Casa de Piedras. When doing the loop, we met several hikers in the opposite direction who confirmed that all river crossings are fine. In light of this we decided to continue on the RR and indeed the deepest ford was to our knees. Therefore if faced with a ranger claiming that the rivers are too high, we suggest to start with the loop trail (rangers should be okay with that) and get more info on the river levels from the hikers going the opposite direction.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023 last week January NoBo (6 days but could have very easily been done in less) / Helen and Craig + (Caro, Ali and Gabby)<br /> <br /> &gt;Such lovely camp sites. Beautiful places to stay the night the whole way around<br /> <br /> &gt;Very very easy trails. River crossing section isn't bad at all and the Valle hermosa lives up to its name.<br /> <br /> &gt;1st and last camp site particularly lovely<br /> <br /> &gt;Keep eyes peeled for pumas! I would have easily missed the sighting if I hadn't been looking the right way at the right time. They were super close. 10m or less away. Two cubs outside the refugio at casa peidra. Not where they are commonly seen in the park at all Aparently around west winds camp they are more commenly seen.<br /> <br /> &gt;Museum in the middle of the section worth checking out. Very visual and quite hard hitting environmental museum<br /> <br /> &gt; Can hitch easy enough to Chile Chico but leave last camp early in the morning. There's often a driver with a 4x4 who drives hikers in to the park and will take you back for 10,000p/p. Hikers who were a few hours behind us had no luck hitching as demand can often overtake spaces.<br /> <br /> <br /> *27 of January to 1 of February 2023 / Véronica &amp; Zach / GPT35 RR SOBO / 5.5 days <br /> <br /> Route: Chile Chico - Lago Jeinimeni - Valle Hermoso - Casa de Piedra - Lago Cochrane - Cochrane <br /> <br /> What a beautiful and diverse stretch of the GPT! I hiked half of this section with Zach, up to Casa de Piedras at km 98.9. We were unable to get a hitch out of Chile Chico, so we ended up walking the road to where the trail begins. No navigation issues, but the entire cross-country section to Río de las Nieves (waypoint at 42.7 km) is very exposed and was very windy when we crossed. We ended up camping at the water at 23.9 km, but the wind blew very strongly all night and I was worried it might take my tent. If you can, it is better to camp off this plateau unless the weather is calm. Lots of guanaco trails to follow :) <br /> <br /> At the CONAF office at km 53.0, we each paid 9,000 clp for entry to the national park, plus 6,000 clp for passage/camping along the trail to Casa de Piedras in the Valles Hermoso and Aviles. Beautiful trail the whole way, popular and well-maintained, with cairns and markers to follow. There is an awesome shelter and camping area with picnic tables on the eastern shore of Lago Verde, at the end of Option D. In my opinion it was nicer than the popular refugio in Valle Hermoso (km 68.1) that everyone talks about. <br /> <br /> We had no issues with fords, except the one at km 82.6 which flows into Río Aviles. It was the end of a warm sunny day, so the flow was quite high and strong. Had I been on my own I would have camped on the north side and waited till morning to cross. However, this time I was able to cross by linking arms with Zach as he is much taller than me and was more stable in the current. <br /> <br /> At Casa de Piedras, Zach and I parted ways as he wanted to packraft down the Río Chacabuco. The ranger at the Casa told me the Sendero de las Siete Lagunas (which begins at km 99.5) was no longer maintained. This is true, there were stretches in the desertlike brush that were hard to follow, and I checked the GPS frequently. Generally it was better when the trail went into wooded areas. I also found this trail to be dry — the only water I found was the water from the lagunas and a tiny trickle about a kilometer south of the pass. Lots of spiky plants that get stuck in your socks and shoes. I took Option L to cut out some overgrown minor road walking. It's sad that this trail is being neglected and left to be swallowed up by nature, because otherwise it is quite scenic. <br /> <br /> The horse trail that goes from the puesto of Daniel Huemul (km 143.3) to Lago Cochrane was also rough and overgrown. Everything gets easier once you reach Lago Cochrane though, nice, maintained trails all the way to Cochrane with beautiful places to camp along the lake. <br /> <br /> <br /> * GPT35 / Yannic &amp; Mirjam / 2022-Dec-13<br /> <br /> Much is already detailed below, so we will keep it short <br /> <br /> 1 day: from Chile Chico to the entrance of the National Park. We camped one night before the pass at S 46.61639 W 71.81632. Water right next to the camp. Pass is very windy.<br /> <br /> 2 days: from the National Park to the Refugio. Nice refugio with small house where you can make a fire inside to dry things. From the Refugio to Casa Piedra is possible in one day. But it is a long day with many kilometres.<br /> <br /> 2.5 days: Casa Piedra to Cochrane. Leaving Casa Piedra, after a few hundred metres the trail leaves the Minor Road and enters the trail (where there is a large stone marker). The trail is officially closed and partly in bad condition. There are many fallen trees on the trail, some of it is overgrown and not completely clear. We therefore checked the GPS regularly. We took OH-TL-V{35-L}, which saves a few kilometres of (overgrown) minor road.<br /> We spent one night at Laguna Guagua (Refugio is completely destroyed) and one at Lago Cochrane.<br /> When we left the national park, no one was at the office. We therefore simply went through...<br /> <br /> <br /> * GPT35 Variant P, Option 3, 3C, 3D / Meylin Ubilla, Jan Dudeck / 2022-Dec-12 and 13 / 1.5 days <br /> <br /> While waiting in the village Cochrane for our friends to catch up, we did a little 1.5 day hike higher up next to Lago Cochrane that we visited at least 3 times by packraft in past years. For the first time this year we waked with a light backpack without packrafting gear.<br /> <br /> We took Variant P eastbound that slowly climbs on a gravel road to an altitude of 500 m and then continues as a panorama trail in this altitude.<br /> <br /> Apparently, this is not authorized access to Parque Patagonia (Sector Tamango) and two gates need to be climbed but there was nobody to be seen on this route. The normal access to the park is down next Rio Cochrane and Lago Cochrane.<br /> <br /> Nearly the entire route was scenic and worth the effort.<br /> <br /> The settler “El Húngaro” apparently sold the land and became part of the national park. There is an open building that might be used as a refuge in case of emergency but camping is probably more comfortable.<br /> <br /> The refuge at {35-P} [4.0/501] is collapsed but camping is pleasant on this pasture.<br /> <br /> The trail section OH-TL-V {35-03} [0.0+5.2] is not maintained for several years making this route inconvenient to walk. The route south of both lakes is easy walking.<br /> <br /> As long as Parque Patagonia does not challenge hikers to make a full traverse from Cochrane to Chile Chico it is prudent to take the official route which is the current regular route and pay the entrance fee near Cochrane when hiking northbound.<br /> <br /> But should longer multi-day traverses be denied, then it might be less bothersome to take Variant P which avoids the entrance.<br /> <br /> Packrafters can travel east and westbound on Lago Cochrane and will not pass any park entrance.<br /> <br /> <br /> * Alice &amp; Florian / 4 to 10 November-2022 / Regular Hiking Northbound<br /> <br /> Here's our story of our GPT35. We really enjoyed this section, it is really diverse, beautiful landscapes and we saw heaps of animals. <br /> <br /> As we wanted to do the trail in the northbound direction, we took the bus from chile chico to Cochrane, arriving in chile chico from argentina from the south (border o'higgins closed...). It tales 4 hours and leaves on sunday at 14 (return Monday 7 Am), Monday 16 (return Tuesday 7 AM),Wednesday and Friday 7 Am (return 16).<br /> <br /> We took the option north of Cochrane because we were not sure if they would allow us to sleep in the tamango reserve. But, indeed you have to pass a no entry sign, a gate and a sign saying that entering the park that way is prohibited so we do not recommend it when it is written on the conaf website that it is allowed to sleep in tamango section.<br /> <br /> We took the sendero de los huemules and slept at camp 1 waypoint. There was plenty of water at that time and a beautiful view.<br /> <br /> After that we took the option OH-TL-V 35-P to avoid going downhill. The entry of this trail is about 150m before what is indicated on the GPT so be aware. I don't think the trail is an official one from the park so you have to fight your way through some bushes. But apart from that, it is clear. Then we joined the regular route, which since the 2022 version does follow the siete lagunas trail. You will join the siete lagunas trail at the kilometer 11 more or less. We then camped around the km 13 of the 7 lagunas trail. <br /> <br /> We found water just before climbing at the pass at S47°06.0856' W072°17.592' and there is more at the top. However, it is true that it is drier on the other side of the pass, so if you are going Southbound, pack enough water from Lago Gutierrez to climb the pass. <br /> <br /> We spent the third night at casa de Piedra where you have all facilities (electricity, hot shower, kitchen). Unfortunately for us they were on strike so they wouldn't allow us to go further on the trail. We did anyway as going out to jeiminini or through the road to chacabuco would take the same time. <br /> By the way various national parks - including Torres del Paine were on strike at the moment. <br /> <br /> The second part in the aviles valley is really clear, the trail is really nice and easy and with a lot of water available. Exiting the casa de piedra you should take the option OH-TI-V 35-J instead of the regular route, it will save you 600 m and two river crossings, and the view is similar. Starting at km 20, you will have to reduce your pace because the trail is busy with a lot of fallen trees, bushes and rocks. Between the km 22 and 23 of the valle aviles trail, the trail has been swept away by the river this winter so you have to cross the river two more times to go around. The kilometers indications disappear more or less after the pass, at km 25. <br /> <br /> After that you enter the valle Hermoso. We camped at the waypoint 17/Camp Valle Hermoso but we do not recommend it. It was really small and close to the river, so if there is a sudden level rise because of heavy rain or a flooding because of a glaciar outburst (GLOF), you might get wet... Better sleep st the small caban near km23 if you don't think you will reach the refugio in valle Hermoso.<br /> <br /> Once you reach Lago Verde, follow the GPT track and not the trail that leads to the lake, or you will have to turn back. After the pass it's more river crossings but you can save some kilometers in the river bed by taking the option OH-TI-V 35-E and then OH-TI-V 35-D until the rio jeimenini (the first part of the option OH-TI-V 35-D does not exist anymore). We did not have any trouble to cross the Rio between the 2 lakes even though we were in the middle of the afternoon. It was about thigh deep for me but I'm tall. <br /> <br /> After that it's really easy to the Parc entrance. We went back to Chile Chico walking on the road instead of taking the cross country option, because0 there were still snow on the mountain. The first part is still pretty until the intersection, once you enter the valley of the Rio it is a bit more monotonous. Halfway there is an access to an annex of the national park, to go see the Cueva de las manos and valle lunar. <br /> <br /> <br /> * Adrien Kunzli / 31-Oct-2022-04-November-2022 / Regular Hiking Northbound<br /> <br /> All rivers crossing are easy to pass at this time of year. One tricky passage on the snow at the entrance of lago verde, very steep, but it was to avoid walking in the lake (frozen feet early in the morning). <br /> <br /> No guards at the entrance at Tamango so i didnt pay the fee but didnt get my pass. Tamara gently gave me one at the camping of casa del piedra (apparently if i didnt have this pass i could not be admitted at Jeinimeni.) At Jeinimeni pass, again, nobody. So i were to the houses near and finaly find the guy. He took my pass and i get no fee in this NOBO direction. <br /> Nice shortcut after the bridge of Rio de las Nieves (S 46° 47.274', W 071° 54.665') that can avoid you a little bit of the 4x4 unfinshing road and get you directly into the heart of this amazing and beautifull last part. So: <br /> In front of the end of the bridge, you go up the big hill and go diagonally (or directly if you feel better) to join the path (pretty wild) of the gps (S 46° 45.843', W 071° 54.359'). Small stretches of paths are drawn rather well along this shortcut. <br /> <br /> Not much good water between the bridge (brown water) and the puesto but the the puesto's water is of much better quality.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * GPT 35: Parque Patagonia/ Exploration Route via Valle Maullín Grande/ 2022 March-12/ 4 days / Tobias Schorcht, Jonas Grünewald <br /> <br /> We hiked from Maullín Grande to Cochrane by chance. I always wanted to do the stretch from Chile Chico to Cochrane, but we had just 4 days left… When we hitchhiked northbounded from Villa O’Higgins, we luckily got picked up by Pascual Diaz, who is a experienced Mountain Guide (company Kalem) and took us all the way to his refugio in Maullín Grande. He also explained us, how to reach Cochrane on time while doing that crossing. The next day he took us to the end of the Road, where we started hiking around midday (-46,80390, -72,42001). It was a easy walk to the end of the Valley where we camped (-46,87872, -72,34138). The following day was hard, but we went up to the pass (1430m) in perfect sunshine. At (-46,87234, -72,30906) you will face a waterfall in a steep canyon. We recommend to walk on the left side (northwest) through the forest until you meet the riverbed again. The other side is also possible (we went there), but you have to climb higher in difficult terrain. From that point you can easily do a cross country walk up to the pass, where you have to cross the Glaciar (without cracks). It was absolutely stunning! Going down to the laguna is quite steep. I would not do it in bad weather conditions. When you meet the laguna, you can either walk on the left or right side. Both options are not easy. We crossed on the right (southern) side, which is ok in good weather conditions. There is one river crossing in between, which could be impossible with more water. Now we think it would have been easier to walk on the left (northern) side, although we would have had needed to cross the river before and after the laguna. Packrafting is an option as well, but since it only 1.5 km we don’t think it is worth it. Camped in a forest close to the regular trail dry and save. All in all we recommend this option to experienced hikers in good weather conditions. The hike to Cochrane was hard, because we had just 2 days for 80km. So we hitchhiked to the museum of Parque Patagonia and we even saw a puma at the Westwind Campsite! It seems like this puma shows up there regularly. I waited for that moment almost 5 months. My dream came true on my very last evening in nature. Thank you Patagonia for this great gift. 🙏<br /> <br /> *Christmas2021 / GPT 35, NOBO, participants Janna &amp; Matthias, dec 2021, duration 6 days from Cochrane to Conaf center at Lago Jeinimeni, then hitchhiked to Chile Chico<br /> <br /> As recommended by a friend we opted for the following route through the Parque Nacional de Patagonia which is highly recommendable (first two days mainly GPT variants and options, afterwards GPT regular routes. There are several marked senderos in the beginning as 5 Los Huemules, 8 los Pumas, 7 los Guanacos, sendero 9, sendero Lagunas Altas etc.) as you can see in our attached tracking file.<br /> <br /> All in all the trails were easy to find, some seemed to be still unhiked this year. To enter the park from Cochrane we had to pass a prohibition sign and climb over a no entrar gate. We didn't meet anyone on the first day, the settler didn't seem to be around. The following days we met two to three other hikers per day, but no rangers until the end at Conaf Center near Lago Jeinimeni, where we easily paid the park fees in arrears (8000 pp park entrance fee and an additional 6000 pp overnight stays in the park). We deliberately skipped the Conaf center in Valle Chacabuco on the advice of our friend.<br /> <br /> Good to know:<br /> - There is no water anymore at S 47.198557, W 72.474927 near the camping site but instead at S 47.203460, W 72.480747 and S 47.179332, W 72.465807<br /> - There were many lagoons on our day 3 that weren't visibly well marked neither on our apps nor on the Garmin GPS.<br /> - All the marked refugios along the trail are heavily damaged except Casa de Piedra<br /> (closed on the 24th of dec) and Refugio Valle Hermoso (where we could even dry our<br /> soaked shoes from the many river crossings next to the fireplace).<br /> - From the refugio Valle Hermoso we did a side trip to the first glacier lake in the Valle<br /> Estero Ventisquero without all the luggage.<br /> - The río Jeinimeni water level was up to our waists and strong (note it had rained the<br /> night before). According to others it was supposed to be knee-deep.<br /> - Hitchhiking from Conaf center Jeinimeni to Chile Chico is possible when camping or day guests are leaving. As we arrived later in the afternoon we spent an extra night there. <br /> - The supermercado sur in Chile Chico sells gas.<br /> <br /> Track files and waypoints: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-98Ou9jk0porCVRp7CSFZ-KciXQ2PBzD<br /> <br /> [[file:Greater Patagonian Trail (7).jpg|thumb|GPT35 - RN Lago Jeinimeni]]<br /> <br /> <br /> *30 Nov RR 5 days SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> From Chile Chico I got the Bahia Jara bus &amp; got off at the junction, saves a 6KM roadwalk. Walked 2KM up the road then on trail to the high plateau. The settler before the pass wasn't there but his dogs were a bit territorial so I avoided the puesto. I went across the high plateau &amp; camped a bit before the second puesto in one long day. Camp marked on track file below the pass was not very good (boggy &amp; sloping) so I continued down to camp near the stream. The second puesto is above the RR &amp; not visible from it. Camping on the high plateau definitely not recommended. It is very exposed &amp; the wind can &amp; will knock tents. On day 2 I got to CONAF, they said a puma had been there every day the week before. Continued with many river crossings to the hut. There are trails marked with ribbons on LHS of the river SOBO, they go in on small loops which avoid some of the river crossings. Nearing the hut there is a stream flowing into the lake. At the lake it was too deep to cross. Bush bashed for about 40 metres to reach the ford. Camped outside the hut. Several river crossings on the third day. The double crossing is the crux. I avoided it by going over the bluff on LHS of river with a bit of tree bashing but I don't recommend that. The bluff descent is cliffed off with only a narrow breach where you can downclimb on trees. The breach is not obvious from above. Better to ford the river - it was running high but I met several hikers who had crossed it. Got to Casa de Pidera in 1 long day from the hut. You can cook in the Casa (they have a gas stove, electricity &amp; showers) but have to camp outside. There are some trees to shelter from the wind. On the fourth day I started walking Sendero de Siete Lagunas (SSL) but I was using the 2019 track file which doesn't show the SSL. It had not been walked much recently &amp; the route was not obvious. At the lake I lost the SSL in guanaco tracks. I continued around the lake &amp; walked out about 2KM to the road. The descent to the road was cliffed off but I found a way down in a gully. Then I walked out the road past a meadow where hundreds of guanaco were grazing. Past the meadow I went in left on a side road to rejoin the RR. On the fifth day I walked past Daniel Huemul's puesto &amp; was lucky to meet Daniel who was riding out &amp; he showed me the way. He said the direct RR which goes right from the puesto is now overgrown &amp; disused. Instead we went out to the left. There is a small road which goes in a loop &amp; turns towards Lago Cochrane but with his directions I was able to shortcut it. I paid 15,000 CLP for entry &amp; camping at CONAF Lago Jeinemeni &amp; they didn't charge me anything at Casa de Piedra.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-Mar-18 , Tyler Wood, 7 Days Sobo<br /> <br /> Amazing section to end my season with. I got a couple short hitches on the way up past Chile Chico. Up past the last puesto are some great areas to camp along a big boulder field. Maybe 2 km more. Beautiful and surrounded by Guanacos. Plenty of water too. Up near the top of the pass was very cold, but very beautiful, and even saw a bunch of flamingoes in the lakes.<br /> <br /> On the way down the pass I tried to find the fore-mentioned route to the puesto to take the road the rest of the way down and didn’t really have any luck...found my way anyways and camped down by Rio sucio under a willow.<br /> <br /> Into Jenimeni I got another little hitch. Once you cross the deeper river by Laguna esmeralda just keep those water shoes on, you’ll be crossing many more times.<br /> <br /> I also was told by a ranger that sendero siete Lagunas wasn’t habilitado, but went for it anyways. Water is Not after Laguna Gutiérrez for a while, so make sure you fill up around there. After the pass there are a few more small<br /> Streams to fill up. <br /> <br /> The road walking to Tmango reserve seemed to take forever, but Walking/camping by Lago Cochrane was all worth it. At puesto Huemul Is when I got my first advice that the corona virus was a big deal. The woman told me there were 3 confirmed cases in Cochrane, I went there and booked my tickets straight home. Hasta le vista baby!!!<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-February-08 / 7 days / Southbound<br /> <br /> Long and beautiful section. No major difficulties. Great diversity. Without hitchhiking, it took me 173 kilometers. <br /> <br /> 1st part / 2 days / Chile Chico to Div 217<br /> At the beginning of the cross country, valley full of Guanacos. I camped just after the puesto, about 2 kilometers after the beginning of the cross country, before the pass, where there are still rocks to protect from the wind.<br /> As related in previous reports, after camp 279, you will stumbled upon a fence. Go on the East along the fence, cross it, and you will find a trail to the next Puesto and then the trail goes down from the puesto to the dirt road. You will avoid cross country this way. <br /> <br /> 2nd part / 2,5 days to Casa de Piedra<br /> Popular part. Groups of hikers along the way. 8000CLP entrance fee + 6000 CLP for 2 nights sleeping inside the park. <br /> <br /> 3rd part / 2,5 days / Sendero de las 7 lagunas<br /> After Casa de Piedra, I followed the GPS regular route which took me to the beginning of the Sendero of 7 lagunas. CONAF said it was not &quot;habilitado&quot; but it is actually well marked. The good thing is that there will be no hikers on this part, except when you approach the end, along the lago Cochrane. The trail is very different from the GPS tracks but no difficulties to find it. So, don't worry not having the GPS tracks. <br /> At S 47º08.015' W 72º18.948', there is a nice place to camp and also, the trail will merge with the optional route OH-TL-V@35-02F-#001 You can then follow this track and then go back to the Regular Route to reach Cochrane.<br /> <br /> <br /> * Martin Lizondo / 28-Jan-2020 / Regular Hiking Southbound<br /> <br /> The section took me 6 days. Some tips:<br /> <br /> The first part from Chile Chico has a +20 km cross country walk. The wind is extremly strong and the route very high, with no forest protection. I recommend spending the first night behind the trees of El Ciprés (the settler Orlando Vazquez allows people to pass and is very kind) or near to the puesto at the end of the minor road at 46º 36' 5,3&quot; S, 71º 48' 45,05&quot; O (Miguel Pacheco is very kind too). Enough water all along the route.<br /> <br /> The Jeinimeni section of Parque Patagonia is very easy and well marked. Entrance to foreigners costs CLP 8000 plus 6000 if spending the night. There’s a shelter with place for fire and tents after 18 km.<br /> <br /> Valley Aviles to Casa de Piedra is also easy and beautifull, with many free camping spots. Casa de Piedra costs CLP 8000 per night.<br /> <br /> The rest of the gps track is very different from the actual trail, called “Sendero de las Siete Lagunas”. I recommend taking this route instead of the old gps track, as it’s very well maintained. At Lago la Pepa ( 47º 7' 45,19&quot; S, 72º 18' 41,54&quot; O ) the trail crosses an old overgrown minor road, which coincides with the gps track and takes to Puesto Huemul (47º 11' 25,31&quot; S, 72º 26' 6,98&quot; O). If going to the left, you’ll reach the puesto, if going up to the right you’ll end the official “Sendero de las Siete Lagunas” near to the main park center. Other hiking options are possible from that point, but the regular route to Puesto Huemul is the shortest.<br /> <br /> From Puesto Huemul, the trail goes down near to the lake Cochrane through Sendero “Coigües” and “Carpinteros”. Well marked and signed, this trails will take you to the start of Tamango section, very near to Cochrane.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-27 / GPT35 New Route: Lago General Carrera (Fachinal) to Parque Patagonia (Lago Jenimeni or “Casa de Piedra”) / 5 days / Meylin Meylin Elisabeth Ubilla González and Jan Dudeck<br /> <br /> Based on a recommendation from Tobias Hellwig W and Daniel Mahn Borkowsky we investigated a new route that I did no had on my radar until a few weeks ago. This route provides an alternative access from the southern coast of Lago General Carrera into the Parque Patagonia and is of interest for packrafters and hikers.<br /> <br /> The route is a traditional animal trail that was used by the settlers of Fachinal to drive cattle to a large summer pasture that is now part of Parque Patagonia (sector Jenimeni). With the enforcement of keeping domestic animals out of the protected park area a 5 km trail section inside Parque Patagonia lacks maintenance but is still quite well traversable for GPT standards. Apart from this short trail section most of the route is very scenic and nice to walk but practically unknown. Only one tourism company runs guided hiking trips along this route about once per months. Apart from this occasionally use the full traverse seams not to be done anymore.<br /> <br /> Due to lack of trail markings we spend about one extra day in searching and following the poorly maintained 5 km trail section but with our GPS record other hikers should struggle much less than we did and will be able to walk in 4 to 5 moderate hiking days from Fachinal at the southern shore of Lago General Carrera to “Casa de Piedra” in the center of Parque Patagonia in the Valle Chacabuco.<br /> <br /> We hiked the route northbound as we considered the option to cross Lago General Carretera at its shortest narrow by packraft. Here the lake is only 3.2 km wide but we finally did not cross this rather dangerous lake due to suboptimal wind conditions.<br /> <br /> Fachinal to Rio Aviles River Crossing: <br /> <br /> A well maintained “cattle highway” leads from Fachinal from the road bridge of Rio Aviles along the western/southern side of Rio Aviles to the limit of Parque Patagonia. This roughly 20 km long trail section gets regularly cleaned with chain saws to facilitate access to the pastures along Rio Aviles for free-rooming cattle. Most of the trees that have fallen on the trail have been cut to keep the trail easily traversable. Some hikers might find the “pointless up and down” annoying but this trail was created by men that move on horses that did not had to ascent and descent themself. About 1 km before crossing the Rio Aviles two signs indicate the limit of Parque Patagonia (Sector Jenimeni) and ban access for unauthorized people and domestic animals (without providing any clue who might be authorized and who not ;-). From the park limit the trail descents steep to Rio Aviles but remain well maintained to ford.<br /> <br /> This trail section requires two possibly demanding river crossings that can become impossible during snow melt in spring, after heavy rain or on the afternoon or evening of hot days (melting water from glaciers!). To keep the route traversable in such circlesumstances the tourism company has installed in both locations steel ropes (to cross these two rivers hooked up in harness to the steel rope without even touching the water).<br /> <br /> Rio Aviles River Crossing to the Pass (1150 m above Sea Level): <br /> <br /> After the river crossing the trail condition suddenly changes. Fallen trees don’t get cut anymore and undergrowth is not cleaned by machete. It’s mainly the remaining path on the ground that indicates the former animal trail. Advance is slow and in various locations care must be taken to not loose the trail. Here you will need to climb over fall trees and push occasionally through dense vegetation until reaching an altitude of 950 m. At this altitude the forest floor opens up (no dense undergrowth any more) and the trail disappears completely. Here walking becomes easy again. Walk the following kilometer through the open forest following roughly the GPS track until reaching the end of the forest and the small lake after the 1150 m high pass.<br /> <br /> An advise for northbound hikers: <br /> <br /> Finding the first signs of the trail in the open forest was a struggle as we had no information where exactly the trail starts to descent. I searched at least 3 or 4 hours in a 400 m wide and 1200 m long section of open forest till I found a first old machete mark on a tree that indicated the location of the trail. Carefully searching and following similar marks I finally found the descending trail.<br /> <br /> Searching northbound we lost the trail again when reaching Rio Aviles at the bottom of the valley and searched half a day for the correct continuation. A well visible and noticeably used trail next to Rio Aviles leads directly to an suitable river ford but from there a well maintained trail continues 1 km in the wrong direction (upstream). Only after bushbashing 1 km along the river shore downstream we recognized with surprise a second river ford (now the correct river ford) which connects to the well maintained trail section in the correct direction. In hindsight we understood that the well maintained trail simply continues upstream along Rio Aviles and that this trail crosses twice the Rio Aviles. Due to a partially not evident trail section on the other side of we did not recognize this when hitting this trail on the bottom of the valley and took the wrong direction to the wrong river ford.<br /> <br /> Now hikers with our GPS record and a GPS should not struggle to find and follow this trail as we did.<br /> <br /> Pass (1150 m above Sea Level) to Valle Hermoso Refugio: <br /> <br /> After leaving the forest at the 1150 m high pass the most scenic part of this route starts. A roughly 15 km long cross country route leads over pastures and river sediments past 3 lakes and two glaciers to the Refugio Valle Hermoso. Occasionally signs of a trail are visible but due to the open landscape a continuous trail neither exists nor is needed. <br /> <br /> Near the Refuge Valle Hermoso this route connects with regular route that leads along Valle Aviles (diffrent river with the same name!) to “Casa de Piedra” in the center of Parque Patagonia.<br /> <br /> Access to Trail Head at Fachinal:<br /> <br /> There are multiple buses per week from Chile Chico to Puerto Tranquilo on the Carretera Austral that pass Fachinal.<br /> <br /> Monday and Friday runs a subsidized bus from Chile Chico to Fachinal and back to Chile Chico (One round trip in the morning and a second one in the evening).<br /> 8:30 leaving Chile Chico<br /> 9:30 in Fachinal<br /> 11:00 returning to Chile Chico<br /> 17:30 leaving Chile Chico<br /> 18:30 in Fachinal<br /> 20:00 returning to Chile Chico<br /> <br /> If you wish to cross Lago General Carrera to continue hiking in the Cordillera Avellano North of the lake speak to Carloz Amoros in Fachinal (mobile: +56 9 76267029 / price around 30‘000 CLP) or Pascual Diaz de Mallin Grande.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-January 23 / Oreste Marquis/ Northbound : 8 days <br /> <br /> Going northbound. I followed the route until the second settler at the puesto Tejuela. From there, until the optional route @35-02e#001,<br /> I could not find the approximate trail in the files. I manage to find another one which is call siete Lagunas. It is really easy to follow and really beautiful! I find it near km 18 and keep walking on it until km 38. It is the end of it and is at the campground near Lago Gutiérrez. For more informations go reed Martin post in recent alerts and suggestion. I met him on the trail and he updated the wikiexplora before me. From the beginning to Casa Piedra took me 3 days. Then I hiked to the end of the reserve in an other 3 days. Lots of rivers to cross but felt pretty safe for all of them even the one higher between Lagos Jeinimeni and Verde. The cross country part the next day was my favorite of the hole trip! Awesome views, a lot of wildlife, just need to check a little bit more the gps! Last day, I headed to Chile Chico without any problem. Overall, I love it! Enjoyed it as much as GPT40.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-January / Matthieu / Northbound : 7.5 days &quot;tranquilito&quot;<br /> Incredible trekk, lots of different type of views and soil, my favorite since El Chalten. Money required for passing by the reserves !!<br /> I hitchhiked 10 km on the road to Casa Piedra, and 12 km between Jeinemini qnd the beginning of the trail that goes north in the mountain to join Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> '''1st part : Reserve Tamango''' : 6000 CLP the entry<br /> I took the old &quot;Huemul trail&quot; in the Tamango reserve, taking the left route at the &quot;Camp 284&quot; It is an old trail for 4x4, so very easy, and closed to vehicles now. <br /> <br /> '''2nd part : The road to Casa Piedra :''' the rangers I crossed were all agreed that it was not permitted to camp aside of the road (so the information is different that in Nov). One officiql camping at the end of Tamango reserve (WestWind) and one at Casa Piedra 26 km after. 8000 CLP each. At Westwind (not verified, only inforñqtions for guardaparques): no accomodations, only baño. At Casa Piedra . real big house, hot shower, electricity, place to cook. <br /> <br /> '''3rd part : Reserve Jenemeni :''' Entry 8000 CLP. For the camping, the ranger told me that it was permitted to camp wherever I wanted, so the information differs too from november. And at the exit, I told the ranger about my &quot;savage&quot; camping in the conversation, and he didnt tic at all, so no stress. The rangers are very nice !<br /> Good trekk, easy to follow. One very good refuge in the valle Hermoso where fire is possible. a more open refuge/camping site by the east shore of Lago Verde. <br /> Many river crossing, all safe except one, before the Laguna Esmeralda. Strong current, and people choose many different way with different profundness. Better do it in the morning, being a glaciar river (I could effectively compare between late in the afternoon and the morning and it is very different).<br /> <br /> '''Last part, to Chile Chico by the mountain :''' Amazing views, totaly different climate, more dry and with only bushes. <br /> At the beginning of the Cross country after the 4x4 road, I would advise to go a few meters west from the GPS tracks, to the east side of the river. There is effectively a fence on the west ridge, and a good trail on the east ridge that can avoid you the difficult crossing of many bushes, and that goes directly to the puesto.<br /> Two puestos, The 135 of metal being used by the locals (real bed inside), so just putted the tent outside. The second one 134 is actually a real house. Two mens were here when I arrived, working with the animals. I could put the tent near the house and take water from the sink outside. Many dogs, all nice.<br /> <br /> <br /> *GPT35 Summary:<br /> Mum, Sis and I. Southbound. 11 days.*<br /> <br /> Well. What an interesting and varied section. Also the longest walk I think we'd all done. It took us 11 days in the end with a couple of longer side trips. Interestingly, when we emerged from the park it was closed, there was martial law in effect, a curfew in place. Borders closed. Only a week to get back to Santiago to catch the last flights back to Australia... Anyway. We're heading back now. Got temperature tested as we reentered Chili Chico this morning. Waiting for the boat across the lake mañana in la mañana. No buses out of town. Enough rambling...<br /> <br /> As always, thanks to the others before us that have taken the time to comment and provide feedback. Here's my two cents.<br /> <br /> Firstly here are some landmarks to make it easier for others to orient themselves: <br /> <br /> El Ciprés<br /> http://ge0.me/oGvL0ey6_7/El_Ciprés<br /> ge0://oGvL0ey6_7/El_Ciprés<br /> Casa Piedra<br /> http://ge0.me/4GvJGSxqPH/Casa_Piedra_%28Stone_House%29<br /> ge0://4GvJGSxqPH/Casa_Piedra_%28Stone_House%29<br /> Westwind<br /> http://ge0.me/wGvC_gnJaX/Westwind<br /> ge0://wGvC_gnJaX/Westwind<br /> <br /> Camping in Chile Chico:<br /> El Carro is supposed to be the cheapest place to stay in town. Though if you want a hot shower it's the same as Kon-aiken next door. We stayed at neither so can't really comment, but there were a lot of people staying at Kon-aiken and next to none at El Carro which might be indicitive of value for money or just the fact they are a little closer to the centre of town.<br /> El Carro however was the only one willing to look after some things for us.<br /> We also visited a hostel, but the owner was unfortunately very rude.<br /> <br /> El carro<br /> 4k frío <br /> 5k caliente <br /> 1k por día por mochila <br /> <br /> Kon-aiken<br /> 5k pp / noche <br /> No baggage service <br /> <br /> Part 1: Chili Chico to Jeinemeni<br /> In the end we decided to cache things in the bushes just outside of town. Mum and my sister got a lift to the Bahía Jara cruz whist I was caching. Unfortunately I had to walk all the way to El Ciprés where my mum and sister had been enjoying a nice conversation with Orlando Vazquez who allowed us to pass but emphasised the dangers and didn't really recommend crossing. <br /> Passing through the gate a couple of utes were exiting. Apparently there is a new mine up in the mountains and they didn't really want us to walk up. They admitted they just worked there.<br /> Turn off the main rd that assumably heads to the mine about here: -46.57775, -71.82666<br /> Goucho Miguel Pacheco passed us on the way up herding some cattle and we talked to him at the puesto for a while. We also gave him one of the Australian coins we'd been carrying around. He seemed to believe it was everyone's right to pass. &quot;People pass through here all the time &quot;.&quot;Just yesterday a lad passed by &quot;.&quot;It's the shortest route across the mountains &quot;<br /> Anyway. We camped in the rocks just outside the park boundaries (as mentioned by??).<br /> We then camped two nights up on the windy plateau. Our side trip to Valle Lunes was amazing. I'd recommend it. But be careful with wind. Oh and did anyone mention the guanacos?<br /> Unfortunately I think the water wasn't very clean on this part. Sheep, cows, guanacos, birds... It's the first time in Chile I've wished I took my water filter along. We had some sore stomachs.<br /> Dropping down the other side we hit the mentioned fence (about here -46.72574, -71.90211). We crossed, but would recommend following it to the left until you get to a corner. I'm not sure where it starts, but there is a trail running on the outside of the fence to the puesto. We then followed a sheep trail that ran high on the left (east) of the valley. Very good but it bypassed Las Abutardas completely and seemed to be heading towards Laguna los Flamencos instead. We ended up cutting down to the road where León passed us heading into town, a little confused why we hadn't taken the 'proper trail'.<br /> We camped the night at the Río El Sucio camp. Not really recommended.<br /> We walked the road and stayed at Río Las Vacas for a bit which is at the border of the park and a nicer place to camp. (There is a good stream between the two).<br /> <br /> Part 2: Jeinemeni to Casa Piedra<br /> It was 8k to enter the park (for foreigners) and an additional 6k for camping in Valle Hermoso. The section to the refugio (-46.84092, -72.14078) was very nice. This is the only shelter still standing. The others included in the track files were not really enterable.<br /> Heading to the refugio (where everyone seems to camp) you cross the small ankle deep creek exiting Laguna Esmeralda and then the deeper river between Lago Verde and Jeinemeni. This might have been the trickiest but when we crossed it wasn't really bad. We then had two more smaller crossings before passing through Portezuela La Gloria (1100m) to cross Estero Ventisquero and the other river running down the main valley.<br /> The next day we did the popular side trip to the glacier in this valley: -46.80924, -72.20116<br /> We wondered if it was the same way Jan et al entered recently?<br /> From the refugio to Valle Avilés there are no compulsory river crossings if you stick to the somewhat scrubby trail to the left (south) of the valley. The first crossing we did was Río Avilés shortly followed by the tributary. So only 8 crossings (wet feet) on the RR. <br /> <br /> We walked from the refugio to Casa Piedra in a day. It was closed so we camped on the other side of the Rd.<br /> <br /> Part 3: Casa Piedra to Cochrane<br /> From casa piedra we took the aforementioned Sendero las Siete Lagunas. It is not it the track files but indeed very well marked with numbered markers every kilometre. I'll upload a kml with the markers I recorded as well as some of the water bodies I sketched.<br /> After the stream running into Lago Gutiérrez there wasn't much water until Lago la Pepa.<br /> You will briefly intersect with a road here: -47.14006, -72.37138. The road seems to run down to Puesto Tejuela coinciding with OH-TL-V@35-02F-#001 which I think is incorrectly labelled as TL. Part of RH-TL-I@35-99.0+30.0 too should be marked as MR. You'll intersect this road before taking it down to Lago Cochrane.<br /> We passed the occupied dwelling (Daniel Huemul?) but the man wearing a shirt emblazoned with Parque Patagonia seemed afraid to approach us (another hint the world had gone Corona crazy). He wouldn't let us take the RR so we followed the road for a bit before taking another newly made trail also not in the track files.<br /> Everything after that was very easy to follow.<br /> Everything was abandoned at the entrance and the gate locked. People avoided us on the streets and covered their face when passing us. <br /> We grabbed some needed food (we were very short after 11 days!) and got on the WiFi. Wow! How things had changed! Martial law in place and a curfew in place, we slept under a bridge with some Colombians and caught a bus back to Chili Chico in the morning. Waiting for the boat across the lake tomorrow now.<br /> <br /> Links to files :<br /> Kilometre markers: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fuzt4xacxjjvvg4/kms.kmz?dl=0<br /> Water bodies: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uz1ei95s1913xvb/water.bodies.kmz?dl=0<br /> Other planning: <br /> https://www.dropbox.com/s/uk9ym56gufwk4zq/planning.kmz?dl=0<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019 Dec / Olrik/ Northbound <br /> <br /> Amazing part of the GPT, from Cochrane ou enter in the Tamango national reserve and pay 6000CLP for the entrance. We took several trails to get to Valle Chacabuco : Las Aguilas, Las Lengasm Los Condores, Laguna Altas. Great views. We had a snow storm at the pass though. There you end up in a paid campground. From there we walked the dirt road to Casa Piedras in Valle Chacabuco, it was beautiful with lots of guanacos. Then we took the Las Aviles sendero. We camped near the first river crossing as it was late and waited for the morning to cross. It is normally not possible to wild camp in the park but the guardaparque told us to camp there if the river crossing is not sage. The rest of the trail is easy to follow next to the river. There is a pass then you descend to Valle Hermoso and to lago Jeinimeni. It was just gorgeous and easy to follow with great weather. Be aware of the numerous river crossings. In lago Jeinimeni there is a paid campground. From there you can hitchhike, walk, or pay a transportation at the entrance of the park (15000Clp pp) but I'm not sure if this is a regular thing. We ended up hitchhiking to get to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-28/ Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe/ 5.5days/ Northbound / Regular Hiking Route (Cochrane to Chile Chico) with OH-32-2-#003/<br /> <br /> This section might have been our favorite out of the whole Group H, where the diversity of the landscape was our favorite part (also including weather and trail conditions). The NP was entered at Tamango just outside of Cochrane. Registration is mandatory, the entrance fee is at 8000 CLP. The ranger asked us to explain our route and since the regular Hiking route did not seem familiar to them, they told us to take the optionals route going north over the pass to WestWinds campground and then do the road walk Eastwards. <br /> The pass had some snow patches on the Southern side but was easy to traverse. At the Valley Chacabuco (another entrance to the national park) we got asked for our permits and the route we plan on taking. We heard different information on if it is allowed to camp at the road or not (there were signs that told us not to do it but the ranger said it is okay). After the roadwalk, we passed another ranger station where we had to register and sign a responsibility form telling that we plan to leave at Lago Jeinimeni (and telling that we're only allowed to stay at designated campsites). The hike from there is extremely beautiful and super diverse, the trail well maintained. The rivers were at higher flow but all fords were doable. <br /> We camped next to the Refugio because we still weren't sure about the camping rules (other hikers we met said they were told that it's okay to camp everywhere along the river). Leaving the NP at Lago Jeinimeni was straightforward, but it's mandatory to check out at the rangers office. The cross-country section after the road walk was a bit slow on the way up due to many bushes and hilly terrain. We found a nice trail next to the fence leading up to the puesto when going up the ridge on the Eastern side. From the puesto we took a short steep uphill after which the terrain became more open and easier to travel on. It was very windy and snowy in the mountains, which made it difficult to walk at times and it felt like the temperatures were rather low.<br /> The lagoons on the way up are filled with exciting birds (flamingos!) and guanacos are running around on the whole plain. Once reaching the plateau we headed down in a pretty straight line which was easier than the uphill until we reached the road<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Chile Chico has two supermarkets. Sell gas.<br /> <br /> *Cochrane is a decently sized town with three mid-range supermarkets. The largest one, which is a grocery and department store, is located adjacent to the town square. There are many lodging and restaurant options. Be sure to withdraw an ample amount of money here because most of the businesses in the next town, Villa O’Higgins, only take cash and there is no ATM.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023-Mar-31 to 2023-Apr-06 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option J / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> PN Patagonia closed some sectors on the first Monday in April, so we were the last ones to get a permission and do this section ‘legally’. Be prepared for this if you want to do this part in April or later. The problem is they close Casa Del Piedra and probably won’t let you pass to that sector from Lago Jeinemeni, where the entrance stays open for longer time. Sneaking around the guards house early in the morning or just not be specific about your plans might work if needed, its very unlikely you would meet anyone on the way from the main entrance.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT35 - RN Lago Jeinimeni]]<br /> <br /> =Images=</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT34H_(Ferry_Chile_Chico)&diff=114406 2024-02-26T20:19:06Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Feb-26 / Lilian &amp; Rainbow<br /> <br /> Ferry schedule in 2024 : <br /> <br /> Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Chile Chico - Puerto Ibanez 8am &amp; 5pm) ( Puerto Ibanez - Chile Chico 12noon &amp; 8pm)<br /> <br /> Tuesday, Thursday (Chile Chico - Puerto Ibanez 8am) ( Puerto Ibanez - Chile Chico 8pm)<br /> <br /> Saturday (Chile Chico - Puerto Ibanez 9am) ( Puerto Ibanez - Chile Chico 12noon)<br /> <br /> Sunday (Chile Chico - Puerto Ibanez 4pm) ( Puerto Ibanez - Chile Chico 7pm)<br /> <br /> 2400 CLP one way, about 1.5-2 hour.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> Tickets for the ferry, operated by Somarco, from Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez to Chile Chico may be purchased at the docks or online at: http://www.barcazas.cl/barcazas/wp/region-de-aysen/lago-general-carrera/<br /> <br /> There is a fantastic waiting area at the dock in Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez with wifi, bathrooms, and a small café. Before you arrive at Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez, check the ferry schedule. Although Somarco has a fairly reliable schedule, it is possible the ferry may not run every day. It takes a little over two hours to cross the lake.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Town:Chile Chico is slightly larger than Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez and has more housing and food options. It has two supermarkets and is the better resupply option. <br /> <br /> *Puerto Ibanez has some small shops.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> ==2023== <br /> Chile Chico - Puerto Ibanez by ferry of RVC<br /> https://empresasrvc.cl/rutas-y-tarifas-2/#chile<br /> <br /> * Current ferry schedule in high season between December 16 and March 15<br /> - Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 8am and 5pm from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez, 12pm and 8pm from Puerto Ibanez to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> - Tuesday, Thursday: 8am from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez, 8pm from Puerto Ibanez to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> - Saturday: 9am from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez, 12pm from Puerto Ibanez to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> - Sunday: 4pm from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez, 7pm from Puerto Ibanez to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> * Current ferry schedule in low season<br /> - Monday, Thursday: 8am from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez, 7pm from Puerto Ibanez to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> - Tuesday: 8am from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez, NORETURN from Puerto Ibanez to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> - Wednesday, Sunday: 4pm from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez, 7pm from Puerto Ibanez to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> - Friday: 8am and 5pm from Chile Chico to Puerto Ibanez, 12pm and 8pm from Puerto Ibanez to Chile Chico.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues= <br /> == 2023 Rates ==<br /> * Student free, other adult CLP 2400 https://empresasrvc.cl/rutas-y-tarifas-2/#chile<br /> * Online ticket https://mi.appbusticket.com/ticketsonline/portal/tickets<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT34H - Lago General Carrera]]<br /> <br /> =Images=</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT32_(Cerro_Castillo)&diff=114403 2024-02-26T18:23:49Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Feb-23 to 2024-Feb-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / {32-M} - RR - {32-C} -RR / Lilian &amp; Rainbow<br /> <br /> Bus from Coyhaique to Villa Frei :<br /> <br /> Monday to Friday(8.15am, 3.30pm, 5.30pm, 7.30pm) , Saturday(8am, 2pm), i forget the fee, it is less than 1000 CLP. It takes about 35-40 minutes and it turns back to Coyhaique with no waiting. The sign on the bus doesn't write Villa Frei, it said Valle Simpson, (and final stop is Villa Frei.)<br /> <br /> Bus terminal in Coyhaique : (-45.58226, -72.07800)<br /> <br /> Bus stop in Villa Frei : (-45.75139, -72.11226)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Resupply in Coyhaique:<br /> <br /> I sent a resupply box(shoes and socks) to Patagon Backpacker(hostel) in Coyhaique from Santiago some months before, they are super friendly and willing to hold my box until i arrive. You can contact them by email, they are good at speaking English, also know lot around Coyhaique.<br /> <br /> If you want to buy some warm clothes, some shops in Coyhaique. North Face and Patagonia is there, but expensive. Some clothes in Patagonia are on sale but not for hiking or not much use, lot clothes but full price, ya. North Face's staff is much friendly, and lot items on sale too, but rainproof is full price. They have tents for sale too.<br /> <br /> Good clothes is cheaper with discount, 230g gas canisters and sleeping pad at Suray Montana, friendly and not crowded. I bught a fleece jacket at here.<br /> <br /> Doite have the cheapest price sporty clothes, just beside North Face. I bught a good base layer here.<br /> <br /> Lot of supermarkets in Coyhaique. I resupply at Unimarc.<br /> <br /> They are all close to the plaza, all the shops i listed can search by Google Map.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Because i just have 3 days good weather, so I don't want to do any road walking, i talk the bus to Villa Frei, then hitch to (-45.86204, -72.04816) start hiking.<br /> <br /> Locked gate and camera at {32-m} km2.33, I didn't want to take long time go with big around so i climbed it directly, didn't see any people on the whole way, so doesn't matter.<br /> <br /> RR km23.3 : cross a stream, log crossing at downstream 20m, you can go through the tiny forest to there.<br /> <br /> Km23.63 : flat spot(-45.90969, -72.05767) with some protection after a stream crossing can fit 2 tents before go into the no covers grassland.<br /> <br /> Highly recommend go for {32-C}, both ways just 10min, amazing views and a camping spot can fit 1 tent with excellent view at (-45.90744, -72.07668), but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km 26.63 : flat spot (-45.92066, -72.07543) can fit 2 tents with good wind protection from west by bushes.<br /> <br /> Km27.75 : old camping sandy spot(-45.92915, -72.07549) can fit 4 tents with some wind protection from west, just before the dangerous CC. I think the previous one is better.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km27.9 - km29.95 : dangerous CC traversing on side hill. A slide may cause a fall with heavy injure or death. It is doable but not recommended to everyone. Doing this part only in good weather.<br /> <br /> Km28.3 - km28.35 : for me, it is the most dangerous part in this CC, some landslide(-45.93359, -72.07668) and very loose, i can't hold a good pose and slipped down some meters, luckily i can use my hiking poles to stop the slide immediately.<br /> <br /> Km29.3 : tricky spot(-45.93822, -72.08632), huge thank you for Véronica, her comments made this much easier. Just like she said, &quot;You reach the end of the bad scree and end up in a deep gully with a vertical wall face on the other side.&quot; <br /> <br /> &quot;Get to the lowest grassy patch to the left of the vertical rock wall. The easiest way to reach that grassy patch was to go upstream a bit, then traverse on the hard slippery sand northward, instead of trying to climb vertically straight up to it. Once you reach the grass, you can use the traction and stability of vegetation to clamber up and out of the gully.&quot;<br /> <br /> Km29.55 : 1st rock wall, go around it with a clear trail at downhill side(-45.93818, -72.08940), GPX track is correct at here.<br /> <br /> Km29.7 : 2nd rock wall, NO CLIMBING, NO SCRAMBLING here, there is a trail JUST WALKING at (-45.93864, -72.09126), overgrown but just 20m easy BB, the trail is between rock wall and treeline, Sobo not easy to notice, but when you are going around the rock wall, then you'll find it. Nobo is easy to reach the trail at the other side. GPX track leads you to climb, it is not a good idea, a slide in climbing at here will mostly cause death.<br /> <br /> After 2nd rock wall, finally CC down to the valley and easy walking start.<br /> <br /> Lot of camping possibilities at the valley, but zero wind protection. Better camping before pass[32.5/1385], because after the pass is super rocky, pass is a large flat area, but too soft to camp.<br /> <br /> I camped at (-45.94901, -72.09962), some flat spots, beside the waterfall from Cerro Aislado. Nice views but cold. It is the first night with negative degree so far. Some water froze to ice at early morning around here.<br /> <br /> After pass[32.5/1385], you walking down at another valley, but with some cairns to follow. <br /> <br /> Km33.5 : trail starts, with some big cairns along it. It leads you all the way to treeline at km34.2. Sometimes it is not clear to follow and lost, but you will always find it if you pay tons of attention, cairns leads you the way.<br /> <br /> The trailhead at km34.2 is a little tricky. You need to climb up a little on a rocky slope after you cross the stream to (-45.97307, -72.10268), then go into the forest to south a little, you'll find a steep loose rocky slope going down again, go for it and you can hold some trees there. Then you join the old trail shown on GPX going south. Don't think about go to the trailhead(-45.97343, -72.10281) directly, it is on a waterfall, you can't arrive there.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The old trail is in good condition for a while, then become overgrown and some blowdowns. For emergency, you can camp at (-45.97898, -72.10345), it is the first flat spot for Sobo in treeline with cover (the last one for Nobo). It can fit 2 single person tent.<br /> <br /> Lot of tiny stream flowing with clear water.<br /> <br /> When you met the rock river(-45.98185, -72.10091) at km35.33, you can CC down the river and join MR at (-45.98357, -72.10284), it is a super easy CC, not steep, no blowdowns, no wet feet, rocks are stable and not slippery.<br /> <br /> When you arrive MR, easy walking again. A gate locked by wire at km37.1, climbing over it is the fastest way.<br /> <br /> Km38.1 : start BB to riverside, but i think it is a CC, the grass just up to ankle only.<br /> <br /> I find a clear trail(-46.00113, -72.09460) without any blowdowns going south, and lead you to riverside at (-46.00216, -72.09530), then you can walk beside the river and join national park trail.<br /> <br /> National park trail is in a nice condition, nothing to mention. Some snow before and after pass[43.9/1470], but still an easy walking on snow.<br /> <br /> Km46.1 : camping spot at (-46.05228, -72.14549), it is cleared out all the stone by someone here, can fit 1 tent with excellent 360° views, but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> I camped beside the lake(-46.05780, -72.15969) for the second night, excellent spots with glacier views(you are just below it!) and views of Cerro Castillo! Peaceful and not crowded, I'm the only human there with some ducks, and they love to talking in the midnight. You can reach the lake starts at (-46.06176, -72.15672), easy walking beside a stream, all the way stay on east side and dry feet, BB less than 20 meters for total and mostly just easy CC.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km48.85 : Campsite El Bosque. Side trail to a lake under glacier at north. It is a long walk, but i highly recommend you at least take the trail go out the forest, amazing views there, both ways just 300m.<br /> <br /> Km49.95 : viewpoint of waterfall from Cerro Castillo. And i find that you can climb up to the top of waterfall! See the details at next waypoint.<br /> <br /> Km50.2 : you can climbing up this ridge to the UPPER LAKE of Cerro Castillo. From (-46.06989, -72.18148) to (-46.06905, -72.18500), then to (-46.06627, -72.18497). No trail, just CC on some rocks, stable and not steep until close to the top, the top part is steep and loose, at there you can go to right side a little bit, climbing up on grassy slope for final ascend. Amazing views there, and no camping, because the ground is too soft, but cow boy camping on huge rocks is wonderful at this place.<br /> <br /> I recorded this CC, will upload it later.<br /> <br /> Camp[50.5/1243] : Campsite La Tetera, not a good camping spot, some spots much better when you climbing up and before Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> After you enjoy the moment at Laguna Castillo, remember follow RR, check GPX track, dont follow the trail going beside the lake, it is a dead end trail, and if you dont want to all the way back, you can CC climbing up to join RR.<br /> <br /> Pass[53.5/1679] : excellent views here! If you are super thirsty, clear water is flowing good at (-46.07749, -72.20888), easy to collect, 10sec/L.<br /> <br /> Then all the way down to Campsite Los Porteadores, a long long way going down.<br /> <br /> Because of weather changing, so i didn't go up to Laguna Duff.<br /> <br /> Walking on a nice trail to main road, then all the way road walking to Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> Lot of restaurants, shops and accomodation in Villa Cerro Castillo. The shop(-46.12072, -72.16115) beside the main road is the biggest one in town. Lot of biker riding, hikers and backpackers hitching on the road. Tall gas canisters and 230g gas canisters are sold in Copec gas station at (-46.12208, -72.16279) in high stock. We stayed at Nordic Patagonia(-46.12142, -72.15889), 15k CLP for a bed, 45k CLP for a double room, 8k CLP for camping with views of Cerro Castillo, including hot shower and kitchen basecamp.<br /> <br /> Maybe because of late season, never saw any flies at this section.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-10 to 2024-Feb-13 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Las Horquetas and Lagunitas / Andrew<br /> <br /> Day 1 (slept at Rio Turbio)<br /> <br /> I started in Villa Cerro Castillo and hitched a ride to Las Horquetas. I left a bag at the Nordic Patagonia campground in town, it's free if you stay a night after, or CLP 1.000/day if not.<br /> <br /> Signed in at the CONAF station where the park ranger explained the official camps that are currently open, and advised not to drink unfiltered/untreated water between Rio Turbio camp to just before El Bosque camp. But others I talked to later in the hike didn't get the same message and seemed fine so not sure what was up there.<br /> <br /> Easy hike to Rio Turbio camp with some horseflies.<br /> <br /> Day 2 (slept at El Bosque)<br /> <br /> This day was my punishment for deciding to leave behind my fleece at the last moment. Cold and rainy as I went over Penon pass, but at least I got to test out my new rain jacket and rain pants. At least it wasn't very windy. Great views of waterfalls after the pass, and the rest of the day was sunny.<br /> <br /> Camped at El Bosque. Difficult but short day. Worth taking the side trail to Laguna Temprana after setting up camp.<br /> <br /> Day 3 (slept at Neozelandes)<br /> <br /> Lots of scrambling over rocks. Great panoramic views as we went over Morro Negro. As developed campsites go I think Porteadores was actually a bit nicer than Neozelandes, but Neozelandes is much crowded and puts you closer to Laguna Duff.<br /> <br /> Day 4 (back to Villa Cerro Castillo)<br /> <br /> In the morning I hiked to Laguna Duff, best scenary on the Las Horquatas section of the hike IMO, do not miss this. Afterwards I hiked back to Neozelandes, packed my stuff, and hiked back to the Villa. All downhill. Paid the CLP 16.000 fee at the Estero Parada CONAF station, then hitched a ride back (around 3pm). Had some good pizza and beers with some folks I met on the hike at Pizzeria y Hamburgueseria D-Lizia in VCC.<br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-8 to 2024-Feb-11 / 3.25 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from El Blanco and Lago Monreal + Variant M + Option 3 / Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> We started around 1500 at Coyhaique and easily hitched to El Blanco. We hitched with three cars (last went to Lago Paloma) and walked about four km in between them along Lago Monreal to Variant M. The sign against hikers scared us and it was late (1930), so we camped nearby (100 m along the fence westward). We reread other reports and decided to go for it in the morning. We first tried to go along a fence lining a small cliff about 100 metres west of the road, but it is pointless and we found ourselves on the road after a few hundred metres. We did not meet anyone. It is easy to miss RR and start on option 1, keep an eye on the GPS. We met black cows at the same place as Stiina, but they just looked omniously at us.<br /> <br /> As for the dangerous part, Tomáš ended up doing it three times as he dropped our tent poles from his backpack just before the start of the CC section. Unlike Nat (see below), he thinks the section is quite ok and he also found it quite scenic, especially the first part over the plateau. The annoying clambering is in fact only about two km long and can be done in about an hour if you know the way. It never felt dangerous to him, but he understands others see it differently, it is certainly more demanding than the average section of GPT. The description of Véronica is the best. The last obstacle (the boulder) is not entirely vertical (it feels like scrambling, not climbing), but you do need to use your hands and it is indeed exposed, down climbing NOBO is more awkward. On the other hand, it is only about seven metres distance (not elevation). We had sunny skies, in worse weather it would be a lot more annoying. The horseflies came back from the dead and died by the dozen under our merciless hands (Nat killed three accidentally just as she tied her hair back).<br /> <br /> At the end of CC, the trailhead is invisible. It starts in the trees immediately from the river, about 10 m from the start of the waterfall in between two landslide/avalanche bands. Will comments that the gpx trail is exact, but since we are used to the gpx being slightly off, we could not see it, I guess we should have just trusted the gpx. There is a cairn in the creek marking the entrance but it is unclear how long it will stay there. Once you reach the overgrown MR, after a hundred metres of easy BB, one can cut the first zigzag straight down through easily passable mature forest. Once down on the road, you can camp on it, it is not used by cars ever. Once you reach the CC at 60.9, do not ford but stay on that side of the river!<br /> <br /> In the popular part of the hike, people concentrate at campings, but otherwise it does not feel too crowded (less than two dozen people met on the trails themselves per day). Until nine and from about five, you will meet almost nobody on the trails. The park is very attractive. There is good internet (Entel 4g) just before the pass at 53.5. From the other side, there is a sign saying the pass closes down in strong winds. Probably better to go there in the morning (weaker wind) or late (after six) in the afternoon (rangers have probably gone home) unless the weather is good. The sign where they turn people is probably at about 1250 altitude at roughly the treeline.<br /> <br /> To avoid paying, Nat followed the RR and was succesfull (OSM is wrong, the official trail is to the east of the GPT in the last few hundred metres). Tomáš followed the easternmost OSM trail that leaves the RR at roughly 480 altitude. The trail is rather imaginery, but it is easy walking across meadows or rarely through open forest and across several fences. His efforts were probably pointless.Tomáš also wanted to cut the walk to Villa Cerro Castillo and forded Estero El Bosque, but it was equally pointless and involved several fences.<br /> <br /> We found screwable gas cartridges in Villa Castillo at the supermarket &quot;Villarica&quot;, the last supermarket on the corner of - Bernardo Higgins and Bernardo a Alessandro, i think. They said they have them sometimes. There was a blackout for five hours during our stay but locals said that is not so common.<br /> <br /> Notes from Nat:<br /> <br /> - When in Coyhaique be sure to enjoy the bread and pizza shop called; La Tranquera Pan y Pizza (just North of the main plaza). It has a great selection of sourdough breads/Rye/whole-wheat loafs, cookies, real coffee and tasty pizza slices. ALSO don't miss the dry good store; Envasadora Aysen (45.57016° S, 72.06883° W), the good veg shop here (45.57730° S, 72.07038° W) and then the Unimarc is actually pretty good. <br /> <br /> - My views are prejudiced against the beginning of this route bcs I was sick and not in a good mood but my thoughts at the time were; &quot;If you want to &quot;enjoy&quot; section 32 then take the Las Horquetas option&quot;. I really didn't like all the sidehilling and felt you wouldn't miss out on much if you started at Horquetas. Also don't do what I did and pack twice as much as you need bcs Coyhaique &quot;might&quot; be the last place with good food (however it was 3-5x better than villa Castillo).<br /> <br /> - The first tricky part was annoying bcs it was hard to get an edge (not that there is any edge left in my shoes). It was easier to walk up it and gradually cross, all in all it didn't feel dangerous. The second tricky part did feel dangerous to me bcs I went too far climbers left of the grass staircase and ended up having to traverse the short, steep and featureless slope to get back on track, a fall seemed easy and with bad consequences. The rock scramble at the boulder did not worry me but I would not have climbed it if it was wet bcs there is a lot of algae-like material on it and some of the handholds were sloppy. <br /> <br /> - I would be very curious if one could make a new route that went up to this lake here; -45.94848, -72.07320, and then down either here; -45.95505, -72.08753 or along the ridge to here; -45.96914, -72.08724. It would be more vertical and longer but with possibly less sidehilling...<br /> <br /> - The glacier on Variant E (6km return, half of it moraine walking) is nice but not really worth it, the lake on the other hand is 100% worth the short walk (3km return, flat river rock waking).<br /> <br /> - The lake just North of Camping Bosque is also worth it if you can avoid the crowds. Both this lake and Variant E lake are technically CC but &quot;well traveled&quot; and cairned.<br /> <br /> - The trail to Laguna Duff is popular but &quot;splendid&quot;, it took less than two hours to the lake from Porteadores. Most of the trail is in the forest and then the last 1.5km (250m vert) is on a pretty obvious rock path. The camping at Neozelandés is far less crowded than other official campsites I recommend it. I got into an argument with a conaf officer at the lake bcs she told me it was too late to be there and I had to leave (4pm). If you want to avoid this person, then go right of the RR when it gets close to the lake headwall, she seemed to be &quot;staged&quot; at where the water leaves the lake. I originally wanted to make a traverse to the other lake but bcs of conaf I went down to the camp to meet Tomáš and then we both went back up after she left (6ish). Once back up we made a traverse to the other lake by following a grassy slope that starts West of where the water exits the lake, you should be able to see the grassy slope on your left when you are walking to Duff. Follow it down and work yourself across, going down to where there is some grass should be quicker than traversing the rubble, CC obviously. On the way down from the second lake we followed the main waterway and then cut back into the forest to reach the main trail (open forest, no BB). Rather than follow the west bank of the waterway like the GPS says we found it far easier to be in the east bank, less rubble.<br /> <br /> -We both bad to walk back to Villa Castillo, no cars going in our direction but manu going in opposite direction (~9am)<br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-28 to 2024-Jan-31 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / Villa Cerro Castillo - Villa Frei / RR + Option 3 + Variant C + Variant M/ Alex &amp; Christophe<br /> <br /> It was another fantastic section but we don't have much to add to what has already been written. But we would still like to point out a few points:<br /> <br /> 1) At the Segundo campsite (also called Rio Turbio), mice gnawed our tent and our dry bag containing the food. It would be best to hang your food from the trees if you are sleeping at this campsite.<br /> <br /> 2) The large rock at -45.938145, -72.086171 can be avoided by doing 10 m of bush bashing just below the rock. This passage is much more visible going NOBO but it is also possible to take it going SOBO.<br /> <br /> 3) The little detour to Variant C is definitely worth it. The view of Lago Paloma and Lago Azul is truly incredible.<br /> <br /> 4) We took option M despite the right of way conflict. We passed a pick-up truck at the last gate going NOBO (the one with a padlock and a private property sign). They greeted us and gave us no problem.<br /> <br /> 2024-Jan-27 to 2024-Jan-29 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / option 2 + option 3 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Trail condition : well maintained, good campsites sheltered from the wind <br /> - Water : easy to find plenty of rivers and lagunas<br /> - Camping spot : there are some designated campsites<br /> - Weather : Sunny<br /> - River crossing : easy<br /> - Resupply : in cohayque and in Villa cerro castillo, all you need<br /> - Entrance fee : 16 000 pesos per person, normally the park closes after 1pm so you can't start after that but we were a bit late and they let us through <br /> - Overall : beautiful stretch of section 32, for us it was really an amazing entrance in the Patagonian landscape as we imagined it with the Torres<br /> <br /> *From 2023-01-22 to 2023-01-24 // 3 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + OP3 + OP3A + VARIANT M // Quentin Clavel<br /> <br /> Villa cerro castillo - entrance Estero Parada - Laguna Duff - Sendero las Horquetas - North part of NP (CC) - Lago Paloma - Villa Frei. <br /> <br /> One of my favourite section so far ! I had amazing weather and I enjoyed so much this stretch, even with few people on the sendero las Horquetas in the NP (not crowded, but obviously more than the usual sections of the GPT). <br /> <br /> Entrance fees for 3 days was 16,000 CLP for me. I had no control and have seen no guardaparque during my hike. <br /> <br /> I walked all the way up to see Laguna Duff (OPT3) definitely worth it in my opinion. Wonderful view, with still some pieces of ices floating on the Laguna, the back of Cerro Castillo and the reflects on the water were amazing. Easy to go there, as there is a trail. <br /> <br /> The second one (OPT3A) is more tricky, no trail, and a lot of rolling stones. Beautiful too and of course, no people at all (I slept there, without tent, just on a big rock, that was incredible). <br /> <br /> Then go up to the pass, it was a crazy hot day, for the first time since I'm in Patagonia, I regretted that it wouldn't be a little bit windy aha. <br /> <br /> Laguna cerro castillo Is amazing. Second pass were very nice too. Bi. I passed it early on the morning, had some snow part, doable, but as it was morning, it was icy on some parts, so I putted my crampons and that was perfect. (But doable without). <br /> <br /> Then easy trail until the end of the public part of NP (just after Segundo camping). After that the cross country part begun. Follow an old trail of the NP, some bush bashing during the forest part, and have to check often the GPS. Then you have to deal with all the rocks until the first pass. <br /> <br /> Go down on a nice valley, and go up to the second pass. Tricky part, as described previously, is the big rock. It's maybe easier to do it NOBO because you descent it, and don't face it, which can be scary. But going on the grass part is the best way. Then follow the tree level, deal with rolling stones, and everything is gonna be alright. The récompense will be the amazing view on Lago Paloma (don't miss the Mirador). <br /> <br /> I took the variant M to avoid the right of way conflict. No trouble at all on this way. You have to pass threw some gates. The last one, near a kind of central hydroelectric is the biggest, with camera and sign do not enter. Few people seen after this gate, and they were all very gentle and nice ! <br /> <br /> Anyway, I really loved this stretch ! As it's summertime at this time, I met a lot of chilenos in the NP, so happy to see even very young chilenos explore their outstanding country ! <br /> <br /> You have to be prepared to face a looooot of rolling stones on this section, sometimes it's like dancing on rocks. Can I say that the rolling stones make this stretch rock'n'roll ? Probably not. <br /> <br /> Better to wait for good conditions. I can't imagine this section on a rainy and windy day ! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2024-Jan- 11 to 2024-Jan-13/ 3 days/hiking/SOBO/ Start in Las Horquetas and later RR/ Paulina<br /> <br /> <br /> I started in las Horquetas, it was open even if on Conaf website this section is still closed, apparently they don't really update). When I was there ( 10 AM) nobody at the gate, so no charges. Later in the park nobody never asked me to show the entrance ticket. The same at the exit gate, they just asked me to check out ( even if I did not check in).<br /> At the beginning of Las Horquetas trail, some very easy river crossing. Almost no people, only a few hikers on the campsite.<br /> On Pass 32 [43.9/1470] still some soft snow, but I could cross it safetly.<br /> <br /> Be careful on the ridge around pass 32 [ 53.5/1679] on very windy days. <br /> I did not see any water around camping Los Porteadores, except this last section, water was available everywhere. <br /> <br /> Beautiful and very scenic section! <br /> <br /> *2023-12-29 to 2024-01-01 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; Variant D &amp; M / Roman<br /> <br /> Took a Uber from Coyhaique to Villa Frei for 17.000$. Got another lift by someone who life's there to this point: -45.8737, -72.04342. Joined via Variant M to the RR. Camped at Camp {32} [23.6/1010]. Good place you have to Ford 2 times before the Camp and 1 times directly after it. Here the -45.93357, -72.07606 Clambering in steep terrain starts and is very challenging also in combination with snow. Very steep literally climbing up there here: -45.938145, -72.086171 especially with a backpack. I needed to go very slow and cautious with 3 point technique. After that you can follow the GPS and the Kerns to this point -45.973087, -72.102771. From there a old abandoned road goes all the way to the point where the Trail( Variant D) merges with the Sendero de Chile Las Horquetas at: X {32-D} [1.0/920]. On the trial are some parts which are not perfectly visible but with GPS no problem. There are some fallen trees and quite a few small trees on the trail. I wouldn't consider it Bush Bashing (BB) because you can just raise your arms in front of your face and walk trough it. So IMHO no BB on the route. As soon as you are at X {32-D} [1.0/920] it's a &quot;touristy trail&quot; compared with the other GPT parts. Therefor the condition is excellent. Camped at Segundo Camping -46.008184, -72.104121. Next day camped at Camping Los Porteadores -46.089085, -72.235431. Snow was neither on Pass {32} [43.9/1470] or Pass {32} [53.5/1679] a problem. Next day hiked to Villa Cerro Castillo. Not a single car on the street towards it so needed to hike. The RR avoids the Entrance Cerro Castillo Park (Estero Parada) there is one gate before accessing the street where you can just hop over.<br /> <br /> Overall: really nice section and quite relaxing to have such a easy trail (the beginning is challenging due to the rock scramble). It's the most touristy part (2 groups a 7 people) but absolutely woth it. Really enjoyed it.<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-12 / 6 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RR + Variant D + Variant F / Tom Pieper<br /> An Uber from Cohayique to Villa Simpson is about 9.000 Peso. From there I easily found rides to Lago Elizalde. A older man told me that there was also a camino from Lago Elizalde to Lago Azul passing cerro sombrero a couple of years ago. I really liked the walking through the valley to lago desierto. It passes a beautiful farmland landscape sprinkled with little lush patches of forest and creeks. Camping is easy there. But if you want to speed up there are also cars from time to time and hitchhiking is possible. At S 45° 52.495 W 072° 16.913 is a little shelter surrounded by some old tractors and a big mate cup installation. A farmer passing by told me I am welcome to stay there. To reach lago desierto you have to climb a locked gate (well described by Kara Davis). I crossed lago desierto and camped at the isthmus between it and lago azul. There is a nice camp spot at waypoint Lake {32} [38.3/337] surrounded by old gooseberry bushes and an abandoned van. The central lodging building is collapsed so its seems to be an abandoned place now except the cattle. Next day I crossed lago azul. The wind increased dramatically forming up to 1 m waves. There are some emergency exits on the left even after the shore gets steeper after the settlers on the lefthand side. At the end of lago azul you reach a huge private hacienda on the isthmus, with a big park like forest and buildings within. I tried to sneak between the buildings but to reach the path to the mountains you finally have to pass a big meadow. There was a greenkeeper around and it was no problem for him to let me pass. The family was not around. The track to the mountains is steep and part of a big network of mountainbike trails. This network spans nearly the entire valley! I met six young chilenos who told me that they are working the summer to maintain the trails only for that family – I have never seen such a giant mountainbike network! Incredible how much effort and money must spend here only to satisfy a family’s hobby. The Chilenos were very friendly and even turned back to offer me a ride to the end of the valley as rain increased but I kept walking. This track is in really good conditions up to the bush bashing section. And here comes the problem: 1.) the bush bashing is wrong annotated. In reality it starts for 1.2 km at the end of the annotated section 2.) the track is mostly gone were it reaches the river bed. Landslides have washed away a big part. Don’t cross the landslide! It seems super instable! When you have forded the riverbed at the landslide don’t put on your shoes, yet. The following part has turned into swamp land. I suggest to make the entire 1.2 km in your fording footwear. After that the track to the las horquetas trail is mostly overgrown or blocked by trees but still visible. It was pretty hard for me as temperatures dropped to 4 °C and at this point it had not stopped raining for 48 hr. In bad weather that’s definitely no fun. The ranger hut was my salvation as it was abandoned but open and had a stove and even some firewood. The next day the weather was perfect and I continued towards cerro Castillo. There had been recent work around Camping Rio Turbio and the track is still in good condition. Paso Penón has heaps of snow and I found myself sinking to the hips from time to time. But in good weather it is ok. The views from the pass and the following valley even outcompeted the view from laguna castillo. After the paso penón the rest is fine. I used Variant F to descend. As mentioned before it now follows a different way in the end due to right of way conflict and you reach the street at approximately half way between villa cerro Castillo and the national park entrance.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> <br /> * 05-Apr-2023 / Hiking / SOBO / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We really enjoyed this one. It's definitely worth waiting for good weather, not only for safe traverse of the steep part in the northern part of the park and following obstacles that are quite demanding but also for the views that were just incredible.<br /> <br /> Starting from Villa Frei in the late afternoon, we made it on that day to the turn before Lago La Paloma, where we camped right behind a fence, before a little river, that you need to cross to follow the RR. There are 2 settlements, but still far enough, so no problem. You have to cross one fence and a gate on the way up. To avoid right-of-way conflict, we followed Cristopher &amp; Anna's advice (thanks guys!) and turned right after the first gate behind the beginning of the optional trail. From there you just need to follow MR, cross a few gates and you will end up on a fenced field with bee hives on one side. Crossing them will take you directly to RR, so no bush-bashing is necessary. From there, the trail is pretty straightforward. We liked the view from Option B viewpoint and in good conditions it must be a perfect spot for camping, definitely doable in one day. The steep traverse didn't feel that dangerous for us, but we had really good conditions. The next obstacle, already described by others, is at the end of the traverse. We followed there a small ridge that will take you to the beginning of the grass parts. It's a little steep, but doable. From there we followed the grass parts, which create almost 'stairs' allowing you to climb up. It's again steep, but you can use your hands to pull yourself up, holding the grass patches. After that is the last challenging part, a rock that you need to climb over. We got there already after sunset and without an option to explore the best and safest way over, we decided to follow the old overgrown trail, that descends down without the need to climb over the rock. It seemed to be hard in the beginning, but after we got through the first few trees (without any leaves, just branches), we found a little strip without them, that takes you all the way down to the river, where we camped. It took us around 15 min to get down, so it might be a good alternative. From there you just need to walk through a little part of the forest and then continue by the river, so you are actually avoiding also the descent down, which some described as challenging as well.<br /> <br /> After the first marked pass and descent in rocky terrain, the CC part connects to an old trail, that later becomes a MR. The connection was easy to find by following the GPS. We had no problems passing around the rangers house, again by following the track files, at first through the forest and later around the river. From there the trail connects to the official way which makes navigation easy. We spent the night in the official campsite around 2 km before Laguna Carro Castillo, which is the only one open. There were 5-6 other tents, no ranger. The next day the weather got way way worse, which made us skip the last pass and go down from the laguna via one of the official routes. We met a ranger on the way up, pointing us to the official trail around yellow cairns, to sign off from the park. With no intention to pay on our way from the park, we actually followed some old trail (according to the old signs we met) that took us to the main road, right in front of the bridge. We had to cross one fence, but no other problem. It's a faster and safe way from the park.<br /> <br /> <br /> *5 to 7 of February 2023 / Will / SOBO / 3 days<br /> <br /> Amazing section! I was worried about the tricky part, but sticking to the gpx track it didn't feel dangerous to me. Though I did have to leave the track to find easier ways around the cliffs.<br /> <br /> There weren't any buses south out of Coyhaique on Sunday (except maybe early morning?). I ended up taking an Uber to villa frei, for a bearable 14000 pesos. The road walk was beautiful except for the wind trying to blow me into the cars. I caught a ride to Lago Monreal, from where I walked back up to variant L and then to the 23.6 campsite.<br /> <br /> I didn't have any right of way trouble, I just had to pass through a few unlocked gates with no people or buildings in sight. There were even a few groups of day hikers who passed by my camp on the way to the Lago Paloma mirador (variant B - must see!).<br /> <br /> I also took variant D up to the glacier lake, worth it if it fits your schedule. I didn't have time to keep going up to the glacier itself, it looked like steeper rocky cross country.<br /> <br /> Even in the touristy parts the trail was surprisingly slow and rocky. I ran into a few rangers, who look like normal hikers except with red and white baseball hats. They were ok with me not having a ticket once I explained my weird route.<br /> <br /> <br /> *15.02.23 -18.02.23 / Anna &amp; Christopher / SOBO<br /> Coyhaique - Villa Cerro Castillo<br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Coyhaique to Lago Paloma and started walking around 13:30 pm following the main path.<br /> <br /> The trail at the beginning is pretty good. At the junction with the option at km 17,5 you can walk further uphill along the fence for a couple of meters to enter the fence through a gate. This option is not in the gpx files. We decided to follow that to avoid the settlers after all.Then you can follow the dirtroad through two more gates until you reach a fence that you have to jump to the right to get to a meadow with beehives. There is another gate there and then you reach the main route again. In total we only had to jump two fences.<br /> <br /> Then we followed the main route. Soon after we went through the gate of the National park Cerro Castillo and we (unfortunately) met two guardians of the park. After some back and forth they made us turn around, telling us that this path is closed and we have to enter the park via the main entrance and pay the 30.000 clp. So we had to take the option to las Horquetas.<br /> <br /> After a few good km on a dirtroad, the path of option 1 gets bad. It seems like it hasn't been used for a long time. It was often hard to find and involved some bushbashing. It took us quite some time to get through there. Once you are at the river it gets much better. We forded the river next to the entrance to avoid the detour until Horquetas. The option was not very nice. Mostly just walking in the forest with BB so we would definetly recommend to try the main route.<br /> <br /> The entrance closes at 2 pm but the guards there were much nicer than the first two, and it was also no problem to get in at 3 pm. We had to register us and pay the 30.000 clp p.p. though. The rest of the trek we were not asked to show the tickets. The park guardians tell you that there is no water crossing both passes and you have to carry it from the official camps, which is simply not true. There is only no water after Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> At the exit (following the RR) we had to register us again. From there we planned to hitchhike to Villa Cerro Castillo, but there were no cars passing by. In the afternoon/evening it's probably easier to get a ride, because lots of cars parked at the exit. We would recommend Option E to avoid the dull roadwalk to Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> We stayed at Camping El Rincon, which was only 4.000 clp p.p., with no electricity, but the owner washed our clothes after we asked and we received it dry the next morning :)<br /> <br /> <br /> *18 to 21 of January 2023 / Véronica / GPT32 RR SOBO / 3.5 days<br /> <br /> Route: Villa Freí - Lago La Paloma - north part of Parque Nacional Cerro Castillo - Las Horquetas trail (south part of Parque Nacional Cerro Castillo) - Villa Cerro Castillo<br /> First off I want to say that I think this section deserves a 5 on the Attractiveness Scale. It is simply mind-blowingly beautiful and definitely on par with other sections further north that have a 5 on this scale. I also think the Difficulty Rating should be upped to a 5 as well, due to the technical, and arguably dangerous at times, section in the northern part of the park on the Regular Route. Wish I had someone with me during this stretch, but oh well, such is life.<br /> <br /> I was lucky and caught a hitch most of the way to Lago La Paloma on the first day. It was hot and I don't think the road walk has any water sources until you get to the end. I then followed the new RR which bypasses the problematic right-of-way settler in the Lago Monreal area. However, this new detour is not fun. It involves climbing over (or crawling through/under) multiple barbed wire fences. I lost count after the 5th or 6th one. Also, the path and cross-country area are full of thorny plants, they got everywhere on my pack and clothing. I think it would just be better to take Option 32-L and chat with the settler instead to try and get through. Once you reach RH-MR-V {32} [18.9+4.7], it's all good, easy walking until the camp at 23.6 km.<br /> <br /> I reccomend taking Option 32-A after the campsite instead of the CC straight through the cow pasture. It is wet and muddy, whereas 32-A remains dry and easy to follow in the forest at the edge of the meadow. I also strongly recommend taking the short detour to the mirador at the end of Option 32-B. The views there of the cliffs and mountains surrounding Lago La Paloma are incredible. You could even camp there if you brought sufficient water and the weather is calm.<br /> <br /> Now for the difficult part in the 8-km cross-country section. This section was physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. The first pass is at S 45° 55.740', W 072° 04.501'. It is easy walking up past the treeline into the alpine up to this point. The first challenge is a steep and unstable scree traverse, which begins at S 45° 56.019', W 072° 04.567'. Follow the GPS tracks here. At first I tried to go lower, right along the treeline, which was a big mistake that got me stuck in a terrible gully of slippery hard-packed sand. Very treacherous and scary trying to traverse it on all fours. After that ordeal, I scrambled back up to the altitude of the GPS tracks. This first scree traverse lasts about a km, the rocks are loose and it is very steep. I was tense and went very slowly. Got harassed by tábanos the whole way, but at least the weather was good.<br /> <br /> Then at S 45° 56.288', W 072° 05.184', you reach the end of the bad scree and end up in a deep gully with a vertical wall face on the other side. Figuring out how to get up that cliff was hard for me. I left my pack at the bottom and tried climbing up various different ways with no success, only tiring myself out and getting myself in precarious situations where I could barely climb back down. I finally figured out the best way was to try and get to the lowest grassy patch to the left of the vertical rock wall. The easiest way to reach that grassy patch was to go upstream a bit, then traverse on the hard slippery sand northward, instead of trying to climb vertically straight up to it. Once you reach the grass, you can use the traction and stability of vegetation to clamber up and out of the gully.<br /> <br /> The next big obstacle is at S 45° 56.320', W 072° 05.446'. Like others have written, this is the vertical rock wall that spans up and down the mountain and that you have to climb over. I scouted ways up without my pack at first, trying to find the easiest way. At least with this rock wall, the handholds and footholds are solid — no slippery gravel/sand/scree. But it does require actual rock climbing moves. If you fall you would likely tumble down the mountain, so please be very careful. A light backpack makes it relatively safer and easier.<br /> <br /> On the other side of this wall, you can finally see where the trees end, and the lovely river you are supposed to climb down to reach. But there is still more scree to traverse here, and it is slow and unstable again. I tried taking a shortcut down a shallow gully filled with grass. I figured it would be safer than the rocks, but it was very steep and got unexpectedly muddy at one point, and I ended up slipping and sliding down the mountainside about 10 meters before being able to stop myself. Didn't get seriously hurt, just bruised up, but it really shook me and just added to the stress and fear of this whole section. So I guess my advice here is to again follow the GPS tracks across the scree and go down gradually to the river instead of trying to go straight down.<br /> <br /> Once you reach the riverbed, it is easy walking to the top of the pass, with occasional cairns (and some good swimming holes). Down the south side of the pass, there are still a couple scree sections, but not nearly as bad as before. Lots of boulders, so slow going, but at least they felt more solid.<br /> <br /> As Martin Lizondo has written, finding the start of RH-MR-V {32} [34.1+1.7] is tricky. It is not a minor road, it is an old footpath. The cross-country section ends at a creek as it turns into a high and steep waterfall. You have to cross the creek and look up to find a faint, overgrown trail that goes up into the forest. Once you find it though, it is simple enough to follow. There is a stretch though of several hundred meters where it is more of a bushwhack than anything else, nature has taken over.<br /> <br /> I followed the regular route that cuts through the forest to Río Turbío, I assume this is to avoid the ranger station nearby. The &quot;bushbashing&quot; section is easy through a mature forest, and then you just follow the bouldery riverbank.<br /> <br /> Once you get to the popular Las Horquetas trail, everything is easy until the end of the section. Some snow at the top of the first pass (Paso Peñón), but very manageable. The views of the saw-toothed mountains, lakes, and glaciers are spectacular. Despite reports of the park being &quot;overrun,&quot; I only met a handful of other hikers in this trail, and most of them after Laguna Castillo. No rangers at all.<br /> <br /> I think the Regular Route in its current configuration avoids the blue payment tent at the end of the park trail, but I didn't know that when I passed through, and ended up just following the riverbank down to the minor road to be safe (and avoid paying the ridiculous 30,000 clp access fee). The road walk to Cerro Castillo was Easy and uneventful.<br /> <br /> <br /> *23/02/2023 - 25/02/2023 / RR SOBO / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé :<br /> <br /> We started at Lago La Paloma, taking the bus from Coyhaique to Villa Frei (leaves at 8:15,15:30,17:30&amp;19:30 from monday to friday and at 8:00 and 14:00 on saturday (no bus on sunday)). Then we hitchiked to the lake without problem and we camped there. Ready to start in the morning the next day.<br /> <br /> Day 1 - Campamento Rio Turbio - 26.5km - +1800m/-1200m A big day but we hadnt the choice : heavy rain was announced for the next day... Cross country is demanding, better follow the tracks all the way long. A great camp site if you want to split this day is at the end of Option B. No water, windy but incredible view. The waypoint camp before is nice too.<br /> <br /> Day 2 - Campamento El Bosque - 10km - +800m/-800m The 2 camps sites on the GPT at47.8 and at 50.3 are now forbidden. The new campsite is approx at km 49, in the middle. There is guardaparques, but no need to show the permit for us.<br /> <br /> Day 3 - Cerro Castillo - 11km - +800m/-1500m The pass after Cerro Castillo was closed due to the wind. If you want to go to the other side, you have to get down at the park entrance and to go up again at the other entrance. We just went to the town. The regular route going down from there, from the Cerro Castillo, is not the one on the GPT. Actually, it goes more on the west side. At the end, there is a guardaparque, we checked out (even though we didn’t checked in) but no need to pay. Fortunately. Luck was with us.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 23/02/2023 - 25/02/2023 / RR NOBO / Jakub+Veronika:<br /> <br /> 1) Lago La Paloma, right of way conflict on RH (32, km 17.5): Owner of the land (and nearby houses) is called Cesar, according to him, the right way is by the mud road (OH 32-L) and not on the trail, which passes some 20m next to his house. The reason why there was a conflict might have been caused by Cesar's relative who didn't like tourists walking on their land.<br /> 2) Trail has been changed 3 years ago because of right of way conflict between CONAF and private owners on the OH (32-E). The new official trail (with official park entrance) leads on OH (32-E) for the first 2km, then turns right and goes down towards Rio Ibáñez to RR (32, km 85), well marked by metal yellow triangles.<br /> <br /> We've walked all section 32 from Villa Frei to Villa Cerro Castillo. The part from Lago Paloma to Rio Turbio is very difficult and might be even dangerous (especially in bad weather). The CC travers on the stones (in our case with strong wind and snow) was the hardest part. The MR leading down to the valley is partially overgrown. The second part is well marked with good camping possibilities. After heavy rains on Sunday 25th, the park has been closed for more than a week. There are 2 alerts on the road (see above).<br /> <br /> <br /> *Feb 17 RR 3 days SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> Walked from Villa Frei. After about 12KM there is a food truck next to the road. Owners live there so should open for you. The owner of the private land wasn't there so had no access issues. You can camp in a big meadow @ 1250 metres or in good weather at a pass @ about 1325 metres (not marked on track file) just before the difficult CC section begins. Followed Veronica's advice to get up the gully on grass which worked well, thanks Veronica. There is no need for any rock climbing on this route. After the gully there are two rock bands running perpendicular to the route. You can go below both of them &amp; bypass them at treeline. The second bypass is not very obvious but stay at the treeline &amp; you will get through easily. After the pass, descending scree you come to a waterfall. Go left into the forest immediately before the waterfall - you may see a small cairn marking the spot. Just footprints at first but pick up a small trail as you go in. Leaving the park the RR to the left goes through private land. The optional route straight down is now the main trail, it goes down to a checkpoint just before the road. Checkpoint is at a stile over a fence so can't be avoided. It is run as a private 'concession' from CONAF. The workers were friendly &amp; didn't charge me anything. However next year the concession will be run by a different company so depends who is there.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022 Feb: 05-07, SoBo, RR, Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We continued into this section straight from the previous one - 31H and the start of it, about first 16km, is like the whole previous section - dirt road. We hiked about 5 of those 16km and hitched the rest which I think was possible quite easy because it was weekend and a lot of cars with families were going to the Lago La Paloma.<br /> <br /> The interesting part started once we were at the gate after crossing the outflow of Lago Monreal. The big sign was posted there stating that this is not some Sendero de Chile and that passing through here is strictly forbidden. We saw a guy at the gate when we were approaching, but as it was lunch time for us we stayed at the stream. Afterwards the guy was gone and there was no phone signal to call the nr. that Martin Lizondo has provided. After considering options of different routes we decided to keep it cool and climbed over the gate with fingers crossed. There were houses a few hundred meters up the road, but nobody seemed to be at home at that point, perhaps working in the field somewhere in the back, so we walked through the forbidden land without anyone intercepting, luck was with us. A few more gates later we climbed up into the forest and finally the Cerro Castillo National park with a big old welcoming sign. We stayed at the first marked campsite at 22,7km, there is a stream.<br /> <br /> Next morning as we were having our breakfast about 30 cows showed up and were completely dazzled by our presence. They stared at us for about 15min until they finally relaxed a bit, but not fully. As we were packing our camp some sudden movement must have scared them and they all went running for their lives as if a Kraken himself was after them, silly cows, we thought. Once we were all packed and ready to go we crossed the stream into the next meadow, and saw all the cows about 200m to our left. I am not exactly sure how cows work, but as soon as they saw us they organized a gang and all of them started running right at us. We of course were standing our ground so the cows would stop just 5m from us and look all tough. I would try to scare them away by counter attack in the form of a shouting, hiking pole waving lunatic. It worked to some extent, as we could slowly walk out of it, but the cows kept persistently be really close and walk/run at us. I guess they were trying to protect their pasture, maybe someone can enlighten me about cow-dynamics.<br /> <br /> After the great battle of 2022, we disappeared in the forest and enjoyed the nice forest path while it lasted. Once out of the three line the path disappeared so we more or less followed the GPS marking. Neither of our maps showed the mentioned old path descending down into the valley, it was actually matching with the GPS, more or less. Up to the first pass, which is not marked, but is at about 26,8km the cross country was easy and then as mentioned before it got pretty difficult. If it would just be steep scree slope it would be alright, but this one had hard packed sand under the scree or sometimes no scree on it so it was very slippery (in dry conditions). Lots of prayers went to the Gods of Friction which helped us with traversing the treacherous slopes, with plenty of chances to become a statistic. I don’t think that that traverse is possible in wet conditions, not without crampons. And as for every good cake there is always a cherry on top, which was a little rock climbing session, which I personally didn’t mind, but I am not sure other hikers would appreciate. After that we still had to descend a steep scree down to the river. If there is a potential trail or option to go down the valley after the pass and then follow the river bank up, I think it is definitely a better, faster and safer option, especially if weather is not favorable. And looking from above down the valley it seemed like a feasible option to follow the river as the river itself was easily crossable and we didn’t spot any cliffs there, maybe next time.<br /> <br /> After reaching the river at the valley bottom the way up to the second pass was easy and straight forward, even though still “sin sendero”. The way down from the pass is steep and bouldery but not dangerous and after a short bit some first signs of an old trail can be noticed, some cairs appear. Then once the trail gets down to the tree line there are a few bushy places, but nothing too bad and the closer to the actual trail you get the better it becomes. We also somewhat followed the GPS track but stayed more in the forest rather than beach to avoid the ranger hut.<br /> <br /> Once we made it to the Las Horquetas trail all our worries were behind us and we could enjoy the nice trail and magnificent views. I don’t think I have ever seen tree line ending almost at the edge of the glacier in Europe it was happening a century ago, pretty cool stuff. We camped at the “segundo camping” with many other hikers, none doing the GPT though. And an interesting thing we observed was that people would just drink straight from the silty glacier stream without filtering or treating their water at all. Observation was made of different groups of people at different campsites. Is that a Chilean thing? Very impressive gut, if they can do it, unless ignorance is a bliss or they knew something that we didn’t.<br /> <br /> Nevertheless, two more mountain passes and we were heading down to Villa Cerro Castillo, with crowds of day-hikers that had come up to the Mirador Cerro Castillo. From there we actually didn’t follow the GPS track but headed down straight to the town. The ticket office with the park official is actually around this area: (46º 6.7520' S, 72º 12.0032' W). And the trail leading there is the official trail. The one that seemed on the map like the official, was actually not in use, not sure why. The satellite view on Gaia and info on the maps is somehow outdated. We tried to sneak past the office to avoid all explaining we had to do, but it’s kind of strategically placed so it wasn’t possible and we ended up just talking to the girl that was making sure everyone is checking out of the park. We had to pay 18.000 pesos per person which is the ticket for foreigners that want to go up to the mirador. We didn’t spill the beans about camping in the park and our small backpacks kept the suspicion low, so in the end it all worked out pretty good. From there it is still almost 5km to the town on a very dusty road, but with all the day hikers leaving a hitch was not a problem.<br /> <br /> The town is really nice with plenty of shops and accommodations options. The only thing we didn’t manage to find was the threaded gas canister, but we found a few half-empty ones left in the Nordic Patagonia mess tent.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> *Section 32, Option 7: Valle Balboa. Southbound. 11 days (including waiting out a snow storm). Party (3): Mum, Sis and I.<br /> <br /> After walking Section 35 we emerged in Cochrane to a world changed by the virus. We retreated to the now unfriendly Chili Chico and caught the ferry across to Ibáñez in the morning. For my mum and sister, getting back to Santiago to catch a flight home had been the priority, but on the way they shifted more to the stance I was taking: what was the point? Get stuck in Australia, or here? Patagonia didn't seem all that bad, and apart from facemasks and hand sanitiser, there were no shortages like back home. By the time we reached Coyhaique we'd all decided to stay a week or so to hatch a plan. We met up with Aldo and camped in his backyard for almost a week. I helped build his house a bit, but time was mostly filled with playing chess, dice, cards and guitar. The atmosphere seemed to encourage a lethargic state, blurring the days together and bending time. Finally however, we packed and walked into the town centre to make a start on the interesting option #007 of Section 32 through Valle Balboa, (traversing roughly from Lago Desierto to Río Ibáñez). With the virus and public transport on hold, it seemed unlikely the bus to Villa Freí (that we took last time for the RR of Section 32) would be running. We asked a taxi driver for a quote to drive us out. We grabbed some more supplies, and then caught a taxi with a much friendlier driver to Lago Elizalde ($15k). The driver showed us a great public camping spot on the shore of the lake. There were many established camp sites back from [close to] the beach. It was such a nice spot that we decided to lay back and spend the afternoon and night there.<br /> <br /> In the morning, we walked the road to Río Paloma, scoring a lift for 5ks or so. We camped by the river not far before the end of the road.<br /> <br /> In the morning we walked the last bit of the public road to where it ends at the very rickety bridge over Río Mogote. There is a nice little camping spot here (-45.91100, -72.31823). Climbing over the locked gate, we walked the private road to the ford. We tossed up visiting Lago Desierto and the people living next to it, but with the virus decided against it. This meant we didn't actually have to cross the river, instead locating the old road to the south. (The track files follow the road, but it is no longer used by vehicles and it is actually easier to head back down the main road a couple of hundred metres to where a cattle trail exists (-45.91601, -72.30806)).<br /> <br /> Following this distinct road for some time, it seemed to be used for horse riding tours as there were coloured signs like &quot;Spanglish&quot; and &quot;Toobooku&quot; on the side. You will soon reach the gate included in the track files. Here there is also access to a bridge across Estero Balboa. It looks like you can then access trails most of the way up to Cerró Negro. This might be interesting if someone wants to explore.<br /> <br /> A couple hundred metres after the gate the old road ends and an obvious trail continues to a miskept farmhouse. Continue along the well defined trail that gets a bit scrubby/overgrown before entering the forest. The trail is then very well maintained although quite muddy in spots (I could see it being quite bad after rain). You will need to ford a tributary not marked in the track files (-45.95592, -72.35114). Shortly afterwards is a junction (-45.95654, -72.35216). The route up the side valley could be explored if someone wants - we went only a short way to a corral. The track will dip back down to the river where there is an established camp (-45.97039, -72.35461). Continuing up the valley, there are many more established camps - the best are generally in close proximity to the fords.<br /> <br /> The first time you cross the estero is about here: (-45.98105, -72.36205). There is only one ford, not two as the track files indicate. At the next couple of fords, the actual track deviates slightly from the track files. If you follow the current track files, you will avoid crossing the river at all, but will end up bush bashing briefly. We crossed the next two fords, but by staying on the west side of the river they should also be easily avoidable.<br /> <br /> The trail exits the forest (-46.02116, -72.42538)(the camp marked in the track files here is a swamp - go further up the valley!) from where it is cross country walking, not actually a trail as indicated. We camped next to the puesto which incorporates some pieces of a crashed plane (we found another piece whist exploring, but not the actual crash site). The route up to the Laguna Campana is also open and straight forward.<br /> <br /> We waited out a rainy day only to wake to a snow storm the next!... and the next!. We ended up waiting 4 nights experimenting with some different bread recipes whilst we waited out the inclement weather.<br /> <br /> Finally a sunny day! Continue up the valley, CC walking past an old corral. At the Nacimiento del Estero Balboa you again briefly enter the trees. Like the previous marked camp, again this whole area was very swampy and I didn't see a suitable place to camp. The camp included in the track files is in the middle of a swamp! We picked up fragments of a track heading up through the trees, but I think it is very vague or overgrown. That said, we had nearly a foot of snow in places so we could have easily missed things! There is a very obvious section of track here : (-46.05648, -72.47298). You'll quickly exit the trees (-46.05923, -72.47005) and start a long CC section in the alpine. We found some sections of trail, but for us it was mostly cross country walking. Plenty of water options the whole way.<br /> <br /> When you enter the forest after completing the alpine section (-46.08687, -72.43537), you will be bush bashing for a long time! There was no discernible track even when we criss-crossed over the track files searching for it (no snow here anymore). Approaching the deep gorge, I decided to lead us a different, less steep way. This worked well and we camped at a very nice spot by the stream at the bottom (-46.09414, -72.42582).<br /> <br /> The next day we were debating simply following the river down (I wish we had!). Instead, we headed straight up the other side of the gorge. We located part of an old track here (-46.09685, -72.42463) but quickly lost it as we passed through the saddle (I think maybe it continues north?). Rejoining the suggested investigation route (EXP-OP-TL-I@32-07-#003), there is a good stream (-46.10202, -72.42403) and some camping on its banks.<br /> <br /> After some horrible bush bashing, we finally made it to a ravine gashing steeply down the mountain (-46.10598, -72.41534). There were many drops and it was impossible to go directly down. We later found out that the only other party to do this part had a rope! I can't really recommend going down here [and my sister can't recommend it at all! - &quot;This is shit!&quot;] Again, I'd recommend taking the main valley. The climbs we did were much more difficult than those on the northern part of Section 32 RR that people complain about. Also, if doing this option, it would be much easier travelling north! You could also consult the settlers on a better route. We finally reached the bottom where it opens up after about ~6hrs!<br /> <br /> Continuing, if you do follow EXP-OP-TL-V@32-07A-#003, the track files indicate there is a trail, but it is not quite so. There are CC sections and a labyrinth of cattle trails. You will need to use them to your advantage where they exist, and leave them when they go the wrong way. We went this way for a little while, but then tried following a primary cattle track that seemed to be heading directly down to the river... but we got stopped by a swamp (-46.11623, -72.41080). Continuing along EXP-OP-TL-V@32-07A-#003, you will get CC walking from the woods (after a cliff) about here: (-46.11546, -72.42372) If we were there again we would follow EXP-OP-CC-A@32-07-#004 down past the settler to the river. It then looked easy to walk along the river north to the cable car.<br /> <br /> The cable car: Don't use this by yourself! Don't use it if you are only two! Use it with three people minimum! I can't stress this enough. There is a lot of fiction and the locals we talked to here don't even consider it safe. They used the boat which has its own steel cable allowing you to tack across with relative ease. You will get wet feet if using the boat.<br /> <br /> Taking the cable car, we only just made it across with one in the car and two hauling on the rope, and at one point it looked like my sister might get stranded on the far side (she had a nightmare that night!).<br /> <br /> Carretera Austral: We waited the entire day by the Carretera Austral. Finally catching a colectivo late in the afternoon. With the virus, it was hard/imposible to hitchhike. We paid an inflated price ($3kpp) for transport to Cerró Castillo.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-March-6 / Ty &amp; America / 4.5 Days SOBO RR. Start @ El Blanco<br /> <br /> We started in El Blanco, opting to hike by Lago Montreal, which was pretty nice. No traffic though, so if you’re wanting a hitch the regular start in Villa freí may be a better option. Settlers in Lago Montreal are super friendly. There’s a bit of water there as you pass by the lake. We camped there. I recommend going further to the marked camp though because the next day is a big challenge. RH-CC-A@32-25.2+7.9 Is the Cruz of the section. After this all good. I do not recommend doing this unless you’re very comfortable on your feet and have a lightweight pack.<br /> <br /> -stick to the treeline/marked path on this. The traversing is tough, but completely doable. 2-3 km in is the gully with the very difficult climb. Keep the the grassy patch, getting to the base of it was the most dangerous part for us. Very slippery rock. I had America drop her pack. High risk, but I was MUCH more comfortable.<br /> <br /> -about a k after is the second dangerous area. This is a straight rock wall that spans all the way up&amp; down the mountain. The only way through is to climb around. I checked below it and didn’t find a way through the trees. I took both Sanita &amp; America’s packs through this section; as again, it’s very high risk..with an actual climbing move involved. Again, it’s important you’re very comfortable with your pack to get through these parts.<br /> <br /> After these dangerous sections we were wiped out and camped in the valley before the pass. Lots of places to camp with good water. Be aware of slight rockfall risk. There’s an amazing place to camp with ideal conditions at the top of the pass.<br /> <br /> Going on, all smooth, both marked camps on the way up the second pass are actually closed...there’s an open camp right between the two.<br /> <br /> Amazing places to camp up by Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> We snuck around the riverbed once we saw the blue tent at the bottom (where you might have to pay) and got by with no problems.<br /> <br /> <br /> *Jan 2020 GPT32 South 7days / Felix<br /> <br /> _____________________ Coyhaique to Villa Freí: There is a bus from the bus terminal in Coyhaique to Villa Freí. From there it was a hot dusty road.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Accessing the park : You have to pass through 4 private properties to enter the first sector of the park. We met some people. Had short friendly chats, but no problems with access. Just before you enter the park (where there are two trail options) there is easy access to the river via a cow trail. However water in general was no issue and I didn't carry water for the entire 7 days through the park.<br /> <br /> The camp site used to be an official campsite before the sector was closed due to access problems. The dunny is in great shape.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Through the first sector : The trail is in great shape until after the mirador. You then cut upwards into the alpine which is also easy walking. After passing through a saddle, you contour around above the treeline. This is the most difficult part of the section. Quite a bit of step scree traversing. Not for everyone. Once you drop into the valley waking is again easier. There are some occasional cairns that become more and more frequent as you drop into the other valley. As you contour left an intermittent trail is evident. When you enter the lenga forest (-45.97321, -72.10278) there is a great trail down that turns into a road here : (-45.97886, -72.10358) (Jan: maybe you want to update the track files to reflect this?) Then is road walking to join the popular walk.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Popular sector of Cerró Castillo : There are some side trips not included in the track files. They're on the map you get. Note that the old Bosque site (-46.06197, -72.16016) and La Tetera (-46.07200, -72.18390) are now closed. You can not camp there. For most people this means camping at the new el Bosque : (-46.06418, -72.16964)(Jan : maybe you want to update the track files?) Get to Laguna Cerró Castillo before 12 to beat the walkers heading up for the day. But this shouldn't be an issue as you need to cross the pass early : an important thing we would have liked to know is that the pass (-46.08030, -72.21103) can be closed in the afternoon due to strong winds. There is literally a ranger there that can turn people around. Not much water over the pass either. And the poza cerca mirador doesn't look welcoming. Carry water here. In the next valley there were more rangers and we saw some people get checked for permits. It's a shame this park is now being comercialalised :(<br /> <br /> _____________________ Getting back to Coyhaique : Not much traffic. The last bus heads back at 6pm<br /> <br /> _____________________ I'll try upload some map photos and a breakdown of the entrance fees when I get the photos off my camera.<br /> <br /> Cheers, Felix.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-18 and 19 / Regular Hiking Southbound / Martin Lizondo<br /> <br /> The starting minor road gets into the private propiety of Pedro Sangüesa (+56 9 9099 9083) at 45º 52' 15,55&quot; S, 72º 2' 46,28&quot; O. He didn’t like people to pass through and denied that there was a trail, but it turned out to be a Conaf’s well signed area. He said in the future he will ask for money, but finally left me pass for no charge. I met other day hikers going to « El Mirador ». Snow was easy at the passes. The trail was in good conditions until the cross country. There are two spots which I consider dangerous, so I don’t recomend doing this section alone: 1) the gps tracks passes through a very vertical rocky (nearly climbing). I was scared and I can’t recommend doing it, except you asume this risk. I could see later in a map that the original route went all way down in the valley through lenga forest, but if there was a trail it’s invisible now. 2) When the cross country leaves the tree line and becomes a small trail into the lenga forest at 45º 58' 23,54&quot; S, 72º 6' 10,02&quot; O (“minor road” starts later, despite the gps track info); it’s very stepy and unmaintained. I made a mistake and started to follow the stream all way down, but you have to look up and search the beginning of the hidden path. It’s very vertical and easy to fell down, because of recent land slides. Be extremely carefull. The rest of Cerro Castillo from Las Horquetas is well maintained, beautifull and enjoyable. Cons: Lots of people. When leaving at the Nezoelandes entrance, you’ll have to pass near to the payment cabin. I didn’ t have to pay, but it was because I spent only a short time in the park. The cost for foreigners is normaly CLP 29,000.<br /> <br /> * Jan 2020 / RH Northbound / Matthieu<br /> <br /> No technical difficulties in the park, just following the trail and enjoying the views.<br /> <br /> To follow the GPT northbound, leave the parc trail to go north. It is an &quot;old sendero&quot; in the forest, but well maintained and easy to follow during the beginning (it is marked on maps of the parc). In this direction, no problem to leave the forest in a safe spot, but southbound, looking behind, seemed hard to find the entrance of the forest and of the safe trail ! No technical difficulties until the first pass, rocky terrain like the rest of the park. <br /> <br /> The dangerous part is indeed between the 2 passes. You dont go in the valley in front of you but follow the altitude line until the pass that you see at the right side of the valley. Very steepy rolling stones path. I was a little bit afraid. I tried to be smarter than the tracks, trying more uphill... this was a dangerous mistake that took me long to repair and go back to the tracks. There are indeed two river crossing (no dangerous waterstream) but they are circled by cliffs, so not easily crossable. <br /> The track follow mostly the tree line (I.e the separations between the little trees and the stones) So my recommendations : <br /> - follow the gps tracks : they follow the tree line who is safer with a solid ground and grass. Sometimes you have to cross the stones, no choice, so go slowly, choose your paces wisely and it's doable. Try to aim for the grounds of grass in the middle, which are solid, or the stones with foam on them, which mostly didn't move for a while. For the rivercrossing, it aims a good spot with no need to climb down or up.<br /> - choose a good weather day : for me it was sunny and no wind, so perfect day, and it was already mentally hard (not speaking of the horseflies getting you crazy during the hard moments !). I wouldn't try it with rain or big wind in this river of rolling stones. <br /> - if you don't feel it, easy escape by the normal trail of the parc<br /> <br /> However, I can assure that the prize for the effort, going northbound, is amazing !! But I won't spoil ! <br /> After the second pass, no technical difficulties, you find a Conaf trail easily, and I even cross some tourists with a guide.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Nov-29/ Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe/ 3days / Northbound / Regular Hiking Route with OH-MR-V (Villa Cerro Castillo to Las Horquetas)<br /> <br /> The section follows the rather popular tourist Hiking route Las Horquetas for the first two days, meaning there will be less solitude but also rather well maintained trails. The national park and the region around Cerro Castillo was very impressive, we especially enjoyed to take all the side trails and visit the numerous beautiful glacier lagoons. The only unpleasant part of the hike was the organization of the national park. The exorbitant high entrance fees are in no relation to the other parks, which is due to a high ratio of private land in the area but makes the park rather unattractive for tourists. some rangers seemed poorly informed and couldn't give much information (e.g. insisted that passes were &quot;closed&quot; and only after asking numerous times agreed to check with his colleagues that told that they are &quot;open&quot;). They also said it is not possible to hike the regular route of the GPT, because we have to check out of the NP at the checkpoint Las Horquetas. There is an optional hiking route continuing North from there. Due to bad weather coming up we ended up not finishing the northern stretch of the trail and just followed the entire Las Horquetas Route at the Carretera Austral.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-29 / Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe<br /> <br /> Snow line is at around 1200 Meters but all passes are safely traversable.<br /> The National Park Entrance Fee got raised to 29000 CLP per person for overnight hikes in season 19/20. The park generally seemed very poorly organized, we were told the passes are &quot;closed&quot; at first, whereas they were easy and safe to traverse. The ranger insisted that we could not hike the normal route northbound but have to sign out of the park at the Las Horquetas checkpoint. In high season, the ranger station in the park is manned, so maybe it is possible so sign out there and head northbound.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-12 / Eva Havlová<br /> <br /> There is still lots of snow in the National Park. I arrived to Villa Cerro Castillo 3 days ago (Novembre 12, 2019) and planed to hike nortbound but rangers didn't let me go. I saw the pass they were talking about (avalanche risk) and I don't think any avalanche could occure, but the thuth is that there is lots of water runing down and the trail is like a stream. They said it might be possible to do it next week.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2019 Jan/ OIlrik / Northbound <br /> <br /> We ended up doing the normal Cerro Castillo hike as the weather was forecasting heavy rain and snow so we did not want to be on the pass. The regular trail is just gorgeous and the park is beautiful. The trail in the north is not on the new CONAF maps but is marked on the old ones.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> A sandy beach with a visible structure in the grass is the take-out for Lago Elizalde. After exiting, make your way through the farmland until encountering a gravel road that leads past the house at the top of the hill up to Ruta X-686.<br /> <br /> Ruta X-686 is a lightly trafficked but well-formed gravel road that is fenced on either side. After crossing the Río Paloma, Ruta X-686 makes a sharp left and begins to climb. 4 km after the sharp left turn, cross a bridge to the left and climb to a wooden gate. If you descend the steep slope to the left of the gate, there is camping under some trees.<br /> <br /> The wooden gate marks the beginning of a very long driveway to a house located near the lake. The route takes you along this driveway until a river crossing. After crossing the river, walk northeast along its shore towards the Río Paloma. After reaching the end of the fenceline near the Río Paloma, turn east and walk along the fenceline until reaching Lago Desierto. At the river outlet, there is a nice beach to put in to Lago Desierto.<br /> <br /> There is no camping along the shores of Lago Desierto. The take-out is a rocky beach at the base of a bluff. Walk up the bluff and cross country through the farmland to Lago Azul. At the east end of the farm, descend down a road to a rocky beach at the Lago Azul shoreline with a metal structure.<br /> <br /> There are a couple of potential camping options along the shoreline of Lago Azul. There are also several residences on the north shore. The take-out is a long rocky beach set before a well manicured forest. On the east end of the land near Lago La Paloma is an expensive looking house surrounded by several other buildings.<br /> <br /> There is a 4WD track to the west of the smaller red house located south of the big residence. Ascend the steep climb on a well-formed road that is criss-crossed with several smaller tracks labeled in english with wooden signs. Due to the steep slopes on either side of the cut out road, there is no camping here.<br /> <br /> Eventually, the route turns off of the road onto an overgrown 4WD track. Camping off the track is still difficult because of prickly vegetation and steep terrain. This track ends 2.5 km from where the Regular Packrafting Route joins the Regular Hiking Route. From here, the route involves some bushwhacking and following a small trail as it winds in and out of existence. Just before joining with the Regular Hiking Route, the route widens into an old 4WD track that passes some destroyed structures.<br /> <br /> The routes join up at a large rock cairn and continues to follow a 4WD track until reaching a large wooden sign with a map of the Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo. Here there is also a campsite and ranger station. There is a 5.000 CLP fee to enter the reserve.<br /> <br /> The route from here is a popular track for backpackers with designated campsites. The trail is well-formed and winds through the forest. When the trail becomes less obvious, the way is shown with yellow markers. In this area there is a designated campsite with a latrine.<br /> <br /> At treeline, follow the cairns and rocks painted with white and red stripes through the scree up and over the first pass (approximate elevation 1.450 m). After the steep descent, reenter the trees. There is a campsite, Camping El Bosque, soon after reaching treeline (approximately elevation 940 m) with water and a latrine.<br /> <br /> The trail begins to wind up through the forest toward Laguna Castillo. The sights from Laguna Castillo, which is at the base of the pass, are stunning. There are two tracks that climb up to the pass. Make sure to take the path that climbs to the south instead of continuing southeast over the obvious saddle.<br /> <br /> The track down to Ruta X-720 is well formed, marked, and popular, but occasionally braided. Follow it until reaching the wooden stile with a rangers hut. From there join Ruta X-720, a dirt road which leads to Highway 7 and Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Town: Villa Cerro Castillo. Villa Cerro Castillo has several restaurants, small markets, and plenty of lodging options, including a popular backpacker camping destination on the east side of town.<br /> <br /> *Lovely yum restaurant in Coyhaique: Restaurant DaGus, Lautaro 82, 5950000 Coyhaique. Little hidden gem. -45.86411, -72.04916<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *Buses to Villa Frei from Coyhaique bus terminal: Monday 7:30, 8:15, 15:30, 17:00, 19:30 Tuesday to Friday 8:15, 15:30, 17:30, 19:30 Saturday 08:00 and 14:00. No bus on Sunday. It takes about 30 minutes to get to Villa Frei &amp; the bus generally turns around immediately &amp; goes back to Coyhaique.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023/ Martin &amp; Helena<br /> To avoid right-of-way conflict, we followed Cristopher &amp; Anna's advice (thanks guys!) and turned right after the first gate behind the beginning of the optional trail. From there you just need to follow MR, cross a few gates and you will end up on a fenced field with bee hives on one side. <br /> <br /> *2023/ Jakub+Veronika:<br /> 1) Lago La Paloma, right of way conflict on RH (32, km 17.5): Owner of the land (and nearby houses) is called Cesar, according to him, the right way is by the mud road (OH 32-L) and not on the trail, which passes some 20m next to his house. The reason why there was a conflict might have been caused by Cesar's relative who didn't like tourists walking on their land.<br /> 2) Trail has been changed 3 years ago because of right of way conflict between CONAF and private owners on the OH (32-E). The new official trail (with official park entrance) leads on OH (32-E) for the first 2km, then turns right and goes down towards Rio Ibáñez to RR (32, km 85), well marked by metal yellow triangles.<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> The entrance closes at 2 pm but the guards there were much nicer than the first two, and it was also no problem to get in at 3 pm. We had to register us and pay the 30.000 clp p.p. though. The rest of the trek we were not asked to show the tickets. <br /> <br /> *2020 / Martin Lizondo<br /> The starting minor road gets into the private propiety of Pedro Sangüesa (+56 9 9099 9083) at 45º 52' 15,55&quot; S, 72º 2' 46,28&quot; O. He didn’t like people to pass through and denied that there was a trail, but it turned out to be a Conaf’s well signed area. He said in the future he will ask for money, but finally left me pass for no charge.<br /> (...)<br /> When leaving at the Nezoelandes entrance, you’ll have to pass near to the payment cabin. I didn’ t have to pay, but it was because I spent only a short time in the park. The cost for foreigners is normaly CLP 29,000.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT32 - Cerro Castillo]]<br /> <br /> =Images=</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT32_(Cerro_Castillo)&diff=114383 2024-02-26T02:39:50Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Feb-23 to 2024-Feb-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / {32-M} - RR - {32-C} -RR / Lilian &amp; Rainbow<br /> <br /> Bus from Coyhaique to Villa Frei :<br /> <br /> Monday to Friday(8.15am, 3.30pm, 5.30pm, 7.30pm) , Saturday(8am, 2pm), i forget the fee, it is less than 1000 CLP. It takes about 35-40 minutes and it turns back to Coyhaique with no waiting. The sign on the bus doesn't write Villa Frei, it said Valle Simpson, (and final stop is Villa Frei.)<br /> <br /> Bus terminal in Coyhaique : (-45.58226, -72.07800)<br /> <br /> Bus stop in Villa Frei : (-45.75139, -72.11226)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Resupply in Coyhaique:<br /> <br /> I sent a resupply box(shoes and socks) to Patagon Backpacker(hostel) in Coyhaique from Santiago some months before, they are super friendly and willing to hold my box until i arrive. You can contact them by email, they are good at speaking English, also know lot around Coyhaique.<br /> <br /> If you want to buy some warm clothes, some shops in Coyhaique. North Face and Patagonia is there, but expensive. Some clothes in Patagonia are on sale but not for hiking or not much use, lot clothes but full price, ya. North Face's staff is much friendly, and lot items on sale too, but rainproof is full price. They have tents for sale too.<br /> <br /> Good clothes is cheaper with discount, 230g gas canisters and sleeping pad at Suray Montana, friendly and not crowded. I bught a fleece jacket at here.<br /> <br /> Doite have the cheapest price sporty clothes, just beside North Face. I bught a good base layer here.<br /> <br /> Lot of supermarkets in Coyhaique. I resupply at Unimarc.<br /> <br /> They are all close to the plaza, all the shops i listed can search by Google Map.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Because i just have 3 days good weather, so I don't want to do any road walking, i talk the bus to Villa Frei, then hitch to (-45.86204, -72.04816) start hiking.<br /> <br /> Locked gate and camera at {32-m} km2.33, I didn't want to take long time go with big around so i climbed it directly, didn't see any people on the whole way, so doesn't matter.<br /> <br /> RR km23.3 : cross a stream, log crossing at downstream 20m, you can go through the tiny forest to there.<br /> <br /> Km23.63 : flat spot(-45.90969, -72.05767) with some protection after a stream crossing can fit 2 tents before go into the no covers grassland.<br /> <br /> Highly recommend go for {32-C}, both ways just 10min, amazing views and a camping spot can fit 1 tent with excellent view at (-45.90744, -72.07668), but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km 26.63 : flat spot (-45.92066, -72.07543) can fit 2 tents with good wind protection from west by bushes.<br /> <br /> Km27.75 : old camping sandy spot(-45.92915, -72.07549) can fit 4 tents with some wind protection from west, just before the dangerous CC. I think the previous one is better.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km27.9 - km29.95 : dangerous CC traversing on side hill. A slide may cause a fall with heavy injure or death. It is doable but not recommended to everyone. Doing this part only in good weather.<br /> <br /> Km28.3 - km28.35 : for me, it is the most dangerous part in this CC, some landslide(-45.93359, -72.07668) and very loose, i can't hold a good pose and slipped down some meters, luckily i can use my hiking poles to stop the slide immediately.<br /> <br /> Km29.3 : tricky spot(-45.93822, -72.08632), huge thank you for Véronica, her comments made this much easier. Just like she said, &quot;You reach the end of the bad scree and end up in a deep gully with a vertical wall face on the other side.&quot; <br /> <br /> &quot;Get to the lowest grassy patch to the left of the vertical rock wall. The easiest way to reach that grassy patch was to go upstream a bit, then traverse on the hard slippery sand northward, instead of trying to climb vertically straight up to it. Once you reach the grass, you can use the traction and stability of vegetation to clamber up and out of the gully.&quot;<br /> <br /> Km29.55 : 1st rock wall, go around it with a clear trail at downhill side(-45.93818, -72.08940), GPX track is correct at here.<br /> <br /> Km29.7 : 2nd rock wall, NO CLIMBING, NO SCRAMBLING here, there is a trail JUST WALKING at (-45.93864, -72.09126), overgrown but just 20m easy BB, the trail is between rock wall and treeline, Sobo not easy to notice, but when you are going around the rock wall, then you'll find it. Nobo is easy to reach the trail at the other side. GPX track leads you to climb, it is not a good idea, a slide in climbing at here will mostly cause death.<br /> <br /> After 2nd rock wall, finally CC down to the valley and easy walking start.<br /> <br /> Lot of camping possibilities at the valley, but zero wind protection. Better camping before pass[32.5/1385], because after the pass is super rocky, pass is a large flat area, but too soft to camp.<br /> <br /> I camped at (-45.94901, -72.09962), some flat spots, beside the waterfall from Cerro Aislado. Nice views but cold. It is the first night with negative degree so far. Some water froze to ice at early morning around here.<br /> <br /> After pass[32.5/1385], you walking down at another valley, but with some cairns to follow. <br /> <br /> Km33.5 : trail starts, with some big cairns along it. It leads you all the way to treeline at km34.2. Sometimes it is not clear to follow and lost, but you will always find it if you pay tons of attention, cairns leads you the way.<br /> <br /> The trailhead at km34.2 is a little tricky. You need to climb up a little on a rocky slope after you cross the stream to (-45.97307, -72.10268), then go into the forest to south a little, you'll find a steep loose rocky slope going down again, go for it and you can hold some trees there. Then you join the old trail shown on GPX going south. Don't think about go to the trailhead(-45.97343, -72.10281) directly, it is on a waterfall, you can't arrive there.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The old trail is in good condition for a while, then become overgrown and some blowdowns. For emergency, you can camp at (-45.97898, -72.10345), it is the first flat spot for Sobo in treeline with cover (the last one for Nobo). It can fit 2 single person tent.<br /> <br /> Lot of tiny stream flowing with clear water.<br /> <br /> When you met the rock river(-45.98185, -72.10091) at km35.33, you can CC down the river and join MR at (-45.98357, -72.10284), it is a super easy CC, not steep, no blowdowns, no wet feet, rocks are stable and not slippery.<br /> <br /> When you arrive MR, easy walking again. A gate locked by wire at km37.1, climbing over it is the fastest way.<br /> <br /> Km38.1 : start BB to riverside, but i think it is a CC, the grass just up to ankle only.<br /> <br /> I find a clear trail(-46.00113, -72.09460) without any blowdowns going south, and lead you to riverside at (-46.00216, -72.09530), then you can walk beside the river and join national park trail.<br /> <br /> National park trail is in a nice condition, nothing to mention. Some snow before and after pass[43.9/1470], but still an easy walking on snow.<br /> <br /> Km46.1 : camping spot at (-46.05228, -72.14549), it is cleared out all the stone by someone here, can fit 1 tent with excellent 360° views, but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> I camped beside the lake(-46.05780, -72.15969) for the second night, excellent spots with glacier views(you are just below it!) and views of Cerro Castillo! Peaceful and not crowded, I'm the only human there with some ducks, and they love to talking in the midnight. You can reach the lake starts at (-46.06176, -72.15672), easy walking beside a stream, all the way stay on east side and dry feet, BB less than 20 meters for total and mostly just easy CC.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km48.85 : Campsite El Bosque. Side trail to a lake under glacier at north. It is a long walk, but i highly recommend you at least take the trail go out the forest, amazing views there, both ways just 300m.<br /> <br /> Km49.95 : viewpoint of waterfall from Cerro Castillo. And i find that you can climb up to the top of waterfall! See the details at next waypoint.<br /> <br /> Km50.2 : you can climbing up this ridge to the UPPER LAKE of Cerro Castillo. From (-46.06989, -72.18148) to (-46.06905, -72.18500), then to (-46.06627, -72.18497). No trail, just CC on some rocks, stable and not steep until close to the top, the top part is steep and loose, at there you can go to right side a little bit, climbing up on grassy slope for final ascend. Amazing views there, and no camping, because the ground is too soft, but cow boy camping on huge rocks is wonderful at this place.<br /> <br /> I recorded this CC, will upload it later.<br /> <br /> Camp[50.5/1243] : Campsite La Tetera, not a good camping spot, some spots much better when you climbing up and before Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> After you enjoy the moment at Laguna Castillo, remember follow RR, check GPX track, dont follow the trail going beside the lake, it is a dead end trail, and if you dont want to all the way back, you can CC climbing up to join RR.<br /> <br /> Pass[53.5/1679] : excellent views here! If you are super thirsty, clear water is flowing good at (-46.07749, -72.20888), easy to collect, 10sec/L.<br /> <br /> Then all the way down to Campsite Los Porteadores, a long long way going down.<br /> <br /> Because of weather changing, so i didn't go up to Laguna Duff.<br /> <br /> Walking on a nice trail to main road, then all the way road walking to Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> Lot of restaurants, shops and accomodation in Villa Cerro Castillo. And lot of hikers and backpackers hitching on the road at here.<br /> <br /> Maybe because of late season, never saw any flies at this section.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-10 to 2024-Feb-13 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Las Horquetas and Lagunitas / Andrew<br /> <br /> Day 1 (slept at Rio Turbio)<br /> <br /> I started in Villa Cerro Castillo and hitched a ride to Las Horquetas. I left a bag at the Nordic Patagonia campground in town, it's free if you stay a night after, or CLP 1.000/day if not.<br /> <br /> Signed in at the CONAF station where the park ranger explained the official camps that are currently open, and advised not to drink unfiltered/untreated water between Rio Turbio camp to just before El Bosque camp. But others I talked to later in the hike didn't get the same message and seemed fine so not sure what was up there.<br /> <br /> Easy hike to Rio Turbio camp with some horseflies.<br /> <br /> Day 2 (slept at El Bosque)<br /> <br /> This day was my punishment for deciding to leave behind my fleece at the last moment. Cold and rainy as I went over Penon pass, but at least I got to test out my new rain jacket and rain pants. At least it wasn't very windy. Great views of waterfalls after the pass, and the rest of the day was sunny.<br /> <br /> Camped at El Bosque. Difficult but short day. Worth taking the side trail to Laguna Temprana after setting up camp.<br /> <br /> Day 3 (slept at Neozelandes)<br /> <br /> Lots of scrambling over rocks. Great panoramic views as we went over Morro Negro. As developed campsites go I think Porteadores was actually a bit nicer than Neozelandes, but Neozelandes is much crowded and puts you closer to Laguna Duff.<br /> <br /> Day 4 (back to Villa Cerro Castillo)<br /> <br /> In the morning I hiked to Laguna Duff, best scenary on the Las Horquatas section of the hike IMO, do not miss this. Afterwards I hiked back to Neozelandes, packed my stuff, and hiked back to the Villa. All downhill. Paid the CLP 16.000 fee at the Estero Parada CONAF station, then hitched a ride back (around 3pm). Had some good pizza and beers with some folks I met on the hike at Pizzeria y Hamburgueseria D-Lizia in VCC.<br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-8 to 2024-Feb-11 / 3.25 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from El Blanco and Lago Monreal + Variant M + Option 3 / Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> We started around 1500 at Coyhaique and easily hitched to El Blanco. We hitched with three cars (last went to Lago Paloma) and walked about four km in between them along Lago Monreal to Variant M. The sign against hikers scared us and it was late (1930), so we camped nearby (100 m along the fence westward). We reread other reports and decided to go for it in the morning. We first tried to go along a fence lining a small cliff about 100 metres west of the road, but it is pointless and we found ourselves on the road after a few hundred metres. We did not meet anyone. It is easy to miss RR and start on option 1, keep an eye on the GPS. We met black cows at the same place as Stiina, but they just looked omniously at us.<br /> <br /> As for the dangerous part, Tomáš ended up doing it three times as he dropped our tent poles from his backpack just before the start of the CC section. Unlike Nat (see below), he thinks the section is quite ok and he also found it quite scenic, especially the first part over the plateau. The annoying clambering is in fact only about two km long and can be done in about an hour if you know the way. It never felt dangerous to him, but he understands others see it differently, it is certainly more demanding than the average section of GPT. The description of Véronica is the best. The last obstacle (the boulder) is not entirely vertical (it feels like scrambling, not climbing), but you do need to use your hands and it is indeed exposed, down climbing NOBO is more awkward. On the other hand, it is only about seven metres distance (not elevation). We had sunny skies, in worse weather it would be a lot more annoying. The horseflies came back from the dead and died by the dozen under our merciless hands (Nat killed three accidentally just as she tied her hair back).<br /> <br /> At the end of CC, the trailhead is invisible. It starts in the trees immediately from the river, about 10 m from the start of the waterfall in between two landslide/avalanche bands. Will comments that the gpx trail is exact, but since we are used to the gpx being slightly off, we could not see it, I guess we should have just trusted the gpx. There is a cairn in the creek marking the entrance but it is unclear how long it will stay there. Once you reach the overgrown MR, after a hundred metres of easy BB, one can cut the first zigzag straight down through easily passable mature forest. Once down on the road, you can camp on it, it is not used by cars ever. Once you reach the CC at 60.9, do not ford but stay on that side of the river!<br /> <br /> In the popular part of the hike, people concentrate at campings, but otherwise it does not feel too crowded (less than two dozen people met on the trails themselves per day). Until nine and from about five, you will meet almost nobody on the trails. The park is very attractive. There is good internet (Entel 4g) just before the pass at 53.5. From the other side, there is a sign saying the pass closes down in strong winds. Probably better to go there in the morning (weaker wind) or late (after six) in the afternoon (rangers have probably gone home) unless the weather is good. The sign where they turn people is probably at about 1250 altitude at roughly the treeline.<br /> <br /> To avoid paying, Nat followed the RR and was succesfull (OSM is wrong, the official trail is to the east of the GPT in the last few hundred metres). Tomáš followed the easternmost OSM trail that leaves the RR at roughly 480 altitude. The trail is rather imaginery, but it is easy walking across meadows or rarely through open forest and across several fences. His efforts were probably pointless.Tomáš also wanted to cut the walk to Villa Cerro Castillo and forded Estero El Bosque, but it was equally pointless and involved several fences.<br /> <br /> We found screwable gas cartridges in Villa Castillo at the supermarket &quot;Villarica&quot;, the last supermarket on the corner of - Bernardo Higgins and Bernardo a Alessandro, i think. They said they have them sometimes. There was a blackout for five hours during our stay but locals said that is not so common.<br /> <br /> Notes from Nat:<br /> <br /> - When in Coyhaique be sure to enjoy the bread and pizza shop called; La Tranquera Pan y Pizza (just North of the main plaza). It has a great selection of sourdough breads/Rye/whole-wheat loafs, cookies, real coffee and tasty pizza slices. ALSO don't miss the dry good store; Envasadora Aysen (45.57016° S, 72.06883° W), the good veg shop here (45.57730° S, 72.07038° W) and then the Unimarc is actually pretty good. <br /> <br /> - My views are prejudiced against the beginning of this route bcs I was sick and not in a good mood but my thoughts at the time were; &quot;If you want to &quot;enjoy&quot; section 32 then take the Las Horquetas option&quot;. I really didn't like all the sidehilling and felt you wouldn't miss out on much if you started at Horquetas. Also don't do what I did and pack twice as much as you need bcs Coyhaique &quot;might&quot; be the last place with good food (however it was 3-5x better than villa Castillo).<br /> <br /> - The first tricky part was annoying bcs it was hard to get an edge (not that there is any edge left in my shoes). It was easier to walk up it and gradually cross, all in all it didn't feel dangerous. The second tricky part did feel dangerous to me bcs I went too far climbers left of the grass staircase and ended up having to traverse the short, steep and featureless slope to get back on track, a fall seemed easy and with bad consequences. The rock scramble at the boulder did not worry me but I would not have climbed it if it was wet bcs there is a lot of algae-like material on it and some of the handholds were sloppy. <br /> <br /> - I would be very curious if one could make a new route that went up to this lake here; -45.94848, -72.07320, and then down either here; -45.95505, -72.08753 or along the ridge to here; -45.96914, -72.08724. It would be more vertical and longer but with possibly less sidehilling...<br /> <br /> - The glacier on Variant E (6km return, half of it moraine walking) is nice but not really worth it, the lake on the other hand is 100% worth the short walk (3km return, flat river rock waking).<br /> <br /> - The lake just North of Camping Bosque is also worth it if you can avoid the crowds. Both this lake and Variant E lake are technically CC but &quot;well traveled&quot; and cairned.<br /> <br /> - The trail to Laguna Duff is popular but &quot;splendid&quot;, it took less than two hours to the lake from Porteadores. Most of the trail is in the forest and then the last 1.5km (250m vert) is on a pretty obvious rock path. The camping at Neozelandés is far less crowded than other official campsites I recommend it. I got into an argument with a conaf officer at the lake bcs she told me it was too late to be there and I had to leave (4pm). If you want to avoid this person, then go right of the RR when it gets close to the lake headwall, she seemed to be &quot;staged&quot; at where the water leaves the lake. I originally wanted to make a traverse to the other lake but bcs of conaf I went down to the camp to meet Tomáš and then we both went back up after she left (6ish). Once back up we made a traverse to the other lake by following a grassy slope that starts West of where the water exits the lake, you should be able to see the grassy slope on your left when you are walking to Duff. Follow it down and work yourself across, going down to where there is some grass should be quicker than traversing the rubble, CC obviously. On the way down from the second lake we followed the main waterway and then cut back into the forest to reach the main trail (open forest, no BB). Rather than follow the west bank of the waterway like the GPS says we found it far easier to be in the east bank, less rubble.<br /> <br /> -We both bad to walk back to Villa Castillo, no cars going in our direction but manu going in opposite direction (~9am)<br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-28 to 2024-Jan-31 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / Villa Cerro Castillo - Villa Frei / RR + Option 3 + Variant C + Variant M/ Alex &amp; Christophe<br /> <br /> It was another fantastic section but we don't have much to add to what has already been written. But we would still like to point out a few points:<br /> <br /> 1) At the Segundo campsite (also called Rio Turbio), mice gnawed our tent and our dry bag containing the food. It would be best to hang your food from the trees if you are sleeping at this campsite.<br /> <br /> 2) The large rock at -45.938145, -72.086171 can be avoided by doing 10 m of bush bashing just below the rock. This passage is much more visible going NOBO but it is also possible to take it going SOBO.<br /> <br /> 3) The little detour to Variant C is definitely worth it. The view of Lago Paloma and Lago Azul is truly incredible.<br /> <br /> 4) We took option M despite the right of way conflict. We passed a pick-up truck at the last gate going NOBO (the one with a padlock and a private property sign). They greeted us and gave us no problem.<br /> <br /> 2024-Jan-27 to 2024-Jan-29 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / option 2 + option 3 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Trail condition : well maintained, good campsites sheltered from the wind <br /> - Water : easy to find plenty of rivers and lagunas<br /> - Camping spot : there are some designated campsites<br /> - Weather : Sunny<br /> - River crossing : easy<br /> - Resupply : in cohayque and in Villa cerro castillo, all you need<br /> - Entrance fee : 16 000 pesos per person, normally the park closes after 1pm so you can't start after that but we were a bit late and they let us through <br /> - Overall : beautiful stretch of section 32, for us it was really an amazing entrance in the Patagonian landscape as we imagined it with the Torres<br /> <br /> *From 2023-01-22 to 2023-01-24 // 3 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + OP3 + OP3A + VARIANT M // Quentin Clavel<br /> <br /> Villa cerro castillo - entrance Estero Parada - Laguna Duff - Sendero las Horquetas - North part of NP (CC) - Lago Paloma - Villa Frei. <br /> <br /> One of my favourite section so far ! I had amazing weather and I enjoyed so much this stretch, even with few people on the sendero las Horquetas in the NP (not crowded, but obviously more than the usual sections of the GPT). <br /> <br /> Entrance fees for 3 days was 16,000 CLP for me. I had no control and have seen no guardaparque during my hike. <br /> <br /> I walked all the way up to see Laguna Duff (OPT3) definitely worth it in my opinion. Wonderful view, with still some pieces of ices floating on the Laguna, the back of Cerro Castillo and the reflects on the water were amazing. Easy to go there, as there is a trail. <br /> <br /> The second one (OPT3A) is more tricky, no trail, and a lot of rolling stones. Beautiful too and of course, no people at all (I slept there, without tent, just on a big rock, that was incredible). <br /> <br /> Then go up to the pass, it was a crazy hot day, for the first time since I'm in Patagonia, I regretted that it wouldn't be a little bit windy aha. <br /> <br /> Laguna cerro castillo Is amazing. Second pass were very nice too. Bi. I passed it early on the morning, had some snow part, doable, but as it was morning, it was icy on some parts, so I putted my crampons and that was perfect. (But doable without). <br /> <br /> Then easy trail until the end of the public part of NP (just after Segundo camping). After that the cross country part begun. Follow an old trail of the NP, some bush bashing during the forest part, and have to check often the GPS. Then you have to deal with all the rocks until the first pass. <br /> <br /> Go down on a nice valley, and go up to the second pass. Tricky part, as described previously, is the big rock. It's maybe easier to do it NOBO because you descent it, and don't face it, which can be scary. But going on the grass part is the best way. Then follow the tree level, deal with rolling stones, and everything is gonna be alright. The récompense will be the amazing view on Lago Paloma (don't miss the Mirador). <br /> <br /> I took the variant M to avoid the right of way conflict. No trouble at all on this way. You have to pass threw some gates. The last one, near a kind of central hydroelectric is the biggest, with camera and sign do not enter. Few people seen after this gate, and they were all very gentle and nice ! <br /> <br /> Anyway, I really loved this stretch ! As it's summertime at this time, I met a lot of chilenos in the NP, so happy to see even very young chilenos explore their outstanding country ! <br /> <br /> You have to be prepared to face a looooot of rolling stones on this section, sometimes it's like dancing on rocks. Can I say that the rolling stones make this stretch rock'n'roll ? Probably not. <br /> <br /> Better to wait for good conditions. I can't imagine this section on a rainy and windy day ! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2024-Jan- 11 to 2024-Jan-13/ 3 days/hiking/SOBO/ Start in Las Horquetas and later RR/ Paulina<br /> <br /> <br /> I started in las Horquetas, it was open even if on Conaf website this section is still closed, apparently they don't really update). When I was there ( 10 AM) nobody at the gate, so no charges. Later in the park nobody never asked me to show the entrance ticket. The same at the exit gate, they just asked me to check out ( even if I did not check in).<br /> At the beginning of Las Horquetas trail, some very easy river crossing. Almost no people, only a few hikers on the campsite.<br /> On Pass 32 [43.9/1470] still some soft snow, but I could cross it safetly.<br /> <br /> Be careful on the ridge around pass 32 [ 53.5/1679] on very windy days. <br /> I did not see any water around camping Los Porteadores, except this last section, water was available everywhere. <br /> <br /> Beautiful and very scenic section! <br /> <br /> *2023-12-29 to 2024-01-01 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; Variant D &amp; M / Roman<br /> <br /> Took a Uber from Coyhaique to Villa Frei for 17.000$. Got another lift by someone who life's there to this point: -45.8737, -72.04342. Joined via Variant M to the RR. Camped at Camp {32} [23.6/1010]. Good place you have to Ford 2 times before the Camp and 1 times directly after it. Here the -45.93357, -72.07606 Clambering in steep terrain starts and is very challenging also in combination with snow. Very steep literally climbing up there here: -45.938145, -72.086171 especially with a backpack. I needed to go very slow and cautious with 3 point technique. After that you can follow the GPS and the Kerns to this point -45.973087, -72.102771. From there a old abandoned road goes all the way to the point where the Trail( Variant D) merges with the Sendero de Chile Las Horquetas at: X {32-D} [1.0/920]. On the trial are some parts which are not perfectly visible but with GPS no problem. There are some fallen trees and quite a few small trees on the trail. I wouldn't consider it Bush Bashing (BB) because you can just raise your arms in front of your face and walk trough it. So IMHO no BB on the route. As soon as you are at X {32-D} [1.0/920] it's a &quot;touristy trail&quot; compared with the other GPT parts. Therefor the condition is excellent. Camped at Segundo Camping -46.008184, -72.104121. Next day camped at Camping Los Porteadores -46.089085, -72.235431. Snow was neither on Pass {32} [43.9/1470] or Pass {32} [53.5/1679] a problem. Next day hiked to Villa Cerro Castillo. Not a single car on the street towards it so needed to hike. The RR avoids the Entrance Cerro Castillo Park (Estero Parada) there is one gate before accessing the street where you can just hop over.<br /> <br /> Overall: really nice section and quite relaxing to have such a easy trail (the beginning is challenging due to the rock scramble). It's the most touristy part (2 groups a 7 people) but absolutely woth it. Really enjoyed it.<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-12 / 6 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RR + Variant D + Variant F / Tom Pieper<br /> An Uber from Cohayique to Villa Simpson is about 9.000 Peso. From there I easily found rides to Lago Elizalde. A older man told me that there was also a camino from Lago Elizalde to Lago Azul passing cerro sombrero a couple of years ago. I really liked the walking through the valley to lago desierto. It passes a beautiful farmland landscape sprinkled with little lush patches of forest and creeks. Camping is easy there. But if you want to speed up there are also cars from time to time and hitchhiking is possible. At S 45° 52.495 W 072° 16.913 is a little shelter surrounded by some old tractors and a big mate cup installation. A farmer passing by told me I am welcome to stay there. To reach lago desierto you have to climb a locked gate (well described by Kara Davis). I crossed lago desierto and camped at the isthmus between it and lago azul. There is a nice camp spot at waypoint Lake {32} [38.3/337] surrounded by old gooseberry bushes and an abandoned van. The central lodging building is collapsed so its seems to be an abandoned place now except the cattle. Next day I crossed lago azul. The wind increased dramatically forming up to 1 m waves. There are some emergency exits on the left even after the shore gets steeper after the settlers on the lefthand side. At the end of lago azul you reach a huge private hacienda on the isthmus, with a big park like forest and buildings within. I tried to sneak between the buildings but to reach the path to the mountains you finally have to pass a big meadow. There was a greenkeeper around and it was no problem for him to let me pass. The family was not around. The track to the mountains is steep and part of a big network of mountainbike trails. This network spans nearly the entire valley! I met six young chilenos who told me that they are working the summer to maintain the trails only for that family – I have never seen such a giant mountainbike network! Incredible how much effort and money must spend here only to satisfy a family’s hobby. The Chilenos were very friendly and even turned back to offer me a ride to the end of the valley as rain increased but I kept walking. This track is in really good conditions up to the bush bashing section. And here comes the problem: 1.) the bush bashing is wrong annotated. In reality it starts for 1.2 km at the end of the annotated section 2.) the track is mostly gone were it reaches the river bed. Landslides have washed away a big part. Don’t cross the landslide! It seems super instable! When you have forded the riverbed at the landslide don’t put on your shoes, yet. The following part has turned into swamp land. I suggest to make the entire 1.2 km in your fording footwear. After that the track to the las horquetas trail is mostly overgrown or blocked by trees but still visible. It was pretty hard for me as temperatures dropped to 4 °C and at this point it had not stopped raining for 48 hr. In bad weather that’s definitely no fun. The ranger hut was my salvation as it was abandoned but open and had a stove and even some firewood. The next day the weather was perfect and I continued towards cerro Castillo. There had been recent work around Camping Rio Turbio and the track is still in good condition. Paso Penón has heaps of snow and I found myself sinking to the hips from time to time. But in good weather it is ok. The views from the pass and the following valley even outcompeted the view from laguna castillo. After the paso penón the rest is fine. I used Variant F to descend. As mentioned before it now follows a different way in the end due to right of way conflict and you reach the street at approximately half way between villa cerro Castillo and the national park entrance.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> <br /> * 05-Apr-2023 / Hiking / SOBO / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We really enjoyed this one. It's definitely worth waiting for good weather, not only for safe traverse of the steep part in the northern part of the park and following obstacles that are quite demanding but also for the views that were just incredible.<br /> <br /> Starting from Villa Frei in the late afternoon, we made it on that day to the turn before Lago La Paloma, where we camped right behind a fence, before a little river, that you need to cross to follow the RR. There are 2 settlements, but still far enough, so no problem. You have to cross one fence and a gate on the way up. To avoid right-of-way conflict, we followed Cristopher &amp; Anna's advice (thanks guys!) and turned right after the first gate behind the beginning of the optional trail. From there you just need to follow MR, cross a few gates and you will end up on a fenced field with bee hives on one side. Crossing them will take you directly to RR, so no bush-bashing is necessary. From there, the trail is pretty straightforward. We liked the view from Option B viewpoint and in good conditions it must be a perfect spot for camping, definitely doable in one day. The steep traverse didn't feel that dangerous for us, but we had really good conditions. The next obstacle, already described by others, is at the end of the traverse. We followed there a small ridge that will take you to the beginning of the grass parts. It's a little steep, but doable. From there we followed the grass parts, which create almost 'stairs' allowing you to climb up. It's again steep, but you can use your hands to pull yourself up, holding the grass patches. After that is the last challenging part, a rock that you need to climb over. We got there already after sunset and without an option to explore the best and safest way over, we decided to follow the old overgrown trail, that descends down without the need to climb over the rock. It seemed to be hard in the beginning, but after we got through the first few trees (without any leaves, just branches), we found a little strip without them, that takes you all the way down to the river, where we camped. It took us around 15 min to get down, so it might be a good alternative. From there you just need to walk through a little part of the forest and then continue by the river, so you are actually avoiding also the descent down, which some described as challenging as well.<br /> <br /> After the first marked pass and descent in rocky terrain, the CC part connects to an old trail, that later becomes a MR. The connection was easy to find by following the GPS. We had no problems passing around the rangers house, again by following the track files, at first through the forest and later around the river. From there the trail connects to the official way which makes navigation easy. We spent the night in the official campsite around 2 km before Laguna Carro Castillo, which is the only one open. There were 5-6 other tents, no ranger. The next day the weather got way way worse, which made us skip the last pass and go down from the laguna via one of the official routes. We met a ranger on the way up, pointing us to the official trail around yellow cairns, to sign off from the park. With no intention to pay on our way from the park, we actually followed some old trail (according to the old signs we met) that took us to the main road, right in front of the bridge. We had to cross one fence, but no other problem. It's a faster and safe way from the park.<br /> <br /> <br /> *5 to 7 of February 2023 / Will / SOBO / 3 days<br /> <br /> Amazing section! I was worried about the tricky part, but sticking to the gpx track it didn't feel dangerous to me. Though I did have to leave the track to find easier ways around the cliffs.<br /> <br /> There weren't any buses south out of Coyhaique on Sunday (except maybe early morning?). I ended up taking an Uber to villa frei, for a bearable 14000 pesos. The road walk was beautiful except for the wind trying to blow me into the cars. I caught a ride to Lago Monreal, from where I walked back up to variant L and then to the 23.6 campsite.<br /> <br /> I didn't have any right of way trouble, I just had to pass through a few unlocked gates with no people or buildings in sight. There were even a few groups of day hikers who passed by my camp on the way to the Lago Paloma mirador (variant B - must see!).<br /> <br /> I also took variant D up to the glacier lake, worth it if it fits your schedule. I didn't have time to keep going up to the glacier itself, it looked like steeper rocky cross country.<br /> <br /> Even in the touristy parts the trail was surprisingly slow and rocky. I ran into a few rangers, who look like normal hikers except with red and white baseball hats. They were ok with me not having a ticket once I explained my weird route.<br /> <br /> <br /> *15.02.23 -18.02.23 / Anna &amp; Christopher / SOBO<br /> Coyhaique - Villa Cerro Castillo<br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Coyhaique to Lago Paloma and started walking around 13:30 pm following the main path.<br /> <br /> The trail at the beginning is pretty good. At the junction with the option at km 17,5 you can walk further uphill along the fence for a couple of meters to enter the fence through a gate. This option is not in the gpx files. We decided to follow that to avoid the settlers after all.Then you can follow the dirtroad through two more gates until you reach a fence that you have to jump to the right to get to a meadow with beehives. There is another gate there and then you reach the main route again. In total we only had to jump two fences.<br /> <br /> Then we followed the main route. Soon after we went through the gate of the National park Cerro Castillo and we (unfortunately) met two guardians of the park. After some back and forth they made us turn around, telling us that this path is closed and we have to enter the park via the main entrance and pay the 30.000 clp. So we had to take the option to las Horquetas.<br /> <br /> After a few good km on a dirtroad, the path of option 1 gets bad. It seems like it hasn't been used for a long time. It was often hard to find and involved some bushbashing. It took us quite some time to get through there. Once you are at the river it gets much better. We forded the river next to the entrance to avoid the detour until Horquetas. The option was not very nice. Mostly just walking in the forest with BB so we would definetly recommend to try the main route.<br /> <br /> The entrance closes at 2 pm but the guards there were much nicer than the first two, and it was also no problem to get in at 3 pm. We had to register us and pay the 30.000 clp p.p. though. The rest of the trek we were not asked to show the tickets. The park guardians tell you that there is no water crossing both passes and you have to carry it from the official camps, which is simply not true. There is only no water after Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> At the exit (following the RR) we had to register us again. From there we planned to hitchhike to Villa Cerro Castillo, but there were no cars passing by. In the afternoon/evening it's probably easier to get a ride, because lots of cars parked at the exit. We would recommend Option E to avoid the dull roadwalk to Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> We stayed at Camping El Rincon, which was only 4.000 clp p.p., with no electricity, but the owner washed our clothes after we asked and we received it dry the next morning :)<br /> <br /> <br /> *18 to 21 of January 2023 / Véronica / GPT32 RR SOBO / 3.5 days<br /> <br /> Route: Villa Freí - Lago La Paloma - north part of Parque Nacional Cerro Castillo - Las Horquetas trail (south part of Parque Nacional Cerro Castillo) - Villa Cerro Castillo<br /> First off I want to say that I think this section deserves a 5 on the Attractiveness Scale. It is simply mind-blowingly beautiful and definitely on par with other sections further north that have a 5 on this scale. I also think the Difficulty Rating should be upped to a 5 as well, due to the technical, and arguably dangerous at times, section in the northern part of the park on the Regular Route. Wish I had someone with me during this stretch, but oh well, such is life.<br /> <br /> I was lucky and caught a hitch most of the way to Lago La Paloma on the first day. It was hot and I don't think the road walk has any water sources until you get to the end. I then followed the new RR which bypasses the problematic right-of-way settler in the Lago Monreal area. However, this new detour is not fun. It involves climbing over (or crawling through/under) multiple barbed wire fences. I lost count after the 5th or 6th one. Also, the path and cross-country area are full of thorny plants, they got everywhere on my pack and clothing. I think it would just be better to take Option 32-L and chat with the settler instead to try and get through. Once you reach RH-MR-V {32} [18.9+4.7], it's all good, easy walking until the camp at 23.6 km.<br /> <br /> I reccomend taking Option 32-A after the campsite instead of the CC straight through the cow pasture. It is wet and muddy, whereas 32-A remains dry and easy to follow in the forest at the edge of the meadow. I also strongly recommend taking the short detour to the mirador at the end of Option 32-B. The views there of the cliffs and mountains surrounding Lago La Paloma are incredible. You could even camp there if you brought sufficient water and the weather is calm.<br /> <br /> Now for the difficult part in the 8-km cross-country section. This section was physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. The first pass is at S 45° 55.740', W 072° 04.501'. It is easy walking up past the treeline into the alpine up to this point. The first challenge is a steep and unstable scree traverse, which begins at S 45° 56.019', W 072° 04.567'. Follow the GPS tracks here. At first I tried to go lower, right along the treeline, which was a big mistake that got me stuck in a terrible gully of slippery hard-packed sand. Very treacherous and scary trying to traverse it on all fours. After that ordeal, I scrambled back up to the altitude of the GPS tracks. This first scree traverse lasts about a km, the rocks are loose and it is very steep. I was tense and went very slowly. Got harassed by tábanos the whole way, but at least the weather was good.<br /> <br /> Then at S 45° 56.288', W 072° 05.184', you reach the end of the bad scree and end up in a deep gully with a vertical wall face on the other side. Figuring out how to get up that cliff was hard for me. I left my pack at the bottom and tried climbing up various different ways with no success, only tiring myself out and getting myself in precarious situations where I could barely climb back down. I finally figured out the best way was to try and get to the lowest grassy patch to the left of the vertical rock wall. The easiest way to reach that grassy patch was to go upstream a bit, then traverse on the hard slippery sand northward, instead of trying to climb vertically straight up to it. Once you reach the grass, you can use the traction and stability of vegetation to clamber up and out of the gully.<br /> <br /> The next big obstacle is at S 45° 56.320', W 072° 05.446'. Like others have written, this is the vertical rock wall that spans up and down the mountain and that you have to climb over. I scouted ways up without my pack at first, trying to find the easiest way. At least with this rock wall, the handholds and footholds are solid — no slippery gravel/sand/scree. But it does require actual rock climbing moves. If you fall you would likely tumble down the mountain, so please be very careful. A light backpack makes it relatively safer and easier.<br /> <br /> On the other side of this wall, you can finally see where the trees end, and the lovely river you are supposed to climb down to reach. But there is still more scree to traverse here, and it is slow and unstable again. I tried taking a shortcut down a shallow gully filled with grass. I figured it would be safer than the rocks, but it was very steep and got unexpectedly muddy at one point, and I ended up slipping and sliding down the mountainside about 10 meters before being able to stop myself. Didn't get seriously hurt, just bruised up, but it really shook me and just added to the stress and fear of this whole section. So I guess my advice here is to again follow the GPS tracks across the scree and go down gradually to the river instead of trying to go straight down.<br /> <br /> Once you reach the riverbed, it is easy walking to the top of the pass, with occasional cairns (and some good swimming holes). Down the south side of the pass, there are still a couple scree sections, but not nearly as bad as before. Lots of boulders, so slow going, but at least they felt more solid.<br /> <br /> As Martin Lizondo has written, finding the start of RH-MR-V {32} [34.1+1.7] is tricky. It is not a minor road, it is an old footpath. The cross-country section ends at a creek as it turns into a high and steep waterfall. You have to cross the creek and look up to find a faint, overgrown trail that goes up into the forest. Once you find it though, it is simple enough to follow. There is a stretch though of several hundred meters where it is more of a bushwhack than anything else, nature has taken over.<br /> <br /> I followed the regular route that cuts through the forest to Río Turbío, I assume this is to avoid the ranger station nearby. The &quot;bushbashing&quot; section is easy through a mature forest, and then you just follow the bouldery riverbank.<br /> <br /> Once you get to the popular Las Horquetas trail, everything is easy until the end of the section. Some snow at the top of the first pass (Paso Peñón), but very manageable. The views of the saw-toothed mountains, lakes, and glaciers are spectacular. Despite reports of the park being &quot;overrun,&quot; I only met a handful of other hikers in this trail, and most of them after Laguna Castillo. No rangers at all.<br /> <br /> I think the Regular Route in its current configuration avoids the blue payment tent at the end of the park trail, but I didn't know that when I passed through, and ended up just following the riverbank down to the minor road to be safe (and avoid paying the ridiculous 30,000 clp access fee). The road walk to Cerro Castillo was Easy and uneventful.<br /> <br /> <br /> *23/02/2023 - 25/02/2023 / RR SOBO / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé :<br /> <br /> We started at Lago La Paloma, taking the bus from Coyhaique to Villa Frei (leaves at 8:15,15:30,17:30&amp;19:30 from monday to friday and at 8:00 and 14:00 on saturday (no bus on sunday)). Then we hitchiked to the lake without problem and we camped there. Ready to start in the morning the next day.<br /> <br /> Day 1 - Campamento Rio Turbio - 26.5km - +1800m/-1200m A big day but we hadnt the choice : heavy rain was announced for the next day... Cross country is demanding, better follow the tracks all the way long. A great camp site if you want to split this day is at the end of Option B. No water, windy but incredible view. The waypoint camp before is nice too.<br /> <br /> Day 2 - Campamento El Bosque - 10km - +800m/-800m The 2 camps sites on the GPT at47.8 and at 50.3 are now forbidden. The new campsite is approx at km 49, in the middle. There is guardaparques, but no need to show the permit for us.<br /> <br /> Day 3 - Cerro Castillo - 11km - +800m/-1500m The pass after Cerro Castillo was closed due to the wind. If you want to go to the other side, you have to get down at the park entrance and to go up again at the other entrance. We just went to the town. The regular route going down from there, from the Cerro Castillo, is not the one on the GPT. Actually, it goes more on the west side. At the end, there is a guardaparque, we checked out (even though we didn’t checked in) but no need to pay. Fortunately. Luck was with us.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 23/02/2023 - 25/02/2023 / RR NOBO / Jakub+Veronika:<br /> <br /> 1) Lago La Paloma, right of way conflict on RH (32, km 17.5): Owner of the land (and nearby houses) is called Cesar, according to him, the right way is by the mud road (OH 32-L) and not on the trail, which passes some 20m next to his house. The reason why there was a conflict might have been caused by Cesar's relative who didn't like tourists walking on their land.<br /> 2) Trail has been changed 3 years ago because of right of way conflict between CONAF and private owners on the OH (32-E). The new official trail (with official park entrance) leads on OH (32-E) for the first 2km, then turns right and goes down towards Rio Ibáñez to RR (32, km 85), well marked by metal yellow triangles.<br /> <br /> We've walked all section 32 from Villa Frei to Villa Cerro Castillo. The part from Lago Paloma to Rio Turbio is very difficult and might be even dangerous (especially in bad weather). The CC travers on the stones (in our case with strong wind and snow) was the hardest part. The MR leading down to the valley is partially overgrown. The second part is well marked with good camping possibilities. After heavy rains on Sunday 25th, the park has been closed for more than a week. There are 2 alerts on the road (see above).<br /> <br /> <br /> *Feb 17 RR 3 days SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> Walked from Villa Frei. After about 12KM there is a food truck next to the road. Owners live there so should open for you. The owner of the private land wasn't there so had no access issues. You can camp in a big meadow @ 1250 metres or in good weather at a pass @ about 1325 metres (not marked on track file) just before the difficult CC section begins. Followed Veronica's advice to get up the gully on grass which worked well, thanks Veronica. There is no need for any rock climbing on this route. After the gully there are two rock bands running perpendicular to the route. You can go below both of them &amp; bypass them at treeline. The second bypass is not very obvious but stay at the treeline &amp; you will get through easily. After the pass, descending scree you come to a waterfall. Go left into the forest immediately before the waterfall - you may see a small cairn marking the spot. Just footprints at first but pick up a small trail as you go in. Leaving the park the RR to the left goes through private land. The optional route straight down is now the main trail, it goes down to a checkpoint just before the road. Checkpoint is at a stile over a fence so can't be avoided. It is run as a private 'concession' from CONAF. The workers were friendly &amp; didn't charge me anything. However next year the concession will be run by a different company so depends who is there.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022 Feb: 05-07, SoBo, RR, Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We continued into this section straight from the previous one - 31H and the start of it, about first 16km, is like the whole previous section - dirt road. We hiked about 5 of those 16km and hitched the rest which I think was possible quite easy because it was weekend and a lot of cars with families were going to the Lago La Paloma.<br /> <br /> The interesting part started once we were at the gate after crossing the outflow of Lago Monreal. The big sign was posted there stating that this is not some Sendero de Chile and that passing through here is strictly forbidden. We saw a guy at the gate when we were approaching, but as it was lunch time for us we stayed at the stream. Afterwards the guy was gone and there was no phone signal to call the nr. that Martin Lizondo has provided. After considering options of different routes we decided to keep it cool and climbed over the gate with fingers crossed. There were houses a few hundred meters up the road, but nobody seemed to be at home at that point, perhaps working in the field somewhere in the back, so we walked through the forbidden land without anyone intercepting, luck was with us. A few more gates later we climbed up into the forest and finally the Cerro Castillo National park with a big old welcoming sign. We stayed at the first marked campsite at 22,7km, there is a stream.<br /> <br /> Next morning as we were having our breakfast about 30 cows showed up and were completely dazzled by our presence. They stared at us for about 15min until they finally relaxed a bit, but not fully. As we were packing our camp some sudden movement must have scared them and they all went running for their lives as if a Kraken himself was after them, silly cows, we thought. Once we were all packed and ready to go we crossed the stream into the next meadow, and saw all the cows about 200m to our left. I am not exactly sure how cows work, but as soon as they saw us they organized a gang and all of them started running right at us. We of course were standing our ground so the cows would stop just 5m from us and look all tough. I would try to scare them away by counter attack in the form of a shouting, hiking pole waving lunatic. It worked to some extent, as we could slowly walk out of it, but the cows kept persistently be really close and walk/run at us. I guess they were trying to protect their pasture, maybe someone can enlighten me about cow-dynamics.<br /> <br /> After the great battle of 2022, we disappeared in the forest and enjoyed the nice forest path while it lasted. Once out of the three line the path disappeared so we more or less followed the GPS marking. Neither of our maps showed the mentioned old path descending down into the valley, it was actually matching with the GPS, more or less. Up to the first pass, which is not marked, but is at about 26,8km the cross country was easy and then as mentioned before it got pretty difficult. If it would just be steep scree slope it would be alright, but this one had hard packed sand under the scree or sometimes no scree on it so it was very slippery (in dry conditions). Lots of prayers went to the Gods of Friction which helped us with traversing the treacherous slopes, with plenty of chances to become a statistic. I don’t think that that traverse is possible in wet conditions, not without crampons. And as for every good cake there is always a cherry on top, which was a little rock climbing session, which I personally didn’t mind, but I am not sure other hikers would appreciate. After that we still had to descend a steep scree down to the river. If there is a potential trail or option to go down the valley after the pass and then follow the river bank up, I think it is definitely a better, faster and safer option, especially if weather is not favorable. And looking from above down the valley it seemed like a feasible option to follow the river as the river itself was easily crossable and we didn’t spot any cliffs there, maybe next time.<br /> <br /> After reaching the river at the valley bottom the way up to the second pass was easy and straight forward, even though still “sin sendero”. The way down from the pass is steep and bouldery but not dangerous and after a short bit some first signs of an old trail can be noticed, some cairs appear. Then once the trail gets down to the tree line there are a few bushy places, but nothing too bad and the closer to the actual trail you get the better it becomes. We also somewhat followed the GPS track but stayed more in the forest rather than beach to avoid the ranger hut.<br /> <br /> Once we made it to the Las Horquetas trail all our worries were behind us and we could enjoy the nice trail and magnificent views. I don’t think I have ever seen tree line ending almost at the edge of the glacier in Europe it was happening a century ago, pretty cool stuff. We camped at the “segundo camping” with many other hikers, none doing the GPT though. And an interesting thing we observed was that people would just drink straight from the silty glacier stream without filtering or treating their water at all. Observation was made of different groups of people at different campsites. Is that a Chilean thing? Very impressive gut, if they can do it, unless ignorance is a bliss or they knew something that we didn’t.<br /> <br /> Nevertheless, two more mountain passes and we were heading down to Villa Cerro Castillo, with crowds of day-hikers that had come up to the Mirador Cerro Castillo. From there we actually didn’t follow the GPS track but headed down straight to the town. The ticket office with the park official is actually around this area: (46º 6.7520' S, 72º 12.0032' W). And the trail leading there is the official trail. The one that seemed on the map like the official, was actually not in use, not sure why. The satellite view on Gaia and info on the maps is somehow outdated. We tried to sneak past the office to avoid all explaining we had to do, but it’s kind of strategically placed so it wasn’t possible and we ended up just talking to the girl that was making sure everyone is checking out of the park. We had to pay 18.000 pesos per person which is the ticket for foreigners that want to go up to the mirador. We didn’t spill the beans about camping in the park and our small backpacks kept the suspicion low, so in the end it all worked out pretty good. From there it is still almost 5km to the town on a very dusty road, but with all the day hikers leaving a hitch was not a problem.<br /> <br /> The town is really nice with plenty of shops and accommodations options. The only thing we didn’t manage to find was the threaded gas canister, but we found a few half-empty ones left in the Nordic Patagonia mess tent.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> *Section 32, Option 7: Valle Balboa. Southbound. 11 days (including waiting out a snow storm). Party (3): Mum, Sis and I.<br /> <br /> After walking Section 35 we emerged in Cochrane to a world changed by the virus. We retreated to the now unfriendly Chili Chico and caught the ferry across to Ibáñez in the morning. For my mum and sister, getting back to Santiago to catch a flight home had been the priority, but on the way they shifted more to the stance I was taking: what was the point? Get stuck in Australia, or here? Patagonia didn't seem all that bad, and apart from facemasks and hand sanitiser, there were no shortages like back home. By the time we reached Coyhaique we'd all decided to stay a week or so to hatch a plan. We met up with Aldo and camped in his backyard for almost a week. I helped build his house a bit, but time was mostly filled with playing chess, dice, cards and guitar. The atmosphere seemed to encourage a lethargic state, blurring the days together and bending time. Finally however, we packed and walked into the town centre to make a start on the interesting option #007 of Section 32 through Valle Balboa, (traversing roughly from Lago Desierto to Río Ibáñez). With the virus and public transport on hold, it seemed unlikely the bus to Villa Freí (that we took last time for the RR of Section 32) would be running. We asked a taxi driver for a quote to drive us out. We grabbed some more supplies, and then caught a taxi with a much friendlier driver to Lago Elizalde ($15k). The driver showed us a great public camping spot on the shore of the lake. There were many established camp sites back from [close to] the beach. It was such a nice spot that we decided to lay back and spend the afternoon and night there.<br /> <br /> In the morning, we walked the road to Río Paloma, scoring a lift for 5ks or so. We camped by the river not far before the end of the road.<br /> <br /> In the morning we walked the last bit of the public road to where it ends at the very rickety bridge over Río Mogote. There is a nice little camping spot here (-45.91100, -72.31823). Climbing over the locked gate, we walked the private road to the ford. We tossed up visiting Lago Desierto and the people living next to it, but with the virus decided against it. This meant we didn't actually have to cross the river, instead locating the old road to the south. (The track files follow the road, but it is no longer used by vehicles and it is actually easier to head back down the main road a couple of hundred metres to where a cattle trail exists (-45.91601, -72.30806)).<br /> <br /> Following this distinct road for some time, it seemed to be used for horse riding tours as there were coloured signs like &quot;Spanglish&quot; and &quot;Toobooku&quot; on the side. You will soon reach the gate included in the track files. Here there is also access to a bridge across Estero Balboa. It looks like you can then access trails most of the way up to Cerró Negro. This might be interesting if someone wants to explore.<br /> <br /> A couple hundred metres after the gate the old road ends and an obvious trail continues to a miskept farmhouse. Continue along the well defined trail that gets a bit scrubby/overgrown before entering the forest. The trail is then very well maintained although quite muddy in spots (I could see it being quite bad after rain). You will need to ford a tributary not marked in the track files (-45.95592, -72.35114). Shortly afterwards is a junction (-45.95654, -72.35216). The route up the side valley could be explored if someone wants - we went only a short way to a corral. The track will dip back down to the river where there is an established camp (-45.97039, -72.35461). Continuing up the valley, there are many more established camps - the best are generally in close proximity to the fords.<br /> <br /> The first time you cross the estero is about here: (-45.98105, -72.36205). There is only one ford, not two as the track files indicate. At the next couple of fords, the actual track deviates slightly from the track files. If you follow the current track files, you will avoid crossing the river at all, but will end up bush bashing briefly. We crossed the next two fords, but by staying on the west side of the river they should also be easily avoidable.<br /> <br /> The trail exits the forest (-46.02116, -72.42538)(the camp marked in the track files here is a swamp - go further up the valley!) from where it is cross country walking, not actually a trail as indicated. We camped next to the puesto which incorporates some pieces of a crashed plane (we found another piece whist exploring, but not the actual crash site). The route up to the Laguna Campana is also open and straight forward.<br /> <br /> We waited out a rainy day only to wake to a snow storm the next!... and the next!. We ended up waiting 4 nights experimenting with some different bread recipes whilst we waited out the inclement weather.<br /> <br /> Finally a sunny day! Continue up the valley, CC walking past an old corral. At the Nacimiento del Estero Balboa you again briefly enter the trees. Like the previous marked camp, again this whole area was very swampy and I didn't see a suitable place to camp. The camp included in the track files is in the middle of a swamp! We picked up fragments of a track heading up through the trees, but I think it is very vague or overgrown. That said, we had nearly a foot of snow in places so we could have easily missed things! There is a very obvious section of track here : (-46.05648, -72.47298). You'll quickly exit the trees (-46.05923, -72.47005) and start a long CC section in the alpine. We found some sections of trail, but for us it was mostly cross country walking. Plenty of water options the whole way.<br /> <br /> When you enter the forest after completing the alpine section (-46.08687, -72.43537), you will be bush bashing for a long time! There was no discernible track even when we criss-crossed over the track files searching for it (no snow here anymore). Approaching the deep gorge, I decided to lead us a different, less steep way. This worked well and we camped at a very nice spot by the stream at the bottom (-46.09414, -72.42582).<br /> <br /> The next day we were debating simply following the river down (I wish we had!). Instead, we headed straight up the other side of the gorge. We located part of an old track here (-46.09685, -72.42463) but quickly lost it as we passed through the saddle (I think maybe it continues north?). Rejoining the suggested investigation route (EXP-OP-TL-I@32-07-#003), there is a good stream (-46.10202, -72.42403) and some camping on its banks.<br /> <br /> After some horrible bush bashing, we finally made it to a ravine gashing steeply down the mountain (-46.10598, -72.41534). There were many drops and it was impossible to go directly down. We later found out that the only other party to do this part had a rope! I can't really recommend going down here [and my sister can't recommend it at all! - &quot;This is shit!&quot;] Again, I'd recommend taking the main valley. The climbs we did were much more difficult than those on the northern part of Section 32 RR that people complain about. Also, if doing this option, it would be much easier travelling north! You could also consult the settlers on a better route. We finally reached the bottom where it opens up after about ~6hrs!<br /> <br /> Continuing, if you do follow EXP-OP-TL-V@32-07A-#003, the track files indicate there is a trail, but it is not quite so. There are CC sections and a labyrinth of cattle trails. You will need to use them to your advantage where they exist, and leave them when they go the wrong way. We went this way for a little while, but then tried following a primary cattle track that seemed to be heading directly down to the river... but we got stopped by a swamp (-46.11623, -72.41080). Continuing along EXP-OP-TL-V@32-07A-#003, you will get CC walking from the woods (after a cliff) about here: (-46.11546, -72.42372) If we were there again we would follow EXP-OP-CC-A@32-07-#004 down past the settler to the river. It then looked easy to walk along the river north to the cable car.<br /> <br /> The cable car: Don't use this by yourself! Don't use it if you are only two! Use it with three people minimum! I can't stress this enough. There is a lot of fiction and the locals we talked to here don't even consider it safe. They used the boat which has its own steel cable allowing you to tack across with relative ease. You will get wet feet if using the boat.<br /> <br /> Taking the cable car, we only just made it across with one in the car and two hauling on the rope, and at one point it looked like my sister might get stranded on the far side (she had a nightmare that night!).<br /> <br /> Carretera Austral: We waited the entire day by the Carretera Austral. Finally catching a colectivo late in the afternoon. With the virus, it was hard/imposible to hitchhike. We paid an inflated price ($3kpp) for transport to Cerró Castillo.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-March-6 / Ty &amp; America / 4.5 Days SOBO RR. Start @ El Blanco<br /> <br /> We started in El Blanco, opting to hike by Lago Montreal, which was pretty nice. No traffic though, so if you’re wanting a hitch the regular start in Villa freí may be a better option. Settlers in Lago Montreal are super friendly. There’s a bit of water there as you pass by the lake. We camped there. I recommend going further to the marked camp though because the next day is a big challenge. RH-CC-A@32-25.2+7.9 Is the Cruz of the section. After this all good. I do not recommend doing this unless you’re very comfortable on your feet and have a lightweight pack.<br /> <br /> -stick to the treeline/marked path on this. The traversing is tough, but completely doable. 2-3 km in is the gully with the very difficult climb. Keep the the grassy patch, getting to the base of it was the most dangerous part for us. Very slippery rock. I had America drop her pack. High risk, but I was MUCH more comfortable.<br /> <br /> -about a k after is the second dangerous area. This is a straight rock wall that spans all the way up&amp; down the mountain. The only way through is to climb around. I checked below it and didn’t find a way through the trees. I took both Sanita &amp; America’s packs through this section; as again, it’s very high risk..with an actual climbing move involved. Again, it’s important you’re very comfortable with your pack to get through these parts.<br /> <br /> After these dangerous sections we were wiped out and camped in the valley before the pass. Lots of places to camp with good water. Be aware of slight rockfall risk. There’s an amazing place to camp with ideal conditions at the top of the pass.<br /> <br /> Going on, all smooth, both marked camps on the way up the second pass are actually closed...there’s an open camp right between the two.<br /> <br /> Amazing places to camp up by Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> We snuck around the riverbed once we saw the blue tent at the bottom (where you might have to pay) and got by with no problems.<br /> <br /> <br /> *Jan 2020 GPT32 South 7days / Felix<br /> <br /> _____________________ Coyhaique to Villa Freí: There is a bus from the bus terminal in Coyhaique to Villa Freí. From there it was a hot dusty road.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Accessing the park : You have to pass through 4 private properties to enter the first sector of the park. We met some people. Had short friendly chats, but no problems with access. Just before you enter the park (where there are two trail options) there is easy access to the river via a cow trail. However water in general was no issue and I didn't carry water for the entire 7 days through the park.<br /> <br /> The camp site used to be an official campsite before the sector was closed due to access problems. The dunny is in great shape.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Through the first sector : The trail is in great shape until after the mirador. You then cut upwards into the alpine which is also easy walking. After passing through a saddle, you contour around above the treeline. This is the most difficult part of the section. Quite a bit of step scree traversing. Not for everyone. Once you drop into the valley waking is again easier. There are some occasional cairns that become more and more frequent as you drop into the other valley. As you contour left an intermittent trail is evident. When you enter the lenga forest (-45.97321, -72.10278) there is a great trail down that turns into a road here : (-45.97886, -72.10358) (Jan: maybe you want to update the track files to reflect this?) Then is road walking to join the popular walk.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Popular sector of Cerró Castillo : There are some side trips not included in the track files. They're on the map you get. Note that the old Bosque site (-46.06197, -72.16016) and La Tetera (-46.07200, -72.18390) are now closed. You can not camp there. For most people this means camping at the new el Bosque : (-46.06418, -72.16964)(Jan : maybe you want to update the track files?) Get to Laguna Cerró Castillo before 12 to beat the walkers heading up for the day. But this shouldn't be an issue as you need to cross the pass early : an important thing we would have liked to know is that the pass (-46.08030, -72.21103) can be closed in the afternoon due to strong winds. There is literally a ranger there that can turn people around. Not much water over the pass either. And the poza cerca mirador doesn't look welcoming. Carry water here. In the next valley there were more rangers and we saw some people get checked for permits. It's a shame this park is now being comercialalised :(<br /> <br /> _____________________ Getting back to Coyhaique : Not much traffic. The last bus heads back at 6pm<br /> <br /> _____________________ I'll try upload some map photos and a breakdown of the entrance fees when I get the photos off my camera.<br /> <br /> Cheers, Felix.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-18 and 19 / Regular Hiking Southbound / Martin Lizondo<br /> <br /> The starting minor road gets into the private propiety of Pedro Sangüesa (+56 9 9099 9083) at 45º 52' 15,55&quot; S, 72º 2' 46,28&quot; O. He didn’t like people to pass through and denied that there was a trail, but it turned out to be a Conaf’s well signed area. He said in the future he will ask for money, but finally left me pass for no charge. I met other day hikers going to « El Mirador ». Snow was easy at the passes. The trail was in good conditions until the cross country. There are two spots which I consider dangerous, so I don’t recomend doing this section alone: 1) the gps tracks passes through a very vertical rocky (nearly climbing). I was scared and I can’t recommend doing it, except you asume this risk. I could see later in a map that the original route went all way down in the valley through lenga forest, but if there was a trail it’s invisible now. 2) When the cross country leaves the tree line and becomes a small trail into the lenga forest at 45º 58' 23,54&quot; S, 72º 6' 10,02&quot; O (“minor road” starts later, despite the gps track info); it’s very stepy and unmaintained. I made a mistake and started to follow the stream all way down, but you have to look up and search the beginning of the hidden path. It’s very vertical and easy to fell down, because of recent land slides. Be extremely carefull. The rest of Cerro Castillo from Las Horquetas is well maintained, beautifull and enjoyable. Cons: Lots of people. When leaving at the Nezoelandes entrance, you’ll have to pass near to the payment cabin. I didn’ t have to pay, but it was because I spent only a short time in the park. The cost for foreigners is normaly CLP 29,000.<br /> <br /> * Jan 2020 / RH Northbound / Matthieu<br /> <br /> No technical difficulties in the park, just following the trail and enjoying the views.<br /> <br /> To follow the GPT northbound, leave the parc trail to go north. It is an &quot;old sendero&quot; in the forest, but well maintained and easy to follow during the beginning (it is marked on maps of the parc). In this direction, no problem to leave the forest in a safe spot, but southbound, looking behind, seemed hard to find the entrance of the forest and of the safe trail ! No technical difficulties until the first pass, rocky terrain like the rest of the park. <br /> <br /> The dangerous part is indeed between the 2 passes. You dont go in the valley in front of you but follow the altitude line until the pass that you see at the right side of the valley. Very steepy rolling stones path. I was a little bit afraid. I tried to be smarter than the tracks, trying more uphill... this was a dangerous mistake that took me long to repair and go back to the tracks. There are indeed two river crossing (no dangerous waterstream) but they are circled by cliffs, so not easily crossable. <br /> The track follow mostly the tree line (I.e the separations between the little trees and the stones) So my recommendations : <br /> - follow the gps tracks : they follow the tree line who is safer with a solid ground and grass. Sometimes you have to cross the stones, no choice, so go slowly, choose your paces wisely and it's doable. Try to aim for the grounds of grass in the middle, which are solid, or the stones with foam on them, which mostly didn't move for a while. For the rivercrossing, it aims a good spot with no need to climb down or up.<br /> - choose a good weather day : for me it was sunny and no wind, so perfect day, and it was already mentally hard (not speaking of the horseflies getting you crazy during the hard moments !). I wouldn't try it with rain or big wind in this river of rolling stones. <br /> - if you don't feel it, easy escape by the normal trail of the parc<br /> <br /> However, I can assure that the prize for the effort, going northbound, is amazing !! But I won't spoil ! <br /> After the second pass, no technical difficulties, you find a Conaf trail easily, and I even cross some tourists with a guide.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Nov-29/ Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe/ 3days / Northbound / Regular Hiking Route with OH-MR-V (Villa Cerro Castillo to Las Horquetas)<br /> <br /> The section follows the rather popular tourist Hiking route Las Horquetas for the first two days, meaning there will be less solitude but also rather well maintained trails. The national park and the region around Cerro Castillo was very impressive, we especially enjoyed to take all the side trails and visit the numerous beautiful glacier lagoons. The only unpleasant part of the hike was the organization of the national park. The exorbitant high entrance fees are in no relation to the other parks, which is due to a high ratio of private land in the area but makes the park rather unattractive for tourists. some rangers seemed poorly informed and couldn't give much information (e.g. insisted that passes were &quot;closed&quot; and only after asking numerous times agreed to check with his colleagues that told that they are &quot;open&quot;). They also said it is not possible to hike the regular route of the GPT, because we have to check out of the NP at the checkpoint Las Horquetas. There is an optional hiking route continuing North from there. Due to bad weather coming up we ended up not finishing the northern stretch of the trail and just followed the entire Las Horquetas Route at the Carretera Austral.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-29 / Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe<br /> <br /> Snow line is at around 1200 Meters but all passes are safely traversable.<br /> The National Park Entrance Fee got raised to 29000 CLP per person for overnight hikes in season 19/20. The park generally seemed very poorly organized, we were told the passes are &quot;closed&quot; at first, whereas they were easy and safe to traverse. The ranger insisted that we could not hike the normal route northbound but have to sign out of the park at the Las Horquetas checkpoint. In high season, the ranger station in the park is manned, so maybe it is possible so sign out there and head northbound.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-12 / Eva Havlová<br /> <br /> There is still lots of snow in the National Park. I arrived to Villa Cerro Castillo 3 days ago (Novembre 12, 2019) and planed to hike nortbound but rangers didn't let me go. I saw the pass they were talking about (avalanche risk) and I don't think any avalanche could occure, but the thuth is that there is lots of water runing down and the trail is like a stream. They said it might be possible to do it next week.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2019 Jan/ OIlrik / Northbound <br /> <br /> We ended up doing the normal Cerro Castillo hike as the weather was forecasting heavy rain and snow so we did not want to be on the pass. The regular trail is just gorgeous and the park is beautiful. The trail in the north is not on the new CONAF maps but is marked on the old ones.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> A sandy beach with a visible structure in the grass is the take-out for Lago Elizalde. After exiting, make your way through the farmland until encountering a gravel road that leads past the house at the top of the hill up to Ruta X-686.<br /> <br /> Ruta X-686 is a lightly trafficked but well-formed gravel road that is fenced on either side. After crossing the Río Paloma, Ruta X-686 makes a sharp left and begins to climb. 4 km after the sharp left turn, cross a bridge to the left and climb to a wooden gate. If you descend the steep slope to the left of the gate, there is camping under some trees.<br /> <br /> The wooden gate marks the beginning of a very long driveway to a house located near the lake. The route takes you along this driveway until a river crossing. After crossing the river, walk northeast along its shore towards the Río Paloma. After reaching the end of the fenceline near the Río Paloma, turn east and walk along the fenceline until reaching Lago Desierto. At the river outlet, there is a nice beach to put in to Lago Desierto.<br /> <br /> There is no camping along the shores of Lago Desierto. The take-out is a rocky beach at the base of a bluff. Walk up the bluff and cross country through the farmland to Lago Azul. At the east end of the farm, descend down a road to a rocky beach at the Lago Azul shoreline with a metal structure.<br /> <br /> There are a couple of potential camping options along the shoreline of Lago Azul. There are also several residences on the north shore. The take-out is a long rocky beach set before a well manicured forest. On the east end of the land near Lago La Paloma is an expensive looking house surrounded by several other buildings.<br /> <br /> There is a 4WD track to the west of the smaller red house located south of the big residence. Ascend the steep climb on a well-formed road that is criss-crossed with several smaller tracks labeled in english with wooden signs. Due to the steep slopes on either side of the cut out road, there is no camping here.<br /> <br /> Eventually, the route turns off of the road onto an overgrown 4WD track. Camping off the track is still difficult because of prickly vegetation and steep terrain. This track ends 2.5 km from where the Regular Packrafting Route joins the Regular Hiking Route. From here, the route involves some bushwhacking and following a small trail as it winds in and out of existence. Just before joining with the Regular Hiking Route, the route widens into an old 4WD track that passes some destroyed structures.<br /> <br /> The routes join up at a large rock cairn and continues to follow a 4WD track until reaching a large wooden sign with a map of the Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo. Here there is also a campsite and ranger station. There is a 5.000 CLP fee to enter the reserve.<br /> <br /> The route from here is a popular track for backpackers with designated campsites. The trail is well-formed and winds through the forest. When the trail becomes less obvious, the way is shown with yellow markers. In this area there is a designated campsite with a latrine.<br /> <br /> At treeline, follow the cairns and rocks painted with white and red stripes through the scree up and over the first pass (approximate elevation 1.450 m). After the steep descent, reenter the trees. There is a campsite, Camping El Bosque, soon after reaching treeline (approximately elevation 940 m) with water and a latrine.<br /> <br /> The trail begins to wind up through the forest toward Laguna Castillo. The sights from Laguna Castillo, which is at the base of the pass, are stunning. There are two tracks that climb up to the pass. Make sure to take the path that climbs to the south instead of continuing southeast over the obvious saddle.<br /> <br /> The track down to Ruta X-720 is well formed, marked, and popular, but occasionally braided. Follow it until reaching the wooden stile with a rangers hut. From there join Ruta X-720, a dirt road which leads to Highway 7 and Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Town: Villa Cerro Castillo. Villa Cerro Castillo has several restaurants, small markets, and plenty of lodging options, including a popular backpacker camping destination on the east side of town.<br /> <br /> *Lovely yum restaurant in Coyhaique: Restaurant DaGus, Lautaro 82, 5950000 Coyhaique. Little hidden gem. -45.86411, -72.04916<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *Buses to Villa Frei from Coyhaique bus terminal: Monday 7:30, 8:15, 15:30, 17:00, 19:30 Tuesday to Friday 8:15, 15:30, 17:30, 19:30 Saturday 08:00 and 14:00. No bus on Sunday. It takes about 30 minutes to get to Villa Frei &amp; the bus generally turns around immediately &amp; goes back to Coyhaique.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023/ Martin &amp; Helena<br /> To avoid right-of-way conflict, we followed Cristopher &amp; Anna's advice (thanks guys!) and turned right after the first gate behind the beginning of the optional trail. From there you just need to follow MR, cross a few gates and you will end up on a fenced field with bee hives on one side. <br /> <br /> *2023/ Jakub+Veronika:<br /> 1) Lago La Paloma, right of way conflict on RH (32, km 17.5): Owner of the land (and nearby houses) is called Cesar, according to him, the right way is by the mud road (OH 32-L) and not on the trail, which passes some 20m next to his house. The reason why there was a conflict might have been caused by Cesar's relative who didn't like tourists walking on their land.<br /> 2) Trail has been changed 3 years ago because of right of way conflict between CONAF and private owners on the OH (32-E). The new official trail (with official park entrance) leads on OH (32-E) for the first 2km, then turns right and goes down towards Rio Ibáñez to RR (32, km 85), well marked by metal yellow triangles.<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> The entrance closes at 2 pm but the guards there were much nicer than the first two, and it was also no problem to get in at 3 pm. We had to register us and pay the 30.000 clp p.p. though. The rest of the trek we were not asked to show the tickets. <br /> <br /> *2020 / Martin Lizondo<br /> The starting minor road gets into the private propiety of Pedro Sangüesa (+56 9 9099 9083) at 45º 52' 15,55&quot; S, 72º 2' 46,28&quot; O. He didn’t like people to pass through and denied that there was a trail, but it turned out to be a Conaf’s well signed area. He said in the future he will ask for money, but finally left me pass for no charge.<br /> (...)<br /> When leaving at the Nezoelandes entrance, you’ll have to pass near to the payment cabin. I didn’ t have to pay, but it was because I spent only a short time in the park. The cost for foreigners is normaly CLP 29,000.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT32 - Cerro Castillo]]<br /> <br /> =Images=</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT32_(Cerro_Castillo)&diff=114382 2024-02-26T02:39:17Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Feb-23 to 2024-Feb-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / {32-M} - RR - {32-C} -RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Bus from Coyhaique to Villa Frei :<br /> <br /> Monday to Friday(8.15am, 3.30pm, 5.30pm, 7.30pm) , Saturday(8am, 2pm), i forget the fee, it is less than 1000 CLP. It takes about 35-40 minutes and it turns back to Coyhaique with no waiting. The sign on the bus doesn't write Villa Frei, it said Valle Simpson, (and final stop is Villa Frei.)<br /> <br /> Bus terminal in Coyhaique : (-45.58226, -72.07800)<br /> <br /> Bus stop in Villa Frei : (-45.75139, -72.11226)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Resupply in Coyhaique:<br /> <br /> I sent a resupply box(shoes and socks) to Patagon Backpacker(hostel) in Coyhaique from Santiago some months before, they are super friendly and willing to hold my box until i arrive. You can contact them by email, they are good at speaking English, also know lot around Coyhaique.<br /> <br /> If you want to buy some warm clothes, some shops in Coyhaique. North Face and Patagonia is there, but expensive. Some clothes in Patagonia are on sale but not for hiking or not much use, lot clothes but full price, ya. North Face's staff is much friendly, and lot items on sale too, but rainproof is full price. They have tents for sale too.<br /> <br /> Good clothes is cheaper with discount, 230g gas canisters and sleeping pad at Suray Montana, friendly and not crowded. I bught a fleece jacket at here.<br /> <br /> Doite have the cheapest price sporty clothes, just beside North Face. I bught a good base layer here.<br /> <br /> Lot of supermarkets in Coyhaique. I resupply at Unimarc.<br /> <br /> They are all close to the plaza, all the shops i listed can search by Google Map.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Because i just have 3 days good weather, so I don't want to do any road walking, i talk the bus to Villa Frei, then hitch to (-45.86204, -72.04816) start hiking.<br /> <br /> Locked gate and camera at {32-m} km2.33, I didn't want to take long time go with big around so i climbed it directly, didn't see any people on the whole way, so doesn't matter.<br /> <br /> RR km23.3 : cross a stream, log crossing at downstream 20m, you can go through the tiny forest to there.<br /> <br /> Km23.63 : flat spot(-45.90969, -72.05767) with some protection after a stream crossing can fit 2 tents before go into the no covers grassland.<br /> <br /> Highly recommend go for {32-C}, both ways just 10min, amazing views and a camping spot can fit 1 tent with excellent view at (-45.90744, -72.07668), but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km 26.63 : flat spot (-45.92066, -72.07543) can fit 2 tents with good wind protection from west by bushes.<br /> <br /> Km27.75 : old camping sandy spot(-45.92915, -72.07549) can fit 4 tents with some wind protection from west, just before the dangerous CC. I think the previous one is better.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km27.9 - km29.95 : dangerous CC traversing on side hill. A slide may cause a fall with heavy injure or death. It is doable but not recommended to everyone. Doing this part only in good weather.<br /> <br /> Km28.3 - km28.35 : for me, it is the most dangerous part in this CC, some landslide(-45.93359, -72.07668) and very loose, i can't hold a good pose and slipped down some meters, luckily i can use my hiking poles to stop the slide immediately.<br /> <br /> Km29.3 : tricky spot(-45.93822, -72.08632), huge thank you for Véronica, her comments made this much easier. Just like she said, &quot;You reach the end of the bad scree and end up in a deep gully with a vertical wall face on the other side.&quot; <br /> <br /> &quot;Get to the lowest grassy patch to the left of the vertical rock wall. The easiest way to reach that grassy patch was to go upstream a bit, then traverse on the hard slippery sand northward, instead of trying to climb vertically straight up to it. Once you reach the grass, you can use the traction and stability of vegetation to clamber up and out of the gully.&quot;<br /> <br /> Km29.55 : 1st rock wall, go around it with a clear trail at downhill side(-45.93818, -72.08940), GPX track is correct at here.<br /> <br /> Km29.7 : 2nd rock wall, NO CLIMBING, NO SCRAMBLING here, there is a trail JUST WALKING at (-45.93864, -72.09126), overgrown but just 20m easy BB, the trail is between rock wall and treeline, Sobo not easy to notice, but when you are going around the rock wall, then you'll find it. Nobo is easy to reach the trail at the other side. GPX track leads you to climb, it is not a good idea, a slide in climbing at here will mostly cause death.<br /> <br /> After 2nd rock wall, finally CC down to the valley and easy walking start.<br /> <br /> Lot of camping possibilities at the valley, but zero wind protection. Better camping before pass[32.5/1385], because after the pass is super rocky, pass is a large flat area, but too soft to camp.<br /> <br /> I camped at (-45.94901, -72.09962), some flat spots, beside the waterfall from Cerro Aislado. Nice views but cold. It is the first night with negative degree so far. Some water froze to ice at early morning around here.<br /> <br /> After pass[32.5/1385], you walking down at another valley, but with some cairns to follow. <br /> <br /> Km33.5 : trail starts, with some big cairns along it. It leads you all the way to treeline at km34.2. Sometimes it is not clear to follow and lost, but you will always find it if you pay tons of attention, cairns leads you the way.<br /> <br /> The trailhead at km34.2 is a little tricky. You need to climb up a little on a rocky slope after you cross the stream to (-45.97307, -72.10268), then go into the forest to south a little, you'll find a steep loose rocky slope going down again, go for it and you can hold some trees there. Then you join the old trail shown on GPX going south. Don't think about go to the trailhead(-45.97343, -72.10281) directly, it is on a waterfall, you can't arrive there.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The old trail is in good condition for a while, then become overgrown and some blowdowns. For emergency, you can camp at (-45.97898, -72.10345), it is the first flat spot for Sobo in treeline with cover (the last one for Nobo). It can fit 2 single person tent.<br /> <br /> Lot of tiny stream flowing with clear water.<br /> <br /> When you met the rock river(-45.98185, -72.10091) at km35.33, you can CC down the river and join MR at (-45.98357, -72.10284), it is a super easy CC, not steep, no blowdowns, no wet feet, rocks are stable and not slippery.<br /> <br /> When you arrive MR, easy walking again. A gate locked by wire at km37.1, climbing over it is the fastest way.<br /> <br /> Km38.1 : start BB to riverside, but i think it is a CC, the grass just up to ankle only.<br /> <br /> I find a clear trail(-46.00113, -72.09460) without any blowdowns going south, and lead you to riverside at (-46.00216, -72.09530), then you can walk beside the river and join national park trail.<br /> <br /> National park trail is in a nice condition, nothing to mention. Some snow before and after pass[43.9/1470], but still an easy walking on snow.<br /> <br /> Km46.1 : camping spot at (-46.05228, -72.14549), it is cleared out all the stone by someone here, can fit 1 tent with excellent 360° views, but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> I camped beside the lake(-46.05780, -72.15969) for the second night, excellent spots with glacier views(you are just below it!) and views of Cerro Castillo! Peaceful and not crowded, I'm the only human there with some ducks, and they love to talking in the midnight. You can reach the lake starts at (-46.06176, -72.15672), easy walking beside a stream, all the way stay on east side and dry feet, BB less than 20 meters for total and mostly just easy CC.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km48.85 : Campsite El Bosque. Side trail to a lake under glacier at north. It is a long walk, but i highly recommend you at least take the trail go out the forest, amazing views there, both ways just 300m.<br /> <br /> Km49.95 : viewpoint of waterfall from Cerro Castillo. And i find that you can climb up to the top of waterfall! See the details at next waypoint.<br /> <br /> Km50.2 : you can climbing up this ridge to the UPPER LAKE of Cerro Castillo. From (-46.06989, -72.18148) to (-46.06905, -72.18500), then to (-46.06627, -72.18497). No trail, just CC on some rocks, stable and not steep until close to the top, the top part is steep and loose, at there you can go to right side a little bit, climbing up on grassy slope for final ascend. Amazing views there, and no camping, because the ground is too soft, but cow boy camping on huge rocks is wonderful at this place.<br /> <br /> I recorded this CC, will upload it later.<br /> <br /> Camp[50.5/1243] : Campsite La Tetera, not a good camping spot, some spots much better when you climbing up and before Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> After you enjoy the moment at Laguna Castillo, remember follow RR, check GPX track, dont follow the trail going beside the lake, it is a dead end trail, and if you dont want to all the way back, you can CC climbing up to join RR.<br /> <br /> Pass[53.5/1679] : excellent views here! If you are super thirsty, clear water is flowing good at (-46.07749, -72.20888), easy to collect, 10sec/L.<br /> <br /> Then all the way down to Campsite Los Porteadores, a long long way going down.<br /> <br /> Because of weather changing, so i didn't go up to Laguna Duff.<br /> <br /> Walking on a nice trail to main road, then all the way road walking to Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> Lot of restaurants, shops and accomodation in Villa Cerro Castillo. And lot of hikers and backpackers hitching on the road at here.<br /> <br /> Maybe because of late season, never saw any flies at this section.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-10 to 2024-Feb-13 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Las Horquetas and Lagunitas / Andrew<br /> <br /> Day 1 (slept at Rio Turbio)<br /> <br /> I started in Villa Cerro Castillo and hitched a ride to Las Horquetas. I left a bag at the Nordic Patagonia campground in town, it's free if you stay a night after, or CLP 1.000/day if not.<br /> <br /> Signed in at the CONAF station where the park ranger explained the official camps that are currently open, and advised not to drink unfiltered/untreated water between Rio Turbio camp to just before El Bosque camp. But others I talked to later in the hike didn't get the same message and seemed fine so not sure what was up there.<br /> <br /> Easy hike to Rio Turbio camp with some horseflies.<br /> <br /> Day 2 (slept at El Bosque)<br /> <br /> This day was my punishment for deciding to leave behind my fleece at the last moment. Cold and rainy as I went over Penon pass, but at least I got to test out my new rain jacket and rain pants. At least it wasn't very windy. Great views of waterfalls after the pass, and the rest of the day was sunny.<br /> <br /> Camped at El Bosque. Difficult but short day. Worth taking the side trail to Laguna Temprana after setting up camp.<br /> <br /> Day 3 (slept at Neozelandes)<br /> <br /> Lots of scrambling over rocks. Great panoramic views as we went over Morro Negro. As developed campsites go I think Porteadores was actually a bit nicer than Neozelandes, but Neozelandes is much crowded and puts you closer to Laguna Duff.<br /> <br /> Day 4 (back to Villa Cerro Castillo)<br /> <br /> In the morning I hiked to Laguna Duff, best scenary on the Las Horquatas section of the hike IMO, do not miss this. Afterwards I hiked back to Neozelandes, packed my stuff, and hiked back to the Villa. All downhill. Paid the CLP 16.000 fee at the Estero Parada CONAF station, then hitched a ride back (around 3pm). Had some good pizza and beers with some folks I met on the hike at Pizzeria y Hamburgueseria D-Lizia in VCC.<br /> <br /> 2024-Feb-8 to 2024-Feb-11 / 3.25 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from El Blanco and Lago Monreal + Variant M + Option 3 / Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> We started around 1500 at Coyhaique and easily hitched to El Blanco. We hitched with three cars (last went to Lago Paloma) and walked about four km in between them along Lago Monreal to Variant M. The sign against hikers scared us and it was late (1930), so we camped nearby (100 m along the fence westward). We reread other reports and decided to go for it in the morning. We first tried to go along a fence lining a small cliff about 100 metres west of the road, but it is pointless and we found ourselves on the road after a few hundred metres. We did not meet anyone. It is easy to miss RR and start on option 1, keep an eye on the GPS. We met black cows at the same place as Stiina, but they just looked omniously at us.<br /> <br /> As for the dangerous part, Tomáš ended up doing it three times as he dropped our tent poles from his backpack just before the start of the CC section. Unlike Nat (see below), he thinks the section is quite ok and he also found it quite scenic, especially the first part over the plateau. The annoying clambering is in fact only about two km long and can be done in about an hour if you know the way. It never felt dangerous to him, but he understands others see it differently, it is certainly more demanding than the average section of GPT. The description of Véronica is the best. The last obstacle (the boulder) is not entirely vertical (it feels like scrambling, not climbing), but you do need to use your hands and it is indeed exposed, down climbing NOBO is more awkward. On the other hand, it is only about seven metres distance (not elevation). We had sunny skies, in worse weather it would be a lot more annoying. The horseflies came back from the dead and died by the dozen under our merciless hands (Nat killed three accidentally just as she tied her hair back).<br /> <br /> At the end of CC, the trailhead is invisible. It starts in the trees immediately from the river, about 10 m from the start of the waterfall in between two landslide/avalanche bands. Will comments that the gpx trail is exact, but since we are used to the gpx being slightly off, we could not see it, I guess we should have just trusted the gpx. There is a cairn in the creek marking the entrance but it is unclear how long it will stay there. Once you reach the overgrown MR, after a hundred metres of easy BB, one can cut the first zigzag straight down through easily passable mature forest. Once down on the road, you can camp on it, it is not used by cars ever. Once you reach the CC at 60.9, do not ford but stay on that side of the river!<br /> <br /> In the popular part of the hike, people concentrate at campings, but otherwise it does not feel too crowded (less than two dozen people met on the trails themselves per day). Until nine and from about five, you will meet almost nobody on the trails. The park is very attractive. There is good internet (Entel 4g) just before the pass at 53.5. From the other side, there is a sign saying the pass closes down in strong winds. Probably better to go there in the morning (weaker wind) or late (after six) in the afternoon (rangers have probably gone home) unless the weather is good. The sign where they turn people is probably at about 1250 altitude at roughly the treeline.<br /> <br /> To avoid paying, Nat followed the RR and was succesfull (OSM is wrong, the official trail is to the east of the GPT in the last few hundred metres). Tomáš followed the easternmost OSM trail that leaves the RR at roughly 480 altitude. The trail is rather imaginery, but it is easy walking across meadows or rarely through open forest and across several fences. His efforts were probably pointless.Tomáš also wanted to cut the walk to Villa Cerro Castillo and forded Estero El Bosque, but it was equally pointless and involved several fences.<br /> <br /> We found screwable gas cartridges in Villa Castillo at the supermarket &quot;Villarica&quot;, the last supermarket on the corner of - Bernardo Higgins and Bernardo a Alessandro, i think. They said they have them sometimes. There was a blackout for five hours during our stay but locals said that is not so common.<br /> <br /> Notes from Nat:<br /> <br /> - When in Coyhaique be sure to enjoy the bread and pizza shop called; La Tranquera Pan y Pizza (just North of the main plaza). It has a great selection of sourdough breads/Rye/whole-wheat loafs, cookies, real coffee and tasty pizza slices. ALSO don't miss the dry good store; Envasadora Aysen (45.57016° S, 72.06883° W), the good veg shop here (45.57730° S, 72.07038° W) and then the Unimarc is actually pretty good. <br /> <br /> - My views are prejudiced against the beginning of this route bcs I was sick and not in a good mood but my thoughts at the time were; &quot;If you want to &quot;enjoy&quot; section 32 then take the Las Horquetas option&quot;. I really didn't like all the sidehilling and felt you wouldn't miss out on much if you started at Horquetas. Also don't do what I did and pack twice as much as you need bcs Coyhaique &quot;might&quot; be the last place with good food (however it was 3-5x better than villa Castillo).<br /> <br /> - The first tricky part was annoying bcs it was hard to get an edge (not that there is any edge left in my shoes). It was easier to walk up it and gradually cross, all in all it didn't feel dangerous. The second tricky part did feel dangerous to me bcs I went too far climbers left of the grass staircase and ended up having to traverse the short, steep and featureless slope to get back on track, a fall seemed easy and with bad consequences. The rock scramble at the boulder did not worry me but I would not have climbed it if it was wet bcs there is a lot of algae-like material on it and some of the handholds were sloppy. <br /> <br /> - I would be very curious if one could make a new route that went up to this lake here; -45.94848, -72.07320, and then down either here; -45.95505, -72.08753 or along the ridge to here; -45.96914, -72.08724. It would be more vertical and longer but with possibly less sidehilling...<br /> <br /> - The glacier on Variant E (6km return, half of it moraine walking) is nice but not really worth it, the lake on the other hand is 100% worth the short walk (3km return, flat river rock waking).<br /> <br /> - The lake just North of Camping Bosque is also worth it if you can avoid the crowds. Both this lake and Variant E lake are technically CC but &quot;well traveled&quot; and cairned.<br /> <br /> - The trail to Laguna Duff is popular but &quot;splendid&quot;, it took less than two hours to the lake from Porteadores. Most of the trail is in the forest and then the last 1.5km (250m vert) is on a pretty obvious rock path. The camping at Neozelandés is far less crowded than other official campsites I recommend it. I got into an argument with a conaf officer at the lake bcs she told me it was too late to be there and I had to leave (4pm). If you want to avoid this person, then go right of the RR when it gets close to the lake headwall, she seemed to be &quot;staged&quot; at where the water leaves the lake. I originally wanted to make a traverse to the other lake but bcs of conaf I went down to the camp to meet Tomáš and then we both went back up after she left (6ish). Once back up we made a traverse to the other lake by following a grassy slope that starts West of where the water exits the lake, you should be able to see the grassy slope on your left when you are walking to Duff. Follow it down and work yourself across, going down to where there is some grass should be quicker than traversing the rubble, CC obviously. On the way down from the second lake we followed the main waterway and then cut back into the forest to reach the main trail (open forest, no BB). Rather than follow the west bank of the waterway like the GPS says we found it far easier to be in the east bank, less rubble.<br /> <br /> -We both bad to walk back to Villa Castillo, no cars going in our direction but manu going in opposite direction (~9am)<br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-28 to 2024-Jan-31 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / Villa Cerro Castillo - Villa Frei / RR + Option 3 + Variant C + Variant M/ Alex &amp; Christophe<br /> <br /> It was another fantastic section but we don't have much to add to what has already been written. But we would still like to point out a few points:<br /> <br /> 1) At the Segundo campsite (also called Rio Turbio), mice gnawed our tent and our dry bag containing the food. It would be best to hang your food from the trees if you are sleeping at this campsite.<br /> <br /> 2) The large rock at -45.938145, -72.086171 can be avoided by doing 10 m of bush bashing just below the rock. This passage is much more visible going NOBO but it is also possible to take it going SOBO.<br /> <br /> 3) The little detour to Variant C is definitely worth it. The view of Lago Paloma and Lago Azul is truly incredible.<br /> <br /> 4) We took option M despite the right of way conflict. We passed a pick-up truck at the last gate going NOBO (the one with a padlock and a private property sign). They greeted us and gave us no problem.<br /> <br /> 2024-Jan-27 to 2024-Jan-29 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / option 2 + option 3 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Trail condition : well maintained, good campsites sheltered from the wind <br /> - Water : easy to find plenty of rivers and lagunas<br /> - Camping spot : there are some designated campsites<br /> - Weather : Sunny<br /> - River crossing : easy<br /> - Resupply : in cohayque and in Villa cerro castillo, all you need<br /> - Entrance fee : 16 000 pesos per person, normally the park closes after 1pm so you can't start after that but we were a bit late and they let us through <br /> - Overall : beautiful stretch of section 32, for us it was really an amazing entrance in the Patagonian landscape as we imagined it with the Torres<br /> <br /> *From 2023-01-22 to 2023-01-24 // 3 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR + OP3 + OP3A + VARIANT M // Quentin Clavel<br /> <br /> Villa cerro castillo - entrance Estero Parada - Laguna Duff - Sendero las Horquetas - North part of NP (CC) - Lago Paloma - Villa Frei. <br /> <br /> One of my favourite section so far ! I had amazing weather and I enjoyed so much this stretch, even with few people on the sendero las Horquetas in the NP (not crowded, but obviously more than the usual sections of the GPT). <br /> <br /> Entrance fees for 3 days was 16,000 CLP for me. I had no control and have seen no guardaparque during my hike. <br /> <br /> I walked all the way up to see Laguna Duff (OPT3) definitely worth it in my opinion. Wonderful view, with still some pieces of ices floating on the Laguna, the back of Cerro Castillo and the reflects on the water were amazing. Easy to go there, as there is a trail. <br /> <br /> The second one (OPT3A) is more tricky, no trail, and a lot of rolling stones. Beautiful too and of course, no people at all (I slept there, without tent, just on a big rock, that was incredible). <br /> <br /> Then go up to the pass, it was a crazy hot day, for the first time since I'm in Patagonia, I regretted that it wouldn't be a little bit windy aha. <br /> <br /> Laguna cerro castillo Is amazing. Second pass were very nice too. Bi. I passed it early on the morning, had some snow part, doable, but as it was morning, it was icy on some parts, so I putted my crampons and that was perfect. (But doable without). <br /> <br /> Then easy trail until the end of the public part of NP (just after Segundo camping). After that the cross country part begun. Follow an old trail of the NP, some bush bashing during the forest part, and have to check often the GPS. Then you have to deal with all the rocks until the first pass. <br /> <br /> Go down on a nice valley, and go up to the second pass. Tricky part, as described previously, is the big rock. It's maybe easier to do it NOBO because you descent it, and don't face it, which can be scary. But going on the grass part is the best way. Then follow the tree level, deal with rolling stones, and everything is gonna be alright. The récompense will be the amazing view on Lago Paloma (don't miss the Mirador). <br /> <br /> I took the variant M to avoid the right of way conflict. No trouble at all on this way. You have to pass threw some gates. The last one, near a kind of central hydroelectric is the biggest, with camera and sign do not enter. Few people seen after this gate, and they were all very gentle and nice ! <br /> <br /> Anyway, I really loved this stretch ! As it's summertime at this time, I met a lot of chilenos in the NP, so happy to see even very young chilenos explore their outstanding country ! <br /> <br /> You have to be prepared to face a looooot of rolling stones on this section, sometimes it's like dancing on rocks. Can I say that the rolling stones make this stretch rock'n'roll ? Probably not. <br /> <br /> Better to wait for good conditions. I can't imagine this section on a rainy and windy day ! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2024-Jan- 11 to 2024-Jan-13/ 3 days/hiking/SOBO/ Start in Las Horquetas and later RR/ Paulina<br /> <br /> <br /> I started in las Horquetas, it was open even if on Conaf website this section is still closed, apparently they don't really update). When I was there ( 10 AM) nobody at the gate, so no charges. Later in the park nobody never asked me to show the entrance ticket. The same at the exit gate, they just asked me to check out ( even if I did not check in).<br /> At the beginning of Las Horquetas trail, some very easy river crossing. Almost no people, only a few hikers on the campsite.<br /> On Pass 32 [43.9/1470] still some soft snow, but I could cross it safetly.<br /> <br /> Be careful on the ridge around pass 32 [ 53.5/1679] on very windy days. <br /> I did not see any water around camping Los Porteadores, except this last section, water was available everywhere. <br /> <br /> Beautiful and very scenic section! <br /> <br /> *2023-12-29 to 2024-01-01 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; Variant D &amp; M / Roman<br /> <br /> Took a Uber from Coyhaique to Villa Frei for 17.000$. Got another lift by someone who life's there to this point: -45.8737, -72.04342. Joined via Variant M to the RR. Camped at Camp {32} [23.6/1010]. Good place you have to Ford 2 times before the Camp and 1 times directly after it. Here the -45.93357, -72.07606 Clambering in steep terrain starts and is very challenging also in combination with snow. Very steep literally climbing up there here: -45.938145, -72.086171 especially with a backpack. I needed to go very slow and cautious with 3 point technique. After that you can follow the GPS and the Kerns to this point -45.973087, -72.102771. From there a old abandoned road goes all the way to the point where the Trail( Variant D) merges with the Sendero de Chile Las Horquetas at: X {32-D} [1.0/920]. On the trial are some parts which are not perfectly visible but with GPS no problem. There are some fallen trees and quite a few small trees on the trail. I wouldn't consider it Bush Bashing (BB) because you can just raise your arms in front of your face and walk trough it. So IMHO no BB on the route. As soon as you are at X {32-D} [1.0/920] it's a &quot;touristy trail&quot; compared with the other GPT parts. Therefor the condition is excellent. Camped at Segundo Camping -46.008184, -72.104121. Next day camped at Camping Los Porteadores -46.089085, -72.235431. Snow was neither on Pass {32} [43.9/1470] or Pass {32} [53.5/1679] a problem. Next day hiked to Villa Cerro Castillo. Not a single car on the street towards it so needed to hike. The RR avoids the Entrance Cerro Castillo Park (Estero Parada) there is one gate before accessing the street where you can just hop over.<br /> <br /> Overall: really nice section and quite relaxing to have such a easy trail (the beginning is challenging due to the rock scramble). It's the most touristy part (2 groups a 7 people) but absolutely woth it. Really enjoyed it.<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-12 / 6 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RR + Variant D + Variant F / Tom Pieper<br /> An Uber from Cohayique to Villa Simpson is about 9.000 Peso. From there I easily found rides to Lago Elizalde. A older man told me that there was also a camino from Lago Elizalde to Lago Azul passing cerro sombrero a couple of years ago. I really liked the walking through the valley to lago desierto. It passes a beautiful farmland landscape sprinkled with little lush patches of forest and creeks. Camping is easy there. But if you want to speed up there are also cars from time to time and hitchhiking is possible. At S 45° 52.495 W 072° 16.913 is a little shelter surrounded by some old tractors and a big mate cup installation. A farmer passing by told me I am welcome to stay there. To reach lago desierto you have to climb a locked gate (well described by Kara Davis). I crossed lago desierto and camped at the isthmus between it and lago azul. There is a nice camp spot at waypoint Lake {32} [38.3/337] surrounded by old gooseberry bushes and an abandoned van. The central lodging building is collapsed so its seems to be an abandoned place now except the cattle. Next day I crossed lago azul. The wind increased dramatically forming up to 1 m waves. There are some emergency exits on the left even after the shore gets steeper after the settlers on the lefthand side. At the end of lago azul you reach a huge private hacienda on the isthmus, with a big park like forest and buildings within. I tried to sneak between the buildings but to reach the path to the mountains you finally have to pass a big meadow. There was a greenkeeper around and it was no problem for him to let me pass. The family was not around. The track to the mountains is steep and part of a big network of mountainbike trails. This network spans nearly the entire valley! I met six young chilenos who told me that they are working the summer to maintain the trails only for that family – I have never seen such a giant mountainbike network! Incredible how much effort and money must spend here only to satisfy a family’s hobby. The Chilenos were very friendly and even turned back to offer me a ride to the end of the valley as rain increased but I kept walking. This track is in really good conditions up to the bush bashing section. And here comes the problem: 1.) the bush bashing is wrong annotated. In reality it starts for 1.2 km at the end of the annotated section 2.) the track is mostly gone were it reaches the river bed. Landslides have washed away a big part. Don’t cross the landslide! It seems super instable! When you have forded the riverbed at the landslide don’t put on your shoes, yet. The following part has turned into swamp land. I suggest to make the entire 1.2 km in your fording footwear. After that the track to the las horquetas trail is mostly overgrown or blocked by trees but still visible. It was pretty hard for me as temperatures dropped to 4 °C and at this point it had not stopped raining for 48 hr. In bad weather that’s definitely no fun. The ranger hut was my salvation as it was abandoned but open and had a stove and even some firewood. The next day the weather was perfect and I continued towards cerro Castillo. There had been recent work around Camping Rio Turbio and the track is still in good condition. Paso Penón has heaps of snow and I found myself sinking to the hips from time to time. But in good weather it is ok. The views from the pass and the following valley even outcompeted the view from laguna castillo. After the paso penón the rest is fine. I used Variant F to descend. As mentioned before it now follows a different way in the end due to right of way conflict and you reach the street at approximately half way between villa cerro Castillo and the national park entrance.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> <br /> * 05-Apr-2023 / Hiking / SOBO / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We really enjoyed this one. It's definitely worth waiting for good weather, not only for safe traverse of the steep part in the northern part of the park and following obstacles that are quite demanding but also for the views that were just incredible.<br /> <br /> Starting from Villa Frei in the late afternoon, we made it on that day to the turn before Lago La Paloma, where we camped right behind a fence, before a little river, that you need to cross to follow the RR. There are 2 settlements, but still far enough, so no problem. You have to cross one fence and a gate on the way up. To avoid right-of-way conflict, we followed Cristopher &amp; Anna's advice (thanks guys!) and turned right after the first gate behind the beginning of the optional trail. From there you just need to follow MR, cross a few gates and you will end up on a fenced field with bee hives on one side. Crossing them will take you directly to RR, so no bush-bashing is necessary. From there, the trail is pretty straightforward. We liked the view from Option B viewpoint and in good conditions it must be a perfect spot for camping, definitely doable in one day. The steep traverse didn't feel that dangerous for us, but we had really good conditions. The next obstacle, already described by others, is at the end of the traverse. We followed there a small ridge that will take you to the beginning of the grass parts. It's a little steep, but doable. From there we followed the grass parts, which create almost 'stairs' allowing you to climb up. It's again steep, but you can use your hands to pull yourself up, holding the grass patches. After that is the last challenging part, a rock that you need to climb over. We got there already after sunset and without an option to explore the best and safest way over, we decided to follow the old overgrown trail, that descends down without the need to climb over the rock. It seemed to be hard in the beginning, but after we got through the first few trees (without any leaves, just branches), we found a little strip without them, that takes you all the way down to the river, where we camped. It took us around 15 min to get down, so it might be a good alternative. From there you just need to walk through a little part of the forest and then continue by the river, so you are actually avoiding also the descent down, which some described as challenging as well.<br /> <br /> After the first marked pass and descent in rocky terrain, the CC part connects to an old trail, that later becomes a MR. The connection was easy to find by following the GPS. We had no problems passing around the rangers house, again by following the track files, at first through the forest and later around the river. From there the trail connects to the official way which makes navigation easy. We spent the night in the official campsite around 2 km before Laguna Carro Castillo, which is the only one open. There were 5-6 other tents, no ranger. The next day the weather got way way worse, which made us skip the last pass and go down from the laguna via one of the official routes. We met a ranger on the way up, pointing us to the official trail around yellow cairns, to sign off from the park. With no intention to pay on our way from the park, we actually followed some old trail (according to the old signs we met) that took us to the main road, right in front of the bridge. We had to cross one fence, but no other problem. It's a faster and safe way from the park.<br /> <br /> <br /> *5 to 7 of February 2023 / Will / SOBO / 3 days<br /> <br /> Amazing section! I was worried about the tricky part, but sticking to the gpx track it didn't feel dangerous to me. Though I did have to leave the track to find easier ways around the cliffs.<br /> <br /> There weren't any buses south out of Coyhaique on Sunday (except maybe early morning?). I ended up taking an Uber to villa frei, for a bearable 14000 pesos. The road walk was beautiful except for the wind trying to blow me into the cars. I caught a ride to Lago Monreal, from where I walked back up to variant L and then to the 23.6 campsite.<br /> <br /> I didn't have any right of way trouble, I just had to pass through a few unlocked gates with no people or buildings in sight. There were even a few groups of day hikers who passed by my camp on the way to the Lago Paloma mirador (variant B - must see!).<br /> <br /> I also took variant D up to the glacier lake, worth it if it fits your schedule. I didn't have time to keep going up to the glacier itself, it looked like steeper rocky cross country.<br /> <br /> Even in the touristy parts the trail was surprisingly slow and rocky. I ran into a few rangers, who look like normal hikers except with red and white baseball hats. They were ok with me not having a ticket once I explained my weird route.<br /> <br /> <br /> *15.02.23 -18.02.23 / Anna &amp; Christopher / SOBO<br /> Coyhaique - Villa Cerro Castillo<br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Coyhaique to Lago Paloma and started walking around 13:30 pm following the main path.<br /> <br /> The trail at the beginning is pretty good. At the junction with the option at km 17,5 you can walk further uphill along the fence for a couple of meters to enter the fence through a gate. This option is not in the gpx files. We decided to follow that to avoid the settlers after all.Then you can follow the dirtroad through two more gates until you reach a fence that you have to jump to the right to get to a meadow with beehives. There is another gate there and then you reach the main route again. In total we only had to jump two fences.<br /> <br /> Then we followed the main route. Soon after we went through the gate of the National park Cerro Castillo and we (unfortunately) met two guardians of the park. After some back and forth they made us turn around, telling us that this path is closed and we have to enter the park via the main entrance and pay the 30.000 clp. So we had to take the option to las Horquetas.<br /> <br /> After a few good km on a dirtroad, the path of option 1 gets bad. It seems like it hasn't been used for a long time. It was often hard to find and involved some bushbashing. It took us quite some time to get through there. Once you are at the river it gets much better. We forded the river next to the entrance to avoid the detour until Horquetas. The option was not very nice. Mostly just walking in the forest with BB so we would definetly recommend to try the main route.<br /> <br /> The entrance closes at 2 pm but the guards there were much nicer than the first two, and it was also no problem to get in at 3 pm. We had to register us and pay the 30.000 clp p.p. though. The rest of the trek we were not asked to show the tickets. The park guardians tell you that there is no water crossing both passes and you have to carry it from the official camps, which is simply not true. There is only no water after Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> At the exit (following the RR) we had to register us again. From there we planned to hitchhike to Villa Cerro Castillo, but there were no cars passing by. In the afternoon/evening it's probably easier to get a ride, because lots of cars parked at the exit. We would recommend Option E to avoid the dull roadwalk to Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> We stayed at Camping El Rincon, which was only 4.000 clp p.p., with no electricity, but the owner washed our clothes after we asked and we received it dry the next morning :)<br /> <br /> <br /> *18 to 21 of January 2023 / Véronica / GPT32 RR SOBO / 3.5 days<br /> <br /> Route: Villa Freí - Lago La Paloma - north part of Parque Nacional Cerro Castillo - Las Horquetas trail (south part of Parque Nacional Cerro Castillo) - Villa Cerro Castillo<br /> First off I want to say that I think this section deserves a 5 on the Attractiveness Scale. It is simply mind-blowingly beautiful and definitely on par with other sections further north that have a 5 on this scale. I also think the Difficulty Rating should be upped to a 5 as well, due to the technical, and arguably dangerous at times, section in the northern part of the park on the Regular Route. Wish I had someone with me during this stretch, but oh well, such is life.<br /> <br /> I was lucky and caught a hitch most of the way to Lago La Paloma on the first day. It was hot and I don't think the road walk has any water sources until you get to the end. I then followed the new RR which bypasses the problematic right-of-way settler in the Lago Monreal area. However, this new detour is not fun. It involves climbing over (or crawling through/under) multiple barbed wire fences. I lost count after the 5th or 6th one. Also, the path and cross-country area are full of thorny plants, they got everywhere on my pack and clothing. I think it would just be better to take Option 32-L and chat with the settler instead to try and get through. Once you reach RH-MR-V {32} [18.9+4.7], it's all good, easy walking until the camp at 23.6 km.<br /> <br /> I reccomend taking Option 32-A after the campsite instead of the CC straight through the cow pasture. It is wet and muddy, whereas 32-A remains dry and easy to follow in the forest at the edge of the meadow. I also strongly recommend taking the short detour to the mirador at the end of Option 32-B. The views there of the cliffs and mountains surrounding Lago La Paloma are incredible. You could even camp there if you brought sufficient water and the weather is calm.<br /> <br /> Now for the difficult part in the 8-km cross-country section. This section was physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding. The first pass is at S 45° 55.740', W 072° 04.501'. It is easy walking up past the treeline into the alpine up to this point. The first challenge is a steep and unstable scree traverse, which begins at S 45° 56.019', W 072° 04.567'. Follow the GPS tracks here. At first I tried to go lower, right along the treeline, which was a big mistake that got me stuck in a terrible gully of slippery hard-packed sand. Very treacherous and scary trying to traverse it on all fours. After that ordeal, I scrambled back up to the altitude of the GPS tracks. This first scree traverse lasts about a km, the rocks are loose and it is very steep. I was tense and went very slowly. Got harassed by tábanos the whole way, but at least the weather was good.<br /> <br /> Then at S 45° 56.288', W 072° 05.184', you reach the end of the bad scree and end up in a deep gully with a vertical wall face on the other side. Figuring out how to get up that cliff was hard for me. I left my pack at the bottom and tried climbing up various different ways with no success, only tiring myself out and getting myself in precarious situations where I could barely climb back down. I finally figured out the best way was to try and get to the lowest grassy patch to the left of the vertical rock wall. The easiest way to reach that grassy patch was to go upstream a bit, then traverse on the hard slippery sand northward, instead of trying to climb vertically straight up to it. Once you reach the grass, you can use the traction and stability of vegetation to clamber up and out of the gully.<br /> <br /> The next big obstacle is at S 45° 56.320', W 072° 05.446'. Like others have written, this is the vertical rock wall that spans up and down the mountain and that you have to climb over. I scouted ways up without my pack at first, trying to find the easiest way. At least with this rock wall, the handholds and footholds are solid — no slippery gravel/sand/scree. But it does require actual rock climbing moves. If you fall you would likely tumble down the mountain, so please be very careful. A light backpack makes it relatively safer and easier.<br /> <br /> On the other side of this wall, you can finally see where the trees end, and the lovely river you are supposed to climb down to reach. But there is still more scree to traverse here, and it is slow and unstable again. I tried taking a shortcut down a shallow gully filled with grass. I figured it would be safer than the rocks, but it was very steep and got unexpectedly muddy at one point, and I ended up slipping and sliding down the mountainside about 10 meters before being able to stop myself. Didn't get seriously hurt, just bruised up, but it really shook me and just added to the stress and fear of this whole section. So I guess my advice here is to again follow the GPS tracks across the scree and go down gradually to the river instead of trying to go straight down.<br /> <br /> Once you reach the riverbed, it is easy walking to the top of the pass, with occasional cairns (and some good swimming holes). Down the south side of the pass, there are still a couple scree sections, but not nearly as bad as before. Lots of boulders, so slow going, but at least they felt more solid.<br /> <br /> As Martin Lizondo has written, finding the start of RH-MR-V {32} [34.1+1.7] is tricky. It is not a minor road, it is an old footpath. The cross-country section ends at a creek as it turns into a high and steep waterfall. You have to cross the creek and look up to find a faint, overgrown trail that goes up into the forest. Once you find it though, it is simple enough to follow. There is a stretch though of several hundred meters where it is more of a bushwhack than anything else, nature has taken over.<br /> <br /> I followed the regular route that cuts through the forest to Río Turbío, I assume this is to avoid the ranger station nearby. The &quot;bushbashing&quot; section is easy through a mature forest, and then you just follow the bouldery riverbank.<br /> <br /> Once you get to the popular Las Horquetas trail, everything is easy until the end of the section. Some snow at the top of the first pass (Paso Peñón), but very manageable. The views of the saw-toothed mountains, lakes, and glaciers are spectacular. Despite reports of the park being &quot;overrun,&quot; I only met a handful of other hikers in this trail, and most of them after Laguna Castillo. No rangers at all.<br /> <br /> I think the Regular Route in its current configuration avoids the blue payment tent at the end of the park trail, but I didn't know that when I passed through, and ended up just following the riverbank down to the minor road to be safe (and avoid paying the ridiculous 30,000 clp access fee). The road walk to Cerro Castillo was Easy and uneventful.<br /> <br /> <br /> *23/02/2023 - 25/02/2023 / RR SOBO / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé :<br /> <br /> We started at Lago La Paloma, taking the bus from Coyhaique to Villa Frei (leaves at 8:15,15:30,17:30&amp;19:30 from monday to friday and at 8:00 and 14:00 on saturday (no bus on sunday)). Then we hitchiked to the lake without problem and we camped there. Ready to start in the morning the next day.<br /> <br /> Day 1 - Campamento Rio Turbio - 26.5km - +1800m/-1200m A big day but we hadnt the choice : heavy rain was announced for the next day... Cross country is demanding, better follow the tracks all the way long. A great camp site if you want to split this day is at the end of Option B. No water, windy but incredible view. The waypoint camp before is nice too.<br /> <br /> Day 2 - Campamento El Bosque - 10km - +800m/-800m The 2 camps sites on the GPT at47.8 and at 50.3 are now forbidden. The new campsite is approx at km 49, in the middle. There is guardaparques, but no need to show the permit for us.<br /> <br /> Day 3 - Cerro Castillo - 11km - +800m/-1500m The pass after Cerro Castillo was closed due to the wind. If you want to go to the other side, you have to get down at the park entrance and to go up again at the other entrance. We just went to the town. The regular route going down from there, from the Cerro Castillo, is not the one on the GPT. Actually, it goes more on the west side. At the end, there is a guardaparque, we checked out (even though we didn’t checked in) but no need to pay. Fortunately. Luck was with us.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 23/02/2023 - 25/02/2023 / RR NOBO / Jakub+Veronika:<br /> <br /> 1) Lago La Paloma, right of way conflict on RH (32, km 17.5): Owner of the land (and nearby houses) is called Cesar, according to him, the right way is by the mud road (OH 32-L) and not on the trail, which passes some 20m next to his house. The reason why there was a conflict might have been caused by Cesar's relative who didn't like tourists walking on their land.<br /> 2) Trail has been changed 3 years ago because of right of way conflict between CONAF and private owners on the OH (32-E). The new official trail (with official park entrance) leads on OH (32-E) for the first 2km, then turns right and goes down towards Rio Ibáñez to RR (32, km 85), well marked by metal yellow triangles.<br /> <br /> We've walked all section 32 from Villa Frei to Villa Cerro Castillo. The part from Lago Paloma to Rio Turbio is very difficult and might be even dangerous (especially in bad weather). The CC travers on the stones (in our case with strong wind and snow) was the hardest part. The MR leading down to the valley is partially overgrown. The second part is well marked with good camping possibilities. After heavy rains on Sunday 25th, the park has been closed for more than a week. There are 2 alerts on the road (see above).<br /> <br /> <br /> *Feb 17 RR 3 days SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> Walked from Villa Frei. After about 12KM there is a food truck next to the road. Owners live there so should open for you. The owner of the private land wasn't there so had no access issues. You can camp in a big meadow @ 1250 metres or in good weather at a pass @ about 1325 metres (not marked on track file) just before the difficult CC section begins. Followed Veronica's advice to get up the gully on grass which worked well, thanks Veronica. There is no need for any rock climbing on this route. After the gully there are two rock bands running perpendicular to the route. You can go below both of them &amp; bypass them at treeline. The second bypass is not very obvious but stay at the treeline &amp; you will get through easily. After the pass, descending scree you come to a waterfall. Go left into the forest immediately before the waterfall - you may see a small cairn marking the spot. Just footprints at first but pick up a small trail as you go in. Leaving the park the RR to the left goes through private land. The optional route straight down is now the main trail, it goes down to a checkpoint just before the road. Checkpoint is at a stile over a fence so can't be avoided. It is run as a private 'concession' from CONAF. The workers were friendly &amp; didn't charge me anything. However next year the concession will be run by a different company so depends who is there.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022 Feb: 05-07, SoBo, RR, Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We continued into this section straight from the previous one - 31H and the start of it, about first 16km, is like the whole previous section - dirt road. We hiked about 5 of those 16km and hitched the rest which I think was possible quite easy because it was weekend and a lot of cars with families were going to the Lago La Paloma.<br /> <br /> The interesting part started once we were at the gate after crossing the outflow of Lago Monreal. The big sign was posted there stating that this is not some Sendero de Chile and that passing through here is strictly forbidden. We saw a guy at the gate when we were approaching, but as it was lunch time for us we stayed at the stream. Afterwards the guy was gone and there was no phone signal to call the nr. that Martin Lizondo has provided. After considering options of different routes we decided to keep it cool and climbed over the gate with fingers crossed. There were houses a few hundred meters up the road, but nobody seemed to be at home at that point, perhaps working in the field somewhere in the back, so we walked through the forbidden land without anyone intercepting, luck was with us. A few more gates later we climbed up into the forest and finally the Cerro Castillo National park with a big old welcoming sign. We stayed at the first marked campsite at 22,7km, there is a stream.<br /> <br /> Next morning as we were having our breakfast about 30 cows showed up and were completely dazzled by our presence. They stared at us for about 15min until they finally relaxed a bit, but not fully. As we were packing our camp some sudden movement must have scared them and they all went running for their lives as if a Kraken himself was after them, silly cows, we thought. Once we were all packed and ready to go we crossed the stream into the next meadow, and saw all the cows about 200m to our left. I am not exactly sure how cows work, but as soon as they saw us they organized a gang and all of them started running right at us. We of course were standing our ground so the cows would stop just 5m from us and look all tough. I would try to scare them away by counter attack in the form of a shouting, hiking pole waving lunatic. It worked to some extent, as we could slowly walk out of it, but the cows kept persistently be really close and walk/run at us. I guess they were trying to protect their pasture, maybe someone can enlighten me about cow-dynamics.<br /> <br /> After the great battle of 2022, we disappeared in the forest and enjoyed the nice forest path while it lasted. Once out of the three line the path disappeared so we more or less followed the GPS marking. Neither of our maps showed the mentioned old path descending down into the valley, it was actually matching with the GPS, more or less. Up to the first pass, which is not marked, but is at about 26,8km the cross country was easy and then as mentioned before it got pretty difficult. If it would just be steep scree slope it would be alright, but this one had hard packed sand under the scree or sometimes no scree on it so it was very slippery (in dry conditions). Lots of prayers went to the Gods of Friction which helped us with traversing the treacherous slopes, with plenty of chances to become a statistic. I don’t think that that traverse is possible in wet conditions, not without crampons. And as for every good cake there is always a cherry on top, which was a little rock climbing session, which I personally didn’t mind, but I am not sure other hikers would appreciate. After that we still had to descend a steep scree down to the river. If there is a potential trail or option to go down the valley after the pass and then follow the river bank up, I think it is definitely a better, faster and safer option, especially if weather is not favorable. And looking from above down the valley it seemed like a feasible option to follow the river as the river itself was easily crossable and we didn’t spot any cliffs there, maybe next time.<br /> <br /> After reaching the river at the valley bottom the way up to the second pass was easy and straight forward, even though still “sin sendero”. The way down from the pass is steep and bouldery but not dangerous and after a short bit some first signs of an old trail can be noticed, some cairs appear. Then once the trail gets down to the tree line there are a few bushy places, but nothing too bad and the closer to the actual trail you get the better it becomes. We also somewhat followed the GPS track but stayed more in the forest rather than beach to avoid the ranger hut.<br /> <br /> Once we made it to the Las Horquetas trail all our worries were behind us and we could enjoy the nice trail and magnificent views. I don’t think I have ever seen tree line ending almost at the edge of the glacier in Europe it was happening a century ago, pretty cool stuff. We camped at the “segundo camping” with many other hikers, none doing the GPT though. And an interesting thing we observed was that people would just drink straight from the silty glacier stream without filtering or treating their water at all. Observation was made of different groups of people at different campsites. Is that a Chilean thing? Very impressive gut, if they can do it, unless ignorance is a bliss or they knew something that we didn’t.<br /> <br /> Nevertheless, two more mountain passes and we were heading down to Villa Cerro Castillo, with crowds of day-hikers that had come up to the Mirador Cerro Castillo. From there we actually didn’t follow the GPS track but headed down straight to the town. The ticket office with the park official is actually around this area: (46º 6.7520' S, 72º 12.0032' W). And the trail leading there is the official trail. The one that seemed on the map like the official, was actually not in use, not sure why. The satellite view on Gaia and info on the maps is somehow outdated. We tried to sneak past the office to avoid all explaining we had to do, but it’s kind of strategically placed so it wasn’t possible and we ended up just talking to the girl that was making sure everyone is checking out of the park. We had to pay 18.000 pesos per person which is the ticket for foreigners that want to go up to the mirador. We didn’t spill the beans about camping in the park and our small backpacks kept the suspicion low, so in the end it all worked out pretty good. From there it is still almost 5km to the town on a very dusty road, but with all the day hikers leaving a hitch was not a problem.<br /> <br /> The town is really nice with plenty of shops and accommodations options. The only thing we didn’t manage to find was the threaded gas canister, but we found a few half-empty ones left in the Nordic Patagonia mess tent.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> *Section 32, Option 7: Valle Balboa. Southbound. 11 days (including waiting out a snow storm). Party (3): Mum, Sis and I.<br /> <br /> After walking Section 35 we emerged in Cochrane to a world changed by the virus. We retreated to the now unfriendly Chili Chico and caught the ferry across to Ibáñez in the morning. For my mum and sister, getting back to Santiago to catch a flight home had been the priority, but on the way they shifted more to the stance I was taking: what was the point? Get stuck in Australia, or here? Patagonia didn't seem all that bad, and apart from facemasks and hand sanitiser, there were no shortages like back home. By the time we reached Coyhaique we'd all decided to stay a week or so to hatch a plan. We met up with Aldo and camped in his backyard for almost a week. I helped build his house a bit, but time was mostly filled with playing chess, dice, cards and guitar. The atmosphere seemed to encourage a lethargic state, blurring the days together and bending time. Finally however, we packed and walked into the town centre to make a start on the interesting option #007 of Section 32 through Valle Balboa, (traversing roughly from Lago Desierto to Río Ibáñez). With the virus and public transport on hold, it seemed unlikely the bus to Villa Freí (that we took last time for the RR of Section 32) would be running. We asked a taxi driver for a quote to drive us out. We grabbed some more supplies, and then caught a taxi with a much friendlier driver to Lago Elizalde ($15k). The driver showed us a great public camping spot on the shore of the lake. There were many established camp sites back from [close to] the beach. It was such a nice spot that we decided to lay back and spend the afternoon and night there.<br /> <br /> In the morning, we walked the road to Río Paloma, scoring a lift for 5ks or so. We camped by the river not far before the end of the road.<br /> <br /> In the morning we walked the last bit of the public road to where it ends at the very rickety bridge over Río Mogote. There is a nice little camping spot here (-45.91100, -72.31823). Climbing over the locked gate, we walked the private road to the ford. We tossed up visiting Lago Desierto and the people living next to it, but with the virus decided against it. This meant we didn't actually have to cross the river, instead locating the old road to the south. (The track files follow the road, but it is no longer used by vehicles and it is actually easier to head back down the main road a couple of hundred metres to where a cattle trail exists (-45.91601, -72.30806)).<br /> <br /> Following this distinct road for some time, it seemed to be used for horse riding tours as there were coloured signs like &quot;Spanglish&quot; and &quot;Toobooku&quot; on the side. You will soon reach the gate included in the track files. Here there is also access to a bridge across Estero Balboa. It looks like you can then access trails most of the way up to Cerró Negro. This might be interesting if someone wants to explore.<br /> <br /> A couple hundred metres after the gate the old road ends and an obvious trail continues to a miskept farmhouse. Continue along the well defined trail that gets a bit scrubby/overgrown before entering the forest. The trail is then very well maintained although quite muddy in spots (I could see it being quite bad after rain). You will need to ford a tributary not marked in the track files (-45.95592, -72.35114). Shortly afterwards is a junction (-45.95654, -72.35216). The route up the side valley could be explored if someone wants - we went only a short way to a corral. The track will dip back down to the river where there is an established camp (-45.97039, -72.35461). Continuing up the valley, there are many more established camps - the best are generally in close proximity to the fords.<br /> <br /> The first time you cross the estero is about here: (-45.98105, -72.36205). There is only one ford, not two as the track files indicate. At the next couple of fords, the actual track deviates slightly from the track files. If you follow the current track files, you will avoid crossing the river at all, but will end up bush bashing briefly. We crossed the next two fords, but by staying on the west side of the river they should also be easily avoidable.<br /> <br /> The trail exits the forest (-46.02116, -72.42538)(the camp marked in the track files here is a swamp - go further up the valley!) from where it is cross country walking, not actually a trail as indicated. We camped next to the puesto which incorporates some pieces of a crashed plane (we found another piece whist exploring, but not the actual crash site). The route up to the Laguna Campana is also open and straight forward.<br /> <br /> We waited out a rainy day only to wake to a snow storm the next!... and the next!. We ended up waiting 4 nights experimenting with some different bread recipes whilst we waited out the inclement weather.<br /> <br /> Finally a sunny day! Continue up the valley, CC walking past an old corral. At the Nacimiento del Estero Balboa you again briefly enter the trees. Like the previous marked camp, again this whole area was very swampy and I didn't see a suitable place to camp. The camp included in the track files is in the middle of a swamp! We picked up fragments of a track heading up through the trees, but I think it is very vague or overgrown. That said, we had nearly a foot of snow in places so we could have easily missed things! There is a very obvious section of track here : (-46.05648, -72.47298). You'll quickly exit the trees (-46.05923, -72.47005) and start a long CC section in the alpine. We found some sections of trail, but for us it was mostly cross country walking. Plenty of water options the whole way.<br /> <br /> When you enter the forest after completing the alpine section (-46.08687, -72.43537), you will be bush bashing for a long time! There was no discernible track even when we criss-crossed over the track files searching for it (no snow here anymore). Approaching the deep gorge, I decided to lead us a different, less steep way. This worked well and we camped at a very nice spot by the stream at the bottom (-46.09414, -72.42582).<br /> <br /> The next day we were debating simply following the river down (I wish we had!). Instead, we headed straight up the other side of the gorge. We located part of an old track here (-46.09685, -72.42463) but quickly lost it as we passed through the saddle (I think maybe it continues north?). Rejoining the suggested investigation route (EXP-OP-TL-I@32-07-#003), there is a good stream (-46.10202, -72.42403) and some camping on its banks.<br /> <br /> After some horrible bush bashing, we finally made it to a ravine gashing steeply down the mountain (-46.10598, -72.41534). There were many drops and it was impossible to go directly down. We later found out that the only other party to do this part had a rope! I can't really recommend going down here [and my sister can't recommend it at all! - &quot;This is shit!&quot;] Again, I'd recommend taking the main valley. The climbs we did were much more difficult than those on the northern part of Section 32 RR that people complain about. Also, if doing this option, it would be much easier travelling north! You could also consult the settlers on a better route. We finally reached the bottom where it opens up after about ~6hrs!<br /> <br /> Continuing, if you do follow EXP-OP-TL-V@32-07A-#003, the track files indicate there is a trail, but it is not quite so. There are CC sections and a labyrinth of cattle trails. You will need to use them to your advantage where they exist, and leave them when they go the wrong way. We went this way for a little while, but then tried following a primary cattle track that seemed to be heading directly down to the river... but we got stopped by a swamp (-46.11623, -72.41080). Continuing along EXP-OP-TL-V@32-07A-#003, you will get CC walking from the woods (after a cliff) about here: (-46.11546, -72.42372) If we were there again we would follow EXP-OP-CC-A@32-07-#004 down past the settler to the river. It then looked easy to walk along the river north to the cable car.<br /> <br /> The cable car: Don't use this by yourself! Don't use it if you are only two! Use it with three people minimum! I can't stress this enough. There is a lot of fiction and the locals we talked to here don't even consider it safe. They used the boat which has its own steel cable allowing you to tack across with relative ease. You will get wet feet if using the boat.<br /> <br /> Taking the cable car, we only just made it across with one in the car and two hauling on the rope, and at one point it looked like my sister might get stranded on the far side (she had a nightmare that night!).<br /> <br /> Carretera Austral: We waited the entire day by the Carretera Austral. Finally catching a colectivo late in the afternoon. With the virus, it was hard/imposible to hitchhike. We paid an inflated price ($3kpp) for transport to Cerró Castillo.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-March-6 / Ty &amp; America / 4.5 Days SOBO RR. Start @ El Blanco<br /> <br /> We started in El Blanco, opting to hike by Lago Montreal, which was pretty nice. No traffic though, so if you’re wanting a hitch the regular start in Villa freí may be a better option. Settlers in Lago Montreal are super friendly. There’s a bit of water there as you pass by the lake. We camped there. I recommend going further to the marked camp though because the next day is a big challenge. RH-CC-A@32-25.2+7.9 Is the Cruz of the section. After this all good. I do not recommend doing this unless you’re very comfortable on your feet and have a lightweight pack.<br /> <br /> -stick to the treeline/marked path on this. The traversing is tough, but completely doable. 2-3 km in is the gully with the very difficult climb. Keep the the grassy patch, getting to the base of it was the most dangerous part for us. Very slippery rock. I had America drop her pack. High risk, but I was MUCH more comfortable.<br /> <br /> -about a k after is the second dangerous area. This is a straight rock wall that spans all the way up&amp; down the mountain. The only way through is to climb around. I checked below it and didn’t find a way through the trees. I took both Sanita &amp; America’s packs through this section; as again, it’s very high risk..with an actual climbing move involved. Again, it’s important you’re very comfortable with your pack to get through these parts.<br /> <br /> After these dangerous sections we were wiped out and camped in the valley before the pass. Lots of places to camp with good water. Be aware of slight rockfall risk. There’s an amazing place to camp with ideal conditions at the top of the pass.<br /> <br /> Going on, all smooth, both marked camps on the way up the second pass are actually closed...there’s an open camp right between the two.<br /> <br /> Amazing places to camp up by Laguna Castillo.<br /> <br /> We snuck around the riverbed once we saw the blue tent at the bottom (where you might have to pay) and got by with no problems.<br /> <br /> <br /> *Jan 2020 GPT32 South 7days / Felix<br /> <br /> _____________________ Coyhaique to Villa Freí: There is a bus from the bus terminal in Coyhaique to Villa Freí. From there it was a hot dusty road.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Accessing the park : You have to pass through 4 private properties to enter the first sector of the park. We met some people. Had short friendly chats, but no problems with access. Just before you enter the park (where there are two trail options) there is easy access to the river via a cow trail. However water in general was no issue and I didn't carry water for the entire 7 days through the park.<br /> <br /> The camp site used to be an official campsite before the sector was closed due to access problems. The dunny is in great shape.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Through the first sector : The trail is in great shape until after the mirador. You then cut upwards into the alpine which is also easy walking. After passing through a saddle, you contour around above the treeline. This is the most difficult part of the section. Quite a bit of step scree traversing. Not for everyone. Once you drop into the valley waking is again easier. There are some occasional cairns that become more and more frequent as you drop into the other valley. As you contour left an intermittent trail is evident. When you enter the lenga forest (-45.97321, -72.10278) there is a great trail down that turns into a road here : (-45.97886, -72.10358) (Jan: maybe you want to update the track files to reflect this?) Then is road walking to join the popular walk.<br /> <br /> _____________________ Popular sector of Cerró Castillo : There are some side trips not included in the track files. They're on the map you get. Note that the old Bosque site (-46.06197, -72.16016) and La Tetera (-46.07200, -72.18390) are now closed. You can not camp there. For most people this means camping at the new el Bosque : (-46.06418, -72.16964)(Jan : maybe you want to update the track files?) Get to Laguna Cerró Castillo before 12 to beat the walkers heading up for the day. But this shouldn't be an issue as you need to cross the pass early : an important thing we would have liked to know is that the pass (-46.08030, -72.21103) can be closed in the afternoon due to strong winds. There is literally a ranger there that can turn people around. Not much water over the pass either. And the poza cerca mirador doesn't look welcoming. Carry water here. In the next valley there were more rangers and we saw some people get checked for permits. It's a shame this park is now being comercialalised :(<br /> <br /> _____________________ Getting back to Coyhaique : Not much traffic. The last bus heads back at 6pm<br /> <br /> _____________________ I'll try upload some map photos and a breakdown of the entrance fees when I get the photos off my camera.<br /> <br /> Cheers, Felix.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-18 and 19 / Regular Hiking Southbound / Martin Lizondo<br /> <br /> The starting minor road gets into the private propiety of Pedro Sangüesa (+56 9 9099 9083) at 45º 52' 15,55&quot; S, 72º 2' 46,28&quot; O. He didn’t like people to pass through and denied that there was a trail, but it turned out to be a Conaf’s well signed area. He said in the future he will ask for money, but finally left me pass for no charge. I met other day hikers going to « El Mirador ». Snow was easy at the passes. The trail was in good conditions until the cross country. There are two spots which I consider dangerous, so I don’t recomend doing this section alone: 1) the gps tracks passes through a very vertical rocky (nearly climbing). I was scared and I can’t recommend doing it, except you asume this risk. I could see later in a map that the original route went all way down in the valley through lenga forest, but if there was a trail it’s invisible now. 2) When the cross country leaves the tree line and becomes a small trail into the lenga forest at 45º 58' 23,54&quot; S, 72º 6' 10,02&quot; O (“minor road” starts later, despite the gps track info); it’s very stepy and unmaintained. I made a mistake and started to follow the stream all way down, but you have to look up and search the beginning of the hidden path. It’s very vertical and easy to fell down, because of recent land slides. Be extremely carefull. The rest of Cerro Castillo from Las Horquetas is well maintained, beautifull and enjoyable. Cons: Lots of people. When leaving at the Nezoelandes entrance, you’ll have to pass near to the payment cabin. I didn’ t have to pay, but it was because I spent only a short time in the park. The cost for foreigners is normaly CLP 29,000.<br /> <br /> * Jan 2020 / RH Northbound / Matthieu<br /> <br /> No technical difficulties in the park, just following the trail and enjoying the views.<br /> <br /> To follow the GPT northbound, leave the parc trail to go north. It is an &quot;old sendero&quot; in the forest, but well maintained and easy to follow during the beginning (it is marked on maps of the parc). In this direction, no problem to leave the forest in a safe spot, but southbound, looking behind, seemed hard to find the entrance of the forest and of the safe trail ! No technical difficulties until the first pass, rocky terrain like the rest of the park. <br /> <br /> The dangerous part is indeed between the 2 passes. You dont go in the valley in front of you but follow the altitude line until the pass that you see at the right side of the valley. Very steepy rolling stones path. I was a little bit afraid. I tried to be smarter than the tracks, trying more uphill... this was a dangerous mistake that took me long to repair and go back to the tracks. There are indeed two river crossing (no dangerous waterstream) but they are circled by cliffs, so not easily crossable. <br /> The track follow mostly the tree line (I.e the separations between the little trees and the stones) So my recommendations : <br /> - follow the gps tracks : they follow the tree line who is safer with a solid ground and grass. Sometimes you have to cross the stones, no choice, so go slowly, choose your paces wisely and it's doable. Try to aim for the grounds of grass in the middle, which are solid, or the stones with foam on them, which mostly didn't move for a while. For the rivercrossing, it aims a good spot with no need to climb down or up.<br /> - choose a good weather day : for me it was sunny and no wind, so perfect day, and it was already mentally hard (not speaking of the horseflies getting you crazy during the hard moments !). I wouldn't try it with rain or big wind in this river of rolling stones. <br /> - if you don't feel it, easy escape by the normal trail of the parc<br /> <br /> However, I can assure that the prize for the effort, going northbound, is amazing !! But I won't spoil ! <br /> After the second pass, no technical difficulties, you find a Conaf trail easily, and I even cross some tourists with a guide.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Nov-29/ Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe/ 3days / Northbound / Regular Hiking Route with OH-MR-V (Villa Cerro Castillo to Las Horquetas)<br /> <br /> The section follows the rather popular tourist Hiking route Las Horquetas for the first two days, meaning there will be less solitude but also rather well maintained trails. The national park and the region around Cerro Castillo was very impressive, we especially enjoyed to take all the side trails and visit the numerous beautiful glacier lagoons. The only unpleasant part of the hike was the organization of the national park. The exorbitant high entrance fees are in no relation to the other parks, which is due to a high ratio of private land in the area but makes the park rather unattractive for tourists. some rangers seemed poorly informed and couldn't give much information (e.g. insisted that passes were &quot;closed&quot; and only after asking numerous times agreed to check with his colleagues that told that they are &quot;open&quot;). They also said it is not possible to hike the regular route of the GPT, because we have to check out of the NP at the checkpoint Las Horquetas. There is an optional hiking route continuing North from there. Due to bad weather coming up we ended up not finishing the northern stretch of the trail and just followed the entire Las Horquetas Route at the Carretera Austral.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-29 / Lea Geibel, Kevin Moe<br /> <br /> Snow line is at around 1200 Meters but all passes are safely traversable.<br /> The National Park Entrance Fee got raised to 29000 CLP per person for overnight hikes in season 19/20. The park generally seemed very poorly organized, we were told the passes are &quot;closed&quot; at first, whereas they were easy and safe to traverse. The ranger insisted that we could not hike the normal route northbound but have to sign out of the park at the Las Horquetas checkpoint. In high season, the ranger station in the park is manned, so maybe it is possible so sign out there and head northbound.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-12 / Eva Havlová<br /> <br /> There is still lots of snow in the National Park. I arrived to Villa Cerro Castillo 3 days ago (Novembre 12, 2019) and planed to hike nortbound but rangers didn't let me go. I saw the pass they were talking about (avalanche risk) and I don't think any avalanche could occure, but the thuth is that there is lots of water runing down and the trail is like a stream. They said it might be possible to do it next week.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2019 Jan/ OIlrik / Northbound <br /> <br /> We ended up doing the normal Cerro Castillo hike as the weather was forecasting heavy rain and snow so we did not want to be on the pass. The regular trail is just gorgeous and the park is beautiful. The trail in the north is not on the new CONAF maps but is marked on the old ones.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> A sandy beach with a visible structure in the grass is the take-out for Lago Elizalde. After exiting, make your way through the farmland until encountering a gravel road that leads past the house at the top of the hill up to Ruta X-686.<br /> <br /> Ruta X-686 is a lightly trafficked but well-formed gravel road that is fenced on either side. After crossing the Río Paloma, Ruta X-686 makes a sharp left and begins to climb. 4 km after the sharp left turn, cross a bridge to the left and climb to a wooden gate. If you descend the steep slope to the left of the gate, there is camping under some trees.<br /> <br /> The wooden gate marks the beginning of a very long driveway to a house located near the lake. The route takes you along this driveway until a river crossing. After crossing the river, walk northeast along its shore towards the Río Paloma. After reaching the end of the fenceline near the Río Paloma, turn east and walk along the fenceline until reaching Lago Desierto. At the river outlet, there is a nice beach to put in to Lago Desierto.<br /> <br /> There is no camping along the shores of Lago Desierto. The take-out is a rocky beach at the base of a bluff. Walk up the bluff and cross country through the farmland to Lago Azul. At the east end of the farm, descend down a road to a rocky beach at the Lago Azul shoreline with a metal structure.<br /> <br /> There are a couple of potential camping options along the shoreline of Lago Azul. There are also several residences on the north shore. The take-out is a long rocky beach set before a well manicured forest. On the east end of the land near Lago La Paloma is an expensive looking house surrounded by several other buildings.<br /> <br /> There is a 4WD track to the west of the smaller red house located south of the big residence. Ascend the steep climb on a well-formed road that is criss-crossed with several smaller tracks labeled in english with wooden signs. Due to the steep slopes on either side of the cut out road, there is no camping here.<br /> <br /> Eventually, the route turns off of the road onto an overgrown 4WD track. Camping off the track is still difficult because of prickly vegetation and steep terrain. This track ends 2.5 km from where the Regular Packrafting Route joins the Regular Hiking Route. From here, the route involves some bushwhacking and following a small trail as it winds in and out of existence. Just before joining with the Regular Hiking Route, the route widens into an old 4WD track that passes some destroyed structures.<br /> <br /> The routes join up at a large rock cairn and continues to follow a 4WD track until reaching a large wooden sign with a map of the Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo. Here there is also a campsite and ranger station. There is a 5.000 CLP fee to enter the reserve.<br /> <br /> The route from here is a popular track for backpackers with designated campsites. The trail is well-formed and winds through the forest. When the trail becomes less obvious, the way is shown with yellow markers. In this area there is a designated campsite with a latrine.<br /> <br /> At treeline, follow the cairns and rocks painted with white and red stripes through the scree up and over the first pass (approximate elevation 1.450 m). After the steep descent, reenter the trees. There is a campsite, Camping El Bosque, soon after reaching treeline (approximately elevation 940 m) with water and a latrine.<br /> <br /> The trail begins to wind up through the forest toward Laguna Castillo. The sights from Laguna Castillo, which is at the base of the pass, are stunning. There are two tracks that climb up to the pass. Make sure to take the path that climbs to the south instead of continuing southeast over the obvious saddle.<br /> <br /> The track down to Ruta X-720 is well formed, marked, and popular, but occasionally braided. Follow it until reaching the wooden stile with a rangers hut. From there join Ruta X-720, a dirt road which leads to Highway 7 and Villa Cerro Castillo.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Town: Villa Cerro Castillo. Villa Cerro Castillo has several restaurants, small markets, and plenty of lodging options, including a popular backpacker camping destination on the east side of town.<br /> <br /> *Lovely yum restaurant in Coyhaique: Restaurant DaGus, Lautaro 82, 5950000 Coyhaique. Little hidden gem. -45.86411, -72.04916<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *Buses to Villa Frei from Coyhaique bus terminal: Monday 7:30, 8:15, 15:30, 17:00, 19:30 Tuesday to Friday 8:15, 15:30, 17:30, 19:30 Saturday 08:00 and 14:00. No bus on Sunday. It takes about 30 minutes to get to Villa Frei &amp; the bus generally turns around immediately &amp; goes back to Coyhaique.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023/ Martin &amp; Helena<br /> To avoid right-of-way conflict, we followed Cristopher &amp; Anna's advice (thanks guys!) and turned right after the first gate behind the beginning of the optional trail. From there you just need to follow MR, cross a few gates and you will end up on a fenced field with bee hives on one side. <br /> <br /> *2023/ Jakub+Veronika:<br /> 1) Lago La Paloma, right of way conflict on RH (32, km 17.5): Owner of the land (and nearby houses) is called Cesar, according to him, the right way is by the mud road (OH 32-L) and not on the trail, which passes some 20m next to his house. The reason why there was a conflict might have been caused by Cesar's relative who didn't like tourists walking on their land.<br /> 2) Trail has been changed 3 years ago because of right of way conflict between CONAF and private owners on the OH (32-E). The new official trail (with official park entrance) leads on OH (32-E) for the first 2km, then turns right and goes down towards Rio Ibáñez to RR (32, km 85), well marked by metal yellow triangles.<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> The entrance closes at 2 pm but the guards there were much nicer than the first two, and it was also no problem to get in at 3 pm. We had to register us and pay the 30.000 clp p.p. though. The rest of the trek we were not asked to show the tickets. <br /> <br /> *2020 / Martin Lizondo<br /> The starting minor road gets into the private propiety of Pedro Sangüesa (+56 9 9099 9083) at 45º 52' 15,55&quot; S, 72º 2' 46,28&quot; O. He didn’t like people to pass through and denied that there was a trail, but it turned out to be a Conaf’s well signed area. He said in the future he will ask for money, but finally left me pass for no charge.<br /> (...)<br /> When leaving at the Nezoelandes entrance, you’ll have to pass near to the payment cabin. I didn’ t have to pay, but it was because I spent only a short time in the park. The cost for foreigners is normaly CLP 29,000.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT32 - Cerro Castillo]]<br /> <br /> =Images=</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT27H_(Lago_Palena)&diff=114337 2024-02-21T01:26:26Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Feb-15 to 2024-Feb-20 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {27-E} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Just like Quentin Clavel said,<br /> <br /> &quot;If you love wilderness, you will love this section !&quot;<br /> <br /> Lot of blowdowns and river crossing at this section, but you have lot of solutions to solve the blowdowns, also river crossing already not a problem at late season, so just enjoy the nature here! <br /> <br /> It is the most bird(lot of hummerbird!) I seen from GPT01 to here so far, and i heard some screaming in the midnight, sounds like cats fighting 3 times in 2 nights! I think the most amazing part is lot of beetles, maybe more than thousands, shinning blue, shinning red, shinning brown at the trees crawling, finding others then fighting, push them out to defend their sweet spot! Also black mix golden colours shrimp swimming in the river if you willing stop to take a look!<br /> <br /> I took some hours just sit beside some trees and observe beetles fighting, and one of them lose in the fight then drop on my head haha :D<br /> <br /> <br /> Beautiful water + rainforest + animals = GPT27<br /> <br /> The trail from north to Lago Palena til lake inlet and from south to Ford,camp[62.9/883], i think are still maintained by some people, i saw sticks is cut by machete not long time ago, some still with fresh green leaves.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km0 - km16.5 : hot dirt road, nothing special, recommend hitch as many if you can.<br /> <br /> Km6.05 : tiny shop(-43.65140, -71.83734), the last shop before you go in the wild, it was closed when i was there.<br /> <br /> Km17.5 : flat spots for camping.(-43.73746, -71.80946)<br /> <br /> Ford[26.8/520] : first time of crossing Río Azul. Downstream 10m have rock bar underwater, mostly about half of calf, just 2-3m in the middle part is below knee, running fast but easy crossing. The water and valley views is beautiful here.<br /> <br /> Ford[28.2/576] : crossing of Río Azul again. Go in the water at crossing point, go upstream 10m then cross it. About knee deep, this one is a little difficult than the previous one, but still easy at late season.<br /> <br /> I didn't follow RR after km29.7 where the trail met the beach, because the trail looks a little overgrown, i just CC on the beach and crossing the river multiple times to upstream and rejoin RR at km30.9. I really enjoyed the moment walking beside and walking in the beautiful river under the hot sun. Also i find that there is lot of shrimp in the river, they are black and golden colours!<br /> <br /> Km30.95 : gate.<br /> <br /> Km31.15 : Puesto at the left side.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km31.7 : after RR met a stream, i didn't follow RR again, just CC beside the stream, sometimes follow cow paths, sometimes just go by myself. Then i find a refuge at (-43.83791, -71.86699). It is unlocked and in good condition, 2 beds inside, 1 with mattress and 1 without, the one without mattress looks cleaner. I think it can use in bad weather. There is also a side trail from refuge to the viewpoint(-43.83872, -71.86624) of waterfall, easy to follow. <br /> <br /> If you don't want to turn all the way back down to RR after taking a look of waterfall, there is a trail(-43.84021, -71.86632) at the right side of waterfall can go around it and climbing up. It is an old trail but still clear and easy to follow and walk. After climbing up it leads to SW, i followed it about 20min and it looks like going in the forest at south, lots of blowdowns inside the forest so i turned back to the trail and CC then cross the gulch at (-43.84181, -71.86414), easy crossing at here, just walking. After crossing, it is already very close to the trail that starts climbing up.<br /> <br /> If you have a good weather, camping beside the lake(-43.86513, -71.86458) before the pass[37.1/1367] is great and beautiful.<br /> <br /> From the pass[37.1/1367] to camp[38.0/1279], it's not CC, you can follow a trail until the grassland.<br /> <br /> Quentin Clavel said hard part is start at km39, km39 is a blowdowns combination but just about 20m then easy walk again, some blowdowns and some overgrown but in an easy condition mostly just take you 2 second to step over them. The really hard part is not here.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km39.65 : Camping spot no.35 at (-43.87829, -71.86105), can fit 2-3 tents with fire ring and log seats. There is a small stream flowing and a gate(-43.87819, -71.86119) with barbed wire after the spot.<br /> <br /> Km40.3 : flat spot can fit 1 tent with a fire pit before you go down the rocky beach. The trail that go down to beach is washed away, looks like because of a huge fallen tree.( You'll understand what I mean when you are there.) <br /> <br /> Km40.67 : excellent viewpoint(-43.88151, -71.87072) of the lake on a rocky beach. Also a nice breakfast and lunch spot. But no camping spot here(not flat).<br /> <br /> Km40.75 : flat spot(-43.88191, -71.87150) can fit 1 tent with an old fire ring.<br /> <br /> Km42.8 : 2 nice camping spots(-43.88981, -71.88147) can total fit 4-6 tents with fire ring and log seats, also with beautiful lake views.<br /> <br /> I crossed the lake inlet at (-43.89053, -71.88207), below hip and a sand bar underwater, easy crossing because water nearly no flowing. Then rejoin the trail at (-43.89066, -71.88310).<br /> <br /> Km43.2 : camping spot(-43.89231, -71.88335) can fit 2-4 tents with fire ring and log seats.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Then, GAME STARTS.<br /> <br /> Lot of blowdowns blocks the way until refuge?[45.7/974] (no refuge there). Not really difficult, because you can go around or climb over or try to find side trail here, lot of solutions to solve, but much much slow down.<br /> <br /> First of all, join the trail at (-43.89307, -71.88426), no more trail at the pud.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Refuge?[45.7/974] : no refuge, no camping spot, just an old bridge left.<br /> <br /> From here, trail becomes smooth, still some blowdowns, but just easy and happy walking.<br /> <br /> Camp[48.3/1057] : a tiny stream is flowing before you going out to grassland.<br /> <br /> Km49 : walking on a broken log for crossing the small stream.<br /> <br /> Water[51.3/971] : dry.<br /> <br /> Refuge,park ranger[52.1/947] : 6 cabins here, all of them are good condition, and 2 of them can be used for overnight, others are lot of dead birds, have bee hives inside, is a toilet and stored full of things. Looks abandoned for 10 years, because i found a calendar that hanging in there is 2013. There is a side trail leads you to Lago Río Corto, it is beautiful, don't miss it!<br /> <br /> Cross the lake outlet after refuge, up to knee in clear water. Trail become more blowdowns and overgrown after crossing.<br /> <br /> From ford[56.0/943] to ford[56.6/928], you need to cross the same stream 11 times, all are easy crossing but wet feet, also the stream is milky.<br /> <br /> Km56.57 : old camping spot with an old fire pit, can fit 1 tent, but i recommend the next spot.<br /> <br /> Nice flat spot (-43.95887, -71.83283) can fit 1-2 tents at km56.83, 3 sides surrounded by small trees, good wind protection, also easy to collect water. But you need to take 5 minutes clear out some stones.<br /> <br /> After 11 times crossing, trail becomes easy walk again.<br /> <br /> Km58.15 : a huge rock, and a huge, tall tree growing on the rock! What amazing nature!<br /> <br /> Km58.3 : lot of blowdowns again.<br /> <br /> Km59.25 : trail junction(-43.96833, -71.85480), the clear trail going straight is not RR, it looks like going to the lake at west(i walked it a little because i missed the junction). Sobo turn left here, but the trail is very confused, not easy to follow and sometimes no more trail until camp[60.0/894]. It is not a good camping spot, can fit 1 tent with log seats and fire pit, also beside a flowing water but surrounded by lot of fresh cow poops, they also put their poops on the log seats.(It is cow's party spot) After here the trail will be better some moments, then confused again until next river crossing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[60.6/887] : you need to cross side stream and main river(Río Claro) at here. Both are milky water. First for side stream, go down to water at crossing point(-43.97678, -71.85529),a little muddy but fine, then 5m downstream step on the rock bar to the other side, just below knee. No need to climb up to other side immediately, turn right to main river in the water, go around the corner on sand bar, then cross the main river on another rock bar, knee deep but easy. When you get to the other side(-43.97729, -71.85489) of main river, an old conaf post there, then trail becomes easy condition. Can fit 1 tent on a spot after crossing but i recommend the next spot.<br /> <br /> Km61.35: camping spot(-43.98247, -71.85335) can fit 1 tent with fire pit, after crossing a small stream with clear water. And no more sharp turning like GPX track here, it just going straight now.<br /> <br /> Km61.7 : log gate. Yes log gate, not locked gate, it is a gate putting lot of huge logs blocked the way. Remove the log maybe take 10min, so climb over it.<br /> <br /> From km61.8 to ford,camp[62.9/883], you walking beside 2 beautiful lake, sometimes very close to lake, or step on some rocks at the shore of lake, but never need to walk in the water at now as late season. No camping spot until ford,camp[62.9/883].<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford,camp[62.9/883] : i crossed it at the point(-43.99268, -71.84577) that Quentin Clavel said, &quot;that's the place where the lake begins to be a river, and there were no current&quot;. Up to hip and no flowing, wet my shorts but easy. You can stand on some huge blowdowns laid on the shore to observe your crossing route.<br /> <br /> After the crossing, a camping spot with old fire ring there, but the spot is crashed by lot of blowdowns, so i cleared out some area here that can fit 1 tent now, and rebuild the fire ring and new log seats too. Hope you also enjoy the lovely fire after the deep crossing.(i crossed it just before dark!)<br /> <br /> Easy walking until km65.5, then some blowdowns, muddy, and some overgrown.<br /> <br /> Km65.77 : camping spot(-44.01372, -71.84370) can fit 1 tent, also can access to water at here. Looks like someone camped at here not long time ago.<br /> <br /> Ford[67.3/829] &amp; ford[67.4/827] : double crossing of Río Claro, flowing fast and up to knee. Some rocks are slippery here, be careful.<br /> <br /> Ford[67.9/806] : flowing fast and up to knee, after the crossing, there's a small log bridge on the ground without any usefulness, what can i say...?<br /> <br /> Camp[68.0/809] : looks like it is a camping spot made by puerto, have a full wooden bracket and some huge plastic cloths for making a shelter. Can fit 1 tent with fire pit.<br /> <br /> Then steep climbing up on some soft mud, i think it will be super slippery if they get wet.<br /> <br /> After you climb up, trail with some blowdowns, some overgrown and muddy.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km69.55 : maze area, lot of blowdowns, lot of side trail, and lot of cutting sign, made me confused for some moments here.<br /> <br /> Km70.1 : a stream (-44.04320, -71.84817) flowing nice with clear water, a small camping spot can fit 1 single person tent with fire ring after the crossing. Dry feet crossing by rock hopping.<br /> <br /> From here to km72.5, is the most tired part for me, some blowdowns + some overgrown + some muddy + neverending pud, OMG.<br /> <br /> Water[71.3/874] : Arroyo El Reloj, beautiful waterfall, no camping spot here.<br /> <br /> Km72.1 : refuge in ok condition, maybe can use in bad weather. Soil ground and not flat, so i think you wouldn't like to stay inside. No camping spot nearby.<br /> <br /> After km72.5, all the way going down, trail sometimes walk in wet and muddy gulch, but when you get lower, trail condition will become better and better.<br /> <br /> Refuge[75.5/385] : good condition with fire ring inside. Large flat area outside beside refuge, can fit 4-6 tents with fire ring and log seats. {27H-02}'s trail looks clear and easy to follow at here.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[75.6/375] : the last crossing of Río Claro, also the strongest one. I crossed at here(-44.07080, -71.87756), upstream of GPX track where the river start dropping down, looks like is the shalloest part at this crossing. Huge rock bar underwater. Flowing strong and above knee, a little challenge but still easy crossing, rock bar's rocks are huge size and stable, so I just walking and use the rocks for balance that push back the force from current.<br /> <br /> After the crossing, trail becomes very overgrown about 300m, then easy walking start.<br /> <br /> Km76.0 : camping spot(-44.07286, -71.87476) can fit 2-3 tents with fire ring and log seats.<br /> <br /> Trail south of here, mostly are super easy walking, but sometimes make me confused, because it turning and turning, turning and turning, easy to lost the trail.<br /> <br /> Km76.7 : board walking and gate.<br /> <br /> Gate[83.0/447] : dirt road walking start, super easy going and all the way dry feet.<br /> <br /> Water[86.0/419] : flowing low with clear water, nice grassland can fit lot of tents with views 100m before the crossing, but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> X[90.2/543] : i missed this junction and walked all the way dirt road.<br /> <br /> Bridge[95.0/318] : cross Río Pico on a large bridge, huge flat area with some small trees and brushes after the crossing, looks like upstream is better and i find at least 3 fire ring there. It is the last good camping spot before Lago Verde.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> About Lago Verde,<br /> <br /> Bus schedule:<br /> <br /> Lago Verde - Coyhaique(Thursday 8am, Sunday 12noon), Lago Verde - La Junta(Wednesday 8am, return at 3pm), Coyhaique - Lago Verde(Tuesday and Friday 2pm)<br /> <br /> Need advance booking, you can call or whatsapp Blanca Jara +56 9 94738219, and &quot;Lago Verde - La Junta&quot; is 2000 CLP.<br /> <br /> <br /> Shop1 (-44.24083, -71.84950), lot of food selection and good stock, can full resupply here, but no gas canisters.<br /> <br /> Shop2 (-44.24068, -71.85035), Nina's shop, small one, you can ask accommodation here, stay in her home for 18k CLP, single room with wifi, hot shower(with towel), a light dinner(not enough for hiker hunger) and you can use her kitchen. Super friendly family, highly recommended!<br /> <br /> Both shops can use credit card.<br /> <br /> Tourist information center(-44.24046, -71.84983), some super friendly staff there, in some conversations looks like they want to maintain the trail from Lago Verde to Lago Palena.<br /> <br /> Bus stops at (-44.24035, -71.85012). <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From 2023-02-05 to 2023-02-08 // 4 days // Hiking // NOBO // RR // Quentin Clavel<br /> <br /> If you love wilderness, you will love this section ! <br /> <br /> That was a pretty demanding one, very remote, deep into rainforest, lots of river crossing, and even more challenging if you've got bad weather, because all the fallen trees (and there's a looooooot) are slippery. <br /> <br /> It begins pretty well from Lago Verde. More you advance and more the trail is challenging. From big gravel road, to as small one, to visible track, to kind of complicated one sometimes to follow. <br /> <br /> GPS has been checked numerous of time on that stretch. <br /> <br /> The hard part is from PK 71 (after the end of the way up) to KM 39. That's a festival of fallen trees and river crossings (even sometimes not river crossing but you have to follow the lake, but as there.s no trail or it's a tuff bush bashing because of the fallen trees, so you follow the lake, in the lake aha, but it's not swimming don't worry, still at knees level). Anyway, prepare yourself to a very low pace. <br /> <br /> At this time of the year no troubles with the rivers crossing. The highest one was PK62,95 (hip level, but that's the place where the lake begins to be a river, and there were no current). <br /> Strongest one was the crossing of Rio Azul PK 26,88, but it was late on afternoon, and still doable if you go slowly but surely. <br /> <br /> Aftet PK 39, you'll get up from the shore, and find a more visible track to follow (it would give you the impression of an avenue compare to the last 30 kilometers !). <br /> <br /> I bush bashed to avoid the double crossing of Rio Azul after PK30. Made it but I'll not recommend to do it. That was a tuff and strong fight with the bush, and not sure that I can say I won. <br /> <br /> I met no one except two kind and nice settlers on the road that invite me to share a moment, more than welcome. Karl and his family PK 90,84 and Roberto in his lovely puesto near KM 19.<br /> <br /> I really loved that wild section, the rainforest is amazing, all the flora there is incredible, it's just you and the nature, you'll say that most of the sections of GPT are like that. But here's a little bit more than usual.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *General Recommendation: the critical point (the crux of the section) is the ford of Rio Claro/Quinto. This river crossing not too far from the southern start Lago Verde. Therefore it is highly recommended to go northbound and attempt this section after most of the snow is molten and without heavy rains predicted. If you walk southbound and can't cross Rio Claro or Rio Quinto you face a long &amp; rough walk back.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-10 to 2023-Mar-14 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Quite challenging section, especially in cold and rainy days we had. The trail around Lago Palena is not very well maintained and hundreds of fallen trees are making hiking there pretty difficult. Expect rather more hiking hours to finish the section than what is in manual.<br /> <br /> After some road walking from Palena we took the trail in western valley that 2 arrieros confirmed to be in good condition (but they said the same about the whole trail to Lago Verde). Trail is easy to follow, but with quite demanding fords if the conditions are not good. Especially the double crossing of Rio Azul after km 30 gave us hard time, caused mainly by our bad judgment - after light but all afternoon rain we tried to cross the river for the first time, not so far from the official trail, but more on the right, downstream. The current was not that strong, but water was above our waist, and slippery stones made it difficult to move with enough stability. We made it to the other side, but couldn’t find a suitable spot for the second crossing where the water was even deeper. Fording rivers one by one didn’t look safe because of a strong current in the first one, so we tried to return, but the water moved even higher making the ford too dangerous, so we had to stay and camp in between. In the morning we woke up to a sunny day and forded without problem. We met settler from the last puesto before ascent and he told us camping there is possible.<br /> <br /> We didn’t have any problem with the rest of the way to the lake, but from there it becomes difficult to continue because of all the fallen trees. Often there is a visible way around, but sometimes you have to improvise and even go over. Expect slow pace. Refuge km 45.7 is not there. We camped at km 48.3 where is a big field without trees. CONAF refuges are there, possible to stay inside, but we would be careful with mice. Fords section from km 56 had just a little of water - no problem. Trail around lake / Rio Claro from km 62 will take you a few times to the water close to the shore, but nothing difficult. We made the last ford at km 62.9 in the widest point, where the water was calm, aprox. to our waist, and with quite stable surface from some vegetation which was safe to walk on.<br /> <br /> We continued again very slowly on sometimes very wet and muddy trail. Following fords were not a problem for us, even when the water was fast, it was not above our knees. We camped around km 70 in the forrest where we didn’t feel completely comfortable, but with favorable wind forecast we decided to stay. Refugio km 75.5 is standing, can provide a good shelter in bad weather conditions. The rest of the trail was without any problem, especially the last 20 kms where you join a MR leading to Lago Verde. We finished this section very exhausted and found it to be really a tough one. Good to count with more days / food because of sometimes slow progress and possibly difficult river crossings.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-21 / 4 days / NOBO / RR / Frank<br /> <br /> 19KM on small road from Lago Verde, then you reach a settler's house. Go round the house to right, handrailing a wooden fence. RR goes in on a small trail, a bit overgrown with lots of fallen trees &amp; muddy most of the way to Lago Palena. About 40KM from the settler's house to Lago Palena, average speed 2KMPH. The crux crossing is the first one on Rio Claro/Quinto NOBO. If you can cross it all crossings should be OK. It was a little under waist deep when I crossed, late in season &amp; weather had been dry. There is a small hut just after the crossing. Continued to second crossing of Rio Claro &amp; camped there (a long day) On day 2 I went round the lake &amp; reached the CONAF huts. Going round the lake was OK, I was able to throw a few rocks for stepping stones &amp; get by with dry feet. The CONAF huts are partly built &amp; look abandoned. Continued to Lago Palena &amp; camped on the shore. There is a campsite/refuge marked on the track file above Lago Palena on a rock outcrop, couldn't find it &amp; no trail to it. Best to camp at the lake. <br /> <br /> Continuing around Lago Palena in about 2 hours you start to climb to Pass 1390M on RR &amp; the trail improves &amp; is mostly good all the way out to the road in Valle Tigre. I did not see any sign of a trail continuing round the lake on the optional route towards Valle California, it looks like very slow &amp; rough going.<br /> Towards the pass you are above treeline. The double crossing of Rio Azul was easy. I tried staying on the near bank but there are thorn bushes blocking the route so you do need to cross the river twice. Camped just before the road &amp; walked out easily on dirt road to Palena on day 4.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> <br /> * GPT27H Option 3 / Lago Rosselot / 2021-Dec-08 and 09 / Direction: Circuit<br /> <br /> Participants: Meylin Elisabeth Ubilla González and Jan Dudeck<br /> <br /> This scenic lake is located 8 km east of La Junta and certainly worth a visit in good weather when being in the area with a packraft.<br /> <br /> The entire circuit on water is about 45 km long and best paddled in two days. Several beaches permit camping.<br /> <br /> A public road provides easy access. At the end of the public road are several camp sites.<br /> <br /> The predominant wind is southbound on the southern end of the lake and appears to be northbound on the northern end of the lake.<br /> <br /> The full circuit is best paddled in two days.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * Martin Lizondo / 8 to 14-Jan-2020 / Hiking Southbound<br /> <br /> Río Claro/Quinto currently impossible to cross. Recommended time: February after some days with no or little rain. Best hike northbound to cross this river at the beginning of the traverse. See also log for further recommendations.<br /> <br /> Summary: lot of snow, demanding river crossings, Río Claro/Quinto impossible to cross. Recommended time: February. Hike northbound.<br /> <br /> According to settlers from the Azul valley, the regular route isn’t used by horses and cattle, because of a recent land slide. They recommended me to take the alternative pass to Lago Palena, which is the regular packrafting route.<br /> <br /> The packrafting route was very well marked. Hard river fording of Estero Matrera (43º 47' 18,67&quot; S, 71º 47' 4,28&quot; O ) Added difficulty was from the fact that I found a lot of fresh knee level snow!<br /> <br /> Down at the lake, there’s a carabineros post, which is the last human presence in the area. From that point starts a pretty overground trail that goes to Punta Lopez. Very steepy and risky. The track isn’t recorded in the GPT files (Jan-2020), so ask in the Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/?ref=share).<br /> <br /> From Punta Lopez ( 43º 53' 23,16&quot; S, 71º 52' 53,65&quot; O ) the trail is better maintained and much more visible. The refuges of Conaf are empty with no human presence ( 43º 55' 24,16&quot; S, 71º 49' 10,13&quot; O ) . From that point the river crossing becomes very frequent. Expect to ford many times per hour. The path also gets into the water of Lago Quinto.<br /> <br /> The fording of Río Claro Solar / Rio Quinto was imposible at this date, so I had to turn all way back to Palena ( 44º 1' 46,21&quot; S, 71º 50' 15,14&quot; O ).<br /> <br /> Now (15-Jan-2020) it snowed at the mountains again, so rivers may be impossible to ford. From that reason I consider February to be the best time to hike this section, better going northbound, in order to ford Río Claro/Quinto as soon as possible.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *No exchange facilities in Lago Verde. There is a Banco Estado ATM in Palena.<br /> <br /> *Hostal next to the central square in Lago Verde, near the supermarket. It does a good evening meal. Palena has a few hostals but they tend to be fully booked in high season.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> Refuge km 45.7 is not there. We camped at km 48.3 where is a big field without trees. CONAF refuges are there, possible to stay inside, but we would be careful with mice.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT27H - Lago Palena]]<br /> <br /> =Images=</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT22_(Cochamo)&diff=114163 2024-02-09T22:35:09Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Feb-03 to 2024-Feb-09 / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> If you decide stay at Segundo Corral, and take the boat to Argentina.<br /> <br /> <br /> NO NO NO <br /> <br /> NO NO NO<br /> <br /> DON'T DON'T DON'T stay at Mari Mari Peni Camping, (or another name) Amancays Camping.<br /> <br /> <br /> I saved a girl hiker almost RAPED by the campground owner, and I'm pointed by a rifle gun force me to stop helping her at the night on 07/02. About the details, i type it and upload later.<br /> <br /> It is already reported to Chile carabineros and Consulate in Chile.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> GPT22 2024-01-31 to 2024-02-05 / 5,5 days days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Cochamó options/ Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> After a month and a half, we finally did something standard! From Puerto Varras (the bus stop on Avenida Vicente Perez Rosales just after Antonio Varras street) we took a bus at 8:38 going from Puerto Mont that went all the way to the end of MR to the Road end waypoint. At our hostel, they told us it would arrive at 8:45. Not sure if this is the same bus that others said would pass Puerto Varras at 8:15 or if it just goes to the road end only in high season. It was 7000 per person - I think they might charge double for backpacks, unless they screwed us.<br /> <br /> We were at the entrance at 11 AM and were let through for free when we told them we were going to El Arco. The way to the campsites is really busy (met maybe 50 people and about ten horses), easy and without many views as it goes through a forest. When we reached the campsites, we decided that the valley is really pretty and that we want to take some sidetrips. We asked all the campsites and only La Junta let us stay, 8000 per person. It is important not to spread the word as they did us a favor even though they are not supposed to allow people without reservations. So, do not tell anyone or expect to be let in. We had a numbered site so I think they genuinely had some places free. If nobody had places, after ford 98.9, there is a maze of paths and mini-meadows on the left where I saw somebody camp illegaly. If you hide your packs well for the day and then camp from dusk till dawn, you would probably get away with it. Alternatively there are some flat spots in Trinidad valley two hours up - if you start so that you would arrive by dusk, you should meet nobody.<br /> <br /> The side trips are steep but not challenging, many people take them. We went to Paloma (not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024) in the evening, it can be done in three hours there and back if you do not stop (we did). We started going up at 1715 and saw last person going down at 1830 or so. It is quite splendid. OSM says there is a route to Cerro La Junta. It is probably an exit route for climbers, I did not see any traces of it but it looked like it were possible. If it is, one could probably continue all the way to Cerro Capicua.<br /> <br /> Arco Iris is still closed. If it were open I think one could follow the ridge, which is not very steep or outcroppy, all the way north to above GPT21 - only there is probably no way down.<br /> <br /> The next morning I went to the Trinidad Valley and all the way up to Cerro Bella Vista and Nat went ahead to escape the approaching rain the next day. The roundtrip takes about 7-8 hours. There is a marked travelled trail to the pass (&quot;El Paso&quot;), the last 300 vertical meters or so are marked by cairns. You will need your hands occasionally, but it is not exposed or particularly hard - SAC 4. The views are well worth it. It seemed most people only go to La Laguna (lake just under the pass). We started at 6 AM and I met the first people on the way down around noon at La Laguna. Both La Laguna and Cerro Bella Vista are not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024. The way up through Camping Vista Hermosa (the current GPT track) is not supposed to be used by people not staying at the campsite. The proper way up seems to be the more western trail that is marked on OSM. Going back down trough camping Bella Vista was without issues though. They told Natalie you are not supposed to use their cable car (the one more upstream). Tomáš thinks you should use it as it is the only one that you can use without going through either of the campsites (the downstream one goes directly from La Junta campsite). No horseflies by now!<br /> <br /> I left the camping at 1530, and met only one group of hikers all the way up to the second Camp waypoint at Lago Grande. It is a nice camp, bigger than the first but no good water sources. Wild legal camping, if I get it right. Refuge El Arco is unmanned, it is just a simple wooden hut. I would only use it in case of severe rain. The way up was almost all dry after two weeks of no rain. Mostly through forest, with some nice views of the valley, a few more fords then indicated but they could all be jumped.<br /> <br /> The next day it rained (5mm?) from 4 AM till 11 AM but it was not enough to make the trails substantially muddy. The bridge before Lago Vidal is not there but there was a nice log. There are some pre-european rock paintings after Lago Vidal, one probably needs to make a sidetrip to see them based on the information signs near Torrentoso (trail 22-10 was signposted; trails in the valley are well maintained so I assume the option is good to go). On the last meadow before the gone bridge at 51.8, there was a cherry tree that still had very tasty miniature cherries in the beginning of February. It is behind the house to the left of the trail, maybe 40 m from it. I discovered it by going south of the house (nobody seemed to be in it). Do not miss the turnoff of the trail from the meadow - I went straight, there was initially a trail but petered out into a landslide. Camp at 45.2 is nice (reach it by turning left from the trail cca 50-100 m beyond the sjoetest route, that way you avoid any vegetation). Finally met Natalie after two days of escaping rain. Shop in El Manso is better than expected (has good veges and fruit) but not as good as the one in Llanada Grande. El Manso also is besides a cerveceria with wifi. The bus only came at 1530 despite being told it comes at 1pm. In almost three hours of waiting, we did not manage to hitch a car. <br /> <br /> The bus indeed stops at Llanada Grande for 10 minutes or so - it is not really enough to orientate yourself and buy lots of supplies. The supermarket had lots of nectarines! Should you want to go to Puerto Urutia, the bus does not go there so you need to get off and walk the minor road there. We could not get reliable Entel internet reception anywhere in the valley (calls were fine) along the bus route.<br /> <br /> We went to Primer Corral to do 22-08. The first few km are not a pleasant road to walk on. We decided to turn back as bad weather was coming in two days and it did not seem worth it. Not sure how far the road for cars goes. There seems to be regular but sparse traffic on it.<br /> <br /> We walked back for about an hour on the main road before getting a hitch for the last 3 km to turnoff to 22-02, as others indicated the RR is badly passable due to a landslide. The MR section is aesthetically dreadful and supersteep. We had to climb a locked gate right at the start. We found a miniature camping spot about 200 m before the signposted trail turnoff. In the morning a lorry driver waved at us so probably no issues with climbing the gate. Luckily the trail is much nicer than the road. We met the settler at the lake Azul, he let us walk through his property. The few km to the first very small lake are actually an undriven MR, but very pleasant, it does not seem to be connected to the road network. After 2 km, one turns left onto a trail. Until the pass, it is very clear. After the pass, the visibility deteriorates somewhat but no bush bashing is involved. Soon after that, there is a gate saying there is no trail afer a harsh winter. We went further and it turned out there is a trail. There were some trees on it, but not too much and we lost it only for about 50 m. From setler at 11.4, the trail is much more clear. Met a seemingly lonely girl from the next homestead with whom we had a lovely chat. The trail to the border control was easy, we came there at 1530 and were let through. They told us that it would be ok to reach the Argentinian border control the next day. They too had a very ripe cherry tree but did not pick up on my appraisal of it and did not suggest I get some fruit.<br /> <br /> We met several people on the way to Argentina border. We camped there (wild permitted numbered camping sites with numbers - there was about twenty other Argentinians, the functioning toilets are unsigned immediately next to the Police building). The next day we had no issues with getting a stamp and going down. The last CC part is a trail. We forded the second ford a bit earlier than suggested, it was waist deep but very slow moving. Took a bus at 1340 to El Bolson - seems to run regularly.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + day trip / Lotti &amp; Alex<br /> <br /> We did this section mostly as described by Fangwen and Tobi (El Manso to Cochamo base camp), so there is not much to add. We stayed at La Junta for 2 nights and did a very nice day trip to Cerro Bellavista (see description further down). The trails were very well maintained all the way. The only minor problems were mud and lots of horse flies. Like Fangwen and Tobi, we were happy we did the section NOBO, because the landscape gets more and more spectacular. This way it is also much easier to get to camp at La Junta without reservation, because they always reserve some space for hikers coming from the south. <br /> It was a beautiful hike and especially the area around La Junta is really spectacular and worth visiting. We even met a fellow GPT hiker there, which was great! <br /> <br /> Transportation:<br /> <br /> To start:<br /> Bus &quot;Rio Puelo&quot; from Puerto Varas to Lago Tagua-Tagua at 8:20am, then ferry to Puerto Maldonado, then bus to El Manso. We arrived at the trailhead around 1pm.<br /> <br /> after hike:<br /> Bus from end of trailhead (&quot;Cochamo base camp&quot;) to Cochamo/Puerto Montt at 1pm.<br /> <br /> Day trip to Cerro Bellavista:<br /> <br /> Start at La Junta on GPT Variant G, following the signs to &quot;Trinidad&quot;. It starts by crossing the river with the little cable car. After the walls of Trinidad, stay on the trail and follow the signs to &quot;Laguna&quot;. The official trail ends there, but there are stone cairns and ribbons marking a trail that goes up to the pass. The laguna is crowded, but we didn't meet anyone further up. The view at the pass is already great, but you can go up even further. Turn to the left and follow the stone cairns until the summit. It is not difficult, just walking and easy scrambling, and the view is absolutely spectacular.<br /> The whole tour has about 1300m of altitude difference. It took us around 5h to go up, and 3-4h down. <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-01-07 to 2024-01-14: Fangwen and Tobi / 2.5 days Ventisquero Valley (Option 08 + more), 4 days El Manso to Cochamo RR / NOBO hiking.<br /> <br /> We did two parts along this enjoyable section, connecting them by hitchhiking and resupplying in between in Llanada Grande.<br /> <br /> The first part was hiking ~20km into the scenic Ventisquero valley (Option 08), alongside a wonderful river on an enjoyable and easy hiking trail through farms and rainforest that mostly follows an old minor road. It's often better to follow the well-marked trail rather than the GPT track files. A highlight of our trip was hiking up to a fantastic viewpoint at 1100m with a view of the whole valley, its remote side valleys and glaciated mountain peaks. The trail (900m elevation gain, 4.5km) through the thick rainforest is steep but excellent in quality and easy to follow (but the turnoff at S 42° 01.737', W 072° 05.643' is easy to miss). This and other trails in the valley are not part of the GPT files yet, but GPX files can be found on the website of Rincon Bonito (glamping accommodation for groups) that presumably created the trail. We camped by the viewpoint; what a wonderful experience! There are plenty of places to pitch up a tent, but little protection from wind. We found a wind protected camp in a dried-out puddle at (S 42° 02.705', W 072° 06.193'). Make sure to bring water, since the last reliable water source is in the valley, just before the turnoff onto the steep trail. From the viewpoint, we attempted to climb the local mountain, but beyond 1500m, it appears to require bush bashing. Our track: [[Media:GPT 22 Ventisquero Viewpoint.gpx]].<br /> The viewpoint is within the Pumalin National Park, but the whole valley seems to be private property and camping is forbidden outside official campsites, which begin quite far into the valley. There are plenty of spots to pitch up a tent nonetheless (which is what we did).<br /> For packrafters, going down the river must surely be a highlight! Rincon Bonito offers packrafting (maybe only for their guests?), they describe it as class II+.<br /> <br /> Our second part followed the regular route 22N from El Manso to the Cochamo trailhead. This was an enjoyable hike and we found the trail to be in good condition, although it gets pretty muddy around El Arco (and that's after one week of sunny weather). There is quite a bit of pointless up and down between km45 and km79. Additionally, our hiking distance was often 20-25% longer than expected, as there are many switchbacks too small to be represented on the track files. We liked hiking this section northbound, as the rainforest and the views get more and more impressive as you go along. La Junta has a lot of local hiking options (e.g. hiking into the Anfiteatro valley or on top of Cerro Trinidad), but we didn't spend any extra days because the weather was turning.<br /> <br /> Logistics: to get to the start of section 22, take the daily bus that leaves at 7.45am from Puerto Montt (stops at 8.15 in Puerto Varas at intersection el Salvador/San Pedro S 41° 19.081', W 072° 59.038', and later in Cochamo). The bus company Río Puelo has a ticket office in Puerto Montt, their WhatsApp number is +56 9 7408 9199. From there, take the ferry across Lago Tagua Tagua and the connecting bus down the valley to your respective trailhead (El Manso for the Cochamo valley, Primer Corral for the Ventisquiero valley). Note that travel is slow... We arrived at the Primer Corral at 4pm. We left a bag of food for the second half of our trip. Unfortunately it was visible from the parking lot and got stolen, so we resupplied at the Llanada Grande supermarket. The bus makes a stop there for ~15min, if you want a quick resupply there (it's a bit bigger than in El Manso). We hitchhiked to El Manso, which worked after two hours of waiting/walking (not a lot of traffic).<br /> <br /> If you are in the Llanada Grande area, go to Camping Reflejo Azul. The campsite itself is average, but it has the most beautiful river we have ever seen in our lives. Visit this truly special place before Instagram influencers find out about it and it becomes overrun by hordes of tourists. Day access is possible also for 5.000 CLP.<br /> <br /> Photos: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1732098767296002/?app=fbl<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-4 / 7.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RH + OP-LK-2 + RP / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> <br /> Note: We were told a reservation is needed for a camp site at La Junta to be allowed into the valley from Cochamo side, so we did that. However, one of the wikiexplora entry mentioned that they were allowed in when mentioning that they wanted to camp at El Arco Refuge but we read it too late. Camp Trawen is the most expensive (15k per person), which is the reason why it’s been available on short notice. There are several other sold-out camps around for 8k-10k.<br /> <br /> Day 1: We hitchhiked to Cochamo Base Camp at 9am and reached Camp Trawen by 2pm. It would have been better to go on the El Arco Refuge straight away and camp there. It’s a touristy stretch and in our view not really worth doing, if you like the general quiet nature of the GPT.<br /> <br /> Day 2: Camped at the beach at Lago Vidal. Easy hike but lots of ups and downs.<br /> <br /> Day 3: We packrafted Lago Vidal and had a good lunch at Luisa’s place (make sure to drop by!), before continuing on to Torrentoso (not the paid camp, but on the meadow a few hundred meters after the official camp). <br /> <br /> Day 4: The bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [51.8/146] (Rio Steffen) does not exist anymore. It’s not a demanding ford but there are short steep ups and downs on both sides. We stayed near wp Settler {22N} [50.1/307].<br /> <br /> Day 5: We rivered in at wp Rio Manso. The ride was super scenic and beautiful and there were no rapids, just a bit of boiling water but nothing difficult, which might be due to different water levels compared to previous accounts. It’s 45 minutes from there to the bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36]. We rivered out behind the bridge on the right side. There is a nice flat beach which leads to the cabin of Harv and Veronica. They let us camp on their land and even offered a hot (wood fired) shower for 2.5k per person. There is a cervezeria and shop across the road for resupply.<br /> <br /> Day 6: We took the bus at 1 pm to intersection at wp X {22-01} [25.0/187] and went on OP-MR-V (along Hunter’s estate) to Lago Azul. You will be charged 5k per person to access the lake. We crossed Lago Azul with strong waves and tailwind so we sailed to the other side in no time.<br /> <br /> Day 7: Crossed Lago de Las Rocas, Lago Inferior, and Lago Puelo to the Argentinian border control which opens at 8am next morning so we camped there. Next day we finished at Lago Puelo which is a popular tourist beach.<br /> <br /> Tip: It is a hot &amp; dusty walk to town from the beach and hitchhiking is not as easy in this part of Argentina as in Chile. Keep some small change of USD or Argentinian pesos for the bus ride to resupply in town. If you plan to continue packrafting Lago Puelo on GPT23 after resupplying, the earliest bus back to the beach reaches around 7.30am but it will be too late as the wind picks up by 8am. Lago Puelo is known for its strong gusts so it’s best to check wind forecast and paddle early morning 5.30am to cross. Therefore it may be easier to camp at one of the campsites nearer to the beach instead of staying in town. Just go there for resupplying.<br /> <br /> *2023 Dec OH-TL-V / Anh<br /> Note: the trail OH-TL-V alias Cerro Arco Iris was damaged by big rocks in the last season and is completely closed. A new route or repair is not in planning.<br /> <br /> *2023-12-17 to 2023-12-21 / 5 days / Hiking + Packrafting / SOBO /RR &amp; Option 01B / Roman<br /> <br /> Route: Hiking from Cochamó to El Manso. Bus to Lago de Las Rocas. Packrafted the lake and Lago Inferior. Hiked to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> Due to the border crossing, there is a thread about it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1709504102888802/. I applied online - no answer. Went to the carabineros in Cochamó they couldn't issue it, so I went without it (it worked without a problem)<br /> <br /> Started in Cochamó (there is a bus to the entry I just got him by hitchhiking so I don't know the schedule) and had a reservation for Camp Trawen (Fruit, Groceries, Electricity). This is getting checked at the entrance if you have one. The trail to the camp was a bit muddy (2 days of rain before the start) but all doable. The next day went to the northern end of Lago Vidal Gormaz and slept there at Lake {22-05} [7.9/604]. Bridge destroyed at: -41.43696, -71.96632 and Bridge {22N} [63.0/337] (Rio El Colorado). Both are crossable dry feed due to trees. Generally, there is no fording necessary after Lago Vidal Gormaz. Before yes. Packrafted Rio Manso. There were no rapids on the map, it's mentioned in the Manuel that it can be challenging. There are some rapids but all are doable and manageable (I am a beginner with kayak experience and an open deck packraft). You can get easy access to the river at -41.692561, -71.972725 this is 300m after the mark in the file. There is a dry river bed to avoid BB to get to the River. The river is fast flowing. Follow the GPS only at one point where the river splits pay extra attention: turn left as shownin the GPS: -41.698615, -71.985482 . Went out at the south side of the bride: Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36] (Rio Manso) on the right side. There is a trail to the street with one gate where you can walk through on the right side. The shop Settlement, Shop, Bus {22N} [40.7/36] (El Manso) has good supplies and free WiFi. The trail to this point is very good. Based on previous comments and a chat to a local I want to skip at least to Puerto Urrutia [comment in: 2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07]. There is an official bus going all the way from Rampa Punta<br /> Maldonado -&gt; Segundo Corral. Find the schedule here: https://imgur.com/a/7MVEscb . The shop owner said the bus is normally there at 02:00 PM. The bus was there in my case at 02:30 PM. This bus stops at the large supermarket [Supermercado Llanada Grande] a great place for a last resupply). The bus also stops at Puerto Urrutia but I went all the way to Lago de Las Rocas and used OH-MR-V {22-01B} [8.2+1.9] to get to the lake. Started packrafting at 05:00 PM. The start was fine. The wind got worse during the evening and was to my capabilities on the maximum with serious waves. Strong wind from the north. It was pleasantly paddling after going through the gap at -42.069608, -71.813735. Camped at Lake, Camp {22S} [21.8/314]. Got there at 07:45 PM. Crossed the border without any problems. Packrafted Lago Inferior and got in the water here: Lake {22S} [20.9/201] at 10:00 AM. The wind got stronger but manageable. Exited the lake at 11:15 AM at -42.102244, -71.742575. The trail back to the RR is good to hike. From there, the trail is in good condition. Due to the higher water in Rio Azul fording and therefore the RR is not possible. You get also the recommendation from the Argentinien carabineros to take Option 03. I didn't want to take this and followed the RR to this point: -42.091481, -71.633667. From there I followed the trail to this point: -42.09399, -71.634188. There is an old dock [image here: https://imgur.com/a/5LMsKA1]to put in you packraft. The trail can be downloaded at the end of the comment. There I packrafted with very strong onshore wind and if it hadn't been for only 300m I wouldn't have done it to (03:15 PM):-42.096114, -71.628682 ,and walked from there to the end of GPT22.<br /> <br /> Overall: great section! It's a nice trail to hike and packrafting rRioEl Manso is a lot of fun and a great change in perspective after hiking for a few days. After that, the trail continues bto bein a good condition. The conditions for Lago de Las Rocas should be closely checked. I would definitely recommend it!<br /> <br /> Trail download: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqzLweJ3NZW5q7YZzDoW3qlKypqwBg<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * General advice : The Regular Route is best hiked between December and April. The primary obstacles are high river levels early in the season and after rain. During the peak period of January and February it may be difficult to obtain a camping reservation at La Junta which could prevent a southbound traverse.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-18 to 2023-Feb-23 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + 22-01 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> A lot has been already written, so just a few comments from our side:<br /> <br /> No problem with entering the valley in SOBO direction, until the noon aprox., saying you will spend the night at the refugio El Arco - they have some time estimate for this hike and can’t let you in if its late. By the entrance you can buy some useful things that might be hard to buy in Cochamo, like gas or peanut butter. There was also a beer truck with quite good wifi connection (only during summer). Crowds of people in both directions, quite muddy trail. Detour to the Toboganes is definitely worth it. We spend the night after all in a marked camp aprox. 4 kms before the refugio and it was a good decision - there were quite a lot of people when we passed by the next day.<br /> <br /> From the refugio its nice and easy walking. We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> Based on other comments and our time schedule we decided to take the alternative 22-01 to Llanada Grande. This is a good resuppy spot as there is a new and big (at least in comparison to what you would expect in a place like this) supermarket that replaced the old one destroyed by fire. Good place to stay is a campsite at the end of the village, on the right side, run by really nice lady. Not expensive and if its free, you can stay for the same price in a so called refugio, that is actually just a very small room, but for us better than a tent. Hot water and electricity + possibility to buy pizza and maybe some other small things - there is actually no restaurant in the village. Some more road walking around Lago Totoral to Rio Puelo to connect back to RR. In general not very attractive part of the trail. Great restaurant in Hostal Puelo Libre with local beer and view on the river.<br /> <br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. We thought about taking the RR around the lake, but the landslide caused by snow (aprox. 1.5 km from the port) looked quite difficult to pass. We discovered there is possibility to cross the lake on one of the locals boat, which we did in the end. We were lucky that after waiting for some time in the port a car with locals arrived. Happily for us they arranged a boat transfer with other residents to get to the other side of the lake, where they went for a lunch. We were able to go with them, and after picking up their friends, we all hop off the boat close to the police station. Great experience and we learned a lot about this area and people living here. We paid 10k CLP. In the comments here is a contact for the guy with a boat, but without signal it must be arranged in advance, and the price might differ when not sharing the transfer with others. No problem with the border check. It took us around 4 hrs to get to the argentinian side, where everyone was super friendly as well. They offered us to camp there, but we decided to make it to Lago Puelo, which took us 2 more hrs. The landscape changes significantly on the other side where everything is more dry. No problem with the river crossing. We got off the trail directly on the main road.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07 / 7 days / hiking / SOBO / Cochamó - Lago Puelo / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Eco Camping El Valle to the entry of the park and arrived around 8 am. We told them that we would camp at the Refugio El Arco and explained our further route. Until la Junta there were lots of chilenean tourists, therefore the path was very good only with some muddy stretches. Like Véronica we walked to Toboganes, a waterfall/stream with beautiful rock formations. There were tons of people, but it's worth it. La junta seems to be an amazing place for rock climbing, we would have loved to have some climbing gear with us.<br /> <br /> After la Junta there were almost no more hikers. We camped next to the Refugio, as there were already two other groups of hikers sleeping in the Refugio.<br /> <br /> Until Lago grande there are still some muddy stretches and blowdowns, but generally it is a good path. From there on the path is perfectly maintained. We camped at approx. km 66 next to Río los Morros. <br /> <br /> Nice path until El Manso. We resupplied at the minimercado and camped next to the river, which was a beautiful camping spot with lots of delicious blackberrys.<br /> <br /> The next morning we arrived at Señora Ocos house around 8 am. She contacted multiple people and luckily found out that there was somebody crossing the river to our side at 11 am. The man, whose name we unfortunately forgot, was super friendly and dropped us off after the river mouth of Rio Traidor, close to where he lives. He charged 10.000 CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The path to the first settler was mediocre and afterwards got worse and worse until it was almost pure buschwhacking. It was the worst we had so far on the GPT. Thorns.. Lots of thorns tearing away at your clothes, backpack and skin.<br /> We camped at the river at approx. km 12, which was a beautiful spot.<br /> Until the settlement Las Nieves the path continued beeing bad with lots of bush bashing. The settler told us that no locals use that path and she also told us that there are no regular boat transfers to Puerto Urrutia on weekends (it was sunday..).<br /> We wouldn't do that stretch next to Rio Puelo again and instead hitchhike from El Manso to Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> At the boat transfer waypoint to Puerto Urrutia we had Entel service and contacted one lodging on the other side. They told us to go to the last house 1km back to ask for a transfer (it's the house of the man who does the boat transfer on weekdays). But we got lucky and a boat passed by and took us to the other side. The man on the boat also told us that the path from Río Traidor to Puerto Urrutia &quot;is closed&quot;.<br /> <br /> We continued to Lago verde, where we planned to camp, but it's surrounded by dense forest, apart from a private property.<br /> That spot is amazing, a little landing stage to go swimming, a great view and a very friendly owner. She even baked some delicious apple bread for us. For camping she charged us 8000 CLP p.p.. That was definetly worth it.<br /> <br /> After Lago verde there is a minimarket. We didn't check it out, but there is no resupply wp yet.<br /> <br /> After reading previous blogs and having had enough of thorns we decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard. We also got his number (+56958694897), if you want to contact him in advance. When we arrived at the lake, there were already lots of people waiting for the boat so we just waited with them and after some time got knocked the boat with them. The ride was really nice across the crystal clear blue water and we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> From the southern end of the lake it's just a couple of minutes to walk to the chilenian border control. We continued on and camped at km 30 at the river. Again a really beautiful spot.<br /> <br /> The next day we passed the argentinian border control and continued to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> The section was really beautiful, except the part with the thorns. There are lots of streams along the whole trail, so one does not need to carry much water. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Feb-02 / 5 days / hiking / NOBO / RR mostly / Frank<br /> <br /> I got the bus-ferry-bus from Puerto Montt to Segundo Corral. To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas &amp; delays with the river ferries I walked on the road from Segundo Corral to El Manso, about 50KM. Easy but not very interesting walking. It takes a full day to get from Puerto Montt on the bus to Segundo Corral so I believe it would be better to go SOBO with an early start to get through La Junta, otherwise you need 2 additional days for travel. <br /> <br /> Stayed @ nice &amp; cheap campsite at bridge over Rio Colorado &amp; camped at El Arco. The trail approaching El Arco was muddy &amp; a bit swampy (it had been raining). It's possible to go by boat across Lago Vidal Gomez but it's an easy 3 hour walk. <br /> <br /> Got the bus again to Segundo Corral &amp; ferry to Paso Bolson. The trail across the border is generally in good condition. There is some easy bushbashing on the Chilean side for about 1KM before the border &amp; some fallen trees but they are straightforward to go over. Rio Azul was easily fordable in early February.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-10 to 2023-Jan-14 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR, also GPT22-01 / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Cochamó - La Junta - Lago Vidal Gormáz - El Manso - Puerto Urrutio via Option 1 - Lago Las Rocas - Lago Puelo (Argentina) <br /> <br /> The borders of Paso El León and Paso El Bolsón are both opened again for tourists! Go for it! It is a beautiful section with wonderful people, such a contrast to where I started the GPT further north. <br /> <br /> In Cochamó, I stayed at Eco Camping El Valle, right at the entrance to the Cochamó River Valley. Paid 7000 clp, very nice campground, there are tarps over the picnic tables at each site so you have a dry place to hang out even if it rains :) Since I spent the night so close to the trailhead, it was easy to get to the guarded valley entrance (Road End {22N} [109.8/58]) early. I did not have a camping reservation for La Junta. I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 a.m., explained my route to the staff, saying I would stay at Refugio El Arco that night. They let me through no problem. The trail to La Junta is a bit muddy, but nothing bad, my feet stayed dry in my trailrunners despite the fact it was also raining off and on. Beautiful path through the Valvidian rainforest, I really enjoyed all the green and the moss. When I reached the La Junta area, I stashed my pack in some trees and made a short detour to Las Toboganes. They are only 0.7 km off the regular route, and highly worthwhile to see! What a spectacular area, I totally see the Yosemite resemblence, and would love to go back someday. <br /> <br /> I found the trail after La Junta (all the way to Lago Vidal Gormáz) to be in good shape, contrary to what others have written. It was maybe slightly less maintained than the popular trail leading into the valley, but it was still very clear and easy to follow — not overgrown, no blowdowns, just a bit muddy in some places. Granted, it has been drier than normal so far this summer. None of the fords went above my knees, and sometimes I could cross the creeks without even getting my feet wet, all very easy. <br /> <br /> The refugio at El Arco is dark and without any furniture inside. I found it much nicer to camp in the nearby meadow just south of the trail there. There are outhouses. <br /> <br /> Nice path from Lago Vidal Gormáz all the way to El Manso. Very beautiful in this valley as well. Met a few arrieros along the way. Most of the rivers have bridges crossing them. There is a small camp at the bridge over Río Colorado. <br /> <br /> In El Manso, I topped off my food supply at the shop on the main road. It has a good selection of food items. Then I went to Señora Oco's house to try and arrange a boat transfer over Río Puelo. She and her family are very friendly and welcoming. I arrived there mid-afternoon, but she could not get in radio contact with anyone on the other side. In the evening, we heard back from Hospedaje Nancy, who charged 60,000 clp for a crossing upriver all the way to Río Traidor (where she lives). This I found too expensive for me traveling alone. Señora Oco baked some bread and I was able to buy some. She also said I was welcome to camp in the fields behind her house while waiting for a response from settlers Paulina and Jovino regarding a crossing to their place (much more direct and therefore likely much cheaper). The next morning, we still hadn't received any response from Paulina and Jovino either via radio or Whatsapp (they may have been away). Because of this, I decided to take the gravel road to Puerto Urrutia (Option 1), and forgo crossing Río Puelo, unfortunately. Despite this setback, I'm really glad I got to meet and spend time with Señora Oco and her family, they are such kind people. <br /> <br /> I was able to hitch most of the way to Puerto Urrutia, where I rejoined the regular route. The trail from there all the way to Lago Las Rocas is mostly easy and clear. There were a few confusing junctions in the vicinity of Lago Verde, so I kept a close eye on the GPS there. After crossing the road after that, the beginning of RR -TL-V {22S} [2.8/7.1+2.7] is tricky to find. There are lots of fallen trees and many forest paths. The GPS was very helpful there too until I finally found the right path. After about 700 m it merges with a nice clear path all the way to Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> As has been previously reported, there is a large rockslide about 2 km in once you reach Lago Las Rocas. It didn't look overly dangerous to me, the boulders were large and seemed solid enough. I started crossing it right at the bottom where the rocks fall into the lake, as it looked to be the easiest and safest way across. I was maybe 50 meters through it, when a boat came along, and the people in it told me to hop in! What lucky timing! As we passed the rest of the rockslide, I could see the last part of it was steep, loose scree rather than big boulders. That part would have definitely been nerve-wracking to cross, and I was very grateful for the boat ride. The settlers who owned the boat live about 3 km along the trail, at a little bay/inlet in the lake. They have a nice beach and campground too. That's where I rejoined the trail. Beyond their house, the &quot;Camino Los Mosquitos,&quot; as it is locally called, gets progressively worse in terms of overgrowth and blowdowns. The trail has not been cleared since the past winter, and not been used either. The stretch between kilometers 4 and 6.5 is the worst. It felt more like pure bushwhacking than following a trail. The path was mostly burried beneath walls of downed trees and branches, it got very hard to follow at times. Lots of climbing over and under vegetation, some of it quite thorny too. Very slow and tiring. My pack got ripped up a bit and so did my clothing. Had I known the trail was this bad, I would have taken the option on the east side of Lago Las Rocas. It's hard to imagine it could be in worse shape than the regular route. <br /> <br /> When I got to the Chilean Border Control it was around 6:30 p.m., so too late to cross that day. The border agent working there was very friendly, but he couldn't get in contact with his supervisor to get approval for stamping my passport with the next day's date. So I camped back at Lago Las Rocas, and the next morning came back at 8 a.m. when the border post reopened. The trail on the Chilean side of the border was a bit rough in places, it has been neglected since the winter too. But it was not as bad as the previous stretch along Lago Las Rocas. Once I got into Argentina, it got much better. The trails in Parque Nacional Lago Puelo are well-maintained, and I met some day hikers. No issues at the Argentine Border Control. <br /> <br /> I was able to ford Río Azul easily, thanks to the dry weather. There are three branches of the river to cross (the GPS waypoints only show two of them). The middle branch is the widest and deepest. The water there went up to my upper thighs (I'm 165 cm), but the current was slow and it never felt dangerous. <br /> <br /> Now I'm skipping down to GPT32 to continue my adventure further south :) The northern sections that I hiked from 6 to 22 were simply amazing, with great weather almost the entire time. Thank you, all! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Oct-19 to 2022-Oct-24 / 6 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / ???<br /> <br /> Here are the main points because our story is long :)<br /> Paso el bolson and El Leon are closed for tourists until further notice <br /> Some of trails are in bad condition because of the hard winter but they might be cleared in the following weeks. <br /> Landslide in Lago Las rocas - very dangerous part to cross. We suggest to take an optional route <br /> <br /> The trail starts in valle cochamo. We did not have any reservations but as we were in low season we were not worried. However the lady from the tourist office in Cochamo told us to arrive at the entrance of the valley between 7 &amp; 8 to avoid being rejected. At 7h50 there was nobody at the reception so we did not have any trouble, but we cannot say for the high season. <br /> You can arrange a car transfer to go the valley entrance. The numbers of the drivers are available at the tourist office.<br /> <br /> The trail until La Junta is muddy but well maintained - no worries there. Up there we met some arrieros and the locals from the camping and they told us that the trail was closed a bit further because of snow (up to 2 meters) in laguna Blanca. This is the highest part of the trail (about 1100m). The river crossings were feasible, but as they forecasted rain for the next day, we preferred to turn back in order to avoid being blocked between high rivers and snow. <br /> <br /> Back on the road between Cochamo and Puelo, we caught at about 10:30 the bus that leaves at 7:45 from Puerto Montt, to go to Rio Manso. There is a well furnished Shop where you can even find gas. <br /> We remained in the Southbound direction and went to Senora Oco's house. She was very welcoming, and her and her grandchild helped us in arranging a boat transfer for the following morning (nothing was possible the same day). We paid 50000 pesos to go from their house to Rio Traidor - close to Nancy hospedaje. Indeed, we skipped the first part of the trail as they told us that it was very closed with a lot of small trees and not used anymore. Maybe it would be cheaper to cross a bit south using the cable car or directly from Manso to Rio Traidor.<br /> <br /> Until the Rio Tigre, settler # 22N [7.7/157], the trail is visible but sometimes with some obstacles (fallen trees). After this settling, you will have to cross the Rio Tigre which might be the hardest to cross on your way if you have a lot of rain. There is a bridge indicated on the tracks but it has been swept away this winter. The best place to cross is a bit higher following the river, follow the horse track. We did not have any problem crossing, and probably the settler could help you with his horse if the river is too high. That is an advantage of the Southbound direction.<br /> <br /> After, the trail is really clear. We found the last transfer across Rio Puelo about 1 km before the point indicated on the track. It is his job to do the crossings and he also does sportive fishing if you are interested. Look for a house with a border collie with a piece of wood around the neck :) <br /> <br /> From Puerto Urrutia, the trail is clear again until the road. There is a shop at 600m on the right. Again here, the trail is closed due to fallen trees at the beginning, but the locals (last house on the right) will help you find another path. Clear trail until Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> Once you reach the Lago Las rocas you will be blocked after 2km. Indeed there was a landslide this winter and you have to cross a very dangerous part of about 300 m of rocky mountain slide. It is not stabilized yet. We went through but we do not advise it. <br /> Also, there were a lot of fallen trees and the path was really tiring. The locals will probably clear the path in the following weeks. To get more information we suggest to contact the camping Playa Las Rocas on Instagram. <br /> You can also consider the other routes or arrange a boat crossing. <br /> <br /> Finally we arrived at the border crossing. Unfortunately it was closed due to the Covid, except for the very locals (people from Cochamo). Apparently Paso el Leon is closed as well for tourists. Be aware of that if you have to cross the Chilean- Argentinian borders, as small passes seem to be closed for tourists. <br /> In the end we had to go back to Puerto Montt crossing the Lago inferior with a free boat (ask the carabineros), and then the bus-ferry-bus from Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-23 &amp; 2021-Nov-25 / 2 days / Packrafting / SOBO / Estuario de Reloncavi from Ralun to Rio Puelo (Western shore) / Jan Dudeck &amp; Meylin Ubilla <br /> <br /> We paddled in two easy days the roughly 40 km southbound.<br /> <br /> Start at Ralun at Puente Petrohue: On the right side of the bridge (view in river flow direction) is a suitable put-in and good spot to camp. The gate was closed but not locked. There are signs of people occasionally camping there.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Cochamo: Packrafters in need to resupply can do this in Cochamo about 16 water kilometers from the put-in. Both, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking. The western side is less intervened and more scenic.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Rio Puelo: Again, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking but requires the crossing of a 4 km wide bay in open water. The western side is less intervened and more scenic but requires crossing the 3 km wide Estuario de Reloncavi near Rio Puelo. On the western side are also the Termas de Sotomo that are suitable for camping.<br /> <br /> Wind: On nice sunny days “viento sur” often kicks in around 10 am making southbound paddling difficult or unfeasible. We had two partially overcasted days and could paddle on the first day till 4 pm when wind became annoying strong. On the second day around 3 pm the wind and waves became unpleasant but by this time we were walking the final kilometers into Rio Puelo.<br /> <br /> GPT22: Southbound packrafters may take in Cochamo or Rio Puelo the bus to Lago TaguaTagua an get to the recommended packrafting starting point of section GPT22 halfway into this section to Flip-Flop as recommended.<br /> <br /> * 2021-NOV-18 / 1 day / hiking / NOBO / Cochamó Valley (Lago Tagua Tagua - Lago Grande) / Tobías <br /> <br /> The Section between La Junta Base and Lago Vidal Gormez was very challenging. It had been raining a lot, so the Trail was very muddy and I had to cross several rivers and creeks. Went straight from Cochamó to Lago Grande and camped there in some Snow. Met only a few settlers. After reaching Lago Vidal Gormez, the Trail was easy and I enjoyed the hike a lot. Amaizing área up there!<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-FEB-18 to 2020-FEB-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tyler <br /> I didn’t have problems getting a campsite at la junta on the spot luckily. AMAZING area that I’ll be returning to again to do all the day hikes in. Aside from that, most the trail was very muddy, rainy, and unmaintained. This got a bit difficult after the 3rd day in a row. Good places to camp at the lakes over the pass SOBO. When I got down to Lago Vidal Gomez the trail improved.. I got some bread from a settler at the start of the lake. There right on the trail and super friendly and have rooms. The last ferry across Tagua Tagua leaves at 7 pm. I didn’t make it, so I slept underneath the office/bathrooms and took the ferry at 8:00 the next morning. I believe there’s another ferry at 12. <br /> <br /> *. 2020-Jan-09 to 2020-Jan-11 / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun<br /> <br /> Despite the austere warnings on the La Junta Camping website, I was able to make a reservation at short notice in high season, and the back and forth process only took a few hours. In Cochamó, I was warned that due to recent rain the river crossings at El Arco and another nearby river would likely be impassable. With four more days of heavy rain forecast, I decided to take the bus-ferry-bus combo to Puerto Urrutia and try to walk northbound from there with the optimistic hope that by the time I reached El Arco the river would be passable or, at least, the wait would be less. However, 10km north of the Rio Puelo crossing (service starts at 9am) my way was blocked by a high and fast river. I then retraced my steps and completed the rest of the section southbound - which was straightforward. The trail on the west side of Lago de la Roca until the frontera is a bit overgrown but still easy to see and nothing particularly slowed me down. On the Argentinian side the trail is well maintained. It is not permitted to camp on the 12km stretch between the border posts. I arrived too late to cross that day, but the Chileans stamped my passport with the next day’s date so I didn’t have to wait for the post to open at 9am. The Argentinian border guards informed me that because of the rain, the Rio Azul was too high to ford at the point on the regular hiking route just before Lago Puelo so I took the alternative route (Oh-Tl-V@22-04-#001) a few kms north and crossed over the La Pasarela bridge.<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-22 to 2020-Jan-26 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / parque de la vallee de Cochamo - La Pasarella / Arnaud <br /> <br /> As we arrived from Puerto Montt we were with the bus and stopped directly at the entrance of the private parque de la vallee de Cochamo.<br /> As it is private, there are some rules to get in, or they block you at the control point.<br /> The entrance is free but you need to have a reservation in one of the official camp sites there. To get the reservation, you can do it on internet (but you need to wait for the confirmation and it can be several days long), or do it directly there (red house), they give you the reservation voucher if there are places available (number seem to be limited). Then you pay the night when you reach the camp sites (6000 clp/pers).<br /> Or the other solution is to say that you sleep in the refugio del Arco. It is 23km further after the control. Then it is free and no reservation is needed, but this is possible only before 10am (after they block you). After 10am the only way to pass is to sleep in the camp sites. They block you if you do not have a<br /> reservation voucher for one camp site.<br /> This spot (la Junta) is famous among the chilenos so the access to the camp sites is really overrunned. The path is easy to walk.<br /> Once you go further than the campsites, you're alone, so it is better.<br /> The path is clearly marked. There are bridges for most of the rivers you cross. But it is very muddy.<br /> At the lago Vidal you can resupply a bit with those living there (you can also sleep in their camp sites).<br /> In El Manso you can find a minimarket with lots of things.<br /> Then, we decided to follow the road instead of the track because we were in a hurry with a deadline in El Bolson, until we reached la cruce de la rocas. There are buses or hitchiking is easy.<br /> Crossing borders was easy. There are 12km between the chilean stamp and the Argentin one that we did in 3.5 hours.<br /> At the very end we have not not crossed El Rio Azul, we walked 7 more km to the north to reach La Pasarella<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *In Cochamo go down towards the lake. There is a church on the left &amp; before you reach it there is a hospedaje on the right, good &amp; cheap.<br /> <br /> *There is a good place to stay NOBO 500 metres before the junction where the road turns towards Laguna Las Rocas. Farmhouse on RHS of road has rooms &amp; meals. Cheap, friendly &amp; good<br /> <br /> *In Segundo Corral there are two campsites. The first one is just before the school, it just says Kuchen but you can camp there. Cheap, nice family &amp; they do meals. There is a campsite after the school but the owner was drunk &amp; looking for an argument.<br /> Lots of campsites at Lago Totoral (on the road, not on RR)<br /> It's possible to camp near the Argentinian border control.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> * January 2023 Frank<br /> To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas you can walk on the road or get the bus to Segundo Corral then from Lago Inferior about 1.5KM from Segundo Corral there is a ferry to Paso Bolson (Chilean border control).The government subsidised ferry runs Monday-Friday only from 8-12 &amp; 2PM-6PM &amp; is only 2000 pesos. You need to radio the ferryman to arrange pickup, easily done in Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> We decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard (+56958694897),we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. <br /> <br /> *Northbound and southbound hiking is feasible. However, due to the controlled private southbound access through the La Junta área, hiking in that direction is only possible with a camping reservation, or by arriving at the checkpoint before 10am. A northbound traverse may therefore be preferred. For hikers generally heading south, it is possible to take the single ticket, half-day bus-ferry-bus combination south from Cochamó to Puerto Urrutia, hike the 120km north to Cochamó, then return to Puerto Urrutia and resume the section southwards from there.<br /> <br /> *Crossing the border is typically straightforward, however it is not permitted to camp on the 12km between the border posts. So if you arrive too late to cross, it is necessary to camp at the border post and cross the next day. In this situation, Chilean officials will stamp your passport with the next day’s date so you don’t need to wait for the office to open that morning.<br /> <br /> *Southbound access to the popular La Junta area is controlled at a private checkpoint and only granted to those with a prior camping reservation, or those arriving before 10am and therefore early enough to make it on to the free and unmanaged El Arco campsite 23km away. Reservations for La Junta can be made online at cochamo.com, but there may not be availability and the process may take several days, so hiking this section southwards may not be possible.Therefore, an option for hikers generally heading south is to take the bus-ferry-bus combination from Cochamó across Lago Tagua Tagua and on to Puerto Urrutia, hike 120km north back to Cochamó, then take the bus-ferry-bus south again and hike the remainder of the section southwards from Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT22 - Cochamó]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]<br /> <br /> {| border=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse:collapse&quot;<br /> |+'''GPT22: Cochamó'''<br /> | colspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| GPT22: Cochamó<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Group<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | D: Lagos Chilenos<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''160.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''51 h'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''136.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|'''35 h'''<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Region<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Chile &amp; Argentina: Los Lagos (X) &amp; Chubut<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Trails (TL)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|137.9 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|85.9%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 20.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|14.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Start<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Cochamó<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Minor Roads (MR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|10.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.7%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.3%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Finish<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Lago Puelo (Puerto)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Primary Roads (PR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|9.7 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.0%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.0%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Status<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Published &amp; Verified<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Cross-Country (CC)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|2.2 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|1.4%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.4%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Traversable<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Dec - Apr (Maybe: Sep, Oct, Nov, May)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Bush-Bashing (BB)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packraft<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Very Useful<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Ferry (FY)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.8 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.1%)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Connects to<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | GPT21, GPT23<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Investigation (I)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.9 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.4%)<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Options<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | 268 km (9 Options &amp; Variants)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Exploration (EXP)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> | <br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> | rowspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| <br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total on Water<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''111.1 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''81.4%'''<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Attraction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 5 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| River (RI)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 62.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 45.7%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Difficulty<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 4 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Lake (LK)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 32.4 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 23.7%<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Direction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Fjord (FJ)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 16.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|11.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Comment<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Hiking: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Character<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Packrafting: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Challenges<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Valdivian Rain Forest, Sea Coast, Farmland, Settlers, River Packrafting, Lake Packrafting, Fjord Packrafting, Partly Overrun<br /> |}<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22-p.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520254.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520443.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282465.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282466.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447503.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_101648648.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_104321335.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:Bahia ralun.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447491.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447496.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT22_(Cochamo)&diff=114162 2024-02-09T22:31:48Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Feb-03 to 2024-Feb-09 / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> If you decide stay at Segundo Corral, and take the boat to Argentina.<br /> <br /> <br /> NO NO NO <br /> <br /> NO NO NO<br /> <br /> DON'T DON'T DON'T stay at Mari Mari Peni Camping, (or another name) Amancays Camping.<br /> <br /> <br /> I saved a girl hiker almost RAPED by the campground owner at the night on 07/02. About the details, i type it and upload later.<br /> <br /> It is already reported to Chile carabineros and Consulate in Chile.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> GPT22 2024-01-31 to 2024-02-05 / 5,5 days days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Cochamó options/ Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> After a month and a half, we finally did something standard! From Puerto Varras (the bus stop on Avenida Vicente Perez Rosales just after Antonio Varras street) we took a bus at 8:38 going from Puerto Mont that went all the way to the end of MR to the Road end waypoint. At our hostel, they told us it would arrive at 8:45. Not sure if this is the same bus that others said would pass Puerto Varras at 8:15 or if it just goes to the road end only in high season. It was 7000 per person - I think they might charge double for backpacks, unless they screwed us.<br /> <br /> We were at the entrance at 11 AM and were let through for free when we told them we were going to El Arco. The way to the campsites is really busy (met maybe 50 people and about ten horses), easy and without many views as it goes through a forest. When we reached the campsites, we decided that the valley is really pretty and that we want to take some sidetrips. We asked all the campsites and only La Junta let us stay, 8000 per person. It is important not to spread the word as they did us a favor even though they are not supposed to allow people without reservations. So, do not tell anyone or expect to be let in. We had a numbered site so I think they genuinely had some places free. If nobody had places, after ford 98.9, there is a maze of paths and mini-meadows on the left where I saw somebody camp illegaly. If you hide your packs well for the day and then camp from dusk till dawn, you would probably get away with it. Alternatively there are some flat spots in Trinidad valley two hours up - if you start so that you would arrive by dusk, you should meet nobody.<br /> <br /> The side trips are steep but not challenging, many people take them. We went to Paloma (not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024) in the evening, it can be done in three hours there and back if you do not stop (we did). We started going up at 1715 and saw last person going down at 1830 or so. It is quite splendid. OSM says there is a route to Cerro La Junta. It is probably an exit route for climbers, I did not see any traces of it but it looked like it were possible. If it is, one could probably continue all the way to Cerro Capicua.<br /> <br /> Arco Iris is still closed. If it were open I think one could follow the ridge, which is not very steep or outcroppy, all the way north to above GPT21 - only there is probably no way down.<br /> <br /> The next morning I went to the Trinidad Valley and all the way up to Cerro Bella Vista and Nat went ahead to escape the approaching rain the next day. The roundtrip takes about 7-8 hours. There is a marked travelled trail to the pass (&quot;El Paso&quot;), the last 300 vertical meters or so are marked by cairns. You will need your hands occasionally, but it is not exposed or particularly hard - SAC 4. The views are well worth it. It seemed most people only go to La Laguna (lake just under the pass). We started at 6 AM and I met the first people on the way down around noon at La Laguna. Both La Laguna and Cerro Bella Vista are not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024. The way up through Camping Vista Hermosa (the current GPT track) is not supposed to be used by people not staying at the campsite. The proper way up seems to be the more western trail that is marked on OSM. Going back down trough camping Bella Vista was without issues though. They told Natalie you are not supposed to use their cable car (the one more upstream). Tomáš thinks you should use it as it is the only one that you can use without going through either of the campsites (the downstream one goes directly from La Junta campsite). No horseflies by now!<br /> <br /> I left the camping at 1530, and met only one group of hikers all the way up to the second Camp waypoint at Lago Grande. It is a nice camp, bigger than the first but no good water sources. Wild legal camping, if I get it right. Refuge El Arco is unmanned, it is just a simple wooden hut. I would only use it in case of severe rain. The way up was almost all dry after two weeks of no rain. Mostly through forest, with some nice views of the valley, a few more fords then indicated but they could all be jumped.<br /> <br /> The next day it rained (5mm?) from 4 AM till 11 AM but it was not enough to make the trails substantially muddy. The bridge before Lago Vidal is not there but there was a nice log. There are some pre-european rock paintings after Lago Vidal, one probably needs to make a sidetrip to see them based on the information signs near Torrentoso (trail 22-10 was signposted; trails in the valley are well maintained so I assume the option is good to go). On the last meadow before the gone bridge at 51.8, there was a cherry tree that still had very tasty miniature cherries in the beginning of February. It is behind the house to the left of the trail, maybe 40 m from it. I discovered it by going south of the house (nobody seemed to be in it). Do not miss the turnoff of the trail from the meadow - I went straight, there was initially a trail but petered out into a landslide. Camp at 45.2 is nice (reach it by turning left from the trail cca 50-100 m beyond the sjoetest route, that way you avoid any vegetation). Finally met Natalie after two days of escaping rain. Shop in El Manso is better than expected (has good veges and fruit) but not as good as the one in Llanada Grande. El Manso also is besides a cerveceria with wifi. The bus only came at 1530 despite being told it comes at 1pm. In almost three hours of waiting, we did not manage to hitch a car. <br /> <br /> The bus indeed stops at Llanada Grande for 10 minutes or so - it is not really enough to orientate yourself and buy lots of supplies. The supermarket had lots of nectarines! Should you want to go to Puerto Urutia, the bus does not go there so you need to get off and walk the minor road there. We could not get reliable Entel internet reception anywhere in the valley (calls were fine) along the bus route.<br /> <br /> We went to Primer Corral to do 22-08. The first few km are not a pleasant road to walk on. We decided to turn back as bad weather was coming in two days and it did not seem worth it. Not sure how far the road for cars goes. There seems to be regular but sparse traffic on it.<br /> <br /> We walked back for about an hour on the main road before getting a hitch for the last 3 km to turnoff to 22-02, as others indicated the RR is badly passable due to a landslide. The MR section is aesthetically dreadful and supersteep. We had to climb a locked gate right at the start. We found a miniature camping spot about 200 m before the signposted trail turnoff. In the morning a lorry driver waved at us so probably no issues with climbing the gate. Luckily the trail is much nicer than the road. We met the settler at the lake Azul, he let us walk through his property. The few km to the first very small lake are actually an undriven MR, but very pleasant, it does not seem to be connected to the road network. After 2 km, one turns left onto a trail. Until the pass, it is very clear. After the pass, the visibility deteriorates somewhat but no bush bashing is involved. Soon after that, there is a gate saying there is no trail afer a harsh winter. We went further and it turned out there is a trail. There were some trees on it, but not too much and we lost it only for about 50 m. From setler at 11.4, the trail is much more clear. Met a seemingly lonely girl from the next homestead with whom we had a lovely chat. The trail to the border control was easy, we came there at 1530 and were let through. They told us that it would be ok to reach the Argentinian border control the next day. They too had a very ripe cherry tree but did not pick up on my appraisal of it and did not suggest I get some fruit.<br /> <br /> We met several people on the way to Argentina border. We camped there (wild permitted numbered camping sites with numbers - there was about twenty other Argentinians, the functioning toilets are unsigned immediately next to the Police building). The next day we had no issues with getting a stamp and going down. The last CC part is a trail. We forded the second ford a bit earlier than suggested, it was waist deep but very slow moving. Took a bus at 1340 to El Bolson - seems to run regularly.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + day trip / Lotti &amp; Alex<br /> <br /> We did this section mostly as described by Fangwen and Tobi (El Manso to Cochamo base camp), so there is not much to add. We stayed at La Junta for 2 nights and did a very nice day trip to Cerro Bellavista (see description further down). The trails were very well maintained all the way. The only minor problems were mud and lots of horse flies. Like Fangwen and Tobi, we were happy we did the section NOBO, because the landscape gets more and more spectacular. This way it is also much easier to get to camp at La Junta without reservation, because they always reserve some space for hikers coming from the south. <br /> It was a beautiful hike and especially the area around La Junta is really spectacular and worth visiting. We even met a fellow GPT hiker there, which was great! <br /> <br /> Transportation:<br /> <br /> To start:<br /> Bus &quot;Rio Puelo&quot; from Puerto Varas to Lago Tagua-Tagua at 8:20am, then ferry to Puerto Maldonado, then bus to El Manso. We arrived at the trailhead around 1pm.<br /> <br /> after hike:<br /> Bus from end of trailhead (&quot;Cochamo base camp&quot;) to Cochamo/Puerto Montt at 1pm.<br /> <br /> Day trip to Cerro Bellavista:<br /> <br /> Start at La Junta on GPT Variant G, following the signs to &quot;Trinidad&quot;. It starts by crossing the river with the little cable car. After the walls of Trinidad, stay on the trail and follow the signs to &quot;Laguna&quot;. The official trail ends there, but there are stone cairns and ribbons marking a trail that goes up to the pass. The laguna is crowded, but we didn't meet anyone further up. The view at the pass is already great, but you can go up even further. Turn to the left and follow the stone cairns until the summit. It is not difficult, just walking and easy scrambling, and the view is absolutely spectacular.<br /> The whole tour has about 1300m of altitude difference. It took us around 5h to go up, and 3-4h down. <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-01-07 to 2024-01-14: Fangwen and Tobi / 2.5 days Ventisquero Valley (Option 08 + more), 4 days El Manso to Cochamo RR / NOBO hiking.<br /> <br /> We did two parts along this enjoyable section, connecting them by hitchhiking and resupplying in between in Llanada Grande.<br /> <br /> The first part was hiking ~20km into the scenic Ventisquero valley (Option 08), alongside a wonderful river on an enjoyable and easy hiking trail through farms and rainforest that mostly follows an old minor road. It's often better to follow the well-marked trail rather than the GPT track files. A highlight of our trip was hiking up to a fantastic viewpoint at 1100m with a view of the whole valley, its remote side valleys and glaciated mountain peaks. The trail (900m elevation gain, 4.5km) through the thick rainforest is steep but excellent in quality and easy to follow (but the turnoff at S 42° 01.737', W 072° 05.643' is easy to miss). This and other trails in the valley are not part of the GPT files yet, but GPX files can be found on the website of Rincon Bonito (glamping accommodation for groups) that presumably created the trail. We camped by the viewpoint; what a wonderful experience! There are plenty of places to pitch up a tent, but little protection from wind. We found a wind protected camp in a dried-out puddle at (S 42° 02.705', W 072° 06.193'). Make sure to bring water, since the last reliable water source is in the valley, just before the turnoff onto the steep trail. From the viewpoint, we attempted to climb the local mountain, but beyond 1500m, it appears to require bush bashing. Our track: [[Media:GPT 22 Ventisquero Viewpoint.gpx]].<br /> The viewpoint is within the Pumalin National Park, but the whole valley seems to be private property and camping is forbidden outside official campsites, which begin quite far into the valley. There are plenty of spots to pitch up a tent nonetheless (which is what we did).<br /> For packrafters, going down the river must surely be a highlight! Rincon Bonito offers packrafting (maybe only for their guests?), they describe it as class II+.<br /> <br /> Our second part followed the regular route 22N from El Manso to the Cochamo trailhead. This was an enjoyable hike and we found the trail to be in good condition, although it gets pretty muddy around El Arco (and that's after one week of sunny weather). There is quite a bit of pointless up and down between km45 and km79. Additionally, our hiking distance was often 20-25% longer than expected, as there are many switchbacks too small to be represented on the track files. We liked hiking this section northbound, as the rainforest and the views get more and more impressive as you go along. La Junta has a lot of local hiking options (e.g. hiking into the Anfiteatro valley or on top of Cerro Trinidad), but we didn't spend any extra days because the weather was turning.<br /> <br /> Logistics: to get to the start of section 22, take the daily bus that leaves at 7.45am from Puerto Montt (stops at 8.15 in Puerto Varas at intersection el Salvador/San Pedro S 41° 19.081', W 072° 59.038', and later in Cochamo). The bus company Río Puelo has a ticket office in Puerto Montt, their WhatsApp number is +56 9 7408 9199. From there, take the ferry across Lago Tagua Tagua and the connecting bus down the valley to your respective trailhead (El Manso for the Cochamo valley, Primer Corral for the Ventisquiero valley). Note that travel is slow... We arrived at the Primer Corral at 4pm. We left a bag of food for the second half of our trip. Unfortunately it was visible from the parking lot and got stolen, so we resupplied at the Llanada Grande supermarket. The bus makes a stop there for ~15min, if you want a quick resupply there (it's a bit bigger than in El Manso). We hitchhiked to El Manso, which worked after two hours of waiting/walking (not a lot of traffic).<br /> <br /> If you are in the Llanada Grande area, go to Camping Reflejo Azul. The campsite itself is average, but it has the most beautiful river we have ever seen in our lives. Visit this truly special place before Instagram influencers find out about it and it becomes overrun by hordes of tourists. Day access is possible also for 5.000 CLP.<br /> <br /> Photos: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1732098767296002/?app=fbl<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-4 / 7.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RH + OP-LK-2 + RP / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> <br /> Note: We were told a reservation is needed for a camp site at La Junta to be allowed into the valley from Cochamo side, so we did that. However, one of the wikiexplora entry mentioned that they were allowed in when mentioning that they wanted to camp at El Arco Refuge but we read it too late. Camp Trawen is the most expensive (15k per person), which is the reason why it’s been available on short notice. There are several other sold-out camps around for 8k-10k.<br /> <br /> Day 1: We hitchhiked to Cochamo Base Camp at 9am and reached Camp Trawen by 2pm. It would have been better to go on the El Arco Refuge straight away and camp there. It’s a touristy stretch and in our view not really worth doing, if you like the general quiet nature of the GPT.<br /> <br /> Day 2: Camped at the beach at Lago Vidal. Easy hike but lots of ups and downs.<br /> <br /> Day 3: We packrafted Lago Vidal and had a good lunch at Luisa’s place (make sure to drop by!), before continuing on to Torrentoso (not the paid camp, but on the meadow a few hundred meters after the official camp). <br /> <br /> Day 4: The bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [51.8/146] (Rio Steffen) does not exist anymore. It’s not a demanding ford but there are short steep ups and downs on both sides. We stayed near wp Settler {22N} [50.1/307].<br /> <br /> Day 5: We rivered in at wp Rio Manso. The ride was super scenic and beautiful and there were no rapids, just a bit of boiling water but nothing difficult, which might be due to different water levels compared to previous accounts. It’s 45 minutes from there to the bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36]. We rivered out behind the bridge on the right side. There is a nice flat beach which leads to the cabin of Harv and Veronica. They let us camp on their land and even offered a hot (wood fired) shower for 2.5k per person. There is a cervezeria and shop across the road for resupply.<br /> <br /> Day 6: We took the bus at 1 pm to intersection at wp X {22-01} [25.0/187] and went on OP-MR-V (along Hunter’s estate) to Lago Azul. You will be charged 5k per person to access the lake. We crossed Lago Azul with strong waves and tailwind so we sailed to the other side in no time.<br /> <br /> Day 7: Crossed Lago de Las Rocas, Lago Inferior, and Lago Puelo to the Argentinian border control which opens at 8am next morning so we camped there. Next day we finished at Lago Puelo which is a popular tourist beach.<br /> <br /> Tip: It is a hot &amp; dusty walk to town from the beach and hitchhiking is not as easy in this part of Argentina as in Chile. Keep some small change of USD or Argentinian pesos for the bus ride to resupply in town. If you plan to continue packrafting Lago Puelo on GPT23 after resupplying, the earliest bus back to the beach reaches around 7.30am but it will be too late as the wind picks up by 8am. Lago Puelo is known for its strong gusts so it’s best to check wind forecast and paddle early morning 5.30am to cross. Therefore it may be easier to camp at one of the campsites nearer to the beach instead of staying in town. Just go there for resupplying.<br /> <br /> *2023 Dec OH-TL-V / Anh<br /> Note: the trail OH-TL-V alias Cerro Arco Iris was damaged by big rocks in the last season and is completely closed. A new route or repair is not in planning.<br /> <br /> *2023-12-17 to 2023-12-21 / 5 days / Hiking + Packrafting / SOBO /RR &amp; Option 01B / Roman<br /> <br /> Route: Hiking from Cochamó to El Manso. Bus to Lago de Las Rocas. Packrafted the lake and Lago Inferior. Hiked to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> Due to the border crossing, there is a thread about it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1709504102888802/. I applied online - no answer. Went to the carabineros in Cochamó they couldn't issue it, so I went without it (it worked without a problem)<br /> <br /> Started in Cochamó (there is a bus to the entry I just got him by hitchhiking so I don't know the schedule) and had a reservation for Camp Trawen (Fruit, Groceries, Electricity). This is getting checked at the entrance if you have one. The trail to the camp was a bit muddy (2 days of rain before the start) but all doable. The next day went to the northern end of Lago Vidal Gormaz and slept there at Lake {22-05} [7.9/604]. Bridge destroyed at: -41.43696, -71.96632 and Bridge {22N} [63.0/337] (Rio El Colorado). Both are crossable dry feed due to trees. Generally, there is no fording necessary after Lago Vidal Gormaz. Before yes. Packrafted Rio Manso. There were no rapids on the map, it's mentioned in the Manuel that it can be challenging. There are some rapids but all are doable and manageable (I am a beginner with kayak experience and an open deck packraft). You can get easy access to the river at -41.692561, -71.972725 this is 300m after the mark in the file. There is a dry river bed to avoid BB to get to the River. The river is fast flowing. Follow the GPS only at one point where the river splits pay extra attention: turn left as shownin the GPS: -41.698615, -71.985482 . Went out at the south side of the bride: Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36] (Rio Manso) on the right side. There is a trail to the street with one gate where you can walk through on the right side. The shop Settlement, Shop, Bus {22N} [40.7/36] (El Manso) has good supplies and free WiFi. The trail to this point is very good. Based on previous comments and a chat to a local I want to skip at least to Puerto Urrutia [comment in: 2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07]. There is an official bus going all the way from Rampa Punta<br /> Maldonado -&gt; Segundo Corral. Find the schedule here: https://imgur.com/a/7MVEscb . The shop owner said the bus is normally there at 02:00 PM. The bus was there in my case at 02:30 PM. This bus stops at the large supermarket [Supermercado Llanada Grande] a great place for a last resupply). The bus also stops at Puerto Urrutia but I went all the way to Lago de Las Rocas and used OH-MR-V {22-01B} [8.2+1.9] to get to the lake. Started packrafting at 05:00 PM. The start was fine. The wind got worse during the evening and was to my capabilities on the maximum with serious waves. Strong wind from the north. It was pleasantly paddling after going through the gap at -42.069608, -71.813735. Camped at Lake, Camp {22S} [21.8/314]. Got there at 07:45 PM. Crossed the border without any problems. Packrafted Lago Inferior and got in the water here: Lake {22S} [20.9/201] at 10:00 AM. The wind got stronger but manageable. Exited the lake at 11:15 AM at -42.102244, -71.742575. The trail back to the RR is good to hike. From there, the trail is in good condition. Due to the higher water in Rio Azul fording and therefore the RR is not possible. You get also the recommendation from the Argentinien carabineros to take Option 03. I didn't want to take this and followed the RR to this point: -42.091481, -71.633667. From there I followed the trail to this point: -42.09399, -71.634188. There is an old dock [image here: https://imgur.com/a/5LMsKA1]to put in you packraft. The trail can be downloaded at the end of the comment. There I packrafted with very strong onshore wind and if it hadn't been for only 300m I wouldn't have done it to (03:15 PM):-42.096114, -71.628682 ,and walked from there to the end of GPT22.<br /> <br /> Overall: great section! It's a nice trail to hike and packrafting rRioEl Manso is a lot of fun and a great change in perspective after hiking for a few days. After that, the trail continues bto bein a good condition. The conditions for Lago de Las Rocas should be closely checked. I would definitely recommend it!<br /> <br /> Trail download: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqzLweJ3NZW5q7YZzDoW3qlKypqwBg<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * General advice : The Regular Route is best hiked between December and April. The primary obstacles are high river levels early in the season and after rain. During the peak period of January and February it may be difficult to obtain a camping reservation at La Junta which could prevent a southbound traverse.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-18 to 2023-Feb-23 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + 22-01 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> A lot has been already written, so just a few comments from our side:<br /> <br /> No problem with entering the valley in SOBO direction, until the noon aprox., saying you will spend the night at the refugio El Arco - they have some time estimate for this hike and can’t let you in if its late. By the entrance you can buy some useful things that might be hard to buy in Cochamo, like gas or peanut butter. There was also a beer truck with quite good wifi connection (only during summer). Crowds of people in both directions, quite muddy trail. Detour to the Toboganes is definitely worth it. We spend the night after all in a marked camp aprox. 4 kms before the refugio and it was a good decision - there were quite a lot of people when we passed by the next day.<br /> <br /> From the refugio its nice and easy walking. We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> Based on other comments and our time schedule we decided to take the alternative 22-01 to Llanada Grande. This is a good resuppy spot as there is a new and big (at least in comparison to what you would expect in a place like this) supermarket that replaced the old one destroyed by fire. Good place to stay is a campsite at the end of the village, on the right side, run by really nice lady. Not expensive and if its free, you can stay for the same price in a so called refugio, that is actually just a very small room, but for us better than a tent. Hot water and electricity + possibility to buy pizza and maybe some other small things - there is actually no restaurant in the village. Some more road walking around Lago Totoral to Rio Puelo to connect back to RR. In general not very attractive part of the trail. Great restaurant in Hostal Puelo Libre with local beer and view on the river.<br /> <br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. We thought about taking the RR around the lake, but the landslide caused by snow (aprox. 1.5 km from the port) looked quite difficult to pass. We discovered there is possibility to cross the lake on one of the locals boat, which we did in the end. We were lucky that after waiting for some time in the port a car with locals arrived. Happily for us they arranged a boat transfer with other residents to get to the other side of the lake, where they went for a lunch. We were able to go with them, and after picking up their friends, we all hop off the boat close to the police station. Great experience and we learned a lot about this area and people living here. We paid 10k CLP. In the comments here is a contact for the guy with a boat, but without signal it must be arranged in advance, and the price might differ when not sharing the transfer with others. No problem with the border check. It took us around 4 hrs to get to the argentinian side, where everyone was super friendly as well. They offered us to camp there, but we decided to make it to Lago Puelo, which took us 2 more hrs. The landscape changes significantly on the other side where everything is more dry. No problem with the river crossing. We got off the trail directly on the main road.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07 / 7 days / hiking / SOBO / Cochamó - Lago Puelo / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Eco Camping El Valle to the entry of the park and arrived around 8 am. We told them that we would camp at the Refugio El Arco and explained our further route. Until la Junta there were lots of chilenean tourists, therefore the path was very good only with some muddy stretches. Like Véronica we walked to Toboganes, a waterfall/stream with beautiful rock formations. There were tons of people, but it's worth it. La junta seems to be an amazing place for rock climbing, we would have loved to have some climbing gear with us.<br /> <br /> After la Junta there were almost no more hikers. We camped next to the Refugio, as there were already two other groups of hikers sleeping in the Refugio.<br /> <br /> Until Lago grande there are still some muddy stretches and blowdowns, but generally it is a good path. From there on the path is perfectly maintained. We camped at approx. km 66 next to Río los Morros. <br /> <br /> Nice path until El Manso. We resupplied at the minimercado and camped next to the river, which was a beautiful camping spot with lots of delicious blackberrys.<br /> <br /> The next morning we arrived at Señora Ocos house around 8 am. She contacted multiple people and luckily found out that there was somebody crossing the river to our side at 11 am. The man, whose name we unfortunately forgot, was super friendly and dropped us off after the river mouth of Rio Traidor, close to where he lives. He charged 10.000 CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The path to the first settler was mediocre and afterwards got worse and worse until it was almost pure buschwhacking. It was the worst we had so far on the GPT. Thorns.. Lots of thorns tearing away at your clothes, backpack and skin.<br /> We camped at the river at approx. km 12, which was a beautiful spot.<br /> Until the settlement Las Nieves the path continued beeing bad with lots of bush bashing. The settler told us that no locals use that path and she also told us that there are no regular boat transfers to Puerto Urrutia on weekends (it was sunday..).<br /> We wouldn't do that stretch next to Rio Puelo again and instead hitchhike from El Manso to Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> At the boat transfer waypoint to Puerto Urrutia we had Entel service and contacted one lodging on the other side. They told us to go to the last house 1km back to ask for a transfer (it's the house of the man who does the boat transfer on weekdays). But we got lucky and a boat passed by and took us to the other side. The man on the boat also told us that the path from Río Traidor to Puerto Urrutia &quot;is closed&quot;.<br /> <br /> We continued to Lago verde, where we planned to camp, but it's surrounded by dense forest, apart from a private property.<br /> That spot is amazing, a little landing stage to go swimming, a great view and a very friendly owner. She even baked some delicious apple bread for us. For camping she charged us 8000 CLP p.p.. That was definetly worth it.<br /> <br /> After Lago verde there is a minimarket. We didn't check it out, but there is no resupply wp yet.<br /> <br /> After reading previous blogs and having had enough of thorns we decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard. We also got his number (+56958694897), if you want to contact him in advance. When we arrived at the lake, there were already lots of people waiting for the boat so we just waited with them and after some time got knocked the boat with them. The ride was really nice across the crystal clear blue water and we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> From the southern end of the lake it's just a couple of minutes to walk to the chilenian border control. We continued on and camped at km 30 at the river. Again a really beautiful spot.<br /> <br /> The next day we passed the argentinian border control and continued to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> The section was really beautiful, except the part with the thorns. There are lots of streams along the whole trail, so one does not need to carry much water. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Feb-02 / 5 days / hiking / NOBO / RR mostly / Frank<br /> <br /> I got the bus-ferry-bus from Puerto Montt to Segundo Corral. To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas &amp; delays with the river ferries I walked on the road from Segundo Corral to El Manso, about 50KM. Easy but not very interesting walking. It takes a full day to get from Puerto Montt on the bus to Segundo Corral so I believe it would be better to go SOBO with an early start to get through La Junta, otherwise you need 2 additional days for travel. <br /> <br /> Stayed @ nice &amp; cheap campsite at bridge over Rio Colorado &amp; camped at El Arco. The trail approaching El Arco was muddy &amp; a bit swampy (it had been raining). It's possible to go by boat across Lago Vidal Gomez but it's an easy 3 hour walk. <br /> <br /> Got the bus again to Segundo Corral &amp; ferry to Paso Bolson. The trail across the border is generally in good condition. There is some easy bushbashing on the Chilean side for about 1KM before the border &amp; some fallen trees but they are straightforward to go over. Rio Azul was easily fordable in early February.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-10 to 2023-Jan-14 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR, also GPT22-01 / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Cochamó - La Junta - Lago Vidal Gormáz - El Manso - Puerto Urrutio via Option 1 - Lago Las Rocas - Lago Puelo (Argentina) <br /> <br /> The borders of Paso El León and Paso El Bolsón are both opened again for tourists! Go for it! It is a beautiful section with wonderful people, such a contrast to where I started the GPT further north. <br /> <br /> In Cochamó, I stayed at Eco Camping El Valle, right at the entrance to the Cochamó River Valley. Paid 7000 clp, very nice campground, there are tarps over the picnic tables at each site so you have a dry place to hang out even if it rains :) Since I spent the night so close to the trailhead, it was easy to get to the guarded valley entrance (Road End {22N} [109.8/58]) early. I did not have a camping reservation for La Junta. I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 a.m., explained my route to the staff, saying I would stay at Refugio El Arco that night. They let me through no problem. The trail to La Junta is a bit muddy, but nothing bad, my feet stayed dry in my trailrunners despite the fact it was also raining off and on. Beautiful path through the Valvidian rainforest, I really enjoyed all the green and the moss. When I reached the La Junta area, I stashed my pack in some trees and made a short detour to Las Toboganes. They are only 0.7 km off the regular route, and highly worthwhile to see! What a spectacular area, I totally see the Yosemite resemblence, and would love to go back someday. <br /> <br /> I found the trail after La Junta (all the way to Lago Vidal Gormáz) to be in good shape, contrary to what others have written. It was maybe slightly less maintained than the popular trail leading into the valley, but it was still very clear and easy to follow — not overgrown, no blowdowns, just a bit muddy in some places. Granted, it has been drier than normal so far this summer. None of the fords went above my knees, and sometimes I could cross the creeks without even getting my feet wet, all very easy. <br /> <br /> The refugio at El Arco is dark and without any furniture inside. I found it much nicer to camp in the nearby meadow just south of the trail there. There are outhouses. <br /> <br /> Nice path from Lago Vidal Gormáz all the way to El Manso. Very beautiful in this valley as well. Met a few arrieros along the way. Most of the rivers have bridges crossing them. There is a small camp at the bridge over Río Colorado. <br /> <br /> In El Manso, I topped off my food supply at the shop on the main road. It has a good selection of food items. Then I went to Señora Oco's house to try and arrange a boat transfer over Río Puelo. She and her family are very friendly and welcoming. I arrived there mid-afternoon, but she could not get in radio contact with anyone on the other side. In the evening, we heard back from Hospedaje Nancy, who charged 60,000 clp for a crossing upriver all the way to Río Traidor (where she lives). This I found too expensive for me traveling alone. Señora Oco baked some bread and I was able to buy some. She also said I was welcome to camp in the fields behind her house while waiting for a response from settlers Paulina and Jovino regarding a crossing to their place (much more direct and therefore likely much cheaper). The next morning, we still hadn't received any response from Paulina and Jovino either via radio or Whatsapp (they may have been away). Because of this, I decided to take the gravel road to Puerto Urrutia (Option 1), and forgo crossing Río Puelo, unfortunately. Despite this setback, I'm really glad I got to meet and spend time with Señora Oco and her family, they are such kind people. <br /> <br /> I was able to hitch most of the way to Puerto Urrutia, where I rejoined the regular route. The trail from there all the way to Lago Las Rocas is mostly easy and clear. There were a few confusing junctions in the vicinity of Lago Verde, so I kept a close eye on the GPS there. After crossing the road after that, the beginning of RR -TL-V {22S} [2.8/7.1+2.7] is tricky to find. There are lots of fallen trees and many forest paths. The GPS was very helpful there too until I finally found the right path. After about 700 m it merges with a nice clear path all the way to Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> As has been previously reported, there is a large rockslide about 2 km in once you reach Lago Las Rocas. It didn't look overly dangerous to me, the boulders were large and seemed solid enough. I started crossing it right at the bottom where the rocks fall into the lake, as it looked to be the easiest and safest way across. I was maybe 50 meters through it, when a boat came along, and the people in it told me to hop in! What lucky timing! As we passed the rest of the rockslide, I could see the last part of it was steep, loose scree rather than big boulders. That part would have definitely been nerve-wracking to cross, and I was very grateful for the boat ride. The settlers who owned the boat live about 3 km along the trail, at a little bay/inlet in the lake. They have a nice beach and campground too. That's where I rejoined the trail. Beyond their house, the &quot;Camino Los Mosquitos,&quot; as it is locally called, gets progressively worse in terms of overgrowth and blowdowns. The trail has not been cleared since the past winter, and not been used either. The stretch between kilometers 4 and 6.5 is the worst. It felt more like pure bushwhacking than following a trail. The path was mostly burried beneath walls of downed trees and branches, it got very hard to follow at times. Lots of climbing over and under vegetation, some of it quite thorny too. Very slow and tiring. My pack got ripped up a bit and so did my clothing. Had I known the trail was this bad, I would have taken the option on the east side of Lago Las Rocas. It's hard to imagine it could be in worse shape than the regular route. <br /> <br /> When I got to the Chilean Border Control it was around 6:30 p.m., so too late to cross that day. The border agent working there was very friendly, but he couldn't get in contact with his supervisor to get approval for stamping my passport with the next day's date. So I camped back at Lago Las Rocas, and the next morning came back at 8 a.m. when the border post reopened. The trail on the Chilean side of the border was a bit rough in places, it has been neglected since the winter too. But it was not as bad as the previous stretch along Lago Las Rocas. Once I got into Argentina, it got much better. The trails in Parque Nacional Lago Puelo are well-maintained, and I met some day hikers. No issues at the Argentine Border Control. <br /> <br /> I was able to ford Río Azul easily, thanks to the dry weather. There are three branches of the river to cross (the GPS waypoints only show two of them). The middle branch is the widest and deepest. The water there went up to my upper thighs (I'm 165 cm), but the current was slow and it never felt dangerous. <br /> <br /> Now I'm skipping down to GPT32 to continue my adventure further south :) The northern sections that I hiked from 6 to 22 were simply amazing, with great weather almost the entire time. Thank you, all! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Oct-19 to 2022-Oct-24 / 6 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / ???<br /> <br /> Here are the main points because our story is long :)<br /> Paso el bolson and El Leon are closed for tourists until further notice <br /> Some of trails are in bad condition because of the hard winter but they might be cleared in the following weeks. <br /> Landslide in Lago Las rocas - very dangerous part to cross. We suggest to take an optional route <br /> <br /> The trail starts in valle cochamo. We did not have any reservations but as we were in low season we were not worried. However the lady from the tourist office in Cochamo told us to arrive at the entrance of the valley between 7 &amp; 8 to avoid being rejected. At 7h50 there was nobody at the reception so we did not have any trouble, but we cannot say for the high season. <br /> You can arrange a car transfer to go the valley entrance. The numbers of the drivers are available at the tourist office.<br /> <br /> The trail until La Junta is muddy but well maintained - no worries there. Up there we met some arrieros and the locals from the camping and they told us that the trail was closed a bit further because of snow (up to 2 meters) in laguna Blanca. This is the highest part of the trail (about 1100m). The river crossings were feasible, but as they forecasted rain for the next day, we preferred to turn back in order to avoid being blocked between high rivers and snow. <br /> <br /> Back on the road between Cochamo and Puelo, we caught at about 10:30 the bus that leaves at 7:45 from Puerto Montt, to go to Rio Manso. There is a well furnished Shop where you can even find gas. <br /> We remained in the Southbound direction and went to Senora Oco's house. She was very welcoming, and her and her grandchild helped us in arranging a boat transfer for the following morning (nothing was possible the same day). We paid 50000 pesos to go from their house to Rio Traidor - close to Nancy hospedaje. Indeed, we skipped the first part of the trail as they told us that it was very closed with a lot of small trees and not used anymore. Maybe it would be cheaper to cross a bit south using the cable car or directly from Manso to Rio Traidor.<br /> <br /> Until the Rio Tigre, settler # 22N [7.7/157], the trail is visible but sometimes with some obstacles (fallen trees). After this settling, you will have to cross the Rio Tigre which might be the hardest to cross on your way if you have a lot of rain. There is a bridge indicated on the tracks but it has been swept away this winter. The best place to cross is a bit higher following the river, follow the horse track. We did not have any problem crossing, and probably the settler could help you with his horse if the river is too high. That is an advantage of the Southbound direction.<br /> <br /> After, the trail is really clear. We found the last transfer across Rio Puelo about 1 km before the point indicated on the track. It is his job to do the crossings and he also does sportive fishing if you are interested. Look for a house with a border collie with a piece of wood around the neck :) <br /> <br /> From Puerto Urrutia, the trail is clear again until the road. There is a shop at 600m on the right. Again here, the trail is closed due to fallen trees at the beginning, but the locals (last house on the right) will help you find another path. Clear trail until Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> Once you reach the Lago Las rocas you will be blocked after 2km. Indeed there was a landslide this winter and you have to cross a very dangerous part of about 300 m of rocky mountain slide. It is not stabilized yet. We went through but we do not advise it. <br /> Also, there were a lot of fallen trees and the path was really tiring. The locals will probably clear the path in the following weeks. To get more information we suggest to contact the camping Playa Las Rocas on Instagram. <br /> You can also consider the other routes or arrange a boat crossing. <br /> <br /> Finally we arrived at the border crossing. Unfortunately it was closed due to the Covid, except for the very locals (people from Cochamo). Apparently Paso el Leon is closed as well for tourists. Be aware of that if you have to cross the Chilean- Argentinian borders, as small passes seem to be closed for tourists. <br /> In the end we had to go back to Puerto Montt crossing the Lago inferior with a free boat (ask the carabineros), and then the bus-ferry-bus from Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-23 &amp; 2021-Nov-25 / 2 days / Packrafting / SOBO / Estuario de Reloncavi from Ralun to Rio Puelo (Western shore) / Jan Dudeck &amp; Meylin Ubilla <br /> <br /> We paddled in two easy days the roughly 40 km southbound.<br /> <br /> Start at Ralun at Puente Petrohue: On the right side of the bridge (view in river flow direction) is a suitable put-in and good spot to camp. The gate was closed but not locked. There are signs of people occasionally camping there.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Cochamo: Packrafters in need to resupply can do this in Cochamo about 16 water kilometers from the put-in. Both, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking. The western side is less intervened and more scenic.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Rio Puelo: Again, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking but requires the crossing of a 4 km wide bay in open water. The western side is less intervened and more scenic but requires crossing the 3 km wide Estuario de Reloncavi near Rio Puelo. On the western side are also the Termas de Sotomo that are suitable for camping.<br /> <br /> Wind: On nice sunny days “viento sur” often kicks in around 10 am making southbound paddling difficult or unfeasible. We had two partially overcasted days and could paddle on the first day till 4 pm when wind became annoying strong. On the second day around 3 pm the wind and waves became unpleasant but by this time we were walking the final kilometers into Rio Puelo.<br /> <br /> GPT22: Southbound packrafters may take in Cochamo or Rio Puelo the bus to Lago TaguaTagua an get to the recommended packrafting starting point of section GPT22 halfway into this section to Flip-Flop as recommended.<br /> <br /> * 2021-NOV-18 / 1 day / hiking / NOBO / Cochamó Valley (Lago Tagua Tagua - Lago Grande) / Tobías <br /> <br /> The Section between La Junta Base and Lago Vidal Gormez was very challenging. It had been raining a lot, so the Trail was very muddy and I had to cross several rivers and creeks. Went straight from Cochamó to Lago Grande and camped there in some Snow. Met only a few settlers. After reaching Lago Vidal Gormez, the Trail was easy and I enjoyed the hike a lot. Amaizing área up there!<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-FEB-18 to 2020-FEB-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tyler <br /> I didn’t have problems getting a campsite at la junta on the spot luckily. AMAZING area that I’ll be returning to again to do all the day hikes in. Aside from that, most the trail was very muddy, rainy, and unmaintained. This got a bit difficult after the 3rd day in a row. Good places to camp at the lakes over the pass SOBO. When I got down to Lago Vidal Gomez the trail improved.. I got some bread from a settler at the start of the lake. There right on the trail and super friendly and have rooms. The last ferry across Tagua Tagua leaves at 7 pm. I didn’t make it, so I slept underneath the office/bathrooms and took the ferry at 8:00 the next morning. I believe there’s another ferry at 12. <br /> <br /> *. 2020-Jan-09 to 2020-Jan-11 / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun<br /> <br /> Despite the austere warnings on the La Junta Camping website, I was able to make a reservation at short notice in high season, and the back and forth process only took a few hours. In Cochamó, I was warned that due to recent rain the river crossings at El Arco and another nearby river would likely be impassable. With four more days of heavy rain forecast, I decided to take the bus-ferry-bus combo to Puerto Urrutia and try to walk northbound from there with the optimistic hope that by the time I reached El Arco the river would be passable or, at least, the wait would be less. However, 10km north of the Rio Puelo crossing (service starts at 9am) my way was blocked by a high and fast river. I then retraced my steps and completed the rest of the section southbound - which was straightforward. The trail on the west side of Lago de la Roca until the frontera is a bit overgrown but still easy to see and nothing particularly slowed me down. On the Argentinian side the trail is well maintained. It is not permitted to camp on the 12km stretch between the border posts. I arrived too late to cross that day, but the Chileans stamped my passport with the next day’s date so I didn’t have to wait for the post to open at 9am. The Argentinian border guards informed me that because of the rain, the Rio Azul was too high to ford at the point on the regular hiking route just before Lago Puelo so I took the alternative route (Oh-Tl-V@22-04-#001) a few kms north and crossed over the La Pasarela bridge.<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-22 to 2020-Jan-26 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / parque de la vallee de Cochamo - La Pasarella / Arnaud <br /> <br /> As we arrived from Puerto Montt we were with the bus and stopped directly at the entrance of the private parque de la vallee de Cochamo.<br /> As it is private, there are some rules to get in, or they block you at the control point.<br /> The entrance is free but you need to have a reservation in one of the official camp sites there. To get the reservation, you can do it on internet (but you need to wait for the confirmation and it can be several days long), or do it directly there (red house), they give you the reservation voucher if there are places available (number seem to be limited). Then you pay the night when you reach the camp sites (6000 clp/pers).<br /> Or the other solution is to say that you sleep in the refugio del Arco. It is 23km further after the control. Then it is free and no reservation is needed, but this is possible only before 10am (after they block you). After 10am the only way to pass is to sleep in the camp sites. They block you if you do not have a<br /> reservation voucher for one camp site.<br /> This spot (la Junta) is famous among the chilenos so the access to the camp sites is really overrunned. The path is easy to walk.<br /> Once you go further than the campsites, you're alone, so it is better.<br /> The path is clearly marked. There are bridges for most of the rivers you cross. But it is very muddy.<br /> At the lago Vidal you can resupply a bit with those living there (you can also sleep in their camp sites).<br /> In El Manso you can find a minimarket with lots of things.<br /> Then, we decided to follow the road instead of the track because we were in a hurry with a deadline in El Bolson, until we reached la cruce de la rocas. There are buses or hitchiking is easy.<br /> Crossing borders was easy. There are 12km between the chilean stamp and the Argentin one that we did in 3.5 hours.<br /> At the very end we have not not crossed El Rio Azul, we walked 7 more km to the north to reach La Pasarella<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *In Cochamo go down towards the lake. There is a church on the left &amp; before you reach it there is a hospedaje on the right, good &amp; cheap.<br /> <br /> *There is a good place to stay NOBO 500 metres before the junction where the road turns towards Laguna Las Rocas. Farmhouse on RHS of road has rooms &amp; meals. Cheap, friendly &amp; good<br /> <br /> *In Segundo Corral there are two campsites. The first one is just before the school, it just says Kuchen but you can camp there. Cheap, nice family &amp; they do meals. There is a campsite after the school but the owner was drunk &amp; looking for an argument.<br /> Lots of campsites at Lago Totoral (on the road, not on RR)<br /> It's possible to camp near the Argentinian border control.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> * January 2023 Frank<br /> To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas you can walk on the road or get the bus to Segundo Corral then from Lago Inferior about 1.5KM from Segundo Corral there is a ferry to Paso Bolson (Chilean border control).The government subsidised ferry runs Monday-Friday only from 8-12 &amp; 2PM-6PM &amp; is only 2000 pesos. You need to radio the ferryman to arrange pickup, easily done in Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> We decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard (+56958694897),we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. <br /> <br /> *Northbound and southbound hiking is feasible. However, due to the controlled private southbound access through the La Junta área, hiking in that direction is only possible with a camping reservation, or by arriving at the checkpoint before 10am. A northbound traverse may therefore be preferred. For hikers generally heading south, it is possible to take the single ticket, half-day bus-ferry-bus combination south from Cochamó to Puerto Urrutia, hike the 120km north to Cochamó, then return to Puerto Urrutia and resume the section southwards from there.<br /> <br /> *Crossing the border is typically straightforward, however it is not permitted to camp on the 12km between the border posts. So if you arrive too late to cross, it is necessary to camp at the border post and cross the next day. In this situation, Chilean officials will stamp your passport with the next day’s date so you don’t need to wait for the office to open that morning.<br /> <br /> *Southbound access to the popular La Junta area is controlled at a private checkpoint and only granted to those with a prior camping reservation, or those arriving before 10am and therefore early enough to make it on to the free and unmanaged El Arco campsite 23km away. Reservations for La Junta can be made online at cochamo.com, but there may not be availability and the process may take several days, so hiking this section southwards may not be possible.Therefore, an option for hikers generally heading south is to take the bus-ferry-bus combination from Cochamó across Lago Tagua Tagua and on to Puerto Urrutia, hike 120km north back to Cochamó, then take the bus-ferry-bus south again and hike the remainder of the section southwards from Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT22 - Cochamó]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]<br /> <br /> {| border=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse:collapse&quot;<br /> |+'''GPT22: Cochamó'''<br /> | colspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| GPT22: Cochamó<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Group<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | D: Lagos Chilenos<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''160.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''51 h'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''136.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|'''35 h'''<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Region<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Chile &amp; Argentina: Los Lagos (X) &amp; Chubut<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Trails (TL)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|137.9 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|85.9%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 20.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|14.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Start<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Cochamó<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Minor Roads (MR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|10.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.7%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.3%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Finish<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Lago Puelo (Puerto)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Primary Roads (PR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|9.7 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.0%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.0%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Status<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Published &amp; Verified<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Cross-Country (CC)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|2.2 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|1.4%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.4%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Traversable<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Dec - Apr (Maybe: Sep, Oct, Nov, May)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Bush-Bashing (BB)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packraft<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Very Useful<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Ferry (FY)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.8 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.1%)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Connects to<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | GPT21, GPT23<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Investigation (I)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.9 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.4%)<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Options<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | 268 km (9 Options &amp; Variants)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Exploration (EXP)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> | <br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> | rowspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| <br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total on Water<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''111.1 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''81.4%'''<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Attraction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 5 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| River (RI)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 62.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 45.7%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Difficulty<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 4 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Lake (LK)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 32.4 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 23.7%<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Direction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Fjord (FJ)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 16.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|11.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Comment<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Hiking: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Character<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Packrafting: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Challenges<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Valdivian Rain Forest, Sea Coast, Farmland, Settlers, River Packrafting, Lake Packrafting, Fjord Packrafting, Partly Overrun<br /> |}<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22-p.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520254.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520443.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282465.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282466.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447503.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_101648648.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_104321335.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:Bahia ralun.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447491.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447496.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT22_(Cochamo)&diff=114161 2024-02-09T22:26:27Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Feb-03 to 2024-Feb-09 / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> If you decide stay at Segundo Corral, and take the boat to Argentina.<br /> <br /> <br /> NO NO NO <br /> <br /> NO NO NO<br /> <br /> DON'T DON'T DON'T stay at Mari Mari Peni Camping, (or another name) Amancays Camping.<br /> <br /> <br /> I saved a girl hiker almost RAPED by the campground owner at the night on 07/02. About the details, i type it and upload later.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> GPT22 2024-01-31 to 2024-02-05 / 5,5 days days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Cochamó options/ Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> After a month and a half, we finally did something standard! From Puerto Varras (the bus stop on Avenida Vicente Perez Rosales just after Antonio Varras street) we took a bus at 8:38 going from Puerto Mont that went all the way to the end of MR to the Road end waypoint. At our hostel, they told us it would arrive at 8:45. Not sure if this is the same bus that others said would pass Puerto Varras at 8:15 or if it just goes to the road end only in high season. It was 7000 per person - I think they might charge double for backpacks, unless they screwed us.<br /> <br /> We were at the entrance at 11 AM and were let through for free when we told them we were going to El Arco. The way to the campsites is really busy (met maybe 50 people and about ten horses), easy and without many views as it goes through a forest. When we reached the campsites, we decided that the valley is really pretty and that we want to take some sidetrips. We asked all the campsites and only La Junta let us stay, 8000 per person. It is important not to spread the word as they did us a favor even though they are not supposed to allow people without reservations. So, do not tell anyone or expect to be let in. We had a numbered site so I think they genuinely had some places free. If nobody had places, after ford 98.9, there is a maze of paths and mini-meadows on the left where I saw somebody camp illegaly. If you hide your packs well for the day and then camp from dusk till dawn, you would probably get away with it. Alternatively there are some flat spots in Trinidad valley two hours up - if you start so that you would arrive by dusk, you should meet nobody.<br /> <br /> The side trips are steep but not challenging, many people take them. We went to Paloma (not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024) in the evening, it can be done in three hours there and back if you do not stop (we did). We started going up at 1715 and saw last person going down at 1830 or so. It is quite splendid. OSM says there is a route to Cerro La Junta. It is probably an exit route for climbers, I did not see any traces of it but it looked like it were possible. If it is, one could probably continue all the way to Cerro Capicua.<br /> <br /> Arco Iris is still closed. If it were open I think one could follow the ridge, which is not very steep or outcroppy, all the way north to above GPT21 - only there is probably no way down.<br /> <br /> The next morning I went to the Trinidad Valley and all the way up to Cerro Bella Vista and Nat went ahead to escape the approaching rain the next day. The roundtrip takes about 7-8 hours. There is a marked travelled trail to the pass (&quot;El Paso&quot;), the last 300 vertical meters or so are marked by cairns. You will need your hands occasionally, but it is not exposed or particularly hard - SAC 4. The views are well worth it. It seemed most people only go to La Laguna (lake just under the pass). We started at 6 AM and I met the first people on the way down around noon at La Laguna. Both La Laguna and Cerro Bella Vista are not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024. The way up through Camping Vista Hermosa (the current GPT track) is not supposed to be used by people not staying at the campsite. The proper way up seems to be the more western trail that is marked on OSM. Going back down trough camping Bella Vista was without issues though. They told Natalie you are not supposed to use their cable car (the one more upstream). Tomáš thinks you should use it as it is the only one that you can use without going through either of the campsites (the downstream one goes directly from La Junta campsite). No horseflies by now!<br /> <br /> I left the camping at 1530, and met only one group of hikers all the way up to the second Camp waypoint at Lago Grande. It is a nice camp, bigger than the first but no good water sources. Wild legal camping, if I get it right. Refuge El Arco is unmanned, it is just a simple wooden hut. I would only use it in case of severe rain. The way up was almost all dry after two weeks of no rain. Mostly through forest, with some nice views of the valley, a few more fords then indicated but they could all be jumped.<br /> <br /> The next day it rained (5mm?) from 4 AM till 11 AM but it was not enough to make the trails substantially muddy. The bridge before Lago Vidal is not there but there was a nice log. There are some pre-european rock paintings after Lago Vidal, one probably needs to make a sidetrip to see them based on the information signs near Torrentoso (trail 22-10 was signposted; trails in the valley are well maintained so I assume the option is good to go). On the last meadow before the gone bridge at 51.8, there was a cherry tree that still had very tasty miniature cherries in the beginning of February. It is behind the house to the left of the trail, maybe 40 m from it. I discovered it by going south of the house (nobody seemed to be in it). Do not miss the turnoff of the trail from the meadow - I went straight, there was initially a trail but petered out into a landslide. Camp at 45.2 is nice (reach it by turning left from the trail cca 50-100 m beyond the sjoetest route, that way you avoid any vegetation). Finally met Natalie after two days of escaping rain. Shop in El Manso is better than expected (has good veges and fruit) but not as good as the one in Llanada Grande. El Manso also is besides a cerveceria with wifi. The bus only came at 1530 despite being told it comes at 1pm. In almost three hours of waiting, we did not manage to hitch a car. <br /> <br /> The bus indeed stops at Llanada Grande for 10 minutes or so - it is not really enough to orientate yourself and buy lots of supplies. The supermarket had lots of nectarines! Should you want to go to Puerto Urutia, the bus does not go there so you need to get off and walk the minor road there. We could not get reliable Entel internet reception anywhere in the valley (calls were fine) along the bus route.<br /> <br /> We went to Primer Corral to do 22-08. The first few km are not a pleasant road to walk on. We decided to turn back as bad weather was coming in two days and it did not seem worth it. Not sure how far the road for cars goes. There seems to be regular but sparse traffic on it.<br /> <br /> We walked back for about an hour on the main road before getting a hitch for the last 3 km to turnoff to 22-02, as others indicated the RR is badly passable due to a landslide. The MR section is aesthetically dreadful and supersteep. We had to climb a locked gate right at the start. We found a miniature camping spot about 200 m before the signposted trail turnoff. In the morning a lorry driver waved at us so probably no issues with climbing the gate. Luckily the trail is much nicer than the road. We met the settler at the lake Azul, he let us walk through his property. The few km to the first very small lake are actually an undriven MR, but very pleasant, it does not seem to be connected to the road network. After 2 km, one turns left onto a trail. Until the pass, it is very clear. After the pass, the visibility deteriorates somewhat but no bush bashing is involved. Soon after that, there is a gate saying there is no trail afer a harsh winter. We went further and it turned out there is a trail. There were some trees on it, but not too much and we lost it only for about 50 m. From setler at 11.4, the trail is much more clear. Met a seemingly lonely girl from the next homestead with whom we had a lovely chat. The trail to the border control was easy, we came there at 1530 and were let through. They told us that it would be ok to reach the Argentinian border control the next day. They too had a very ripe cherry tree but did not pick up on my appraisal of it and did not suggest I get some fruit.<br /> <br /> We met several people on the way to Argentina border. We camped there (wild permitted numbered camping sites with numbers - there was about twenty other Argentinians, the functioning toilets are unsigned immediately next to the Police building). The next day we had no issues with getting a stamp and going down. The last CC part is a trail. We forded the second ford a bit earlier than suggested, it was waist deep but very slow moving. Took a bus at 1340 to El Bolson - seems to run regularly.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + day trip / Lotti &amp; Alex<br /> <br /> We did this section mostly as described by Fangwen and Tobi (El Manso to Cochamo base camp), so there is not much to add. We stayed at La Junta for 2 nights and did a very nice day trip to Cerro Bellavista (see description further down). The trails were very well maintained all the way. The only minor problems were mud and lots of horse flies. Like Fangwen and Tobi, we were happy we did the section NOBO, because the landscape gets more and more spectacular. This way it is also much easier to get to camp at La Junta without reservation, because they always reserve some space for hikers coming from the south. <br /> It was a beautiful hike and especially the area around La Junta is really spectacular and worth visiting. We even met a fellow GPT hiker there, which was great! <br /> <br /> Transportation:<br /> <br /> To start:<br /> Bus &quot;Rio Puelo&quot; from Puerto Varas to Lago Tagua-Tagua at 8:20am, then ferry to Puerto Maldonado, then bus to El Manso. We arrived at the trailhead around 1pm.<br /> <br /> after hike:<br /> Bus from end of trailhead (&quot;Cochamo base camp&quot;) to Cochamo/Puerto Montt at 1pm.<br /> <br /> Day trip to Cerro Bellavista:<br /> <br /> Start at La Junta on GPT Variant G, following the signs to &quot;Trinidad&quot;. It starts by crossing the river with the little cable car. After the walls of Trinidad, stay on the trail and follow the signs to &quot;Laguna&quot;. The official trail ends there, but there are stone cairns and ribbons marking a trail that goes up to the pass. The laguna is crowded, but we didn't meet anyone further up. The view at the pass is already great, but you can go up even further. Turn to the left and follow the stone cairns until the summit. It is not difficult, just walking and easy scrambling, and the view is absolutely spectacular.<br /> The whole tour has about 1300m of altitude difference. It took us around 5h to go up, and 3-4h down. <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-01-07 to 2024-01-14: Fangwen and Tobi / 2.5 days Ventisquero Valley (Option 08 + more), 4 days El Manso to Cochamo RR / NOBO hiking.<br /> <br /> We did two parts along this enjoyable section, connecting them by hitchhiking and resupplying in between in Llanada Grande.<br /> <br /> The first part was hiking ~20km into the scenic Ventisquero valley (Option 08), alongside a wonderful river on an enjoyable and easy hiking trail through farms and rainforest that mostly follows an old minor road. It's often better to follow the well-marked trail rather than the GPT track files. A highlight of our trip was hiking up to a fantastic viewpoint at 1100m with a view of the whole valley, its remote side valleys and glaciated mountain peaks. The trail (900m elevation gain, 4.5km) through the thick rainforest is steep but excellent in quality and easy to follow (but the turnoff at S 42° 01.737', W 072° 05.643' is easy to miss). This and other trails in the valley are not part of the GPT files yet, but GPX files can be found on the website of Rincon Bonito (glamping accommodation for groups) that presumably created the trail. We camped by the viewpoint; what a wonderful experience! There are plenty of places to pitch up a tent, but little protection from wind. We found a wind protected camp in a dried-out puddle at (S 42° 02.705', W 072° 06.193'). Make sure to bring water, since the last reliable water source is in the valley, just before the turnoff onto the steep trail. From the viewpoint, we attempted to climb the local mountain, but beyond 1500m, it appears to require bush bashing. Our track: [[Media:GPT 22 Ventisquero Viewpoint.gpx]].<br /> The viewpoint is within the Pumalin National Park, but the whole valley seems to be private property and camping is forbidden outside official campsites, which begin quite far into the valley. There are plenty of spots to pitch up a tent nonetheless (which is what we did).<br /> For packrafters, going down the river must surely be a highlight! Rincon Bonito offers packrafting (maybe only for their guests?), they describe it as class II+.<br /> <br /> Our second part followed the regular route 22N from El Manso to the Cochamo trailhead. This was an enjoyable hike and we found the trail to be in good condition, although it gets pretty muddy around El Arco (and that's after one week of sunny weather). There is quite a bit of pointless up and down between km45 and km79. Additionally, our hiking distance was often 20-25% longer than expected, as there are many switchbacks too small to be represented on the track files. We liked hiking this section northbound, as the rainforest and the views get more and more impressive as you go along. La Junta has a lot of local hiking options (e.g. hiking into the Anfiteatro valley or on top of Cerro Trinidad), but we didn't spend any extra days because the weather was turning.<br /> <br /> Logistics: to get to the start of section 22, take the daily bus that leaves at 7.45am from Puerto Montt (stops at 8.15 in Puerto Varas at intersection el Salvador/San Pedro S 41° 19.081', W 072° 59.038', and later in Cochamo). The bus company Río Puelo has a ticket office in Puerto Montt, their WhatsApp number is +56 9 7408 9199. From there, take the ferry across Lago Tagua Tagua and the connecting bus down the valley to your respective trailhead (El Manso for the Cochamo valley, Primer Corral for the Ventisquiero valley). Note that travel is slow... We arrived at the Primer Corral at 4pm. We left a bag of food for the second half of our trip. Unfortunately it was visible from the parking lot and got stolen, so we resupplied at the Llanada Grande supermarket. The bus makes a stop there for ~15min, if you want a quick resupply there (it's a bit bigger than in El Manso). We hitchhiked to El Manso, which worked after two hours of waiting/walking (not a lot of traffic).<br /> <br /> If you are in the Llanada Grande area, go to Camping Reflejo Azul. The campsite itself is average, but it has the most beautiful river we have ever seen in our lives. Visit this truly special place before Instagram influencers find out about it and it becomes overrun by hordes of tourists. Day access is possible also for 5.000 CLP.<br /> <br /> Photos: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1732098767296002/?app=fbl<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-4 / 7.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RH + OP-LK-2 + RP / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> <br /> Note: We were told a reservation is needed for a camp site at La Junta to be allowed into the valley from Cochamo side, so we did that. However, one of the wikiexplora entry mentioned that they were allowed in when mentioning that they wanted to camp at El Arco Refuge but we read it too late. Camp Trawen is the most expensive (15k per person), which is the reason why it’s been available on short notice. There are several other sold-out camps around for 8k-10k.<br /> <br /> Day 1: We hitchhiked to Cochamo Base Camp at 9am and reached Camp Trawen by 2pm. It would have been better to go on the El Arco Refuge straight away and camp there. It’s a touristy stretch and in our view not really worth doing, if you like the general quiet nature of the GPT.<br /> <br /> Day 2: Camped at the beach at Lago Vidal. Easy hike but lots of ups and downs.<br /> <br /> Day 3: We packrafted Lago Vidal and had a good lunch at Luisa’s place (make sure to drop by!), before continuing on to Torrentoso (not the paid camp, but on the meadow a few hundred meters after the official camp). <br /> <br /> Day 4: The bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [51.8/146] (Rio Steffen) does not exist anymore. It’s not a demanding ford but there are short steep ups and downs on both sides. We stayed near wp Settler {22N} [50.1/307].<br /> <br /> Day 5: We rivered in at wp Rio Manso. The ride was super scenic and beautiful and there were no rapids, just a bit of boiling water but nothing difficult, which might be due to different water levels compared to previous accounts. It’s 45 minutes from there to the bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36]. We rivered out behind the bridge on the right side. There is a nice flat beach which leads to the cabin of Harv and Veronica. They let us camp on their land and even offered a hot (wood fired) shower for 2.5k per person. There is a cervezeria and shop across the road for resupply.<br /> <br /> Day 6: We took the bus at 1 pm to intersection at wp X {22-01} [25.0/187] and went on OP-MR-V (along Hunter’s estate) to Lago Azul. You will be charged 5k per person to access the lake. We crossed Lago Azul with strong waves and tailwind so we sailed to the other side in no time.<br /> <br /> Day 7: Crossed Lago de Las Rocas, Lago Inferior, and Lago Puelo to the Argentinian border control which opens at 8am next morning so we camped there. Next day we finished at Lago Puelo which is a popular tourist beach.<br /> <br /> Tip: It is a hot &amp; dusty walk to town from the beach and hitchhiking is not as easy in this part of Argentina as in Chile. Keep some small change of USD or Argentinian pesos for the bus ride to resupply in town. If you plan to continue packrafting Lago Puelo on GPT23 after resupplying, the earliest bus back to the beach reaches around 7.30am but it will be too late as the wind picks up by 8am. Lago Puelo is known for its strong gusts so it’s best to check wind forecast and paddle early morning 5.30am to cross. Therefore it may be easier to camp at one of the campsites nearer to the beach instead of staying in town. Just go there for resupplying.<br /> <br /> *2023 Dec OH-TL-V / Anh<br /> Note: the trail OH-TL-V alias Cerro Arco Iris was damaged by big rocks in the last season and is completely closed. A new route or repair is not in planning.<br /> <br /> *2023-12-17 to 2023-12-21 / 5 days / Hiking + Packrafting / SOBO /RR &amp; Option 01B / Roman<br /> <br /> Route: Hiking from Cochamó to El Manso. Bus to Lago de Las Rocas. Packrafted the lake and Lago Inferior. Hiked to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> Due to the border crossing, there is a thread about it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1709504102888802/. I applied online - no answer. Went to the carabineros in Cochamó they couldn't issue it, so I went without it (it worked without a problem)<br /> <br /> Started in Cochamó (there is a bus to the entry I just got him by hitchhiking so I don't know the schedule) and had a reservation for Camp Trawen (Fruit, Groceries, Electricity). This is getting checked at the entrance if you have one. The trail to the camp was a bit muddy (2 days of rain before the start) but all doable. The next day went to the northern end of Lago Vidal Gormaz and slept there at Lake {22-05} [7.9/604]. Bridge destroyed at: -41.43696, -71.96632 and Bridge {22N} [63.0/337] (Rio El Colorado). Both are crossable dry feed due to trees. Generally, there is no fording necessary after Lago Vidal Gormaz. Before yes. Packrafted Rio Manso. There were no rapids on the map, it's mentioned in the Manuel that it can be challenging. There are some rapids but all are doable and manageable (I am a beginner with kayak experience and an open deck packraft). You can get easy access to the river at -41.692561, -71.972725 this is 300m after the mark in the file. There is a dry river bed to avoid BB to get to the River. The river is fast flowing. Follow the GPS only at one point where the river splits pay extra attention: turn left as shownin the GPS: -41.698615, -71.985482 . Went out at the south side of the bride: Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36] (Rio Manso) on the right side. There is a trail to the street with one gate where you can walk through on the right side. The shop Settlement, Shop, Bus {22N} [40.7/36] (El Manso) has good supplies and free WiFi. The trail to this point is very good. Based on previous comments and a chat to a local I want to skip at least to Puerto Urrutia [comment in: 2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07]. There is an official bus going all the way from Rampa Punta<br /> Maldonado -&gt; Segundo Corral. Find the schedule here: https://imgur.com/a/7MVEscb . The shop owner said the bus is normally there at 02:00 PM. The bus was there in my case at 02:30 PM. This bus stops at the large supermarket [Supermercado Llanada Grande] a great place for a last resupply). The bus also stops at Puerto Urrutia but I went all the way to Lago de Las Rocas and used OH-MR-V {22-01B} [8.2+1.9] to get to the lake. Started packrafting at 05:00 PM. The start was fine. The wind got worse during the evening and was to my capabilities on the maximum with serious waves. Strong wind from the north. It was pleasantly paddling after going through the gap at -42.069608, -71.813735. Camped at Lake, Camp {22S} [21.8/314]. Got there at 07:45 PM. Crossed the border without any problems. Packrafted Lago Inferior and got in the water here: Lake {22S} [20.9/201] at 10:00 AM. The wind got stronger but manageable. Exited the lake at 11:15 AM at -42.102244, -71.742575. The trail back to the RR is good to hike. From there, the trail is in good condition. Due to the higher water in Rio Azul fording and therefore the RR is not possible. You get also the recommendation from the Argentinien carabineros to take Option 03. I didn't want to take this and followed the RR to this point: -42.091481, -71.633667. From there I followed the trail to this point: -42.09399, -71.634188. There is an old dock [image here: https://imgur.com/a/5LMsKA1]to put in you packraft. The trail can be downloaded at the end of the comment. There I packrafted with very strong onshore wind and if it hadn't been for only 300m I wouldn't have done it to (03:15 PM):-42.096114, -71.628682 ,and walked from there to the end of GPT22.<br /> <br /> Overall: great section! It's a nice trail to hike and packrafting rRioEl Manso is a lot of fun and a great change in perspective after hiking for a few days. After that, the trail continues bto bein a good condition. The conditions for Lago de Las Rocas should be closely checked. I would definitely recommend it!<br /> <br /> Trail download: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqzLweJ3NZW5q7YZzDoW3qlKypqwBg<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * General advice : The Regular Route is best hiked between December and April. The primary obstacles are high river levels early in the season and after rain. During the peak period of January and February it may be difficult to obtain a camping reservation at La Junta which could prevent a southbound traverse.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-18 to 2023-Feb-23 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + 22-01 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> A lot has been already written, so just a few comments from our side:<br /> <br /> No problem with entering the valley in SOBO direction, until the noon aprox., saying you will spend the night at the refugio El Arco - they have some time estimate for this hike and can’t let you in if its late. By the entrance you can buy some useful things that might be hard to buy in Cochamo, like gas or peanut butter. There was also a beer truck with quite good wifi connection (only during summer). Crowds of people in both directions, quite muddy trail. Detour to the Toboganes is definitely worth it. We spend the night after all in a marked camp aprox. 4 kms before the refugio and it was a good decision - there were quite a lot of people when we passed by the next day.<br /> <br /> From the refugio its nice and easy walking. We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> Based on other comments and our time schedule we decided to take the alternative 22-01 to Llanada Grande. This is a good resuppy spot as there is a new and big (at least in comparison to what you would expect in a place like this) supermarket that replaced the old one destroyed by fire. Good place to stay is a campsite at the end of the village, on the right side, run by really nice lady. Not expensive and if its free, you can stay for the same price in a so called refugio, that is actually just a very small room, but for us better than a tent. Hot water and electricity + possibility to buy pizza and maybe some other small things - there is actually no restaurant in the village. Some more road walking around Lago Totoral to Rio Puelo to connect back to RR. In general not very attractive part of the trail. Great restaurant in Hostal Puelo Libre with local beer and view on the river.<br /> <br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. We thought about taking the RR around the lake, but the landslide caused by snow (aprox. 1.5 km from the port) looked quite difficult to pass. We discovered there is possibility to cross the lake on one of the locals boat, which we did in the end. We were lucky that after waiting for some time in the port a car with locals arrived. Happily for us they arranged a boat transfer with other residents to get to the other side of the lake, where they went for a lunch. We were able to go with them, and after picking up their friends, we all hop off the boat close to the police station. Great experience and we learned a lot about this area and people living here. We paid 10k CLP. In the comments here is a contact for the guy with a boat, but without signal it must be arranged in advance, and the price might differ when not sharing the transfer with others. No problem with the border check. It took us around 4 hrs to get to the argentinian side, where everyone was super friendly as well. They offered us to camp there, but we decided to make it to Lago Puelo, which took us 2 more hrs. The landscape changes significantly on the other side where everything is more dry. No problem with the river crossing. We got off the trail directly on the main road.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07 / 7 days / hiking / SOBO / Cochamó - Lago Puelo / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Eco Camping El Valle to the entry of the park and arrived around 8 am. We told them that we would camp at the Refugio El Arco and explained our further route. Until la Junta there were lots of chilenean tourists, therefore the path was very good only with some muddy stretches. Like Véronica we walked to Toboganes, a waterfall/stream with beautiful rock formations. There were tons of people, but it's worth it. La junta seems to be an amazing place for rock climbing, we would have loved to have some climbing gear with us.<br /> <br /> After la Junta there were almost no more hikers. We camped next to the Refugio, as there were already two other groups of hikers sleeping in the Refugio.<br /> <br /> Until Lago grande there are still some muddy stretches and blowdowns, but generally it is a good path. From there on the path is perfectly maintained. We camped at approx. km 66 next to Río los Morros. <br /> <br /> Nice path until El Manso. We resupplied at the minimercado and camped next to the river, which was a beautiful camping spot with lots of delicious blackberrys.<br /> <br /> The next morning we arrived at Señora Ocos house around 8 am. She contacted multiple people and luckily found out that there was somebody crossing the river to our side at 11 am. The man, whose name we unfortunately forgot, was super friendly and dropped us off after the river mouth of Rio Traidor, close to where he lives. He charged 10.000 CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The path to the first settler was mediocre and afterwards got worse and worse until it was almost pure buschwhacking. It was the worst we had so far on the GPT. Thorns.. Lots of thorns tearing away at your clothes, backpack and skin.<br /> We camped at the river at approx. km 12, which was a beautiful spot.<br /> Until the settlement Las Nieves the path continued beeing bad with lots of bush bashing. The settler told us that no locals use that path and she also told us that there are no regular boat transfers to Puerto Urrutia on weekends (it was sunday..).<br /> We wouldn't do that stretch next to Rio Puelo again and instead hitchhike from El Manso to Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> At the boat transfer waypoint to Puerto Urrutia we had Entel service and contacted one lodging on the other side. They told us to go to the last house 1km back to ask for a transfer (it's the house of the man who does the boat transfer on weekdays). But we got lucky and a boat passed by and took us to the other side. The man on the boat also told us that the path from Río Traidor to Puerto Urrutia &quot;is closed&quot;.<br /> <br /> We continued to Lago verde, where we planned to camp, but it's surrounded by dense forest, apart from a private property.<br /> That spot is amazing, a little landing stage to go swimming, a great view and a very friendly owner. She even baked some delicious apple bread for us. For camping she charged us 8000 CLP p.p.. That was definetly worth it.<br /> <br /> After Lago verde there is a minimarket. We didn't check it out, but there is no resupply wp yet.<br /> <br /> After reading previous blogs and having had enough of thorns we decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard. We also got his number (+56958694897), if you want to contact him in advance. When we arrived at the lake, there were already lots of people waiting for the boat so we just waited with them and after some time got knocked the boat with them. The ride was really nice across the crystal clear blue water and we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> From the southern end of the lake it's just a couple of minutes to walk to the chilenian border control. We continued on and camped at km 30 at the river. Again a really beautiful spot.<br /> <br /> The next day we passed the argentinian border control and continued to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> The section was really beautiful, except the part with the thorns. There are lots of streams along the whole trail, so one does not need to carry much water. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Feb-02 / 5 days / hiking / NOBO / RR mostly / Frank<br /> <br /> I got the bus-ferry-bus from Puerto Montt to Segundo Corral. To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas &amp; delays with the river ferries I walked on the road from Segundo Corral to El Manso, about 50KM. Easy but not very interesting walking. It takes a full day to get from Puerto Montt on the bus to Segundo Corral so I believe it would be better to go SOBO with an early start to get through La Junta, otherwise you need 2 additional days for travel. <br /> <br /> Stayed @ nice &amp; cheap campsite at bridge over Rio Colorado &amp; camped at El Arco. The trail approaching El Arco was muddy &amp; a bit swampy (it had been raining). It's possible to go by boat across Lago Vidal Gomez but it's an easy 3 hour walk. <br /> <br /> Got the bus again to Segundo Corral &amp; ferry to Paso Bolson. The trail across the border is generally in good condition. There is some easy bushbashing on the Chilean side for about 1KM before the border &amp; some fallen trees but they are straightforward to go over. Rio Azul was easily fordable in early February.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-10 to 2023-Jan-14 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR, also GPT22-01 / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Cochamó - La Junta - Lago Vidal Gormáz - El Manso - Puerto Urrutio via Option 1 - Lago Las Rocas - Lago Puelo (Argentina) <br /> <br /> The borders of Paso El León and Paso El Bolsón are both opened again for tourists! Go for it! It is a beautiful section with wonderful people, such a contrast to where I started the GPT further north. <br /> <br /> In Cochamó, I stayed at Eco Camping El Valle, right at the entrance to the Cochamó River Valley. Paid 7000 clp, very nice campground, there are tarps over the picnic tables at each site so you have a dry place to hang out even if it rains :) Since I spent the night so close to the trailhead, it was easy to get to the guarded valley entrance (Road End {22N} [109.8/58]) early. I did not have a camping reservation for La Junta. I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 a.m., explained my route to the staff, saying I would stay at Refugio El Arco that night. They let me through no problem. The trail to La Junta is a bit muddy, but nothing bad, my feet stayed dry in my trailrunners despite the fact it was also raining off and on. Beautiful path through the Valvidian rainforest, I really enjoyed all the green and the moss. When I reached the La Junta area, I stashed my pack in some trees and made a short detour to Las Toboganes. They are only 0.7 km off the regular route, and highly worthwhile to see! What a spectacular area, I totally see the Yosemite resemblence, and would love to go back someday. <br /> <br /> I found the trail after La Junta (all the way to Lago Vidal Gormáz) to be in good shape, contrary to what others have written. It was maybe slightly less maintained than the popular trail leading into the valley, but it was still very clear and easy to follow — not overgrown, no blowdowns, just a bit muddy in some places. Granted, it has been drier than normal so far this summer. None of the fords went above my knees, and sometimes I could cross the creeks without even getting my feet wet, all very easy. <br /> <br /> The refugio at El Arco is dark and without any furniture inside. I found it much nicer to camp in the nearby meadow just south of the trail there. There are outhouses. <br /> <br /> Nice path from Lago Vidal Gormáz all the way to El Manso. Very beautiful in this valley as well. Met a few arrieros along the way. Most of the rivers have bridges crossing them. There is a small camp at the bridge over Río Colorado. <br /> <br /> In El Manso, I topped off my food supply at the shop on the main road. It has a good selection of food items. Then I went to Señora Oco's house to try and arrange a boat transfer over Río Puelo. She and her family are very friendly and welcoming. I arrived there mid-afternoon, but she could not get in radio contact with anyone on the other side. In the evening, we heard back from Hospedaje Nancy, who charged 60,000 clp for a crossing upriver all the way to Río Traidor (where she lives). This I found too expensive for me traveling alone. Señora Oco baked some bread and I was able to buy some. She also said I was welcome to camp in the fields behind her house while waiting for a response from settlers Paulina and Jovino regarding a crossing to their place (much more direct and therefore likely much cheaper). The next morning, we still hadn't received any response from Paulina and Jovino either via radio or Whatsapp (they may have been away). Because of this, I decided to take the gravel road to Puerto Urrutia (Option 1), and forgo crossing Río Puelo, unfortunately. Despite this setback, I'm really glad I got to meet and spend time with Señora Oco and her family, they are such kind people. <br /> <br /> I was able to hitch most of the way to Puerto Urrutia, where I rejoined the regular route. The trail from there all the way to Lago Las Rocas is mostly easy and clear. There were a few confusing junctions in the vicinity of Lago Verde, so I kept a close eye on the GPS there. After crossing the road after that, the beginning of RR -TL-V {22S} [2.8/7.1+2.7] is tricky to find. There are lots of fallen trees and many forest paths. The GPS was very helpful there too until I finally found the right path. After about 700 m it merges with a nice clear path all the way to Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> As has been previously reported, there is a large rockslide about 2 km in once you reach Lago Las Rocas. It didn't look overly dangerous to me, the boulders were large and seemed solid enough. I started crossing it right at the bottom where the rocks fall into the lake, as it looked to be the easiest and safest way across. I was maybe 50 meters through it, when a boat came along, and the people in it told me to hop in! What lucky timing! As we passed the rest of the rockslide, I could see the last part of it was steep, loose scree rather than big boulders. That part would have definitely been nerve-wracking to cross, and I was very grateful for the boat ride. The settlers who owned the boat live about 3 km along the trail, at a little bay/inlet in the lake. They have a nice beach and campground too. That's where I rejoined the trail. Beyond their house, the &quot;Camino Los Mosquitos,&quot; as it is locally called, gets progressively worse in terms of overgrowth and blowdowns. The trail has not been cleared since the past winter, and not been used either. The stretch between kilometers 4 and 6.5 is the worst. It felt more like pure bushwhacking than following a trail. The path was mostly burried beneath walls of downed trees and branches, it got very hard to follow at times. Lots of climbing over and under vegetation, some of it quite thorny too. Very slow and tiring. My pack got ripped up a bit and so did my clothing. Had I known the trail was this bad, I would have taken the option on the east side of Lago Las Rocas. It's hard to imagine it could be in worse shape than the regular route. <br /> <br /> When I got to the Chilean Border Control it was around 6:30 p.m., so too late to cross that day. The border agent working there was very friendly, but he couldn't get in contact with his supervisor to get approval for stamping my passport with the next day's date. So I camped back at Lago Las Rocas, and the next morning came back at 8 a.m. when the border post reopened. The trail on the Chilean side of the border was a bit rough in places, it has been neglected since the winter too. But it was not as bad as the previous stretch along Lago Las Rocas. Once I got into Argentina, it got much better. The trails in Parque Nacional Lago Puelo are well-maintained, and I met some day hikers. No issues at the Argentine Border Control. <br /> <br /> I was able to ford Río Azul easily, thanks to the dry weather. There are three branches of the river to cross (the GPS waypoints only show two of them). The middle branch is the widest and deepest. The water there went up to my upper thighs (I'm 165 cm), but the current was slow and it never felt dangerous. <br /> <br /> Now I'm skipping down to GPT32 to continue my adventure further south :) The northern sections that I hiked from 6 to 22 were simply amazing, with great weather almost the entire time. Thank you, all! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Oct-19 to 2022-Oct-24 / 6 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / ???<br /> <br /> Here are the main points because our story is long :)<br /> Paso el bolson and El Leon are closed for tourists until further notice <br /> Some of trails are in bad condition because of the hard winter but they might be cleared in the following weeks. <br /> Landslide in Lago Las rocas - very dangerous part to cross. We suggest to take an optional route <br /> <br /> The trail starts in valle cochamo. We did not have any reservations but as we were in low season we were not worried. However the lady from the tourist office in Cochamo told us to arrive at the entrance of the valley between 7 &amp; 8 to avoid being rejected. At 7h50 there was nobody at the reception so we did not have any trouble, but we cannot say for the high season. <br /> You can arrange a car transfer to go the valley entrance. The numbers of the drivers are available at the tourist office.<br /> <br /> The trail until La Junta is muddy but well maintained - no worries there. Up there we met some arrieros and the locals from the camping and they told us that the trail was closed a bit further because of snow (up to 2 meters) in laguna Blanca. This is the highest part of the trail (about 1100m). The river crossings were feasible, but as they forecasted rain for the next day, we preferred to turn back in order to avoid being blocked between high rivers and snow. <br /> <br /> Back on the road between Cochamo and Puelo, we caught at about 10:30 the bus that leaves at 7:45 from Puerto Montt, to go to Rio Manso. There is a well furnished Shop where you can even find gas. <br /> We remained in the Southbound direction and went to Senora Oco's house. She was very welcoming, and her and her grandchild helped us in arranging a boat transfer for the following morning (nothing was possible the same day). We paid 50000 pesos to go from their house to Rio Traidor - close to Nancy hospedaje. Indeed, we skipped the first part of the trail as they told us that it was very closed with a lot of small trees and not used anymore. Maybe it would be cheaper to cross a bit south using the cable car or directly from Manso to Rio Traidor.<br /> <br /> Until the Rio Tigre, settler # 22N [7.7/157], the trail is visible but sometimes with some obstacles (fallen trees). After this settling, you will have to cross the Rio Tigre which might be the hardest to cross on your way if you have a lot of rain. There is a bridge indicated on the tracks but it has been swept away this winter. The best place to cross is a bit higher following the river, follow the horse track. We did not have any problem crossing, and probably the settler could help you with his horse if the river is too high. That is an advantage of the Southbound direction.<br /> <br /> After, the trail is really clear. We found the last transfer across Rio Puelo about 1 km before the point indicated on the track. It is his job to do the crossings and he also does sportive fishing if you are interested. Look for a house with a border collie with a piece of wood around the neck :) <br /> <br /> From Puerto Urrutia, the trail is clear again until the road. There is a shop at 600m on the right. Again here, the trail is closed due to fallen trees at the beginning, but the locals (last house on the right) will help you find another path. Clear trail until Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> Once you reach the Lago Las rocas you will be blocked after 2km. Indeed there was a landslide this winter and you have to cross a very dangerous part of about 300 m of rocky mountain slide. It is not stabilized yet. We went through but we do not advise it. <br /> Also, there were a lot of fallen trees and the path was really tiring. The locals will probably clear the path in the following weeks. To get more information we suggest to contact the camping Playa Las Rocas on Instagram. <br /> You can also consider the other routes or arrange a boat crossing. <br /> <br /> Finally we arrived at the border crossing. Unfortunately it was closed due to the Covid, except for the very locals (people from Cochamo). Apparently Paso el Leon is closed as well for tourists. Be aware of that if you have to cross the Chilean- Argentinian borders, as small passes seem to be closed for tourists. <br /> In the end we had to go back to Puerto Montt crossing the Lago inferior with a free boat (ask the carabineros), and then the bus-ferry-bus from Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-23 &amp; 2021-Nov-25 / 2 days / Packrafting / SOBO / Estuario de Reloncavi from Ralun to Rio Puelo (Western shore) / Jan Dudeck &amp; Meylin Ubilla <br /> <br /> We paddled in two easy days the roughly 40 km southbound.<br /> <br /> Start at Ralun at Puente Petrohue: On the right side of the bridge (view in river flow direction) is a suitable put-in and good spot to camp. The gate was closed but not locked. There are signs of people occasionally camping there.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Cochamo: Packrafters in need to resupply can do this in Cochamo about 16 water kilometers from the put-in. Both, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking. The western side is less intervened and more scenic.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Rio Puelo: Again, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking but requires the crossing of a 4 km wide bay in open water. The western side is less intervened and more scenic but requires crossing the 3 km wide Estuario de Reloncavi near Rio Puelo. On the western side are also the Termas de Sotomo that are suitable for camping.<br /> <br /> Wind: On nice sunny days “viento sur” often kicks in around 10 am making southbound paddling difficult or unfeasible. We had two partially overcasted days and could paddle on the first day till 4 pm when wind became annoying strong. On the second day around 3 pm the wind and waves became unpleasant but by this time we were walking the final kilometers into Rio Puelo.<br /> <br /> GPT22: Southbound packrafters may take in Cochamo or Rio Puelo the bus to Lago TaguaTagua an get to the recommended packrafting starting point of section GPT22 halfway into this section to Flip-Flop as recommended.<br /> <br /> * 2021-NOV-18 / 1 day / hiking / NOBO / Cochamó Valley (Lago Tagua Tagua - Lago Grande) / Tobías <br /> <br /> The Section between La Junta Base and Lago Vidal Gormez was very challenging. It had been raining a lot, so the Trail was very muddy and I had to cross several rivers and creeks. Went straight from Cochamó to Lago Grande and camped there in some Snow. Met only a few settlers. After reaching Lago Vidal Gormez, the Trail was easy and I enjoyed the hike a lot. Amaizing área up there!<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-FEB-18 to 2020-FEB-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tyler <br /> I didn’t have problems getting a campsite at la junta on the spot luckily. AMAZING area that I’ll be returning to again to do all the day hikes in. Aside from that, most the trail was very muddy, rainy, and unmaintained. This got a bit difficult after the 3rd day in a row. Good places to camp at the lakes over the pass SOBO. When I got down to Lago Vidal Gomez the trail improved.. I got some bread from a settler at the start of the lake. There right on the trail and super friendly and have rooms. The last ferry across Tagua Tagua leaves at 7 pm. I didn’t make it, so I slept underneath the office/bathrooms and took the ferry at 8:00 the next morning. I believe there’s another ferry at 12. <br /> <br /> *. 2020-Jan-09 to 2020-Jan-11 / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun<br /> <br /> Despite the austere warnings on the La Junta Camping website, I was able to make a reservation at short notice in high season, and the back and forth process only took a few hours. In Cochamó, I was warned that due to recent rain the river crossings at El Arco and another nearby river would likely be impassable. With four more days of heavy rain forecast, I decided to take the bus-ferry-bus combo to Puerto Urrutia and try to walk northbound from there with the optimistic hope that by the time I reached El Arco the river would be passable or, at least, the wait would be less. However, 10km north of the Rio Puelo crossing (service starts at 9am) my way was blocked by a high and fast river. I then retraced my steps and completed the rest of the section southbound - which was straightforward. The trail on the west side of Lago de la Roca until the frontera is a bit overgrown but still easy to see and nothing particularly slowed me down. On the Argentinian side the trail is well maintained. It is not permitted to camp on the 12km stretch between the border posts. I arrived too late to cross that day, but the Chileans stamped my passport with the next day’s date so I didn’t have to wait for the post to open at 9am. The Argentinian border guards informed me that because of the rain, the Rio Azul was too high to ford at the point on the regular hiking route just before Lago Puelo so I took the alternative route (Oh-Tl-V@22-04-#001) a few kms north and crossed over the La Pasarela bridge.<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-22 to 2020-Jan-26 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / parque de la vallee de Cochamo - La Pasarella / Arnaud <br /> <br /> As we arrived from Puerto Montt we were with the bus and stopped directly at the entrance of the private parque de la vallee de Cochamo.<br /> As it is private, there are some rules to get in, or they block you at the control point.<br /> The entrance is free but you need to have a reservation in one of the official camp sites there. To get the reservation, you can do it on internet (but you need to wait for the confirmation and it can be several days long), or do it directly there (red house), they give you the reservation voucher if there are places available (number seem to be limited). Then you pay the night when you reach the camp sites (6000 clp/pers).<br /> Or the other solution is to say that you sleep in the refugio del Arco. It is 23km further after the control. Then it is free and no reservation is needed, but this is possible only before 10am (after they block you). After 10am the only way to pass is to sleep in the camp sites. They block you if you do not have a<br /> reservation voucher for one camp site.<br /> This spot (la Junta) is famous among the chilenos so the access to the camp sites is really overrunned. The path is easy to walk.<br /> Once you go further than the campsites, you're alone, so it is better.<br /> The path is clearly marked. There are bridges for most of the rivers you cross. But it is very muddy.<br /> At the lago Vidal you can resupply a bit with those living there (you can also sleep in their camp sites).<br /> In El Manso you can find a minimarket with lots of things.<br /> Then, we decided to follow the road instead of the track because we were in a hurry with a deadline in El Bolson, until we reached la cruce de la rocas. There are buses or hitchiking is easy.<br /> Crossing borders was easy. There are 12km between the chilean stamp and the Argentin one that we did in 3.5 hours.<br /> At the very end we have not not crossed El Rio Azul, we walked 7 more km to the north to reach La Pasarella<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *In Cochamo go down towards the lake. There is a church on the left &amp; before you reach it there is a hospedaje on the right, good &amp; cheap.<br /> <br /> *There is a good place to stay NOBO 500 metres before the junction where the road turns towards Laguna Las Rocas. Farmhouse on RHS of road has rooms &amp; meals. Cheap, friendly &amp; good<br /> <br /> *In Segundo Corral there are two campsites. The first one is just before the school, it just says Kuchen but you can camp there. Cheap, nice family &amp; they do meals. There is a campsite after the school but the owner was drunk &amp; looking for an argument.<br /> Lots of campsites at Lago Totoral (on the road, not on RR)<br /> It's possible to camp near the Argentinian border control.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> * January 2023 Frank<br /> To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas you can walk on the road or get the bus to Segundo Corral then from Lago Inferior about 1.5KM from Segundo Corral there is a ferry to Paso Bolson (Chilean border control).The government subsidised ferry runs Monday-Friday only from 8-12 &amp; 2PM-6PM &amp; is only 2000 pesos. You need to radio the ferryman to arrange pickup, easily done in Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> We decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard (+56958694897),we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. <br /> <br /> *Northbound and southbound hiking is feasible. However, due to the controlled private southbound access through the La Junta área, hiking in that direction is only possible with a camping reservation, or by arriving at the checkpoint before 10am. A northbound traverse may therefore be preferred. For hikers generally heading south, it is possible to take the single ticket, half-day bus-ferry-bus combination south from Cochamó to Puerto Urrutia, hike the 120km north to Cochamó, then return to Puerto Urrutia and resume the section southwards from there.<br /> <br /> *Crossing the border is typically straightforward, however it is not permitted to camp on the 12km between the border posts. So if you arrive too late to cross, it is necessary to camp at the border post and cross the next day. In this situation, Chilean officials will stamp your passport with the next day’s date so you don’t need to wait for the office to open that morning.<br /> <br /> *Southbound access to the popular La Junta area is controlled at a private checkpoint and only granted to those with a prior camping reservation, or those arriving before 10am and therefore early enough to make it on to the free and unmanaged El Arco campsite 23km away. Reservations for La Junta can be made online at cochamo.com, but there may not be availability and the process may take several days, so hiking this section southwards may not be possible.Therefore, an option for hikers generally heading south is to take the bus-ferry-bus combination from Cochamó across Lago Tagua Tagua and on to Puerto Urrutia, hike 120km north back to Cochamó, then take the bus-ferry-bus south again and hike the remainder of the section southwards from Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT22 - Cochamó]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]<br /> <br /> {| border=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse:collapse&quot;<br /> |+'''GPT22: Cochamó'''<br /> | colspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| GPT22: Cochamó<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Group<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | D: Lagos Chilenos<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''160.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''51 h'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''136.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|'''35 h'''<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Region<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Chile &amp; Argentina: Los Lagos (X) &amp; Chubut<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Trails (TL)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|137.9 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|85.9%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 20.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|14.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Start<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Cochamó<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Minor Roads (MR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|10.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.7%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.3%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Finish<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Lago Puelo (Puerto)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Primary Roads (PR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|9.7 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.0%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.0%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Status<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Published &amp; Verified<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Cross-Country (CC)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|2.2 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|1.4%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.4%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Traversable<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Dec - Apr (Maybe: Sep, Oct, Nov, May)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Bush-Bashing (BB)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packraft<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Very Useful<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Ferry (FY)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.8 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.1%)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Connects to<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | GPT21, GPT23<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Investigation (I)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.9 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.4%)<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Options<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | 268 km (9 Options &amp; Variants)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Exploration (EXP)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> | <br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> | rowspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| <br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total on Water<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''111.1 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''81.4%'''<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Attraction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 5 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| River (RI)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 62.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 45.7%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Difficulty<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 4 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Lake (LK)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 32.4 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 23.7%<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Direction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Fjord (FJ)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 16.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|11.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Comment<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Hiking: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Character<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Packrafting: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Challenges<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Valdivian Rain Forest, Sea Coast, Farmland, Settlers, River Packrafting, Lake Packrafting, Fjord Packrafting, Partly Overrun<br /> |}<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22-p.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520254.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520443.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282465.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282466.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447503.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_101648648.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_104321335.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:Bahia ralun.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447491.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447496.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT22_(Cochamo)&diff=114160 2024-02-09T22:25:33Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Feb-03 to 2024-Feb-09 / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> If you decide stay at Segundo Corral, and take the boat to Argentina.<br /> <br /> <br /> NO NO NO <br /> <br /> NO NO NO<br /> <br /> DON'T DON'T DON'T stay at Mari Mari Peni Camping, (or another name) Amancays Camping.<br /> <br /> <br /> I saved a girl hiker almost RAPED by the campground owner at the night on 07/02. About the details, i type it and upload later.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> GPT22 2024-01-31 to 2024-02-05 / 5,5 days days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Cochamó options/ Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> After a month and a half, we finally did something standard! From Puerto Varras (the bus stop on Avenida Vicente Perez Rosales just after Antonio Varras street) we took a bus at 8:38 going from Puerto Mont that went all the way to the end of MR to the Road end waypoint. At our hostel, they told us it would arrive at 8:45. Not sure if this is the same bus that others said would pass Puerto Varras at 8:15 or if it just goes to the road end only in high season. It was 7000 per person - I think they might charge double for backpacks, unless they screwed us.<br /> <br /> We were at the entrance at 11 AM and were let through for free when we told them we were going to El Arco. The way to the campsites is really busy (met maybe 50 people and about ten horses), easy and without many views as it goes through a forest. When we reached the campsites, we decided that the valley is really pretty and that we want to take some sidetrips. We asked all the campsites and only La Junta let us stay, 8000 per person. It is important not to spread the word as they did us a favor even though they are not supposed to allow people without reservations. So, do not tell anyone or expect to be let in. We had a numbered site so I think they genuinely had some places free. If nobody had places, after ford 98.9, there is a maze of paths and mini-meadows on the left where I saw somebody camp illegaly. If you hide your packs well for the day and then camp from dusk till dawn, you would probably get away with it. Alternatively there are some flat spots in Trinidad valley two hours up - if you start so that you would arrive by dusk, you should meet nobody.<br /> <br /> The side trips are steep but not challenging, many people take them. We went to Paloma (not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024) in the evening, it can be done in three hours there and back if you do not stop (we did). We started going up at 1715 and saw last person going down at 1830 or so. It is quite splendid. OSM says there is a route to Cerro La Junta. It is probably an exit route for climbers, I did not see any traces of it but it looked like it were possible. If it is, one could probably continue all the way to Cerro Capicua.<br /> <br /> Arco Iris is still closed. If it were open I think one could follow the ridge, which is not very steep or outcroppy, all the way north to above GPT21 - only there is probably no way down.<br /> <br /> The next morning I went to the Trinidad Valley and all the way up to Cerro Bella Vista and Nat went ahead to escape the approaching rain the next day. The roundtrip takes about 7-8 hours. There is a marked travelled trail to the pass (&quot;El Paso&quot;), the last 300 vertical meters or so are marked by cairns. You will need your hands occasionally, but it is not exposed or particularly hard - SAC 4. The views are well worth it. It seemed most people only go to La Laguna (lake just under the pass). We started at 6 AM and I met the first people on the way down around noon at La Laguna. Both La Laguna and Cerro Bella Vista are not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024. The way up through Camping Vista Hermosa (the current GPT track) is not supposed to be used by people not staying at the campsite. The proper way up seems to be the more western trail that is marked on OSM. Going back down trough camping Bella Vista was without issues though. They told Natalie you are not supposed to use their cable car (the one more upstream). Tomáš thinks you should use it as it is the only one that you can use without going through either of the campsites (the downstream one goes directly from La Junta campsite). No horseflies by now!<br /> <br /> I left the camping at 1530, and met only one group of hikers all the way up to the second Camp waypoint at Lago Grande. It is a nice camp, bigger than the first but no good water sources. Wild legal camping, if I get it right. Refuge El Arco is unmanned, it is just a simple wooden hut. I would only use it in case of severe rain. The way up was almost all dry after two weeks of no rain. Mostly through forest, with some nice views of the valley, a few more fords then indicated but they could all be jumped.<br /> <br /> The next day it rained (5mm?) from 4 AM till 11 AM but it was not enough to make the trails substantially muddy. The bridge before Lago Vidal is not there but there was a nice log. There are some pre-european rock paintings after Lago Vidal, one probably needs to make a sidetrip to see them based on the information signs near Torrentoso (trail 22-10 was signposted; trails in the valley are well maintained so I assume the option is good to go). On the last meadow before the gone bridge at 51.8, there was a cherry tree that still had very tasty miniature cherries in the beginning of February. It is behind the house to the left of the trail, maybe 40 m from it. I discovered it by going south of the house (nobody seemed to be in it). Do not miss the turnoff of the trail from the meadow - I went straight, there was initially a trail but petered out into a landslide. Camp at 45.2 is nice (reach it by turning left from the trail cca 50-100 m beyond the sjoetest route, that way you avoid any vegetation). Finally met Natalie after two days of escaping rain. Shop in El Manso is better than expected (has good veges and fruit) but not as good as the one in Llanada Grande. El Manso also is besides a cerveceria with wifi. The bus only came at 1530 despite being told it comes at 1pm. In almost three hours of waiting, we did not manage to hitch a car. <br /> <br /> The bus indeed stops at Llanada Grande for 10 minutes or so - it is not really enough to orientate yourself and buy lots of supplies. The supermarket had lots of nectarines! Should you want to go to Puerto Urutia, the bus does not go there so you need to get off and walk the minor road there. We could not get reliable Entel internet reception anywhere in the valley (calls were fine) along the bus route.<br /> <br /> We went to Primer Corral to do 22-08. The first few km are not a pleasant road to walk on. We decided to turn back as bad weather was coming in two days and it did not seem worth it. Not sure how far the road for cars goes. There seems to be regular but sparse traffic on it.<br /> <br /> We walked back for about an hour on the main road before getting a hitch for the last 3 km to turnoff to 22-02, as others indicated the RR is badly passable due to a landslide. The MR section is aesthetically dreadful and supersteep. We had to climb a locked gate right at the start. We found a miniature camping spot about 200 m before the signposted trail turnoff. In the morning a lorry driver waved at us so probably no issues with climbing the gate. Luckily the trail is much nicer than the road. We met the settler at the lake Azul, he let us walk through his property. The few km to the first very small lake are actually an undriven MR, but very pleasant, it does not seem to be connected to the road network. After 2 km, one turns left onto a trail. Until the pass, it is very clear. After the pass, the visibility deteriorates somewhat but no bush bashing is involved. Soon after that, there is a gate saying there is no trail afer a harsh winter. We went further and it turned out there is a trail. There were some trees on it, but not too much and we lost it only for about 50 m. From setler at 11.4, the trail is much more clear. Met a seemingly lonely girl from the next homestead with whom we had a lovely chat. The trail to the border control was easy, we came there at 1530 and were let through. They told us that it would be ok to reach the Argentinian border control the next day. They too had a very ripe cherry tree but did not pick up on my appraisal of it and did not suggest I get some fruit.<br /> <br /> We met several people on the way to Argentina border. We camped there (wild permitted numbered camping sites with numbers - there was about twenty other Argentinians, the functioning toilets are unsigned immediately next to the Police building). The next day we had no issues with getting a stamp and going down. The last CC part is a trail. We forded the second ford a bit earlier than suggested, it was waist deep but very slow moving. Took a bus at 1340 to El Bolson - seems to run regularly.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + day trip / Lotti &amp; Alex<br /> <br /> We did this section mostly as described by Fangwen and Tobi (El Manso to Cochamo base camp), so there is not much to add. We stayed at La Junta for 2 nights and did a very nice day trip to Cerro Bellavista (see description further down). The trails were very well maintained all the way. The only minor problems were mud and lots of horse flies. Like Fangwen and Tobi, we were happy we did the section NOBO, because the landscape gets more and more spectacular. This way it is also much easier to get to camp at La Junta without reservation, because they always reserve some space for hikers coming from the south. <br /> It was a beautiful hike and especially the area around La Junta is really spectacular and worth visiting. We even met a fellow GPT hiker there, which was great! <br /> <br /> Transportation:<br /> <br /> To start:<br /> Bus &quot;Rio Puelo&quot; from Puerto Varas to Lago Tagua-Tagua at 8:20am, then ferry to Puerto Maldonado, then bus to El Manso. We arrived at the trailhead around 1pm.<br /> <br /> after hike:<br /> Bus from end of trailhead (&quot;Cochamo base camp&quot;) to Cochamo/Puerto Montt at 1pm.<br /> <br /> Day trip to Cerro Bellavista:<br /> <br /> Start at La Junta on GPT Variant G, following the signs to &quot;Trinidad&quot;. It starts by crossing the river with the little cable car. After the walls of Trinidad, stay on the trail and follow the signs to &quot;Laguna&quot;. The official trail ends there, but there are stone cairns and ribbons marking a trail that goes up to the pass. The laguna is crowded, but we didn't meet anyone further up. The view at the pass is already great, but you can go up even further. Turn to the left and follow the stone cairns until the summit. It is not difficult, just walking and easy scrambling, and the view is absolutely spectacular.<br /> The whole tour has about 1300m of altitude difference. It took us around 5h to go up, and 3-4h down. <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-01-07 to 2024-01-14: Fangwen and Tobi / 2.5 days Ventisquero Valley (Option 08 + more), 4 days El Manso to Cochamo RR / NOBO hiking.<br /> <br /> We did two parts along this enjoyable section, connecting them by hitchhiking and resupplying in between in Llanada Grande.<br /> <br /> The first part was hiking ~20km into the scenic Ventisquero valley (Option 08), alongside a wonderful river on an enjoyable and easy hiking trail through farms and rainforest that mostly follows an old minor road. It's often better to follow the well-marked trail rather than the GPT track files. A highlight of our trip was hiking up to a fantastic viewpoint at 1100m with a view of the whole valley, its remote side valleys and glaciated mountain peaks. The trail (900m elevation gain, 4.5km) through the thick rainforest is steep but excellent in quality and easy to follow (but the turnoff at S 42° 01.737', W 072° 05.643' is easy to miss). This and other trails in the valley are not part of the GPT files yet, but GPX files can be found on the website of Rincon Bonito (glamping accommodation for groups) that presumably created the trail. We camped by the viewpoint; what a wonderful experience! There are plenty of places to pitch up a tent, but little protection from wind. We found a wind protected camp in a dried-out puddle at (S 42° 02.705', W 072° 06.193'). Make sure to bring water, since the last reliable water source is in the valley, just before the turnoff onto the steep trail. From the viewpoint, we attempted to climb the local mountain, but beyond 1500m, it appears to require bush bashing. Our track: [[Media:GPT 22 Ventisquero Viewpoint.gpx]].<br /> The viewpoint is within the Pumalin National Park, but the whole valley seems to be private property and camping is forbidden outside official campsites, which begin quite far into the valley. There are plenty of spots to pitch up a tent nonetheless (which is what we did).<br /> For packrafters, going down the river must surely be a highlight! Rincon Bonito offers packrafting (maybe only for their guests?), they describe it as class II+.<br /> <br /> Our second part followed the regular route 22N from El Manso to the Cochamo trailhead. This was an enjoyable hike and we found the trail to be in good condition, although it gets pretty muddy around El Arco (and that's after one week of sunny weather). There is quite a bit of pointless up and down between km45 and km79. Additionally, our hiking distance was often 20-25% longer than expected, as there are many switchbacks too small to be represented on the track files. We liked hiking this section northbound, as the rainforest and the views get more and more impressive as you go along. La Junta has a lot of local hiking options (e.g. hiking into the Anfiteatro valley or on top of Cerro Trinidad), but we didn't spend any extra days because the weather was turning.<br /> <br /> Logistics: to get to the start of section 22, take the daily bus that leaves at 7.45am from Puerto Montt (stops at 8.15 in Puerto Varas at intersection el Salvador/San Pedro S 41° 19.081', W 072° 59.038', and later in Cochamo). The bus company Río Puelo has a ticket office in Puerto Montt, their WhatsApp number is +56 9 7408 9199. From there, take the ferry across Lago Tagua Tagua and the connecting bus down the valley to your respective trailhead (El Manso for the Cochamo valley, Primer Corral for the Ventisquiero valley). Note that travel is slow... We arrived at the Primer Corral at 4pm. We left a bag of food for the second half of our trip. Unfortunately it was visible from the parking lot and got stolen, so we resupplied at the Llanada Grande supermarket. The bus makes a stop there for ~15min, if you want a quick resupply there (it's a bit bigger than in El Manso). We hitchhiked to El Manso, which worked after two hours of waiting/walking (not a lot of traffic).<br /> <br /> If you are in the Llanada Grande area, go to Camping Reflejo Azul. The campsite itself is average, but it has the most beautiful river we have ever seen in our lives. Visit this truly special place before Instagram influencers find out about it and it becomes overrun by hordes of tourists. Day access is possible also for 5.000 CLP.<br /> <br /> Photos: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1732098767296002/?app=fbl<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-4 / 7.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RH + OP-LK-2 + RP / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> <br /> Note: We were told a reservation is needed for a camp site at La Junta to be allowed into the valley from Cochamo side, so we did that. However, one of the wikiexplora entry mentioned that they were allowed in when mentioning that they wanted to camp at El Arco Refuge but we read it too late. Camp Trawen is the most expensive (15k per person), which is the reason why it’s been available on short notice. There are several other sold-out camps around for 8k-10k.<br /> <br /> Day 1: We hitchhiked to Cochamo Base Camp at 9am and reached Camp Trawen by 2pm. It would have been better to go on the El Arco Refuge straight away and camp there. It’s a touristy stretch and in our view not really worth doing, if you like the general quiet nature of the GPT.<br /> <br /> Day 2: Camped at the beach at Lago Vidal. Easy hike but lots of ups and downs.<br /> <br /> Day 3: We packrafted Lago Vidal and had a good lunch at Luisa’s place (make sure to drop by!), before continuing on to Torrentoso (not the paid camp, but on the meadow a few hundred meters after the official camp). <br /> <br /> Day 4: The bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [51.8/146] (Rio Steffen) does not exist anymore. It’s not a demanding ford but there are short steep ups and downs on both sides. We stayed near wp Settler {22N} [50.1/307].<br /> <br /> Day 5: We rivered in at wp Rio Manso. The ride was super scenic and beautiful and there were no rapids, just a bit of boiling water but nothing difficult, which might be due to different water levels compared to previous accounts. It’s 45 minutes from there to the bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36]. We rivered out behind the bridge on the right side. There is a nice flat beach which leads to the cabin of Harv and Veronica. They let us camp on their land and even offered a hot (wood fired) shower for 2.5k per person. There is a cervezeria and shop across the road for resupply.<br /> <br /> Day 6: We took the bus at 1 pm to intersection at wp X {22-01} [25.0/187] and went on OP-MR-V (along Hunter’s estate) to Lago Azul. You will be charged 5k per person to access the lake. We crossed Lago Azul with strong waves and tailwind so we sailed to the other side in no time.<br /> <br /> Day 7: Crossed Lago de Las Rocas, Lago Inferior, and Lago Puelo to the Argentinian border control which opens at 8am next morning so we camped there. Next day we finished at Lago Puelo which is a popular tourist beach.<br /> <br /> Tip: It is a hot &amp; dusty walk to town from the beach and hitchhiking is not as easy in this part of Argentina as in Chile. Keep some small change of USD or Argentinian pesos for the bus ride to resupply in town. If you plan to continue packrafting Lago Puelo on GPT23 after resupplying, the earliest bus back to the beach reaches around 7.30am but it will be too late as the wind picks up by 8am. Lago Puelo is known for its strong gusts so it’s best to check wind forecast and paddle early morning 5.30am to cross. Therefore it may be easier to camp at one of the campsites nearer to the beach instead of staying in town. Just go there for resupplying.<br /> <br /> *2023 Dec OH-TL-V / Anh<br /> Note: the trail OH-TL-V alias Cerro Arco Iris was damaged by big rocks in the last season and is completely closed. A new route or repair is not in planning.<br /> <br /> *2023-12-17 to 2023-12-21 / 5 days / Hiking + Packrafting / SOBO /RR &amp; Option 01B / Roman<br /> <br /> Route: Hiking from Cochamó to El Manso. Bus to Lago de Las Rocas. Packrafted the lake and Lago Inferior. Hiked to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> Due to the border crossing, there is a thread about it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1709504102888802/. I applied online - no answer. Went to the carabineros in Cochamó they couldn't issue it, so I went without it (it worked without a problem)<br /> <br /> Started in Cochamó (there is a bus to the entry I just got him by hitchhiking so I don't know the schedule) and had a reservation for Camp Trawen (Fruit, Groceries, Electricity). This is getting checked at the entrance if you have one. The trail to the camp was a bit muddy (2 days of rain before the start) but all doable. The next day went to the northern end of Lago Vidal Gormaz and slept there at Lake {22-05} [7.9/604]. Bridge destroyed at: -41.43696, -71.96632 and Bridge {22N} [63.0/337] (Rio El Colorado). Both are crossable dry feed due to trees. Generally, there is no fording necessary after Lago Vidal Gormaz. Before yes. Packrafted Rio Manso. There were no rapids on the map, it's mentioned in the Manuel that it can be challenging. There are some rapids but all are doable and manageable (I am a beginner with kayak experience and an open deck packraft). You can get easy access to the river at -41.692561, -71.972725 this is 300m after the mark in the file. There is a dry river bed to avoid BB to get to the River. The river is fast flowing. Follow the GPS only at one point where the river splits pay extra attention: turn left as shownin the GPS: -41.698615, -71.985482 . Went out at the south side of the bride: Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36] (Rio Manso) on the right side. There is a trail to the street with one gate where you can walk through on the right side. The shop Settlement, Shop, Bus {22N} [40.7/36] (El Manso) has good supplies and free WiFi. The trail to this point is very good. Based on previous comments and a chat to a local I want to skip at least to Puerto Urrutia [comment in: 2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07]. There is an official bus going all the way from Rampa Punta<br /> Maldonado -&gt; Segundo Corral. Find the schedule here: https://imgur.com/a/7MVEscb . The shop owner said the bus is normally there at 02:00 PM. The bus was there in my case at 02:30 PM. This bus stops at the large supermarket [Supermercado Llanada Grande] a great place for a last resupply). The bus also stops at Puerto Urrutia but I went all the way to Lago de Las Rocas and used OH-MR-V {22-01B} [8.2+1.9] to get to the lake. Started packrafting at 05:00 PM. The start was fine. The wind got worse during the evening and was to my capabilities on the maximum with serious waves. Strong wind from the north. It was pleasantly paddling after going through the gap at -42.069608, -71.813735. Camped at Lake, Camp {22S} [21.8/314]. Got there at 07:45 PM. Crossed the border without any problems. Packrafted Lago Inferior and got in the water here: Lake {22S} [20.9/201] at 10:00 AM. The wind got stronger but manageable. Exited the lake at 11:15 AM at -42.102244, -71.742575. The trail back to the RR is good to hike. From there, the trail is in good condition. Due to the higher water in Rio Azul fording and therefore the RR is not possible. You get also the recommendation from the Argentinien carabineros to take Option 03. I didn't want to take this and followed the RR to this point: -42.091481, -71.633667. From there I followed the trail to this point: -42.09399, -71.634188. There is an old dock [image here: https://imgur.com/a/5LMsKA1]to put in you packraft. The trail can be downloaded at the end of the comment. There I packrafted with very strong onshore wind and if it hadn't been for only 300m I wouldn't have done it to (03:15 PM):-42.096114, -71.628682 ,and walked from there to the end of GPT22.<br /> <br /> Overall: great section! It's a nice trail to hike and packrafting rRioEl Manso is a lot of fun and a great change in perspective after hiking for a few days. After that, the trail continues bto bein a good condition. The conditions for Lago de Las Rocas should be closely checked. I would definitely recommend it!<br /> <br /> Trail download: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqzLweJ3NZW5q7YZzDoW3qlKypqwBg<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * General advice : The Regular Route is best hiked between December and April. The primary obstacles are high river levels early in the season and after rain. During the peak period of January and February it may be difficult to obtain a camping reservation at La Junta which could prevent a southbound traverse.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-18 to 2023-Feb-23 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + 22-01 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> A lot has been already written, so just a few comments from our side:<br /> <br /> No problem with entering the valley in SOBO direction, until the noon aprox., saying you will spend the night at the refugio El Arco - they have some time estimate for this hike and can’t let you in if its late. By the entrance you can buy some useful things that might be hard to buy in Cochamo, like gas or peanut butter. There was also a beer truck with quite good wifi connection (only during summer). Crowds of people in both directions, quite muddy trail. Detour to the Toboganes is definitely worth it. We spend the night after all in a marked camp aprox. 4 kms before the refugio and it was a good decision - there were quite a lot of people when we passed by the next day.<br /> <br /> From the refugio its nice and easy walking. We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> Based on other comments and our time schedule we decided to take the alternative 22-01 to Llanada Grande. This is a good resuppy spot as there is a new and big (at least in comparison to what you would expect in a place like this) supermarket that replaced the old one destroyed by fire. Good place to stay is a campsite at the end of the village, on the right side, run by really nice lady. Not expensive and if its free, you can stay for the same price in a so called refugio, that is actually just a very small room, but for us better than a tent. Hot water and electricity + possibility to buy pizza and maybe some other small things - there is actually no restaurant in the village. Some more road walking around Lago Totoral to Rio Puelo to connect back to RR. In general not very attractive part of the trail. Great restaurant in Hostal Puelo Libre with local beer and view on the river.<br /> <br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. We thought about taking the RR around the lake, but the landslide caused by snow (aprox. 1.5 km from the port) looked quite difficult to pass. We discovered there is possibility to cross the lake on one of the locals boat, which we did in the end. We were lucky that after waiting for some time in the port a car with locals arrived. Happily for us they arranged a boat transfer with other residents to get to the other side of the lake, where they went for a lunch. We were able to go with them, and after picking up their friends, we all hop off the boat close to the police station. Great experience and we learned a lot about this area and people living here. We paid 10k CLP. In the comments here is a contact for the guy with a boat, but without signal it must be arranged in advance, and the price might differ when not sharing the transfer with others. No problem with the border check. It took us around 4 hrs to get to the argentinian side, where everyone was super friendly as well. They offered us to camp there, but we decided to make it to Lago Puelo, which took us 2 more hrs. The landscape changes significantly on the other side where everything is more dry. No problem with the river crossing. We got off the trail directly on the main road.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07 / 7 days / hiking / SOBO / Cochamó - Lago Puelo / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Eco Camping El Valle to the entry of the park and arrived around 8 am. We told them that we would camp at the Refugio El Arco and explained our further route. Until la Junta there were lots of chilenean tourists, therefore the path was very good only with some muddy stretches. Like Véronica we walked to Toboganes, a waterfall/stream with beautiful rock formations. There were tons of people, but it's worth it. La junta seems to be an amazing place for rock climbing, we would have loved to have some climbing gear with us.<br /> <br /> After la Junta there were almost no more hikers. We camped next to the Refugio, as there were already two other groups of hikers sleeping in the Refugio.<br /> <br /> Until Lago grande there are still some muddy stretches and blowdowns, but generally it is a good path. From there on the path is perfectly maintained. We camped at approx. km 66 next to Río los Morros. <br /> <br /> Nice path until El Manso. We resupplied at the minimercado and camped next to the river, which was a beautiful camping spot with lots of delicious blackberrys.<br /> <br /> The next morning we arrived at Señora Ocos house around 8 am. She contacted multiple people and luckily found out that there was somebody crossing the river to our side at 11 am. The man, whose name we unfortunately forgot, was super friendly and dropped us off after the river mouth of Rio Traidor, close to where he lives. He charged 10.000 CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The path to the first settler was mediocre and afterwards got worse and worse until it was almost pure buschwhacking. It was the worst we had so far on the GPT. Thorns.. Lots of thorns tearing away at your clothes, backpack and skin.<br /> We camped at the river at approx. km 12, which was a beautiful spot.<br /> Until the settlement Las Nieves the path continued beeing bad with lots of bush bashing. The settler told us that no locals use that path and she also told us that there are no regular boat transfers to Puerto Urrutia on weekends (it was sunday..).<br /> We wouldn't do that stretch next to Rio Puelo again and instead hitchhike from El Manso to Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> At the boat transfer waypoint to Puerto Urrutia we had Entel service and contacted one lodging on the other side. They told us to go to the last house 1km back to ask for a transfer (it's the house of the man who does the boat transfer on weekdays). But we got lucky and a boat passed by and took us to the other side. The man on the boat also told us that the path from Río Traidor to Puerto Urrutia &quot;is closed&quot;.<br /> <br /> We continued to Lago verde, where we planned to camp, but it's surrounded by dense forest, apart from a private property.<br /> That spot is amazing, a little landing stage to go swimming, a great view and a very friendly owner. She even baked some delicious apple bread for us. For camping she charged us 8000 CLP p.p.. That was definetly worth it.<br /> <br /> After Lago verde there is a minimarket. We didn't check it out, but there is no resupply wp yet.<br /> <br /> After reading previous blogs and having had enough of thorns we decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard. We also got his number (+56958694897), if you want to contact him in advance. When we arrived at the lake, there were already lots of people waiting for the boat so we just waited with them and after some time got knocked the boat with them. The ride was really nice across the crystal clear blue water and we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> From the southern end of the lake it's just a couple of minutes to walk to the chilenian border control. We continued on and camped at km 30 at the river. Again a really beautiful spot.<br /> <br /> The next day we passed the argentinian border control and continued to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> The section was really beautiful, except the part with the thorns. There are lots of streams along the whole trail, so one does not need to carry much water. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Feb-02 / 5 days / hiking / NOBO / RR mostly / Frank<br /> <br /> I got the bus-ferry-bus from Puerto Montt to Segundo Corral. To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas &amp; delays with the river ferries I walked on the road from Segundo Corral to El Manso, about 50KM. Easy but not very interesting walking. It takes a full day to get from Puerto Montt on the bus to Segundo Corral so I believe it would be better to go SOBO with an early start to get through La Junta, otherwise you need 2 additional days for travel. <br /> <br /> Stayed @ nice &amp; cheap campsite at bridge over Rio Colorado &amp; camped at El Arco. The trail approaching El Arco was muddy &amp; a bit swampy (it had been raining). It's possible to go by boat across Lago Vidal Gomez but it's an easy 3 hour walk. <br /> <br /> Got the bus again to Segundo Corral &amp; ferry to Paso Bolson. The trail across the border is generally in good condition. There is some easy bushbashing on the Chilean side for about 1KM before the border &amp; some fallen trees but they are straightforward to go over. Rio Azul was easily fordable in early February.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-10 to 2023-Jan-14 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR, also GPT22-01 / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Cochamó - La Junta - Lago Vidal Gormáz - El Manso - Puerto Urrutio via Option 1 - Lago Las Rocas - Lago Puelo (Argentina) <br /> <br /> The borders of Paso El León and Paso El Bolsón are both opened again for tourists! Go for it! It is a beautiful section with wonderful people, such a contrast to where I started the GPT further north. <br /> <br /> In Cochamó, I stayed at Eco Camping El Valle, right at the entrance to the Cochamó River Valley. Paid 7000 clp, very nice campground, there are tarps over the picnic tables at each site so you have a dry place to hang out even if it rains :) Since I spent the night so close to the trailhead, it was easy to get to the guarded valley entrance (Road End {22N} [109.8/58]) early. I did not have a camping reservation for La Junta. I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 a.m., explained my route to the staff, saying I would stay at Refugio El Arco that night. They let me through no problem. The trail to La Junta is a bit muddy, but nothing bad, my feet stayed dry in my trailrunners despite the fact it was also raining off and on. Beautiful path through the Valvidian rainforest, I really enjoyed all the green and the moss. When I reached the La Junta area, I stashed my pack in some trees and made a short detour to Las Toboganes. They are only 0.7 km off the regular route, and highly worthwhile to see! What a spectacular area, I totally see the Yosemite resemblence, and would love to go back someday. <br /> <br /> I found the trail after La Junta (all the way to Lago Vidal Gormáz) to be in good shape, contrary to what others have written. It was maybe slightly less maintained than the popular trail leading into the valley, but it was still very clear and easy to follow — not overgrown, no blowdowns, just a bit muddy in some places. Granted, it has been drier than normal so far this summer. None of the fords went above my knees, and sometimes I could cross the creeks without even getting my feet wet, all very easy. <br /> <br /> The refugio at El Arco is dark and without any furniture inside. I found it much nicer to camp in the nearby meadow just south of the trail there. There are outhouses. <br /> <br /> Nice path from Lago Vidal Gormáz all the way to El Manso. Very beautiful in this valley as well. Met a few arrieros along the way. Most of the rivers have bridges crossing them. There is a small camp at the bridge over Río Colorado. <br /> <br /> In El Manso, I topped off my food supply at the shop on the main road. It has a good selection of food items. Then I went to Señora Oco's house to try and arrange a boat transfer over Río Puelo. She and her family are very friendly and welcoming. I arrived there mid-afternoon, but she could not get in radio contact with anyone on the other side. In the evening, we heard back from Hospedaje Nancy, who charged 60,000 clp for a crossing upriver all the way to Río Traidor (where she lives). This I found too expensive for me traveling alone. Señora Oco baked some bread and I was able to buy some. She also said I was welcome to camp in the fields behind her house while waiting for a response from settlers Paulina and Jovino regarding a crossing to their place (much more direct and therefore likely much cheaper). The next morning, we still hadn't received any response from Paulina and Jovino either via radio or Whatsapp (they may have been away). Because of this, I decided to take the gravel road to Puerto Urrutia (Option 1), and forgo crossing Río Puelo, unfortunately. Despite this setback, I'm really glad I got to meet and spend time with Señora Oco and her family, they are such kind people. <br /> <br /> I was able to hitch most of the way to Puerto Urrutia, where I rejoined the regular route. The trail from there all the way to Lago Las Rocas is mostly easy and clear. There were a few confusing junctions in the vicinity of Lago Verde, so I kept a close eye on the GPS there. After crossing the road after that, the beginning of RR -TL-V {22S} [2.8/7.1+2.7] is tricky to find. There are lots of fallen trees and many forest paths. The GPS was very helpful there too until I finally found the right path. After about 700 m it merges with a nice clear path all the way to Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> As has been previously reported, there is a large rockslide about 2 km in once you reach Lago Las Rocas. It didn't look overly dangerous to me, the boulders were large and seemed solid enough. I started crossing it right at the bottom where the rocks fall into the lake, as it looked to be the easiest and safest way across. I was maybe 50 meters through it, when a boat came along, and the people in it told me to hop in! What lucky timing! As we passed the rest of the rockslide, I could see the last part of it was steep, loose scree rather than big boulders. That part would have definitely been nerve-wracking to cross, and I was very grateful for the boat ride. The settlers who owned the boat live about 3 km along the trail, at a little bay/inlet in the lake. They have a nice beach and campground too. That's where I rejoined the trail. Beyond their house, the &quot;Camino Los Mosquitos,&quot; as it is locally called, gets progressively worse in terms of overgrowth and blowdowns. The trail has not been cleared since the past winter, and not been used either. The stretch between kilometers 4 and 6.5 is the worst. It felt more like pure bushwhacking than following a trail. The path was mostly burried beneath walls of downed trees and branches, it got very hard to follow at times. Lots of climbing over and under vegetation, some of it quite thorny too. Very slow and tiring. My pack got ripped up a bit and so did my clothing. Had I known the trail was this bad, I would have taken the option on the east side of Lago Las Rocas. It's hard to imagine it could be in worse shape than the regular route. <br /> <br /> When I got to the Chilean Border Control it was around 6:30 p.m., so too late to cross that day. The border agent working there was very friendly, but he couldn't get in contact with his supervisor to get approval for stamping my passport with the next day's date. So I camped back at Lago Las Rocas, and the next morning came back at 8 a.m. when the border post reopened. The trail on the Chilean side of the border was a bit rough in places, it has been neglected since the winter too. But it was not as bad as the previous stretch along Lago Las Rocas. Once I got into Argentina, it got much better. The trails in Parque Nacional Lago Puelo are well-maintained, and I met some day hikers. No issues at the Argentine Border Control. <br /> <br /> I was able to ford Río Azul easily, thanks to the dry weather. There are three branches of the river to cross (the GPS waypoints only show two of them). The middle branch is the widest and deepest. The water there went up to my upper thighs (I'm 165 cm), but the current was slow and it never felt dangerous. <br /> <br /> Now I'm skipping down to GPT32 to continue my adventure further south :) The northern sections that I hiked from 6 to 22 were simply amazing, with great weather almost the entire time. Thank you, all! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Oct-19 to 2022-Oct-24 / 6 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / ???<br /> <br /> Here are the main points because our story is long :)<br /> Paso el bolson and El Leon are closed for tourists until further notice <br /> Some of trails are in bad condition because of the hard winter but they might be cleared in the following weeks. <br /> Landslide in Lago Las rocas - very dangerous part to cross. We suggest to take an optional route <br /> <br /> The trail starts in valle cochamo. We did not have any reservations but as we were in low season we were not worried. However the lady from the tourist office in Cochamo told us to arrive at the entrance of the valley between 7 &amp; 8 to avoid being rejected. At 7h50 there was nobody at the reception so we did not have any trouble, but we cannot say for the high season. <br /> You can arrange a car transfer to go the valley entrance. The numbers of the drivers are available at the tourist office.<br /> <br /> The trail until La Junta is muddy but well maintained - no worries there. Up there we met some arrieros and the locals from the camping and they told us that the trail was closed a bit further because of snow (up to 2 meters) in laguna Blanca. This is the highest part of the trail (about 1100m). The river crossings were feasible, but as they forecasted rain for the next day, we preferred to turn back in order to avoid being blocked between high rivers and snow. <br /> <br /> Back on the road between Cochamo and Puelo, we caught at about 10:30 the bus that leaves at 7:45 from Puerto Montt, to go to Rio Manso. There is a well furnished Shop where you can even find gas. <br /> We remained in the Southbound direction and went to Senora Oco's house. She was very welcoming, and her and her grandchild helped us in arranging a boat transfer for the following morning (nothing was possible the same day). We paid 50000 pesos to go from their house to Rio Traidor - close to Nancy hospedaje. Indeed, we skipped the first part of the trail as they told us that it was very closed with a lot of small trees and not used anymore. Maybe it would be cheaper to cross a bit south using the cable car or directly from Manso to Rio Traidor.<br /> <br /> Until the Rio Tigre, settler # 22N [7.7/157], the trail is visible but sometimes with some obstacles (fallen trees). After this settling, you will have to cross the Rio Tigre which might be the hardest to cross on your way if you have a lot of rain. There is a bridge indicated on the tracks but it has been swept away this winter. The best place to cross is a bit higher following the river, follow the horse track. We did not have any problem crossing, and probably the settler could help you with his horse if the river is too high. That is an advantage of the Southbound direction.<br /> <br /> After, the trail is really clear. We found the last transfer across Rio Puelo about 1 km before the point indicated on the track. It is his job to do the crossings and he also does sportive fishing if you are interested. Look for a house with a border collie with a piece of wood around the neck :) <br /> <br /> From Puerto Urrutia, the trail is clear again until the road. There is a shop at 600m on the right. Again here, the trail is closed due to fallen trees at the beginning, but the locals (last house on the right) will help you find another path. Clear trail until Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> Once you reach the Lago Las rocas you will be blocked after 2km. Indeed there was a landslide this winter and you have to cross a very dangerous part of about 300 m of rocky mountain slide. It is not stabilized yet. We went through but we do not advise it. <br /> Also, there were a lot of fallen trees and the path was really tiring. The locals will probably clear the path in the following weeks. To get more information we suggest to contact the camping Playa Las Rocas on Instagram. <br /> You can also consider the other routes or arrange a boat crossing. <br /> <br /> Finally we arrived at the border crossing. Unfortunately it was closed due to the Covid, except for the very locals (people from Cochamo). Apparently Paso el Leon is closed as well for tourists. Be aware of that if you have to cross the Chilean- Argentinian borders, as small passes seem to be closed for tourists. <br /> In the end we had to go back to Puerto Montt crossing the Lago inferior with a free boat (ask the carabineros), and then the bus-ferry-bus from Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-23 &amp; 2021-Nov-25 / 2 days / Packrafting / SOBO / Estuario de Reloncavi from Ralun to Rio Puelo (Western shore) / Jan Dudeck &amp; Meylin Ubilla <br /> <br /> We paddled in two easy days the roughly 40 km southbound.<br /> <br /> Start at Ralun at Puente Petrohue: On the right side of the bridge (view in river flow direction) is a suitable put-in and good spot to camp. The gate was closed but not locked. There are signs of people occasionally camping there.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Cochamo: Packrafters in need to resupply can do this in Cochamo about 16 water kilometers from the put-in. Both, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking. The western side is less intervened and more scenic.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Rio Puelo: Again, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking but requires the crossing of a 4 km wide bay in open water. The western side is less intervened and more scenic but requires crossing the 3 km wide Estuario de Reloncavi near Rio Puelo. On the western side are also the Termas de Sotomo that are suitable for camping.<br /> <br /> Wind: On nice sunny days “viento sur” often kicks in around 10 am making southbound paddling difficult or unfeasible. We had two partially overcasted days and could paddle on the first day till 4 pm when wind became annoying strong. On the second day around 3 pm the wind and waves became unpleasant but by this time we were walking the final kilometers into Rio Puelo.<br /> <br /> GPT22: Southbound packrafters may take in Cochamo or Rio Puelo the bus to Lago TaguaTagua an get to the recommended packrafting starting point of section GPT22 halfway into this section to Flip-Flop as recommended.<br /> <br /> * 2021-NOV-18 / 1 day / hiking / NOBO / Cochamó Valley (Lago Tagua Tagua - Lago Grande) / Tobías <br /> <br /> The Section between La Junta Base and Lago Vidal Gormez was very challenging. It had been raining a lot, so the Trail was very muddy and I had to cross several rivers and creeks. Went straight from Cochamó to Lago Grande and camped there in some Snow. Met only a few settlers. After reaching Lago Vidal Gormez, the Trail was easy and I enjoyed the hike a lot. Amaizing área up there!<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-FEB-18 to 2020-FEB-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tyler <br /> I didn’t have problems getting a campsite at la junta on the spot luckily. AMAZING area that I’ll be returning to again to do all the day hikes in. Aside from that, most the trail was very muddy, rainy, and unmaintained. This got a bit difficult after the 3rd day in a row. Good places to camp at the lakes over the pass SOBO. When I got down to Lago Vidal Gomez the trail improved.. I got some bread from a settler at the start of the lake. There right on the trail and super friendly and have rooms. The last ferry across Tagua Tagua leaves at 7 pm. I didn’t make it, so I slept underneath the office/bathrooms and took the ferry at 8:00 the next morning. I believe there’s another ferry at 12. <br /> <br /> *. 2020-Jan-09 to 2020-Jan-11 / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun<br /> <br /> Despite the austere warnings on the La Junta Camping website, I was able to make a reservation at short notice in high season, and the back and forth process only took a few hours. In Cochamó, I was warned that due to recent rain the river crossings at El Arco and another nearby river would likely be impassable. With four more days of heavy rain forecast, I decided to take the bus-ferry-bus combo to Puerto Urrutia and try to walk northbound from there with the optimistic hope that by the time I reached El Arco the river would be passable or, at least, the wait would be less. However, 10km north of the Rio Puelo crossing (service starts at 9am) my way was blocked by a high and fast river. I then retraced my steps and completed the rest of the section southbound - which was straightforward. The trail on the west side of Lago de la Roca until the frontera is a bit overgrown but still easy to see and nothing particularly slowed me down. On the Argentinian side the trail is well maintained. It is not permitted to camp on the 12km stretch between the border posts. I arrived too late to cross that day, but the Chileans stamped my passport with the next day’s date so I didn’t have to wait for the post to open at 9am. The Argentinian border guards informed me that because of the rain, the Rio Azul was too high to ford at the point on the regular hiking route just before Lago Puelo so I took the alternative route (Oh-Tl-V@22-04-#001) a few kms north and crossed over the La Pasarela bridge.<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-22 to 2020-Jan-26 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / parque de la vallee de Cochamo - La Pasarella / Arnaud <br /> <br /> As we arrived from Puerto Montt we were with the bus and stopped directly at the entrance of the private parque de la vallee de Cochamo.<br /> As it is private, there are some rules to get in, or they block you at the control point.<br /> The entrance is free but you need to have a reservation in one of the official camp sites there. To get the reservation, you can do it on internet (but you need to wait for the confirmation and it can be several days long), or do it directly there (red house), they give you the reservation voucher if there are places available (number seem to be limited). Then you pay the night when you reach the camp sites (6000 clp/pers).<br /> Or the other solution is to say that you sleep in the refugio del Arco. It is 23km further after the control. Then it is free and no reservation is needed, but this is possible only before 10am (after they block you). After 10am the only way to pass is to sleep in the camp sites. They block you if you do not have a<br /> reservation voucher for one camp site.<br /> This spot (la Junta) is famous among the chilenos so the access to the camp sites is really overrunned. The path is easy to walk.<br /> Once you go further than the campsites, you're alone, so it is better.<br /> The path is clearly marked. There are bridges for most of the rivers you cross. But it is very muddy.<br /> At the lago Vidal you can resupply a bit with those living there (you can also sleep in their camp sites).<br /> In El Manso you can find a minimarket with lots of things.<br /> Then, we decided to follow the road instead of the track because we were in a hurry with a deadline in El Bolson, until we reached la cruce de la rocas. There are buses or hitchiking is easy.<br /> Crossing borders was easy. There are 12km between the chilean stamp and the Argentin one that we did in 3.5 hours.<br /> At the very end we have not not crossed El Rio Azul, we walked 7 more km to the north to reach La Pasarella<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *In Cochamo go down towards the lake. There is a church on the left &amp; before you reach it there is a hospedaje on the right, good &amp; cheap.<br /> <br /> *There is a good place to stay NOBO 500 metres before the junction where the road turns towards Laguna Las Rocas. Farmhouse on RHS of road has rooms &amp; meals. Cheap, friendly &amp; good<br /> <br /> *In Segundo Corral there are two campsites. The first one is just before the school, it just says Kuchen but you can camp there. Cheap, nice family &amp; they do meals. There is a campsite after the school but the owner was drunk &amp; looking for an argument.<br /> Lots of campsites at Lago Totoral (on the road, not on RR)<br /> It's possible to camp near the Argentinian border control.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> * January 2023 Frank<br /> To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas you can walk on the road or get the bus to Segundo Corral then from Lago Inferior about 1.5KM from Segundo Corral there is a ferry to Paso Bolson (Chilean border control).The government subsidised ferry runs Monday-Friday only from 8-12 &amp; 2PM-6PM &amp; is only 2000 pesos. You need to radio the ferryman to arrange pickup, easily done in Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> We decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard (+56958694897),we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. <br /> <br /> *Northbound and southbound hiking is feasible. However, due to the controlled private southbound access through the La Junta área, hiking in that direction is only possible with a camping reservation, or by arriving at the checkpoint before 10am. A northbound traverse may therefore be preferred. For hikers generally heading south, it is possible to take the single ticket, half-day bus-ferry-bus combination south from Cochamó to Puerto Urrutia, hike the 120km north to Cochamó, then return to Puerto Urrutia and resume the section southwards from there.<br /> <br /> *Crossing the border is typically straightforward, however it is not permitted to camp on the 12km between the border posts. So if you arrive too late to cross, it is necessary to camp at the border post and cross the next day. In this situation, Chilean officials will stamp your passport with the next day’s date so you don’t need to wait for the office to open that morning.<br /> <br /> *Southbound access to the popular La Junta area is controlled at a private checkpoint and only granted to those with a prior camping reservation, or those arriving before 10am and therefore early enough to make it on to the free and unmanaged El Arco campsite 23km away. Reservations for La Junta can be made online at cochamo.com, but there may not be availability and the process may take several days, so hiking this section southwards may not be possible.Therefore, an option for hikers generally heading south is to take the bus-ferry-bus combination from Cochamó across Lago Tagua Tagua and on to Puerto Urrutia, hike 120km north back to Cochamó, then take the bus-ferry-bus south again and hike the remainder of the section southwards from Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT22 - Cochamó]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]<br /> <br /> {| border=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse:collapse&quot;<br /> |+'''GPT22: Cochamó'''<br /> | colspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| GPT22: Cochamó<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Group<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | D: Lagos Chilenos<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''160.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''51 h'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''136.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|'''35 h'''<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Region<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Chile &amp; Argentina: Los Lagos (X) &amp; Chubut<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Trails (TL)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|137.9 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|85.9%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 20.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|14.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Start<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Cochamó<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Minor Roads (MR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|10.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.7%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.3%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Finish<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Lago Puelo (Puerto)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Primary Roads (PR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|9.7 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.0%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.0%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Status<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Published &amp; Verified<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Cross-Country (CC)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|2.2 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|1.4%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.4%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Traversable<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Dec - Apr (Maybe: Sep, Oct, Nov, May)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Bush-Bashing (BB)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packraft<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Very Useful<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Ferry (FY)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.8 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.1%)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Connects to<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | GPT21, GPT23<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Investigation (I)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.9 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.4%)<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Options<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | 268 km (9 Options &amp; Variants)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Exploration (EXP)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> | <br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> | rowspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| <br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total on Water<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''111.1 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''81.4%'''<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Attraction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 5 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| River (RI)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 62.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 45.7%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Difficulty<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 4 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Lake (LK)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 32.4 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 23.7%<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Direction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Fjord (FJ)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 16.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|11.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Comment<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Hiking: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Character<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Packrafting: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Challenges<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Valdivian Rain Forest, Sea Coast, Farmland, Settlers, River Packrafting, Lake Packrafting, Fjord Packrafting, Partly Overrun<br /> |}<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22-p.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520254.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520443.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282465.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282466.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447503.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_101648648.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_104321335.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:Bahia ralun.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447491.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447496.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT22_(Cochamo)&diff=114159 2024-02-09T22:24:38Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Feb-03 to 2024-Feb-09 / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> If you decide stay at Segundo Corral, and take the boat to Argentina.<br /> <br /> <br /> NO NO NO DON'T DON'T DON'T stay at Mari Mari Peni Camping, (or another name) Amancays Camping.<br /> <br /> <br /> I saved a girl hiker almost RAPED by the campground owner at the night on 07/02. About the details, i type it and upload later.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> GPT22 2024-01-31 to 2024-02-05 / 5,5 days days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Cochamó options/ Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> After a month and a half, we finally did something standard! From Puerto Varras (the bus stop on Avenida Vicente Perez Rosales just after Antonio Varras street) we took a bus at 8:38 going from Puerto Mont that went all the way to the end of MR to the Road end waypoint. At our hostel, they told us it would arrive at 8:45. Not sure if this is the same bus that others said would pass Puerto Varras at 8:15 or if it just goes to the road end only in high season. It was 7000 per person - I think they might charge double for backpacks, unless they screwed us.<br /> <br /> We were at the entrance at 11 AM and were let through for free when we told them we were going to El Arco. The way to the campsites is really busy (met maybe 50 people and about ten horses), easy and without many views as it goes through a forest. When we reached the campsites, we decided that the valley is really pretty and that we want to take some sidetrips. We asked all the campsites and only La Junta let us stay, 8000 per person. It is important not to spread the word as they did us a favor even though they are not supposed to allow people without reservations. So, do not tell anyone or expect to be let in. We had a numbered site so I think they genuinely had some places free. If nobody had places, after ford 98.9, there is a maze of paths and mini-meadows on the left where I saw somebody camp illegaly. If you hide your packs well for the day and then camp from dusk till dawn, you would probably get away with it. Alternatively there are some flat spots in Trinidad valley two hours up - if you start so that you would arrive by dusk, you should meet nobody.<br /> <br /> The side trips are steep but not challenging, many people take them. We went to Paloma (not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024) in the evening, it can be done in three hours there and back if you do not stop (we did). We started going up at 1715 and saw last person going down at 1830 or so. It is quite splendid. OSM says there is a route to Cerro La Junta. It is probably an exit route for climbers, I did not see any traces of it but it looked like it were possible. If it is, one could probably continue all the way to Cerro Capicua.<br /> <br /> Arco Iris is still closed. If it were open I think one could follow the ridge, which is not very steep or outcroppy, all the way north to above GPT21 - only there is probably no way down.<br /> <br /> The next morning I went to the Trinidad Valley and all the way up to Cerro Bella Vista and Nat went ahead to escape the approaching rain the next day. The roundtrip takes about 7-8 hours. There is a marked travelled trail to the pass (&quot;El Paso&quot;), the last 300 vertical meters or so are marked by cairns. You will need your hands occasionally, but it is not exposed or particularly hard - SAC 4. The views are well worth it. It seemed most people only go to La Laguna (lake just under the pass). We started at 6 AM and I met the first people on the way down around noon at La Laguna. Both La Laguna and Cerro Bella Vista are not in GPT trackfiles as of early 2024. The way up through Camping Vista Hermosa (the current GPT track) is not supposed to be used by people not staying at the campsite. The proper way up seems to be the more western trail that is marked on OSM. Going back down trough camping Bella Vista was without issues though. They told Natalie you are not supposed to use their cable car (the one more upstream). Tomáš thinks you should use it as it is the only one that you can use without going through either of the campsites (the downstream one goes directly from La Junta campsite). No horseflies by now!<br /> <br /> I left the camping at 1530, and met only one group of hikers all the way up to the second Camp waypoint at Lago Grande. It is a nice camp, bigger than the first but no good water sources. Wild legal camping, if I get it right. Refuge El Arco is unmanned, it is just a simple wooden hut. I would only use it in case of severe rain. The way up was almost all dry after two weeks of no rain. Mostly through forest, with some nice views of the valley, a few more fords then indicated but they could all be jumped.<br /> <br /> The next day it rained (5mm?) from 4 AM till 11 AM but it was not enough to make the trails substantially muddy. The bridge before Lago Vidal is not there but there was a nice log. There are some pre-european rock paintings after Lago Vidal, one probably needs to make a sidetrip to see them based on the information signs near Torrentoso (trail 22-10 was signposted; trails in the valley are well maintained so I assume the option is good to go). On the last meadow before the gone bridge at 51.8, there was a cherry tree that still had very tasty miniature cherries in the beginning of February. It is behind the house to the left of the trail, maybe 40 m from it. I discovered it by going south of the house (nobody seemed to be in it). Do not miss the turnoff of the trail from the meadow - I went straight, there was initially a trail but petered out into a landslide. Camp at 45.2 is nice (reach it by turning left from the trail cca 50-100 m beyond the sjoetest route, that way you avoid any vegetation). Finally met Natalie after two days of escaping rain. Shop in El Manso is better than expected (has good veges and fruit) but not as good as the one in Llanada Grande. El Manso also is besides a cerveceria with wifi. The bus only came at 1530 despite being told it comes at 1pm. In almost three hours of waiting, we did not manage to hitch a car. <br /> <br /> The bus indeed stops at Llanada Grande for 10 minutes or so - it is not really enough to orientate yourself and buy lots of supplies. The supermarket had lots of nectarines! Should you want to go to Puerto Urutia, the bus does not go there so you need to get off and walk the minor road there. We could not get reliable Entel internet reception anywhere in the valley (calls were fine) along the bus route.<br /> <br /> We went to Primer Corral to do 22-08. The first few km are not a pleasant road to walk on. We decided to turn back as bad weather was coming in two days and it did not seem worth it. Not sure how far the road for cars goes. There seems to be regular but sparse traffic on it.<br /> <br /> We walked back for about an hour on the main road before getting a hitch for the last 3 km to turnoff to 22-02, as others indicated the RR is badly passable due to a landslide. The MR section is aesthetically dreadful and supersteep. We had to climb a locked gate right at the start. We found a miniature camping spot about 200 m before the signposted trail turnoff. In the morning a lorry driver waved at us so probably no issues with climbing the gate. Luckily the trail is much nicer than the road. We met the settler at the lake Azul, he let us walk through his property. The few km to the first very small lake are actually an undriven MR, but very pleasant, it does not seem to be connected to the road network. After 2 km, one turns left onto a trail. Until the pass, it is very clear. After the pass, the visibility deteriorates somewhat but no bush bashing is involved. Soon after that, there is a gate saying there is no trail afer a harsh winter. We went further and it turned out there is a trail. There were some trees on it, but not too much and we lost it only for about 50 m. From setler at 11.4, the trail is much more clear. Met a seemingly lonely girl from the next homestead with whom we had a lovely chat. The trail to the border control was easy, we came there at 1530 and were let through. They told us that it would be ok to reach the Argentinian border control the next day. They too had a very ripe cherry tree but did not pick up on my appraisal of it and did not suggest I get some fruit.<br /> <br /> We met several people on the way to Argentina border. We camped there (wild permitted numbered camping sites with numbers - there was about twenty other Argentinians, the functioning toilets are unsigned immediately next to the Police building). The next day we had no issues with getting a stamp and going down. The last CC part is a trail. We forded the second ford a bit earlier than suggested, it was waist deep but very slow moving. Took a bus at 1340 to El Bolson - seems to run regularly.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + day trip / Lotti &amp; Alex<br /> <br /> We did this section mostly as described by Fangwen and Tobi (El Manso to Cochamo base camp), so there is not much to add. We stayed at La Junta for 2 nights and did a very nice day trip to Cerro Bellavista (see description further down). The trails were very well maintained all the way. The only minor problems were mud and lots of horse flies. Like Fangwen and Tobi, we were happy we did the section NOBO, because the landscape gets more and more spectacular. This way it is also much easier to get to camp at La Junta without reservation, because they always reserve some space for hikers coming from the south. <br /> It was a beautiful hike and especially the area around La Junta is really spectacular and worth visiting. We even met a fellow GPT hiker there, which was great! <br /> <br /> Transportation:<br /> <br /> To start:<br /> Bus &quot;Rio Puelo&quot; from Puerto Varas to Lago Tagua-Tagua at 8:20am, then ferry to Puerto Maldonado, then bus to El Manso. We arrived at the trailhead around 1pm.<br /> <br /> after hike:<br /> Bus from end of trailhead (&quot;Cochamo base camp&quot;) to Cochamo/Puerto Montt at 1pm.<br /> <br /> Day trip to Cerro Bellavista:<br /> <br /> Start at La Junta on GPT Variant G, following the signs to &quot;Trinidad&quot;. It starts by crossing the river with the little cable car. After the walls of Trinidad, stay on the trail and follow the signs to &quot;Laguna&quot;. The official trail ends there, but there are stone cairns and ribbons marking a trail that goes up to the pass. The laguna is crowded, but we didn't meet anyone further up. The view at the pass is already great, but you can go up even further. Turn to the left and follow the stone cairns until the summit. It is not difficult, just walking and easy scrambling, and the view is absolutely spectacular.<br /> The whole tour has about 1300m of altitude difference. It took us around 5h to go up, and 3-4h down. <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-01-07 to 2024-01-14: Fangwen and Tobi / 2.5 days Ventisquero Valley (Option 08 + more), 4 days El Manso to Cochamo RR / NOBO hiking.<br /> <br /> We did two parts along this enjoyable section, connecting them by hitchhiking and resupplying in between in Llanada Grande.<br /> <br /> The first part was hiking ~20km into the scenic Ventisquero valley (Option 08), alongside a wonderful river on an enjoyable and easy hiking trail through farms and rainforest that mostly follows an old minor road. It's often better to follow the well-marked trail rather than the GPT track files. A highlight of our trip was hiking up to a fantastic viewpoint at 1100m with a view of the whole valley, its remote side valleys and glaciated mountain peaks. The trail (900m elevation gain, 4.5km) through the thick rainforest is steep but excellent in quality and easy to follow (but the turnoff at S 42° 01.737', W 072° 05.643' is easy to miss). This and other trails in the valley are not part of the GPT files yet, but GPX files can be found on the website of Rincon Bonito (glamping accommodation for groups) that presumably created the trail. We camped by the viewpoint; what a wonderful experience! There are plenty of places to pitch up a tent, but little protection from wind. We found a wind protected camp in a dried-out puddle at (S 42° 02.705', W 072° 06.193'). Make sure to bring water, since the last reliable water source is in the valley, just before the turnoff onto the steep trail. From the viewpoint, we attempted to climb the local mountain, but beyond 1500m, it appears to require bush bashing. Our track: [[Media:GPT 22 Ventisquero Viewpoint.gpx]].<br /> The viewpoint is within the Pumalin National Park, but the whole valley seems to be private property and camping is forbidden outside official campsites, which begin quite far into the valley. There are plenty of spots to pitch up a tent nonetheless (which is what we did).<br /> For packrafters, going down the river must surely be a highlight! Rincon Bonito offers packrafting (maybe only for their guests?), they describe it as class II+.<br /> <br /> Our second part followed the regular route 22N from El Manso to the Cochamo trailhead. This was an enjoyable hike and we found the trail to be in good condition, although it gets pretty muddy around El Arco (and that's after one week of sunny weather). There is quite a bit of pointless up and down between km45 and km79. Additionally, our hiking distance was often 20-25% longer than expected, as there are many switchbacks too small to be represented on the track files. We liked hiking this section northbound, as the rainforest and the views get more and more impressive as you go along. La Junta has a lot of local hiking options (e.g. hiking into the Anfiteatro valley or on top of Cerro Trinidad), but we didn't spend any extra days because the weather was turning.<br /> <br /> Logistics: to get to the start of section 22, take the daily bus that leaves at 7.45am from Puerto Montt (stops at 8.15 in Puerto Varas at intersection el Salvador/San Pedro S 41° 19.081', W 072° 59.038', and later in Cochamo). The bus company Río Puelo has a ticket office in Puerto Montt, their WhatsApp number is +56 9 7408 9199. From there, take the ferry across Lago Tagua Tagua and the connecting bus down the valley to your respective trailhead (El Manso for the Cochamo valley, Primer Corral for the Ventisquiero valley). Note that travel is slow... We arrived at the Primer Corral at 4pm. We left a bag of food for the second half of our trip. Unfortunately it was visible from the parking lot and got stolen, so we resupplied at the Llanada Grande supermarket. The bus makes a stop there for ~15min, if you want a quick resupply there (it's a bit bigger than in El Manso). We hitchhiked to El Manso, which worked after two hours of waiting/walking (not a lot of traffic).<br /> <br /> If you are in the Llanada Grande area, go to Camping Reflejo Azul. The campsite itself is average, but it has the most beautiful river we have ever seen in our lives. Visit this truly special place before Instagram influencers find out about it and it becomes overrun by hordes of tourists. Day access is possible also for 5.000 CLP.<br /> <br /> Photos: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1732098767296002/?app=fbl<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-4 / 7.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RH + OP-LK-2 + RP / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> <br /> Note: We were told a reservation is needed for a camp site at La Junta to be allowed into the valley from Cochamo side, so we did that. However, one of the wikiexplora entry mentioned that they were allowed in when mentioning that they wanted to camp at El Arco Refuge but we read it too late. Camp Trawen is the most expensive (15k per person), which is the reason why it’s been available on short notice. There are several other sold-out camps around for 8k-10k.<br /> <br /> Day 1: We hitchhiked to Cochamo Base Camp at 9am and reached Camp Trawen by 2pm. It would have been better to go on the El Arco Refuge straight away and camp there. It’s a touristy stretch and in our view not really worth doing, if you like the general quiet nature of the GPT.<br /> <br /> Day 2: Camped at the beach at Lago Vidal. Easy hike but lots of ups and downs.<br /> <br /> Day 3: We packrafted Lago Vidal and had a good lunch at Luisa’s place (make sure to drop by!), before continuing on to Torrentoso (not the paid camp, but on the meadow a few hundred meters after the official camp). <br /> <br /> Day 4: The bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [51.8/146] (Rio Steffen) does not exist anymore. It’s not a demanding ford but there are short steep ups and downs on both sides. We stayed near wp Settler {22N} [50.1/307].<br /> <br /> Day 5: We rivered in at wp Rio Manso. The ride was super scenic and beautiful and there were no rapids, just a bit of boiling water but nothing difficult, which might be due to different water levels compared to previous accounts. It’s 45 minutes from there to the bridge at wp Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36]. We rivered out behind the bridge on the right side. There is a nice flat beach which leads to the cabin of Harv and Veronica. They let us camp on their land and even offered a hot (wood fired) shower for 2.5k per person. There is a cervezeria and shop across the road for resupply.<br /> <br /> Day 6: We took the bus at 1 pm to intersection at wp X {22-01} [25.0/187] and went on OP-MR-V (along Hunter’s estate) to Lago Azul. You will be charged 5k per person to access the lake. We crossed Lago Azul with strong waves and tailwind so we sailed to the other side in no time.<br /> <br /> Day 7: Crossed Lago de Las Rocas, Lago Inferior, and Lago Puelo to the Argentinian border control which opens at 8am next morning so we camped there. Next day we finished at Lago Puelo which is a popular tourist beach.<br /> <br /> Tip: It is a hot &amp; dusty walk to town from the beach and hitchhiking is not as easy in this part of Argentina as in Chile. Keep some small change of USD or Argentinian pesos for the bus ride to resupply in town. If you plan to continue packrafting Lago Puelo on GPT23 after resupplying, the earliest bus back to the beach reaches around 7.30am but it will be too late as the wind picks up by 8am. Lago Puelo is known for its strong gusts so it’s best to check wind forecast and paddle early morning 5.30am to cross. Therefore it may be easier to camp at one of the campsites nearer to the beach instead of staying in town. Just go there for resupplying.<br /> <br /> *2023 Dec OH-TL-V / Anh<br /> Note: the trail OH-TL-V alias Cerro Arco Iris was damaged by big rocks in the last season and is completely closed. A new route or repair is not in planning.<br /> <br /> *2023-12-17 to 2023-12-21 / 5 days / Hiking + Packrafting / SOBO /RR &amp; Option 01B / Roman<br /> <br /> Route: Hiking from Cochamó to El Manso. Bus to Lago de Las Rocas. Packrafted the lake and Lago Inferior. Hiked to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> Due to the border crossing, there is a thread about it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222224388283455/permalink/1709504102888802/. I applied online - no answer. Went to the carabineros in Cochamó they couldn't issue it, so I went without it (it worked without a problem)<br /> <br /> Started in Cochamó (there is a bus to the entry I just got him by hitchhiking so I don't know the schedule) and had a reservation for Camp Trawen (Fruit, Groceries, Electricity). This is getting checked at the entrance if you have one. The trail to the camp was a bit muddy (2 days of rain before the start) but all doable. The next day went to the northern end of Lago Vidal Gormaz and slept there at Lake {22-05} [7.9/604]. Bridge destroyed at: -41.43696, -71.96632 and Bridge {22N} [63.0/337] (Rio El Colorado). Both are crossable dry feed due to trees. Generally, there is no fording necessary after Lago Vidal Gormaz. Before yes. Packrafted Rio Manso. There were no rapids on the map, it's mentioned in the Manuel that it can be challenging. There are some rapids but all are doable and manageable (I am a beginner with kayak experience and an open deck packraft). You can get easy access to the river at -41.692561, -71.972725 this is 300m after the mark in the file. There is a dry river bed to avoid BB to get to the River. The river is fast flowing. Follow the GPS only at one point where the river splits pay extra attention: turn left as shownin the GPS: -41.698615, -71.985482 . Went out at the south side of the bride: Bridge {22N} [40.8+0.2/36] (Rio Manso) on the right side. There is a trail to the street with one gate where you can walk through on the right side. The shop Settlement, Shop, Bus {22N} [40.7/36] (El Manso) has good supplies and free WiFi. The trail to this point is very good. Based on previous comments and a chat to a local I want to skip at least to Puerto Urrutia [comment in: 2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07]. There is an official bus going all the way from Rampa Punta<br /> Maldonado -&gt; Segundo Corral. Find the schedule here: https://imgur.com/a/7MVEscb . The shop owner said the bus is normally there at 02:00 PM. The bus was there in my case at 02:30 PM. This bus stops at the large supermarket [Supermercado Llanada Grande] a great place for a last resupply). The bus also stops at Puerto Urrutia but I went all the way to Lago de Las Rocas and used OH-MR-V {22-01B} [8.2+1.9] to get to the lake. Started packrafting at 05:00 PM. The start was fine. The wind got worse during the evening and was to my capabilities on the maximum with serious waves. Strong wind from the north. It was pleasantly paddling after going through the gap at -42.069608, -71.813735. Camped at Lake, Camp {22S} [21.8/314]. Got there at 07:45 PM. Crossed the border without any problems. Packrafted Lago Inferior and got in the water here: Lake {22S} [20.9/201] at 10:00 AM. The wind got stronger but manageable. Exited the lake at 11:15 AM at -42.102244, -71.742575. The trail back to the RR is good to hike. From there, the trail is in good condition. Due to the higher water in Rio Azul fording and therefore the RR is not possible. You get also the recommendation from the Argentinien carabineros to take Option 03. I didn't want to take this and followed the RR to this point: -42.091481, -71.633667. From there I followed the trail to this point: -42.09399, -71.634188. There is an old dock [image here: https://imgur.com/a/5LMsKA1]to put in you packraft. The trail can be downloaded at the end of the comment. There I packrafted with very strong onshore wind and if it hadn't been for only 300m I wouldn't have done it to (03:15 PM):-42.096114, -71.628682 ,and walked from there to the end of GPT22.<br /> <br /> Overall: great section! It's a nice trail to hike and packrafting rRioEl Manso is a lot of fun and a great change in perspective after hiking for a few days. After that, the trail continues bto bein a good condition. The conditions for Lago de Las Rocas should be closely checked. I would definitely recommend it!<br /> <br /> Trail download: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqzLweJ3NZW5q7YZzDoW3qlKypqwBg<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * General advice : The Regular Route is best hiked between December and April. The primary obstacles are high river levels early in the season and after rain. During the peak period of January and February it may be difficult to obtain a camping reservation at La Junta which could prevent a southbound traverse.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-18 to 2023-Feb-23 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + 22-01 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> A lot has been already written, so just a few comments from our side:<br /> <br /> No problem with entering the valley in SOBO direction, until the noon aprox., saying you will spend the night at the refugio El Arco - they have some time estimate for this hike and can’t let you in if its late. By the entrance you can buy some useful things that might be hard to buy in Cochamo, like gas or peanut butter. There was also a beer truck with quite good wifi connection (only during summer). Crowds of people in both directions, quite muddy trail. Detour to the Toboganes is definitely worth it. We spend the night after all in a marked camp aprox. 4 kms before the refugio and it was a good decision - there were quite a lot of people when we passed by the next day.<br /> <br /> From the refugio its nice and easy walking. We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> Based on other comments and our time schedule we decided to take the alternative 22-01 to Llanada Grande. This is a good resuppy spot as there is a new and big (at least in comparison to what you would expect in a place like this) supermarket that replaced the old one destroyed by fire. Good place to stay is a campsite at the end of the village, on the right side, run by really nice lady. Not expensive and if its free, you can stay for the same price in a so called refugio, that is actually just a very small room, but for us better than a tent. Hot water and electricity + possibility to buy pizza and maybe some other small things - there is actually no restaurant in the village. Some more road walking around Lago Totoral to Rio Puelo to connect back to RR. In general not very attractive part of the trail. Great restaurant in Hostal Puelo Libre with local beer and view on the river.<br /> <br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. We thought about taking the RR around the lake, but the landslide caused by snow (aprox. 1.5 km from the port) looked quite difficult to pass. We discovered there is possibility to cross the lake on one of the locals boat, which we did in the end. We were lucky that after waiting for some time in the port a car with locals arrived. Happily for us they arranged a boat transfer with other residents to get to the other side of the lake, where they went for a lunch. We were able to go with them, and after picking up their friends, we all hop off the boat close to the police station. Great experience and we learned a lot about this area and people living here. We paid 10k CLP. In the comments here is a contact for the guy with a boat, but without signal it must be arranged in advance, and the price might differ when not sharing the transfer with others. No problem with the border check. It took us around 4 hrs to get to the argentinian side, where everyone was super friendly as well. They offered us to camp there, but we decided to make it to Lago Puelo, which took us 2 more hrs. The landscape changes significantly on the other side where everything is more dry. No problem with the river crossing. We got off the trail directly on the main road.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-FEB-01 to 2023-FEB-07 / 7 days / hiking / SOBO / Cochamó - Lago Puelo / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Eco Camping El Valle to the entry of the park and arrived around 8 am. We told them that we would camp at the Refugio El Arco and explained our further route. Until la Junta there were lots of chilenean tourists, therefore the path was very good only with some muddy stretches. Like Véronica we walked to Toboganes, a waterfall/stream with beautiful rock formations. There were tons of people, but it's worth it. La junta seems to be an amazing place for rock climbing, we would have loved to have some climbing gear with us.<br /> <br /> After la Junta there were almost no more hikers. We camped next to the Refugio, as there were already two other groups of hikers sleeping in the Refugio.<br /> <br /> Until Lago grande there are still some muddy stretches and blowdowns, but generally it is a good path. From there on the path is perfectly maintained. We camped at approx. km 66 next to Río los Morros. <br /> <br /> Nice path until El Manso. We resupplied at the minimercado and camped next to the river, which was a beautiful camping spot with lots of delicious blackberrys.<br /> <br /> The next morning we arrived at Señora Ocos house around 8 am. She contacted multiple people and luckily found out that there was somebody crossing the river to our side at 11 am. The man, whose name we unfortunately forgot, was super friendly and dropped us off after the river mouth of Rio Traidor, close to where he lives. He charged 10.000 CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The path to the first settler was mediocre and afterwards got worse and worse until it was almost pure buschwhacking. It was the worst we had so far on the GPT. Thorns.. Lots of thorns tearing away at your clothes, backpack and skin.<br /> We camped at the river at approx. km 12, which was a beautiful spot.<br /> Until the settlement Las Nieves the path continued beeing bad with lots of bush bashing. The settler told us that no locals use that path and she also told us that there are no regular boat transfers to Puerto Urrutia on weekends (it was sunday..).<br /> We wouldn't do that stretch next to Rio Puelo again and instead hitchhike from El Manso to Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> At the boat transfer waypoint to Puerto Urrutia we had Entel service and contacted one lodging on the other side. They told us to go to the last house 1km back to ask for a transfer (it's the house of the man who does the boat transfer on weekdays). But we got lucky and a boat passed by and took us to the other side. The man on the boat also told us that the path from Río Traidor to Puerto Urrutia &quot;is closed&quot;.<br /> <br /> We continued to Lago verde, where we planned to camp, but it's surrounded by dense forest, apart from a private property.<br /> That spot is amazing, a little landing stage to go swimming, a great view and a very friendly owner. She even baked some delicious apple bread for us. For camping she charged us 8000 CLP p.p.. That was definetly worth it.<br /> <br /> After Lago verde there is a minimarket. We didn't check it out, but there is no resupply wp yet.<br /> <br /> After reading previous blogs and having had enough of thorns we decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard. We also got his number (+56958694897), if you want to contact him in advance. When we arrived at the lake, there were already lots of people waiting for the boat so we just waited with them and after some time got knocked the boat with them. The ride was really nice across the crystal clear blue water and we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> From the southern end of the lake it's just a couple of minutes to walk to the chilenian border control. We continued on and camped at km 30 at the river. Again a really beautiful spot.<br /> <br /> The next day we passed the argentinian border control and continued to Lago Puelo.<br /> <br /> The section was really beautiful, except the part with the thorns. There are lots of streams along the whole trail, so one does not need to carry much water. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Feb-02 / 5 days / hiking / NOBO / RR mostly / Frank<br /> <br /> I got the bus-ferry-bus from Puerto Montt to Segundo Corral. To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas &amp; delays with the river ferries I walked on the road from Segundo Corral to El Manso, about 50KM. Easy but not very interesting walking. It takes a full day to get from Puerto Montt on the bus to Segundo Corral so I believe it would be better to go SOBO with an early start to get through La Junta, otherwise you need 2 additional days for travel. <br /> <br /> Stayed @ nice &amp; cheap campsite at bridge over Rio Colorado &amp; camped at El Arco. The trail approaching El Arco was muddy &amp; a bit swampy (it had been raining). It's possible to go by boat across Lago Vidal Gomez but it's an easy 3 hour walk. <br /> <br /> Got the bus again to Segundo Corral &amp; ferry to Paso Bolson. The trail across the border is generally in good condition. There is some easy bushbashing on the Chilean side for about 1KM before the border &amp; some fallen trees but they are straightforward to go over. Rio Azul was easily fordable in early February.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-10 to 2023-Jan-14 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR, also GPT22-01 / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Cochamó - La Junta - Lago Vidal Gormáz - El Manso - Puerto Urrutio via Option 1 - Lago Las Rocas - Lago Puelo (Argentina) <br /> <br /> The borders of Paso El León and Paso El Bolsón are both opened again for tourists! Go for it! It is a beautiful section with wonderful people, such a contrast to where I started the GPT further north. <br /> <br /> In Cochamó, I stayed at Eco Camping El Valle, right at the entrance to the Cochamó River Valley. Paid 7000 clp, very nice campground, there are tarps over the picnic tables at each site so you have a dry place to hang out even if it rains :) Since I spent the night so close to the trailhead, it was easy to get to the guarded valley entrance (Road End {22N} [109.8/58]) early. I did not have a camping reservation for La Junta. I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 a.m., explained my route to the staff, saying I would stay at Refugio El Arco that night. They let me through no problem. The trail to La Junta is a bit muddy, but nothing bad, my feet stayed dry in my trailrunners despite the fact it was also raining off and on. Beautiful path through the Valvidian rainforest, I really enjoyed all the green and the moss. When I reached the La Junta area, I stashed my pack in some trees and made a short detour to Las Toboganes. They are only 0.7 km off the regular route, and highly worthwhile to see! What a spectacular area, I totally see the Yosemite resemblence, and would love to go back someday. <br /> <br /> I found the trail after La Junta (all the way to Lago Vidal Gormáz) to be in good shape, contrary to what others have written. It was maybe slightly less maintained than the popular trail leading into the valley, but it was still very clear and easy to follow — not overgrown, no blowdowns, just a bit muddy in some places. Granted, it has been drier than normal so far this summer. None of the fords went above my knees, and sometimes I could cross the creeks without even getting my feet wet, all very easy. <br /> <br /> The refugio at El Arco is dark and without any furniture inside. I found it much nicer to camp in the nearby meadow just south of the trail there. There are outhouses. <br /> <br /> Nice path from Lago Vidal Gormáz all the way to El Manso. Very beautiful in this valley as well. Met a few arrieros along the way. Most of the rivers have bridges crossing them. There is a small camp at the bridge over Río Colorado. <br /> <br /> In El Manso, I topped off my food supply at the shop on the main road. It has a good selection of food items. Then I went to Señora Oco's house to try and arrange a boat transfer over Río Puelo. She and her family are very friendly and welcoming. I arrived there mid-afternoon, but she could not get in radio contact with anyone on the other side. In the evening, we heard back from Hospedaje Nancy, who charged 60,000 clp for a crossing upriver all the way to Río Traidor (where she lives). This I found too expensive for me traveling alone. Señora Oco baked some bread and I was able to buy some. She also said I was welcome to camp in the fields behind her house while waiting for a response from settlers Paulina and Jovino regarding a crossing to their place (much more direct and therefore likely much cheaper). The next morning, we still hadn't received any response from Paulina and Jovino either via radio or Whatsapp (they may have been away). Because of this, I decided to take the gravel road to Puerto Urrutia (Option 1), and forgo crossing Río Puelo, unfortunately. Despite this setback, I'm really glad I got to meet and spend time with Señora Oco and her family, they are such kind people. <br /> <br /> I was able to hitch most of the way to Puerto Urrutia, where I rejoined the regular route. The trail from there all the way to Lago Las Rocas is mostly easy and clear. There were a few confusing junctions in the vicinity of Lago Verde, so I kept a close eye on the GPS there. After crossing the road after that, the beginning of RR -TL-V {22S} [2.8/7.1+2.7] is tricky to find. There are lots of fallen trees and many forest paths. The GPS was very helpful there too until I finally found the right path. After about 700 m it merges with a nice clear path all the way to Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> As has been previously reported, there is a large rockslide about 2 km in once you reach Lago Las Rocas. It didn't look overly dangerous to me, the boulders were large and seemed solid enough. I started crossing it right at the bottom where the rocks fall into the lake, as it looked to be the easiest and safest way across. I was maybe 50 meters through it, when a boat came along, and the people in it told me to hop in! What lucky timing! As we passed the rest of the rockslide, I could see the last part of it was steep, loose scree rather than big boulders. That part would have definitely been nerve-wracking to cross, and I was very grateful for the boat ride. The settlers who owned the boat live about 3 km along the trail, at a little bay/inlet in the lake. They have a nice beach and campground too. That's where I rejoined the trail. Beyond their house, the &quot;Camino Los Mosquitos,&quot; as it is locally called, gets progressively worse in terms of overgrowth and blowdowns. The trail has not been cleared since the past winter, and not been used either. The stretch between kilometers 4 and 6.5 is the worst. It felt more like pure bushwhacking than following a trail. The path was mostly burried beneath walls of downed trees and branches, it got very hard to follow at times. Lots of climbing over and under vegetation, some of it quite thorny too. Very slow and tiring. My pack got ripped up a bit and so did my clothing. Had I known the trail was this bad, I would have taken the option on the east side of Lago Las Rocas. It's hard to imagine it could be in worse shape than the regular route. <br /> <br /> When I got to the Chilean Border Control it was around 6:30 p.m., so too late to cross that day. The border agent working there was very friendly, but he couldn't get in contact with his supervisor to get approval for stamping my passport with the next day's date. So I camped back at Lago Las Rocas, and the next morning came back at 8 a.m. when the border post reopened. The trail on the Chilean side of the border was a bit rough in places, it has been neglected since the winter too. But it was not as bad as the previous stretch along Lago Las Rocas. Once I got into Argentina, it got much better. The trails in Parque Nacional Lago Puelo are well-maintained, and I met some day hikers. No issues at the Argentine Border Control. <br /> <br /> I was able to ford Río Azul easily, thanks to the dry weather. There are three branches of the river to cross (the GPS waypoints only show two of them). The middle branch is the widest and deepest. The water there went up to my upper thighs (I'm 165 cm), but the current was slow and it never felt dangerous. <br /> <br /> Now I'm skipping down to GPT32 to continue my adventure further south :) The northern sections that I hiked from 6 to 22 were simply amazing, with great weather almost the entire time. Thank you, all! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Oct-19 to 2022-Oct-24 / 6 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / ???<br /> <br /> Here are the main points because our story is long :)<br /> Paso el bolson and El Leon are closed for tourists until further notice <br /> Some of trails are in bad condition because of the hard winter but they might be cleared in the following weeks. <br /> Landslide in Lago Las rocas - very dangerous part to cross. We suggest to take an optional route <br /> <br /> The trail starts in valle cochamo. We did not have any reservations but as we were in low season we were not worried. However the lady from the tourist office in Cochamo told us to arrive at the entrance of the valley between 7 &amp; 8 to avoid being rejected. At 7h50 there was nobody at the reception so we did not have any trouble, but we cannot say for the high season. <br /> You can arrange a car transfer to go the valley entrance. The numbers of the drivers are available at the tourist office.<br /> <br /> The trail until La Junta is muddy but well maintained - no worries there. Up there we met some arrieros and the locals from the camping and they told us that the trail was closed a bit further because of snow (up to 2 meters) in laguna Blanca. This is the highest part of the trail (about 1100m). The river crossings were feasible, but as they forecasted rain for the next day, we preferred to turn back in order to avoid being blocked between high rivers and snow. <br /> <br /> Back on the road between Cochamo and Puelo, we caught at about 10:30 the bus that leaves at 7:45 from Puerto Montt, to go to Rio Manso. There is a well furnished Shop where you can even find gas. <br /> We remained in the Southbound direction and went to Senora Oco's house. She was very welcoming, and her and her grandchild helped us in arranging a boat transfer for the following morning (nothing was possible the same day). We paid 50000 pesos to go from their house to Rio Traidor - close to Nancy hospedaje. Indeed, we skipped the first part of the trail as they told us that it was very closed with a lot of small trees and not used anymore. Maybe it would be cheaper to cross a bit south using the cable car or directly from Manso to Rio Traidor.<br /> <br /> Until the Rio Tigre, settler # 22N [7.7/157], the trail is visible but sometimes with some obstacles (fallen trees). After this settling, you will have to cross the Rio Tigre which might be the hardest to cross on your way if you have a lot of rain. There is a bridge indicated on the tracks but it has been swept away this winter. The best place to cross is a bit higher following the river, follow the horse track. We did not have any problem crossing, and probably the settler could help you with his horse if the river is too high. That is an advantage of the Southbound direction.<br /> <br /> After, the trail is really clear. We found the last transfer across Rio Puelo about 1 km before the point indicated on the track. It is his job to do the crossings and he also does sportive fishing if you are interested. Look for a house with a border collie with a piece of wood around the neck :) <br /> <br /> From Puerto Urrutia, the trail is clear again until the road. There is a shop at 600m on the right. Again here, the trail is closed due to fallen trees at the beginning, but the locals (last house on the right) will help you find another path. Clear trail until Lago Las Rocas. <br /> <br /> Once you reach the Lago Las rocas you will be blocked after 2km. Indeed there was a landslide this winter and you have to cross a very dangerous part of about 300 m of rocky mountain slide. It is not stabilized yet. We went through but we do not advise it. <br /> Also, there were a lot of fallen trees and the path was really tiring. The locals will probably clear the path in the following weeks. To get more information we suggest to contact the camping Playa Las Rocas on Instagram. <br /> You can also consider the other routes or arrange a boat crossing. <br /> <br /> Finally we arrived at the border crossing. Unfortunately it was closed due to the Covid, except for the very locals (people from Cochamo). Apparently Paso el Leon is closed as well for tourists. Be aware of that if you have to cross the Chilean- Argentinian borders, as small passes seem to be closed for tourists. <br /> In the end we had to go back to Puerto Montt crossing the Lago inferior with a free boat (ask the carabineros), and then the bus-ferry-bus from Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-23 &amp; 2021-Nov-25 / 2 days / Packrafting / SOBO / Estuario de Reloncavi from Ralun to Rio Puelo (Western shore) / Jan Dudeck &amp; Meylin Ubilla <br /> <br /> We paddled in two easy days the roughly 40 km southbound.<br /> <br /> Start at Ralun at Puente Petrohue: On the right side of the bridge (view in river flow direction) is a suitable put-in and good spot to camp. The gate was closed but not locked. There are signs of people occasionally camping there.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Cochamo: Packrafters in need to resupply can do this in Cochamo about 16 water kilometers from the put-in. Both, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking. The western side is less intervened and more scenic.<br /> <br /> Ralun to Rio Puelo: Again, the western and eastern coast are suitable for packrafting. The eastern side is next to the main road what facilitates switching to hiking but requires the crossing of a 4 km wide bay in open water. The western side is less intervened and more scenic but requires crossing the 3 km wide Estuario de Reloncavi near Rio Puelo. On the western side are also the Termas de Sotomo that are suitable for camping.<br /> <br /> Wind: On nice sunny days “viento sur” often kicks in around 10 am making southbound paddling difficult or unfeasible. We had two partially overcasted days and could paddle on the first day till 4 pm when wind became annoying strong. On the second day around 3 pm the wind and waves became unpleasant but by this time we were walking the final kilometers into Rio Puelo.<br /> <br /> GPT22: Southbound packrafters may take in Cochamo or Rio Puelo the bus to Lago TaguaTagua an get to the recommended packrafting starting point of section GPT22 halfway into this section to Flip-Flop as recommended.<br /> <br /> * 2021-NOV-18 / 1 day / hiking / NOBO / Cochamó Valley (Lago Tagua Tagua - Lago Grande) / Tobías <br /> <br /> The Section between La Junta Base and Lago Vidal Gormez was very challenging. It had been raining a lot, so the Trail was very muddy and I had to cross several rivers and creeks. Went straight from Cochamó to Lago Grande and camped there in some Snow. Met only a few settlers. After reaching Lago Vidal Gormez, the Trail was easy and I enjoyed the hike a lot. Amaizing área up there!<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-FEB-18 to 2020-FEB-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tyler <br /> I didn’t have problems getting a campsite at la junta on the spot luckily. AMAZING area that I’ll be returning to again to do all the day hikes in. Aside from that, most the trail was very muddy, rainy, and unmaintained. This got a bit difficult after the 3rd day in a row. Good places to camp at the lakes over the pass SOBO. When I got down to Lago Vidal Gomez the trail improved.. I got some bread from a settler at the start of the lake. There right on the trail and super friendly and have rooms. The last ferry across Tagua Tagua leaves at 7 pm. I didn’t make it, so I slept underneath the office/bathrooms and took the ferry at 8:00 the next morning. I believe there’s another ferry at 12. <br /> <br /> *. 2020-Jan-09 to 2020-Jan-11 / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun<br /> <br /> Despite the austere warnings on the La Junta Camping website, I was able to make a reservation at short notice in high season, and the back and forth process only took a few hours. In Cochamó, I was warned that due to recent rain the river crossings at El Arco and another nearby river would likely be impassable. With four more days of heavy rain forecast, I decided to take the bus-ferry-bus combo to Puerto Urrutia and try to walk northbound from there with the optimistic hope that by the time I reached El Arco the river would be passable or, at least, the wait would be less. However, 10km north of the Rio Puelo crossing (service starts at 9am) my way was blocked by a high and fast river. I then retraced my steps and completed the rest of the section southbound - which was straightforward. The trail on the west side of Lago de la Roca until the frontera is a bit overgrown but still easy to see and nothing particularly slowed me down. On the Argentinian side the trail is well maintained. It is not permitted to camp on the 12km stretch between the border posts. I arrived too late to cross that day, but the Chileans stamped my passport with the next day’s date so I didn’t have to wait for the post to open at 9am. The Argentinian border guards informed me that because of the rain, the Rio Azul was too high to ford at the point on the regular hiking route just before Lago Puelo so I took the alternative route (Oh-Tl-V@22-04-#001) a few kms north and crossed over the La Pasarela bridge.<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-22 to 2020-Jan-26 / 5 days / hiking / SOBO / parque de la vallee de Cochamo - La Pasarella / Arnaud <br /> <br /> As we arrived from Puerto Montt we were with the bus and stopped directly at the entrance of the private parque de la vallee de Cochamo.<br /> As it is private, there are some rules to get in, or they block you at the control point.<br /> The entrance is free but you need to have a reservation in one of the official camp sites there. To get the reservation, you can do it on internet (but you need to wait for the confirmation and it can be several days long), or do it directly there (red house), they give you the reservation voucher if there are places available (number seem to be limited). Then you pay the night when you reach the camp sites (6000 clp/pers).<br /> Or the other solution is to say that you sleep in the refugio del Arco. It is 23km further after the control. Then it is free and no reservation is needed, but this is possible only before 10am (after they block you). After 10am the only way to pass is to sleep in the camp sites. They block you if you do not have a<br /> reservation voucher for one camp site.<br /> This spot (la Junta) is famous among the chilenos so the access to the camp sites is really overrunned. The path is easy to walk.<br /> Once you go further than the campsites, you're alone, so it is better.<br /> The path is clearly marked. There are bridges for most of the rivers you cross. But it is very muddy.<br /> At the lago Vidal you can resupply a bit with those living there (you can also sleep in their camp sites).<br /> In El Manso you can find a minimarket with lots of things.<br /> Then, we decided to follow the road instead of the track because we were in a hurry with a deadline in El Bolson, until we reached la cruce de la rocas. There are buses or hitchiking is easy.<br /> Crossing borders was easy. There are 12km between the chilean stamp and the Argentin one that we did in 3.5 hours.<br /> At the very end we have not not crossed El Rio Azul, we walked 7 more km to the north to reach La Pasarella<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *In Cochamo go down towards the lake. There is a church on the left &amp; before you reach it there is a hospedaje on the right, good &amp; cheap.<br /> <br /> *There is a good place to stay NOBO 500 metres before the junction where the road turns towards Laguna Las Rocas. Farmhouse on RHS of road has rooms &amp; meals. Cheap, friendly &amp; good<br /> <br /> *In Segundo Corral there are two campsites. The first one is just before the school, it just says Kuchen but you can camp there. Cheap, nice family &amp; they do meals. There is a campsite after the school but the owner was drunk &amp; looking for an argument.<br /> Lots of campsites at Lago Totoral (on the road, not on RR)<br /> It's possible to camp near the Argentinian border control.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> We spent the night on the southern side of Lago Vidal Gomaz where is amazing campsite Doña Luisa, for I think 5000 CLP pp. We bought there beer, some cheese and bread in the morning, and you can also charge electronics inside. It is possible to have proper breakfast or dinner, it looked all very tasty. At km N 40.7 is shop with all the basic things + great brewery next to it, definitely stop there if you are a fan.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> * January 2023 Frank<br /> To avoid the landslide at Laguna Las Rocas you can walk on the road or get the bus to Segundo Corral then from Lago Inferior about 1.5KM from Segundo Corral there is a ferry to Paso Bolson (Chilean border control).The government subsidised ferry runs Monday-Friday only from 8-12 &amp; 2PM-6PM &amp; is only 2000 pesos. You need to radio the ferryman to arrange pickup, easily done in Segundo Corral.<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> We decided to cross el Lago de Las Rocas by boat. Therefore there is a walkie talkie on the landing stage on the northern end of the lake with which you can contact Richard (+56958694897),we were charged 5000 p.p.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> From the port its again easy walking on the RR again. Drunk settler and quite agressive dogs out of his control at S km 7.2 so be careful. We slept half way to Las Rocas lake. <br /> <br /> *Northbound and southbound hiking is feasible. However, due to the controlled private southbound access through the La Junta área, hiking in that direction is only possible with a camping reservation, or by arriving at the checkpoint before 10am. A northbound traverse may therefore be preferred. For hikers generally heading south, it is possible to take the single ticket, half-day bus-ferry-bus combination south from Cochamó to Puerto Urrutia, hike the 120km north to Cochamó, then return to Puerto Urrutia and resume the section southwards from there.<br /> <br /> *Crossing the border is typically straightforward, however it is not permitted to camp on the 12km between the border posts. So if you arrive too late to cross, it is necessary to camp at the border post and cross the next day. In this situation, Chilean officials will stamp your passport with the next day’s date so you don’t need to wait for the office to open that morning.<br /> <br /> *Southbound access to the popular La Junta area is controlled at a private checkpoint and only granted to those with a prior camping reservation, or those arriving before 10am and therefore early enough to make it on to the free and unmanaged El Arco campsite 23km away. Reservations for La Junta can be made online at cochamo.com, but there may not be availability and the process may take several days, so hiking this section southwards may not be possible.Therefore, an option for hikers generally heading south is to take the bus-ferry-bus combination from Cochamó across Lago Tagua Tagua and on to Puerto Urrutia, hike 120km north back to Cochamó, then take the bus-ferry-bus south again and hike the remainder of the section southwards from Puerto Urrutia.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT22 - Cochamó]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]<br /> <br /> {| border=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;border-collapse:collapse&quot;<br /> |+'''GPT22: Cochamó'''<br /> | colspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| GPT22: Cochamó<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Group<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | D: Lagos Chilenos<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''160.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|'''51 h'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''136.6 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|'''35 h'''<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Region<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Chile &amp; Argentina: Los Lagos (X) &amp; Chubut<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Trails (TL)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|137.9 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|85.9%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 20.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|14.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Start<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Cochamó<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Minor Roads (MR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|10.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.7%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 1.3%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Finish<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Lago Puelo (Puerto)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Primary Roads (PR)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|9.7 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|6.0%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.8 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 2.0%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Status<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Published &amp; Verified<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Cross-Country (CC)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|2.2 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|1.4%<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 0.4%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Traversable<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Dec - Apr (Maybe: Sep, Oct, Nov, May)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Bush-Bashing (BB)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packraft<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | Very Useful<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Ferry (FY)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.8 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|(1.1%)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Connects to<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | GPT21, GPT23<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Investigation (I)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.9 km)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| (1.4%)<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Options<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; | 268 km (9 Options &amp; Variants)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Exploration (EXP)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| -<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|-<br /> |-<br /> | <br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Hiking<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Packrafting<br /> | rowspan=&quot;4&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| <br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Total on Water<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''111.1 km'''<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| '''81.4%'''<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Attraction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 5 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| River (RI)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 62.5 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 45.7%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Difficulty<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|4 (of 5)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 4 (of 5)<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Lake (LK)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 32.4 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 23.7%<br /> |-<br /> | style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;|Direction<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#ffbfbf;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|Both ↓↑<br /> | colspan=&quot;2&quot; style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Fjord (FJ)<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;| 16.3 km<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#c2edfc;&quot;|11.9%<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Comment<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Hiking: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Character<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Packrafting: Flip-Flop recommended<br /> |-<br /> |style=&quot;background-color:#bfbfbf;&quot;| Challenges<br /> | colspan=&quot;7&quot; | Valdivian Rain Forest, Sea Coast, Farmland, Settlers, River Packrafting, Lake Packrafting, Fjord Packrafting, Partly Overrun<br /> |}<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> [[File:profile GPT22-p.PNG|frame|center|Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)]]<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520254.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109520443.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282465.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_115282466.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447503.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_101648648.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_104321335.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:Bahia ralun.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447491.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_16_Cochamó_109447496.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT21_(Lago_Todos_Los_Santos)&diff=113975 2024-02-02T15:22:51Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-31 to 2024-Feb-02 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / {21-01} - RR - {21-A} - RR - ferry(Petrohué) / Lilian<br /> <br /> From the comments for ferry transportation, looks like need 100k-140k for one way, and I'm not sure is it will be more in 2024, ao i tried the ferry option, unfortunately failed. About the details read the comments below.<br /> <br /> <br /> I joined 21 directly from 20 at Las Gaviotas (like Martin &amp; Helena at 22/23 season). So i walked {21-01} for starting.<br /> <br /> Dirt road walking to km2.9 then becomes trails.<br /> <br /> From km2.9 to Laguna Los Quetros campground, trail sometimes breaks into some small trails like branches that going the same place, mostly they'll combine together later. Also trail crossing many tiny streams, easy to collect water all the way. Sometimes it is going in narrow valley tunnel with muddy ground, so maybe it'll be in a very slippery condition in rain or after rain.<br /> <br /> Camp$[15.9/682] : Laguna Los Quetros campground.<br /> Free because no one there. Beautiful lake and nice camping spot, I'm so happy i camped here! Lot of different types of spots you can choose at here, grassland just beside the lake with excellent views, well covered under trees with good weather protection, beside some brushes for privacy, or camping beside picnic table and fire ring enjoying the night with friends, all these i said you can choose at here!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The trail down to Todos Ios Santos Lake is almost the same condition, but much muddy and lot of up and down after Settler,Lodging,Ferry[23.2/432] when it close to river.<br /> <br /> Hot spring[19.2/438] and the refuge is closed, all locked up. I saw some alga is growing at riverbed (means spring nearby), but the water is cold in river.<br /> <br /> Km19.95 : junction of RR and {21-A}, a stick with &quot;turn right arrow&quot; there, so i take {21-A}.<br /> <br /> {21-A} km1.05 : nice viewpoint(-40.99042, -72.16940) of Volcán Puntiagudo on the tiny hill at your right side, 2min climbing up only!<br /> <br /> Km1.35 : a beautiful grassland(-40.99310, -72.16861) for camping just before rejoin RR. Also a stream is following good before you climbing up to the grassland.<br /> <br /> Bridge RR [27.1/248] : flat spot can fit 2 tents before the crossing.<br /> <br /> Km28.35 : flat spot can fit 4-6 tents under trees just before you going out to grassland. And the grassland(-41.04036, -72.16133) also is flat and beautiful, good for camping!<br /> <br /> Km28.6 : go through the gate.<br /> <br /> Km29.4 : one more grassland here, but the previous one is better.<br /> <br /> Port[29.9/204] : El Callao, i didn't find any good spot at beach, one small grassland just before you go down to the beach, but not too flat, also poops around there. So the best camping spot before the beach i think is at km28.35, under some trees with views of grassland.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From the comments of Martin &amp; Helena, some information at internet, and some conversations from locals at Lago Rupanco, i know there is a ferry called Elizabeth running from Peulla to Petrohué on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at November to February. But it need a phone calls reservation by the residents that lives at Todos Ios Santos Lake. I'm not sure it welcome backpackers or not, but i think you can go with some locals when the ferry arrives at your port.<br /> <br /> From the schedule i know, from Peulla to Petrohué on Friday is at 8am, so maybe arrive El Callao at 8.30am to 9am. But, i waited at El Callao from 8am to 9.30am, nothing coming or any ferry going on the lake. (So i assume this ferry just running if there is reservations. And you can't book it, because you are just a tourist for them)<br /> <br /> Luckily a local drive a small boat to El Callao from Petrohué with some hikers, i asked him about going Cayutué, but he didn't want to go there, and give me a lovely offer take me back to Petrohué with 25k CLP. I accepted, because today is raining and windy, i didn't want to wait at the beach, didn't know is it anything will come, also in a bad weather condition.<br /> <br /> I love my rain jacket and the life jacket that the local provide to me when I'm flying on the lake about 30min.<br /> <br /> Then i take the bus to Cochamó for GPT22.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> For bus schedule: <br /> <br /> 10:30 Petrohué - Ensenada 1800CLP 20min<br /> 11:20 Ensenada - Cochamó 3000CLP 50min<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2024-01-23 to 2024-01-29 / 6,5 days / Hiking / WEBO / Option 3, 3B? (Bariloche+), Option 2, 2B, C (Bariloche+) / Natalie &amp; Tomáš<br /> <br /> Overview (sorry for the length):<br /> <br /> Since the mountains of Bariloche are a bit of a playground of trails, we did a variation of mainly high trails starting from Laguna Guiterezz and onward to Pampa Linda (joining Option 3 midway) and then followed the &quot;Jesuitos/Vuriloche&quot; route to Ralún (Option 2). We had a few short and a few long days to make a total of 6,5 days. <br /> <br /> For the Bariloche part we wanted to go Lago Guiterezz -Lago Frey (via optional valley)- Refugio Jacob -Refugio Italiana ( behind which you join Option 3) and out via Lago Ilón to Pampa Linda. However since I banged up my knee I separated from Tomáš. He went on to do the high route as planned from Jacob and I went down the Huella Andina and then back up via the Laguna Azul trail to meet near Laguna Creton. <br /> <br /> Re-supply is possible but expensive and with limited variety at Pampa Linda so bringing most of your food is advised. I restocked on bread (5mil for 1kg or 2.5mil for half) some sweets (2-2.5mil) and had a meal (9mil). There is weak wifi at the tourist info stand (sometimes not working at all, sometimes passing through messages, e-mails and even non-interactive websites, the speed was not a function of the number of people trying to connect) and two campsites (1@4mil, no services apart from toilets and water and 1@8mil with shared electricity and showers). <br /> <br /> Highlights of the Bariloche part were indeed mountain vistas, Torre principal of Cerro Catedral lurking everywhere the first towo days, rock scrambling and lagoons. The disadvantages were the slow terrain, (a lot of edging on rock/kitty litter dirt/dust on slab/steep tree belaying dirt) and park rules. You have to register online (easy and free, there is a Goodle form on park's website) and register in person at every Refugio (it is free and if they do not see you, you can get away with no registering, we only actually did it once). Camping is free but it can be annoying because of the amount of people concentrating around refugios. Officially you are only allowed to camp near refugios and at certain designated places, but given the number of tent places along the route, this rule is often breached that is often breached. We never bought food from the refugios but that option is out there. <br /> <br /> As for the Jesuitas route (Vuriloche) we were lucky because things were dry and therefore the trek was a lot better than expected. The forest walking/mud tunnels felt like Indiana Jones. The biodiversity of mosses and ferns felt like home (West coast of British Columbia) and the valley settler homesteads were picture perfect at times (and smelled like summer houses in central Europe). The trek to Tronador's &quot;Refugio Viejo&quot; was not to be missed and neither were the hot springs near Ford at [101,3/351], if you cam get there around nightime. The passing through the border with the Carabineros was alarmingly easy. They did not check our food (we smuggled a tomato!) and they barely asked any questions, they just took our passports and came back with a stamp (no PDI paper). Don't forget to check in with the Argentinian border patrol before leaving, if it wasn't for Tomáš, I would have had to walk back from the carabinieros because I did not think it was necessary since I never got an entry stamp from Argentina in the first place –I was wrong. The Argentinians made us fill out a piece of paper to show to the Chilians and perhaps communicated with them that we were coming. <br /> <br /> Things to note:<br /> -The Terrain around Bariloche is very much alpine-like terrain. It is slow and can be dangerous so if you are not comfortable with steep terrain, rock, edging, gullies and possible snow then I suggest choosing the Huella Andina or the regular GPT21 Option 03 (it iw comparable to GPT11-GPT12 around Cerro Dedos or the ridge at the end of GPT08).<br /> -The mud: it is said that in the wet season or after a recent rain the trail on the Jesuitos route gets so muddy that it may be impassable. From what we saw, most of the mud tunnels were very dry so I think it would take a hard rain to make it impassable.<br /> -The mosquitos were a thing but we were only &quot;swarmed &quot; in our camp spot on the other side of Cayute(amd we built our tent once for lunch against them). Horse flies seem to be dying off but they were crazy around the Caribeneros.<br /> - Option 2C on the North side of Rio Blanco is not meant for pedestrians, there is a sign saying for pedestrians to stay on the Right (South). Maybe it is because of the ford over Rio Blanco (one out of the two bridges still exist, the first one on the west side). There is a skinny suspension bridge over the river at the hotsprings (300 m SE from the ford waypoint) but you can easily ford as well. Some of the bridges on osm are broken and nonexistent (will be corrected in spring 2024).<br /> - we got a hitch for only the last 4km of the Laguna Cayute road, then hitched slowly to Puerto Varas for food and a rest. <br /> <br /> <br /> The details:<br /> <br /> We started by getting out of Bariloche by a city bus number 41 (0.2 USD per person, goes every 30 minutes, Google maps or Moovit [more precise] has the schedules, you need to have a SUBE card [available at bus terminals] valid in all of Argentina, topping it online is seemingly impossible, in theory there are many small shops that can top it up [they are marked SUBE, the SUBE app has their locations] but we got lucky only at the third such shop) to Villa Lago Guiterezz and then hitchhiking to the southern end of Lago Guiterezz, where we started walking along a very crowded beach and then in-the-evening-decidedly -not-crowded lakeshore to a beach at the mouth of Arroy van Titter. We then walked towards Lago Frey by taking a partialy (it is probably cleared from time to time) overgrown but beautiful valley just south of the main route. It was slow and swampy (cca for 2 km/1 hour but had little people and offered impressive views of Cerro Catedral south and it's towers. Through this we bypassed the Refugio Frey and made our way to the first of many passes near Laguna Schmoll. The way up is simple scrambling anyone can do, but the way down was a mix of slow edging and sand sliding (it is probably a lotnless travelled). We waited until the heat of the day ended to make our way up the second pass above Refuigo Jacob. For this second pass it was easy walking on the way up but the way down was once again slow edging on relatively steep terrain. We registered and camped at Refugio Jacob to have an early start on the next day. The Refugio and campsites were packed and felt cramped.<br /> <br /> I had a bad encounter with a log that morning and my knee was banged up so the next day Tomáš and I split. He went on to the high route and I went down the Huella Andina and up again to a meeting spot near Lago Laguna Creton via Laguna Azul.<br /> <br /> As for getting down the Huella Andina it was slower than expected but fine, and getting up to Azul was fast but more involved than expected. The last 200vertical meters was low angle slab beside a waterfall, which was fun for going up but maybe not so fun for the way down. The rest of the way to Creton and camping was easy with fun slabby terrain. <br /> <br /> Tomáš's report:<br /> <br /> I went from Refugio Jacob to Refugio Italiano through Pico Refugio and then to Pampa Linda through laguna Illón. It took me two full days. The warden at Jacob told us that the route to Refugio Italiano was closed due to snow (a lot fell late in spring), so I met noone on the route, though I saw a set of footprints that were at most from the previous day. The route is mostly marked by cairns, sometimes it is invisible and sometimes you can see a painted sign (there is little consistency in terms of shape or colour of the marking) but is easy to follow with a map. The climb to Pico Refugio was easy scrambling. There were bolted rings that you can use to secure a rope but I did not think it was dangerous to climb unsecured. It was never vertical, the holds were good. It took me 10-15 minutes to get through this section of maybe 50 vertical meters. SAC 5 or slightly under. A much less vertical zigzagging route appeared then on that went to a pass still before Pico Refugio. From then on I sometimes did walk on snow but it was soft without any creeks eating it from underneath so I felt safe. It took me four hours to get to Cerro Navidad. The gully from there was mostly under snow for about 300 vertical meters. I went down on the snow until a creek started flowing under it from left. Then I stayed on the left side of the undersnow creek or on bare rocks. Lower in the valley the route was abit eroded and there was even a short (20 metres - SAC 4 at most) fixed rope but it was not too difficult to get down. It was not easy walking though even in the valley, one crosses the stream several times and there are big stones even in the forrest (SAC 3). I took the first OSM route left to Refugio Italiano. It was quite (but not fully) vertical, but easy, I did use my hands and it was fun. It took me four hours from Cerro Navidad to Refugio Italiano, where there were lots (40?) of people at 4 PM.<br /> <br /> I continued along the lake, where there was even a section with steps on the stone made out of metal rods (10 metres, SAC 3-4). This part is frequented and so was easy. It continued to be easy until Laguna CAB (though I lost the route several times going up in the forest). I reached the lagoon before dusk. I met two people on the near end of the lake. There were several people on the far end of the lake, where there are lots of mosquitoes, not recommended to camp. There is no trail around the lake - one fords the lake along its shore for about 1 km, it is not deep. I started going up to Cerro CAB. It is steep and was at first muddy but the route is clear enough in the bush and then marked by cairns on the rocky section (SAC 2-3). I reached the pass when it started to be fully dark. I continued the horizontal traverse (SAC 3-4) with a headlamp but 800 metres took me almost 40 minutes so I stopped before the route starts descending (thank god for the InRreach to InRrach messaging, I could let Natalie know I would not make it that night – the n3xt day it took me four additional jours to get there). It was hard to follow the cairns as one just walks on bare rocks with no visible trail whatsoever, sometimes using hands to go up or down a a few metres. There is a nice horizontal miniplateau ideal for sleeping on a warm windless night (no mosquitoes!) with plentiful water from the melting snow.<br /> <br /> In the morning, I woke up to a splendid view of Tronador. I went down, at first again using my hands here and there (SAC 4), but not much. Mosquitoes during daytime in the valley, which is actually a pass you reach from above. The climb to the pass at Cerro Cristal is clear trail at first but the last 150 vertical metres is a diagonal upward traverse walking on large slabs or wedges made out of pure granite. Theirs slope is good and I thought it was fun and itnis quite scenic (SAC 3-4). Going down to laguna Creton is steep and the route is sometimes a bit hard to find but it is not too hard (SAC 3) I saw one tent around Laguna Creton and met about six people going my direction to Laguna Illón, where there was dozens of people at 4 PM. Going down I met over a dozen prople either going my way or going up (and then I met Natalie of course).<br /> <br /> Altogether, this traverse took me to routes that are not overun with people and are quite nice with lots of views (Cerro Cathedral is a scary darling that has that name for a reason), being mostly above the tree line. However, the route is demanding – you will be happy to cover 1,5 km per hour. It seems many people go up to a refugio, spend the night and go down again, so the aproach routes to refugios are more popular than the connecting traverses between them. These routes seemed to be in quite good shape thanks to that.<br /> <br /> From Pampa Linda, we followed the estabilished option, it was not very eventful and took us three days and a few hours. At the border, the carabinieros have a free basic camping there - expect only water and dry toilet, but you can leave your tent with things and go up to Refugio Viecho, which is functional and sleeps about 8 people plus there are several tent places near it. We met a Spanish couple with a guide who would climb Trenador the next day. People go to the border from Argentina for day trips or two day in and out trips, we met several groups and there were four tents for the night. From the border, we would meet one group per day and one settler per day. The route is travelled but not busy (carabinieros do not have horses and probably rotate by helicopter, we saw it the next day).<br /> <br /> The hot springs are very clean and have perfect temperature, there are two pools for about even ten people altogether. On the other side of the bridge, there is a new house probably meant for tourists. We did not meet or see anybody so we just used the hotsprings but techically you probably should go and ask the setler about 300 m downstream on the other side of the river for permission. There is water everywhere on the trail even now when it had been dry for a few weeks. I looked for a route that would connect to La Junta in Cochamo and I found a start of a trail, but it might have been nothing and was anyway hopelessly overgrown.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-28 / 3.5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + RR (Variant A) / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> <br /> TLTR: Very enjoyable section; No mentionable difficulties; Packraft Lago Todos Los Santos in the morning if you can, as wind will pick up in the afternoon; Great chats with the settlers along the way<br /> <br /> From Entre Lagos we hitchhiked and took a bus + ferry to wp Ferry {20} [41.9/123] (Las Gaviotas) where we camped. It took us the entire day to get there so we stayed at the campsite right by the beach (CLP12,500 per person - expensive and maybe the other campsite is cheaper, but it was a very nice campsite with good facilities and hot tub if you like that).<br /> <br /> We hiked the next day on RP to wp Refuge, Camp $ {21} [19.2/438] and stayed the night. Rudi wasn’t there and the hot tubs were closed. It was an easy hike all the way. There we met Alejandro, Sergio’s son, who mentioned that Sergio doesn’t live in the valley anymore - it’s him and his mother now, so no more beers, but Alejandro speaks fluent English, which made it easier for us to connect :). If you want to get in touch with him, connect through his insta @valleelcallao.<br /> <br /> The next day we continued on RR, took variant 21-A and camped at wp Port {21} [29.9/204] (El Callao) right by the beach. We met Rudi there and had a lovely chat with him.<br /> <br /> We started paddling early the next day, crossed Lago Todos los Santos in ard 4 hours and went to shore at wp Lake {21} [53.6/200]. We continued to wp River, Camp {21} [61.1/237] (Rio Conchas) where we went into the water again to paddle the short RP upstream river segment and across Lago Cayutue. It was not the best idea to paddle there in the afternoon, as headwinds on the lake were strong. However it’s a short stretch and going back would have cost more time, so we managed, and the landscape from the lake is really amazing. We stayed the night at wp Lake, Camp {21} [64.1/233]. Beautiful place!<br /> <br /> We went to the parking lot at wp Settler {21} [63.4/448] the next morning and were offered a ride down the valley by some lovely people, so we hitchhiked to Cochamó.<br /> <br /> *2023-12-12 to 2023-12-14 / 3 days / Packrafting / SOBO /RR / Roman<br /> <br /> Hitchhiked from Entre Lagos all the way to the start of the RR. Beginning was a bit overgrown nothing bad but a bit annoying (7km) [in hindsight I wouldn't consider it BB but close before it, still doable and worth it]. Snow stating at 1350m good to hike as soon as you are out the forest. Down the other side: watch the GPS the entry in the forest can be easily missed and trust the GPS. There are some marks in the bark. The point is here: -40.956873, -72.183669. Trust the GPS and after ~100m you will find a &quot;proper&quot; trail (visible easy to follow). Stayed at the Refuge, Camp $ {21} [19.2/438] [Rudi brought some people NoBo with the Boat). The trail from there to the lake is at the beginning for 5k a bit annoying due to a lot of vegitation (no BB). The frist bridge after Rudi is a bit sketchy, i crawled over it, because there is nothing to hold on, some planks ate missing and some are badly damaged [https://imgur.com/a/piW3AI3]. After that the bridges getting better. Pacrafted the next day to Camp ? {21} [52.2+1.0/196]. Startet Packrafting at 02:00 PM pitched tent at 08:00 PM. Conditions where good. Waited for a window of no wind to cross the lake to the other bank. A lot of exit possibilities there a lot more settlers than on the map. Overall it was a quite day; wind was mainly from west. Got on shore here: Lake {21} [53.6/200]. Trail after that easy and beautiful! Hitchhiked to Cochamó from here: -41.316407, -72.273071.<br /> <br /> Overall: beginning a but annoying due to dense vegetation (no BB). After that the trail is ok and is good after the crossing. Would reccomend it even if the beginning is annoying and after Rudi also vegetation but the views are worth it!<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-14 to 2023-Feb-17 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We joined 21 directly from 20 at Las Gaviotas (see our previous comment). The route to the Laguna Los Quetros is well marked with signs and its nice hiking eventhough pretty muddy for us after 3 rainy days. In the beginning it is a minor road that crosses land of local settlers and after some time its getting into the forrest which is really amazing with many ‘levels’ of vegetation. We ended the day on the official campground that is actually free because no one was there just like others mentioned. There is a fireplace and some benches, all covered. Nice beach and views, definitely one of the nicer campsites.<br /> <br /> The following day we had only one goal which was to get close to the Lago Todos Santos and ideally arrange transfer for the next day. Again nice trail through the rain forrest. The hot springs are owned by already mentioned Rudi who needs to open them, as well as the refugio, as we found out. There were some Chileans at the time, but we just took a look and continued. There are 2 baths with hot spring water in a wooden chalet.<br /> <br /> We continued with option A directly to the second marked settlement (Dos Cóndores - its not correct in OSM), because of previously mentioned price requested by Rudi (130k) and info from those guys at hot springs who were charged 100k, so it didn’t look like it would be possible to get below that 100k price. Spoiler - we paid that anyway 😅. At the settlement km 23.2 we didn’t get any specific answer because the father was away, bringing other tourists the next day with his boat, and his wife or son couldn’t confirm if the transfer will be possible. We stayed in their cabin for 10k CLP pp for a room, but there was no one else staying that day. There is shower with cold water only and kitchen. Camping is 5k CLP pp and they also provide food - classic dinner or breakfast, asado or bread / eggs.<br /> <br /> We decided to go in the morning to the port, primarily to ask Esteban for the transfer. The trail is in good condition. You need to turn left before the shelters, before the port, and you will get to a house of a German family who are really kind and helpful. They speak also English. They showed us the way to Esteban through their garden, but its probably possible to get there from the other side / hill. Esteban agreed to take us the same day at 6PM, we asked him around 11AM. The price was 100k.<br /> <br /> Another possible option for transfer over the lake - there should be boat called Elizabeth, organized by government for local residents, that leaves from the northern port km 29.9 on Friday at 9 AM. We don’t know about the other days. Rather verify with locals. We know it goes to Petrohué for sure, but with other places it depends on the demand, don’t know how it works really. But its definitely possible to get to the most frequent places. Eventhough its for residents, they don’t have problem with taking backpackers.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-NOV-25 / 3 days / hiking / SOBO / RR and OR A / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> We took the bus from Puerto Montt to Osorono. Unfortunately, the morning bus to Lago Rupanco was already gone. There's supposed to be another one at 4:00 p.m. we decided to take the bus to Entre Lagos and hitchhike from there - which wasn't easy. For a long time nobody gave us a ride on the Minor Road in the direction of Lago Rupanco. In the end we got some shorter rides and hiked some parts too. We stayed the first night at Camping Las Nalcas in Puerto Rico. No official camping but it is allowed to set up the tent on the private land for 4000 pesos. Mini market with simple equipment is right next door. Hike to Laguna Los Quetros was easy and well marked. Camping was free because nobody was there. The next day we went on to Lago Todos Los Santos. At S 40.98259 / W 72.16572 there is an arrow pointing to the right. Be sure to follow this to get on Optional Route A, as there is a gate on the main trail that is difficult to overcome. We stopped at Rudy's and asked about the transport. Because of the increased gas prices, he wanted 140,000 CLP for the crossing, which was too expensive for us. We walked on to Esteban and were happy that he offered us the transfer for 80,000 CLP, which we accepted. He also allowed us to camp on the beach in front of the house for free. Lago Cayutué was definitely a highlight for camping so far.<br /> All the ways were in good condition, but sometimes a bit muddy. So maybe not that easy after heavy rainfalls<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-NOV-3 / 3 days / NOBO /hiking / RR / Frank<br /> From Cochamo I walked 15KM on the road to Ralun crossroad (see transport section) Basic shop Minimercado El Cruce at Ralun Cross. Then 9KM on a good dirt road with a little traffic to 'Pass 510 metres'. You could probably hitch part of this if you want. After the pass the road deteriorates to a rough track. Cross a log bridge before Lago Cayutue. Beautiful campsite by the lake, one of the best on the GPT so far. On day 2 I walked to Lago todos los Santos &amp; met Eduardo. He lives at the first house you come to NOBO just before the lake. He was busy &amp; his boat was out of the water but agreed to take me for 80,000 CLP. Other houses &amp; boats there are owned by weekenders who are rarely present. I believe Eduardo is your only option NOBO. However he said he is usually there &amp; only goes to town occasionally. The crossing is spectacular with views of Osorno, Tronador &amp; Puntiagudo.<br /> <br /> I continued to the camp at the hot spring. The spring is in a locked shed &amp; there is a basic refuge there, also locked. Rudy came by on his horse in the evening to open the shed. 10,000 CLP to camp &amp; use the spring. If you want to be sure the spring or refuge are open then call in at Refugio dos Condores NOBO. Note the location marked for Refugio dos Condores on Openstreetmap which is used by Gaia &amp; other apps is not correct. The location marked on the track files is the correct one. After Refugio dos Condores you cross a small bridge &amp; on a ridge there are two signs saying Aguas Calientes 2KM. Don't follow the track file here but go down left at the signs on a trail, cross a small stream &amp; go up to a meadow with some farm houses. Go out flat across the meadow with the houses on your right, continuing on a trail in the forest. After 1.5KM you rejoin the track file. This is much easier than the track file route (I used the 2019 track file)<br /> <br /> Day 3: Pay attention after Pass 830M, there are a lot of switchbacks in the forest &amp; the route is not obvious. Laguna los Quetros is also a very nice camp but I continued to Las Gaviotas. Got the ferry out at 8PM. This unscheduled ferry does not connect to a bus. I walked out 3KM to Entre Rios, cheap camping, cabanas &amp; basic shop. The campsite has tap water &amp; rabbits but no toilet or shower. The entire route has now been cut back, hardly any bush bashing. There are quite a few mud wallows on the track but you can go around them. Part of the route is on sunken trails &amp; it's likely to flood out &amp; be a mudbath after rain.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Oct-17 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Alice &amp; Florian<br /> <br /> We took the bus from Ensenada to Petrohue (every 45 min each day) and spent the day in the park around Petrohue. They are nice few hours walk on the volcano Osorno, near the the lake and in the forest, and the CONAF team is really nice there (kept our backpacks). <br /> Then we arranged a boat transfer from Petrohue to Cayutue for 80 000 pesos. You can call Walter (+56999417795) to arrange in advance but we did not go through him in the end.<br /> <br /> After reaching Cayutue, the trail is easy to find, a little bit muddy but okay for us after a few days of sun. <br /> We slept at the camp # indicated on the tracks. <br /> We arrived the next day around 4PM on the intersection between the trail and the road to Cochamo. There was no bus, but hitchhiking was easy. <br /> We slept at the hostel Arcoiris. It is quite cheap as we paid 15000 pesos per person for a double private room, the kitchen is available and well equipped. You can camp as well if you are not tired of it :) <br /> <br /> One another piece of information. The CONAF guys in Petrohue told us that they are planning to maintain and put more signalization on La ruta de los jesuitas. This trail comes from Argentina and crosses the Lago de todos los santos until the Rio Blanco. There you can join the main route of the GPT with an optional route. <br /> Considering this information, it will be an additional argument for Jan to change this optional route to the main one.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2021-Dec-13 / 4 days / hiking / NOBO / RR / Molly and Melissa <br /> <br /> We took the bus from Puerto Varas towards Cochamó, but got dropped at the road about 15 km before and started directly on the gravel road.  The bus leaves quite a few times, but you have to ask around for the specific times. We took it at 13, and I think it left at least once more that day. The employees at the different outdoor stores know pretty well where the bus leaves from and who to ask. We camped at the spot marked &quot;camping&quot; near a small lake, it was quite nice, near a river as well. We got to Lago Todos Los Santos around 13 and asked at the first house marked on the GPS. It's situated on a hill behind three newly built vacation houses. Eduardo who lives there came out as soon as the dogs started barking, and was immediately ready to take us across the lake. The place where you want to get dropped of is called El Rincón. We were charged 70.000 pesos like other people have said as well.<br /> On the second day we camped right after the first &quot;bridge&quot; waypoint. <br /> Termas:<br /> The third day we went to the termas. On the way there, you pass Rudy's house - it's about two hours before the termas. They have a cabin which is about 8000 CLP and sell breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as bread, honey, eggs and so on. They also have the option to camp at the termas which is 7000 CLP for camping and access. They have a wooden tub in a small shed, so you need to get the key from them - easiest going nobo as you pass their house. We later found out that there is a second option. A guy who lives in the house right next to the termas has made his own, it's more natural looking with rocks, and it's outside and more private. You have to knock on his house for him to show you. We actually thought it was nicer, but didn't hear the price. He is also a really nice guy who offers trips to Cerro cenizas with great views of Volcán Puntiagudo if he has time. It's a one day trip according to him. The last part of the trail to Las Gaviotas was fairly easy, although with a lot of confusing trails that ultimately seem to go the same way.<br /> Las Gaviotas:<br /> In Las Gaviotas there are a few different options for sleeping. There seem to be two or three different people with cabañas, there's a nice camping ground right on the beach with toilets, and we saw a tent further down on the beach which didn't seem to bother anyone. There is a very small shop in a shed on the beach with a few snacks and sodas, and it's possible to buy some bread, eggs and honey but definitely no resupply options. The beach was beautiful and good for swimming!<br /> Access/exit:<br /> The ferry to Puerto Buey leaves right from the beach every day except Tuesday and Saturday, and costs 200 CLP as previously written. It leaves around 7-8 am and probably some other times as well, we took it Friday at 14 and we saw it leaving twice in the evening Thursday. Puerto Buey is even smaller than Las Gaviotas. The bus left from Puerto Buey (the shed where you get dropped of by the ferry) directly to Osorno at 15:30. We were told that the morning ferry matches a bus that only goes to Puerto Octay, but maybe there are more buses from there. As has been written before, it's possible to walk to Puerto Buey along a gravel road by the lake.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-29 to 2021-Nov-30/ 1,5 days / hiking / NOBO / OR: Lago Todos Los Santos - Cerro Cenizo - Volcan Puntiagudo ridge - Lago Rupanco / Alex Abramov<br /> <br /> This new variant is not the same as GPT21 option 4: it is easier and more logical. Easy/Moderate difficulty.<br /> Rudy Jefi and his refugio are still in business (the price for boat from Petrohue 70.000), but Camping Las Nalcas and Mini Mercado Rupanco were closed. <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-17 to 2021-Nov-21 / 5 days / Packrafting / Traverse of Lago Todos Los Santos, Option 2 Rio Blanco and Ruta de los Jesuitas (Vuriloche) / Meylin Ubilla and Jan Dudeck<br /> <br /> We started this season at Petrohue on the western end of Lago Todos los Santos. Access by bus to Petrohue is easy (Bus from Puerto Varas every 20 to 30 min). Petrohue is a suitable starting point for packrafters that travel southbound with heavier fjord-suitable packrafting equipment.<br /> <br /> Lago Todos los Santos: can get very rough with wind but we had two calm days with moderate wind in the late afternoon only. We paddled 40 km in two easy days. Only few of the originally dozens of settlers are still living on the shore and mostly the rich and super-rich of Chile have build vacation homes on the often steep coastline. But since the access to lakes and lake shores is legally guaranteed in Chile, this should not cause a significant problem.<br /> <br /> Rio Blanco: 6 years ago we met a settler from Rio Blanco who confirmed that a horse trail traverses this valley and connects to the Ruta de los Jesuitas (Paso Vuriloche). Now we came to investigate and record this route. The well maintained trail includes two river crossings that are well fordable in the morning after some reasonable dry days. Packrafters can cross these fords by packraft if the water level is elevated but hiker may struggle after heavy rain.<br /> <br /> Ruta de los Jesuitas (Paso Vuriloche): A well maintained but muddy horse trail connects to Lago Cayetue. Three river generally easy river crossings may become difficult to pass after heavy rain.<br /> <br /> Conclusion: Connecting from El Callao to Rio Blanco requires a shorter and more wind protected lake traverse (compared to the current regular route to Cayetue) making it an attractive option for packrafters and southbound hikers if the weather is reasonable dry. I’m considering to change the Regular Route for this option and recommend the route via Cayetue in bad weather only.<br /> <br /> El Callao to Cayetue: 22 km on direct route<br /> El Callao to Rio Blanco: 14 km on direct route<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-04 to 2020-Jan-06 / 3 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun<br /> <br /> I accessed the southbound start of this section by walking 7km east from El Poncho on the dirt road that runs along the south shore of Lago Rupanco (=Oh-Mr-V@20-0a-#001). From settlers Sergio and Sandro, I learned that Esteban is an alternative to Rudy for crossing Lago Todos los Santos. Esteban was able to take me immediately, whereas around the same time Linda (see below) unfortunately had to wait a couple of days. My experience of the rest of section was similar to others’.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-03 to 2020-Jan-06 / 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Linda<br /> <br /> Starting on the beach of the North shore of Lago Rupanco (arriving from GPT20). Waypoint in Las Gaviotas Food and Lodging is great! Nelly prepared me a big glass of fresh raspberry juice.<br /> <br /> Trail to Lago Todos Los Santos is easy and very nice. Only problem = the horse flies that loved me and I had at least 50 around me!<br /> <br /> Stop at Las Termas! Beside the cold river, you will find a cabana with 2 bath tubes carved in wood full of hot thermal water. Amazing to camp and rest here.<br /> <br /> Next house you will see on the trail is the one of Sergio. Very nice guy. He makes artisanal beer if you want to try one of them!<br /> <br /> Then, as mentioned by Martin, in Refugio Dos cóndores, you can ask for the boat transfer of Lago Todos Los Santos to Rudy Jefi. 80000 CLP. I did and had to wait 2 days before crossing. <br /> <br /> Other possibility for the boat transfer : when you arrive on the shore of Lago Todos Los Santos, ask the last house on the beach (waypoint = Settler) for Esteban. Same price 80000 CLP but you won't have necessarily to wait cause he seems to be more available than Rudy. Very nice man who offered me food and Lodging before I could cross the lake with Rudy! Say hello from me if you see him!!!<br /> <br /> Between Lago Todos los Santos and Lago Cayutué, trail not maintained for about 2 kilometers. Easiest way to overcome the obstacles is to go on the left in the open fields and then go back on the track. Not that difficult but expect to be slow.<br /> <br /> Then, after Lago Cayutué, no problem. Easy Hitchiki'g to Cochaml where you will find everything to resupply. Very good accommodation = Patagonia Nativa! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-DEC-23 to 2019-DEC-24 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Martín Lizondo<br /> <br /> Trail perfectly walkable. Ask Rudy Yefi in Dos Condores for boat transfer to Pto. Cayuthue (CLP 80.000). After crossing Lago de Todos los Santos the minor road finishes in a 1 km unmantained trail. After 1 km the trail becomes opened and it gets better as you aproach to Laguna Cayuthue. River crossings are easy, less than knee level. From Ralun there’s a bus stop to Cochamó or Pto. Montt.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-OCT-07 / hiking / Sophie &amp; Hendrik<br /> <br /> Refugio Las Termas is a great spot to camp out. Beside the cold river, the hot springs and the fire in the refugio are very nice after a hiking day.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-NOV-01 / hiking / Sophie &amp; Hendrik<br /> <br /> The part between Lago Cayutué and Lago Todo Los Santos is a bit tricky. The last winter(s?) damaged the trail a lot. Rivercrossings are up to knee deep and there is a lot of trees and debris on the trail. In wide parts it is easyer to walk to the right or left of it. Also at one point it is likely that you have to jump/crawl some barbed wire to get around some fallen trees. In some parts it is bush bashing. Expect to be slow in this part.<br /> <br /> The river crossing south of Lago Cayutué is easier a little bit further south than indicated by the track files. There is a tree as a bridge.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-OCT-30 to 2019-NOV-04 / 6 days / hiking / NOBO / RR from one km east of Ralun / Sophie &amp; Hendrik<br /> <br /> First day we camped at Lago Cayutué. Second day (to Lago Todos Los Santos) we had bad weather and were a lot slower than expected. (The trail is very damaged in this part, see recent alerts.) Due to health issues we stoped here and went to Puerto Varas for some days. We reentered the trail and only looked for a goat free campsite on our first day back (some 50min of walking). The next stops before we made it to the end of the section were Refugio Las Termas (we highly recommend to take a bath here) and Laguna Los Quetros.<br /> <br /> What we liked: Very nice woods, beautiful lakes, very friendly and sympathetic people, crossing Todos Los Santos in an open boat in very heavy rain was harsh but beautiful, the termas, funny animals on the way.<br /> <br /> What we did not like so much: In very long parts extremely muddy (probably depends on the season), the trail conditions between Lago Cayutué and Lago Todos Los Santos (which forced us to crawl beneath barbed wire).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Shopping: Food<br /> Cochamó: Possible to resupply out of the several small markets located here but expensive. Some restaurants and many housing options.<br /> Minimercado El Cruce at junction with the gravel road in Ralun, very basic. They have drinks, probably wine &amp; possibly pasta. <br /> There is a kiosk in Las Gaviotas by the beach with basic snacks &amp; drinks but its opening hours are irregular. <br /> On the road 1KM before Ralun NOBO there is a food truck but it only opens in the evenings after 5PM &amp; may be closed in low season. <br /> There are no other resupply options along the road Cochamo-Ralun although there are cabanas about every 4KM, some may provide food if you stay there.<br /> <br /> *Services: Laundry<br /> A local woman offers a laundry service from her home a few houses down a side street from the main road in Cochamó.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *There is nice camping at the small, scenic Laguna Los Quetros (Km6) near the northern start of the section. At the highly recommended Las Termas, around Km13, there is a small cabana with bath tubs carved of wood and full of hot thermal water. Settlers along the trail are interesting and welcoming. <br /> <br /> *2022 / Yannic &amp; Mirjam <br /> We took the bus from Puerto Montt to Osorono. Unfortunately, the morning bus to Lago Rupanco was already gone. There's supposed to be another one at 4:00 p.m.<br /> (...)<br /> We stopped at Rudy's and asked about the transport. Because of the increased gas prices, he wanted 140,000 CLP for the crossing, which was too expensive for us. We walked on to Esteban and were happy that he offered us the transfer for 80,000 CLP, which we accepted.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *Southbound and northbound hiking is feasible and recommended. It may be easier to arrange a southbound than a northbound boat crossing of Lago Todos de Los Santos.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023 December / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> Southbound from Entre Lagos to Las Gaviotas:<br /> <br /> Hitchhiked from Entre Lagos to intersection south of Lago Rupanco, from there we continued to hitchhike for a bit, but eventually a bus came (around 3:30 pm, CLP 1500 per person, I’m not sure where started though…) that brought us to Puerto Poncho, from there we took the ferry to Las Gaviotas (4:30 pm, CLP200 per person)<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> Another possible option for transfer over the lake - there should be boat called Elizabeth, organized by government for local residents, that leaves from the northern port km 29.9 on Friday at 9 AM. We don’t know about the other days. Rather verify with locals. <br /> <br /> *2022 / Alice &amp; Florian <br /> We took the bus from Ensenada to Petrohue (every 45 min each day).Then we arranged a boat transfer from Petrohue to Cayutue for 80 000 pesos. You can call Walter (+56999417795) to arrange in advance but we did not go through him in the end.<br /> <br /> *Access to Start<br /> <br /> Northbound:<br /> The bus leaves Puerto Montt main bus terminal (07:45, 12:00, 3:30PM &amp; 5PM on weekdays, runs on weekends also but weekend schedule may differ) and travels via Puerto Varas, Ensenada &amp; Ralun to Cochamó. Get off at Ralun crossroads (intersection with a small gravel road near Minimercado EL Cruce) if you don`t want to walk 15KM on the road from Cochamo to Ralun. <br /> <br /> Southbound:<br /> Ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Buey Monday or Tuesday 7:00 &amp; 16:30 Wednesday 2:30 PM, Friday 7:00 &amp; 16:30, Sunday 15:00. Ferry connects with a bus. Buses may go to Entre Lagos, sometimes Puerto Octay or more often to Osorno. Buses every half hour Entre Lagos-Osorno. There should be an unscheduled ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Buey Monday or Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday &amp; Sunday at 8PM but this ferry does not connect with a bus. Ferry Puerto Buey-Las Gaviotas Monday or Tuesday 8:00 &amp; 17:30, Wednesday 15:30, Friday 8:00 &amp; 17:30, Sunday 16:00. A bus coming from Osorno outside Terminal Rural goes to Puerto Buey to connect with the ferry on operational days, timetable not known. Ask at info. desk in Osorno Terminal Rural. No bus on days the ferry doesn`t run. Hitching is difficult, there is a gravel road all the way to Las Gaviotas but not much traffic except on weekends.<br /> In addition to accessing through GPT20, it is possible to take private transportation on the road that runs along the south shore of Lago Rupanco and walk the final 5-7km to the northern start point of GPT21.<br /> <br /> *Return from Finish<br /> <br /> Northbound:<br /> The ferry to Puerto Buey leaves right from the beach every day except Tuesday and Saturday, and costs 200 CLP as previously written. It leaves around 7-8 am and probably some other times as well, we took it Friday at 14 and we saw it leaving twice in the evening Thursday. The bus left from Puerto Buey (the shed where you get dropped of by the ferry) directly to Osorno at 15:30. We were told that the morning ferry matches a bus that only goes to Puerto Octay, but there are more busses from there.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT21 - Lago Todos Los Santos]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109447331.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109447342.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109447370.jpg|<br /> File:Bahia ralun.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109447481.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109447390.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_31105869.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109376389.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109447280.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109447287.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_15_Lago_Todos_Los_Santos_109447294.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT20_(Volcan_Antillanca)&diff=113885 2024-01-31T20:16:47Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-29 to 2024-Jan-30 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> If for comparison, the overgrown trail(RR, the trail at west side) goes down to Lago Rupanco, the difficulty just same as the overgrown part of GPT18.<br /> <br /> GPT20's main difficulty is finding the trail in blowdown area. GPT18's is overgrown condition and the blocking by bamboo. So GPT20 is a little more technical, because finding the way to go.<br /> <br /> And i recommend if you go in this overgrown part, sobo is better, because going down, you stand on a high position, is much easier and more possibilities to find a better and &quot;correct&quot; way. When i was walking inside, sometimes i turn back and look, i find that it is hard to know what's the trail going and what is the whole area's condition and happening.<br /> <br /> Then I think CONAF already give up the road to strawberry lake, some small trees on the road(not beside the road), is growth up to 3-6m already.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {20-A} is not walkable now, because the bridge at bridge, camp[3.9/465] is completely broken. Better take RR road walking on PR then right turn to join dirt road.<br /> <br /> RR km3.05 : friendly locked gate, climb over it easily.<br /> <br /> The road at here is an old road, but it is still using by CONAF, i saw car tracks on the road, also some grass pressed by cars wheels not too long time ago. Mostly it is grassy in the middle of the road, also beside the road, two track are empty and easy to walk on.<br /> <br /> Bridge, camp[3.9/465] , no trail to here, need to step through some long grass. Bridge is broken and impossible to cross the river, it is flowing very strong and at least up to chest. But you can crawl under the broken bridge to reach the river for collecting water, it is crystal clear and cold. It is the last water spot until km .<br /> <br /> Camp[8.0/576] : no more refuge, just left a fire ring and picnic table here. Surrounded by lot of long grass, you can camp here, if you take some time to clear out the grass, looks like can fit 1-2 tents with views of Volcán Puyehue at here. But i think your tent will be wet completely in the morning. Also CONAF vehicles returns and go back at here(reverse turning trace on grass).<br /> <br /> Km10.4 : huge blowdown, go around it at left side, road conditions changing point, road become much overgrown and some more small blowdowns. Roads changing to single track trail. No more cars running after here. Still easy to walk and easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km13.6 : another huge blowdown, road conditions changing point, go around it at right side, then GAME STARTS, much much overgrown with spike leafs plants and they covers the trail blocks your walking, also lot of huge blowdowns need to climb over and jump down. You know the way to go, but much slower. Ok to walk, ok to follow. If compares with the overgrown part of GPT18, it is easier here but much tired because many blowdowns up and down, up and down, up and down.<br /> <br /> Km14.2 : join an old road, condition is the same, just from trail becomes old road.<br /> <br /> Km14.6-14.7 : some flat spots for camping, a wooden tripod made by some people at km14.7, maybe for cooking? Road conditions become better.<br /> <br /> Km15.6 : camping spot can fit 2-4 tents.<br /> <br /> Km16.2 : road conditions become much better, easy to walk, easy to follow. It is flat and wide, also good for camping too.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> X[17.1/1252] : junction of RR and strawberry lake, i didn't go to find strawberry but the road to lake is in a very good condition, i can fancy i hitch to there in 5 min(of course not). No more road on RR, just trail, and the trailhead is beside a wooden board that pitch on tree at here.<br /> <br /> {20-01} 150m : camping spot(-40.75515, -72.07800), i climb up a little for views then find this spot, can fit 2-4 tents with a fire pit.<br /> <br /> Km17.1-17.55 : trail going down to meadow. Very overgrown trail, it is difficult for NOBO to climb up, because all the plants growing towards down side at here.<br /> <br /> Km17.55 : a super beautiful meadow, good camping spot but no water.<br /> <br /> Km17.65-18.0 : not overgrown but blowdowns trail. Above treeline at 1260m.<br /> <br /> CC to the junction of RR and {20-D}, then CC on RR go around Volcán Antillanca. If you looks at valley side (NW), a trail there.<br /> <br /> Trail starts at(-40.76299, -72.10617), not on GPX track. And it mostly stay at the same attitude going to the small pass(-40.75915, -72.12489) at km22.<br /> <br /> It is a step trace &quot;trail&quot;, narrow just about 1-1.5 steps wide, loose sandy, steep, but walkable, recommend going here only on good weather also after eating and your business, there is no spot to take a break until km22. <br /> <br /> No more trail 150m before the pass, so CC climb up to the pass.<br /> <br /> After the pass, i didn't follow GPX track, go down to the valley on my way, (-40.75959, -72.12913) -&gt; (-40.76027, -72.13294), then cut back to CC and climbing up. There is a huge flat area that you can camp at the valley with nice views of Volcán Puyehue, but no water.<br /> <br /> If you follow CC, mostly you'll face a super huge gap at (-40.76178, -72.13861), that you need to go down and go around. So when i was at (-40.76151, -72.13766), i decided straight climbing up 100m at the east side of gap, and there is a connection at (-40.76462, -72.13876) 1450m, you can easily crossing to other side.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Because i'm lack of water, so mostly i going much west than the GPX track, luckily i find some water spots by snow melts.<br /> <br /> (-40.77309, -72.14007) : flowing good by a huge snow patch melts, clear and easy to collect.<br /> <br /> (-40.77531, -72.14089) : pond, by a huge snow patch melts, you can dip bottles to collect some amazing water!<br /> <br /> Then i just CC to the pass(-40.78259, -72.14395) at km25.85. Snows begins at 1600m, no difficulty to climb up, mostly just gentle snow slope.<br /> <br /> (-40.78306, -72.14374) : two beautiful ponds by snow melts at the pass with clear water. I think they'll not stay too long. Also i hear water flowing here, but it is close to dark, so i didn't have enough time to find out where it is and their condition.<br /> <br /> There is not much snow left at south side of the pass. Also too steep, so better going down by the dry loose sandy slope at first, then join snow slope again for skiing down.<br /> <br /> Lastly i cleared a small flat spot and camped at(-40.78742, -72.14541), can fit 1 tent, some rocks around here can used for holding the tents on sandy ground. No wind protection but amazing views(and flowing water as now) at here too!<br /> <br /> Snow ends at (-40.78785, -72.14522) RR km26.5, 1500m. Also a small stream there, flowing good with clear, fresh and cold water! Some tiny waterfall, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From here to the km30.3, the junction of RR and {20-03A}, mostly CC on lava fields covered by grass, sometimes have cairns, but they are too small, also lot of other lava rocks nearby, so every time i notice them already in a very close distance.<br /> <br /> Blue pole(-40.79524, -72.18397) and a trail leads to valley.<br /> <br /> Flat spot at (-40.79622, -72.18337), can fit 2 tents before the overgrown section.<br /> <br /> At km30.4, overgrown section start, trail is easy to walk, easy to follow. You'll find some blue ribbon(mostly already collapsed on the ground), and red ribbon(just a few) in this section.<br /> <br /> Km30.8 : hell of bamboo, hell is not for hikers, is for bamboo. Most of of the bamboo is dead, defeated by huge trees in the war of forest. After here, a little overgrown and some blowdowns, still easy to follow, easy to walk. If you find the trail is blocked by lot of brushes, you can go around them by stepping on the bamboo, at here, bamboo helps you.<br /> <br /> Km31.4 : if you don't find the trail after crawling under a huge blowdown, you can walking on the huge blowdown at (-40.80555, -72.17855) to west, then rejoin a clear trail at (-40.80564, -72.17840).<br /> <br /> Km31.8 : after the sharp turning, trail become more overgrown, but trail still there. Ok to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km32.5 : camping spot(-40.81356, -72.17860), beside the trail, can fit 2-3 small tents with a small log seat. Some nice hikers put a silver shiny stake there for marker. After here, trail becomes much overgrown with spike leaves plant, because here is not in the forest, no big trees covering, bushes have more sunshine for growing bigger (then block the trail). Ok to walk, ok to follow.<br /> <br /> Water[33.2/852] : can hear water flowing at valley side, looks like need BB about 10min to the stream. I find another better spot at not far away.<br /> <br /> Km33.25 : trail is much closer to the stream at here, so i cleared a side trail(-40.81849, -72.17287) to there. Just 1 min, flowing good with clear water, have some puddles that can dip bottles. Some more type of spike plants start growing after here.<br /> <br /> Km33.9-34.9 : although there are still some overgrown and blowdowns, but this part becomes very smooth, keep going and going, speed up, enjoy this moment.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km34.9 : GAME STARTS, blowdowns MAZE. Huge amounts of blowdowns blocked your way, even there have some detour or go around, new blowdowns blocks it again. So you need to find the correct trail to go, mostly is the clearest one(do you see i said &quot;mostly&quot;?)<br /> <br /> Because I don't have the habit of using GPS while walking, so after i keep going and going, i found I'm on the west of GPX track, following a looks clear trail walking parallel to GPX.<br /> <br /> If you also don't follow GPX track walking, maybe the following will help you. (I don't know GPX or my &quot;trail&quot; which is better, and i assume GPX is the correct one)<br /> <br /> At (-40.83961, -72.16451), the area of GPX looks like blocked by huge amount of blowdowns, and no ways to get in or get through that area. If follow the clear &quot;trail&quot; going, looks like it will block by another groups of blowdowns, maybe can crawl under a tunnel?<br /> <br /> Yes! The answer is tunnel, but not crawling under it, the trail entrance (-40.83977, -72.16443) is just beside the tunnel, at right side, in a dark area hard to notice. You can walk on it.<br /> <br /> Then you'll on GPX track again for a while.<br /> <br /> At (-40.84042, -72.16400), looks like no way to go, look at the valley side(right) , trail is on the sandy slope. <br /> <br /> Then i didn't find a good way to go after sandy slope, looks like GPX drops into the stream. But i don't think walking in a stream is a good idea, so i decided climbing up to east and try to find some good place, can keep going to south.<br /> <br /> Luckily i found a clear trail at (-40.84047, -72.16384), of course still overgrown and blowdowns, but it leads me all the way to south.<br /> <br /> Km36.5 : a pond just beside the trail, because the trail at here is very smooth, i nearly step in the pond carelessly. Looks like you can collect water at north shore, but water looks so so.<br /> <br /> X[36.6/419] : junction of RR and {20-02}, lot of blue ribbon at trailhead of {20-02}, does it means anything? Thorn vine starts at here to south. But i cleared all the vine that blocked the trail until km39.55. Some overgrown and some blowdowns, but easy to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km39.35 : trail junction, sobo go straight, nobo go left.<br /> <br /> Km39.55 : trail comes to a tiny grassland, if you follow the clear trail going, it is NOT RR, and going west, I don't know where is it's final destination. For RR, when you come to grassland, turn left immediately, entrance(-40.86662, -72.17480) of RR is hide behind some bushes, and the trail after here becomes overgrown and narrow again, also huge amount of thorn vine...i took some time try to clear, but there are too many, so i just cleared most of them, if you walk here, be careful.<br /> <br /> Km39.85 : trail junction, sobo go right, nobo go straight.<br /> <br /> Ford[40.3/128] : crossing of Rio Gaviotas, a wide crossing. North shore is deeper than south side, up to knee and flowing slow, also there are some stable big rocks underwater you can step on. Easy crossing. Water looks clear and lot of fish inside, better collect water at here, the water condition in lake is not too good.<br /> <br /> After the crossing, i didn't follow GPX track and walking on the beach.<br /> <br /> Camping spot (-40.87321, -72.18179) on a sandy ground, with nice views of lake and fire pit.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I asked some people at Las Gaviotas, about the ferry to El Poncho, some said 12noon, some said 1pm, some said 2pm, but there is nothing until 3pm i completely give up. I spend 4 hours and wait nothing in a super nice weather day, OMG.<br /> <br /> Luckily i find a very tiny shop selling some food, biscuits, eggs, bread, pasta, canned food, drinks, ice cream at (-40.88061, -72.17970). I don't want to go to El Poncho resupply anymore. The shop open at 3.30pm, super friendly, i love them!<br /> <br /> Lastly a small ferry arrived here at 4.30pm after i cooked and enjoyed my food from the shop... the ferry's name is Gavoita.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> *2023-Jan-29 / 3 days / hiking / RR / NOBO / Frank<br /> The river at Las Gaviotas was easily fordable in late January, knee deep at the ford. Below the ford it runs deep into the lake. RR NOBO from Las Gaviotas remains very overgrown, machete highly recommended. I also used gardening gloves which help to grasp &amp; break thorny plants. Many fallen trees, it gets better as you go up but is still slow going. Took me 9 hours to get to the treeline from Las Gaviotas ferry. The alternative route is likely to be a lot worse. <br /> There was still a lot of snow on Pass 1910 metres. I tried a few options but couldn't find a way over. The rock gendarme above the pass is not climbable - I tried, it starts as a scramble but goes up to a pinnacle. Ripped my pack on the sharp volcanic rock. I retreated &amp; went around below the pass on OH-CC-A@20-A-001. It's a bit longer but fairly easy, there is a faint trail. Conaf are working on reopening the trail to Pampa Frutilla. It's open for 12KM SOBO from Conaf Anticura, easy walking &amp; super fast. Then for 4KM it's overgrown but passable with moderate bush bashing &amp; you are soon above treeline on RR. I didn't go to Strawberry Fields but suspect the route will be severe until Conaf cut it back. The slowness of the route means water becomes a serious issue. I was lucky to find one water source at 1600 metres from snowmelt (dirty with sand &amp; needs to be filtered) but it's not reliable. There is water at bridge/camp 2.5KM after Conaf Anticura &amp; then no permanent source until you are a few hours below treeline going down to Las Gaviotas. So carry a lot or consider splitting the trail in two with entry/exit at Antillanca ski station.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-02 / hiking / NOBO / Alex Abramov<br /> <br /> We walked from Crater Raihuen (Ski Center Antillanca) to Anticura in one day. There was not much snow, but we faced the problem of bypassing the rocky gendarme on the ridge along the frozen snow slope. In running shoes, it looked unsafe given the steepness and length (over 300m) of the slope.<br /> So we decided to go around the ridge along the north side (similar to the GPT20 variant D). It is a simple, fast (about 2 hours) and logical route, accessible in any weather and in any condition.<br /> We found the trail between Pampa Frutilla and Antikura in ok condition: some easy bushwhacking and a dozen sections with fallen trees. It may feel harder with a heavy load.<br /> No water between Ski Center Antillanca and almost finish! We did not go to Pampa Frutilla Lakes<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-22 / 2 days / RR SOBO and optional route to Antillanca / Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> Yes, we gave us that overgrown shit and we cannot believe Martin did that both ways! At least we could skip the first 3 km of the overgrown trail by starting on the Ruta International towards Argentina for 2.9 km and then turning right onto a former minor road which meets the regular route after 800 meters. We spent the night (and a day off due to exhaustion) at Pampa Frutillar, which is a 7.4 km detour to strawberry paradise and two pretty lagunas (optional route 19-05-#001). The ascent to the summit and the view from there were the most spectacular ones so far! Still a bit snow left, but no problem. As Matus said &quot;hell starts&quot; on the last 4 km before Las Gaviotas and we thought we already had our personal hell on the first 14 km, we decided to end this section in Antillanca, where we found accommodation. From here you need to walk or to hitchhike to Aguas Calientes for busses to Osorno.<br /> <br /> *2020-FEB-13 / hiking / Optional Start @ Antillanca / Tyler Wood<br /> <br /> I opted to skip the first 13 km bush bashing noted by martin and hitched up to Antillanca with good luck. From there I slept in the crater at the base of Casa Blanca and summited the next morning. The same day went all the way down to the end of the section via the RR. Huge day, but definitely do-able with the optional start. As far as the bush bashing, it’s all good until near the end of RR-TL-V@20-27.1+6.3. Yeah, then it really tricky. Expect at least 2-3 hours to get through the thousands of downed trees. The madness continues pretty much all the way to the bottom. We camped on the beach and it was super beautiful. I decided to skip section 21 due to the $100 ferry across todo santos. A ferry leaves Las Gaviotas around noon to El Poncho for just 250 pesos. Ask locals for exact time for the ferry. From el poncho a bus comes (times with the ferry) that runs directly to Osorno. I got off at an intersection where I could hitchhike to Cochamo. (Huge hitch).<br /> <br /> *2020-JAN-01 - 2020-JAN-02 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option 2 from the ski station to the Volcanoe, RR from the volcanoe to waypoint Div133,Option 1 down to Lago Rupanco / Linda<br /> <br /> Beacuse the pass of the Volcan is now impossible (view Martin feedback), I decided to hike only the southern part of this section = starting from Aguas Calientes (Buses all day long from Mercado of Osorno directly to Agua Calientes, which is a good spot to rest with a camping) to the ski station and then to Lago Rupanco :<br /> <br /> 1st part = Option 2 from the ski station to the Volcanoe<br /> <br /> 2nd part = Regular route from the volcanoe to waypoint Div133<br /> <br /> 3rd part = Option 1 down to Lago Rupanco<br /> <br /> The 2 first parts are simply amazing = the view both on Volcanoe Casablanca and the valley where lies Lago Rupanco <br /> <br /> BUT I won't recommend the 3rd part which is indicated on the GPS as overgrown. And it was crazily overgrown!!! I did it without a machete and it took me about 7 hours to come across 2km of very very wild forest, full of flourishing bamboos, that is very strong. As there is no track, I had to stick very closely to my compass (South / South West) to be able to join the end of the regular hiking track (that leads to the Lago Rupanco) which was also full of huge dead trees!!!! <br /> <br /> I don't know how overgrown is the Regular Hiking route through this same forest. But be prepared to something very very tough. <br /> <br /> *2019-DEC-19 - 2019-DEC-20 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / Martín Lizondo /<br /> <br /> The trail from Conaf is extremely overgrown, even after the first bridge. There’s no minor road anymore. Guards offer you a “machete” to clean the path. Expect super ultra slow hiking (2 km p/h) the first 12 km. From then, as the trail reaches higher altitude, it becomes very easy to walk.<br /> <br /> *2019-NOV-09 / hiking / Sophie &amp; Hendrik<br /> <br /> The river crossing directly north of Las Gaviotas is difficult right now. It is highly recommended to organise a boat which takes you over the lake. (It is just a short distance and won't cost much.)<br /> <br /> * Comment Jan Dudeck: Arranging this boat transfer northbound is probably easier than southbound (there are several settlers south of the river but not north of the river). So hiking section GPT20 southbound might not be feasible right now.<br /> <br /> At this date, the pass to Rupanco is all covered by snow, impossible to cross with regular gear, due to the snow fall the last few days. The optional route to avoid snow is also impassae. Pro: views are very nice. I had to return to Anticura and hitchike back to Entre Lagos.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> A small road leads past the CONAF building and winds through several Cabañas until reaching a trail. This trail, although fairly obvious and easily followed, becomes more overgrown as it travels deeper into a bamboo forest. The density of obstructions (foliage, fallen logs, etc.) makes hiking slow. Around 1.100 m, the forest begins to open up and there are several small campsites. <br /> At treeline, the trail widens into a old gravel roadbed. Be careful not to miss the turnoff onto a small trail to the right that dips back into the trees, as the regular route does not follow this roadbed for long. At the bottom of the descent, the trail crosses a meadow and climbs back up to treeline. <br /> The trail on Volcán Casablanca is not obvious, but there are several stone cairns (and the occasional bamboo pole) sparsely spaced along the path. <br /> Alternate Route:<br /> After descending from the Volcano, we decided to hike along the mapped trail located to the east of the GPS route. We quickly discovered the trail was wiped out by a landslide, and involved a steep descent to a faint track. The track winds through some open forest and joins a large black river bed. At the end of the open river bed, reenter the trees and follow a fairly obvious but overgrown path. Camping is very difficult to find until rejoining the regular route. I would seriously recommend sticking to the regular route as shown by the GPS track; this alternate was slow going and painful.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Shopping: Food<br /> 4 big supermarkets in Osorno all near the bus terminals<br /> Puerto Octay has a limited selection for resupply, but there are several restaurants and a good quesería.<br /> <br /> *Shopping: Fuel<br /> In Portal Osorno shopping centre Doite shop has camping gas screwgate canisters.<br /> <br /> *Accommodation: Camping<br /> El Encuentro campsite with cabanas just behind the beach at Las Gaviotas, camping is 10,000 pesos. Run by Marcelo who is friendly &amp; helpful. He has a boat so might be able to take you across the river NOBO for a small fee. About 3KM beyond Puerto Buey on the road out is Entre Rios camping, cabanas &amp; small shop, basic camping for 5000 pesos, tap water but no shower or toilet<br /> <br /> *Puerto Octay has a limited selection for resupply, but there are several restaurants and a good quesería.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> ==Access to Route and Return==<br /> <br /> *2020/ Tyler Wood <br /> A ferry leaves Las Gaviotas around noon to El Poncho for just 250 pesos. <br /> <br /> *On Monday, Wednesday &amp; Friday a bus goes to Puerto Poncho from Osorno main terminal at 12:30 &amp; connects to the ferry, getting you to Las Gaviotas at 16:30.<br /> <br /> *Ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Poncho :<br /> Monday 7:00 &amp; 16:30 /<br /> Wednesday 2:30 PM /<br /> Friday 7:00 &amp; 16:30 /<br /> Sunday 15:00<br /> Ferry connects with a bus. Buses may go to Entre Lagos, sometimes Puerto Octay or more often to Osorno. Buses every half hour Entre Lagos-Osorno. There should be an unscheduled ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Buey Monday, Wednesday, Friday &amp; Sunday at 8PM but this ferry does not connect with a bus. <br /> <br /> *Ferry Puerto Poncho-Las Gaviotas: <br /> Monday 8:00 &amp; 15:30 /<br /> Wednesday 15:30 /<br /> Friday 8:00 &amp; 15:30 /<br /> Sunday 16:00 <br /> No bus on days the ferry doesn`t run. Hitching is difficult, there is a gravel road all the way to Las Gaviotas but not much traffic except on weekends.<br /> <br /> *Comment by Jan Dudeck: <br /> There is a local who lives in the house on the lake shore northwest from the mouth of the river whom may offer passage on his personal row boat for payment. You may see his boat tied to a tree near the lake. <br /> Town: Puerto Octay to Osorno/Puerto Varas/Puerto Montt <br /> There is a boat ferry that picks passengers up at Las Gaviotas, which is the beginning of GPT21, and travels to Puerto Buey. It is about a 50 minute ride and 200 CLP. The boat only runs two or three times a day. It is also possible to walk the distance, about 10 km down the road on the south side of the lake. From there you can catch a bus, which also only runs a couple of times per day, to Puerto Octay with connections to Osorno (which is the better resupply option). It is easy to catch a bus to Osorno, Puerto Varas, or Puerto Montt which all have large supermarkets. <br /> To my knowledge the boat runs not daily. Please check with locals and provide current information to the ferry Las Gaviotas.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT20 - Volcán Antillanca]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387247.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387253.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387258.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387267.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387277.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca109387229.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387212.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387233.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387235.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387243.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT20_(Volcan_Antillanca)&diff=113875 2024-01-31T19:35:08Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-29 to 2024-Jan-30 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> If for comparison, the overgrown trail(RR, the trail at west side) goes down to Lago Rupanco, the difficulty just same as the overgrown part of GPT18.<br /> <br /> GPT20's main difficulty is finding the trail in blowdown area. GPT18's is overgrown condition and the blocking by bamboo. So GPT20 is a little more technical, because finding the way to go.<br /> <br /> And i recommend if you go in this overgrown part, sobo is better, because going down, you stand on a high position, is much easier and more possibilities to find a better and &quot;correct&quot; way. When i was walking inside, sometimes i turn back and look, i find that it is hard to know what's the trail going and what is the whole area's condition and happening.<br /> <br /> Then I think CONAF already give up the road to strawberry lake, some small trees on the road(not beside the road), is growth up to 3-6m already.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {20-A} is not walkable now, because the bridge at bridge, camp[3.9/465] is completely broken. Better take RR road walking on PR then right turn to join dirt road.<br /> <br /> RR km3.05 : friendly locked gate, climb over it easily.<br /> <br /> The road at here is an old road, but it is still using by CONAF, i saw car tracks on the road, also some grass pressed by cars wheels not too long time ago. Mostly it is grassy in the middle of the road, also beside the road, two track are empty and easy to walk on.<br /> <br /> Bridge, camp[3.9/465] , no trail to here, need to step through some long grass. Bridge is broken and impossible to cross the river, it is flowing very strong and at least up to chest. But you can crawl under the broken bridge to reach the river for collecting water, it is crystal clear and cold. It is the last water spot until km .<br /> <br /> Camp[8.0/576] : no more refuge, just left a fire ring and picnic table here. Surrounded by lot of long grass, you can camp here, if you take some time to clear out the grass, looks like can fit 1-2 tents with views of Volcán Puyehue at here. But i think your tent will be wet completely in the morning. Also CONAF vehicles returns and go back at here(reverse turning trace on grass).<br /> <br /> Km10.4 : huge blowdown, go around it at left side, road conditions changing point, road become much overgrown and some more small blowdowns. Roads changing to single track trail. No more cars running after here. Still easy to walk and easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km13.6 : another huge blowdown, road conditions changing point, go around it at right side, then GAME STARTS, much much overgrown with spike leafs plants and they covers the trail blocks your walking, also lot of huge blowdowns need to climb over and jump down. You know the way to go, but much slower. Ok to walk, ok to follow. If compares with the overgrown part of GPT18, it is easier here but much tired because many blowdowns up and down, up and down, up and down.<br /> <br /> Km14.2 : join an old road, condition is the same, just from trail becomes old road.<br /> <br /> Km14.6-14.7 : some flat spots for camping, a wooden tripod made by some people at km14.7, maybe for cooking? Road conditions become better.<br /> <br /> Km15.6 : camping spot can fit 2-4 tents.<br /> <br /> Km16.2 : road conditions become much better, easy to walk, easy to follow. It is flat and wide, also good for camping too.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> X[17.1/1252] : junction of RR and strawberry lake, i didn't go to find strawberry but the road to lake is in a very good condition, i can fancy i hitch to there in 5 min(of course not). No more road on RR, just trail, and the trailhead is beside a wooden board that pitch on tree at here.<br /> <br /> {20-01} 150m : camping spot(-40.75515, -72.07800), i climb up a little for views then find this spot, can fit 2-4 tents with a fire pit.<br /> <br /> Km17.1-17.55 : trail going down to meadow. Very overgrown trail, it is difficult for NOBO to climb up, because all the plants growing towards down side at here.<br /> <br /> Km17.55 : a super beautiful meadow, good camping spot but no water.<br /> <br /> Km17.65-18.0 : not overgrown but blowdowns trail. Above treeline at 1260m.<br /> <br /> CC to the junction of RR and {20-D}, then CC on RR go around Volcán Antillanca. If you looks at valley side (NW), a trail there.<br /> <br /> Trail starts at(-40.76299, -72.10617), not on GPX track. And it mostly stay at the same attitude going to the small pass(-40.75915, -72.12489) at km22.<br /> <br /> It is a step trace &quot;trail&quot;, narrow just about 1-1.5 steps wide, loose sandy, steep, but walkable, recommend going here only on good weather also after eating and your business, there is no spot to take a break until km22. <br /> <br /> No more trail 150m before the pass, so CC climb up to the pass.<br /> <br /> After the pass, i didn't follow GPX track, go down to the valley on my way, (-40.75959, -72.12913) -&gt; (-40.76027, -72.13294), then cut back to CC and climbing up. There is a huge flat area that you can camp at the valley with nice views of Volcán Puyehue, but no water.<br /> <br /> If you follow CC, mostly you'll face a super huge gap at (-40.76178, -72.13861), that you need to go down and go around. So when i was at (-40.76151, -72.13766), i decided straight climbing up 100m at the east side of gap, and there is a connection at (-40.76462, -72.13876) 1450m, you can easily crossing to other side.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Because i'm lack of water, so mostly i going much west than the GPX track, luckily i find some water spots by snow melts.<br /> <br /> (-40.77309, -72.14007) : flowing good by a huge snow patch melts, clear and easy to collect.<br /> <br /> (-40.77531, -72.14089) : pond, by a huge snow patch melts, you can dip bottles to collect some amazing water!<br /> <br /> Then i just CC to the pass(-40.78259, -72.14395) at km25.85. Snows begins at 1600m, no difficulty to climb up, mostly just gentle snow slope.<br /> <br /> (-40.78306, -72.14374) : two beautiful ponds by snow melts at the pass with clear water. I think they'll not stay too long. Also i hear water flowing here, but it is close to dark, so i didn't have enough time to find out where it is and their condition.<br /> <br /> There is not much snow left at south side of the pass. Also too steep, so better going down by the dry loose sandy slope at first, then join snow slope again for skiing down.<br /> <br /> Lastly i cleared a small flat spot and camped at(-40.78742, -72.14541), can fit 1 tent, some rocks around here can used for holding the tents on sandy ground. No wind protection but amazing views(and flowing water as now) at here too!<br /> <br /> Snow ends at (-40.78785, -72.14522) RR km26.5, 1500m. Also a small stream there, flowing good with clear, fresh and cold water! Some tiny waterfall, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From here to the km30.3, the junction of RR and {20-03A}, mostly CC on lava fields covered by grass, sometimes have cairns, but they are too small, also lot of other lava rocks nearby, so every time i notice them already in a very close distance.<br /> <br /> Blue pole(-40.79524, -72.18397) and a trail leads to valley.<br /> <br /> Flat spot at (-40.79622, -72.18337), can fit 2 tents before the overgrown section.<br /> <br /> At km30.4, overgrown section start, trail is easy to walk, easy to follow. You'll find some blue ribbon(mostly already collapsed on the ground), and red ribbon(just a few) in this section.<br /> <br /> Km30.8 : hell of bamboo, hell is not for hikers, is for bamboo. Most of of the bamboo is dead, defeated by huge trees in the war of forest. After here, a little overgrown and some blowdowns, still easy to follow, easy to walk. If you find the trail is blocked by lot of brushes, you can go around them by stepping on the bamboo, at here, bamboo helps you.<br /> <br /> Km31.4 : if you don't find the trail after crawling under a huge blowdown, you can walking on the huge blowdown at (-40.80555, -72.17855) to west, then rejoin a clear trail at (-40.80564, -72.17840).<br /> <br /> Km31.8 : after the sharp turning, trail become more overgrown, but trail still there. Ok to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km32.5 : camping spot(-40.81356, -72.17860), beside the trail, can fit 2-3 small tents with a small log seat. Some nice hikers put a silver shiny stake there for marker. After here, trail becomes much overgrown with spike leaves plant, because here is not in the forest, no big trees covering, bushes have more sunshine for growing bigger (then block the trail). Ok to walk, ok to follow.<br /> <br /> Water[33.2/852] : can hear water flowing at valley side, looks like need BB about 10min to the stream. I find another better spot at not far away.<br /> <br /> Km33.25 : trail is much closer to the stream at here, so i cleared a side trail(-40.81849, -72.17287) to there. Just 1 min, flowing good with clear water, have some puddles that can dip bottles. Some more type of spike plants start growing after here.<br /> <br /> Km33.9-34.9 : although there are still some overgrown and blowdowns, but this part becomes very smooth, keep going and going, speed up, enjoy this moment.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km34.9 : GAME STARTS, blowdowns MAZE. Huge amounts of blowdowns blocked your way, even there have some detour or go around, new blowdowns blocks it again. So you need to find the correct trail to go, mostly is the clearest one(do you see i said &quot;mostly&quot;?)<br /> <br /> Because I don't have the habit of using GPS while walking, so after i keep going and going, i found I'm on the west of GPX track, following a looks clear trail walking parallel to GPX.<br /> <br /> If you also don't follow GPX track walking, maybe the following will help you. (I don't know GPX or my &quot;trail&quot; which is better, and i assume GPX is the correct one)<br /> <br /> At (-40.83961, -72.16451), the area of GPX looks like blocked by huge amount of blowdowns, and no ways to get in or get through that area. If follow the clear &quot;trail&quot; going, looks like it will block by another groups of blowdowns, maybe can crawl under a tunnel?<br /> <br /> Yes! The answer is tunnel, but not crawling under it, the trail entrance (-40.83977, -72.16443) is just beside the tunnel, at right side, in a dark area hard to notice. You can walk on it.<br /> <br /> Then you'll on GPX track again for a while.<br /> <br /> At (-40.84042, -72.16400), looks like no way to go, look at the valley side(right) , trail is on the sandy slope. <br /> <br /> Then i didn't find a good way to go after sandy slope, looks like GPX drops into the stream. But i don't think walking in a stream is a good idea, so i decided climbing up to east and try to find some good place, can keep going to south.<br /> <br /> Luckily i found a clear trail at (-40.84047, -72.16384), of course still overgrown and blowdowns, but it leads me all the way to south.<br /> <br /> Km36.5 : a pond just beside the trail, because the trail at here is very smooth, i nearly step in the pond carelessly. Looks like you can collect water at north shore, but water looks so so.<br /> <br /> X[36.6/419] : junction of RR and {20-02}, lot of blue ribbon at trailhead of {20-02}, does it means anything? Thorn vine starts at here to south. But i cleared all the vine that blocked the trail until km39.55. Some overgrown and some blowdowns, but easy to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km39.35 : trail junction, sobo go straight, nobo go left.<br /> <br /> Km39.55 : trail comes to a tiny grassland, if you follow the clear trail going, it is NOT RR, and going west, I don't know where is it's final destination. For RR, when you come to grassland, turn left immediately, entrance(-40.86662, -72.17480) of RR is hide behind some bushes, and the trail after here becomes overgrown and narrow again, also huge amount of thorn vine...i took some time try to clear, but there are too many, so i just cleared most of them, if you walk here, be careful.<br /> <br /> Km39.85 : trail junction, sobo go right, nobo go straight.<br /> <br /> Ford[40.3/128] : crossing of Rio Gaviotas, a wide crossing. North shore is deeper than south side, up to knee and flowing slow, also there are some stable big rocks underwater you can step on. Easy crossing. Water looks clear and lot of fish inside. <br /> <br /> After the crossing, i didn't follow GPX track and walking on the beach.<br /> <br /> Camping spot (-40.87321, -72.18179) on a sandy ground, with nice views of lake and fire pit.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I asked some people at Las Gaviotas, about the ferry to El Poncho, some said 12noon, some said 1pm, some said 2pm, but there is nothing until 3pm i completely give up. I spend 4 hours and wait nothing in a super nice weather day, OMG.<br /> <br /> Luckily i find a very tiny shop selling some food, biscuits, eggs, bread, pasta, canned food, drinks, ice cream at (-40.88061, -72.17970). I don't want to go to El Poncho resupply anymore. The shop open at 3.30pm, super friendly, i love them!<br /> <br /> Lastly a small ferry arrived here at 4.30pm after i cooked and enjoyed my food from the shop... the ferry's name is Gavoita.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> *2023-Jan-29 / 3 days / hiking / RR / NOBO / Frank<br /> The river at Las Gaviotas was easily fordable in late January, knee deep at the ford. Below the ford it runs deep into the lake. RR NOBO from Las Gaviotas remains very overgrown, machete highly recommended. I also used gardening gloves which help to grasp &amp; break thorny plants. Many fallen trees, it gets better as you go up but is still slow going. Took me 9 hours to get to the treeline from Las Gaviotas ferry. The alternative route is likely to be a lot worse. <br /> There was still a lot of snow on Pass 1910 metres. I tried a few options but couldn't find a way over. The rock gendarme above the pass is not climbable - I tried, it starts as a scramble but goes up to a pinnacle. Ripped my pack on the sharp volcanic rock. I retreated &amp; went around below the pass on OH-CC-A@20-A-001. It's a bit longer but fairly easy, there is a faint trail. Conaf are working on reopening the trail to Pampa Frutilla. It's open for 12KM SOBO from Conaf Anticura, easy walking &amp; super fast. Then for 4KM it's overgrown but passable with moderate bush bashing &amp; you are soon above treeline on RR. I didn't go to Strawberry Fields but suspect the route will be severe until Conaf cut it back. The slowness of the route means water becomes a serious issue. I was lucky to find one water source at 1600 metres from snowmelt (dirty with sand &amp; needs to be filtered) but it's not reliable. There is water at bridge/camp 2.5KM after Conaf Anticura &amp; then no permanent source until you are a few hours below treeline going down to Las Gaviotas. So carry a lot or consider splitting the trail in two with entry/exit at Antillanca ski station.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-02 / hiking / NOBO / Alex Abramov<br /> <br /> We walked from Crater Raihuen (Ski Center Antillanca) to Anticura in one day. There was not much snow, but we faced the problem of bypassing the rocky gendarme on the ridge along the frozen snow slope. In running shoes, it looked unsafe given the steepness and length (over 300m) of the slope.<br /> So we decided to go around the ridge along the north side (similar to the GPT20 variant D). It is a simple, fast (about 2 hours) and logical route, accessible in any weather and in any condition.<br /> We found the trail between Pampa Frutilla and Antikura in ok condition: some easy bushwhacking and a dozen sections with fallen trees. It may feel harder with a heavy load.<br /> No water between Ski Center Antillanca and almost finish! We did not go to Pampa Frutilla Lakes<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-22 / 2 days / RR SOBO and optional route to Antillanca / Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> Yes, we gave us that overgrown shit and we cannot believe Martin did that both ways! At least we could skip the first 3 km of the overgrown trail by starting on the Ruta International towards Argentina for 2.9 km and then turning right onto a former minor road which meets the regular route after 800 meters. We spent the night (and a day off due to exhaustion) at Pampa Frutillar, which is a 7.4 km detour to strawberry paradise and two pretty lagunas (optional route 19-05-#001). The ascent to the summit and the view from there were the most spectacular ones so far! Still a bit snow left, but no problem. As Matus said &quot;hell starts&quot; on the last 4 km before Las Gaviotas and we thought we already had our personal hell on the first 14 km, we decided to end this section in Antillanca, where we found accommodation. From here you need to walk or to hitchhike to Aguas Calientes for busses to Osorno.<br /> <br /> *2020-FEB-13 / hiking / Optional Start @ Antillanca / Tyler Wood<br /> <br /> I opted to skip the first 13 km bush bashing noted by martin and hitched up to Antillanca with good luck. From there I slept in the crater at the base of Casa Blanca and summited the next morning. The same day went all the way down to the end of the section via the RR. Huge day, but definitely do-able with the optional start. As far as the bush bashing, it’s all good until near the end of RR-TL-V@20-27.1+6.3. Yeah, then it really tricky. Expect at least 2-3 hours to get through the thousands of downed trees. The madness continues pretty much all the way to the bottom. We camped on the beach and it was super beautiful. I decided to skip section 21 due to the $100 ferry across todo santos. A ferry leaves Las Gaviotas around noon to El Poncho for just 250 pesos. Ask locals for exact time for the ferry. From el poncho a bus comes (times with the ferry) that runs directly to Osorno. I got off at an intersection where I could hitchhike to Cochamo. (Huge hitch).<br /> <br /> *2020-JAN-01 - 2020-JAN-02 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option 2 from the ski station to the Volcanoe, RR from the volcanoe to waypoint Div133,Option 1 down to Lago Rupanco / Linda<br /> <br /> Beacuse the pass of the Volcan is now impossible (view Martin feedback), I decided to hike only the southern part of this section = starting from Aguas Calientes (Buses all day long from Mercado of Osorno directly to Agua Calientes, which is a good spot to rest with a camping) to the ski station and then to Lago Rupanco :<br /> <br /> 1st part = Option 2 from the ski station to the Volcanoe<br /> <br /> 2nd part = Regular route from the volcanoe to waypoint Div133<br /> <br /> 3rd part = Option 1 down to Lago Rupanco<br /> <br /> The 2 first parts are simply amazing = the view both on Volcanoe Casablanca and the valley where lies Lago Rupanco <br /> <br /> BUT I won't recommend the 3rd part which is indicated on the GPS as overgrown. And it was crazily overgrown!!! I did it without a machete and it took me about 7 hours to come across 2km of very very wild forest, full of flourishing bamboos, that is very strong. As there is no track, I had to stick very closely to my compass (South / South West) to be able to join the end of the regular hiking track (that leads to the Lago Rupanco) which was also full of huge dead trees!!!! <br /> <br /> I don't know how overgrown is the Regular Hiking route through this same forest. But be prepared to something very very tough. <br /> <br /> *2019-DEC-19 - 2019-DEC-20 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / Martín Lizondo /<br /> <br /> The trail from Conaf is extremely overgrown, even after the first bridge. There’s no minor road anymore. Guards offer you a “machete” to clean the path. Expect super ultra slow hiking (2 km p/h) the first 12 km. From then, as the trail reaches higher altitude, it becomes very easy to walk.<br /> <br /> *2019-NOV-09 / hiking / Sophie &amp; Hendrik<br /> <br /> The river crossing directly north of Las Gaviotas is difficult right now. It is highly recommended to organise a boat which takes you over the lake. (It is just a short distance and won't cost much.)<br /> <br /> * Comment Jan Dudeck: Arranging this boat transfer northbound is probably easier than southbound (there are several settlers south of the river but not north of the river). So hiking section GPT20 southbound might not be feasible right now.<br /> <br /> At this date, the pass to Rupanco is all covered by snow, impossible to cross with regular gear, due to the snow fall the last few days. The optional route to avoid snow is also impassae. Pro: views are very nice. I had to return to Anticura and hitchike back to Entre Lagos.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> A small road leads past the CONAF building and winds through several Cabañas until reaching a trail. This trail, although fairly obvious and easily followed, becomes more overgrown as it travels deeper into a bamboo forest. The density of obstructions (foliage, fallen logs, etc.) makes hiking slow. Around 1.100 m, the forest begins to open up and there are several small campsites. <br /> At treeline, the trail widens into a old gravel roadbed. Be careful not to miss the turnoff onto a small trail to the right that dips back into the trees, as the regular route does not follow this roadbed for long. At the bottom of the descent, the trail crosses a meadow and climbs back up to treeline. <br /> The trail on Volcán Casablanca is not obvious, but there are several stone cairns (and the occasional bamboo pole) sparsely spaced along the path. <br /> Alternate Route:<br /> After descending from the Volcano, we decided to hike along the mapped trail located to the east of the GPS route. We quickly discovered the trail was wiped out by a landslide, and involved a steep descent to a faint track. The track winds through some open forest and joins a large black river bed. At the end of the open river bed, reenter the trees and follow a fairly obvious but overgrown path. Camping is very difficult to find until rejoining the regular route. I would seriously recommend sticking to the regular route as shown by the GPS track; this alternate was slow going and painful.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Shopping: Food<br /> 4 big supermarkets in Osorno all near the bus terminals<br /> Puerto Octay has a limited selection for resupply, but there are several restaurants and a good quesería.<br /> <br /> *Shopping: Fuel<br /> In Portal Osorno shopping centre Doite shop has camping gas screwgate canisters.<br /> <br /> *Accommodation: Camping<br /> El Encuentro campsite with cabanas just behind the beach at Las Gaviotas, camping is 10,000 pesos. Run by Marcelo who is friendly &amp; helpful. He has a boat so might be able to take you across the river NOBO for a small fee. About 3KM beyond Puerto Buey on the road out is Entre Rios camping, cabanas &amp; small shop, basic camping for 5000 pesos, tap water but no shower or toilet<br /> <br /> *Puerto Octay has a limited selection for resupply, but there are several restaurants and a good quesería.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> ==Access to Route and Return==<br /> <br /> *2020/ Tyler Wood <br /> A ferry leaves Las Gaviotas around noon to El Poncho for just 250 pesos. <br /> <br /> *On Monday, Wednesday &amp; Friday a bus goes to Puerto Poncho from Osorno main terminal at 12:30 &amp; connects to the ferry, getting you to Las Gaviotas at 16:30.<br /> <br /> *Ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Poncho :<br /> Monday 7:00 &amp; 16:30 /<br /> Wednesday 2:30 PM /<br /> Friday 7:00 &amp; 16:30 /<br /> Sunday 15:00<br /> Ferry connects with a bus. Buses may go to Entre Lagos, sometimes Puerto Octay or more often to Osorno. Buses every half hour Entre Lagos-Osorno. There should be an unscheduled ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Buey Monday, Wednesday, Friday &amp; Sunday at 8PM but this ferry does not connect with a bus. <br /> <br /> *Ferry Puerto Poncho-Las Gaviotas: <br /> Monday 8:00 &amp; 15:30 /<br /> Wednesday 15:30 /<br /> Friday 8:00 &amp; 15:30 /<br /> Sunday 16:00 <br /> No bus on days the ferry doesn`t run. Hitching is difficult, there is a gravel road all the way to Las Gaviotas but not much traffic except on weekends.<br /> <br /> *Comment by Jan Dudeck: <br /> There is a local who lives in the house on the lake shore northwest from the mouth of the river whom may offer passage on his personal row boat for payment. You may see his boat tied to a tree near the lake. <br /> Town: Puerto Octay to Osorno/Puerto Varas/Puerto Montt <br /> There is a boat ferry that picks passengers up at Las Gaviotas, which is the beginning of GPT21, and travels to Puerto Buey. It is about a 50 minute ride and 200 CLP. The boat only runs two or three times a day. It is also possible to walk the distance, about 10 km down the road on the south side of the lake. From there you can catch a bus, which also only runs a couple of times per day, to Puerto Octay with connections to Osorno (which is the better resupply option). It is easy to catch a bus to Osorno, Puerto Varas, or Puerto Montt which all have large supermarkets. <br /> To my knowledge the boat runs not daily. Please check with locals and provide current information to the ferry Las Gaviotas.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT20 - Volcán Antillanca]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387247.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387253.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387258.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387267.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387277.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca109387229.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387212.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387233.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387235.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387243.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT20_(Volcan_Antillanca)&diff=113864 2024-01-31T10:47:18Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-29 to 2024-Jan-30 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> If for comparison, the overgrown trail(RR, the trail at west side) goes down to Lago Rupanco, the difficulty just same as the overgrown part of GPT18.<br /> <br /> GPT20's main difficulty is finding the trail in blowdown area. GPT18's is overgrown condition and the blocking by bamboo. So GPT20 is a little more technical, because finding the way to go.<br /> <br /> And i recommend if you go in this overgrown part, sobo is better, because going down, you stand on a high position, is much easier and more possibilities to find a better and &quot;correct&quot; way. When i was walking inside, sometimes i turn back and look, i find that it is hard to know what's the trail going and what is the whole area's condition and happening.<br /> <br /> Then I think CONAF already give up the road to strawberry lake, some small trees on the road(not beside the road), is growth up to 3-6m already.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {20-A} is not walkable now, because the bridge at bridge, camp[3.9/465] is completely broken. Better take RR road walking on PR then right turn to join dirt road.<br /> <br /> RR km3.05 : friendly locked gate, climb over it easily.<br /> <br /> The road at here is an old road, but it is still using by CONAF, i saw car tracks on the road, also some grass pressed by cars wheels not too long time ago. Mostly it is grassy in the middle of the road, also beside the road, two track are empty and easy to walk on.<br /> <br /> Bridge, camp[3.9/465] , no trail to here, need to step through some long grass. Bridge is broken and impossible to cross the river, it is flowing very strong and at least up to chest. But you can crawl under the broken bridge to reach the river for collecting water, it is crystal clear and cold. It is the last water spot until km .<br /> <br /> Camp[8.0/576] : no more refuge, just left a fire ring and picnic table here. Surrounded by lot of long grass, you can camp here, if you take some time to clear out the grass, looks like can fit 1-2 tents with views of Volcán Puyehue at here. But i think your tent will be wet completely in the morning. Also CONAF vehicles returns and go back at here(reverse turning trace on grass).<br /> <br /> Km10.4 : huge blowdown, go around it at left side, road conditions changing point, road become much overgrown and some more small blowdowns. Roads changing to single track trail. No more cars running after here. Still easy to walk and easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km13.6 : another huge blowdown, road conditions changing point, go around it at right side, then GAME STARTS, much much overgrown with spike leafs plants and they covers the trail blocks your walking, also lot of huge blowdowns need to climb over and jump down. You know the way to go, but much slower. Ok to walk, ok to follow. If compares with the overgrown part of GPT18, it is easier here but much tired because many blowdowns up and down, up and down, up and down.<br /> <br /> Km14.2 : join an old road, condition is the same, just from trail becomes old road.<br /> <br /> Km14.6-14.7 : some flat spots for camping, a wooden tripod made by some people at km14.7, maybe for cooking? Road conditions become better.<br /> <br /> Km15.6 : camping spot can fit 2-4 tents.<br /> <br /> Km16.2 : road conditions become much better, easy to walk, easy to follow. It is flat and wide, also good for camping too.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> X[17.1/1252] : junction of RR and strawberry lake, i didn't go to find strawberry but the road to lake is in a very good condition, i can fancy i hitch to there in 5 min(of course not). No more road on RR, just trail, and the trailhead is beside a wooden board that pitch on tree at here.<br /> <br /> {20-01} 150m : camping spot(-40.75515, -72.07800), i climb up a little for views then find this spot, can fit 2-4 tents with a fire pit.<br /> <br /> Km17.1-17.55 : trail going down to meadow. Very overgrown trail, it is difficult for NOBO to climb up, because all the plants growing towards down side at here.<br /> <br /> Km17.55 : a super beautiful meadow, good camping spot but no water.<br /> <br /> Km17.65-18.0 : not overgrown but blowdowns trail. Above treeline at 1260m.<br /> <br /> CC to the junction of RR and {20-D}, then CC on RR go around Volcán Antillanca. If you looks at valley side (NW), a trail there.<br /> <br /> Trail starts at(-40.76299, -72.10617), not on GPX track. And it mostly stay at the same attitude going to the small pass(-40.75915, -72.12489) at km22.<br /> <br /> It is a step trace &quot;trail&quot;, narrow just about 1-1.5 steps wide, loose sandy, steep, but walkable, recommend going here only on good weather also after eating and your business, there is no spot to take a break until km22. <br /> <br /> No more trail 150m before the pass, so CC climb up to the pass.<br /> <br /> After the pass, i didn't follow GPX track, go down to the valley on my way, (-40.75959, -72.12913) -&gt; (-40.76027, -72.13294), then cut back to CC and climbing up. There is a huge flat area that you can camp at the valley with nice views of Volcán Puyehue, but no water.<br /> <br /> If you follow CC, mostly you'll face a super huge gap at (-40.76178, -72.13861), that you need to go down and go around. So when i was at (-40.76151, -72.13766), i decided straight climbing up 100m at the east side of gap, and there is a connection at (-40.76462, -72.13876) 1450m, you can easily crossing to other side.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Because i'm lack of water, so mostly i going much west than the GPX track, luckily i find some water spots by snow melts.<br /> <br /> (-40.77309, -72.14007) : flowing good by a huge snow patch melts, clear and easy to collect.<br /> <br /> (-40.77531, -72.14089) : pond, by a huge snow patch melts, you can dip bottles to collect some amazing water!<br /> <br /> Then i just CC to the pass(-40.78259, -72.14395) at km25.85. Snows begins at 1600m, no difficulty to climb up, mostly just gentle snow slope.<br /> <br /> (-40.78306, -72.14374) : two beautiful ponds by snow melts at the pass with clear water. I think they'll not stay too long. Also i hear water flowing here, but it is close to dark, so i didn't have enough time to find out where it is and their condition.<br /> <br /> There is not much snow left at south side of the pass. Also too steep, so better going down by the dry loose sandy slope at first, then join snow slope again for skiing down.<br /> <br /> Lastly i cleared a small flat spot and camped at(-40.78742, -72.14541), can fit 1 tent, some rocks around here can used for holding the tents on sandy ground. No wind protection but amazing views(and flowing water as now) at here too!<br /> <br /> Snow ends at (-40.78785, -72.14522) RR km26.5, 1500m. Also a small stream there, flowing good with clear, fresh and cold water! Some tiny waterfall, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From here to the km30.3, the junction of RR and {20-03A}, mostly CC on lava fields covered by grass, sometimes have cairns, but they are too small, also lot of other lava rocks nearby, so every time i notice them already in a very close distance.<br /> <br /> Blue pole(-40.79524, -72.18397) and a trail leads to valley.<br /> <br /> Flat spot at (-40.79622, -72.18337), can fit 2 tents before the overgrown section.<br /> <br /> At km30.4, overgrown section start, trail is easy to walk, easy to follow. You'll find some blue ribbon(mostly already collapsed on the ground), and red ribbon(just a few) in this section.<br /> <br /> Km30.8 : hell of bamboo, hell is not for hikers, is for bamboo. Most of of the bamboo is dead, defeated by huge trees in the war of forest. After here, a little overgrown and some blowdowns, still easy to follow, easy to walk. If you find the trail is blocked by lot of brushes, you can go around them by stepping on the bamboo, at here, bamboo helps you.<br /> <br /> Km31.4 : if you don't find the trail after crawling under a huge blowdown, you can walking on the huge blowdown at (-40.80555, -72.17855) to west, then rejoin a clear trail at (-40.80564, -72.17840).<br /> <br /> Km31.8 : after the sharp turning, trail become more overgrown, but trail still there. Ok to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km32.5 : camping spot(-40.81356, -72.17860), beside the trail, can fit 2-3 small tents with a small log seat. Some nice hikers put a silver shiny stake there for marker. After here, trail becomes much overgrown with spike leaves plant, because here is not in the forest, no big trees covering, bushes have more sunshine for growing bigger (then block the trail). Ok to walk, ok to follow.<br /> <br /> Water[33.2/852] : can hear water flowing at valley side, looks like need BB about 10min to the stream. I find another better spot at not far away.<br /> <br /> Km33.25 : trail is much closer to the stream at here, so i cleared a side trail(-40.81849, -72.17287) to there. Just 1 min, flowing good with clear water, have some puddles that can dip bottles. Some more type of spike plants start growing after here.<br /> <br /> Km33.9-34.9 : although there are still some overgrown and blowdowns, but this part becomes very smooth, keep going and going, speed up, enjoy this moment.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km34.9 : GAME STARTS, blowdowns MAZE. Huge amounts of blowdowns blocked your way, even there have some detour or go around, new blowdowns blocks it again. So you need to find the correct trail to go, mostly is the clearest one(do you see i said &quot;mostly&quot;?)<br /> <br /> Because I don't have the habit of using GPS while walking, so after i keep going and going, i found I'm on the west of GPX track, following a looks clear trail walking parallel to GPX.<br /> <br /> If you also don't follow GPX track walking, maybe the following will help you. (I don't know GPX or my &quot;trail&quot; which is better, and i assume GPX is the correct one)<br /> <br /> At (-40.83961, -72.16451), the area of GPX looks like blocked by huge amount of blowdowns, and no ways to get in or get through that area. If follow the clear &quot;trail&quot; going, looks like it will block by another groups of blowdowns, maybe can crawl under a tunnel?<br /> <br /> Yes! The answer is tunnel, but not crawling under it, the trail entrance (-40.83977, -72.16443) is just beside the tunnel, at right side, in a dark area hard to notice. You can walk on it.<br /> <br /> Then you'll on GPX track again for a while.<br /> <br /> At (-40.84042, -72.16400), looks like no way to go, look at the valley side(right) , trail is on the sandy slope. <br /> <br /> Then i didn't find a good way to go after sandy slope, looks like GPX drops into the stream. But i don't think walking in a stream is a good idea, so i decided climbing up to east and try to find some good place, can keep going to south.<br /> <br /> Luckily i found a clear trail at (-40.84047, -72.16384), of course still overgrown and blowdowns, but it leads me all the way to south.<br /> <br /> Km36.5 : a pond just beside the trail, because the trail at here is very smooth, i nearly step in the pond carelessly. Looks like you can collect water at north shore, but water looks so so.<br /> <br /> X[36.6/419] : junction of RR and {20-02}, lot of blue ribbon at trailhead of {20-02}, does it means anything? Thorn vine starts at here to south. But i cleared all the vine that blocked the trail until km39.55. Some overgrown and some blowdowns, but easy to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km39.35 : trail junction, sobo go straight, nobo go left.<br /> <br /> Km39.55 : trail comes to a tiny grassland, if you follow the clear trail going, it is NOT RR, and going west, I don't know where is it's final destination. For RR, when you come to grassland, turn left immediately, entrance(-40.86662, -72.17480) of RR is hide behind some bushes, and the trail after here becomes overgrown and narrow again, also huge amount of thorn vine...i took some time try to clear, but there are too many, so i just cleared most of them, if you walk here, be careful.<br /> <br /> Km39.85 : trail junction, sobo go right, nobo go straight.<br /> <br /> Ford[40.3/128] : crossing of Rio Gaviotas, a wide crossing. North shore is deeper than south side, up to knee and flowing slow, also there are some stable big rocks underwater you can step on. Easy crossing. Water looks clear and lot of fish inside. <br /> <br /> After the crossing, i didn't follow GPX track and walking on the beach.<br /> <br /> Camping spot (-40.87321, -72.18179) on a sandy ground, with nice views of lake and fire pit.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> *2023-Jan-29 / 3 days / hiking / RR / NOBO / Frank<br /> The river at Las Gaviotas was easily fordable in late January, knee deep at the ford. Below the ford it runs deep into the lake. RR NOBO from Las Gaviotas remains very overgrown, machete highly recommended. I also used gardening gloves which help to grasp &amp; break thorny plants. Many fallen trees, it gets better as you go up but is still slow going. Took me 9 hours to get to the treeline from Las Gaviotas ferry. The alternative route is likely to be a lot worse. <br /> There was still a lot of snow on Pass 1910 metres. I tried a few options but couldn't find a way over. The rock gendarme above the pass is not climbable - I tried, it starts as a scramble but goes up to a pinnacle. Ripped my pack on the sharp volcanic rock. I retreated &amp; went around below the pass on OH-CC-A@20-A-001. It's a bit longer but fairly easy, there is a faint trail. Conaf are working on reopening the trail to Pampa Frutilla. It's open for 12KM SOBO from Conaf Anticura, easy walking &amp; super fast. Then for 4KM it's overgrown but passable with moderate bush bashing &amp; you are soon above treeline on RR. I didn't go to Strawberry Fields but suspect the route will be severe until Conaf cut it back. The slowness of the route means water becomes a serious issue. I was lucky to find one water source at 1600 metres from snowmelt (dirty with sand &amp; needs to be filtered) but it's not reliable. There is water at bridge/camp 2.5KM after Conaf Anticura &amp; then no permanent source until you are a few hours below treeline going down to Las Gaviotas. So carry a lot or consider splitting the trail in two with entry/exit at Antillanca ski station.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-02 / hiking / NOBO / Alex Abramov<br /> <br /> We walked from Crater Raihuen (Ski Center Antillanca) to Anticura in one day. There was not much snow, but we faced the problem of bypassing the rocky gendarme on the ridge along the frozen snow slope. In running shoes, it looked unsafe given the steepness and length (over 300m) of the slope.<br /> So we decided to go around the ridge along the north side (similar to the GPT20 variant D). It is a simple, fast (about 2 hours) and logical route, accessible in any weather and in any condition.<br /> We found the trail between Pampa Frutilla and Antikura in ok condition: some easy bushwhacking and a dozen sections with fallen trees. It may feel harder with a heavy load.<br /> No water between Ski Center Antillanca and almost finish! We did not go to Pampa Frutilla Lakes<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-22 / 2 days / RR SOBO and optional route to Antillanca / Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> Yes, we gave us that overgrown shit and we cannot believe Martin did that both ways! At least we could skip the first 3 km of the overgrown trail by starting on the Ruta International towards Argentina for 2.9 km and then turning right onto a former minor road which meets the regular route after 800 meters. We spent the night (and a day off due to exhaustion) at Pampa Frutillar, which is a 7.4 km detour to strawberry paradise and two pretty lagunas (optional route 19-05-#001). The ascent to the summit and the view from there were the most spectacular ones so far! Still a bit snow left, but no problem. As Matus said &quot;hell starts&quot; on the last 4 km before Las Gaviotas and we thought we already had our personal hell on the first 14 km, we decided to end this section in Antillanca, where we found accommodation. From here you need to walk or to hitchhike to Aguas Calientes for busses to Osorno.<br /> <br /> *2020-FEB-13 / hiking / Optional Start @ Antillanca / Tyler Wood<br /> <br /> I opted to skip the first 13 km bush bashing noted by martin and hitched up to Antillanca with good luck. From there I slept in the crater at the base of Casa Blanca and summited the next morning. The same day went all the way down to the end of the section via the RR. Huge day, but definitely do-able with the optional start. As far as the bush bashing, it’s all good until near the end of RR-TL-V@20-27.1+6.3. Yeah, then it really tricky. Expect at least 2-3 hours to get through the thousands of downed trees. The madness continues pretty much all the way to the bottom. We camped on the beach and it was super beautiful. I decided to skip section 21 due to the $100 ferry across todo santos. A ferry leaves Las Gaviotas around noon to El Poncho for just 250 pesos. Ask locals for exact time for the ferry. From el poncho a bus comes (times with the ferry) that runs directly to Osorno. I got off at an intersection where I could hitchhike to Cochamo. (Huge hitch).<br /> <br /> *2020-JAN-01 - 2020-JAN-02 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option 2 from the ski station to the Volcanoe, RR from the volcanoe to waypoint Div133,Option 1 down to Lago Rupanco / Linda<br /> <br /> Beacuse the pass of the Volcan is now impossible (view Martin feedback), I decided to hike only the southern part of this section = starting from Aguas Calientes (Buses all day long from Mercado of Osorno directly to Agua Calientes, which is a good spot to rest with a camping) to the ski station and then to Lago Rupanco :<br /> <br /> 1st part = Option 2 from the ski station to the Volcanoe<br /> <br /> 2nd part = Regular route from the volcanoe to waypoint Div133<br /> <br /> 3rd part = Option 1 down to Lago Rupanco<br /> <br /> The 2 first parts are simply amazing = the view both on Volcanoe Casablanca and the valley where lies Lago Rupanco <br /> <br /> BUT I won't recommend the 3rd part which is indicated on the GPS as overgrown. And it was crazily overgrown!!! I did it without a machete and it took me about 7 hours to come across 2km of very very wild forest, full of flourishing bamboos, that is very strong. As there is no track, I had to stick very closely to my compass (South / South West) to be able to join the end of the regular hiking track (that leads to the Lago Rupanco) which was also full of huge dead trees!!!! <br /> <br /> I don't know how overgrown is the Regular Hiking route through this same forest. But be prepared to something very very tough. <br /> <br /> *2019-DEC-19 - 2019-DEC-20 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / Martín Lizondo /<br /> <br /> The trail from Conaf is extremely overgrown, even after the first bridge. There’s no minor road anymore. Guards offer you a “machete” to clean the path. Expect super ultra slow hiking (2 km p/h) the first 12 km. From then, as the trail reaches higher altitude, it becomes very easy to walk.<br /> <br /> *2019-NOV-09 / hiking / Sophie &amp; Hendrik<br /> <br /> The river crossing directly north of Las Gaviotas is difficult right now. It is highly recommended to organise a boat which takes you over the lake. (It is just a short distance and won't cost much.)<br /> <br /> * Comment Jan Dudeck: Arranging this boat transfer northbound is probably easier than southbound (there are several settlers south of the river but not north of the river). So hiking section GPT20 southbound might not be feasible right now.<br /> <br /> At this date, the pass to Rupanco is all covered by snow, impossible to cross with regular gear, due to the snow fall the last few days. The optional route to avoid snow is also impassae. Pro: views are very nice. I had to return to Anticura and hitchike back to Entre Lagos.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Route description by Kara Davis after Season 2017/18:<br /> <br /> A small road leads past the CONAF building and winds through several Cabañas until reaching a trail. This trail, although fairly obvious and easily followed, becomes more overgrown as it travels deeper into a bamboo forest. The density of obstructions (foliage, fallen logs, etc.) makes hiking slow. Around 1.100 m, the forest begins to open up and there are several small campsites. <br /> At treeline, the trail widens into a old gravel roadbed. Be careful not to miss the turnoff onto a small trail to the right that dips back into the trees, as the regular route does not follow this roadbed for long. At the bottom of the descent, the trail crosses a meadow and climbs back up to treeline. <br /> The trail on Volcán Casablanca is not obvious, but there are several stone cairns (and the occasional bamboo pole) sparsely spaced along the path. <br /> Alternate Route:<br /> After descending from the Volcano, we decided to hike along the mapped trail located to the east of the GPS route. We quickly discovered the trail was wiped out by a landslide, and involved a steep descent to a faint track. The track winds through some open forest and joins a large black river bed. At the end of the open river bed, reenter the trees and follow a fairly obvious but overgrown path. Camping is very difficult to find until rejoining the regular route. I would seriously recommend sticking to the regular route as shown by the GPS track; this alternate was slow going and painful.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Shopping: Food<br /> 4 big supermarkets in Osorno all near the bus terminals<br /> Puerto Octay has a limited selection for resupply, but there are several restaurants and a good quesería.<br /> <br /> *Shopping: Fuel<br /> In Portal Osorno shopping centre Doite shop has camping gas screwgate canisters.<br /> <br /> *Accommodation: Camping<br /> El Encuentro campsite with cabanas just behind the beach at Las Gaviotas, camping is 10,000 pesos. Run by Marcelo who is friendly &amp; helpful. He has a boat so might be able to take you across the river NOBO for a small fee. About 3KM beyond Puerto Buey on the road out is Entre Rios camping, cabanas &amp; small shop, basic camping for 5000 pesos, tap water but no shower or toilet<br /> <br /> *Puerto Octay has a limited selection for resupply, but there are several restaurants and a good quesería.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> ==Access to Route and Return==<br /> <br /> *2020/ Tyler Wood <br /> A ferry leaves Las Gaviotas around noon to El Poncho for just 250 pesos. <br /> <br /> *On Monday, Wednesday &amp; Friday a bus goes to Puerto Poncho from Osorno main terminal at 12:30 &amp; connects to the ferry, getting you to Las Gaviotas at 16:30.<br /> <br /> *Ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Poncho :<br /> Monday 7:00 &amp; 16:30 /<br /> Wednesday 2:30 PM /<br /> Friday 7:00 &amp; 16:30 /<br /> Sunday 15:00<br /> Ferry connects with a bus. Buses may go to Entre Lagos, sometimes Puerto Octay or more often to Osorno. Buses every half hour Entre Lagos-Osorno. There should be an unscheduled ferry Las Gaviotas-Puerto Buey Monday, Wednesday, Friday &amp; Sunday at 8PM but this ferry does not connect with a bus. <br /> <br /> *Ferry Puerto Poncho-Las Gaviotas: <br /> Monday 8:00 &amp; 15:30 /<br /> Wednesday 15:30 /<br /> Friday 8:00 &amp; 15:30 /<br /> Sunday 16:00 <br /> No bus on days the ferry doesn`t run. Hitching is difficult, there is a gravel road all the way to Las Gaviotas but not much traffic except on weekends.<br /> <br /> *Comment by Jan Dudeck: <br /> There is a local who lives in the house on the lake shore northwest from the mouth of the river whom may offer passage on his personal row boat for payment. You may see his boat tied to a tree near the lake. <br /> Town: Puerto Octay to Osorno/Puerto Varas/Puerto Montt <br /> There is a boat ferry that picks passengers up at Las Gaviotas, which is the beginning of GPT21, and travels to Puerto Buey. It is about a 50 minute ride and 200 CLP. The boat only runs two or three times a day. It is also possible to walk the distance, about 10 km down the road on the south side of the lake. From there you can catch a bus, which also only runs a couple of times per day, to Puerto Octay with connections to Osorno (which is the better resupply option). It is easy to catch a bus to Osorno, Puerto Varas, or Puerto Montt which all have large supermarkets. <br /> To my knowledge the boat runs not daily. Please check with locals and provide current information to the ferry Las Gaviotas.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT20 - Volcán Antillanca]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> &lt;gallery&gt; <br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387247.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387253.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387258.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387267.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387277.jpg|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca109387229.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387212.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387233.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387235.jpg|thumb|<br /> File:GPT_14_Volcán_Antillanca_109387243.jpg|thumb|<br /> &lt;/gallery&gt;<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT19_(Volcan_Puyehue)&diff=113838 2024-01-28T19:22:06Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-25 to 2024-Jan-28 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {19-01} - RR - {19-04A?} - ski off trail - RR - {19-H} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Camp beside the lake + Hot spring + Geyser + Volcano + Skiing = GPT19<br /> <br /> Do you have any reasons to reject this section?<br /> <br /> <br /> I take a bus at Maihue on 8:15pm. Arrive Rupumeica Bajo on 9pm, 1500 CLP. When i take off the bus, the driver told me there are some nice spots good for camping and swimming beside the lake, so i go west at x RR [13.3/144].<br /> <br /> You can walk 1.2km to Puerto Rupameica &quot;port[4.9/90], arrive the beach, then turn right walking on the beach to find a good spot for camping, but lot of car drivers thinks the same idea. So that beach is a little noisy and crowded even in weekdays night.<br /> <br /> If you look at satellite map, there is a side road at (-40.31429, -71.98794), it is behind barbed wire fence, but a friendly locked gate at left side, climb over it then follow the road go down to the beach. Some nice camping spots on a grassland covered by bushes and trees with fire ring, good wind protection and privacy just before the beach.<br /> <br /> Also you can camping at the beach, but the cabins and people at Hueinahue can easily look at you(too close). So i follow the beach to walk towards the lake's inlet shore. Lastly I camped at (-40.31074, -71.99001), beside the only tall tree(it doesn't covered me anything). I cleared a spot for a small single person tent, with 180° views of Lago Maihue. Bushes at back covered me for privacy.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> RR km3.9 : tiny shop and food truck, (-40.32258, -71.96776)<br /> <br /> X[13.3/144] : bus stop, i saw a bus arrive here at 9.10am. Then steep climb up on a good condition dirt road, but hot.<br /> <br /> Km16.0 : junction of RR and {19-C}, {19-C} is in a better condition, so i go for it. But i recommend you keep going on RR, and NOT NOT NOT go by {19-C}.<br /> <br /> Everything is good also i find a black pipe can fill water in bottles at (-40.33101, -71.98693) until {19-C} km1.4. Trail becomes very confusing, lot of side trail, cow path mix together, easy to walk on the wrong one. <br /> <br /> Then the trail at (-40.33851, -71.98185) already taken back by forest, i still find some trace for trail(aluminium cans, wood cutting,etc), but it is not easy also not safe to walk. You need to walk on some groups of old blowdowns to (-40.33873, -71.98182) and rejoin the trail. The blowdowns itself or the gap between them, have a lot of big holes can eat your whole leg, most of the holes are covered by bushes and the blowdowns are a little slippery...<br /> <br /> Then start climbing up at (-40.33909, -71.98165). All the ladders and wooden step are broken, also become a tarp for slide down. You need to climb up a loose sandy, muddy, grassy, steep slope that covered by lot of leaves. I have a feeling I'm still in GPT18 but in snow conditions climbing a overgrown snow slope...<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> At (-40.33978, -71.98141) rejoin a good condition dirt road, although it is shown in OSM, but I didn't see anything look like a road even a clear trail before climb up, so maybe south of the road also taken back by forest at some point. ( or the road going to some place that i don't know and not shown on map)<br /> <br /> Then joined RR on a good condition dirt road.<br /> <br /> I didn't see food truck at km23 that Martin &amp; Helena said, maybe still not the season, or not open on weekdays noon.<br /> <br /> Bridge[25.3/358] : Río Melipue flowing with lot of not clear water, a little yellow.<br /> <br /> Then is a HOT, HOT HOT road walk steep up and down with lot of flies entangled in you, most of the time without tree shades, recommend hitch much more as you can. This part is not fun.<br /> <br /> Km26.3 : junction of a private park, Parque Huishue. Some nice young care takers stay in the cabin behind the gate, they are very friendly and give me some water.<br /> <br /> Camp[31.4/514] : good camping spot, don't camp too close to the lake(muddy). Lake with clear water. When you see the barbed wire fence, keep going 30-40m, you can go around some small blowdowns to get in easily.<br /> <br /> Then my luck come, a friendly family give me a ride to Los Venados. Thank you save me from the hot nightmare. It is the second car i saw going west in the whole day.<br /> <br /> Then my luck come the second time, Hector and Neri is at home(settle,food,refuge[45.4/537])! They help me refill my bottles with some priceless water! Huge thank you to them!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From km45.45, the road becomes a single track trail between some tall grass until km47.9, then it turns back to an old dirt road but lot of blowdowns, have to find a side trail for going around or just climb over them. And sometimes the road is flat and wide is good for camping.<br /> <br /> Km53.1 : looks like is the old dirt road end, becomes a real trail, a broken old sign here too. Flat spot can fit 3 tents here. Some more flat spots just keeping forward, but need to take some minutes to clear out some sticks.<br /> <br /> Water?[53.5/1330] : confluence point of three stream, but just muddy, no water.<br /> <br /> Water?[53.7/1344] : because the water spot at 53.5 is dry, so i didn't check this one.<br /> <br /> Km54.8 - km55 : camping spot at both side of the trail, also some more on dry riverbed.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Looks like Jens came here on a cloudy early morning, i found lot of water spot upon here.<br /> <br /> At least 7 snow patches is melting beside RR and you can collect water from them, i just list out the biggest 3. These three snow patch still in a good size, i think can stand for 1-2 weeks more.<br /> <br /> (-40.48984, -72.15159) : flowing good with a tiny waterfall (4sec/L) and puddle, you can dip bottles in puddle directly. Rocks in good shape for sitting nearby, so nice lunch spot with water here.<br /> <br /> (-40.49050, -72.15348) : flowing good but stream is flat, collectable.<br /> <br /> (-40.49142, -72.15752) : this patch is bigger also is flowing better than the first one, with tiny waterfall too! (3sec/L), easy to collect.<br /> <br /> If these three are all melted completely, (-40.49351, -72.16296) have a huge snow patch as now, maybe this one can be a backup water source.<br /> <br /> Km55.3 : view point for 6 volcanoes at left side, climb up to a tiny hilltop(-40.49068, -72.15235), if you are an exposed camping fans, flat spot can fit 2 tents 20m south of here for you.<br /> <br /> Km56 : Geyser time! Explore this area, take your time. Follow the trail on OSM is a little better views of geyser than RR, also is safer i think.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> After geyser then i go for {19-01} to hot spring.<br /> <br /> {19-01} Km0.9, also a nice viewpoint on the tiny hilltop (-40.48937, -72.16603).<br /> <br /> Km1.95 - km3.95 : walking in a green valley, lot of stream flowing with clear water, you can step over or rock hopping all of them, but mostly you will wet feet at last, because the trail crossing on a wet meadows(flowing water) and you have no way to go around. Also lot of camping spots you can find beside the trail in this area, but some of them still a little wet, maybe after one month will be perfect.<br /> <br /> Km5.0 : go down into a valley that look dry, better collect water at here(upstream) or the previous valley, because downstream in this valley is hot spring water.<br /> <br /> Km6.0 : alga in stream, and water temperature changes!<br /> <br /> Km6.2 : camping spot(no wind protection) can fit 3-5 tents at right side, with an amazing hot spring pool(-40.46710, -72.20664)! PERFECT temperature with a pool can soak all your body inside when you sit down in the water. HIGHLY RECOMMEND camping here and take the hot spring before night, you can soak in the pool with a beautiful sunset too!<br /> <br /> When i was enjoying the hot spring, a helicopter fly to here and landing, then some locals comes to join me too! Looks like it is a famous spot for them.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Hot spring water flowing all the way to downstream, so you can soak in it at the point you like. But temperature is dropping when it flowing, hot spring[6.8/1415] becomes warm water, good for noon under the hot sun, but not enough for night or early morning soaking. Trail leads you to hot spring[6.8/1415], then no more trail.<br /> <br /> Then the ridge walk(OH-CC-A[6.8+6.5]) is fun and no difficulty, just climb up, go down and enjoy the views. Some snow patches, go around or walk on it easily.<br /> <br /> Km7.45 : water spot(-40.46983, -72.21372), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Km8.7 : water spot(-40.47824, -72.20501), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, i saw water flowing when i was on trail but didn't get close to check.<br /> <br /> Km11.25 : water spot(-40.49723, -72.19122), flowing low with clear water by a huge snow patch melts, i dig a puddle for dipping my bottles. Good water!<br /> Then rejoin RR.<br /> <br /> RR km59 - km62.4 : go around lava fields, not difficult but lot of up and down, also need to go around some snow patches.<br /> <br /> RR km60.6 : water spot(-40.52296, -72.17607), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Km60.8 : climb the tiny hill(-40.52470, -72.17420) at left side, viewpoint of Volcán Cordon Caulle and its lava fields.<br /> <br /> Km61.1 : water spot(-40.52673, -72.17332), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Km61.8 : flat spot(-40.53143, -72.16976) can fit 2 tents with views of Volcán Puyehue.<br /> <br /> Km62.7 : small geyser(-40.53782, -72.16450).<br /> <br /> Km63.3 : better route going up to 1610m hilltop. Take the small valley at (-40.54327, -72.16187), climbing up gently, then turn right at (-40.54309, -72.16096), follow the valley all the way go to the top. I saw 3 cairns along this route.<br /> <br /> Km65.4 : water spot(-40.55234, -72.14982), flowing low by a huge snow patch melts, clear but not easy to collect. I didn't see any more clear water for a while on trail after this one.<br /> <br /> Km67.6 : snow patches. Walking on it and going to other side of valley. Then you can follow the GPX track or like me, walking on snow patch valley (-40.56967, -72.13232) avoid step over many gaps here, go to the junction of climbing Volcán Puyehue.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Climbing Volcán Puyehue on {19-04A} is a not easy route, steep climbing up on a losse tiny stones slope about 40°, when you get higher, it becomes more steep. Tired cilmb up, then i think it is a little dangerous to going back down at the same way, because too steep.<br /> <br /> I didn't follow GPX track, because it looks really steep, i start climbing up beside a stick (-40.57372, -72.13363) at RR km68.25, then towards a little south(-40.57842, -72.12614) of the peak going up. Then join the ridge for last climbing up to the top. At about 1950m-2000m , you'll find some step trace that can follow all the way to top and easier to step on, but the ground becomes much loose when going up more. You also can follow them to going down after the summit.<br /> <br /> Enjoy the views of crater, it is melting, but a blue lake in the middle, so beautiful!<br /> <br /> At the top, {19-04A} is impossible to connect to south on the rim as now, because is blocked by a snow wall, but you can going down a little, go around it climb up again to the rim, if you really want.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From some observation at high, I find a SKIING ROUTE that can ski down all the way to pass[69.9/1764]. (This route is ski by shoes, not sit down and slide.) <br /> <br /> It starts on 2110m(-40.57839, -72.12569), join snow slope here. Then skiing to SSW, water spot at 2035m(-40.58039, -72.12646), it is melting by the super huge snow slope you just ski down, i think it can stand at least one month or more. The water spot have a tiny waterfall, easy to collect. Fresh, clear, cold and taste good! I love this water!<br /> <br /> Then step on the snow again at 2030m(-40.58108, -72.12689), now ski to SW, to 1945m(-40.58436, -72.12988), then 1900m(-40.58484, -72.13278), then 1835m(-40.58634, -72.13552)(it have a gap about 20m no snow), lastly ski to rejoin RR at km69.8. But i saw nothing there , so i ski a little bit more and find some walking trace at 1770m(-40.58640, -72.13791), looks like parallel to RR. I took about 35min from the start of skiing to here, including refill water bottles and finding the way on map.<br /> <br /> I camped at (-40.58964, -72.13953), a little flat with some rocks that i can hold my tent on a sandy ground. A little off trail, but super amazing views of Volcán Casablanca, Volcán Puntiagido, Tronador, Lago Puyehue and Río Golgol, with a fantastic sunset moment!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> From km70.4, you'll find a trail and cairns along RR, some of the trail is already landslide away and still covered by snow patches, but most of them is easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km70.55 : (-40.59245, -72.13560) flowing good by a super huge snow patch melts, milky but easy to collect. A black pipe leads water to other place too.<br /> <br /> Km70.7 : water spot(-40.59349, -72.13423), flowing low with a tiny waterfall by a huge snow patch melts, clear and easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Km71.6 : flat spot(-40.60105, -72.13406) can fit 2 tents. Someone camped here before, built a tiny rock wall, but too tiny I don't think it can provide wind protection in a really windy condition.<br /> <br /> Km71.9 : junction. It is impossible to climb up or go down by {19-04A} at here as now, a huge snow wall about 60° block the way. Lot of water is flowing at here, main stream is not too clear, but you can find clear water from some smaller one. Upstream 15m for rock hopping dry feet crossing.<br /> <br /> Then i took {19-H} going down, because RR looks like need to walking on some loose sandy slope. At (-40.60459, -72.13491) i find a clear trail that leads all the way to rejoin RR at km72.75. No landslide, no loose rocky or sandy, just walking on a grass slope easily.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Then RR is a clear trail in good condition to follow and walk.<br /> <br /> Refuge[73.8/1378] : refuge with picnic table and fire ring, good spot for lunch and overnight.<br /> <br /> Then RR still easy to follow but a little steep and a little slippery, i almost slipped down in several times.<br /> <br /> Water[75.4/992] : flowing low with clear water, easy to collect. After here, trail conditions become better, no more slippery.<br /> <br /> Water[76.1/884] : flowing very low with clear water, have some small puddles at upstream. A spot for climbing break, log seats and tree shades here.<br /> <br /> Km77.9 : trail becomes dirt road, cars parking at here, some grassland flat spot with fire ring nearby.<br /> <br /> Then all the way road walking go down to Licán and Anticura. Didn't met any people charge me for entrance fee.<br /> <br /> I didn't see any shops nearby, just a restaurant at (-40.66624, -72.17463), you can go through their gate(-40.66843, -72.17218) to there. They provide good food and fast wifi. I look at their board, looks like they accept USD and EURO at here. (I don't know can money exchange or not)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-01-18 to 2024-01-21: Fangwen and Tobi / 4 days RR + Option 04A + Option 01 + Option 03 / NOBO hiking.<br /> <br /> Great section with great views! Very enjoyable. Not much to add to the other reports. We took the bus to the intersection with the Puyehue hot springs, hitchhiked from there (not a great spot for hitchhiking, but it works). Didn't see anyone at the trailhead and hence didn't pay. We passed by a small steam on the way up, but I would not be surprised if it sometimes dries out. The first night, we stayed by the hut. A small stream made it's way to the hut in the evening, so we got lucky and could refill. Second day, we climbed up to the scenic crater via option 4a. The ascent through loose scree was a bit tiresome, but made for an awesome shoe-skiing descent. The &quot;Water ?&quot; at km68.6 was a snow covered stream, but we were able to get some water from a melting snowfield. We camped at km64.6. The next day we went via an interesting ridge hike to the hot springs (option 1), which is a river in a nice valley. There are multiple spots to get into the river, upstream is hotter. But it was a hot day, and the tabanos were relentless, so we moved on to camp in the next valley, at S 40° 29.078', W 072° 10.870' or roughly at {19-01} [3.0]. This is a beautiful valley with good access to drinking water (not sure about the hot springs -- I wouldn't drink that water).<br /> Just before rejoining the regular route, we marveled at the volcanic gas vents at S 40° 29.651', W 072° 09.651', or 100m W of km56.1. Even if you are not going to the hot springs (which you should!), make sure not to miss them.<br /> The descent was relatively unspectacular. We accidentally took an unintended route down (19-D I think?), but it wasn't an issue. Our plan was to hitchhike from km37.4 out to Lago Ranco, but it took over an hour to find a ride, since only few cars passed by.<br /> <br /> *2024-01-08 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + option 4a/ Jens <br /> <br /> From what people have written before, I thought I would find a more impressive stretch. Up to Neri and Hector's house it is a gravel road in the forest with no views. <br /> <br /> There is a bus from Currine at 2pm that goes all the way to Rupumeica Bajo. There may be more buses, I didn't ask. <br /> <br /> Up to km 45 (Hector's house) there is a good water supply. Starting from the house ( their friend Erwin housitting, offered water). <br /> I only found water at the marked spot at about km 55. There was only a very small stream, more like a puddle that might dry up soon. <br /> <br /> There was no water around the volcano until about 5 km from the refuge. <br /> The refuge has no water. The small stream next to it dried up a few kilometres before. Bring water from there if you want to stay overnight. <br /> <br /> I climbed the volcano on the west side (option 4a). It was scree all the way up. I thought about turning back more than once, but the view was worth it. The descent on the other side was a bit easier. I &quot;skied&quot; down the snowy slopes. <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-18 / 5 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + RR (Variant D, E) / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> <br /> First things first: This section was absolutely spectacular!<br /> <br /> Water: We filled our 3L of water each whenever we could and didn’t need to worry; snow from 1350m<br /> <br /> We started packrafting at GPT19 start point but had to abandon Lago Maihue after 2km, as head winds were too strong. We hiked south on RH until a bus took us to Rupumeica Bajo. We stayed at the campsite ($) at -40.3143, -71.9913. The owners live in the house across the road.<br /> <br /> The next morning we crossed with the packraft to wp Lake {19} [9.6/90]. From there it is a long but enjoyable hike along MRs to wp Bridge {19} [37.3/296] where we camped for the night. Recommend to hitchhike this part if you can, as the heat and heavy backpack (due to full food supplies), made this road walking tiring - and you will need your strength and endurance later!<br /> There is a water point at -40.3757, -72.0647.<br /> <br /> The next day we went along RR and met Hector and Neri on our way to their place. They were heading out in their truck but we had a short and lovely chat with them. We passed the two locked gates on Option D and connected by Option E back on RR. We camped at -40.4721, -72.1247 at 1100m, a nice flat spot in the upper part of the forest. It is less than an hour from wp Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] where we refilled the next morning. <br /> <br /> Breaking out of the forest into the plateau was breathtaking. Snow was mushy and walkable with trail shoes and hiking poles. Progress is slow. Keep a close eye on your gps to avoid backtracking. It took us 2 days to cross the plateau and we camped a night there with initially windy conditions that eased. There are a few good flat spots around the halfway mark on the plateau. Snow also gradually decreases after the pass and trail visibility improves. We then stayed a night at wp Refuge Without Water {19} [73.8/1378]. There is water at the refuge now, but filling up at one of the water points further up felt easier and more accessible to us.<br /> <br /> From the refuge down to the end of GPT 19 is steep at first, but good and easily findable trail (approximately 3 hours).<br /> <br /> *2023-12-04 to 2023-12-07 / 4 days / Packrafting / SOBO /RR (Option 04A) / Roman<br /> <br /> Hitchhiked to started packrafting here Port {19} [2.9/103] (Puerto Maqueo) easy access to water. Very good conditions (10:00 am). Went on land and followed the RR. Very good condition. Like in 02/23 locked gate and no one around at Hector and Neri’s place. Pitched tent at -40.480692, -72.135769. Snow starts at 1350m. Water was available. I would recommend having sunglasses (preferably glacier sunglasses), suncream, and a hat. The next 2 days were hiking on snow with constant snow exposure. The snow was a bit slushy but manageable. The trail was due to the snow not visible but you can just follow the GPS. Went from the RR via Option 04A to the Volcano and back. Slept at the Hut. Water was available due to the melting of snow. The way down is easy. Hitchhiked to Entre Lagos.<br /> <br /> Overall: good trail, nice views no major challenges would definitely recommend it.<br /> <br /> Contact: https://linktr.ee/RundW<br /> <br /> *2023-Nov-29 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH-02A + OH-02 + RR (Variant D, E and G) / Tom Pieper<br /> <br /> I first attempted to make my way to the plateau by Option 02A. This is not possible as the entire lower trail lies within the private park Parque Futangeu. The entrance fee would be $15.000, camping is forbidden and access to the upper parts is blocked by private property of one of the park owners. Park is strictly fenced and has a guarda del parque. So this is definetly no Option for ascent but maybe for leaving the plateau NOBO. I easily catched a ride on Option 2 to the RR. The gate to Neri and Hectors place was locked, therefore i passed the two locked gates on Option D and connected by Option E back on RR. As others mentioned water is scarce all the way up, but a little creek can be easily accessed from Option D just 200 m after Option E has branched (S 40° 25.785' W 072° 06.839'). Good camping spots when Option G reenters RR. Saw wild boar nearby. Snow starts apruptly at 1300 m within the forest. Mystic atmosphere but hard walking. Lots of patagonian woodpeckers around. Snow increases gradually and I decided to leave my backpack near the Water ? {19} [53.5/1330] which was nearly covered by snow but provides already fresh water. At the rim of the plateau (1550 m) the views were spectacular but the plateau is impassable right now as it has meters of snow there. So I returned back the same way to Rininahue.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-04 to 2023-Feb-07 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Great section, after a lot of forrest trails it was nice to see again something totally different and quite similiar to the landscape of GPT06. We were a little irresponsible with the water so better plan carefully.<br /> <br /> The beginning around the lake is just road walking with quite a lot of traffic, depending on the weekday, but its better to avoid it, we didn’t feel always safe with more cars passing by. There should be ferry that goes on the other side of the lake. Good restaurant at around km 2-3, the one with empanadas to go in the house above the restaurant (reealy good). We camped behind a gate at km 5.7, below one of the miradors. At Hueinahue we went down to the beach we have seen from the road, hoping to buy some food, but nothing was there except of crowds of people. We crossed the river to get back on the road, but it would have been better to return back really. MR continues for the next almost 30km, but its quite nice walking through forrest and around settlements. Food truck with empanadas and some drinks at km 23 was a nice surprise, but might be there only in summer. Great place to camp by laguna at km 31, but its shores are all muddy.<br /> <br /> Bridge at km 37 is the last reliable source of water so keep it in mind! When we got to the start of option 03, there was only locked gate and no one around at Hector and Neri’s place. Because of that we went with 03, and after 2 locked gates joined the CC variant and back on the RR. There is probably some tiny stream at the CC part but not easily accessible. The way up on the RR already was relatively easy with a few fallen trees that you can always walk around. We were hoping to find some water at km 53.5 or the one next to it but it was all dry already, just like many creeks that we have seen over the treeline. This became a problem for us, and the first water we found was at the big plateau you have to descent to in order to continue to the lava field and further. We didnt turn left at the beginning but continued straight to a few snowfields that are still big enough and on a hot day we could gather water from the snowmelt. From that point its about half a day to the next water (close to the start of descent down to the refugio and valley) so again good to take as much as you can. We didn’t have to pay anything at the end of the section as someone told us, this might be the case only in NOBO direction, or it was because we went there later in the evening. We camped on a yard of family living across the road for 5k CLP, they sell some basic food and its possible to have a shower there as well. Bus to Osorno and Entre Lagos as well leaves early in the morning around 7 AM we think but rather ask.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> * 2023-JAN-10 - 2023-JAN-13 / 3 days / hiking / RR + volcan summit + termas - round trip from south / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé :<br /> <br /> I wanted to precise one thing that I haven't understand : Santiago has a restaurant, near the road and a refuge (waypoint refuge no water). You have to check in at the restaurant to pay the 15k CLP /pers. This price includes a night in the refuge (there is nobody in there), access to volcano and a night at the camping near the restaurant (with cold shower for free).<br /> <br /> Day 1 - Refugio El Caulle - 8km - +1000m/-0m First day going up to the refuge. We took the bus from Osorno, the only one going to Anticura leaves at 6pm but you have plenty of others going to Termas de Puyehue (going to Aguas Calientes). From there, 15km of hitchike, very easy. Then, the rise until the refuge in a beautiful and green forest. There is water upward the refuge, 15min walk.<br /> <br /> Day 2 - Volcan Puyehue + camp El Domo - 13km - +1300m/-1100m The caldeira of the volcano is superb ! the path is well traced until the summit. Then, we did the round of it and went down on the opposite side. We camped at the &quot;El Domo&quot; camp, located on Santiago's map, around km XX. Water is available just before it.<br /> <br /> Day 3 - Termas - 17km - +700m/-900m Under the rain, it's not easy to navigate on the volcanic plateau. I would say that a navigation device is mandatory. Hot springs are very enjoyable after such a day under the rain. There is drinkable water before the hot springs (1km).<br /> <br /> Day 4 - Back to Restaurant El Caulle on RR - 32km - +1300m/-2400m A long day, even longer under the rain but doable. The restaurant was closed when we arrived (a Monday at 7pm). Santiago selled us basic food (pasta, sauce, eggs (a bit expensive)) and he opened the doors of his barn for us to sleep dry. The only bus going down from here to Osorno leaves at 7:30am.<br /> <br /> *2023-JAN / Frank<br /> <br /> Option OH-001 crossing Rio Corrigue: this section barely exists as large parts have been taken back by bamboo. It is now a severe &amp; sustained bamboo bash requiring huge effort to crawl, break &amp; climb through at about 1 kilometre per hour. Try RR or other options instead.<br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-05 / 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank<br /> <br /> I came from GPT18. Before Lago Maihue there are a couple of small shops &amp; a restaurant. As you go around Lago Maihue on the road there are a lot of $ campsites, then the road climbs high above the lake before dropping to Rio Hueinahue. I forded the river easily &amp; went down to Camping Rupimeca at the lake, about 1KM off route. Good cheap campsite, no electricity but they will charge your phone at the house. Next day I continued to Hector &amp; Neri's house but they weren't around. I went in on the alternative route which goes right on a road just before Hector &amp; Niri's place. It's marked private with two locked gates but there was no one there. Stream near the road but difficult to access - running in a gully &amp; blocked by vegetation. After several attempts I was able to access the stream higher up &amp; camped nearby. Just before the alternative route rejoins the RR from Hector &amp; Niri's house there is a stream, if you drop down right a few hundred metres from RR onto the alternative route here you can get water. The water sources marked near the treeline were tiny stagnant pools &amp; they are a bit off trail. However, in early January there was plenty of water above treeline from snowmelt. Did the spectacular traverse in one long day. The snowfields could be traversed or avoided fairly easily. Fill up with water before you descend to the hut. There was no water at the hut &amp; on the trail out to the road the marked water sources were only tiny trickles. Carry a few litres of water up to the hut if you are NOBO. There was no one at the entrance &amp; I hitched out to Entre Lagos.<br /> <br /> *2023-JAN-28 - 2023-JAN-30 / 3 days / hiking / NOBO / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> Much has already been explained in great detail, so we will be brief: We saw no one at the entrance and therefore walked through without paying an entrance fee. The two water streams in the forest are dry and there is no water directly at the refugio. However, there are still snowfields about 1-2 km further up from the refugio which provide enough water. There was still enough water at 68.6. After that, there were still isolated snowfields, but partly further away from the trail. We spent the night between the lava rocks at S 40.53312 / W 72.16869, as there were still snowfields there, which we used for drinking water. After that, there was no more water until we reached Neri and Hector's house. The two of them were so nice and filled up our water. They charged an entrance fee of 5,000 CLP per person. Because of language barriers, we weren't sure if it was voluntary or because we couldn't show a ticket from the other entrance. Anyway, we paid and moved on. Hitchhiking to Rininahue went quite well once you are on the bigger Minor Road T-851.<br /> <br /> *2023-JAN-26 - 2023-JAN-29 / 4 days / hiking / SOBO / Riñinahue (option 2) - Volcán Puyehue (option 4B) - Licán / Anna &amp; Christopher<br /> <br /> From Panguipulli we took a bus at 8:40 am to Los Lagos (on a thursday). From there we took another bus to Paillaco at 11:30 am and got off at the cruce Reumén/Futrono. The connecting bus to Futrono passed there around 12:20 pm. From Futrono we took a bus to Llifén at 13:15 pm. From there we hitchhiked until the junction of Option 2 with the RR at km 37 approx. and arrived there around 17:00 pm. On the way up to Los Venados there is one accessible creek approx. 2,5 km before Los Venados. When we arrived there the gate following the RR was locked. As we didn't wanted to dry camp (we didn't fill up our bottles at the creek) we tried to get access to the river following variant D. It's definitely not possible to get water there, the forest is too dense and its getting too steep to climb down. So we went back and luckily after a while Hector and Neri arrived. They offered us to stay at their Refugio the night as it was already quite late.<br /> <br /> The way up to the plateau is a good path. We collected some water from the northern &quot;water?&quot; waypoint around km 53,5. As Véronica mentioned there are only some shallow pools, but with clear water. On the plateau there are still some creeks from the snowmelt, but not that many so better carry some water. Around km 65 we saw in the valley on the left hand side a nicely flowing creek (off the RR) and decided to camp there. Its a detour of about 15-20min.<br /> <br /> The next day we woke up to a clear blue sky and therefore decided to climb the volcano and to take the surrounding variant. On the ascent we didn't follow the GPS, which was a bad idea, as we ended up in a steep scree traverse/sketchy rock climbing. So it took us a lot of time to reach the ridge. Once there we enjoyed the amazing views! Walking around the crater got more and more tiring with all the ups and downs, but it's worth it! It was our favorite section so far. We collected some snowmelt water on the descent and camped at the Refugio (no water there).<br /> <br /> The path down from the Refugio is in good conditions. From Licán we got a ride directly to Puerto Montt.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> *2021-Dec-19 / Molly and Melissa / GPT21 Northbound - RR + ascent of summit:<br /> 4 days - skipping some of the gravel road along the lake<br /> <br /> We went from Osorno to Puyehue, as the bus driver said that no buses went any further. From there we were quickly able to hitch a ride to Lican which is the start of the minor road. It's a couple of kilometres before Anticura. It would also be possible to walk, from Puyehue to Lican is about 10 km. We walked up to the restaurant and met a man who lives close by, he told us Santiago wasn't home, but he could take our payment. As others have written, Santiago wants to know the names and approximate schedule of everyone going towards the volcano. We slept at his camp site as well, it has flushing toilets and showers in a shed, it doesn't cost extra.<br /> <br /> Volcán Puyehue:<br /> <br /> In short: Snow is no longer a problem, but there is still enough to create little streams, so carrying 1-1,5 L of water each was fine for us. Beautiful but tough. Navigation is okay when using the GPS.<br /> <br /> The first of the little streams marked as water on the GPS while climbing up through the forest was dry, the other was still running. We passed the refugio, which has quite a few bunk beds without mattresses. From there the path towards the volcano is quite clear through the grass, and is marked with frequent cairns further up so the navigation here is quite easy all the way to the top. We left our bags on the main route which was a good decision, it was very steep with very loose small volcanic rocks. The view from up there was amazing. When continuing past the volcano, there is a trail for about three kilometres more, but after that it's pure cross country. With the GPS it's not that hard to navigate, but clear weather is necessary and the terrain is tough, especially when passing between the lava fields. We found that the Locus Maps showed a different route than the GPS. We still found quite a few streams, especially when still near the volcano, if there's snow there's probably still some water. The snow is no problem for walking though. The first water? was pretty big and will probably last some time, but the second was really small, but there are several other streams as well. There's also more water in the afternoon when more snow has melted. All in all climbing from the camping, climbing the volcano and traversing the plateau took us two days of walking. It could be done in less, but would be tough. We got quite sunburned even though we used sunscreen, it's very exposed!<br /> <br /> We had no trouble with finding the trail on the other side, it already starts being clear before reaching the forest. After that it's mostly just easy walking on gravel roads. When going northbound there is an alternative route around Hector and Neri's place that seems easier, we opted for the overgrown route to their house because we wanted to see if we could buy some bread, they didn't sell any though, but we had a nice chat with Hector as he let us through their locked gate. They later drove us about a kilometre when they passed us. The gravel road was a bit tedious and very hot, and hard to find good camping spots. The one marked on the GPS was behind a fence and some dense vegetation, but a little earlier it was possible to go through a gate to a little lake. We were told that there were many pumas and that we couldn't drink the water from the lake, we drank from a little stream going to the lake instead, and we didn't see any pumas.<br /> <br /> Rio Hueinahue:<br /> <br /> We were able to cross the river without problems, it went to mid- thigh height and we are both around 160 cm tall. The current wasn't too strong either. We have had quite a few warm, dry days before.<br /> <br /> On the road along the lake we were passed by a bus going to Valdivia which we jumped on happily, so coming off the trail could not have been easier. It passed through Maihue and Futrono as well.<br /> <br /> *2021-Dec-03 / Alex Abramov / GPT19: Volcán Puyehue. Northbound.<br /> <br /> The &quot;Plateau&quot; still has a LOT of snow.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *Feb 2020 / Matthieu / RR + ascent of the summit + OH to the Hot Springs, Northbound<br /> <br /> Great section, amazing views, no technical difficulties with the trails and cross country..<br /> <br /> *16-01-2020 / Arnaud Debilly / Southbound 4 full days<br /> <br /> 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).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> * Small supermarket and frutaria in Curriñe in between section 17 and 18. Has everything for a resupply. Haven't checked for gas.<br /> <br /> *Nothing in Rupumeica. Little shops in Maqueo and Maihue. A lot of camping sites, free and payable, along the Lago Maihue.<br /> <br /> * 2023 -round trip from south / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé :<br /> Santiago has a restaurant, near the road and a refuge (waypoint refuge no water). You have to check in at the restaurant to pay the 15k CLP /pers. This price includes a night in the refuge (there is nobody in there), access to volcano and a night at the camping near the restaurant (with cold shower for free).<br /> <br /> To Restaurant El Caulle on RR - 32km - +1300m/-2400m. The restaurant was closed when we arrived (a Monday at 7pm). Santiago selled us basic food (pasta, sauce, eggs (a bit expensive)) and he opened the doors of his barn for us to sleep dry. The only bus going down from here to Osorno leaves at 7:30am.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> Stayed at Hector qnd Neri Refugio for the night.<br /> <br /> *2020 / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> In Anticura we found accommodation, but we didn't look for resupply, which is probably not so easy...<br /> <br /> *2020 / Arnaud Debilly <br /> We ressuplied in Curiñe, with a minimatket there.<br /> We slept in the cabañas of Carmen Panguilef (+56 984 54 83 03) in rupumeica bajo who is very welcoming and a proud mapuche.<br /> <br /> WATER : <br /> NO WATER at the first refuge down the volcano, you got to go a little bit further up and west. &quot;Water 12?&quot; 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. <br /> 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.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *2023 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> Bus to Osorno and Entre Lagos as well leaves early in the morning around 7 AM we think but rather ask.<br /> <br /> * 2023 / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> From Panguipulli we took a bus at 8:40 am to Los Lagos (on a thursday). From there we took another bus to Paillaco at 11:30 am and got off at the cruce Reumén/Futrono. The connecting bus to Futrono passed there around 12:20 pm. From Futrono we took a bus to Llifén at 13:15 pm. From there we hitchhiked until the junction of Option 2 with the RR at km 37 approx. <br /> <br /> *2021/ Molly and Melissa <br /> We went from Osorno to Puyehue, as the bus driver said that no buses went any further. From there we were quickly able to hitch a ride to Lican which is the start of the minor road. <br /> <br /> *2020 / Arnaud Debilly <br /> To avoid the 15 first kilometers we took the bus from puerto Maihue to Rupumeica Bajo.<br /> <br /> *2021 / Molly and Melissa <br /> On the road along the lake we were passed by a bus going to Valdivia which we jumped on happily, so coming off the trail could not have been easier. It passed through Maihue and Futrono as well.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> *You have to pay the entry of the private property in Lican, at the camping/restaurant of the base of the volcano (10 000 CLP). The owner is called Santiago.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT19 - Volcán Puyehue]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354781.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354783.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354857.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354866.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354871.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354758.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354765.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354768.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354769.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_13_Volcán_Puyehue_109354773.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT18_(Lago_Pirihueico)&diff=113796 2024-01-25T16:00:15Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-21 to 2024-Jan-24 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {18-A} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> About the ferry and time schedule in 2024,<br /> <br /> Tourist information center (-39.87183, -71.88962), you can buy the ferry tickets to Puerto Pirehueico at here, 1150 CLP one way. They also help me charging the power bank, super thank you to them!<br /> <br /> Ferry from Puerto Fuy to Puerto Pirehueico:<br /> Monday(07:00,13:30,18:00), Tuesday to Thursday(09:00,13:30,18:00), Friday(07:00,12:30,17:00), Saturday and Sunday(08:00,12:30,17:00)<br /> <br /> Ferry from Puerto Pirehueico to Puerto Fuy:<br /> Monday(09:00,16:00,20:30), Tuesday to Thursday(11:30,16:00,20:30), Friday(09:00,15:00,19:30), Saturday and Sunday(10:30,15:00,19:30)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Resupply in Puerto Fuy,<br /> <br /> (-39.87320, -71.89134), (-39.87307, -71.89179), (-39.87373, -71.89390), (-39.87373, -71.89551), (-39.87375, -71.89775) : five tiny shops, combine together it is enough to resupply.<br /> <br /> It is a tourist town, so lot of accommodation here, cabins or campground. Also some nice restaurants too.<br /> <br /> When you are waiting the ferry, you can go for a boat tour, kayak trip, or take a nap on the beach under a big tree(-39.87178, -71.88877) like me.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> It is about 1.5 hour on ferry. You can charge your device on it, total eight electric outlet at each corners of passenger's room.<br /> <br /> Ferry, settlement, food[25.1/602] : lot of tourists go to (-40.02541, -71.72242) buy drinks after the ferry, maybe they are thirsty. Another tourist information center(-40.02482, -71.72216), i think you can buy tickets at here too. A tiny shop(-40.02457, -71.72167), closed on Sunday...OSM said, camping spot is here(-40.02416, -71.72151). I saw some cabins nearby too.<br /> <br /> X[26.0/628] : &quot;locked gate&quot;, locked by a wire, you can take 1 minute open it easily. Or you can climb over it directly.<br /> <br /> At here, the road is clear, easy walk and easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km26.85 : barbed wire fence, a hole at right side, go through it.<br /> <br /> Km27.1 - km27.4 : old road blocked by 2 set of blowdowns, no use anymore. But you can keep going and follow the side trail beside blowdowns go around them easily, go right and go left.<br /> <br /> Km29.3 : bridge and small stream(-40.03084, -71.74330) flowing good with clear water, after you cross the bridge about 10m, a side trail at left side leads you to the water, it is a little overgrown.<br /> <br /> Km31.4 : a tiny stream flowing very low with clear water across and flowing on the road, before it flowing on the road, there is a tiny spot like faucet, easy to collect. But I'm not sure it'll dry up or not.<br /> <br /> Km32.5 : junction, and a grassland flat spot here. Can fit 1-2 tents and surrounding by trees, good wind protection.<br /> <br /> But, better camping spot at (-40.00812, -71.74802), turn right at the junction and follow the road to beach, then turn left walking on the beach 1 minute you'll arrive there. Can fit 3-4 tents with fire ring, fire pit, benches, log seats, picnic table and a platform for lantern. The best spot is under a tree with not much sandy and excellent lake views. But this camping spot is face to Puerto Pirehueico, people at other side can see what you are doing if they have telescope.<br /> <br /> A small hut with fire ring and seats at (-40.00855, -71.74885), still in ok condition, BUT someone made it to be a toilet, toilet paper inside with some...<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Bridge[33.9/716] : cross El Condor on an old bridge, side trail before the crossing on left side to the water.<br /> <br /> Bridge[37.1/1012] : cross El Pescado, old bridge is broken, water up to ankle. BUT i use 2 boards from the old bridge to make a new board bridge here, so dry feet crossing now, i think it can stand at least in 23/24 season. Still some more boards left, maybe next year another sobo hiker will make his/her own one. A small camping spot can fit a very small single person tent with fire pit before the crossing, if you clear out the fire pit, it'll be much more area. This bridge also is a road condition changing point, after here, the road sometimes become a little overgrown, but still easy walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km37.45 : cross El Latintica on an old bridge.<br /> <br /> Km37.6 : cross El Chucao on a damaged bridge or go down to right side for wet feet crossing.<br /> <br /> Km39.15 : cross El Zorro on an old bridge. Another super old bridge is broken. A fire ring just before the crossing, but i didn't notice any camping spot, maybe camping on the road?<br /> <br /> Km41.7 : views start!<br /> <br /> Km42.9 : views of Lanín!<br /> <br /> Pass[43.0/1485] : didn't find any flat or camping spot nearby. Road is flat, but under the cliff, not recommended.<br /> <br /> Km43.4 : views of Volcán Villarrica!<br /> <br /> Km43.8 : finally, views of Volcán Mocho and Volcán Choshuenco!<br /> <br /> Km44.05 : flat sandy spot(-39.98691, -71.81043) at the sharp turning with views of Volcán Mocho (but 60% covered by trees).<br /> <br /> Km44.85 : i find a spring(-39.98563, -71.81467). Water start flowing from here. Flowing barely, but with a puddle, easy to dip bottles collect water, cold, fresh, clear and taste good!<br /> <br /> Km45.75 : cross a bridge and water flowing low. Collectable at downstream.<br /> <br /> Km48.2 : cross a bridge and water flowing good. Side trail to water at left side before the crossing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> X[50.5/1090] : road junction, also the junction of RR and {18-02A}(only for emergency exit), road condition changing point, after here, the road become overgrown and grassy, sometimes with blowdowns need to go around or step over. ok to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km51.15 : flat spot can fit 1-2 tents beside a big tree.<br /> <br /> Km52.45 : road junction(-39.98877, -71.85969), go straight for RR, turn right and walk 60m to stream (-39.98827, -71.86003), flowing good and clear. Camping spot(-39.98871, -71.85990) can fit 1 tent surrounded by 3 side bushes at left side, when you turn right just start walking to stream.<br /> <br /> Km53.4 : rock hopping cross a stream, flowing low with clear water.<br /> <br /> Km54.8 : barbed wire fence along the road, many of them already broken.<br /> <br /> Km55.05 : cross a stream on an old bridge, flowing nice with clear water, side dirt road after the crossing 50m on right side to the water.<br /> <br /> Km55.2 : old cabin(-40.00612, -71.86756) without door and windows, many broken beds inside, have one bed in good condition but i think you would not sleep there, because the roof look like not reliable, maybe collapse in some moments. This area is planting lot of trees by some people. Maybe they have a good way come to here?<br /> <br /> One more old cabin and hut nearby, you can walk on a bridge(-40.00634, -71.86859) to them.<br /> <br /> Old cabin(-40.00679, -71.86928) with 5 rooms, no doors no windows, looks like room no.5 still can use, floor is ok and with some rain protection.<br /> <br /> Small hut(-40.00656, -71.86934) with a door and no windows, it can be use for emergency if need. Good roof for complete rain protection, and clean floor, 1 bench and 1 chair inside too. Can fit 2-3 people sleeping on the floor.<br /> <br /> Camp[55.4/871] : it is very hot and lot of fries when i was there on 7pm, so i keep going.<br /> <br /> X[56.4/850] : i sleep at the spot(-40.01544, -71.86674) that Hermann and Coline said, it is really nice, thank you! The spot is on the road that going west, just after the junction 20m, covered by 2 sides of trees, dry flat spot can fit 2 tents. Symphony by frogs at night, but not too close, so it is a good sleeping music. Excellent!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km56.8 : super huge blowdown, climb over(use small tree for step) at left side or crawl at right side.<br /> <br /> Km57.7 : road junction, go straight(right) for RR, road condition changing point, after here, the road become much grassy, still ok to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km58.3 : cross a stream on a bridge, flowing nice with clear water, a side trail after the crossing 20m on left side, looks like can go to the water.<br /> <br /> X[61.1/875] : junction of RR and {18-01A}, road condition changing point, RR south of here, when the road go through grassland it of course grassy, but when it going under trees, it is in very good condition, just like the road in national park, easy to walk, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Bridge[64.2/652] : cross Río Curringgue on an old bridge, flowing nice with clear water, i stepped a side trail on the left side before the crossing, going to the stream collect water. Bee net in the middle of the bridge, be careful when you crossing.<br /> <br /> After the crossing, you'll see a cabin at your left side, it is locked, i didn't find any camping spot but a nice lunch spot sitting on the corridor of cabin.<br /> <br /> &quot;Road&quot; is behind the wooden fence, but no need to climb, go in the fence of cabin, then go around the shelter and picnic table, you'll rejoin the &quot;road&quot;.<br /> <br /> Km64.85 : GAME START, road condition changing point, road end here and become a single track trail, no more nice road under trees, much much much overgrown, some blowdowns block the way, but all of them you can find a side trail to go around(except one you need to take off your backpack and crawl under it), also even it is overgrown, but you still can keep walking on the trail, but much slower by pushing away the plants for upper body. I didn't feel need many navigating here, trail is not clear but still visible in most part, just walking, pushing away the plants, every 5 to 10 minutes make sure you still on the trail, that's all. Ok to walk, ok to follow. Also not really hot(because at 95% of time you are covered by forest) and lot of stream across the trail at this part, not necessary to carry lot water here.<br /> <br /> A huge old machine at here, coal or wood for fuel, have two big wheel on top, looks like is vapor turbine? Does anyone know what the machine is? And why it is here? It looks so great, please tell me if you know it, thank you for advance!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km66.65 : narrow dry riverbed going down, you can follow it to the river, a camping spot(-40.09412, -71.89251) can fit 1 tent just before the crossing. Cross the river and go upstream 20m, then you'll find the trail continues going, water up to half of calf.<br /> <br /> Km70.5 : real challenge start, BAMBOO forest! And bamboo tunnel, crawl under them!<br /> <br /> Km72.1 : some spot(-40.12864, -71.90433) you can pitch your tent when you walk out from the forest, not a good spot, but at least you can stay overnight here(with water too), better just for emergency use.<br /> <br /> From the comments, i didn't cross Rio Curringgue at ford[72.2/463] to RR, better stay on the same side, continues on {18-A}. Trail conditions just like before, but start at {18-A} km0.9, you'll find some old road trace.<br /> <br /> {18-A} 40m : old gate, go around it and go down to the stream(Estero El Africano) then cross it. Steep go down and loose sandy, be careful don't drop in the stream.<br /> <br /> Km0.4 : old fence with new barbed wire. Watch out, be careful of your feet when you step over it.<br /> <br /> Km0.9 : old road trace. Some more bamboo forest, bamboo tunnel and spike plants, and i cleared out most of spike plants that block the way. Close to end of overgrown!<br /> <br /> Km1.75 : road start, easy walk, easy to follow, i think you can find a spot for camping easily until next junction.<br /> <br /> Km2.4 : join a beautiful dirt road at junction, no more overgrown. I saw the blue sky again! Smile ;)<br /> <br /> Then rejoin RR at last.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Gate[78.5/354] : two dogs barking at me, but didn't see any people when i was there. Climb over a 1.8m locked gate.<br /> <br /> Km80.5 : another locked gate. Climb over it easily.<br /> <br /> Hot spring $ RR [81.4/301] : open hour: 09:30-17:30, 7000 CLP for adults.<br /> <br /> Hot spring,camp[82.3/284] : large camping area, can fit many many tents, hot spring not hot, just warm, perfect for soaking at noon. Nice spot beside the river.<br /> <br /> Km87.5 : tiny shop at junction.<br /> <br /> Km88.65 : tiny shop.<br /> <br /> Shop[93.3/214] : medium shop, good selection but not much in stock.<br /> <br /> Km93.6 : another shop(-40.22873, -72.00202), small, not much selection but better stock.<br /> <br /> Km94 : small shop.<br /> <br /> I talked with some locals, and they told me the road that go around Lago Maihue is in construction not safe to walk, better take the bus to Rupumeica Bajo, and the next bus is at 6pm, so I waited beside the road, but i didn't see any bus until 7pm.<br /> <br /> So i keep walking until shop[96.2/118] at Maihue, shop owner told me the bus is at 8pm. It is a mini shop, a lot a lot of drinks, but not much food.<br /> <br /> Finally, i take the bus at Maihue on 8:15pm. Arrive Rupumeica Bajo on 9pm, 1500 CLP. When i take off the bus, the driver told me there are some nice spots good for camping and swimming beside the lake, so i go west at GPT19 x[13.3/144].<br /> <br /> About the details, read GPT19's comment.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-01-06 / 1,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / new optio + option 2 + Option 1/ Jens <br /> <br /> I missed the ferry because the timetable has changed. It is now 8am, 12.30pm and 5pm. With poor visibility and a ferry booked for the early afternoon, I decided to take option 2. At the bridge in Fuy, the gate was closed and the guard wouldn't let me pass, even though I showed some leg. He called his boss who forbid me to pass. He explained that it was all private property. After discussing the route with him, he suggested I try a few kilometres further down the river. <br /> <br /> I crossed the other bridge, the gate was open. After about 10km a park ranger found me having lunch. He told me that the reserve was closed to visitors. The ranger was very friendly and helpful. After a little explanation he gave me permission to cross the reserve with the request that I report on illegal hunters and fishermen. I'm now an official CONAF undercover agent. He even offered me a lift. He really made my day after the disappointment of the ferry and the closed gate. <br /> <br /> Approximately at km 19 on option 1 is an abandoned hut that I used as a shelter from the rain. The river is not far away for water. <br /> <br /> The town of Currine, between sections 18 and 19, has a small supermarket and a Frutaria, where you can buy everything you need. I haven't checked for gas checked, though.<br /> <br /> Added ferry timetables down below.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-20 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR-MR OH-MR OH-BB&amp;TL RR-MR&amp;BB RR-MR / Hermann and Coline<br /> <br /> As we arrived at Futrono (north of the Lago Ranco), the Scotiabank indicated on Google Maps did not exist. We walked on the paved road until Llifén, where some of the campings indicated did not exist either. Maybe, we were too soon in the season... And the next night, we slept in a bus station on the way to Arquilhue.<br /> <br /> This is at the Bridge {18-01} [31.6/200], on the river Pillanleufu, that we started the GPT18. <br /> <br /> The first day, we went south to Curriñe (where we could resupply : lens, pasta, muesli, but no mais floor) and then Chabranco (where we bought &quot;pan&quot; to a lady who kindly offered us &quot;pan con crema de leche&quot;, &quot;tortillanas?&quot; and coffee).<br /> <br /> She explained us how to reach the gratis hot spring : there's a little &quot;gate&quot; on the left on the road going to the charged hot spring. We slept in the field nearby and the dew did not help our clothes to get dry...<br /> <br /> Some police men had come to us to check our passeports and to tell us to turn back, since the road was &quot;closed&quot;. We still went to the gate and ask the owners if we could cross there propriety. They accepted with joy and advised us not to take the Regular Road of the trail (west of the river) but better the OH-MR-I {18-A} [2.4+3.3].<br /> <br /> Now, there is a second gate on the way. Either you climb it, but it's pretty tall, or there's a hole in the fence on the right side (just in front of the river).<br /> <br /> After Santa Rosa, the trail began to turn from a Minor Road to a one-person-path. At some point, we had to fight with the bamboos. A macheta would have been useful, but not absolutely necessary, since it seemed that someone had pass a little time ago.<br /> <br /> We slept at 3kms of the staring point of RR-MR-V {18} [54.6/64.1+8.1] (which is reversed on the GPT files, since we went NOBO). In the Valdivian forest, we got stick to the GPS, but also looking carefully for clues in the landscapes : bamboos or trees cutted, cans or plastic on the branches. <br /> <br /> There are enough rivers all along the way not to carry too much on your back, but they can have change places from what's indicated on the map.<br /> <br /> The next day we finally got out of this amazing but mind demanding orientation game in the middle of a luxurious forest.<br /> <br /> We meet Daniel, doing the GPT Sobo with pack-crafting, at the crossroad before the Camp {18} [55.4/871]. It was a better place to sleep than the Camp {18} [55.4/871], specially if you find The Place, a rond area inbetween the trees, on the West side (which we did ... the next morning).<br /> <br /> After that, Daniel had told us it was a 4x4 road until the end. And it was true!, but we lost our awareness on the GPS and took the wrong road, going West towards OH-MR-I {18-02} [0.0+16.0]. We don't know if it actually the optional riad of the GPT, because we turned back to the RR-MR-V {18} [40.0/50.5+5.9].<br /> <br /> The mountains are high of course, but the up-hill are not that strong, since it was made for cars. We stopped at the Camp {18} [45.6+0.2/1319], where the river is hidden in the grass.<br /> <br /> The sun was nice all along, and the climat got dry with the altitude, so that we even walked on swon at the second pass, which was beautiful.<br /> <br /> The down-hill after is strong, and we took (again) the wrong road, as we arrived at the river Hua-Hum...<br /> <br /> We camped at the lake and joined Puerto Pirehueico the next morning, where you find ferries to Puerto Fuy even on Christmas (at 4pm) !<br /> <br /> There were lot's of tourist in there, making BBQ, smoking and fishing in the gratis camp (Christmas vacation). In the night, they were replaced by horses, cows and dogs, so be careful about your leftovers. Actually, there's a nice platform, with an astonishing view on the lake, at 1km on the RH-TL&amp;MR-V {17H} [31.1+4.4] (so starting the GPT17H).<br /> <br /> We didn't find gas in Puerto Fuy, even tough a van came from Neltume with big gas bottles, but found food in the little shops everywhere in the city - even tobacco. It's just expensive.<br /> <br /> There's a charged camping on the road 203 CH, where you can charge your batteries and phones for free, by just asking the owner.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-7/ 6 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP-LK-2 + RR-MR + RR-MR&amp;BB + OH-BB&amp;TL / Lauren &amp; Sebastian<br /> <br /> We were hosted by 2 friendly locals at Puerto Fuy who gave us a ride, cooked dinner and let us stay for a night. Where we launched the packraft, it‘s a quiet spot and we had no issues with authorities about entering the lake. Lago Pirihueico was scenic with strong backwind which allowed us to use our sail on a run and cross in half a day. Lunch break at the beautiful remote beach of Los Baños was splendid. We camped at Camp {18} [22.2/615] but would not recommend on hindsight as we wasted quite some time setting up the boat to get to the trail entry point and repacking. If we had known the trail head was a good campsite, we could have started hiking in the morning.<br /> <br /> The way up to the pass you will spot tarantulas and has no mentionable difficulties until 1300m where snow starts. The last 150m was still under a blanket of snow, however it was substantially less than what was reported by Tom 2 weeks ago, so walking was smooth but slow. Amazing views above the tree line greet you at the top! We camped at Camp {18} [55.4/871].<br /> <br /> We decided to stay on RR-MR&amp;BB to give the infamous bushbashing a try. After Bridge {18} [64.2/652] the path is single track with at first not much difficulty to navigate. This changes quickly, as in the dense forest there were many fallen large trees, which made wayfinding and passing through with the packrafting equipment a challenge. We camped at -40.0942, -71.8924 which was a decent flat spot next to the river.<br /> <br /> We cleared a path with our machete and gloves. They will be your best friends in the overgrown conditions. Progress was slowed down near the end of this segment as we crawled through bamboo tunnels. We forded at Ford {18} [72.2/463], demanding and unnecessary because on the other side there was no trail visible, only an impenetrable fortress of bamboo. Even the trail after the wall as mentioned by Frank is now taken over. We forded back and followed OH-BB&amp;TL which was a better choice. Horse tracks indicate frequent use by the settlers in this area. We camped at intersection of OH-BB&amp;TL-V and OH-MR-I.<br /> <br /> The reward for 2 days in the dense forest was an amazing campsite with hot springs. We stayed an extra night there and an old man told us we can buy eggs from the house with the wooden gate you have to climb over. The remaining part to Lago Maihue we mostly hitchhiked as much of the road is now asphalt. There are several well-stocked shops along the way to resupply. Campsites and restaurants further down at Lago Maihue are amazing and there are buses to Futrono and Llifen if you have time to explore the area. An enjoyable end to this section!<br /> <br /> <br /> * Recommendation Jan Dudeck in November 2023: Based on the STRAVA Heat Global Heatmap (https://www.strava.com/heatmap#11.72/-71.93115/-40.05048/hot/all) the route GPT18 Option 1 is more used. It remains unclear if this route gets hikers in the right-of-way dispute. Anyway, it seams worthwhile attempting this route especially when walking southbound. This should avoid demanding bush bashing and also prevents some more difficult river crossings.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-22 / 4 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RR / Tom Pieper<br /> <br /> After section 17P I continued on that section. Had no issues with the armada de Chile. I guess you can prevent problems by inflating the packraft at the park/camping spot as indicated in the packrafting track files (some trees provide shelter, too). The crossing of the lake was amazing. I scouted a potential emergency camp site at (S 30° 53.353' W071° 50.302') with a little creek and an abandoned track that winds out into the mountains but not investigated the track further. The Camp {18} [7.9+0.4/625] is fantastic. Nice views and beach. Next day I continued to Camp {18} [22.2/615]. Some fisherman are around in the afternoon at this part of the lake. Had a nice chat with three of them - the lake is famous for its trouts. Saw also some close to the shore in shallow water. Next day I went ashore at RP-TL-V {18} [22.9+0.1] and continued regular route. The track is in good condition (only a few small trunks) despite the second Bridge {18} [37.1/1012] is collapsed. But the river can be forded easily instead. Snow starts at 1200 m a soon became a problem. As the ascent to Pass {18} [43.0/1485] lies on the southern site, snow is retained on the broad but winding track forming snow shields of 1-3 m thickness. Saying that, the ascent is possible but exhaustive. I only went to the pass and returned as up there the amount of snow gets massive an the track is covered completely under steep snowy flanks. I guess it to be better on the descent on the northern side but I did not investigated. I camped on the track for one night and continued the next day to the shore where I landed the day before. Met a group of 15 mountainbiking Chilenos who said they have to make it to Puerto Fuy over that track, but I do not know if and how they achived. You can encounter Chilean Ocelot Tarantula and Darwin's frog directly on the track close to the lake. Next day I tooked the RH-MR-V {18} [26.0+6.5] to Puerto Pirehueico and toked the ferry back to Puerto Fuy.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * Recommendation Frank in January 2023: Option OH-001 crossing Rio Corrigue: this section barely exists as large parts have been taken back by bamboo. It is now a severe &amp; sustained bamboo bash requiring huge effort to crawl, break &amp; climb through at about 1 kilometre per hour. Try RR or other options instead<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-04 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 18-A / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Ferry from Pt Fuy leaves 4 times a day (schedule posted to fb group) but in high season it seems to be sold out quickly - at 09:30 we were able to buy tickets only for the last one that day and there was a big line… some people might have a reservation, but we are not sure if its possible to book in advance. The price is a little over 1000 CLP, payment only with cc. However we asked at the 13:30 ferry if we can take it since we have just backpacks and don’t even need a seat, and there was no problem, the ferry had way more seats than people anyway. Possible to charge electronics there and buy drinks. On the other side are 2 accomodation options - cabaña and basic rooms in residence house that are for 40k CLP for 3 bed room and 30k CLP for 2 single bed room, incl. private bathroom with hot water. Basic shop is a little overpriced so better to buy in Pt Fuy. Good options for eating - huge sandwiches, empanadas and local beer in the wooden kiosks where most of the people from ferry go.<br /> <br /> We continued the next day, jumping over a gate and crawling under a barbed wire fence after. The way to the pass is a minor road through nice forrest. From X point at km 50.5 the trail becomes a little less visible for the next 4km with some fallen trees and branches here and there, but still nice walking. Fun begins at camp km 64.1 - trail becomes gradually more and more overgrown, eventhough its not so hard to follow it, we were progressing really slow. At the end its a lot of crawling close to the ground to get under all the bamboos, and very tropical conditions in our case.<br /> <br /> We were not sure which route is the best one to follow after, so we started with RR, but decided to leave it after first few meters after the ford as it was densly overgrown. Thanks to Molly and Melis comment we took the optional route on the other side and it was really close to normal trail, what a pleasent surprise for us! Someone had work on it recently, there were new barbed wires at the beginning where you have to crawl under the fence, but from there only a few little overgrown parts. After 2.5 km you join a 4x4 road and that goes all the way to the gate. We were again finishing late in the evening to reach the camp with thermas, and before the gate we met a car with english-speaking locals who looked surprised to see us at first, but showed us the way and advised us to ask the guard to open the gate for us. When we reached the gate, we saw light in the guards house, but decided to climb over the gate, that was locked at the time. After around 1.5 km we came to a house that was also secured by a wooden gate, easy to climb over. Free camp with hot springs has a lot of space and there were some locals (friday evening), even more came in the morning. Pools have warm but not hot water which is perfect for a bath with view. <br /> <br /> Unmarked small shop is at the beginning of the paved road and many more shops and places to eat on the main route to the lake. The marked shop at km 93.3 has good supplies and prices.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-04 to 2023-Jan-06 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Zach + Valentin<br /> <br /> After meeting in Bolivia, we met up again in Puerto Fuy. Dubious section selection for Valentin’s first multi day hike. We took the 09:00 super scenic ferry to Puerto Pirehueico. Another vote for Mané’s empanadas de pescado. After hopping over the signless fence the trail follows an old road bed with a gentle grade for a day and a half: one last dip in the lake, a nice woods vibe, big old trees, some light caressing of bushes, and flowers galore. My paddle blade made an excellent Tábano (horsefly) swatter for the open fields. Views at the pass were rewarding but brief. After the bridge and cabin at 64.2 the bamboo bumping began. A machete would have been cathartic. The regular route trail (RR-TL-V {18} [62.7/72.2+2.1]) was the whackiest. Gaps in the trees allowed sufficient sunshine for walls of bamboo to grow. It was usually possible to see the old treadway but slow goings averaging less than 1 km/hr. “Termas➡️” was written in red on a tree around (-40.1600, -71.9206) but we didn’t investigate. We didn’t see (RR-TL-V {18} [67.6/77.2+1.3]) and forded when the road reached the river, shimmying under barbed wire on the other side. Later we saw the riverside gate a bit south of the southernmost “ford?” location. No problems with guards or property owners. The termas naturales were a splendid end to Valentin’s first backpacking trip. We got a ride out from a couple at the hot springs.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-03 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; optional route between Estero El Africano and waypoint &quot;Guard&quot; / Frank <br /> <br /> The first 40KM are on an old jeep track. There are some fallen trees but you can generally get round them easily. At Camp 133 the ground is rough &amp; I didn't find a good camping spot. Instead a little before the camp I crossed the stream &amp; 200 metres downstream there are two huts. The smaller one is in good condition &amp; I slept on the floor. Saw wild boar nearby. You cross the river on a bridge to a hut, continuing on a trail that is partly overgrown with young bamboo. Bush bashing is mostly easy. Also some fallen trees &amp; 2 very short sections of severe bamboo bashing.<br /> <br /> Crossed Rio Curringue near Estero Africano to continue on optional trail 001. If you follow track file 001 after the river crossing you come to an impenetrable wall of bamboo. Instead I went downstream about 40 metres &amp; by a small wall I cut up onto the trail. It gets clearer as you go up but soon disappears in the bamboo forest. Micro navigation is required as if you break through on the route you may come to a partially clear section where you can walk upright but breaking off route generally leads to more bamboo. This section was the most overgrown I encountered on GPT1-40. A machete would not be very useful as the bamboo is growing in solid walls. When you get to 002 it is a clear jeep track &amp; 003 is also good. Took me 9 hours to get from camp 134 to 135. It would be best to avoid crossing Rio Curringue &amp; stay on RR. The alternative route which splits from RR at camp 134 may also be viable. Camped on a small layby above where optional route 003 descends to the river. Easy river crossing on day 3 &amp; I walked out by waypoint &quot;guard&quot; The guard was at the house near the gate but he just waved &amp; the gate was open.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-25 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / Molly and Melissa <br /> <br /> Good: You dive deep into old forests, it feels like true jungle. Many beautiful flowery meadows. Beautiful views on the last-ish part before the lake + the lake. We didn't meet anyone after crossing the gate. Nice hot springs in the beginning. The ferry trip itself<br /> Bad: Quite slow to get through a section of the forest - definitely manageable. Feels very much like breaking in as you literally climb a huge fence. Forest may be a little repetitive for some<br /> <br /> GPT18:<br /> The first part marked as a minor road is now paved. <br /> We camped at the first hot springs without the dollar sign. It's a big field where you can camp, and the hot springs are really nice. There are several holes right next to the river, and the water has a nice temperature, not too hot, though probably still best when out of the sun. We didn't go to the other hot springs (Chihuío) where you have to pay, but it seems to be a big swimming pool of a kind. They close at 17:30.<br /> When continuing on the gravel road, several signs tell you that it's private property, and finally you get to a big gate next to a house. Maybe the guard's? No one was around when we came, though, and we climbed across the gate. From there we took the optional route along the gravel road, as you had to climb yet another gate to get to the regular route. When the gravel road split up, we picked the one closest to the river. It was nice and clear all the way, whereas the other one seemed very muddy. They met again, our route was behind a little gate that could easily be opened. From there, the optional route followed a very small trail, pretty overgrown, but still definitely doable. It seemed that someone had recently been through with a machete, we didn't need one. At one point we came to a barbed wire fence, and the trail seemed to continue along it. That was wrong, you have to cross the fence immediately, and the trail continues on the other side.<br /> We met the regular route by the river at two and decided to continue to the next spot marked as camp. That gave us a long day, the trail was still overgrown, though better than the previous, and it was slow going. When we came through it wasn't muddy though. There was nowhere to camp before the bridge. Right after, there is an abandoned field to the right of the route, the grass is quite long, but it's an okay camping site.<br /> The plant with bright orange flowers and white spots on the leaves hurt to the touch, like a stinging nettle.<br /> We saw strawberry plants everywhere, a nice section when they are in season!<br /> <br /> From there, the rest of the way is on an abandoned 4x4 track, it's never difficult to see, but a little overgrown in places. It climbs above the treeline where the view is very nice, but we were attacked by hordes of flies that went away as we walked back into the forest. We camped on the lake shore, it's a great place to swim.<br /> Puerto Pirihueico has several restaurants, we had empanadas at Donde Mané, they were great. <br /> <br /> The boat leaves everyday at 4 pm from Puerto Pirihueico and arrives at Puerto Fuy around 5 - too late for any busses. It seems you should buy tickets in the big building next to the lake? bus leaves for Panguipulli the next day around 7 am and 9 am - I think the last is at around 4 pm, and from there there are many busses to Valdivia. There are a ton of accomodation options and restaurants in Puerto Fuy.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH-01 / Matthieu <br /> <br /> Forest trail, a part technical and slow. The rest is nice and calm, easy to follow, for the ones liking the smell of fresh herbs, flowers, and the bees. <br /> <br /> -Track followed:<br /> I followed the recommendations of Martina Ivo Arnaud and Matus.<br /> Arriving on the RR, just before the waypoint &quot;Guards&quot;, there was a huge portal, closed. But not the usual portal easy to climb, the type of portal to say that you don´t want cars and walkers in. I decided to cross country straight north to the Rio Curringue and cross here to join the OH18-001. This OH is a big truck path, so no difficulties. I suspect that there are constructing a road north to Puerto Fuy on this side of the river. <br /> After the camp 135, The is a div follonwing the OH 001. There begins the little technical forest trail (good little horsetrail, well maintained by the locals, easy to follow but really muddy and a lot of up and downhill). It goes to the river Curringue againm that you have to cross, and join the RR after on the other side, until Camp 134. It personnally took me around 5 hours to go from camp 135 to Camp 134, so I would recommend not to begin this section at the end of the day. No need of the machete.<br /> After Camp 134, 4x4 road, easy to follow. Keep an eye on the GPS thow, lots of traps with other roads going everywhere, waiting for careless walke<br /> <br /> -Legality of this section ?:<br /> It seems unclear. Everything from Chihuiyo to Pirehueico/Puerto Fuy is part of the Huilo Huilo Parc. BUt the only part that you have to pay for seems to be the northern part, next to Neltume, where there is a lot of tourists. <br /> The optionnal road 001 seems free and I even crossed a chilean family at the camp 135, with their car, and they had a barbecue before around.<br /> After Camp 134, I crossed a car of Guardaparques : they just asked me where I came from and where I went, made sure that I had the GPS to not loose myself in the forest, and let me continue without discussion. So I guess that there is finally no problems with walking in this part of the parc.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-13 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH-01 + 02 + 03 between Estero El Africano and waypoint &quot;Guard&quot; / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Thanks to the previous comments of Arnaud and Matus we were prepared for the middle part of this section. At the Estero El Africano we didn't try long to find the regular route but crossed the Río Curringue to take optional route 001, 002 and 003 and got back to the regular route at the waypoint &quot;Guard&quot;.<br /> <br /> The whole stretch RR-MR-V@18-64.1+8.1 (from the waypoint &quot;Camp&quot; to the Estero El Africano) is a muddy trail, no minor road, which makes quite a difference in hiking time calculation.<br /> <br /> We didn't really look for resupply, accommodation or transportation opportunities in Curriñe or Puerto Maihue but at the moment in high season it's very easy to hitchhike to Futrono, where you find everything, plus regular busses to Valdivia.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-5 / 1 day / Packrafting / SOBO / OP Lago Pirihueico only / Shaun C <br /> <br /> Packrafted Lago Pirihueico only - as add-on to Section 17P. Didn’t hike any part of Section 18. At Puerto Fuy, an official of the Armada/Navy said solo kayaking on the lake was prohibited, but after a 10 minute conversation I convinced him to let me do it. Key was saying that I, not Navy, bore responsibility. Lake is stunning, especially at dawn.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-16 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Arnaud Debilly <br /> <br /> 4 days with one day off due to rain<br /> We started with the ferry from puerto fuy at 9am (3 or 4 boats a day - around 1000 clp). 1h30 trip to pirihueico. Then the path starts in the private property of the parque Huilo Huilo (&quot;no entrar&quot; sign but no one to check). The path is clear, looks like a minor road with ancient bridges to cross the river. After around 40km, the track follows a very little path, looks like bush bashing during 5km.<br /> Then you join a river, parallel to the track. At that point, we followed the track that went into the forest. It was so dense that we did maybe 200m in one hour. We decided to turn back to walk in the river (around 2km), or on the side, until we found a real path. That was a good and efficient solution.<br /> We found no guardaparques or private guards to discuss right of way passage so had no problems with this aspect.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Kara Davis<br /> <br /> Notes to consider before beginning: We were halted by rangers in a jeep on the 4WD road on the west side of Río Pillanleufu. They informed us it was illegal to be in Huilo Huilo at this time because the reserve was closed for the rehabilitation of the Pudú, the world’s smallest deer. We had no knowledge of this since we entered the reserve in a very remote location and there was not adequate signage to inform us of this closure. After explaining this to the ranger, they escorted us out of the reserve. You may want to enquire about the status of Huilo Huilo before beginning this section.<br /> <br /> Comment by Jan Dudeck: This was publicly accessible land with public roads until the Petermann clan took control of this vast property during the final year of the Pinochet dictatorship. Huilo Huilo is not advertised as a “private for profit reserve” with very expensive high-end lodging but wood logging continues in parts of this property. Several hikers reported that they were stopped by guards and send or escorted out. It remains unclear to me if the right-of-way legally ended or if the new owner simply want to keep people out that don’t spend lots of money.<br /> <br /> <br /> GPT18 begins with a 23 km paddle on Lago Pirihueico, a long, remote, serpentine lake. There are almost no residences along the shoreline of Lago Pirihueico, but there are some beaches suitable for camping. A ferry also runs from Puerto Fuy to Puerto Pirihueico at the southern end of the lake several times a day. You can find more information about the ferry and make reservations here: https://barcazahuahum.com/en/schedule-and-prices/.<br /> <br /> The take-out is not obvious, and we relied on our GPS to guide us to the spot. A short walk up is a 4WD track that leads into the Reserva Biológica Huilo Huilo. The track is overgrown and littered with downed trees but becomes clearer and easier to navigate as it ascends. The views are gorgeous as the 4WD track climbs above treeline. <br /> <br /> As the route nears the roaring Río Pillanleufu, it reduces to a single track trail. The trail meanders on the east shore of the river and eventually disappears. We backtracked a bit and made our way down to the east river bank which we followed until we picked up the trail in a large meadow. A bridge is located where the GPS track is shown crossing over the Río Pillanleufu to the west side and joining a 4WD road. The vegetation on this side of the river is thick and camping is hard to come across.<br /> <br /> About 10 km from the bridge crossing, the 4WD track ends in an impenetrable bamboo forest. We backtracked and headed down to the west bank of the Río Pillanleufu where we found a horse track that eventually led back to the main route. The route follows easy grade farm roads until exiting onto T-559. T-559 is a windy gravel road which makes for an easy road walk all the way to Lago Maihue and the end of GPT18. <br /> <br /> Town: Futrono<br /> <br /> Futrono, about a 40 minute drive from where the route joins T-559, is the nearest large town. It has a variety of restaurants and lodging options and is a good place to resupply. There is no central bus station in Futrono, but there is a gas station at the east end of town where you can pick up a bus that will take you back to the trail.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> * Puerto Pirihueico<br /> Several restaurants and a small shop which has coffee, tea, pasta and flour.<br /> Cabañas and camp ground<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> <br /> There are frequent buses from Valdivia to Pangipulli, about one an hour from 8AM to 9PM.<br /> There are 5 buses a day from Panguipulli to Puerto Fuy Monday-Friday, 4 on Saturday &amp; 2 on Sunday. The last one every day is at 7:30 PM<br /> <br /> Ferry Puerto Fuy:<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:20240106 090352.jpg|miniaturadeimagen]]<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT18 - Lago Pirihueico]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_109276202.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT18]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_109276179.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|A beach at Pirihueico]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_119230396.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_119230403.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_119230411.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_119230416.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_119230424.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_119230388.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_109276229.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_119230384.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_12_Lago_Pirihueico_119230395.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT17H_(Liquine)&diff=113723 2024-01-21T18:10:46Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-20 to 2024-Jan-21 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {17H-A} - {17H-B} - RR - {17H-D} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> {17H-A} km0 : Settlement, shop[66.5/237] : small shop, a little pricey but good stock for resupply, very friendly. ( I think the shops in Liquiñe is much pricey too)<br /> <br /> Km1.55 : two tiny shops here. (-39.70430, -71.86316)<br /> <br /> Then i joined RR.<br /> <br /> RR km0.95 : tiny shop. (-39.71282, -71.85403)<br /> <br /> Km1.95 : tiny shop. (-39.72135, -71.85373)<br /> <br /> Then i take {17H-B} keep going on the main road.<br /> <br /> {17H-B} km0.55 : two small shop and one tiny shop just beside the &quot;Liquiñe&quot; waypoint. Lot of food resupply options, also some restaurants nearby.<br /> <br /> Km1.3 : junction of RR and {17H-B}, a tiny shop here(-39.74016, -71.85511), if you want to cross Río Liquiñe to hot spring, it is the correct place. Ask the staff in shop, and they'll find somebody to row the boat for you.<br /> <br /> RR ferry[5.7/237] : if noone here, ask at the tiny shop beside the road. As they said, looks like the earliest time for rowing boat is 9:30am, until maybe 8pm? Because i crossed here at 8pm. I'm not sure how much for the boat, maybe 500 CLP, but i paid 1000 CLP because I arrived here too late, and the guy need to go to some place else for finding the key to unlock the boat for me.<br /> <br /> Walking on a clear path to Termas Punulaf. The price for camping in 2024 is 20,000 CLP. The hot spring looks like a swimming pool, that of course hot spring water, with perfect temperature. About the camping, picnic table, light, a line for hanging clothes, sandy spot, toilet and covered by a shelter. <br /> <br /> Soaking the hot spring in early morning, sit beside the inlet for relaxing, it makes a good start of a new day! <br /> <br /> It is the HIGHLIGHT of GPT16's ending or start of GPT17, don't miss it!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km6.3 : tiny shop(-39.74271, -71.85464).<br /> <br /> Lucky me, get two rides from X,shop[7.1/308] to gate[12.0/801] directly!<br /> <br /> Km10.95 : bus stop, maybe bus comes to here?<br /> <br /> Gate[12.0/801] : talk with a young guy at here, register some basic information but no fee need to pay, he also fill up my water bottle, thank you to him!<br /> <br /> From here to km13.4(Laguna Ancacoihue), steep climb up but very easy to follow, just follow some red sticks to go, lot of benches for rest, handrail if you need and some nice viewpoint platforms. The viewpoint at (-39.77073, -71.86505), beautiful platform with Chile flag, background are Volcán Villarrica, Lanín and the valley of Liquiñe, such a amazing picture!<br /> <br /> When you arrive Laguna Ancacoihue maybe a little confused where is the trail to go. Trail is under blowdowns now for a few meters. Walk a little close to the lake(no need wet feet) and go around the fence that covered by blowdowns, a nice trail(road) is beside the fence.<br /> <br /> After you follow the road walking about 5-10 min, you'll find some Red Bird sign(Huglo Huglo) and white red print at tree. They'll leads you to the Lago Quilmo(km17.4), follow them! If you see a white red print &quot;X&quot;, it means &quot;this is a wrong way&quot;.<br /> <br /> Km13.7 : camping spot with fire ring, log sests, benches, picnic table. Still some more flat spots in 100m south.<br /> <br /> Km15.6 : junction of RR and {17H-C}, a white red print &quot;X&quot; and lot sticks are put on the way to north.<br /> <br /> Km15.8 : junction of RR and {17H-D}, RR is blocked by many huge blowdowns, Red Bird and white red print is at {17H-D}, also the road looks clear, so go for it.<br /> <br /> {17H-D} km0.1 : sky blue ribbon start, it'll leads you the way too.<br /> <br /> Km1.45 : Junction. Red Bird and white red print at left side go around the lake at east side, sky blue ribbon at right follow RR at west side. Go for RR.<br /> <br /> Rejoin RR, and there are some blowdowns on RR at here too, i think {17H-D} is replaced RR completely.<br /> <br /> Gate RR[17.4/995] : no gate.<br /> <br /> Km18.05 : an empty hut(-39.79772, -71.84869) without door and windows, wooden floor is in good condition and clean. Looks like can used for staying away from bad weather.<br /> <br /> Refuge[18.2/978] : The cabin? Hut? Is already burnt down. Just leave a burn out area and and an empty small hut, but lot of trash and dirty inside. The hut at previous is much better.<br /> <br /> Lake,no camp[18.2/978] : at least five fire pit here...in a very small area. Why don't people just use other's old pit? Burning another green area is fun?<br /> <br /> The water condition at here is better than Laguna Ancacoihue.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km18.45 : four way junction, met Red Bird and white red print agian, but we still follow the sky blue ribbon.<br /> <br /> X[18.9/1016] : junction to Laguna Chan Chan, Red Bird and white red print on the way to Laguna Chan Chan, follow sky blue ribbon and turn right here.<br /> <br /> X[19.9/927] : sky blue ribbon go right. New colour, orange ribbon go left for RR. No more sky blue ribbon on your hike.<br /> <br /> Water?[20.3/942] : no water here.<br /> <br /> Ford[21.9/994] : beautiful water! A bridge here now. Crystal clear swimming pool at just downstream, nice spot for hot day. Some huge blowdowns help you go down to the pool.<br /> <br /> Km23.15 : Red Bird again, follow it and orange ribbon all the way to Pozo de Oro.<br /> <br /> Bridge,camp[25.0/1212] : bridge for cars already broken, just left a exciting log here. Better turn right go down for board bridge crossing. I didn't see any flat or camping spot. Water flowing slowly.<br /> <br /> Km25.9 : views of Volcán Mocho (very little).<br /> <br /> Km26 : road turns to a single track trail gradually.<br /> <br /> Bridge,camp[27.5/1026] : bridge for cars already broken too. Cross by a log bridge now. Water flowing good and slowly. Grassland can fit 1-2 tents before go down for the crossing.<br /> <br /> After some forest tunnel, you'll arrive Pozo de Oro, camping spot can fit many tents covered by tall trees, with fire ring, benches and picnic table. Also it is close to the lake.<br /> <br /> Ford[31.0/610] : dry feet crossing, another crossing after here 100m, above ankle, or you can log crossing at 30m downstream.<br /> <br /> Lake,camp[31.1/672] : sandy spot can fit 1 tent under a tree with lake views, i met some friendly locals driving their boat to here when i camped at weekends. Sleep with the peacey lake wave is great!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Keep follow Red Bird and orange ribbon for a little more.<br /> <br /> Km31.4 : three way junction, DON'T follow orange ribbon climb up at right side, going straight on left side.<br /> <br /> Km31.5 : three way junction, RR is turn left going down, OSM have a trail going right climb up for short cut. RR is in better condition, but OSM one is also good condition and much shorter. It'll connect RR at km31.75. And Red Bird start here.<br /> <br /> Km31.75 : four way junction, if you follow OSM trail, turn right and climb up. If you follow RR, go straight and climb up.<br /> <br /> After about 300m, Red Bird and white red print again! You can follow them, but they are not so frequently like before, also will disappear after a while.<br /> <br /> Water[34.0/646] : grassland can fit 1-3 tents before the beautiful water, it is flowing low but clear and taste good. After here, trail becomes a dirt road.<br /> <br /> Km34.3 : The wooden platform that Coline &amp; Hermann slept still in progress about 70%, have windows and door, already locked up.<br /> <br /> Km34.5 : huge flat area beside the beach under some trees, (car) camping spot.<br /> <br /> Bridge[34.9/630] : log bridge crossing, (car) camping spot about 50m before it.<br /> <br /> Km35.0 - km35.2: Camping Gratis, huge beautiful grassland (car) camping spot, i saw about 20 cars and many tents at Sunday morning. Spot covered by trees is loved by cars, hiker better camping at km35.2, no trees and car campers don't like it.<br /> <br /> Km35.3 : some more (car) camping spot here, close to beach.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> About the ferry and time schedule in 2024,<br /> <br /> Tourist information center (-39.87183, -71.88962), you can buy the ferry tickets to Puerto Pirehueico at here, 1150 CLP one way. They also help me charging the power bank, super thank you to them!<br /> <br /> Ferry from Puerto Fuy to Puerto Pirehueico:<br /> Monday(07:00,13:30,18:00), Tuesday to Thursday(09:00,13:30,18:00), Friday(07:00,12:30,17:00), Saturday and Sunday(08:00,12:30,17:00)<br /> <br /> Ferry from Puerto Pirehueico to Puerto Fuy:<br /> Monday(09:00,16:00,20:30), Tuesday to Thursday(11:30,16:00,20:30), Friday(09:00,15:00,19:30), Saturday and Sunday(10:30,15:00,19:30)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Resupply in Puerto Fuy,<br /> <br /> (-39.87320, -71.89134), (-39.87307, -71.89179), (-39.87373, -71.89390), (-39.87373, -71.89551), (-39.87375, -71.89775) : five tiny shops, combine together it is enough to resupply.<br /> <br /> It is a tourist town, so lot of accommodation here, cabins or campground. Also some nice restaurants too.<br /> <br /> When you are waiting the ferry, you can go for a boat tour, kayak trip, or take a nap on the beach under a big tree(-39.87178, -71.88877) like me.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-05-01 / 1,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from Liquine Alto / Jens <br /> <br /> Easy walk on forest road and single trail for the last 20km. I was a bit confused by the different trails. The right one was not always the most beaten one. <br /> The ferry schedule at El fuy has changed. It is now 8 am. Timetable in the article of section 18.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2023-jan-27 to 2023-jan-29 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RH + Laguna Chan Chan / Coline &amp; Hermann<br /> <br /> After sleeping on a wooden platform nearby at work-in-progress house at some 1km after the gratis camping of Puerto Fuy (nice view on the lake, the city and the volcano Mocho Choshuenco), we walked northbound on the regular route of the GPT17.<br /> <br /> It is also still possible to camp on a tiny beach which the trail reaches (Camp {18-F} [1.2/672]). From there, it took us time to find the trail, because it actually required to... walk on a tweenty meters long fallen tree !<br /> <br /> It seems possible to avoid this, by following the path marked with red bird signs.<br /> <br /> During the sloapse after, the road turns into a 4x4 road, where you may meet some cyclists going southbound – fast as arrows !<br /> <br /> We arrived at the crossroad (the one either following the trail or going to the lake Chan-Chan) at the end of the day, after 1000m up in altitud, and found a place to sleep on the way up, inbeetween two rivers.<br /> <br /> The next day, we stopped several hours at the beautiful volcano lake, where one's can make fire nearby the wooden tables. The clear water is not deep, which makes it perfect for sitting and refershing – surrounded by the mountains.<br /> <br /> We went back on the GPT, and noticed that the refuge at the arrival to the lake Quilmo has burned.<br /> <br /> It is less attractive to swim there because of the vegetation. It is even more the case for the lake which takes place north-east of the optional road of the GPT (OH-TL-V {17H-D} [0.0+1.5]). However, it was nice to see so many lakes during this section !<br /> <br /> Actually, the last one – the laguna Anacoihue – was the cutest one. As you see on the map, it's in shape of a heart ! There is a camping place on the west side, where you can make fire and leave your stuff to walk to the &quot;mirador&quot; at the inner point of the heart (at the sunset, for example).<br /> <br /> The next day, we walked the way down to Liquiñe in the morning. There are wooden sculptures, benches and games for (little and grown-up) kids, until one's reaches the plains. From there, we could see the volcano Villarica, which was smoking (so maybe avoid to go to the glacier Pichillancahue or even at the summit of the volczno, if you plan doing the GPT16-04 after... Or at least, have a look on RED).<br /> <br /> We could easily resupply at Liquiñe and even found bottles of gas (Pro-Gas) in the &quot;fereteria&quot; some 200m down the main road (Ruta 201 CH), after it crosses the road leading to the Termas Trafipan, in front of a white building.<br /> <br /> The hot springs marked on the map are now &quot;infrastructured&quot; (so to say), which means they are not for free anymore, but also that you can charge your phone (for free if asking) and/or spend the night (for 15 to 25mil pesos / person / night) and enjoy the swimming pools.<br /> <br /> In fact, we were told (after) that there is a natural hot spring only known by inhabitants. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-31 to 2023-Feb-01 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 17h-C / Maks &amp; Gabi <br /> <br /> Nice and easy trail even though the ascent on the beginning which follows dirty road with a lot of cars. <br /> We took OH 17h-C which is not worth it, there is a new gate on the way, and when we tried to go through the forest there were lots of fences. <br /> Than as written below the trail is marked and well maintained. We were doing RR, and it wasn't owergrown anywhere ( there is only one place somewhere around km 32 of RR when it's more worth to follow red bird sign than GPS navi, they are connecting once again after 100m) <br /> We were sleeping at Camping gratis in Puerto Fuy, it was ok, but there is a lot of homeless dogs and it's quite a lot of people and noise during the night. Puerto Fuy is a quite big and there are many buses (almost every hour ) to Panguipulli. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Jan-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Laguna Chan Chan / Will <br /> <br /> Amazing section, don't skip it! Just make sure to take the openstreetmap route by Laguna Chan Chan instead of the main route.<br /> <br /> I camped at the Termas de Punulaf after arriving via section 12. 15000 pesos, somewhat quiet, with some swimming pool style hot springs. Even a little restaurant. In the morning I walked along the field down to the river, where a kid rowed me across into town (500 pesos). Lots of shops for resupply.<br /> <br /> The road walk up to the Laguna Corazon (aka Ankacoihue) trailhead would have been rough, thankfully I was blessed with a ride most of the way up. At the trailhead you'll find a nice lodge/cafe where I had to register and pay 2500 to hike to the lake. It's a cute trail, complete with benches and art and motivational signs. Great views of the valley.<br /> <br /> After Laguna Corazon you'll end up on the Huilo Huilo trail, where you can follow the red bird trail markers all the way to Puerto Fuy along well maintained trail and dirt roads. Though the park's route seems to diverge from the main route twice, following variant D and the trail to Laguna Chan Chan. <br /> <br /> Variant D looked to be a well maintained (slightly bland) road, vs the main route which is an old road in the process of being reclaimed by the forest. Currently the main route's still not bad walking.<br /> <br /> The trail approaching Laguna Chan Chan from the north was a highlight: thin, slower, steeper, more intimate. It eventually merges onto a dirt road heading down from the lake and west. The main route here was a plain gravel road (I went the wrong way along it for a few km).<br /> <br /> There's well maintained campsites with picnic tables and everything at Laguna Corazon/Ankacoihue, Laguna Chan Chan, and at Pozo de Oro near the end.<br /> <br /> The ferry at Puerto Fuy was sold out all day by the time I got there around noon.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / RR + Lago Chanchan / Matthieu <br /> <br /> Another part of the Huilo Huilo parc, no entry fees in this sens. Nice for the forest walkers the like flowers and calm. <br /> Tracks well maintained in the form of 4x4 roads, easy to follow (Little red plastic birds sticked on the trees). <br /> I agree with Martina and Ivo on the attractivity of this section. There are a few lakes to see on the way, if you get off the RR, and it is worth the effort. The savage beach just a few kilometers after Puerto Fuy is a paradise to camp.<br /> Liquiñe is a nice place to rest, with camping and thermal water. Lots of shops.<br /> <br /> - Lago Chanchan :<br /> <br /> Talking to chilean hikers there, the main attraction seems to be the Lago Chanchan, which is actually a lake in a volcano crater, with a little beach, and a wonderful place to camp. I took the detour to go. <br /> From the waypoint &quot;Refugio?&quot; (which is actually the house of Juan, whose mission is just to take the names of the people going south, just for safety if they get lost. No fees, no stress. Juan is really nice and I could enjoy a nice coffee and discussion with him.), I came back going southbound to the Div 108. Then you take the little forest trail, that goes up gor 2-3 hours until the lake Chanchan. It is a little technical trail cutted in the bamboos, but in this sense easy to follow, following the little red birds. Just before the lake there is a Div where you arrive to a 4x4 trail. One road goes north to the lake, and the other one goes south to the &quot;pozo del Oro&quot;, and I assume that this trail join the RR between &quot;Bridge, camp2&quot; and &quot;DIV 110&quot; I didnt explore it the next day thow, going back on my tracks by the little bamboo trail because I was initially going northbound. SO there is a path exploitable from the south part of the section, leaving the RR on a minor road, going to the lake Chanchan, and then going back to RR taking this little trail to the Div 108, making your experience really more attractive.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-09 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Here is our advertisement for this beautiful section: From Liquiñe alto to the beginning of the forest: great view to the volcanoes Villarica and Lanín. Nice trail to the enchanted Laguna Ankacoigüe. Then beginning of the Reserva Biológica Huilo-Huilo Sector Norte: stunningly huge trees and a sudden change of landscape, entering Valdivian rainforest for the first time. Only a short part of minor road between waypoint &quot;lake, no camp&quot; and the highest point of the section. The whole descent to Puerto Fuy is a attractive trail through pretty rainforest with views to the Volcán Choshuenco. 4 km before the village you find this pristine hidden lonely beach, perfect for a last rest before you arrive at busy touristy Puerto Fuy. <br /> <br /> Our rating: 3<br /> <br /> Don't skip ;-)<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-08 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank <br /> <br /> I met Martina &amp; Ivo on the route &amp; agree with their above comments. This section was an unexpected highlight &amp; the campsite on the lake was the best. When you reach the lake you cross a river then arrive at the campsite which you will probably have to yourself. Avoid the campsites near Puerto Fuy as there are lots of car campers there.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> In Liquine there are a few small shops. There are also some open air markets, you can get breakfast &amp; lunch there. They open around 10:30 AM. 2 restaurants in Liquine but neither of them was open when I was there (Feb 2020) <br /> <br /> There are a few places advertising cabins on the road in to Liquine &amp; as you leave Liquine southbound there are two cheap hotels.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT17H - Liquiñe]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228012.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT17H - Liquiñe]]<br /> [[File:GP_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228017.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT17H]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228020.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228022.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228023.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228025.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228034.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228011.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228013.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228015.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228016.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT17H_(Liquine)&diff=113722 2024-01-21T15:32:30Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-20 to 2024-Jan-21 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {17H-A} - {17H-B} - RR - {17H-D} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> {17H-A} km0 : Settlement, shop[66.5/237] : small shop, a little pricey but good stock for resupply, very friendly. ( I think the shops in Liquiñe is much pricey too)<br /> <br /> Km1.55 : two tiny shops here. (-39.70430, -71.86316)<br /> <br /> Then i joined RR.<br /> <br /> RR km0.95 : tiny shop. (-39.71282, -71.85403)<br /> <br /> Km1.95 : tiny shop. (-39.72135, -71.85373)<br /> <br /> Then i take {17H-B} keep going on the main road.<br /> <br /> {17H-B} km0.55 : two small shop and one tiny shop just beside the &quot;Liquiñe&quot; waypoint. Lot of food resupply options, also some restaurants nearby.<br /> <br /> Km1.3 : junction of RR and {17H-B}, a tiny shop here(-39.74016, -71.85511), if you want to cross Río Liquiñe to hot spring, it is the correct place. Ask the staff in shop, and they'll find somebody to row the boat for you.<br /> <br /> RR ferry[5.7/237] : if noone here, ask at the tiny shop beside the road. As they said, looks like the earliest time for rowing boat is 9:30am, until maybe 8pm? Because i crossed here at 8pm. I'm not sure how much for the boat, maybe 500 CLP, but i paid 1000 CLP because I arrived here too late, and the guy need to go to some place else for finding the key to unlock the boat for me.<br /> <br /> Walking on a clear path to Termas Punulaf. The price for camping in 2024 is 20,000 CLP. The hot spring looks like a swimming pool, that of course hot spring water, with perfect temperature. About the camping, picnic table, light, a line for hanging clothes, sandy spot, toilet and covered by a shelter. <br /> <br /> Soaking the hot spring in early morning, sit beside the inlet for relaxing, it makes a good start of a new day! <br /> <br /> It is the HIGHLIGHT of GPT16's ending or start of GPT17, don't miss it!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km6.3 : tiny shop(-39.74271, -71.85464).<br /> <br /> Lucky me, get two rides from X,shop[7.1/308] to gate[12.0/801] directly!<br /> <br /> Km10.95 : bus stop, maybe bus comes to here?<br /> <br /> Gate[12.0/801] : talk with a young guy at here, register some basic information but no fee need to pay, he also fill up my water bottle, thank you to him!<br /> <br /> From here to km13.4(Laguna Ancacoihue), steep climb up but very easy to follow, just follow some red sticks to go, lot of benches for rest, handrail if you need and some nice viewpoint platforms. The viewpoint at (-39.77073, -71.86505), beautiful platform with Chile flag, background are Volcán Villarrica, Lanín and the valley of Liquiñe, such a amazing picture!<br /> <br /> When you arrive Laguna Ancacoihue maybe a little confused where is the trail to go. Trail is under blowdowns now for a few meters. Walk a little close to the lake(no need wet feet) and go around the fence that covered by blowdowns, a nice trail(road) is beside the fence.<br /> <br /> After you follow the road walking about 5-10 min, you'll find some Red Bird sign(Huglo Huglo) and white red print at tree. They'll leads you to the Lago Quilmo(km17.4), follow them! If you see a white red print &quot;X&quot;, it means &quot;this is a wrong way&quot;.<br /> <br /> Km13.7 : camping spot with fire ring, log sests, benches, picnic table. Still some more flat spots in 100m south.<br /> <br /> Km15.6 : junction of RR and {17H-C}, a white red print &quot;X&quot; and lot sticks are put on the way to north.<br /> <br /> Km15.8 : junction of RR and {17H-D}, RR is blocked by many huge blowdowns, Red Bird and white red print is at {17H-D}, also the road looks clear, so go for it.<br /> <br /> {17H-D} km0.1 : sky blue ribbon start, it'll leads you the way too.<br /> <br /> Km1.45 : Junction. Red Bird and white red print at left side go around the lake at east side, sky blue ribbon at right follow RR at west side. Go for RR.<br /> <br /> Rejoin RR, and there are some blowdowns on RR at here too, i think {17H-D} is replaced RR completely.<br /> <br /> Gate RR[17.4/995] : no gate.<br /> <br /> Km18.05 : an empty hut(-39.79772, -71.84869) without door and windows, wooden floor is in good condition and clean. Looks like can used for staying away from bad weather.<br /> <br /> Refuge[18.2/978] : The cabin? Hut? Is already burnt down. Just leave a burn out area and and an empty small hut, but lot of trash and dirty inside. The hut at previous is much better.<br /> <br /> Lake,no camp[18.2/978] : at least five fire pit here...in a very small area. Why don't people just use other's old pit? Burning another green area is fun?<br /> <br /> The water condition at here is better than Laguna Ancacoihue.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km18.45 : four way junction, met Red Bird and white red print agian, but we still follow the sky blue ribbon.<br /> <br /> X[18.9/1016] : junction to Laguna Chan Chan, Red Bird and white red print on the way to Laguna Chan Chan, follow sky blue ribbon and turn right here.<br /> <br /> X[19.9/927] : sky blue ribbon go right. New colour, orange ribbon go left for RR. No more sky blue ribbon on your hike.<br /> <br /> Water?[20.3/942] : no water here.<br /> <br /> Ford[21.9/994] : beautiful water! A bridge here now. Crystal clear swimming pool at just downstream, nice spot for hot day. Some huge blowdowns help you go down to the pool.<br /> <br /> Km23.15 : Red Bird again, follow it and orange ribbon all the way to Pozo de Oro.<br /> <br /> Bridge,camp[25.0/1212] : bridge for cars already broken, just left a exciting log here. Better turn right go down for board bridge crossing. I didn't see any flat or camping spot. Water flowing slowly.<br /> <br /> Km25.9 : views of Volcán Mocho (very little).<br /> <br /> Km26 : road turns to a single track trail gradually.<br /> <br /> Bridge,camp[27.5/1026] : bridge for cars already broken too. Cross by a log bridge now. Water flowing good and slowly. Grassland can fit 1-2 tents before go down for the crossing.<br /> <br /> After some forest tunnel, you'll arrive Pozo de Oro, camping spot can fit many tents covered by tall trees, with fire ring, benches and picnic table. Also it is close to the lake.<br /> <br /> Ford[31.0/610] : dry feet crossing, another crossing after here 100m, above ankle, or you can log crossing at 30m downstream.<br /> <br /> Lake,camp[31.1/672] : sandy spot can fit 1 tent under a tree with lake views, i met some friendly locals driving their boat to here when i camped at weekends. Sleep with the peacey lake wave is great!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Keep follow Red Bird and orange ribbon for a little more.<br /> <br /> Km31.4 : three way junction, DON'T follow orange ribbon climb up at right side, going straight on left side.<br /> <br /> Km31.5 : three way junction, RR is turn left going down, OSM have a trail going right climb up for short cut. RR is in better condition, but OSM one is also good condition and much shorter. It'll connect RR at km31.75. And Red Bird start here.<br /> <br /> Km31.75 : four way junction, if you follow OSM trail, turn right and climb up. If you follow RR, go straight and climb up.<br /> <br /> After about 300m, Red Bird and white red print again! You can follow them, but they are not so frequently like before, also will disappear after a while.<br /> <br /> Water[34.0/646] : grassland can fit 1-3 tents before the beautiful water, it is flowing low but clear and taste good. After here, trail becomes a dirt road.<br /> <br /> Km34.3 : The wooden platform that Coline &amp; Hermann slept still in progress about 70%, have windows and door, already locked up.<br /> <br /> Km34.5 : huge flat area beside the beach under some trees, (car) camping spot.<br /> <br /> Bridge[34.9/630] : log bridge crossing, (car) camping spot about 50m before it.<br /> <br /> Km35.0 - km35.2: Camping Gratis, huge beautiful grassland (car) camping spot, i saw about 20 cars and many tents at Sunday morning. Spot covered by trees is loved by cars, hiker better camping at km35.2, no trees and car campers don't like it.<br /> <br /> Km35.3 : some more (car) camping spot here, close to beach.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> About the ferry and time schedule in 2024,<br /> <br /> Tourist information center (-39.87183, -71.88962), you can buy the ferry tickets to Puerto Pirehueico at here, 1150 CLP one way. They also help me charging the power bank, super thank you to them!<br /> <br /> Ferry from Puerto Fuy to Puerto Pirehueico:<br /> Monday(07:00,13:30,18:00), Tuesday to Thursday(09:00,13:30,18:00), Friday(07:00,12:30,17:00), Saturday and Sunday(08:00,12:30,17:00)<br /> <br /> Ferry from Puerto Pirehueico to Puerto Fuy:<br /> Monday(09:00,16:00,20:30), Tuesday to Thursday(11:30,16:00,20:30), Friday(09:00,15:00,19:30), Saturday and Sunday(10:30,15:00,19:30)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Resupply in Puerto Fuy,<br /> <br /> (-39.87307, -71.89179) : small shop.<br /> <br /> (-39.87373, -71.89390) : tiny shop.<br /> <br /> It is a tourist town, so lot of accommodation here, cabins or campground. Also some nice restaurants too.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-05-01 / 1,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from Liquine Alto / Jens <br /> <br /> Easy walk on forest road and single trail for the last 20km. I was a bit confused by the different trails. The right one was not always the most beaten one. <br /> The ferry schedule at El fuy has changed. It is now 8 am. Timetable in the article of section 18.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2023-jan-27 to 2023-jan-29 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RH + Laguna Chan Chan / Coline &amp; Hermann<br /> <br /> After sleeping on a wooden platform nearby at work-in-progress house at some 1km after the gratis camping of Puerto Fuy (nice view on the lake, the city and the volcano Mocho Choshuenco), we walked northbound on the regular route of the GPT17.<br /> <br /> It is also still possible to camp on a tiny beach which the trail reaches (Camp {18-F} [1.2/672]). From there, it took us time to find the trail, because it actually required to... walk on a tweenty meters long fallen tree !<br /> <br /> It seems possible to avoid this, by following the path marked with red bird signs.<br /> <br /> During the sloapse after, the road turns into a 4x4 road, where you may meet some cyclists going southbound – fast as arrows !<br /> <br /> We arrived at the crossroad (the one either following the trail or going to the lake Chan-Chan) at the end of the day, after 1000m up in altitud, and found a place to sleep on the way up, inbeetween two rivers.<br /> <br /> The next day, we stopped several hours at the beautiful volcano lake, where one's can make fire nearby the wooden tables. The clear water is not deep, which makes it perfect for sitting and refershing – surrounded by the mountains.<br /> <br /> We went back on the GPT, and noticed that the refuge at the arrival to the lake Quilmo has burned.<br /> <br /> It is less attractive to swim there because of the vegetation. It is even more the case for the lake which takes place north-east of the optional road of the GPT (OH-TL-V {17H-D} [0.0+1.5]). However, it was nice to see so many lakes during this section !<br /> <br /> Actually, the last one – the laguna Anacoihue – was the cutest one. As you see on the map, it's in shape of a heart ! There is a camping place on the west side, where you can make fire and leave your stuff to walk to the &quot;mirador&quot; at the inner point of the heart (at the sunset, for example).<br /> <br /> The next day, we walked the way down to Liquiñe in the morning. There are wooden sculptures, benches and games for (little and grown-up) kids, until one's reaches the plains. From there, we could see the volcano Villarica, which was smoking (so maybe avoid to go to the glacier Pichillancahue or even at the summit of the volczno, if you plan doing the GPT16-04 after... Or at least, have a look on RED).<br /> <br /> We could easily resupply at Liquiñe and even found bottles of gas (Pro-Gas) in the &quot;fereteria&quot; some 200m down the main road (Ruta 201 CH), after it crosses the road leading to the Termas Trafipan, in front of a white building.<br /> <br /> The hot springs marked on the map are now &quot;infrastructured&quot; (so to say), which means they are not for free anymore, but also that you can charge your phone (for free if asking) and/or spend the night (for 15 to 25mil pesos / person / night) and enjoy the swimming pools.<br /> <br /> In fact, we were told (after) that there is a natural hot spring only known by inhabitants. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-31 to 2023-Feb-01 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 17h-C / Maks &amp; Gabi <br /> <br /> Nice and easy trail even though the ascent on the beginning which follows dirty road with a lot of cars. <br /> We took OH 17h-C which is not worth it, there is a new gate on the way, and when we tried to go through the forest there were lots of fences. <br /> Than as written below the trail is marked and well maintained. We were doing RR, and it wasn't owergrown anywhere ( there is only one place somewhere around km 32 of RR when it's more worth to follow red bird sign than GPS navi, they are connecting once again after 100m) <br /> We were sleeping at Camping gratis in Puerto Fuy, it was ok, but there is a lot of homeless dogs and it's quite a lot of people and noise during the night. Puerto Fuy is a quite big and there are many buses (almost every hour ) to Panguipulli. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Jan-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Laguna Chan Chan / Will <br /> <br /> Amazing section, don't skip it! Just make sure to take the openstreetmap route by Laguna Chan Chan instead of the main route.<br /> <br /> I camped at the Termas de Punulaf after arriving via section 12. 15000 pesos, somewhat quiet, with some swimming pool style hot springs. Even a little restaurant. In the morning I walked along the field down to the river, where a kid rowed me across into town (500 pesos). Lots of shops for resupply.<br /> <br /> The road walk up to the Laguna Corazon (aka Ankacoihue) trailhead would have been rough, thankfully I was blessed with a ride most of the way up. At the trailhead you'll find a nice lodge/cafe where I had to register and pay 2500 to hike to the lake. It's a cute trail, complete with benches and art and motivational signs. Great views of the valley.<br /> <br /> After Laguna Corazon you'll end up on the Huilo Huilo trail, where you can follow the red bird trail markers all the way to Puerto Fuy along well maintained trail and dirt roads. Though the park's route seems to diverge from the main route twice, following variant D and the trail to Laguna Chan Chan. <br /> <br /> Variant D looked to be a well maintained (slightly bland) road, vs the main route which is an old road in the process of being reclaimed by the forest. Currently the main route's still not bad walking.<br /> <br /> The trail approaching Laguna Chan Chan from the north was a highlight: thin, slower, steeper, more intimate. It eventually merges onto a dirt road heading down from the lake and west. The main route here was a plain gravel road (I went the wrong way along it for a few km).<br /> <br /> There's well maintained campsites with picnic tables and everything at Laguna Corazon/Ankacoihue, Laguna Chan Chan, and at Pozo de Oro near the end.<br /> <br /> The ferry at Puerto Fuy was sold out all day by the time I got there around noon.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / RR + Lago Chanchan / Matthieu <br /> <br /> Another part of the Huilo Huilo parc, no entry fees in this sens. Nice for the forest walkers the like flowers and calm. <br /> Tracks well maintained in the form of 4x4 roads, easy to follow (Little red plastic birds sticked on the trees). <br /> I agree with Martina and Ivo on the attractivity of this section. There are a few lakes to see on the way, if you get off the RR, and it is worth the effort. The savage beach just a few kilometers after Puerto Fuy is a paradise to camp.<br /> Liquiñe is a nice place to rest, with camping and thermal water. Lots of shops.<br /> <br /> - Lago Chanchan :<br /> <br /> Talking to chilean hikers there, the main attraction seems to be the Lago Chanchan, which is actually a lake in a volcano crater, with a little beach, and a wonderful place to camp. I took the detour to go. <br /> From the waypoint &quot;Refugio?&quot; (which is actually the house of Juan, whose mission is just to take the names of the people going south, just for safety if they get lost. No fees, no stress. Juan is really nice and I could enjoy a nice coffee and discussion with him.), I came back going southbound to the Div 108. Then you take the little forest trail, that goes up gor 2-3 hours until the lake Chanchan. It is a little technical trail cutted in the bamboos, but in this sense easy to follow, following the little red birds. Just before the lake there is a Div where you arrive to a 4x4 trail. One road goes north to the lake, and the other one goes south to the &quot;pozo del Oro&quot;, and I assume that this trail join the RR between &quot;Bridge, camp2&quot; and &quot;DIV 110&quot; I didnt explore it the next day thow, going back on my tracks by the little bamboo trail because I was initially going northbound. SO there is a path exploitable from the south part of the section, leaving the RR on a minor road, going to the lake Chanchan, and then going back to RR taking this little trail to the Div 108, making your experience really more attractive.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-09 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Here is our advertisement for this beautiful section: From Liquiñe alto to the beginning of the forest: great view to the volcanoes Villarica and Lanín. Nice trail to the enchanted Laguna Ankacoigüe. Then beginning of the Reserva Biológica Huilo-Huilo Sector Norte: stunningly huge trees and a sudden change of landscape, entering Valdivian rainforest for the first time. Only a short part of minor road between waypoint &quot;lake, no camp&quot; and the highest point of the section. The whole descent to Puerto Fuy is a attractive trail through pretty rainforest with views to the Volcán Choshuenco. 4 km before the village you find this pristine hidden lonely beach, perfect for a last rest before you arrive at busy touristy Puerto Fuy. <br /> <br /> Our rating: 3<br /> <br /> Don't skip ;-)<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-08 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank <br /> <br /> I met Martina &amp; Ivo on the route &amp; agree with their above comments. This section was an unexpected highlight &amp; the campsite on the lake was the best. When you reach the lake you cross a river then arrive at the campsite which you will probably have to yourself. Avoid the campsites near Puerto Fuy as there are lots of car campers there.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> In Liquine there are a few small shops. There are also some open air markets, you can get breakfast &amp; lunch there. They open around 10:30 AM. 2 restaurants in Liquine but neither of them was open when I was there (Feb 2020) <br /> <br /> There are a few places advertising cabins on the road in to Liquine &amp; as you leave Liquine southbound there are two cheap hotels.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT17H - Liquiñe]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228012.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT17H - Liquiñe]]<br /> [[File:GP_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228017.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT17H]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228020.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228022.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228023.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228025.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228034.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228011.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228013.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228015.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10-12_Alternative_via_Liquiñe_119228016.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT16_(Volcan_Quetrupillan)&diff=113721 2024-01-21T12:36:58Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-17 to 2024-Jan-19 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {16-02} - {16-03} - {16-02} - RR - {16-B} / Lilian<br /> <br /> I really enjoy GPT16, walking on the beach beside Laguna Blanca, climbing Volcán Quetrupillán, camping at outlet of Laguna Azul and soaking in hot spring at Liquiñe, they are all so lovely.<br /> <br /> Volcán Quetrupillán still covered by lot of snow above 1930m. Also need to climb up a 40° snow slope and traverse to it's rim. Take your time.<br /> <br /> <br /> RR km0 - km8.9 : dirt road walking.<br /> <br /> Km8.0 : clear water flowing beside the road. (-39.38490, -71.63200)<br /> <br /> Km8.3 : camping possibilities on grassland at uphill side with no fence.(-39.38470, -71.63648)<br /> <br /> Km8.65 : locked gate with barbed wire fence, a house just behind the gate, better ask for the permission first.<br /> <br /> Km8.9 : 4 way junction, dirt road become an old trail.<br /> <br /> Km9.75 : crossing of barbed wire fence, no more gate here. 2 holes at fence , one is already covered by bamboo, another one is at (-39.38352, -71.64776), go through it you will connect to an dirt road at other side.<br /> <br /> Km10.1 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. Open the gate at top, remains the lock there and big step over, my legs are too short, the barbed wire breaks a hole at my shorts here ;(<br /> <br /> Km11.1 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. At right side there is a small gap let small people go through, but not for backpack, so climb it!<br /> <br /> Km11.15 : bridge and a stream flowing good at right side(-39.39046, -71.65845), go over the bridge then you will find a side trail at right side to stream.<br /> <br /> Km11.3 : bridge and a stream flowing good, but no way to go down.<br /> <br /> Km11.35 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. Climb.<br /> <br /> Km11.7 : crossing of barbed wire fence, no more gate here. Houses at (-39.39480, -71.66123), a dog continues barking when i was climbing the fence, make me so anxiety...<br /> <br /> Km12.2 : finally, this gate can open it with the chain at middle. But i didn't know it can be opened before i saw the chain, so i climbed the gate...<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> FYI : RR follow the valley and Estero Huililco climbing up, but no clear water, because the river is milky.<br /> <br /> Km16.5 : grassland(-39.42330, -71.65069) with no fence can fit many tents, but i think this spot is just for group hikers, because it is beside the road without any covers, every cars passing here must see you, it is not safe for solo hiker.<br /> <br /> Km18.25 : camping spot can fit 2-3 tents with fire ring beside the river. Some trees and bushes here, very little privacy.<br /> <br /> Km18.6 : bus stop here, and i don't know about the bus schedule.<br /> <br /> Km18.65 - km19.2 : look like is a paid campground.<br /> <br /> Km20.05 : dirt road junction, an old dirt road at left side, flat and without rocks, you can camp here if need. South of RR in this forest also lot spots for camping.<br /> <br /> Km23.15 : crossing of a milky stream, just above ankle. It is the last reliable water until Laguna Blanca.<br /> <br /> Km26.25 : junction of dirt road and trail, RR is turn to trail now, dirt road will end by damaged and huge blowdown, so turn left and climb up on the trail.<br /> <br /> Km27 : information board( with Spanish and English). From the board, RR-CC-A[29.3+5.9] is the official route.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km29.3 : junction of RR and {16-A}, RR at here is a clear trail, not CC. Easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km29.85 : water spot(-39.51775, -71.65871)! Tiny stream flowing low with fresh, clear and cold water by snow melts, easy to collect. No water at downstream, because it just flow some meters then seep into sand. Some more tiny streams also flowing low beside the trail or across the trail by snow melts, but i think this is the best one in some km.<br /> <br /> Km30.6 : viewpoint of Lanín! Some snow patch nearby, flat and easy to walk on.<br /> <br /> Km32.6 : Laguna Blanca, cross 2 chocolate stream, just above ankle, but the riverbed is muddy in some steps.<br /> <br /> Km33.05 : a 80m snow patch, not steep, not difficult, but you'll drop into the lake if slide.<br /> <br /> Km35.2 : junction of RR and {16-A}. Tiny stream flowing good with fresh, clear and cold water by snow melts beside the junction, easy to collect. <br /> <br /> Km35.4 : steep snow slope at east side of the pass. Better go around it at right side (north). Tiny stream flowing good with clear water by snow melts, at west side of the pass too.<br /> <br /> Ford[36.6/1652] : crossing of a milky stream, above ankle.<br /> <br /> Km37.6 - km38 , km39.9 - km40.1 : snow patches, easily go around.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Then i go for {16-02} then {16-03} climbing Volcán Quetrupillán.<br /> <br /> {16-02} km0.15 : small stream flowing good with clear water by snow melts, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Km1.65 : snow patch.<br /> <br /> Km1.9 : junction of {16-02} and {16-03}, {16-03} maybe sometime have rock cairns, but i just find the trail when it is already very close to summit, so mostly CC go by yourself. {16-02} km2.1 to pass[2.5/1924], almost half is covered by snow, it becomes steep when get close to pass, be careful.<br /> <br /> {16-03} km0.45 : snow slope steep go down, i go down at a little north, the slope is much shorter.<br /> <br /> Km1.15 : due to lot of snow melts, the milky lake become larger than it shows on map. So walk a little east to go around.<br /> <br /> Km1.3 : snow start, i recommend just walking on snow to trail junction waypoint at km2.1, it is gentle.<br /> <br /> Km2.1 : tiny stream(-39.51478, -71.73556) flowing low with clear water just beside the trail junction (but i didn't see any trail here.)<br /> <br /> Then the climbing is covered by lot of snow. You can walk on a dry rocky slope until km2.45, then choose continue finding dry slope to walk (but they are going around and around so the distance are a little longer and some puds, also sometimes block by snow wall), or climbing up on snow directly. <br /> <br /> I climbed on the snow slope, because they are stable and not too steep, looks like better than following rock cairns on the dry slope.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> When you arrive km3.7(-39.50145, -71.72655), look up to the mountain top. Of course the sharp peak at left is Quetrupillán, and your target is climbing up to the part at its right side, red colour and a little rocky one, that's the pass(-39.49857, -71.72277), also trail there.<br /> <br /> Because most of the slope still covered by snow, so go a little southeast, you'll find a dry rock slope, parallel to GPX tracks. Not too much, but at least some places you can stand on easily and take a short break in climbing. Straight climb up the 40° snow slope to km4.05(2265m) (-39.50003, -71.72333), then traverse to the red part, trail is here(-39.49889, -71.72298). When it close to the red part, the snow slope becomes a little icy, kick step and be careful.<br /> <br /> Arrive on the red, you can follow the loose rocky trail to the pass. You can continue climbing up to summit or walking on the rim for views.<br /> <br /> After enjoying the moments for volcano, i slide down at here(-39.49886, -71.72313), a good way without rocks. Then skiing back to {16-02}. Lot fun!<br /> <br /> I took 4.5 hours for climbing up and 2.5 hours for go down back to Laguna Azul. At my first plan, i want to go down to camp beside the waterfall at (-39.51315, -71.74967) then back to the Laguna Azul on next day, but it looks like lot of snow in the valley after the no trail's trail junction, also need a steep going down the pass. So i just take a round trip even i climbed Quetrupillán with my full backpack.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> RR lake,camp[40.2/1597] : Laguna Azul, clear water. Can fit 3-4 tents under some short trees, with fire ring and wind protection, but a little crowded.<br /> <br /> Ford[40.3/1593] : lake outlet, wet feet crossing, a beautiful camping spot can fit 1 tent just downstream 20m, another crossing point there too.<br /> <br /> Camp[40.3/1601] : still covered by snow patch now.<br /> <br /> Km41.7 : camping area with fire pit and log seats, covered by many trees.<br /> <br /> X[49.6/997] : 4 way junction, some more junctions at south.<br /> <br /> Water[51.1/871] : flowing low with clear water.<br /> <br /> Km51.6 : 3 way junction, at left, a good road going down at east side of the valley. At right is RR, go down at west side of valley. Road is heavy damage just after the junction, be careful for crossing, the road is collapsing(-39.60354, -71.81894).<br /> <br /> Km51.9 - km52.4 : a large beautiful grassland, nice camping spot. Start from here, the &quot;road&quot; becomes better condition.<br /> <br /> X[55.6/618] : junction of RR and a good road, looks like coming from other sidecof valley.<br /> <br /> Km57.75: grassland, camping spot.<br /> <br /> Settlement, bridge[58.6/440] : the road is damaged before the &quot;bridge&quot;, a board bridge (-39.65286, -71.84399) for human crossing. The bridge also is damaged, looks like washed away, so crossing at upstream (-39.65410, -71.84389), rock bar underwater, above ankle. This stream's water is flowing good with clear water. After crossing is a nice spot with lunch, well tree shade. Fire ring and log seats under a tree too, but it is in the area of settlement.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Camp[62.1/486] : i didn't notice the spot when i passed here, maybe I missed it.<br /> <br /> Km64.5 : junction of RR and {16-B}, i take {16-B} because of shorter distance to main road, also no need to climb up 120m again as RR.<br /> <br /> Settlement, shop[66.5/237] : small shop, a little pricey but good stock for resupply, very friendly. ( I think the shops in Liquiñe is much pricey too)<br /> <br /> Then i walked all the way to Liquiñe, no bus and no luck(no successful hitch).<br /> <br /> For resupply details read GPT17.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-29-12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / option 1 and 4 / Jens <br /> <br /> Hitchhiked from Curarrehue to the trailhead of Option 1.<br /> <br /> I didn't pay any entrance fees. <br /> <br /> Lots of water until Villarrica volcano. Around the volcano good camping but little water. Water was clean. <br /> <br /> Hitchhiked from the ski resort to Pucon. Lots of people in the resort for daywalks.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Mar-01 to 2023-Mar-05 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH-01 &amp; 02 + Quetrupillan summit + Villarica traverse / Martial.<br /> <br /> Puesco - Pucón<br /> Villarica traverse is indeed an interesting alternative for GPT16. The views on Volcanos are gorgeous and trail in good conditions for the all trip. My personal camping recomandations are Laguna azul, volcan Quetrupillan waterfall (on osm : -39.51160, -71.75365) and estero aihue (39.47713° S, 71.88582° W) or Zanjón pino Huacho for clean water access and sleep under the stars ✨ Although siphon water from the bucket in the zanjon was hard but should be better after recent rains.. Water from the various glaciar rivers is way cleaner in the morning to be drunk. An interesting combo for people in need for a treat would be stopping in Termas Geometricas wich looks to be one of the best attraction of the region.. (20mil or so)<br /> I luckily was granted with nice weather for Quetrupillan climb wich for me is really worth-it. Hopefully you get a lucky ride for the long descent from the centro de ski to Pucón. Take plenty of water if you start nobo !<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-22 to 2023-Feb-26 / 4 days / Hiking / OH-01 +03 Villarrica traverse (West-bound?) / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> We did not end up following the GPT but instead ended up doing the Villarrica Traverse (so options 01 and 03 of GPT and then some more). It was our last trip before flights back home so ending directly in Pucón made the most sense, just sad that our last hike wasn't actually on the GPT...<br /> <br /> Thoughts: Really beautiful, surprisingly diverse and not as many people as expected. The busiest place was at Laguna Azul and the glacier lookout. We are both very happy to have walked it and since it was our last hike it was a pleasure to be on trails that allowed one to reflect rather than think about the next step. Highlights were the ease of the trails, vistas, Araucaria sillouettes, a return to volcanic landscapes, the crater of Quetrupillan and the forest canopy. <br /> <br /> Access: Bus from Curarrehue to Puesco leaves at 5pm, just once a day. It leaves from here;-39.36321, -71.58433 and is white and green. Probably easier to hitch as it only goes to Puesco (aka CONAF). It leaves Puesco to Curarrehue at 730am supposedly.<br /> <br /> Description: The traverse is well documented and therefore I will only explain two different side trips. Note that if coming from Puesco the last section between Chinnay camping and the ski hill is scarce of water because most water available is recommended not to drink due to high levels of ash in the melting glacier. The two good sources are; estero aihue; 39.47713° S, 71.88582° W and Zanjón pino Huacho which is actually just a tap over a bucket; 39.43604° S, 71.99502° W. There is also an app you can use to follow the traverse; https://villarricatraverse.cl/<br /> <br /> Camping at Laguna Azul is crowded (in the minds of a GPT hiker) so one can camp on a different beach or up high on the trees on the south side of the lake. Wild camping is supposedly illegal but does not seem to apply for the section of the traverse between Chinnay and the ski resort, there are many bivy spots. <br /> <br /> Side trips:<br /> First side trip, Volcán Quetrupillan:<br /> If one is doing the traverse and wants to summit Quetrupillan easily and quickly I recommend following the osm trail on the NW side of the summit, there is a good trail, however we both did something different. Tomáš was successful at making a traverse of the summit and I was not. From lake Azul we followed the GPT option03 until the base of the col where one goes straight up to the crater. I continued on the GPT trail and turned back ~2m from the true summit due to the terrible rock quality but at least the way to the crater was easy (if you are there know that the red dirt is soft and not that steep). Tomáš on the other hand went one ridge further south and was able to easily follow it up to the summit, traverse south on the summit and come down on the osm trail. He notes there were only two bits of simple scrambling but was still easy despite having his bag. After my failed attempt on the summit I just went straight down the West side of the mountain to hit the normal Villarrica traverse and met back up with Tomáš.<br /> <br /> Second side trip, glacier Pichillancahue to above &quot;glacier mirrado&quot; and back to normal trail (the route is on OSM):<br /> When coming from Chinnay there is a very obvious trailhead for Glaciar pichillancahue. Tomáš used this to make a small but high traverse to somewhere near Estero Aihue and therefore avoiding the last bit of road walking and elevation loss. I was lazy and hungry and opted to have lunch at the camping Pichillancahue instead which was a terrible decision because the water there was barely drinkable (ash and dirt) and Tomáš supposedly had nice clean water up top. <br /> <br /> If it wasn't for bad weather I think this traverse could be done easily in 3days, even two if you are efficient. We took 4 because we had one morning of rain and were in no need of rushing and did the sidetrips. However it would have been nice to have one more free day to rent gear and try to climb Villarrica but the information on whether or not the summit is open was very confusing. Locals told us it was closed but you could go up most of the way if you had gear but then again there was a mountain guide who said we could go, so it will be a mystery. We both would love to come back to this area with simple glacier gear and climb Villarrica and Lanin and also go back to Sollipulli to traverse its glacier. For now it will have to wait :)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-02 t 2023-Feb-05 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO / Quetrupillan + OH-01 / Yannic &amp; Mirjam <br /> <br /> Very beautiful and easy stage. We hitchhiked from Panguipulli to Liquine and then via option 16-B to the camp at Laguna Azul. Very pleasant path in the forest with a slow ascent.<br /> We stayed at the lagoon for 2 days and made a day trip to the volcano. The trail was not always easy because of the strong wind and the occasional snowfields. East of option 16-03 there is another way marked on the map, a little more to the east could be good, because then you avoid the two big snowfields that you see at the top.<br /> <br /> From Laguna Azul we continued via Laguna Blanca on the Villarica Traverse (Option 16-01) to Laguna Las Avutardas. The road is well maintained and the landscape after the second pass is fascinatingly different from the previous one. Very nice camping spot at the lagoon.<br /> From the primary road we caught a car to Curarrehue and from there a bus to Pucon.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-29 to 2023-Jan-31 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maks &amp; Gabi <br /> <br /> Started in Catripulli and hichhiked to 16km of RR. We found it as a good solution to skip road walking as it is not so attractive. Remember to take enough water with you because on ascent to Laguna Blanca there is only one silty river. This part is not so hard unless the temperature is high and you are walking like us in the midday. Probably the ascent road is going to be worst cos they are destroying the trail to build a road ( most probably - it doesn't look nice and it's quite annoying ) <br /> There is quite a new gate with old sign on 18,5km ( it looks like entrance to some private propertie with seperate plots), it was open so we just walked through and we didn't meet anyone to ask. <br /> <br /> Plateau is really amazing, worth seeing and there are a lots of tiny streams near Laguna Blanca with clean water.<br /> At Laguna Azul there are a lot of tourists sleeping there.<br /> Descent was plesent until the road started.<br /> The entire trail is well visible. <br /> Down there there is community of mapuche, they are really nice and talkative. There is a chance that when going NOBO or sleeping on their land you will have to ask about permission to go through but it shouldn't be a problem. <br /> We hitchhiked with one of them last 3 km of RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-27 to 2023-Jan-29 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Quetrupillan / Will <br /> <br /> I also came in through Catripulli. I caught two quick rides but was still left with three hours of hot uphill road walking. If you aren't worried about connecting footsteps I bet you could find a better start/end point. The other hikers out there (on the Villarrica traverse) were mostly ending at Puesco, I heard rumors of a bus there. Sounds like a much better route if the bus exists. This is marked as option 1.<br /> <br /> Coming out of the woods the alpine section was beautiful but short. I spent two nights at Laguna Azul, taking a side trip up Quetrupillan. There were a lot of fun snowfields to navigate. My new shoes were grippy enough to get me through easily even though I didn't bring my trekking poles. Most of the water was chalky.<br /> <br /> The final scramble up to the summit (after reaching the snow filled crater) was treacherous. Might not be worth it. I went up around the right because it looked like a more gradual climb but I had a few big solid looking boulders come loose and tumble down. The route straight up seems better.<br /> <br /> Laguna Azul was bustling, both nights I was camped with a few Europeans doing the Villarrica traverse. Met a crazy dutch couple biking it. I even heard that there were some people visiting by helicopter, before I showed up.<br /> <br /> At the end I walked down to Liquiñe, lots of food places along the road. I camped at the Termas de Punulaf (decent, 15000 pesos) before continuing onto section 17H (highly recommended!).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-23 to 2023-Jan-24 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Anna &amp; Christopher<br /> <br /> Catripulli - Reyehueico<br /> Short and easy section!<br /> <br /> From Pucón we took a bus at 19:30 to Catripulli (Buses Currarehue, last one leaves at 21:00). From there we hitchhiked to km 18 of the RR. We camped next to Estero Huililco (silty water as the others mentioned).<br /> <br /> The next accessible water source is the ford of Estero Huililco at km 23. The walking until the plateau is easy (dirt roads and good paths), no navigation issues at all.<br /> Around Laguna Blanca there was still some clear water of the snowmelt. Here walking got a bit tougher due to the sand, but the plateau really is beautiful. After Laguna Blanca there is a good, visible path again until Laguna Azul. We camped at the Laguna and had the first rainy/stormy night.<br /> <br /> Because of the bad weather we didn't climb the volcano the next day and went down directly. It's a good path the whole way. Around 4 km before Reyehueico we got a ride directly to Panguipulli :)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-05 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Catripulli - Laguna Blanca - Laguna Azul - summit of Volcán Quetrupillan - Reyehueico <br /> <br /> I found this section beautiful, and quite easy, since most of the time you are on 4x4 tracks or well-maintained CONAF trails. No navigation issues whatsoever. <br /> <br /> Pucón is a bustling hiking town, great place to get new gear/shoes and resupply. I stayed a few days at Chili Kiwi Hostel there, highly recommend! Buses from Pucón to Catripulli and Curarrehue are very frequent, I did not have to wait. <br /> <br /> I started in Catripulli because the road walk is shorter from there. I was very lucky and ended up getting a ride (without even trying) up to the end of the gravel road beyond Rinconada, where a wooden gate marks the start of a lovely forest trail. As others have mentioned, Río Huililco is quite silty, and although the trail follows this river a while, I didn't collect any water there. The first night I camped at the treeline before the final climb to Laguna Blanca (before the start of the CC section). I found some good water in the ravine east of the trail, but it required some bushwhacking down a steep hill covered in vegetation.<br /> <br /> The plateau up by Laguna Blanca is beautiful, there are multiple creeks feeding the lake — some of them are silty, but others are clear, just pure snowmelt. The cross-country section had a nice path running through most of it, so navigation was very easy. Between Laguna Blanca and Laguna Azul, there are still some snow patches, but they are easy to walk across or around. <br /> <br /> I dropped most of my gear off at Laguna Azul to climb the volcano. I started around 11 a.m. and got back at 4 p.m., this included an almost hour-long break at the top to take in the spectacular views of Volcán Villarrica and Volcán Lanín. There's still a fair bit of snow on Quetrupillan, and instead of following the GPS I went up my own way to the rim, avoiding most of the snowfields. The crater is filled with snow, it's awesome! Coming back down, I half ran, half slid down a giant snow field, which was a lot of fun. That night I went for a swim and camped at Laguna Azul, a beautiful spot. For the first time on the GPT, there were other people (local tourists) camped with me there! <br /> <br /> The rest of the trail down to Reyehueico is easy, downhill through a mature forest. Once you get to Trafún Chico, the trail becomes a gravel road. I was able to hitch the last couple kilometers to the main road, and get a ride to Panguipulli to resupply and head down to GPT19 after. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-01 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + summit of Quetrupillan / Molly og Melissa <br /> <br /> 5 days - including a very short day due to bad weather<br /> We were passed by a car on the gravel road shortly after Reyehueico. They told us that the place marked as camp on the GPS was closed, but we could camp on their land a little before on the place marked bridge. They wanted 5000 pesos per person, and there are no facilities, so we found it a little expensive but didn't want to discuss in the rain. They also sold us freshly baked bread which were huge and the best we have had so far, as well as sopaipillas. The gravel road here was pretty, but a lot of aggressive dogs who could easily crawl under their fences to follow us. We only had to climb one gate which seemed to be more to keep in cows than to keep out any hikers. At the waypoint gate there was nothing. <br /> We camped right before the waypoint water before Laguna Azul.<br /> At Laguna Azul there are two camp waypoints, the first is a little spot on the river bank, the second is the &quot;real&quot; camp with lots of spots in a little forest right next to the lake. It's nice, but there have been left a lot of garbage.<br /> <br /> From there, you follow the Villarica traverse trail for some kilometres through very beautiful landscapes. When you reach the valley where Lago Blanco is (it really is white), you leave the trail for some fairly easy cross-country around the lake. On the far side, the whole valley was covered in water and we had to walk barefoot, but it was after three very rainy days.<br /> Finding the path at treeline was a little difficult, but we just made sure to be right on the trail on the GPS and found it. Then followed a short trip through beautiful aucaria forest, followed by a gravel road. Here, we saw several &quot;no entrar&quot; signs meant for people going towards the national park, but there was no one around. We even asked for water while still in the no entrar-zone as we didn't know, and weren't told off. It was difficult to find a campsite, but at La Rinconada there was a house saying &quot;Es bienvenido aquí&quot;, maybe you could ask there.<br /> We accidentally walked to catripulli instead of currarehue as we missed the turn off and realized too late. <br /> <br /> Water:<br /> Until Laguna Azul, no problem. At Lago Blanco we didn't find any streams that weren't chalky, though we thought that some streams running down the mountain on the far right side might look better. We didn't investigate, though, as we thought we had enough. However, Estero Huilinco was the same, so we ended up asking at a house if we could get some water.<br /> <br /> Summit:<br /> We basecamped at Laguna Azul and followed the nicely marked trail up. Be aware that the summit route diverges after about a kilometre, with no trail to be seen. We followed the GPS for a while but decided to walk to the crater rim somewhere else, as the summit seemed more difficult and the height difference isn't that big anyway. The volcano itself looked a lot like Volcan Puyehue, but the views were different of course, and the crater had a lot more snow. It was great to spend an extra day above the treeline.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-05 to 2021-Dec-07 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / Villarrica Traverse / Alex Abramov <br /> <br /> We made Villarrica Traverse here. This traverse is an excellent variant to go in (out) to (from) GPT.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Matthieu<br /> <br /> From Liquiñe to Catripulli<br /> Following the RR, I personnally never had to cross any barriers of barbed wire or closed portals. It is all an official CONAF trail. <br /> I used Lago Azul as a base camp to do the ascent of the summit. Awesome place. <br /> A little cheer to Ty, America and Sanita with who we had (I assume) the biggest GPT hikers camp of the year !<br /> <br /> -The ascent: <br /> Better use your head than your GPS, avoiding the snow to go up. The path I took was finally closed to the OH 002, going between the snow fields, but I never crossed any trail road. <br /> The very end is quite steepy and the rocks easy to break, and you have to climb a little bit to arrive to the final cairn. Better do it with good weather conditions and without your big bag ! I wasnt confident with going down the same way, so at the cairn I just took directly west down the rocks and actually found a downhill of good sand, really easy to do, fast and safe. No climbing down this way. I joined my previous tracks after, near the OH 002. <br /> <br /> -Water supply:<br /> As Ty say, No water between the end of Lago Blanco and a little bit before the Estero Huililco. The track is easy and fast thow in the forest, and I didnt take more water supply going down.<br /> <br /> I didnt do the final forest part just before Currarehue, hitchhiking to Catripulli.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-27 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Catripulli Start &amp; Optional end to Conaripe / Ty &amp; America <br /> <br /> We started at Catripulli because it was a bit shorter road walk compared to Curarrehue. Be aware of the big waterless start. You do have (mostly) friendly people on the road who are more than welcome to help with water. After Comunidad Rinconada (maps.me) don’t expect any water (besides the extremely chalky river water) all the way up to Laguna Blanco. Small Water falls on the right side of the lake have great clear water. We camped at Laguna Blanco by said falls a bit off the track file to find shelter from the wind. Then camped at Laguna azul the next day to summit the following morning. Beautiful place. Actual summit is sketchy, so we hiked to the rim and were perfectly content with that. I don’t recommend taking the optional OH-TL-V@16-02-#002 over the pass. It looked sketchy/snowy. The optional a bit further was perfectly fine. On the way down to conripe on OH-TL-V@16-02-#003 there is a good place to camp by water with plenty of wood ~1.5 km after the marked water source. We had luck hitching a ride from the termas at the bottom right to Conripe.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-7 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> 3 days for this amazing section. Trail in good condition, no navigation difficulties. At 39°23'11&quot;S 71°37'48&quot;W, where it says &quot;se vende leña eucalyptus&quot;, we didn't climb the huge locked gate to our right but just continued the minor road. We passed two unlocked gates and got back to the regular route after 1km. Shortly afterwards we arrived at a high fence of seven strands of barbed wire, where we turned left into the forest, following an almost invisible path, and after 500m finally found a gate and got back to the regular route after 1km.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb-06 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank<br /> <br /> Came from GPT15, resupplied @ 2 supermarkets in Curarrehue. Going up from Curarrehue they are logging in the forest but track still clear. Went over the fence with 7 strands of barb wire. Later there is a wooden gate saying 'No Entry Residents Only' went over it onto track, no one around. When you cross the Estero Huilico fill up with water. You can wade it but if you go down on the left about 20 metres there is a footbridge hidden in the forest. Later you are near the river but it is in a gorge with dense vegetation so it's not accessible. Made a dry camp high up in the forest before the lakes. Hardly any snow left on the route. <br /> <br /> Near the end of the route there is no place to camp at 'Camp 119' but continue a little down the road &amp; there is a tiny field just before 'Bridge 51' where you can camp. Just before it the road goes round in a loop, on the lower part of the loop are two houses next to each other. Ask there if it's OK to camp by the bridge. Just after the bridge I continued straight to the main road (marked bus, shop) to resupply. However, it's not necessary to do that, if you continue on the RR you will find shops in Liquine.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-13 / 7 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR from Liquiñe to where the trail joins the S-947 / Sophie &amp; Hendrik <br /> <br /> We were 7 days on the trail, of which 2 were just camping out bad weather (23 walking hours) . First day we started late and went to what the first camp on the map. Next we went to the camp without water from the track files (We found some stream there. After filtering amd treading it with chloride we were able to drink it.) We stayed there one day, waiting for better weather. Next day we went to the Fort at Laguna Azul. However, we did not cross it until two days later, as we first waited for better weather conditions. Then we crossed the volcano and camped below the treeline on the other side. Last day we hiked to S-947 and hitchhiked to Pucón for some Food and a real bed.<br /> <br /> What we liked: Sudden changes of landscapes, beautiful Araucaria forrest, remoteness (didn't meet people for 5 days), breathtaking views and scenes on the volcano, the snow was beautiful (obviously depends on the season), the many plushy chilean tarantulas on the north side.<br /> <br /> What we did not like so much: The gravel roads on both ends of the section.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-22 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom &amp; Maddie<br /> <br /> No issues, trail in good condition and cross country section is not hard to navigate. We took a bus out to Panguipulli at 08:00 on a weekday. We decided to skip 17 and 18. We then bussed to Los Lagos and then Futron and then to Rininahue. We then got a hitch back onto the regular route of 19 37km in. Less than 8hrs off the trail to skip 17/18.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-31 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH-02 Start from Termas el Rincon (Conaripe) to Currarehue / Jean &amp; Virginie<br /> <br /> To start the option track (16-02) after el Rincon termas, we have to pass a gate closed but it was possible to pass on the left. We didnt see anyone inside.<br /> After few kilometers on the minor road in good condition, we pass a small house where the guy explained us the track (turn on thé right at the arrow marked Laguna to get on the trail - track a little bit different from the gpt route but that join it further). After we went up on Quetrupillan volcano with amazing view. Trail in good condition and easy to navigate. This option join the regular route at the laguna Azul, nice site to camp. After the cross country section was not difficult to follow and the end until Currarehue was alternation of (a bit) overgrown trails and minor roads (+ some barbed wire).<br /> Bus to Pucon every 20 min from Currarehue.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-18 / Sophie &amp; Hendrik<br /> <br /> 90% - 95% of the area from 1500m upwards are completely covered in snow. Think about snow shoes and be careful as there are melting streams covered and hidden by snow.<br /> Also, unlike us, keep in mind that snow reflects the sun and can cause burns from below on your nose and chin.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> *Kara Davis<br /> <br /> Follow the main road, 199-CH, south out of Curarrehue until the gravel road turn off, S-981. After several kilometers, the road transitions to single track through a eucalyptus forest. Be careful to not follow one of the several other tracks that wind through the forest. The trail exits onto a gravel road, S-947, that follows Estero Huilico. Turn off onto a 4WD track, but be aware there are several other 4WD track spurs. The trail narrows into an obvious single track as you enter Parque Nacional Villarrica. Be prepared for the possibility of snow during this section at higher elevations. At treeline the trail ends and the cross-country traverse begins. <br /> This cross-country traverse follows the volcanic landscape at the base of Volcán Quetrupillán. During high snow years, Laguna Blanca may be frozen and snow covered. Be aware that snowpack may make parts of the GPS route difficult, and keep safety in mind when choosing a route. Instead of following the recommended route which ascends through a chute, snowpack forced us to climb up to a pass further to the left and then rejoin the route. Depending on the time of year, Laguna Azul may also be frozen, but water is available at the stream crossing at the southern end. After beginning the descent into the forest, try and find a well maintained trail. The trail joins a dirt road, T-447, which continues until the paved highway, 201-CH, to Carringue.<br /> Town: Carriringue. <br /> Carriringue is a tiny town with a small market which offers snacks but is difficult to resupply out of. There are also several signs advertising Cabañas.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Pucón:<br /> About 30 minutes bus ride off trail. A hiking tourism town that has everything a hiker might need<br /> <br /> *Catripulli:<br /> A little down the road from Currarehue. Has two small shops which probably sell pastas and other basic stuff<br /> <br /> *Currarehue:<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> You can buy bread and sopaipillas at the house right before the &quot;bridge&quot; waypoint just before Reyehueico.<br /> <br /> A house in La Rinconada sells eggs<br /> <br /> Some Aucaria trees<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> 2022-Jan:<br /> Busses go from Panguipulli to Reyehueico on weekdays, and from Valdivia to Panguipulli (two hours bus ride) every day. Hitching was quite easy for us even though it was raining.<br /> <br /> The bus from Currarehue through Catripulli to Pucón leaves approximately every 15 minutes on weekdays, and every 30 minutes on weekends - goes in both directions - about 30 minutes<br /> <br /> (2020-Feb)<br /> <br /> Bus Pucón - Curarrehue <br /> <br /> Mo-Sa 11:00<br /> <br /> Su 12:15<br /> <br /> Operator Igi Llaima, Terminal, Palguín 550<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT16 - Volcán Quetrupillan]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_109172879.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|[[Volcán Lanín]] from GPT16]]<br /> [[File:Quetrupillan 01.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|[[Volcán Quetrupillán]] from GPT16]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (1).jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 16]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226459.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226460.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226461.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226462.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226596.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_109173354.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_109172977.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_109173084.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_10_Volcán_Quetrupillan_119226451.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT15_(Curarrehue)&diff=113678 2024-01-16T19:08:20Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-15 to 2024-Jan-16 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {15-03} / Lilian<br /> <br /> Km1.07 : camping possibilities at west of the road(without fence)beside the river, some trees for privacy and cover.<br /> <br /> Km4.0 : Dirt road junction, you can follow the dirt road to river side, looks like a large flat area there.<br /> <br /> Km4.85 : large and beautiful grassland with trees and beside the river, some camping trace here. A small stream is flowing across the road 50m more.<br /> <br /> Km7.8 : I crossed to the other side of valley with a bridge at here.<br /> <br /> Settlement[59.8+6.9/767] : also a small shop here, selling some food and drinks, not much selection but good stock. I saw some locals waiting bus at here too. Super friendly.<br /> <br /> Then i continued south to join {15-03}.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {15-03} km1.45 : i saw a clear trailhead going south at here.<br /> <br /> Km1.6 : junction of road and trail.<br /> <br /> From here to km4.1, {15-03} is a very old, damaged and no more cars running dirt road. Mostly you are following it, walking on it or some horse trail and cow paths to the pass at km4.35. Steep but very easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km1.68 : a trail junction here, it is a very clear trail to north, i think it is connected with the trailhead at km1.45.<br /> <br /> Km2.25 : side trail to a stream (-39.19811, -71.47021), some people use wood and bamboo made a pipe here, easy to collect water, thank you!<br /> <br /> Km2.75 : beautiful camping spot with grassland.<br /> <br /> Km3.1 : small stream(-39.20079, -71.47549) flowing good, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Km3.9 : no more trace of road, become a horse trail. Some flat spots at valley(east) side with views but windy.<br /> <br /> The trail is maintained by some people, some sticks just cut off on the ground maybe some weeks before. Trail condition is good and going smooth.<br /> <br /> Km4.35 : some flat spots and an old, small bridge here. Stream under the bridge without flowing.<br /> <br /> Km5.8 : trail condition becomes an old dirt road, also a dirt road junction here.<br /> <br /> Km5.85 : beautiful grassland(-39.21900, -71.48849), with a huge tree can fit lot of tents here. Bridge and a good flow stream nearby(-39.21831, -71.48848).<br /> <br /> Km5.9 : bridge, stream flowing good with clear water under the bridge.<br /> <br /> Km7.55 : stream flowing low beside the road, cross a log to grassland camping spot. After here, no more camping possibilities i can find.<br /> <br /> Km8.1 : a friendly locked gate, easy climb at left side.<br /> <br /> Km8.2 : bridge, stream flowing good with clear water under the bridge.<br /> <br /> Km11.3 : bus stop at the turning, but i don't know about the bus schedule.<br /> <br /> I walked about 4-5km more, a local driver waved hands to me, then i arrived Curarrehue, MAGIC!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Good town for resupply. Lot of accommodation, some supermarkets and restaurants in Curarrehue, also bus to Pucón and Santiago. I resupply at Supermercado Katty(-39.36219, -71.58473), because locals told me it is the best in Curarrehue, and i find 230g gas canisters at GYG Supermercado (2nd floor)(-39.36043, -71.58693), it just left 2.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-28-12 / 1,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Option 1 + 1a / Jens <br /> <br /> I crossed the Huerquehue National Park to the north. Bus from Pucon to the entrance at 8.30am. Be there early, it fills up quickly.<br /> <br /> The warden told me that it was illegal to cross the park because of the trek closure. I assured her that I would come back and ignored her. <br /> <br /> The crossing was easy and beautiful. The trail was mostly maintained with the occasional tree trunk to climb over. <br /> <br /> Camping and water available.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-27 / 4 days / Hiking / 15-O1 NOBO + Solipulli traverse + 14 SOBO / Martial <br /> <br /> Very nice expedition starting opposite side from Nat &amp; Tomas cause i skipped GPT11-13 for gear resupply in Pucón (Volcanica outdoors very good btw !).<br /> Started 15-O1 in Parc Huerquehue the 23 in the morning after negociating an entrance ticket with one of the guard off voices who was very comprehensive after i got here without ticket on the 22 at 18pm and parc was fully reserved for 2 more days.. Be more prepared ! Had a lucky price 10mil for Olga’s camping 10mil for 1 person arriving late. Very good value for money ! Crystal clear lake water sunset, hot clean showers, caring owners.. Beers, galletas y pan amasado caliente in the morning ! Had to get back to the CONAF gate in the morning for ticket so wished i had left the mochila in Olga’s 😓 Easy and nice walk up to the lagunas and although i have been warned Renahue sector was shut, i decided to continue as Conaf is not checking exit route. (The sector has been closed for missbehavior of the visitors so obviously don’t make fire or leave basura !!). Starting this sector the trail is volontary left sufficiently overgrown to discourage normal visitor but no GPT hiker 😄 and the way down to the Termas is nice enough. Stayed at ecotermas for 15mil after nice chat with Richard the guardian. Loved to immerge in the termas for hours with a beer and chating with Chileans.<br /> Next morning had in mind to hitchhike but no cars so found nice cascade before turning left to laguna Isolda. The owner put a gate « recinto privado » but you can pass asking for permission.. I bumped into him and his little daughter cleaning the trail to the laguna with machete : very nice guy and thanks to him the trail in this forest till the road is beautiful !<br /> Hitchhiking the road was no better so had to camp next to it on an unmarked camp here -39.06698, -71.51530, rainy night.<br /> The day after finally had a lucky hitch all the way to the entrance of the reserva to Solipulli so could actually make it to the summit on the same day by following the south est ascent. It is CC after the treeline and found a good path climbing to the lake located before the crater for high camp (my specialty it seems 😄 !). Aqui : -38.96789, -71.49060. Weather was getting full sun so no problem and was delightly rewarded by one of the most amazing sunset of my life setting just into a depression of the crater above the glaciar. Mesmerizing and got me smiling for hours despite the crazy windy cold !<br /> After an icy night i used the same path to the ridge scouted before and could join the RR and true summit for midtime before going down on the easy north route heading to CONAF. There was surprisingly no-one there on a sunday early afternoon. Got small supplies from the lodge owner (28mil one p. in the refugio so passed and camped near a lake before last ford : recommended). Met also Franklin family for a few welcome asada meat sandwich treat 🍖 So generous !!<br /> Next day was big MR hiking back 14 sobo so putted earpods and went fullgas to a camp after Reigolil marked on gaia gps (but actually shut so got it free after asking for permision to the abuelo : -39.13615, -71.48404). Very hot and boring no cars after the reserve exit. Happy to reach Curarrehue’s cafeteria for sweet delights after 07:10 bus !<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-20 to 2023-Feb-21 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 1 PN Huerquehue / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Hitched from the end of GPT14 to the start of the trail to Laguna Isolda (option 01). The start is gated (easily passable) and says private property but we continued. Sign said to call bosquesnalcahue (45) 91 06 59. We anticipated a bushwack but the trail was in surprisingly good conditions and we managed to meet the women responsible for the upkeep later in the park, she guides horse tours through those trails and clears as much as she can.<br /> The trail however is &quot;so so&quot; and you cannot access the lake easily, if you need water there is running water here;-39.10352, -71.54720. The trail turns into a road sooner than it is shown on the map, it turns into a road here;-39.10477, -71.54474 (about 5 km in). The road to the hotsprings has lots of water sources but it is not very interesting and I personally wished I just hitched all the way to the hotsprings to spend more time there. However, there was an interesting deserted logging operation along the way (-39.12617, -71.55411), we learned from the horse guide that the company went bankrupt and just left everything there. <br /> <br /> Camping at the hotsprings; Evo Thermas Rio Blanco and San Sebastian, are 15mil/person. We chose to stay at Rio Blanco because of the pools and a better variety of camping spots. We camped above the booth where you pay and the man who we payed showed us a hidden super hot (adjustable with cold water hose) bath not too far from our camp spot. Tomáš was surprised there by a family at 10 PM so keep some makeshift swimsuits ready. Both campings sell some basic food items but not much. <br /> <br /> There is a sign saying the trail to Huerquehue is closed &quot;Indefinitely&quot; and so is camping Renahue. Quite alarming but since the website said the park was open we continued with the mindset we would have to turn back. The trail was pretty good from the termas to camping renahue and it is here where we met the horse guides that were doing the trail maintenance near Laguna Isolda. The horse guides came up through the trail from lake Caburgua and they said it was an easy trail. This could be a good option if you wanted to avoid any trouble with CONAF and the section closure. However we were still curious about Huerquehue so we continued option01 thinking we would turn back if we saw another sign or anything saying the trail was closed, to our surprise there were no more signs. Between camping renahue to lake Huerquehue there is a lot of blow down but after lake Huerquehue the trail is pristine. We started seeing people after Lago Toro so obviously the park was open. With the combination of having a late morning at the hot springs and all the indecisiveness about closures we ended up walking through the park at a great time ( 530-7pm). There were very few people and we really got to enjoy how beautiful it was there. CONAF website said they close at 530pm but there are no gates and attendants so no problems leaving the park later.<br /> Unfortunately at the lake the camping El Rincon was closed and camping Olga was 18mil a night with a minimum of a two night stay so we managed to get a hitch to Pucón. If needed, you can illegally camp at the CONAF station as that is what others were doing or ask &quot;Alicia&quot; at the old El Rincon campsite if you can pay privately and take care of your washroom needs- supposedly they had to shut down due to washroom problems. <br /> <br /> '''&quot;Trail closure&quot; on option 01PN Huerquehue. When leaving the Eco termas Rio Blanco hot springs there is a sign saying the &quot;Huerquehue trail, camping renahue and the dome&quot; are closed &quot;indefinitely&quot;. The park itself is open but supposedly that section on the trail is closed. We continued bcs we were not sure which trail they were exactly talking about but we're prepared to turn around if we saw something blocked off. The trail was fine except for a lot of blow down up until the lake Huerquehue. If you want to avoid this closure there is a trail in good shape coming from lake Caburgua to camping renahue. We met a horse guide coming from there and said it is fine.'''<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-05 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Frank<br /> <br /> I combined GPT15, 16 &amp; 17. It's easy to resupply in Curarrehue &amp; Liquine. 2 short days for GPT15 &amp; continued to GPT16 on 2nd day. Got the bus from Pucon to Reigolil via Currarehue. Didn't go to the lake but continued straight on the main road to Curarrehue. This option is quicker but there are not many places to camp. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb / 1.5 days / Hiking / NOBO<br /> <br /> We took the dirt road on the west side of river. There is a small coffee about 7km from Currarehue. Very nice with good atmosphere. No particular interest in this section. Hitch if you can, there are quite some people living along this road so it should be easy. There is a bus doing Currarehue/Reigolil every day. Currarehue is nice to resupply with restaurants, supermarkets and accommodation. There is also an ATM. Reigolil there is only one very small shop with not much.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-30 / SOBO / Main road / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> We started to walk on the road on the Western side of the river just to see what will happen. After 2 hours a bus to Curarrehue came ;-)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-26 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun C <br /> <br /> Straightforward. Took a short 2 days. Rained incessantly, but still very pleasant, especially the misty Laguna Hualalafquen. Water readily available throughout. Only a few patches of snow (above 1200m).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-15 / 4 days (GPT14 + GPT 15) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> We combined sections 14 and 15. It took us 3 days and nero.<br /> GPT14 - there are signs that someone tried to clear overgrown part of the trail on the begining and end but middle is still nicely overgrown. Though we didn't have problem to follow.<br /> Part of minor road on regular trail is under construction. They are putting a huge pipe under it. It was evening and workers were not there se we managed to sneak through but I don't think they will let you pass during working hours. It's just before descending to the river before National reserve Villarrica. <br /> In the Conaf campsite was food truck (it was weekend) with churasco, sopapillas, drinks... pure heaven. We paid 4000 per person at conaf.<br /> They are building a dorm at Lodge. It will be ready for next years hikers ;) <br /> Resuply in Reigolil - mini shop on trail seemed abandoned. We found best supplies in shop-4. There is one other shop directly after bridge. <br /> GPT15 - road and trail in good condition. On the climb to the lake bit before last settler there are some wild cherry trees on the left. We stuffed ourselves and left for others too. Enjoy. Multiple shops, accomodation options and restaurants in Curarrehue.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-19 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Easy walking, road in good condition. Would recommend hitching if you have limited time, but worth doing otherwise to connect sections 14 and 16. Really good resupply in Curarrehue (restaurants, grocery stores, clothing stores, pharmacy etc).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> *Pucon has a few big supermarkets &amp; several shops with hiking gear. One of the supermarkets has a hardware section where you can buy camping gas. <br /> <br /> *Regioli at the northern start of the section has only one limited shop. <br /> <br /> *Curarrehue, at the southern end, is a decent-sized town with numerous restaurants and shops. <br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> Regioli has limited options. Curarrehue is much better connected.<br /> <br /> [[File:Reigolil.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Timetable January 2020]]<br /> <br /> Bus goes from Pucon to Curarrehue then Reigolil<br /> <br /> As of January 2024<br /> <br /> Bus from Reigolil to Curarrehue at 2pm. 1000 pesos. Two hour bus ride.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT15 - Curarrehue]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095280.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT15]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095440.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT15 and [[Volcán Lanín]]]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095350.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095403.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095479.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095515.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT15_(Curarrehue)&diff=113677 2024-01-16T18:21:56Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-15 to 2024-Jan-16 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {15-03} / Lilian<br /> <br /> Km1.07 : camping possibilities at west of the road(without fence)beside the river, some trees for privacy and cover.<br /> <br /> Km4.0 : Dirt road junction, you can follow the dirt road to river side, looks like a large flat area there.<br /> <br /> Km4.85 : large and beautiful grassland with trees and beside the river, some camping trace here. A small stream is flowing across the road 50m more.<br /> <br /> Km7.8 : I crossed to the other side of valley with a bridge at here.<br /> <br /> Settlement[59.8+6.9/767] : also a small shop here, selling some food and drinks, not much selection but good stock. I saw some locals waiting bus at here too. Super friendly.<br /> <br /> Then i continued south to join {15-03}.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {15-03} km1.45 : i saw a clear trailhead going south at here.<br /> <br /> Km1.6 : junction of road and trail.<br /> <br /> From here to km4.1, {15-03} is a very old, damaged and no more cars running dirt road. Mostly you are following it, walking on it or some horse trail and cow paths to the pass at km4.35. Steep but very easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km1.68 : a trail junction here, it is a very clear trail to north, i think it is connected with the trailhead at km1.45.<br /> <br /> Km2.25 : side trail to a stream (-39.19811, -71.47021), some people use wood and bamboo made a pipe here, easy to collect water, thank you!<br /> <br /> Km2.75 : beautiful camping spot with grassland.<br /> <br /> Km3.1 : small stream(-39.20079, -71.47549) flowing good, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> Km3.9 : no more trace of road, become a horse trail. Some flat spots at valley(east) side with views but windy.<br /> <br /> The trail is maintained by some people, some sticks just cut off on the ground maybe some weeks before. Trail condition is good and going smooth.<br /> <br /> Km4.35 : some flat spots and an old, small bridge here. Stream under the bridge without flowing.<br /> <br /> Km5.8 : trail condition becomes an old dirt road, also a dirt road junction here.<br /> <br /> Km5.85 : beautiful grassland(-39.21900, -71.48849), with a huge tree can fit lot of tents here. Bridge and a good flow stream nearby(-39.21831, -71.48848).<br /> <br /> Km5.9 : bridge, stream flowing good with clear water under the bridge.<br /> <br /> Km7.55 : stream flowing low beside the road, cross a log to grassland camping spot. After here, no more camping possibilities i can find.<br /> <br /> Km8.1 : a friendly locked gate, easy climb at left side.<br /> <br /> Km8.2 : bridge, stream flowing good with clear water under the bridge.<br /> <br /> Km11.3 : bus stop at the turning, but i don't know about the bus schedule.<br /> <br /> I walked about 4-5km more, a local driver waved hands to me, then i arrived Curarrehue, MAGIC!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Good town for resupply. Lot of accommodation, some supermarkets and restaurants in Curarrehue, also bus to Pucón. I resupply at Supermercado Katty(-39.36219, -71.58473), because locals told me it is the best in Curarrehue, and i find 230g gas canisters at GYG Supermercado (2nd floor)(-39.36043, -71.58693), it just left 2.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-28-12 / 1,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Option 1 + 1a / Jens <br /> <br /> I crossed the Huerquehue National Park to the north. Bus from Pucon to the entrance at 8.30am. Be there early, it fills up quickly.<br /> <br /> The warden told me that it was illegal to cross the park because of the trek closure. I assured her that I would come back and ignored her. <br /> <br /> The crossing was easy and beautiful. The trail was mostly maintained with the occasional tree trunk to climb over. <br /> <br /> Camping and water available.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-27 / 4 days / Hiking / 15-O1 NOBO + Solipulli traverse + 14 SOBO / Martial <br /> <br /> Very nice expedition starting opposite side from Nat &amp; Tomas cause i skipped GPT11-13 for gear resupply in Pucón (Volcanica outdoors very good btw !).<br /> Started 15-O1 in Parc Huerquehue the 23 in the morning after negociating an entrance ticket with one of the guard off voices who was very comprehensive after i got here without ticket on the 22 at 18pm and parc was fully reserved for 2 more days.. Be more prepared ! Had a lucky price 10mil for Olga’s camping 10mil for 1 person arriving late. Very good value for money ! Crystal clear lake water sunset, hot clean showers, caring owners.. Beers, galletas y pan amasado caliente in the morning ! Had to get back to the CONAF gate in the morning for ticket so wished i had left the mochila in Olga’s 😓 Easy and nice walk up to the lagunas and although i have been warned Renahue sector was shut, i decided to continue as Conaf is not checking exit route. (The sector has been closed for missbehavior of the visitors so obviously don’t make fire or leave basura !!). Starting this sector the trail is volontary left sufficiently overgrown to discourage normal visitor but no GPT hiker 😄 and the way down to the Termas is nice enough. Stayed at ecotermas for 15mil after nice chat with Richard the guardian. Loved to immerge in the termas for hours with a beer and chating with Chileans.<br /> Next morning had in mind to hitchhike but no cars so found nice cascade before turning left to laguna Isolda. The owner put a gate « recinto privado » but you can pass asking for permission.. I bumped into him and his little daughter cleaning the trail to the laguna with machete : very nice guy and thanks to him the trail in this forest till the road is beautiful !<br /> Hitchhiking the road was no better so had to camp next to it on an unmarked camp here -39.06698, -71.51530, rainy night.<br /> The day after finally had a lucky hitch all the way to the entrance of the reserva to Solipulli so could actually make it to the summit on the same day by following the south est ascent. It is CC after the treeline and found a good path climbing to the lake located before the crater for high camp (my specialty it seems 😄 !). Aqui : -38.96789, -71.49060. Weather was getting full sun so no problem and was delightly rewarded by one of the most amazing sunset of my life setting just into a depression of the crater above the glaciar. Mesmerizing and got me smiling for hours despite the crazy windy cold !<br /> After an icy night i used the same path to the ridge scouted before and could join the RR and true summit for midtime before going down on the easy north route heading to CONAF. There was surprisingly no-one there on a sunday early afternoon. Got small supplies from the lodge owner (28mil one p. in the refugio so passed and camped near a lake before last ford : recommended). Met also Franklin family for a few welcome asada meat sandwich treat 🍖 So generous !!<br /> Next day was big MR hiking back 14 sobo so putted earpods and went fullgas to a camp after Reigolil marked on gaia gps (but actually shut so got it free after asking for permision to the abuelo : -39.13615, -71.48404). Very hot and boring no cars after the reserve exit. Happy to reach Curarrehue’s cafeteria for sweet delights after 07:10 bus !<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-20 to 2023-Feb-21 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 1 PN Huerquehue / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Hitched from the end of GPT14 to the start of the trail to Laguna Isolda (option 01). The start is gated (easily passable) and says private property but we continued. Sign said to call bosquesnalcahue (45) 91 06 59. We anticipated a bushwack but the trail was in surprisingly good conditions and we managed to meet the women responsible for the upkeep later in the park, she guides horse tours through those trails and clears as much as she can.<br /> The trail however is &quot;so so&quot; and you cannot access the lake easily, if you need water there is running water here;-39.10352, -71.54720. The trail turns into a road sooner than it is shown on the map, it turns into a road here;-39.10477, -71.54474 (about 5 km in). The road to the hotsprings has lots of water sources but it is not very interesting and I personally wished I just hitched all the way to the hotsprings to spend more time there. However, there was an interesting deserted logging operation along the way (-39.12617, -71.55411), we learned from the horse guide that the company went bankrupt and just left everything there. <br /> <br /> Camping at the hotsprings; Evo Thermas Rio Blanco and San Sebastian, are 15mil/person. We chose to stay at Rio Blanco because of the pools and a better variety of camping spots. We camped above the booth where you pay and the man who we payed showed us a hidden super hot (adjustable with cold water hose) bath not too far from our camp spot. Tomáš was surprised there by a family at 10 PM so keep some makeshift swimsuits ready. Both campings sell some basic food items but not much. <br /> <br /> There is a sign saying the trail to Huerquehue is closed &quot;Indefinitely&quot; and so is camping Renahue. Quite alarming but since the website said the park was open we continued with the mindset we would have to turn back. The trail was pretty good from the termas to camping renahue and it is here where we met the horse guides that were doing the trail maintenance near Laguna Isolda. The horse guides came up through the trail from lake Caburgua and they said it was an easy trail. This could be a good option if you wanted to avoid any trouble with CONAF and the section closure. However we were still curious about Huerquehue so we continued option01 thinking we would turn back if we saw another sign or anything saying the trail was closed, to our surprise there were no more signs. Between camping renahue to lake Huerquehue there is a lot of blow down but after lake Huerquehue the trail is pristine. We started seeing people after Lago Toro so obviously the park was open. With the combination of having a late morning at the hot springs and all the indecisiveness about closures we ended up walking through the park at a great time ( 530-7pm). There were very few people and we really got to enjoy how beautiful it was there. CONAF website said they close at 530pm but there are no gates and attendants so no problems leaving the park later.<br /> Unfortunately at the lake the camping El Rincon was closed and camping Olga was 18mil a night with a minimum of a two night stay so we managed to get a hitch to Pucón. If needed, you can illegally camp at the CONAF station as that is what others were doing or ask &quot;Alicia&quot; at the old El Rincon campsite if you can pay privately and take care of your washroom needs- supposedly they had to shut down due to washroom problems. <br /> <br /> '''&quot;Trail closure&quot; on option 01PN Huerquehue. When leaving the Eco termas Rio Blanco hot springs there is a sign saying the &quot;Huerquehue trail, camping renahue and the dome&quot; are closed &quot;indefinitely&quot;. The park itself is open but supposedly that section on the trail is closed. We continued bcs we were not sure which trail they were exactly talking about but we're prepared to turn around if we saw something blocked off. The trail was fine except for a lot of blow down up until the lake Huerquehue. If you want to avoid this closure there is a trail in good shape coming from lake Caburgua to camping renahue. We met a horse guide coming from there and said it is fine.'''<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-05 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Frank<br /> <br /> I combined GPT15, 16 &amp; 17. It's easy to resupply in Curarrehue &amp; Liquine. 2 short days for GPT15 &amp; continued to GPT16 on 2nd day. Got the bus from Pucon to Reigolil via Currarehue. Didn't go to the lake but continued straight on the main road to Curarrehue. This option is quicker but there are not many places to camp. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Feb / 1.5 days / Hiking / NOBO<br /> <br /> We took the dirt road on the west side of river. There is a small coffee about 7km from Currarehue. Very nice with good atmosphere. No particular interest in this section. Hitch if you can, there are quite some people living along this road so it should be easy. There is a bus doing Currarehue/Reigolil every day. Currarehue is nice to resupply with restaurants, supermarkets and accommodation. There is also an ATM. Reigolil there is only one very small shop with not much.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-30 / SOBO / Main road / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> We started to walk on the road on the Western side of the river just to see what will happen. After 2 hours a bus to Curarrehue came ;-)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-26 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun C <br /> <br /> Straightforward. Took a short 2 days. Rained incessantly, but still very pleasant, especially the misty Laguna Hualalafquen. Water readily available throughout. Only a few patches of snow (above 1200m).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-15 / 4 days (GPT14 + GPT 15) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> We combined sections 14 and 15. It took us 3 days and nero.<br /> GPT14 - there are signs that someone tried to clear overgrown part of the trail on the begining and end but middle is still nicely overgrown. Though we didn't have problem to follow.<br /> Part of minor road on regular trail is under construction. They are putting a huge pipe under it. It was evening and workers were not there se we managed to sneak through but I don't think they will let you pass during working hours. It's just before descending to the river before National reserve Villarrica. <br /> In the Conaf campsite was food truck (it was weekend) with churasco, sopapillas, drinks... pure heaven. We paid 4000 per person at conaf.<br /> They are building a dorm at Lodge. It will be ready for next years hikers ;) <br /> Resuply in Reigolil - mini shop on trail seemed abandoned. We found best supplies in shop-4. There is one other shop directly after bridge. <br /> GPT15 - road and trail in good condition. On the climb to the lake bit before last settler there are some wild cherry trees on the left. We stuffed ourselves and left for others too. Enjoy. Multiple shops, accomodation options and restaurants in Curarrehue.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-19 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Easy walking, road in good condition. Would recommend hitching if you have limited time, but worth doing otherwise to connect sections 14 and 16. Really good resupply in Curarrehue (restaurants, grocery stores, clothing stores, pharmacy etc).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> *Pucon has a few big supermarkets &amp; several shops with hiking gear. One of the supermarkets has a hardware section where you can buy camping gas. <br /> <br /> *Regioli at the northern start of the section has only one limited shop. <br /> <br /> *Curarrehue, at the southern end, is a decent-sized town with numerous restaurants and shops. <br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> Regioli has limited options. Curarrehue is much better connected.<br /> <br /> [[File:Reigolil.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Timetable January 2020]]<br /> <br /> Bus goes from Pucon to Curarrehue then Reigolil<br /> <br /> As of January 2024<br /> <br /> Bus from Reigolil to Curarrehue at 2pm. 1000 pesos. Two hour bus ride.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT15 - Curarrehue]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095280.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT15]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095440.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT15 and [[Volcán Lanín]]]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095350.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095403.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095479.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_9_Curarrehue_109095515.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT14_(Volcan_Sollipulli)&diff=113673 2024-01-16T14:11:03Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-13 to 2024-Jan-15 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {14-A} - RR - {14-E} - RR - {14-01} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> DON'T SKIP GPT14, the views on Nevados de Sollipulli is one of the most STUNNING views in my life! <br /> <br /> HIGHLY RECOMMEND to you!<br /> <br /> <br /> Here is the waypoint description: <br /> <br /> RR road walking.<br /> <br /> Km1.0 : a small shop.<br /> <br /> Km1.1 : tiny shop, look like only have drinks and ice cream. It is closed when i was there at weekend.<br /> <br /> Km5.2 : junction of RR and {14-A}, i go for {14-A} because i want to arrive ranger station RR[31.8/1141] before 11am, {14-A} is a dirt road, the time can be controlled and stable.<br /> <br /> {14-A} km6.3 : ranger station, crowned when i pass here.<br /> <br /> Lot of possible camping spot beside the dirt road of {14-A}, i think it is easy to find a spot here.<br /> <br /> {14-A} km10.9 : water flowing, but it need some BB, about 10m for get close to stream.<br /> <br /> Km11.4 : locked gate, go around itbon right side.<br /> <br /> Km12.5 : huge blowdown, no more cars going up by this road.<br /> <br /> Km13.0 : side trail on valley side, 30m for collecting water, flowing low.<br /> <br /> Km13.3 : {14-A} end, connect with RR km15.7.<br /> <br /> I find one more water spot nearby, at RR km15.6, also a side trail at valley side, a little overgrown about 10m to stream, better water at downstream 10m, you can cross 2 logs there, then you will find a very tiny waterfall, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Camp RR[17.9/1538] : tiny grassland, some muddy nearby. Water flowing at downstream of the muddy, but in steep valley look like very difficult to collect.<br /> <br /> Camp[22.4/2158] : very beautiful grassland camping spot until km22.95.<br /> <br /> Km23.45 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. Better climb at left side, just the top one is barbed wire, all the wire of right side is barbed.<br /> <br /> Km24.6 : another beautiful grassland camping spot. I heard water flowing good at valley side, but I'm not sure can collect water or not. I think this is the last camping spot before you met settlement and climbing Sollipulli.<br /> <br /> Km25.85 : crossing Estero Huechelepun on bridge, water flowing good under the bridge, it is a steep valley, I don't think it is possible to collect water here.<br /> <br /> Km29.5 : junction of RR, {14-I} and {14-E}. RR is blocked by barbed wire fence. So i go for {14-E} then met RR.<br /> <br /> Honestly, i don't think {14-F}, {14-G} and {14-H} is still usable now. At {14-E} km0.4, {14-F} is blocked by a barbed wire fence(no gate) that taller than human, only this spot the fence is such high, i think it means the owner not welcome other people to go in at here. Also bridge[31.0+0.2/1020] and ford[31.0/1034] is all blocked by gate or barbed wire fence. Even you can climb all over them, {14-F} is going just beside settlement, it will annoys the people there.<br /> <br /> Lastly, ranger station is not at park ranger[31.8/1141], it is at (-38.91796, -71.49481), even you can sneak by {14-F}, rangers are still in front of you. There are no way to go around them, and their windows are towards the road, they see you before you get close (the only method is earlier or later than them at there).<br /> <br /> So, i go for a round trip for Sollipulli, and put my backpack in ranger station.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> For Sollipulli {14-01}:<br /> <br /> Km0 : ranger station, car parking lot, some picnic table, food truck(not open on Sunday when i was there) and toilet. Also you can collect water by Río Carilafquén if need.<br /> <br /> Km1.25 : official viewpoint, but surrounded by some trees taller than the viewpoint 5-20m, i saw nothing here. Some benches here too.<br /> <br /> Km2.1 : junction of {14-01} and {14-01A} (CC route). For GPT hiker, both are in good condition, easy to follow and walk, but of course {14-01} is a little better condition, because of official route.<br /> <br /> Km3.8 : sharp turning, a helipad nearby.<br /> <br /> Km4.73 : official viewpoint.<br /> <br /> Km5.3-km6.1 : snow valley, covered by snow now. Not too steep, no difficult climb up and go down, also there are some day hikers, mostly you can follow their steps or go by yourself.<br /> <br /> Summit [6.3/2145] to km7.05, covered by snow ridge now, very easy to walk on. Km7.1 is a better point for rest, mort quite, more peaceful. Most of the day hikers would not come to here. km7.05, enjoy your moments here.<br /> <br /> For my observation from high, km7.1 to km7.9 are all covered by snow, but easy to walk on. I didn't see any footprints or trace on the snow, so I don't know descent is still work or not. I need to get back my backpack at ranger station, so i didn't go down at here.<br /> <br /> I take a long nap and some relax with amazing views at km7.05, such a good time.<br /> <br /> I took 3 hours for climb up and 1.5 hour to go down.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Continues on RR :<br /> <br /> Km32.2 : viewpoint of waterfall.<br /> <br /> Bridge[33.5/1188] : no bridge here, wet feet crossing. From here to ford[37.0/1228] you need to cross the same river 6 times, all wet feet crossing but just above ankle, easy.<br /> <br /> Km37.95: flat grassland beside a pond. I saw some people camping here, look nice.<br /> <br /> Camp[39.3/1294] : grassland camping spot with 2 fire ring beside the river.<br /> <br /> Km40.6 : an old dirt road leads you to a grassland beside the river.<br /> <br /> Km43.0 : junction of RR and {14-01}, {14-01} at here is a clear road to west, also one more road is going west after here 80m.<br /> <br /> Lot of small stream if flowing good with clear water across the road after the pass.<br /> <br /> Km44.5 : road junction, a sign &quot;Reigolil Paso Mallin Chileno&quot; here. Nice seat with good view of Sollipulli too.<br /> <br /> Km49 : wet feet or an exciting log crossing.<br /> <br /> Shop[57.8/856] : it is a ferretería, with drinks and ice cream, friendly.<br /> <br /> At last, I didn't cross bridge[59.8/835] to Reigolil and keep going south because i have enough food for GPT15.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 28 - 31 dec / 3 days / NOBO/ Option 01B / Natalie &amp; Tomáš<br /> <br /> Last year we wondered if one can avoid roadwalking on GPT 14 and GPT15 by traversing Sollipulli (not the glacier) and it turns out it can be done and is quite a spectacular option (probably a lot more attractive then RR and when done right, not with too many people). The idea is, SOBO, to follow the rim of Sollipulli for about 4 km, then go to Laguna Cochor (14-01B), then to Laguna Isolda, Termas Rio Blanco and NP Huerquehue (15-01) and then Villarica Traverse (16-04). If you hitch (should be easy) or take a bus between the end of 15-01 and beginning of 16-04 through Pucon, you will get quite a nice trail without much roadwalking. See our notes to GPT15 and GPT16 for the rest of this option, here follows the Solipulli bit.<br /> <br /> Note: to do a one way traverse of Sollipulli, either walk through the CONAF station before about 8 AM or after about 7 PM when the guards should no longer be there or walk past it for qbout 1 km on the road and take a right at 38.9238605S, 71.4873252W where there is an OSM trail based on Strava heatmap; however that trail needs to be confirmed, but it is almost for certain there.<br /> <br /> Since we climbed Sollipulli last year from the north, this year we opted to do a day trip from Laguna Cochor to the north summit via south summit of Sollipulli, thus proving the traverse is doable and not too hard. The following paragraph (Tl;DR: do not expect to get a ride easily on this road) is about access, so if you are coming from the north, skip it. <br /> <br /> We took a bus from Temuco to Cunco, they go every half an hour and cost a few thousand pesos. There are many terminals, the company you look for is Nar Bus, find its terminal in google maps to save yourself 1 km of going to the rural bus terminal and back. The ride takes cca 80 minutes. From Cunco, there is a daily bus to Laguna Caburga that leaves everyday at 17:00. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it should go all the way to Termas Rio Blanco (it probably goes back in the morning, do not remember time schedule but we just saw a bus in the morning in the direction of Cunco). In Cunco we missed that bus and had to hitch. It was very easy at the beginning to get to Lago Colico but after that it became extremely difficult all the way to the start of the hike. We had to sleep in the forest that night because no cars were stopping. In the morning, we got a hitch of 3 km and then we walked a few more to the western end of Laguna Caburga. We bought some bread and chips there, waited for four hours for a hitch and killed about twenty horseflies. None of the 15 cars that passed took us. We then walked to the other end of the lake, where we got a hitch to the junction with access to Thermas Rio Blanco. From there, we walked to the start/end of GPT14 option 1B. It took us about 26 hours from Cunco. <br /> <br /> At the entrance to the trail (it is open but seems to lead through private land), there is a sign saying it is not allowed to camp at Laguna Cochor (which is clearly being violated, on our second night there, there was a Chilean tent). Secondly, it says there is no estabilished access to Sollipulli, which is not true, the path leads well above the tree line. The trail is an old road for ~1 km and the rest is very clear, easy and pretty through sometimes dark forrest. At the laguna, there is a beach where one can camp, as we did. There is no good source of water on the way to the laguna or at the laguna (but some streams could be heard in the undergrowth), definitely treat the water in the laguna. <br /> <br /> The next day, we hid our tent and set off to reach the south summit of Sollipulli and then to the northern summit via the ridge (or below the ridge). It was an extremely long day trip (~16hrs out and back) but it should not be a problem if doing a proper traverse, many camping options. If one does not want to camp at Laguna Cochor, first good place is right above the treeline where the TR section ends and CC section begins. A nicer place would be cca 1 km further on, where you traverse to a nice valley. The first cca 2 km of CC are actually more TR&amp;CC, the trail comes and goes and follows the contour line, which is to be recommended. In the valley, there was a stream that can still be jumped in one place or could be easily forded. With less snow, it would probably be jumpable almost everywhere. The way to the summit is uneventful and a bit of a slog. No scrambling is needed (there is just one small rock obstacle, but one can walk through). Above around 1900 m., there was a lot of snow. If going early in the season, check the map where glaciers are and do not walk on them - you do not need to, they are fairly small. From the summit, we looked for several ways to go down and then retraced a bit and actually crossed what on a map is marked as a glacier here: 38.9963315S, 71.5233126W. Judging from satellite photos and our own survey, we think the western part of the glacier has melted and we walked over a snowfield to a soft ridge with a small tarn at the end of it. Getting down from this ridge sharply down a f left towards a plateau like valley may or may not be difficult if there is &quot;no&quot; snow. We found a good way down on moderate snow slopes but considering the snow there is still almost 10-15m deep we do not know what the rock would be like, most likely it should be fine without snow. Here Natalie went back as it was already 1500, but Tomáš pressed on. He went across the valley and up the side of the next ridge at roughly 2000 m (there are two places that are not rocky, this one was the lower one, it was steep but fairly easy walking through loose stones and scree), then he went roughly half the way up the ridge, traversed above the two lakes on the way, the got to the rim and walked the ridge, then he got down to the other two lakes on the map and walked up to the summit.<br /> <br /> It was six, so he ate and then spent 6 hours walking back, this time not going to the rim at all and staying under the two more southern lakes and then retracing his steps - this was a faster but less spectacular variant. There seemed to be many possible variants how to cross this six km between two endpoints of GPT, the best variant will depend on your mood, skill level, weather and snowncover. It is however possible to do the traverse without climbing or exposed scrambling (though to make sure, somebody should do this in February when there is no snow), Tomáš practically never used his hands. On the way back, he met a Chilean tent above the treeline.<br /> <br /> Next day, we walked down to the road, walked about six km, got a hitch of 3 km to Reigolil, after 15 min there got a hitch of 5 km, waited for an hour and then got a hitch all the way to Pucón (about 75 min of driving). <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 23 - 25 dec / 3 days / SOBO / RR + D + Sollipulli summit / Frans<br /> <br /> Trail is mildly overgrown going up to the first campsite but not as bad as expected. Usually until your knees but the trail is still visible, it just slows you down. Keep an eye on your GPS if you think you lost it, it's spot on with the GPX files. Camp 14 [22.4] is such a nice spot! Be aware that if you want to do the Sollipulli summit you have to there before 1100 (according to the sign) or the rangers won't let you up. Still a 2hr walk, but not difficult.<br /> <br /> GPT14-I point there is a gate and private property sign if you want to continue RR. They are doing road construction, and there is a guard house at the end. I didn't see anyone there, but it was weekend. Just keep in mind you might need to do the detour which takes a bit longer to get to the ranger station.<br /> <br /> At the park rangers place you can drop your backpack. I was not allowed to do a one-way trip. Needed to come back. It's definitely worth it! Amazing crater and nice views! Took me 2hrs to get up, 1.5 to get down. <br /> <br /> I walked to Camp 14 [39.3] to spend the night. Also a nice spot. The rest of the trail is not super exiciting but 80% slowly downhill which is nice to speed up this part. I spend the night a few km's into GPT 15 next to the river. There are a few decent spots after about 4km.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-31 to 2023-Feb-02/ 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / including the Sollipulli volcano / Johana &amp; Matouš<br /> <br /> One of the best sections so far for us thanks to the Sollipulli volcano. We started at the Icalma lake (the San Alfonso camp was great, 10 000 per two people, hot water (yes!) and access to the beach). There are some restaurants and minishops as well, enough to resupply I believe. The overgrown section had been cleared half a bamboo-metre ago, so sometimes it was tough and felt like the forest wants to suck you in. Nothing impassable, but the two kilometres took us two hours. Another thing - the river where the ascent starts in the forest is for long the only water source there if the weather is dry. There was a gate (S 38° 53.3570' W 071° 27.0191'); there's a hole in the fence on the left that we went under. We camped at a good spot on the right side of the road (S 38°53.4903' W 071° 27.8162'). The next day, we rushed to the CONAF station - we got there a little past 11 AM, but the ranger let us do the ascent anyway, we even had lunch before we went up (not from the stand, sadly, still operates only at the weekends). You can leave your backpacks with the ranger, which was great! We didn't pay anything to enter the park. It took us 5 hours there and back with a longer break at the top. The view from the top is indescribable plus the path leading up to it is also very nice with some snowpatches next to it that you can slide down as you please. <br /> After that we continued further down the road. We tried to outsmart the three fords but ended up fording the river three times anyway since the number of the fences and gates had increased I guess and we got stuck on a private property with nowhere to go. The best option might be to just follow the regular route. <br /> There's a beautiful camping spot that we highly recommend and had been told about by the ranger - a lot of free space, a laguna/pond, nice (not dense!) forest and several safe fireplaces. (S 38°56.3141' W 071°27.6738)<br /> From there on it was easy walking until Reigolil. The shop before the bridge has not many things to resupply but is good to refresh. The shop near the bus stop tuna, rice, pasta, biscuits, chips, beverages, some vegetables as well, enough to resupply. Its owners were so nice that they took us to their lot near the river where they let us pitch our tent. It seems that you can freely camp by the river but there was some Mapuche festival going on at that time. <br /> The bus schedule: 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. from the bus stop by the shop to Pucon. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-18 to 2023-Feb-20 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR starting in Tracura (road to Sollipulli) / Natalie &amp; Tomáš<br /> <br /> We used Icalma as a resupply which worked well enough; many &quot;mini- supermercados&quot; and cheap accomodation (we had a cabana for 20mil/10mil each) but as a warning internet is awful! There is a nice pehuenche restaurant at the southern end of town on the main road and a little further than this on the main road you can get the best cell signal. Supposedly a bus goes to Lonquimay Mon-Wed-Fri but I forget the times, I think it was at 6am and 3pm.<br /> <br /> We headed towards parque Sollipulli but hitching out of Icalma was slow, ~2hours combined waiting. We got off at Tracura and walked most of the way to CONAF (minus 4km hitch). Hitching was difficult even though it was a Saturday and there were cars, just no takers. No clean water sources until conaf but you could ask one of the cabana rentals along the way if needed.<br /> No entrance fee at CONAF and although camping is not allowed the &quot;senior&quot; ranger told us we could camp behind the office (I may have persuaded him with piñones). The only thing is we had to wait until everyone was gone (~7-730pm) and then leave early the next day (~7-730am). He didn't want people to know so don't spread the word... There are water, toilets, cold showers and the next morning we were able to keep our things in the other building as we went up Sollipulli. Finally there was a food truck there with sopapillas and juice (it was a Saturday).<br /> <br /> As for Sollipulli it has been the easiest summit so far, there is superb trail and it took ~2hrs up más o menos. There is one intersection where the trail tells you to go right but the climbers trail goes straight and is quicker ( staying left is more quick;-38.93399, -71.49659).<br /> The glacier is amazing, 4km in diameter and supposedly 200m deep. I would come back here with glacier gear to cross it and go down the south summit. However Tomáš has his eyes on a way to go around the crater without glacier gear, so it would be a mixture of walking the rim and traversing above treeline towards the south summit where there should be another trail. That would save one cca 20 km of road walking.<br /> <br /> We wanted to go up the main route and down option 01 but CONAF still requests you come down the same way and since they helped us with camping I wanted to respect their wishes. If you wanted to avoid the rangers we both think you could easily go up before or after they arrive, we saw a few other parties doing this. Note that there is no water after CONAF, if you were doing the traverse there are some lakes down to the east from the North summit. We think the traverse looks easy until the treeline. From the other end we later passed the trail going up which is in fact a road - not sure how far it goes as a road.<br /> <br /> The summit was quick so afterwards we started walking the road that skirts Sollipulli on its east. It was a peaceful road and I have no complaints until it became not fun anymore after the camping at ~46.9. There were two vehicles that passed (no room) but I have no idea how they drove past some of the downed trees, would be a dodgy ride.<br /> The forests here are finally becoming alive! We saw tarantulas and a giant moth carcass and mushrooms finally! There are many fords at the beginning after the lodge so keep sandals on if you have them. It would be worth looking at Google earth for an alternative trail because we met a guided horse group on gpt15 that told us they went from the south summit of Sollipulli to the lodge without going on the road. It is possible they meant &quot;no road&quot; as in &quot;no asphalt road&quot; but who knows.<br /> We headed to routa S-965 to hitch to GPT15 PN Huerquehue (no cars passed until S-965).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-23 to 2023-Jan-25 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> This section took us 2 days. Unfortunately we didn’t go to the summit, because we needed to go quickly down to Curarrehue, but otherwise we wouldn’t skip it, just a few kms more and it looks incredible. About the trail, the beginning is a dirt road around the lakes and it continues until the start of overgrown section. That is a little more than 4kms, but from the start its a relatively normal trail, easy to follow. The overgrown part is mainly between km 2-3.5, but not so terrible overall following the gps. We camped at the end of this part that took us around 2 hrs, maybe less. After that you walk on a minor road all the time, in a really nice forrest. All the puestos were empty. Hot Spring waypoint is somewhere around houses so we didn’t even go there. To cross the river before CONAF station we used GPT14-E and the bridge. At the station was one guard, food truck closed, water available. The lodging after 1km is nice but it comes with higher prices, we stopped there to have some drink and beer + cola (cans) cost us 6k CLP. We spent the night in the forrest after the pass, but camp at km 46.9 looked great. The rest of the trail is still the same gravel road. Minishop at 57.8 has only basic food, but also some things for repairs etc. In Reigolil was only one shop on the main road open with very limited supplies, but we got from the lady pastel de choclo and some homemade bread, all delicious! Later we continued to GPT15.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / <br /> <br /> From Reigolil to Solipulli it is a very easy forest road inside the reserva nacional. Carabineros asked some questions and said we could camp where we wanted. Arriving at the CONAF site at Solipulli, there is a small campground, free if you pay the entrance for the volcanoe (4000pp). There is a food truck with sopaipillas and jugos. We hiked the Solipulli and it is a must see. It is incredible and there are not that many people doing it. The CONAF ranger is very friendly. We did not hike from there to Icalma to avoid bushbashing and we wanted to see the big fiesta planned in Melipeuco (every year in late feb). It was worth it as we got to see a celebration of baqueanos. Melipeuco is not this nice but there are several supermarkets and restaurants to resupply. Easy hitch to Icalma (or there are 2 buses / day). We then hitched to Liucura to start section 12.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-30 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Nothing to add to the previous comments. We arrived at the pipeline construction site during working hours and just followed the indications of the workers, no detour, just some optional route. We spent the night at the CONAF campground and had one of the best breakfasts in Chile at the Sollipulli Lodge (13'000 p.P.). As the rain hasn't stopped by lunchtime we had lunch there too, it was excellent :-D We actually quite liked this section with all the trees. We directly added section 15 after this one. There are several busses per day from Reigolil to Curarrehue but we don't know the schedule. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 15-Jan-2020 / 4 days (GPT 14 + GPT 15) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> We combined sections 14 and 15. It took us 3 days and nero.<br /> GPT14 - there are signs that someone tried to clear overgrown part of the trail on the begining and end but middle is still nicely overgrown. Though we didn't have problem to follow.<br /> Part of minor road on regular trail is under construction. They are putting a huge pipe under it. It was evening and workers were not there se we managed to sneak through but I don't think they will let you pass during working hours. It's just before descending to the river before National reserve Villarrica. <br /> In the Conaf campsite was food truck (it was weekend) with churasco, sopapillas, drinks... pure heaven. We paid 4000 per person at conaf.<br /> They are building a dorm at Lodge. It will be ready for next years hikers ;) <br /> Resuply in Reigolil - mini shop on trail seemed abandoned. We found best supplies in shop-4. There is one other shop directly after bridge. <br /> GPT15 - road and trail in good condition. On the climb to the lake bit before last settler there are some wild cherry trees on the left. We stuffed ourselves and left for others too. Enjoy. Multiple shops, accomodation options and restaurants in Curarrehue.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-18 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + optional summit up Volcán Sollipulli / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Overgrown trail towards the start is relatively easy to follow. Mostly overgrown around the middle but the tracks towards either end are in decent condition. The rest of the section is easy walking. I would strongly recommend taking a small detour to summit Volcán Sollipulli in the CONAF National park (~30km into the section). When we arrived at the park we had to pay a CLP 4000 fee per person. When speaking to the ranger about where we intended to walk, he advised that the optional route down from the Volcán we planned to take is in very poor condition and would not let us take it. We had to do an out and back. It took us around 3.5-4h to summit and return. The trail is in excellent condition (trail markers are present) and the view is spectacular!! Possibly the best thing I’ve seen on the GPT. We camped in the park for no charge and bought some hot food from the food truck in the evening on the weekend. No issues with the rest of the section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-02 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR including Sollipulli climb / Frank<br /> <br /> 2 long days including Sollipulli climb<br /> They are building the pipeline under the dirt road, when they are finished they will bury the pipe &amp; road should reopen. No issues going through there but it was Sunday &amp; no one was around. You walk on a narrow track above ditch, when you reach a point where two big boulders block the path you need to go down into the ditch to go around them. <br /> Climbing Sollipulli is highly recommended to see the huge summit crater filled with ice &amp; snow. Easy &amp; well marked ascent.<br /> You are not allowed to do the ascent after about 11AM. The food truck 'Sabores de Sollipulli' at the Conaf campsite only operates on weekends, it was closed on Sunday. I believe there is another Conaf site a little off route at Laguna Huaquifilo where you can camp. Nowhere good to camp after that. It was raining so I continued to Reigolil. Just after you cross the bridge there is a shop, they have rooms &amp; provide very basic food. Not recommended but will do if you are stuck.<br /> <br /> A few minor corrections: There is no bridge @ Bridge 46, just ford the river easily. Gate @ far side of ford is marked no entry but walking through appears to be OK.<br /> There is a gravel track that stays on the right side of the river &amp; goes past Ford 133 &amp; Ford 134 so you don't need to cross either of them. It leads to Ford 135 which you do cross.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> [[File:Reigolil.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Timetable January 2020]]<br /> <br /> Bus goes from Reigolil to Curacautin &amp; Pucon. When I was there it left Reigolil at 7 &amp; 7:50 AM (different to timetable) Confirm times at the shop by the bridge in Reigolil. Frank<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT14 - Volcán Sollipulli]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109047041.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045479.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045586.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045611.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045628.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045648.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109046479.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109046482.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109046483.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109047161.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109047207.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT14_(Volcan_Sollipulli)&diff=113672 2024-01-16T14:09:44Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-13 to 2024-Jan-15 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {14-A} - RR - {14-E} - RR - {14-01} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> DON'T SKIP GPT14, the views on Nevados de Sollipulli is one of the most STUNNING views in my life! <br /> HIGHLY RECOMMEND to you!<br /> <br /> <br /> Here is the waypoint description: <br /> <br /> RR road walking.<br /> <br /> Km1.0 : a small shop.<br /> <br /> Km1.1 : tiny shop, look like only have drinks and ice cream. It is closed when i was there at weekend.<br /> <br /> Km5.2 : junction of RR and {14-A}, i go for {14-A} because i want to arrive ranger station RR[31.8/1141] before 11am, {14-A} is a dirt road, the time can be controlled and stable.<br /> <br /> {14-A} km6.3 : ranger station, crowned when i pass here.<br /> <br /> Lot of possible camping spot beside the dirt road of {14-A}, i think it is easy to find a spot here.<br /> <br /> {14-A} km10.9 : water flowing, but it need some BB, about 10m for get close to stream.<br /> <br /> Km11.4 : locked gate, go around itbon right side.<br /> <br /> Km12.5 : huge blowdown, no more cars going up by this road.<br /> <br /> Km13.0 : side trail on valley side, 30m for collecting water, flowing low.<br /> <br /> Km13.3 : {14-A} end, connect with RR km15.7.<br /> <br /> I find one more water spot nearby, at RR km15.6, also a side trail at valley side, a little overgrown about 10m to stream, better water at downstream 10m, you can cross 2 logs there, then you will find a very tiny waterfall, easy to collect.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Camp RR[17.9/1538] : tiny grassland, some muddy nearby. Water flowing at downstream of the muddy, but in steep valley look like very difficult to collect.<br /> <br /> Camp[22.4/2158] : very beautiful grassland camping spot until km22.95.<br /> <br /> Km23.45 : locked gate with barbed wire fence. Better climb at left side, just the top one is barbed wire, all the wire of right side is barbed.<br /> <br /> Km24.6 : another beautiful grassland camping spot. I heard water flowing good at valley side, but I'm not sure can collect water or not. I think this is the last camping spot before you met settlement and climbing Sollipulli.<br /> <br /> Km25.85 : crossing Estero Huechelepun on bridge, water flowing good under the bridge, it is a steep valley, I don't think it is possible to collect water here.<br /> <br /> Km29.5 : junction of RR, {14-I} and {14-E}. RR is blocked by barbed wire fence. So i go for {14-E} then met RR.<br /> <br /> Honestly, i don't think {14-F}, {14-G} and {14-H} is still usable now. At {14-E} km0.4, {14-F} is blocked by a barbed wire fence(no gate) that taller than human, only this spot the fence is such high, i think it means the owner not welcome other people to go in at here. Also bridge[31.0+0.2/1020] and ford[31.0/1034] is all blocked by gate or barbed wire fence. Even you can climb all over them, {14-F} is going just beside settlement, it will annoys the people there.<br /> <br /> Lastly, ranger station is not at park ranger[31.8/1141], it is at (-38.91796, -71.49481), even you can sneak by {14-F}, rangers are still in front of you. There are no way to go around them, and their windows are towards the road, they see you before you get close (the only method is earlier or later than them at there).<br /> <br /> So, i go for a round trip for Sollipulli, and put my backpack in ranger station.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> For Sollipulli {14-01}:<br /> <br /> Km0 : ranger station, car parking lot, some picnic table, food truck(not open on Sunday when i was there) and toilet. Also you can collect water by Río Carilafquén if need.<br /> <br /> Km1.25 : official viewpoint, but surrounded by some trees taller than the viewpoint 5-20m, i saw nothing here. Some benches here too.<br /> <br /> Km2.1 : junction of {14-01} and {14-01A} (CC route). For GPT hiker, both are in good condition, easy to follow and walk, but of course {14-01} is a little better condition, because of official route.<br /> <br /> Km3.8 : sharp turning, a helipad nearby.<br /> <br /> Km4.73 : official viewpoint.<br /> <br /> Km5.3-km6.1 : snow valley, covered by snow now. Not too steep, no difficult climb up and go down, also there are some day hikers, mostly you can follow their steps or go by yourself.<br /> <br /> Summit [6.3/2145] to km7.05, covered by snow ridge now, very easy to walk on. Km7.1 is a better point for rest, mort quite, more peaceful. Most of the day hikers would not come to here. km7.05, enjoy your moments here.<br /> <br /> For my observation from high, km7.1 to km7.9 are all covered by snow, but easy to walk on. I didn't see any footprints or trace on the snow, so I don't know descent is still work or not. I need to get back my backpack at ranger station, so i didn't go down at here.<br /> <br /> I take a long nap and some relax with amazing views at km7.05, such a good time.<br /> <br /> I took 3 hours for climb up and 1.5 hour to go down.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Continues on RR :<br /> <br /> Km32.2 : viewpoint of waterfall.<br /> <br /> Bridge[33.5/1188] : no bridge here, wet feet crossing. From here to ford[37.0/1228] you need to cross the same river 6 times, all wet feet crossing but just above ankle, easy.<br /> <br /> Km37.95: flat grassland beside a pond. I saw some people camping here, look nice.<br /> <br /> Camp[39.3/1294] : grassland camping spot with 2 fire ring beside the river.<br /> <br /> Km40.6 : an old dirt road leads you to a grassland beside the river.<br /> <br /> Km43.0 : junction of RR and {14-01}, {14-01} at here is a clear road to west, also one more road is going west after here 80m.<br /> <br /> Lot of small stream if flowing good with clear water across the road after the pass.<br /> <br /> Km44.5 : road junction, a sign &quot;Reigolil Paso Mallin Chileno&quot; here. Nice seat with good view of Sollipulli too.<br /> <br /> Km49 : wet feet or an exciting log crossing.<br /> <br /> Shop[57.8/856] : it is a ferretería, with drinks and ice cream, friendly.<br /> <br /> At last, I didn't cross bridge[59.8/835] to Reigolil and keep going south because i have enough food for GPT15.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 28 - 31 dec / 3 days / NOBO/ Option 01B / Natalie &amp; Tomáš<br /> <br /> Last year we wondered if one can avoid roadwalking on GPT 14 and GPT15 by traversing Sollipulli (not the glacier) and it turns out it can be done and is quite a spectacular option (probably a lot more attractive then RR and when done right, not with too many people). The idea is, SOBO, to follow the rim of Sollipulli for about 4 km, then go to Laguna Cochor (14-01B), then to Laguna Isolda, Termas Rio Blanco and NP Huerquehue (15-01) and then Villarica Traverse (16-04). If you hitch (should be easy) or take a bus between the end of 15-01 and beginning of 16-04 through Pucon, you will get quite a nice trail without much roadwalking. See our notes to GPT15 and GPT16 for the rest of this option, here follows the Solipulli bit.<br /> <br /> Note: to do a one way traverse of Sollipulli, either walk through the CONAF station before about 8 AM or after about 7 PM when the guards should no longer be there or walk past it for qbout 1 km on the road and take a right at 38.9238605S, 71.4873252W where there is an OSM trail based on Strava heatmap; however that trail needs to be confirmed, but it is almost for certain there.<br /> <br /> Since we climbed Sollipulli last year from the north, this year we opted to do a day trip from Laguna Cochor to the north summit via south summit of Sollipulli, thus proving the traverse is doable and not too hard. The following paragraph (Tl;DR: do not expect to get a ride easily on this road) is about access, so if you are coming from the north, skip it. <br /> <br /> We took a bus from Temuco to Cunco, they go every half an hour and cost a few thousand pesos. There are many terminals, the company you look for is Nar Bus, find its terminal in google maps to save yourself 1 km of going to the rural bus terminal and back. The ride takes cca 80 minutes. From Cunco, there is a daily bus to Laguna Caburga that leaves everyday at 17:00. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it should go all the way to Termas Rio Blanco (it probably goes back in the morning, do not remember time schedule but we just saw a bus in the morning in the direction of Cunco). In Cunco we missed that bus and had to hitch. It was very easy at the beginning to get to Lago Colico but after that it became extremely difficult all the way to the start of the hike. We had to sleep in the forest that night because no cars were stopping. In the morning, we got a hitch of 3 km and then we walked a few more to the western end of Laguna Caburga. We bought some bread and chips there, waited for four hours for a hitch and killed about twenty horseflies. None of the 15 cars that passed took us. We then walked to the other end of the lake, where we got a hitch to the junction with access to Thermas Rio Blanco. From there, we walked to the start/end of GPT14 option 1B. It took us about 26 hours from Cunco. <br /> <br /> At the entrance to the trail (it is open but seems to lead through private land), there is a sign saying it is not allowed to camp at Laguna Cochor (which is clearly being violated, on our second night there, there was a Chilean tent). Secondly, it says there is no estabilished access to Sollipulli, which is not true, the path leads well above the tree line. The trail is an old road for ~1 km and the rest is very clear, easy and pretty through sometimes dark forrest. At the laguna, there is a beach where one can camp, as we did. There is no good source of water on the way to the laguna or at the laguna (but some streams could be heard in the undergrowth), definitely treat the water in the laguna. <br /> <br /> The next day, we hid our tent and set off to reach the south summit of Sollipulli and then to the northern summit via the ridge (or below the ridge). It was an extremely long day trip (~16hrs out and back) but it should not be a problem if doing a proper traverse, many camping options. If one does not want to camp at Laguna Cochor, first good place is right above the treeline where the TR section ends and CC section begins. A nicer place would be cca 1 km further on, where you traverse to a nice valley. The first cca 2 km of CC are actually more TR&amp;CC, the trail comes and goes and follows the contour line, which is to be recommended. In the valley, there was a stream that can still be jumped in one place or could be easily forded. With less snow, it would probably be jumpable almost everywhere. The way to the summit is uneventful and a bit of a slog. No scrambling is needed (there is just one small rock obstacle, but one can walk through). Above around 1900 m., there was a lot of snow. If going early in the season, check the map where glaciers are and do not walk on them - you do not need to, they are fairly small. From the summit, we looked for several ways to go down and then retraced a bit and actually crossed what on a map is marked as a glacier here: 38.9963315S, 71.5233126W. Judging from satellite photos and our own survey, we think the western part of the glacier has melted and we walked over a snowfield to a soft ridge with a small tarn at the end of it. Getting down from this ridge sharply down a f left towards a plateau like valley may or may not be difficult if there is &quot;no&quot; snow. We found a good way down on moderate snow slopes but considering the snow there is still almost 10-15m deep we do not know what the rock would be like, most likely it should be fine without snow. Here Natalie went back as it was already 1500, but Tomáš pressed on. He went across the valley and up the side of the next ridge at roughly 2000 m (there are two places that are not rocky, this one was the lower one, it was steep but fairly easy walking through loose stones and scree), then he went roughly half the way up the ridge, traversed above the two lakes on the way, the got to the rim and walked the ridge, then he got down to the other two lakes on the map and walked up to the summit.<br /> <br /> It was six, so he ate and then spent 6 hours walking back, this time not going to the rim at all and staying under the two more southern lakes and then retracing his steps - this was a faster but less spectacular variant. There seemed to be many possible variants how to cross this six km between two endpoints of GPT, the best variant will depend on your mood, skill level, weather and snowncover. It is however possible to do the traverse without climbing or exposed scrambling (though to make sure, somebody should do this in February when there is no snow), Tomáš practically never used his hands. On the way back, he met a Chilean tent above the treeline.<br /> <br /> Next day, we walked down to the road, walked about six km, got a hitch of 3 km to Reigolil, after 15 min there got a hitch of 5 km, waited for an hour and then got a hitch all the way to Pucón (about 75 min of driving). <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 23 - 25 dec / 3 days / SOBO / RR + D + Sollipulli summit / Frans<br /> <br /> Trail is mildly overgrown going up to the first campsite but not as bad as expected. Usually until your knees but the trail is still visible, it just slows you down. Keep an eye on your GPS if you think you lost it, it's spot on with the GPX files. Camp 14 [22.4] is such a nice spot! Be aware that if you want to do the Sollipulli summit you have to there before 1100 (according to the sign) or the rangers won't let you up. Still a 2hr walk, but not difficult.<br /> <br /> GPT14-I point there is a gate and private property sign if you want to continue RR. They are doing road construction, and there is a guard house at the end. I didn't see anyone there, but it was weekend. Just keep in mind you might need to do the detour which takes a bit longer to get to the ranger station.<br /> <br /> At the park rangers place you can drop your backpack. I was not allowed to do a one-way trip. Needed to come back. It's definitely worth it! Amazing crater and nice views! Took me 2hrs to get up, 1.5 to get down. <br /> <br /> I walked to Camp 14 [39.3] to spend the night. Also a nice spot. The rest of the trail is not super exiciting but 80% slowly downhill which is nice to speed up this part. I spend the night a few km's into GPT 15 next to the river. There are a few decent spots after about 4km.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-31 to 2023-Feb-02/ 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / including the Sollipulli volcano / Johana &amp; Matouš<br /> <br /> One of the best sections so far for us thanks to the Sollipulli volcano. We started at the Icalma lake (the San Alfonso camp was great, 10 000 per two people, hot water (yes!) and access to the beach). There are some restaurants and minishops as well, enough to resupply I believe. The overgrown section had been cleared half a bamboo-metre ago, so sometimes it was tough and felt like the forest wants to suck you in. Nothing impassable, but the two kilometres took us two hours. Another thing - the river where the ascent starts in the forest is for long the only water source there if the weather is dry. There was a gate (S 38° 53.3570' W 071° 27.0191'); there's a hole in the fence on the left that we went under. We camped at a good spot on the right side of the road (S 38°53.4903' W 071° 27.8162'). The next day, we rushed to the CONAF station - we got there a little past 11 AM, but the ranger let us do the ascent anyway, we even had lunch before we went up (not from the stand, sadly, still operates only at the weekends). You can leave your backpacks with the ranger, which was great! We didn't pay anything to enter the park. It took us 5 hours there and back with a longer break at the top. The view from the top is indescribable plus the path leading up to it is also very nice with some snowpatches next to it that you can slide down as you please. <br /> After that we continued further down the road. We tried to outsmart the three fords but ended up fording the river three times anyway since the number of the fences and gates had increased I guess and we got stuck on a private property with nowhere to go. The best option might be to just follow the regular route. <br /> There's a beautiful camping spot that we highly recommend and had been told about by the ranger - a lot of free space, a laguna/pond, nice (not dense!) forest and several safe fireplaces. (S 38°56.3141' W 071°27.6738)<br /> From there on it was easy walking until Reigolil. The shop before the bridge has not many things to resupply but is good to refresh. The shop near the bus stop tuna, rice, pasta, biscuits, chips, beverages, some vegetables as well, enough to resupply. Its owners were so nice that they took us to their lot near the river where they let us pitch our tent. It seems that you can freely camp by the river but there was some Mapuche festival going on at that time. <br /> The bus schedule: 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. from the bus stop by the shop to Pucon. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-18 to 2023-Feb-20 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR starting in Tracura (road to Sollipulli) / Natalie &amp; Tomáš<br /> <br /> We used Icalma as a resupply which worked well enough; many &quot;mini- supermercados&quot; and cheap accomodation (we had a cabana for 20mil/10mil each) but as a warning internet is awful! There is a nice pehuenche restaurant at the southern end of town on the main road and a little further than this on the main road you can get the best cell signal. Supposedly a bus goes to Lonquimay Mon-Wed-Fri but I forget the times, I think it was at 6am and 3pm.<br /> <br /> We headed towards parque Sollipulli but hitching out of Icalma was slow, ~2hours combined waiting. We got off at Tracura and walked most of the way to CONAF (minus 4km hitch). Hitching was difficult even though it was a Saturday and there were cars, just no takers. No clean water sources until conaf but you could ask one of the cabana rentals along the way if needed.<br /> No entrance fee at CONAF and although camping is not allowed the &quot;senior&quot; ranger told us we could camp behind the office (I may have persuaded him with piñones). The only thing is we had to wait until everyone was gone (~7-730pm) and then leave early the next day (~7-730am). He didn't want people to know so don't spread the word... There are water, toilets, cold showers and the next morning we were able to keep our things in the other building as we went up Sollipulli. Finally there was a food truck there with sopapillas and juice (it was a Saturday).<br /> <br /> As for Sollipulli it has been the easiest summit so far, there is superb trail and it took ~2hrs up más o menos. There is one intersection where the trail tells you to go right but the climbers trail goes straight and is quicker ( staying left is more quick;-38.93399, -71.49659).<br /> The glacier is amazing, 4km in diameter and supposedly 200m deep. I would come back here with glacier gear to cross it and go down the south summit. However Tomáš has his eyes on a way to go around the crater without glacier gear, so it would be a mixture of walking the rim and traversing above treeline towards the south summit where there should be another trail. That would save one cca 20 km of road walking.<br /> <br /> We wanted to go up the main route and down option 01 but CONAF still requests you come down the same way and since they helped us with camping I wanted to respect their wishes. If you wanted to avoid the rangers we both think you could easily go up before or after they arrive, we saw a few other parties doing this. Note that there is no water after CONAF, if you were doing the traverse there are some lakes down to the east from the North summit. We think the traverse looks easy until the treeline. From the other end we later passed the trail going up which is in fact a road - not sure how far it goes as a road.<br /> <br /> The summit was quick so afterwards we started walking the road that skirts Sollipulli on its east. It was a peaceful road and I have no complaints until it became not fun anymore after the camping at ~46.9. There were two vehicles that passed (no room) but I have no idea how they drove past some of the downed trees, would be a dodgy ride.<br /> The forests here are finally becoming alive! We saw tarantulas and a giant moth carcass and mushrooms finally! There are many fords at the beginning after the lodge so keep sandals on if you have them. It would be worth looking at Google earth for an alternative trail because we met a guided horse group on gpt15 that told us they went from the south summit of Sollipulli to the lodge without going on the road. It is possible they meant &quot;no road&quot; as in &quot;no asphalt road&quot; but who knows.<br /> We headed to routa S-965 to hitch to GPT15 PN Huerquehue (no cars passed until S-965).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-23 to 2023-Jan-25 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> This section took us 2 days. Unfortunately we didn’t go to the summit, because we needed to go quickly down to Curarrehue, but otherwise we wouldn’t skip it, just a few kms more and it looks incredible. About the trail, the beginning is a dirt road around the lakes and it continues until the start of overgrown section. That is a little more than 4kms, but from the start its a relatively normal trail, easy to follow. The overgrown part is mainly between km 2-3.5, but not so terrible overall following the gps. We camped at the end of this part that took us around 2 hrs, maybe less. After that you walk on a minor road all the time, in a really nice forrest. All the puestos were empty. Hot Spring waypoint is somewhere around houses so we didn’t even go there. To cross the river before CONAF station we used GPT14-E and the bridge. At the station was one guard, food truck closed, water available. The lodging after 1km is nice but it comes with higher prices, we stopped there to have some drink and beer + cola (cans) cost us 6k CLP. We spent the night in the forrest after the pass, but camp at km 46.9 looked great. The rest of the trail is still the same gravel road. Minishop at 57.8 has only basic food, but also some things for repairs etc. In Reigolil was only one shop on the main road open with very limited supplies, but we got from the lady pastel de choclo and some homemade bread, all delicious! Later we continued to GPT15.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / <br /> <br /> From Reigolil to Solipulli it is a very easy forest road inside the reserva nacional. Carabineros asked some questions and said we could camp where we wanted. Arriving at the CONAF site at Solipulli, there is a small campground, free if you pay the entrance for the volcanoe (4000pp). There is a food truck with sopaipillas and jugos. We hiked the Solipulli and it is a must see. It is incredible and there are not that many people doing it. The CONAF ranger is very friendly. We did not hike from there to Icalma to avoid bushbashing and we wanted to see the big fiesta planned in Melipeuco (every year in late feb). It was worth it as we got to see a celebration of baqueanos. Melipeuco is not this nice but there are several supermarkets and restaurants to resupply. Easy hitch to Icalma (or there are 2 buses / day). We then hitched to Liucura to start section 12.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-30 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Nothing to add to the previous comments. We arrived at the pipeline construction site during working hours and just followed the indications of the workers, no detour, just some optional route. We spent the night at the CONAF campground and had one of the best breakfasts in Chile at the Sollipulli Lodge (13'000 p.P.). As the rain hasn't stopped by lunchtime we had lunch there too, it was excellent :-D We actually quite liked this section with all the trees. We directly added section 15 after this one. There are several busses per day from Reigolil to Curarrehue but we don't know the schedule. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 15-Jan-2020 / 4 days (GPT 14 + GPT 15) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> We combined sections 14 and 15. It took us 3 days and nero.<br /> GPT14 - there are signs that someone tried to clear overgrown part of the trail on the begining and end but middle is still nicely overgrown. Though we didn't have problem to follow.<br /> Part of minor road on regular trail is under construction. They are putting a huge pipe under it. It was evening and workers were not there se we managed to sneak through but I don't think they will let you pass during working hours. It's just before descending to the river before National reserve Villarrica. <br /> In the Conaf campsite was food truck (it was weekend) with churasco, sopapillas, drinks... pure heaven. We paid 4000 per person at conaf.<br /> They are building a dorm at Lodge. It will be ready for next years hikers ;) <br /> Resuply in Reigolil - mini shop on trail seemed abandoned. We found best supplies in shop-4. There is one other shop directly after bridge. <br /> GPT15 - road and trail in good condition. On the climb to the lake bit before last settler there are some wild cherry trees on the left. We stuffed ourselves and left for others too. Enjoy. Multiple shops, accomodation options and restaurants in Curarrehue.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-18 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + optional summit up Volcán Sollipulli / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Overgrown trail towards the start is relatively easy to follow. Mostly overgrown around the middle but the tracks towards either end are in decent condition. The rest of the section is easy walking. I would strongly recommend taking a small detour to summit Volcán Sollipulli in the CONAF National park (~30km into the section). When we arrived at the park we had to pay a CLP 4000 fee per person. When speaking to the ranger about where we intended to walk, he advised that the optional route down from the Volcán we planned to take is in very poor condition and would not let us take it. We had to do an out and back. It took us around 3.5-4h to summit and return. The trail is in excellent condition (trail markers are present) and the view is spectacular!! Possibly the best thing I’ve seen on the GPT. We camped in the park for no charge and bought some hot food from the food truck in the evening on the weekend. No issues with the rest of the section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-02 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR including Sollipulli climb / Frank<br /> <br /> 2 long days including Sollipulli climb<br /> They are building the pipeline under the dirt road, when they are finished they will bury the pipe &amp; road should reopen. No issues going through there but it was Sunday &amp; no one was around. You walk on a narrow track above ditch, when you reach a point where two big boulders block the path you need to go down into the ditch to go around them. <br /> Climbing Sollipulli is highly recommended to see the huge summit crater filled with ice &amp; snow. Easy &amp; well marked ascent.<br /> You are not allowed to do the ascent after about 11AM. The food truck 'Sabores de Sollipulli' at the Conaf campsite only operates on weekends, it was closed on Sunday. I believe there is another Conaf site a little off route at Laguna Huaquifilo where you can camp. Nowhere good to camp after that. It was raining so I continued to Reigolil. Just after you cross the bridge there is a shop, they have rooms &amp; provide very basic food. Not recommended but will do if you are stuck.<br /> <br /> A few minor corrections: There is no bridge @ Bridge 46, just ford the river easily. Gate @ far side of ford is marked no entry but walking through appears to be OK.<br /> There is a gravel track that stays on the right side of the river &amp; goes past Ford 133 &amp; Ford 134 so you don't need to cross either of them. It leads to Ford 135 which you do cross.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> [[File:Reigolil.jpg|thumb|center|600px|Timetable January 2020]]<br /> <br /> Bus goes from Reigolil to Curacautin &amp; Pucon. When I was there it left Reigolil at 7 &amp; 7:50 AM (different to timetable) Confirm times at the shop by the bridge in Reigolil. Frank<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT14 - Volcán Sollipulli]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109047041.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045479.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045586.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045611.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045628.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109045648.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109046479.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109046482.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109046483.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109047161.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_8_Laguna_Icalma_and_Volcán_Sollipulli_109047207.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT13_(Laguna_Icalma)&diff=113587 2024-01-13T16:42:56Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2024-Jan-12/ 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {13-F} - {13-A} / Lilian<br /> <br /> Honestly, i love this section. Easy to walk and follow, relax my body in a still exercising status. Some nice views, especially Volcán Batea Mahuida and Icalma Lake! The whole way peaceful and no worries.<br /> <br /> <br /> Bridge[0.5/1036] : after crossing, look like some possible camping spots beside some trees at downstream.<br /> <br /> Bridge[2.0/1022] : a beautiful bridge! A locked gate with barbed wire after crossing. No need to climb, stand beside the gate and turn back, look at right side of the bridge. A broken hole beside the fence corner, easy to go through.<br /> <br /> {13-B} of course is shorter, but it go through private area, avoid of right of way dipute, better follow RR.<br /> <br /> Km7.55 : small stream flowing, maybe will dry up.<br /> <br /> Km7.75 : another locked gate with barbed wire. You can open the top of gate, remain the lock there, then push down the gate for some gap to a big step over. (Remember to close the gate, otherwise the owner may change the position of lock)<br /> <br /> Km11.6 : flat spot can fit 2 tents beside some trees, walk 50m more is a nice flowing stream.<br /> <br /> Km14.8 : excellent view point of Volcán Llama, Sierra Nevada, Volcán Batea Mahuida, also the beautiful valley of Río Biobío. ( I'm not sure the snow mountain at the right side of Volcán Batea Mahuida is Nevados de Sollipulli or not.)<br /> <br /> Ford[16.1/1100] : crossing of Río Biobío, river breaks into 3 parts here. Above ankle, just ankle and up to knee. Easy. Camping spot on grassland with fire ring before the crossing, flat spot on the island, and some camping spots surrounded by trees after the crossing.<br /> <br /> Km19.85 : nice bus stop, good place stay away from sun, rain and wind. ( I didn't see any bus until the end when I'm walking on Friday)<br /> <br /> Km20 - km20.1 : road going beside a pine tree forest. Look like is a good spot for stealth camp. Flat and privacy.<br /> <br /> Km20.8 : bus stop looks like small cabin, a board said it made by 45,600k CLP (I'm not sure the price is for all bus stop in this line/area, or only this one). But i think no people using it, the chair inside are super dusty.<br /> <br /> Km23.65 : a stream flowing good, i think this stream would not dry, have some &quot;two fingers&quot; size fish swimming in it, but upstream have some cabins, it is a risk to collect water here. Some flat spots nearby, this is the last place can wild camping, after here will become a commercial area, lot of paid campground and cabins.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km25.2 : junction of {13-F} and RR. I take {13-F}+{13-A} because i want to resupply in Icalma.<br /> <br /> {13-F} km0.4 : (-38.77186, -71.24484) good shop with lot of food for resupply, also have some sporty warm clothes (most of them is Columbia).<br /> <br /> Km1.2 : (-38.77791, -71.24697) tiny shop for tortilla.<br /> <br /> {13-F} join to {13-A}.<br /> <br /> {13-A} km25.7 : (-38.78516, -71.26117) excellent view point of Icalma Lake, climb up to the tiny hill on the right side, just 3min!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Information in Icalma : <br /> <br /> Shop1 (-38.81222,-71.28290) : small, lot vegetable but not much other food. Have frozen pizza.<br /> <br /> Shop2 (-38.81003, -71.28553) : medium, just like the shop in Antuco. I resupply here, super friendly.<br /> <br /> Shop3 (-38.81092, -71.28449) : tiny, not much thing inside.<br /> <br /> Shop4 (-38.81174, -71.28576) : looks medium, i didn't go inside.<br /> <br /> Shop5 (-38.81204, -71.28661) : looks small, i didn't go inside.<br /> <br /> Shop6 (-38.81073, -71.28094) : looks small, i didn't go inside.<br /> <br /> Shop7 (-38.81041, -71.28187) : looks small, i didn't go inside.<br /> <br /> Ferretería (-38.81074, -71.28444) : no gas canisters, no tape.<br /> <br /> Food truck (-38.81131, -71.28434) : their french fries is a good size. Also lot of restaurants nearby.<br /> <br /> I don't find 230g gas canisters in Icalma.<br /> <br /> <br /> Lastly, i stayed at Cabañas Anyely (-38.81643, -71.29265), about 800m west of Icalma center. Sleep in a big cabin that can fit 5 people, not a cheap price for 1 people, but good deal if you are 2 or group. The main reason i stay here, they are happy to receive the resupply box(shoes and socks) that i sent from Santiago about 1 month ago and hold it for me. Also they accept i have a flexible date to stay. They are very happy when i arrive, also share some roast goat to me! Next day we go for a picnic nearby too (of course driving), we have a happy day there! I love them! They are so nice and friendly!<br /> <br /> If you want to stay here, Google Map have their information, you can call them or whatsApp them. I use Chilexpress for the delivery and the address is shown in Google Map.<br /> <br /> <br /> FYI : Volcán Batea Mahuida is a nice side trip, surrounded by lot of volcano(at least 8), you can find some (car+hiking) tour in Icalma. Also it is possible to renew visas at here, close to Argentina border.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 21 dec / 1 day / (hitch)hiking main road / SOBO / Frans<br /> <br /> This section didn't seem that interesting, and busses probably daily around noon going South. Since there is only 1 road going South, I decided to walk this road and try to get a ride. After 7km, and prob 7 cars going the wrong direction, the first one came in from behind and offered me a ride to Icalma which I happily accepted.<br /> <br /> Plenty of campsites and cabañas in Icalma, nice lake to swim, and some minimarkets with all the basic food options.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO<br /> <br /> Hitched from Icalma to Liucura. The section does not seem particularly interesting. Possibility to wildcamp near the river in Liucura. Some small shops in pueblo.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-25 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR until the lake, then OH / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Nothing to add to Matus' remarks :-) From Icalma we walked to Villa Pehuenia, Argentina, to renew our visas. We were able to avoid almost the hole road and walk on nice trails.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-13 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR until the lake, then optional #002, 6 and 7 to the village / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> Regular trail until the lake, then optional #002, 6 and 7 to the village. It took us 1 day.<br /> Trail/road are in good condition. River crossing without problem. Optionals were busy with traffic.<br /> Icalma village is pretty busy during weekend. Accomodation, tienda and resturant available. Tienda has pretty decent supplies. <br /> If you are traveling from Lonquimay don't ask in tourist info center about buses. Aparently they don't have a clue. We spent hours hitching after they advices.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-17 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Easy section, all roads in good condition and we didn’t run into any issues. Though the first bit after the bridge appears to be designed to avoid crossing paths with the private property owner. Nice enough to walk through but would recommend hitching if you have limited time. Good resupply in Icalma.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-28 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR to Div 85 then crossed the Bio Bio / Frank <br /> <br /> RR to Div 85 then I crossed the Bio Bio. Easy as water levels are low now but pick your spot as parts are deep. Continued on alternative routes South of Bio Bio &amp; on South shore of lake. At least 3 shops in Icalma. Continued to Lake In/Out Camp $. Paid 10000 CLP to stay in a shed there as weather was poor. Camping will normally be a better option. No shops after Icalma.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> (2020-Jan)<br /> <br /> Bus Lonquimay - Liucura 12:00 and 15:30 from Terminal (Mondays to Saturdays)<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT13 - Laguna Icalma]]<br /> <br /> =Images=</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT12_(Rio_Rahue)&diff=113570 2024-01-11T21:05:49Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-10 to 2024-Jan-11 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / {12-01} - RR - {12-C} - RR - {12-H} - RR - {12-N} - {12-P} / Lilian<br /> <br /> I connected GPT11 and GPT12, so i start at {12-01}.<br /> <br /> {12-01} from km0 to pass[4.6/1499] is dirt road walking.<br /> <br /> Pass[4.6/1499] : huge flat area, look like is a car camping spot, i saw 5 fire ring here. Lot of spots for camping, some spots are beside trees, with weather protection. Road is damaged after the pass, no more cars running.<br /> <br /> Km5.1 : welcome to a beautiful valley!<br /> <br /> Ford[7.5/1403] : crossing of Rio Pulul, rock bar underwater, flowing slow and up to knee, easy. Later you will cross this river some more times.<br /> <br /> Km8.1 : join RR.<br /> <br /> Ford RR [31.4/1301] : start crossing Rio Pulul several times until [33.6/1285], all are easy crossing as now, the deepest is around knee only.<br /> <br /> Camp[31.6/1306] : a beautiful spot.<br /> <br /> Lake,camp[33.9/1281] : Laguna Marinanqui. I never saw so many fries in my life, OMG. The lake shore is muddy, I think the south shore is a better camping spot.<br /> <br /> I take {12-C} here, because too many fries, after i take some photos beside the shore, i don't want to go back to find RR, i just want left this area.<br /> <br /> {12-C} km0.1 : cross a warm stream, some logs for crossing, but they are all underwater, also muddy around it, maybe better after some weeks. Crossing is easy, step on logs then just above ankle.<br /> <br /> {12-C} km0.2 : rejoin RR.<br /> <br /> RR Km34.3 - km35.4 : trail beside the lake. Most of them are muddy, with hundreds of fries, OMG. I'm so disappointed i can't have some relax time here.<br /> <br /> Camp[35.5/1279] : beautiful camping spot with 2 big trees. Less fries here, also is a dry area for camping. Estero Rucausey(a stream) is flowing nice with clear water just beside it.<br /> <br /> Km35.75 : excellent view point of Laguna Marinanqui!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Water[41.4/1173] : upstream 40m, you can step over the stream.<br /> <br /> Km41.1 : grassland can fit 1-3 tents, but a little steep.<br /> <br /> Km43.4 - km43.65 : cross 3 small stream, all look like need a muddy crossing, but not. All of them, you can find a spot for step over, or a log help you for dry feet.<br /> <br /> Km43.4 : after the crossing, flat spot with grassland can fit 2 tents under trees.<br /> <br /> Km43.65 : before the crossing, large flat area can fit lot of tents, but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km43.85 : junction of RR and {12-D}, also dirt road start to south.<br /> <br /> Ford[45.4/1039] : before you go down the river for crossing, compass West 100m is a large, nice flat area beside some big trees, wind protection provided by some brushes. River is up to knee but flowing slow at early morning.<br /> <br /> Easy walking until km51.3.<br /> <br /> Km47 : look at left side, a beautiful hilltop with rock column!<br /> <br /> Km48.25 : pass, a steep side trail at left side(north) leads you to viewpoint. Steep for climbing up, be careful. After enjoying the view, don't go down with the same trail, go to the east ridge for go down, then CC back to trail, it is gentle, easier and safer. Before you left, look up the top of huge rock, there is a branch pressed by stone. Maybe some crazy people bouldering to the top?<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km51.3 : junction of RR and {12-E}, RR after here just like CC, very overgrown, most of the time long grass coverd the trail, i just can use my feet to feel is it a trail i step on. Sometimes you'll step on some old cow path, then follow it walking to some wrong direction, be careful, check GPS more frequently.<br /> <br /> Km52.8 : junction of trail and CC climbing up. From here to km53.7 is steep climbing up on loose sand on RR or the trail shown on OSM. You need to find some grass foot spot and step on, tired and take long time. After i climb up a while, i cut to south side and join the spur, it is much easier and faster because lot of trees surrounding this spur. Hard leaves and sticks on the ground, also the soil is stable. I just need to step by step climb up on the stable ground, no need to find where is my next step, is it too loose or too steep to walk on.<br /> <br /> I also find a clear path at (-38.34710, -71.07574), look like climbing up on &quot;zig zag&quot;, but i lost it after about 20-30m.<br /> <br /> Km53.7 : tree line end. Climbing up on some rocks, much easier now.<br /> <br /> Water? [54.4/1930] : flowing low with warm water, maybe dry up later. Lot of tadpole and frogs swimming in it.<br /> <br /> Km55 : going in the plateau. Very beautiful area, blue lakes, green meadows, curved streams, small snow patches and some big birds, just like a aquarelle hanging on the wall.<br /> <br /> (-38.35842, -71.06810) : excellent view point, 360° beautiful views on a tiny rock hill! Climb up just 2 min!<br /> <br /> Km55.5 : look like it is possible to find a flat spot for camping beside the lake at east shore, beautiful but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km56.3 - km56.65 : flowing good with clear water by snow melt, when you climbing up this stream, don't forget to turn back take a look, beautiful plateau is behind you, also VIEWS of (from left to right) Volcán Llaima, Sierra Nevada, Volcán Lonquimay and Volcán Tolhuaca!<br /> <br /> Pass[57.2/2177] - pass[57.4/2180] : after you climb up to the pass, go down a little to east at 2160m is better, you can walk on a flat ground going south, much easier. Also when it is close to the second pass, a clear path and some rock cairns shown up.<br /> <br /> Pass[57.4/2180] : no snow at north side, just a little snow remain at south side as now. You can go around it on left side (east), or take 20sec to 1 min go down the snow patch directly. Easy.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km57.7 - km58.5 : walk your own way going down, sometimes you'll find some cairns and a clear path about 10m, then disappear.<br /> <br /> Km58.75 - km58.85 : steep snow slope, DON'T slide down at here, big hard rocks at bottom waiting for you. You can kick step going down but steep, or like me, go around at left side(NE), then go down a steep rocky slope.<br /> <br /> Km58.85 : wet, muddy, slippery trail starts, until km59.5 going under tree line. I think it is a pretty place in dry season.<br /> <br /> Km59.6 : blowdowns maze starts, tons of blowdowns cut the way, then lot of cow paths and dry riverbeds mix together. Sometimes the trail shown up and disappear for blowdowns. Need pay more attention here. Until km59.9, the trail becomes easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Road end[60.4/1745] : Dirt road start. Junction of another old dirt road on right side(west) after here 100m, it looks flat and no cars running on it, you can camp if need, also this old dirt road leads you to a small stream after 100m.<br /> <br /> Km61.5 : junction of RR and {12-F}, before this junction 20m, there is a clear trail going down, i followed it, and it is easy walk to Puesto[61.8/1550].<br /> <br /> Puesto[62.9/1523] : no people no dogs here.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Then i joined {12-H} for climbing up.<br /> <br /> {12-H} km2.6 : i would like to said, here is covered by some heavy brushes already, just like BB and CC mixture. I saw the ground have some horse prints, looks like have a better reroute, but I don't know the way and it is difficult to follow so i lost it, lastly BB CC to Puesto[3.1/1822].<br /> <br /> After puesto[3.1/1822], trail conditions become better, easy to follow and walk.<br /> <br /> Pass RR[68.0+0.2/1909] : still a tiny snow patch beside the pass, but nothing at pass. A beautiful area.<br /> <br /> Km70.7 : Dirt road start, until Laguna Escondida(RR km76.4).<br /> <br /> Ford[73.6/1517] : if you follow RR, no need follow cross this one, turn left and cross the small one.<br /> <br /> Lake,camp[76.2/1750] : covered by many trees, but no views.<br /> <br /> Km76.4 : dirt road end, if this grassland is dry, it'll be a very beautiful camping spot with excellent lake view.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km80.7 : junction of RR and {12-K}, beautiful views here! The valley towards Laguna Verde is so nice. Flat area here, wild views but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Remark, {12-K} is an impossible route, the mountain top at (-38.50732,-70.98472) is some vertical rock column, i think about 40-80m, can't climb up to walk, also can't go around, mostly is 70-80° vertical wall.<br /> <br /> Water[81.9/1889] : flowing good with a flat spot can fit 1 tent.<br /> <br /> Camp[83.0/1767] : wet, also a puesto at (-38.51828, -70.98893). When I fill some water at stream, 2 dogs running out and barking at me, they follow/chase me until km83.3, I'm not sure they are curious, or aggressive.<br /> <br /> Some puesto at west shore of lake. So i camped on a little hill at (-38.52293, -70.99734). Good location for privacy and views but no wind protection, also not easy to find a spot because of rocky ground.<br /> <br /> Km86.8 : dirt road start.<br /> <br /> Because it is a crazy windy day, so i decided stay in valley by {12-N}+{12-P}, not climb up to plateau by RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Dirt road walking 2km {12-N} then join {12-P}. {12-P} leads you all the way to Liucura. First 400m of {12-P} is dirt road, leads you to puesto[0.4/1526], then the road damaged becomes a trail, until puesto[1.9/1415].<br /> <br /> Water {12-P} [1.7/1400] : last good water until Liucura.<br /> <br /> Puesto[1.9/1415] : dirt road start again. Road go through a beautiful valley. You can look at other side of valley, some landslide trail there.<br /> <br /> Km5.0 : Left side, Volcán Batea Mahuida!<br /> <br /> Km10 : a beautiful meadow, horse trail start.<br /> <br /> Water[11.7/1289] : look clear, but I'm not sure is it flowing from cows and horse meadow.<br /> <br /> Puesto[12.1/1239] : dirt road start again, til Liucura.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Shop[104.1/1036] : chocolate, biscuits, chips, drinks and ice cream, not much for resupply, but they make hot sandwiches and breakfast, yummy yummy!!!! They also do &quot;printing&quot;, if you need some documents in paper.<br /> <br /> Also 1 restaurant, 1 cafe and 4 shops nearby, i think you can have a full resupply here.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 12-27 to 2024 1-03 / 7 short days and one hour/ hiking / mainly RR / Sobo / Edwin<br /> <br /> Took the easy option from Ranquil to baños de Coyuco by Oh-12-01. The baños are really nice. After that the regular route until Laguna Verde after which a suspect knee made me stick to trails and minor roads. An enjoyable trek! Some snow at higher altitudes. <br /> The river crossings before Laguna Marinanqui were not too difficult except for the second one, which whas up to my crotch (I'm 1.90 meters) and fast flowing. <br /> Plenty of water around. Only took more than half a litre once when crossing the plateau and that wasn't needed. Days were generally hot.<br /> Met few people in the puestos but the ones I met were all friendly. <br /> If you want to skip section 13... The bus to Icalma passes through Liucura around 12:30 - 13:00 Monday/Wednesday/Friday<br /> <br /> 2023 17 - 20 dec / 4 days / hiking / option 12-04, H, RR / SOBO / Frans<br /> <br /> Started on a Sunday and it wasn't clear to me if the ferry (12-02G) would be up and running. No one in Lonquimay could guarantee me this. Because of Sunday and also because this day Chileans had to vote for the constitution. So I decided to walk the 181 and join the GPT12 on 12-04End. Nice walk, plenty of traffic to hitchhike, although I decided to walk. The minimarket at camping Lolén (100m before 12-04End) was closed, Sunday or voting? Was there around 11am. It looked up and running and not abonded or something. Just a closed sign. First house after the bridge sold eggs and honey, I bought some honey from Luis, super friendly guy. The walk was nice after that, although the road was fenced on both sides until km 16-ish. No campsites or minimarkets. I ended up campung at 12-03End, pretty long stretch so next time I would definitely hitchhike the 181. <br /> <br /> Climb to the pass was steep, pass was easy, no issues with snow. Beautiful views on both sides. Going down on some patches of snow you could see and/or hear the water flowing below. Might become tricky in the next days to walk over so a little caution is recommended. Met Maxi and his father down below at his puesto. Super friendly! Continued my way to camp at laguna Escondida (North side).<br /> <br /> Next day a bit iffy weather (as expected) cloudy, windy and a bit of rain. Decided to do a short one and camped at laguna Verde. Really good camping spots on the option 12L, at the end of the lake. And I could cross here the next day to join RR, there where some planks over the small stream.<br /> <br /> This last day I really enjoyed! Walking the plateau and the ridgeline was amazing. Perfect weather also. For sure worth it, easy to follow trail and all the CC options are 90% horse trails which are good to spot. <br /> <br /> Coming close to Liucura, it didn't feel good to me to climb those fences. Guess that's just a personal thing. There was a lot of cattle, fences looked new, so I decided to not climb over them and annoy the locals. Just followed the trail down to end up at the main road, take a left to Liucara. Maybe 1km extra in total. <br /> <br /> Stayed at Normita, couple of shops to resupply all the basics. <br /> <br /> All combined, really nice section especially the final part. Water not a problem, until you go up the plateau and ridge.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-Nov-28 to 2023-Dec -02 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + variant P + variant Q + variant H + option 1 / Jens (together with Nolwenn and Yannick)<br /> <br /> To get to Liucura, take a bus from the Rural Terminal in Temuco to Lonquimay (departure 10 am) and from there another bus (3 pm). <br /> <br /> It is better to do your shopping in Liucura beforehand, the market and supermarkets are right next to the terminal. There are also some smaller supermarkets in Lonquimay. You are sure to get everything you need there. <br /> <br /> Crossing the pass at KM 57 was very strenuous and steep. There was still snow, which you could either hike around or through. The descent on the other side was very steep. It took two hours. You can camp well on both sides, even at the top if necessary, but it is very windy. <br /> <br /> From kilometre 26 north of the Marinanqui lagoon, we had to cross the river several times. We had some difficulties. The water was up to our hips. We couldn't have coped with any more water. The lake is beautiful, I would rather camp at the southern end as it is rather muddy and full of mosquitoes in the north. We fled from them. <br /> <br /> It had snowed overnight and so we decided not to make the crossing over the pass on RR, but to take the alternative route to the start of Section 11.<br /> <br /> 2023-Nov-28 to 2023-Dec -02 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + variant P + variant Q + variant H + option 1 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn <br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present <br /> <br /> - Snow : (1) snow on pass at km 68 ( easy to walk on it ) / (2) from km 58,4 to km 54,9 : at this point we didn't follow the RR and went on the right side to reach the ridgeline and then continue on it - the plateau still had a lot of snow but we found it was not a problem to find our own safe way / (3) we didn't do the last pass between km 15,8 and km 9,5 because it has snowed in the night and the mountain was still covered by a thick layer of snow<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : easy to find <br /> <br /> - River crossing : (1) at 45,5 km we crossed in the morning and the current was strong but we are used to river crossings so this one was easily passable for us / (2) Laguna Marinanqui between km 35,4 and km 33,9 : was higher than usual and therefore the trail was under water, we walked in the lake from time to time and it was sometimes up until our thighs / (3) the river between km 33,9 and km 31,3 is really high and need multiple crossings that sometimes goes up until the waist with a strong current, we had to improvise and do some bushbahing to find places where it was crossable <br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny, snowy, cloudy, ( overall really good weather but can be cold )<br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant P + Q : easy track, it's a dirt road, there is water on the track / variant H : to avoid the dogs / option 1 : to avoid the snow on the pass, the trail is easy and beautiful<br /> <br /> - Warning : river crossings between km 33,8 and km 31,3 was really hard but manageable if you have skills and not too small<br /> <br /> - Overall : beautiful section, still a lot of snow from 1700m<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-23 to 2023-Nov-27 / 4 days / hiking / NOBO / Regular Route and Option 3 to return to Lonquimay / Ana &amp; William<br /> <br /> We just finished part of 12 and overall it is a lovely hike though we might potentially be a bit too early in the season depending on your risk threshold.<br /> <br /> Heading NOBO the small pass after laguna verde is fine. Little snow but not bad. Next pass is a bit tough, lots of snow walking and lots of risky parts where there are hidden rivers/water ways under the snow and where cliffs of snow had broken off but we managed by being careful and taking time to judge. RR-CC-A {12} [68.1/68.5+2.9] is not passable we went on the route to the left of it. Scary but fine, you have to make your own route since it’s completely snowed over. Downhill is fine, snow is only on the south face of the mountain. Next day we skipped the pass and did a plateau crossing based on advice from a local, it was lovely, the trail is east to follow most of the way then getting across the plateau you can take any possible direction, no wrong way and it connects to the 12-03c. Coming down on though there are two tracks at 12-03c marker. OH-TL-I {12-03A} [0.9+3.4] is not a route. At least not now. It’s basically a river gorge and it’s not possible unless you can surf down waterfalls, so we scaled up almost completely vertical to meet the CC route that runs parallel. Might be possible when there is less snow melt though. The CC route we took was almost a completely verticals decent for 800 meters and I must say a bit terrifying. Clambering down on your butt/downhill rock climbing is not the hard part but if you are not careful and you don’t judge your path every few meters you can find yourself looking down a minimum 30-200 meter drop, so it’s mentally scary not knowing if you will get to the bottom. But we did. I would not advise it, instead I’d advise continuing on 12-03 past the lakes back to the normal route. Took us almost 3 hours of being very careful though. We then got to the first river. Many locals we met before told us the only way to ranquil is the balsa, but we didn’t fully understand what they meant till we got to the river. They meant Bulsa Rahue which is on the way to lonquimay. The first main crossing at Ford {12} [45.4/1039] is very deep and very fast. For us as beginners a big no go, but I honestly think for advanced that would be tough as well if not only very dangerous. We then moved back to lonquimay where for the first part of the trail the river had flowed over so much that there was no trail but then eventually the trail gains significant elevation over the river and it’s fine. We asked others we ran into on the way and they confirmed that it’s too early to pass the rivers, but again depends on the hiker I’m sure.<br /> <br /> Comment Jan Dudeck December 2023: The best route to ascent from the Plateau is the trail in the South-West of the Plateau. That's the trail on which the horses are probably moved up and down. Starting with the Track Files 2024 the normal route up and down the Plateau will be OH-TL-V {12-03} [0.0+14.4]. I have cleaned up the routes on the North-Western edge of the Plateau. These exploration routes are best taken up and not down. Starting with the Track Files 2024 these exploration options are {12-03A}, {12-03B} and {12-03C} and all classified as Exploration Routes. There pieces of trails visible on satellite images but these trail disappear into a forest and it is unclear who maintained these routes are and if these are part of an alternative access to the Plateau.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan / Martin&amp;Helena<br /> <br /> On regular route (SOBO) after puesto at 62.9, there is another puesto after approx 1km. It’s situated right on the road, soon after start of CC and before Gpt12-G End and it’s guarded by 4 or 5 agressive dogs. It was impossible to go around, so we were continuing with our trekking poles in front of us but dogs started to attack us and in the end I was bitten by one of them. The owner was there too but basically did nothing and dogs were absolutely out of her control.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-01 to 2023-Mar-05 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Arrived in Liucura late in the 28th Feb afternoon by hitchhiking our way from Lonquimay. There is also a bus that leaves at 7:30 PM. We shared our plans with the carabineros and asked for a place to pitch and he sent us near the river, after the truck &quot;parking&quot; (-38.64806, -71.08856 - really nixe and private spot). There are 3 shops in Liucura with supplies and we even had a nice diner for 6k each at the Hospedaje. <br /> Started early the next day with 12-P until 12-R. This way we avoided to climb any fence. There are plenty of paths going upward so we ended up not following the one from the tracks but something that joined the top quite directly. Then we enjoyed our walk on the ridge. We continued for a while and camped at Laguna Escondida. The marked point is in the wood, a bit far away from the water but wind protected. We decided to go much closer to the water and met our two first GPT hikers going southbound on the trail! <br /> <br /> The next day we took 12-H to avoid the aggressive dogs and then sticked to the RR until Camp {12} [51.6/1293]. The descent in the forest (RR-CC-A {12} [52.3/52.8+2.2]) was a bit painful as it is steep and without path. Following the OSM route is not better.<br /> <br /> Day 3, we followed the RR until Laguna Marinanqui (Lake, Camp {12} [33.9/1281]) where we camped. Then we met Reyes, a local from Peluhue who was waiting a group of &quot;gringo&quot; since the previous day. We spent the night here with him, tasting our first cooked pinones. <br /> <br /> On day 4, we hiked to Camp {12} [20.4/1625] (Banos Coyucos). All the fords of Rio Pulul were easy. On the trail we crossed a group of horseriders (Reyes' gringo) that got lost in the mountains and were on their way to the lake. Then we had our first pinata moment : we found an araucania and hit a ball with a branch for a rain of pinones. At the bayos, we met two persons preparing an asado for the group of riders and an other group of people just staying for a bath. Both pools are great, the second one (the smallest and a bit more down) is a bit warmer. We got invited and fed by the riders (smoked cerdo, tortillas al rescaldo, goat asado...)! They eventually left and we were alone in the bayos for the night. <br /> <br /> On Day 5, we hiked until the junction with GPT11 but without taking options 1 or 2 following the advices of the previous hikers. Then we directly continued to GPT11.<br /> On a side note, on most of the section, you will walk on well marked trails that are easy to follow. It contains multiple extremely scenics moments, at least one highlight per day (several for the last one). Definitely worth it to hike! There are no more tabanos at this period of the year, but indeed many wasps ! <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-12 to 2023-Feb-16 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Natalie+Tomàš<br /> <br /> Combined 10+11+12 continued mid-day from 11.<br /> Started mid-day at Banos de Pelehue, Tomáš explored the banos, there was a pool that had some cold water flowing to it, which is diverted, so the temperature should be nicely warm. However, it resulted in smelly hands for two days despite soap. The first hot springs waypoint is wrong but the location is very scenic. We continued to Banos Coyucos for the night and luckily arrived just before a storm hit.<br /> The Banos Coyucos were not &quot;great&quot;. The first one with the A-frame roof is not that warm, more like stale bathwater, but the second further down with only a partial roof is much better. We spent the stormy night in the second one so more heat would have been nice but I am sure it's a good temperature for day time bathing.<br /> <br /> Day2<br /> Late start but great trail from the Banos to the marshy flats. I met Rosè from the puesto right at the beginning of the flats, she was very easy to get along with and had a good sense of humor. I would recommend looking for her if you were in need of help. She also helped show me how to avoid the marsh by sticking slightly high on the side of the hill, there was a little bit of a trail. The next plateau up was forgettable, accidentally walked along variant A for too long before dropping down to the RR. The RR is much faster than the side hill that hops from one puesto to the next on variant A. The rest of the way to Laguna Marinanque was enjoyable, definitely leave your sandals on at the bottom for the multiple river crossings. <br /> At this time of year Marinanque was still boggy but caused no problem's. However, I would be careful at the Northside not to get stuck in the bog, it looked very deep. We slept at the abandoned puesto 37.7 (No Water).<br /> <br /> Day3<br /> Fast and lovely trail to camp51.6. After then and up the steep grass hill it is CC. I wouldn't rely on the GPX here as it i basically just straight up. The last water source before the hill 52.2 makes a nice rest. Just to clarify once again, there is no water at the first plateau; camp54.5. However, the water at the small lakes on the main plateau did not look awful, just goose poo around.<br /> Up and over the main/last pass is straightforward but the other side is still boggy. The first camp was not good but if you walked up the bog directly on top of it there was a source of clean water. We slept at the second camp; 59.5, which felt the best of all three, there was water, a little muddy but the third camp looked dry. <br /> <br /> Day4. <br /> You can make a small short cut on a wide &quot;road-trail&quot; just before the RR turns off from the main trail towards puesto 61.8. Crossing the bottom valley here is still very boggy. The lady at puesto 62.9 was very welcoming, offering food/chocolate/coffee. She had some angry dogs but they behaved well once she called them. The next puesto up from her had the dogs that bit a past GPT hiker. They were indeed the aggressive type but the lady tied the worst one up in order to let us pass. If she hadn't we were going to skirt around on the right into the forest to hopefully avoid them and or you could descent back down the hill and go far left.<br /> Like Veronica said there is some water at -38.41178, -70.99125, not tasty but not filtering it had no consequences. At the intersection of RR and J I met some friendly carabinieros that were going into Argentina to fetch some Chilean horses, they were taking on a good trail. From the water source I just described and towards Maximiliano's puesto I did not enjoy the trail, didn't make much sense and felt I was zig zaging in the valley for no good reason. <br /> Day got better once meeting &quot;Maxi&quot; and his son. Jan, if you are reading this Maximiliano says hi and has only good things to say about you. I told him you were off in the mountains somewhere but hopefully will come back to visit again. He wanted to make sure people were good to us and luckily we told him we only had pleasant encounters. His neighbor down the road (Seguro?) was also extremely friendly. The rest of the way to Laguna Verde was fast, a mixture of old roads and easy trails and a CC bit. The first puesto at Laguna Verde was abandoned and we slept in the grass beside it. It was very windy and the water in the lake was very dirty but luckily we found a small dribble of flowing water near the puesto. In the morning everything was covered in frost and slightly frozen, our first freeze.<br /> <br /> Day5<br /> Our final day was easy, the ridge got a little tedious (but was surprisingly beautiful in parts) and I was very happy it wasn't a hot day because otherwise it would have been very dry and uncomfortable. We managed to avoid all barbed wire fences (even though they could be jumped because 3/4 of the fence is cow panels and just the top two lines are barbed). When you are walking down from the trail from the ridge instead of turning left and jumping over your first fence we just went straight down towards the main road (aim for this open gate -38.63510, -71.09298), it is on the first dirt road marked on OSM branching from the main road when going into Chile from the border after Liucura. There were a couple big dogs at the end but they were locked up. Only 1km of road walking back to Liucura, past a nice looking restaurant, and or you could just start hitching to Lonquimay if desired. <br /> We agree that you could technically resupply in Liucura, it was a very happening border stop with fruit and vegetables, sold out bread and then all the other basics- but no canister fuel obviously. <br /> The bus situation from here is confusing as the shop owners and locals all say different things. What I gathered was that there was a bus going to Lonquimay at ~7, ~12 and ~4pm but I don't think it runs every day. Hitching to Lonquimay looked easy but we hitched to Icalma (more difficult) even though supposedly there was a bus to Icalma at 730/8/830?pm. Once again I don't think the bus runs everyday or weekends, possibly only Mon- Wed- Friday.<br /> In Icalma that was the case, if going to Lonquimay or Melipeuco there was only a bus Mon,Wed &amp; Friday. Sadly I forget the exact times but I remember the first bus was very early, leaving ~6am and then a bus to lonquimay at 3pm. Icalma had lots of little minimarkets and cheap accomodation, slept in cabana for 20mil/night (10mil each)<br /> <br /> Notes:<br /> <br /> -If I was to do this trip again I wish I had more time to spend at the puestos.<br /> <br /> -The picoñes are falling, also wish I doubled up on fuel in order to cook them. We tried mashed picoñes in Icalma and they were delicious!<br /> <br /> -The wasps have replaced horseflies, never got sting but got bit. <br /> <br /> -Many of the trails this time of year were &quot;dirt-dust&quot; but on the bright side most bogs were avoidable. <br /> <br /> -No problems with water, only had to carry extra water on the last day after the final water stop at 87.6. <br /> <br /> -luckily only had a few bad days of smoke, mainly when we were close to Trapa Trapa. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-18 to 2023-Jan-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR starting from the termas de pelehue / Will <br /> <br /> I merged onto section 12 at the termas de pelehue, where I was immediately greeted by a group of 20ish condors taking off from a patch of grass in the valley. My pace got even slower, watching them fly low around me.<br /> <br /> I went on to camp at the Banos Coyucos, easily my favorite hot springs so far. Perfect temperature, clean, but still felt natural. There were two groups of Chilean hikers there, all super friendly and generous.<br /> <br /> The next day of walking through the valleys was beautiful and pretty fast. A bit before the big climb I had my first unpleasant encounter, with a group heading down the road by ATV. The leader stopped and asked if I had authorization to hike there, I said that I didn't know that I needed it. He seemed to think that was obviously a lie. He became somewhat friendly once I explained my plans and after discovering that I was foreign. He gave me some direction advice then set off. In hindsight I figure he must have been a landowner. I did see quite a few littered beer cans afterwords, maybe he was trying to prevent that.<br /> <br /> The steep climb was tough, and I ended up camping pretty late up top. In terms of water I only saw a few muddy puddles though I didn't look very hard. There were a few ponds the next morning just over the hill. <br /> <br /> The rest of the section was easier than I expected, and not so interesting to me. I should have carried more water on the final 20km. If you want to skip the barbed wire fences you'd have to take variant R at the end of the ridge walk. I thought I could skip them with variant S but most of them were before the turnoff so I ended up following the regular route the whole way. Thankfully they were solid and pretty easy to climb.<br /> <br /> No luck hitching out of Liucura so I spent the night. There were no buses on Sunday but someone at my hostel gave me a ride to Lonquimay the next day. If you're continuing on then Liucura could work for a basic resupply, but I'm planning on relaxing a bit then skipping ahead. See busesbiobio.cl for the bus schedule out of Lonquimay.<br /> <br /> I'm still one day behind the same set of footprints I've been following all the way since section 7. I guess I'll never catch up.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-15 to 2023-Jan-18 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Termas de Pelehue (junction GPT 11, option 1 and GPT 12) - Liucura / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We connected section 11 and 12 and started at Termas de Pelehue around km 9.<br /> The first day the path was easy to find most of the time and the views were great. The canyon to Laguna Marinanqui is very beautiful. We camped after the last rivercrossing before the Laguna.<br /> <br /> To path around the Laguna involved some bushbashing and muddy ground.<br /> Until the CC ascent the path was good. The ascent itself is pretty tiring. We could not find water at the point indicated by Véronica so we continued until the first small Laguna on the plateau. That was a great spot to camp and the Laguna has clear water.<br /> <br /> The following part is not hard to navigate and continues with spectacular views.<br /> Ascending the next hill at appr. km 67 we followed a good animal path on towards the west of the hill (instead of the CC part of the RR), next to an accesible creek.<br /> Easy trails the rest of the day. We camped at the water waypoint [78.4/1775] between Laguna Escondida and Laguna verde.<br /> <br /> The next part is great and easy until towards the end of the ridge after the last ascent, where the path finding gets harder with some bush bashing parts. On the last kilometers we descended until the main road to avoid climbing barbed wire fences.<br /> The shopowner of the resupply in Liucura offered us to camp in his garden.<br /> The next morning we hitchhiked to Lonquimay. The buses from Lonquimay to Temuco leave at 8 am and 12:30 pm, not sure if there is also a later bus.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-25 to 2022-Dec-30 / 5.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (combined with GPT11 via GPT11-02) / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Junction at km 12.9 where GPT11-02 meets with GPT12 - Baños Coyucos - Laguna Marinanqui - Pehuenche Extortioner valley - Laguna Escondida - Liucura <br /> <br /> Absolutely beautiful section. Really loved the cross-country bits on high plateaus and ridges, amazing views. I did not have any navigation issues. I met no one 4 days in a row. <br /> <br /> I connected GPT11 Option 2 with GPT12, so I missed the Pelehue hot springs. I did find a good creek at the &quot;water&quot; waypoint at 15.9 km, not dry like what Veronika and Jo found last year. I really enjoyed the camp at Baños Coyucos in an araucaria forest, and the hot springs there were great too! Perfect temperature, and not as dirty as I thought they might be. <br /> <br /> Lots of boggy cow pastures along RR-TL-V {12} [25.6+07], had trouble finding any sort of trail there. Enjoyed the trail along Río Pulul in the canyon with all the fords. All the river crossings were easy, and I found many lovely potential camp spots on that stretch. <br /> <br /> Just north of Laguna Marinanqui (where you have the option to take 12-C), there is a large marsh to contour like others have mentioned. I managed to cross without getting all muddy by closely following the regular route. <br /> The trail kind of disappears after the junction with 12-E, but following the GPS it's not too hard to reach the base of the big CC climb to the high plateau. This climb is steep, but not dangerous - you climb on grass and dirt (no scree). There was no water at the &quot;Water ?&quot; waypoint, but I found a hidden spring nearby at S 38° 21.247', W 071° 04.140'. There are also shallow lagunas up on the plateau you could get water from. After the passes coming downhill into the Pehuenche Extortioner valley, the three campsites in a row there were quite waterlogged from snowmelt. The trail was a river in a couple places there too. Lots of squishy walking, wouldn't be ideal to camp there right now. <br /> <br /> The next CC stretch after the Extortioner valley is awesome on a rounded ridgetop. There is a nice meadow and good water source shortly before reaching the next pass. From this pass all the way to Maximiliano's puesto is a good horse trail, not cross-country. <br /> <br /> After the &quot;water&quot; waypoint at 87.6 km, after Laguna Verde, there is no more water until Liucura, so I filled up in order to dry camp on the ridge further along. All the subsequent CC stretches until Liucura have paths running along most of them, makes walking easier :) The final ridge walk starting at km 95.3 is fantastic, and there's lots of sheltered areas up there too where you could camp if you have enough water. <br /> <br /> I followed the regular route all the way to Liucura (ended up climbing over 4 different barbed wire fences once I was off the ridge). Hitched into Lonquimay and will be skipping down to Section 16.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Feb-14 to 2022-Feb-15 + 2022-Mar-07 to 2022-Mar-10 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> The first day we continued from GPT11, starting at Termas de Pelehue (where you can camp, though you have to search around for non-sulfury water pushing up through the meadows). We continued along the border with Argentina. Great all-around views, decent trail instead of CC most of the time, no water at S 38° 09.380', W 071° 01.300' &lt;- in agreement with Molly and Melissa.<br /> <br /> We escaped to Ranquil in the south to resupply, and got back three weeks later, taking the afternoon bus from Lonquimay (mon-wed-fri, bus early the morning and in the afternoon). Slept in the refugio in the valley east of Ranquil. The road between Ranquil and this eastern valley is almost fully MR instead of TL.<br /> <br /> Continued RR until the Pehuenche Extortioner valley, but took optionals 12-H and 12-5 to arrive at Pehuenco in time to take the bus Friday morning at 08:00 (also mon-wed-fri) to make sure we made it to our plane in Puerto Montt on Sunday. We skipped Laguna Escondida and Laguna Verde with pain in our hearts :(<br /> <br /> We saw the camp site at 12-H and asked around in the roundabout way (&quot;do you know a camp site?&quot;) standing next to it, but no positive answer came. We camped at the pass before Maximiliano's puesto instead, where there is a little water turning into the usual cow meadow. Met Maximiliano there :)<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-21 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH 02 / Romain <br /> <br /> Regular Hiking Path :<br /> - There are a lot of Araucaria trees. I managed to save 2 days of food just by harvesting piñones on the floor following the path. I would recommend to not rely on it because it depends on the period, but there was plenty.<br /> <br /> - the path after Laguna Marinanqui wasn't easy to follow because it was like a swamp but once I manage to cross this humid part it was all good<br /> <br /> - Camp on Ford {12} [32.6/1299] (Rio Pulul), great place with lot of space, grass, dry wood, almost no wind when I camped there, I really appreciated this place <br /> <br /> - I did the multiple fords without removing my water shoes because there are close and it worth it<br /> <br /> - Camp {12} [17.0/1794] : I had to stay one day there due to raining conditions. Looking at the places after, it's to my mind the last place to camp before starting going uphill, it would be too windy and too cold to camp farther. During the rainy day the temperature dropped to less than 10° I think, I had to stay in my duvet. And during the night I got ice on my tent, it wasn't extreme but it was good to be well equipped. <br /> <br /> - Option 11-02 and 11-02B to reach back the regular route was the best part I did of my entire trek, with a condor flying 10-15m above me, spectacular landscapes, ... I really recommend it but only in stable good conditions because it was really really windy, and going northbound otherwise 11-02B would be very demanding because of the sand.<br /> <br /> - the hot spring {11-02B} [1.2/2113] and more generally the place with vapors and boiling water at some places and many condors flying around you is very impressive<br /> <br /> - Nobo : Demanding clampering, in good weather only : everything is in the title and the other commentaries well describe it. I hadn't felt really in danger following the track but I was much tense and aware of everything. It's definitely not a good idea to be there not in good conditions. And you need to have time to do it in one time, there is no place adapted to camp until the pass {11} [27.6/2174] and event just after it's still much wind, and at some point the earth/sand soil make you hike very slowly. I thank the people who wants through before me, their tracks were much helpful to see the way and to not slip in the sand. Except these points the place is beautiful and I appreciated it a lot in the continuity of the part before.<br /> <br /> <br /> Option 12-02 :<br /> <br /> - 11-05G : the road from Lonquimay start with concrete and become gravel at a certain point, but lot of people use it and without hitchhiking many proposed me to take me<br /> <br /> - transition 11-05G to 12-02 : the road leading to the ferry is really smaller than the main one, I missed it because I wasn't enough attentive to that<br /> <br /> - Ferry : the indicated opening time are : 8:30-17:30 from Monday to Friday, 8:00-10:00/16:00-18:00 on saturday ; I arrived there at 13:30 on the Monday and there was nobody to move it, fishermen told me to wait for a car but they seem to say there should be one until 1 or 2 hours so I crossed the river going up, water reached my hips and I arrived in a farmer property, people were very friendly, but should I do it again I would cross going down (easier to reach + no problem with entering a property)<br /> <br /> - 12-02 continues by crossing the river on a beautiful wood hanging bridge (12-02A continues straight), I appreciated this path with plenty of rabbits, aracauria trees and beautiful landscapes. I slept close to the river in a flat field with apple and peach trees. It seemed people are used to camp there with lot of campfire marks, really windy the day I camp there<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Jan-10 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / Molly og Melissa<br /> <br /> Amazing section with great views. Definitely don't skip the two high parts unless the weather is bad. We didn't find it to be dangerously steep except for a few metres on the descent before Laguna Marinanqui, which were uncomfortable.<br /> Tábanos were better than expected, it was pretty windy. We also brought a fly swatter. It was very effective for killing those who sticked around during breaks, and gave a lot of satisfaction<br /> <br /> We took the alternative route to the east right out of Liucura due to the notes of other people. Shortly after, we saw a path climbing the mountain, and took that. Big mistake - the path disappeared quickly and left us to climb steeply through dense bamboo. We learned the lesson of staying close to the route, and this payed off. Often, when the route is marked as CC, a path exists that follows the route closely.<br /> On one of the CC sections we met a man with his animals, who wanted to know what we were doing. He said that we needed a permission from someone in Liucura to be there, and that many people came by and disturbed the animals. When we apologized and said we didn't know and that we'd go on to Laguna Verde he didn't pursue the subject and seemed friendly enough.<br /> We ended up camping on the beach by Laguna Escondida.<br /> On the descent from there to the Pehuenche Extortioner valley we passed a puesto not marked on the GPS. It seemed empty, and the gravel road was right next to it. There were some very aggressive dogs that we gave a shock, though, they quickly surrounded us. The owner got them calmed down a bit, but one of them to still took a bite of my sleeping mat on the bottom of my bag while we were calmly talking to the owner. <br /> After the Pehuenche Extortioner valley you climb a pretty tall mountain pass to an amazing high plain. The descent from here is, as others have written, very steep, not too difficult but definitely better down than up. From there you have a very nice easy trail with good views almost all the way to Laguna Marinanqui, but at the river crossing and every time there is a puesto of trail the trail diverges, and you often have to follow the less obvious trail, so it pays off to look at the GPS often.<br /> After Laguna Marinanqui we just kept our wading shoes on for the six river crossings, it worked very well. None of the crossings were difficult in any way.<br /> We camped at the Coyuco hot springs. It's a nice enough camp site with a little bench and table under the Aucaria trees, but not too many big sites for the tent. The hot springs are a little bellow, covered by some planks. They are pretty dirty but a perfect temperature, no views either.<br /> <br /> The last big ascent nearing the Argentine border was amazing and should definitely not be skipped unless the weather is bad! There is a small CC section, but most of the way through the pass there is a nice trail - stick to the route and you will find it! It lasts all the way to the gravel road to Ranquil. There is a boarder post, and a pretty flat grassy area where it would be possible to camp on the Argentinian side of the border, next to a stream. In general, plenty of water all the way to the second hot springs. From there, nothing until you reach the river in the bottom. The hot springs are in an amazing area, and would be a beautiful campsite with great views, bit requires clear and calm water. We didn't see the hot springs ourselves, but we met some Chilean tourists who liked them. <br /> <br /> Water:<br /> Generally, water is plentiful, but with some comments. We started from Liucura on midday on a very hot day, and having read about plentiful water we brought a liter each. However, there was nothing until the first waypoint, which we couldn't reach, so we ended up going down to the river in the eastern valley and camping there.<br /> Furthermore, on the ascent from the Pehuenche Extortioner valley where there are three campsites on a row, the first didn't have water and the second only very little.<br /> On the high plain where it's marked water? there was water, but very still and dirty. Would only drink it if very desperate. Shortly after joining the path after the descent there are very nice streams.<br /> We arrived in Ranquil in the afternoon on a Sunday, and hitched to Lonquimay - very challenging though, with three rides and some walking in between<br /> <br /> <br /> *2021-Nov-23 / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony<br /> <br /> After i finished GPT 3 i headed down south to GPT 12 in order to hike the next couple of groups in a northbound direction since it’s more suitable to hike from down here this time of year compared to the more northern sections<br /> <br /> It was love at first sight! I was so thrilled to escape the exposed terrain of the north and come down here to this beautiful part of the country, where you can enjoy the nice shade from the Arucania trees. Got the bus from Lonquimay to Liucura at 14:00 and started my trip on the optional route east of the RR to avoid previously mentioned barbed wire fence.<br /> Later I climbed up to the mountain ridge and followed the RR.<br /> <br /> After my first night I was woken up by the sound of a bunch of cows running around my tent, and a stuck my head out to find a Pehuenche man on a horse wearing a balaclava, looking at me. Was very surprised at first but he was a nice guy who was just curious about me. We took some photos of each other and I got to ride around on his horse.<br /> I general I found water to be plenty, the weather good and the trail in good condition. There are although some very steep sections every now and then where you have to be careful. I was also hit by a hail storm during a mountain pass but luckily it quickly passed.<br /> <br /> At laguna Marinanqui towards the end of the section I met a group of Chileans from Victoria who were out on a weekend fishing trip. We drank a few beers together while catching some salmon in the Laguna and after i joined on the walk back to Ranquil. We took GPT option 1 to skip the nothern hump. And on arrival at Ranquil they gave me a ride back to Lonquimay. Great fun!<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *Feb 2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / Lauric<br /> <br /> Took optional #002 east of regular trail to avoid climbing over barbed wire. It is an easy road. Then we climbed up on the ridge with optional #003. Not exactly on the track but we found a trail going up. On the ridge it's amazing with 360 views. Easy walking too. Optional down in the valley would be easier but less rewarding. Continued our way to the pass 1920m (after taking mate at Maximiliano's puesto). At the pass we left the regular trail to end up on a descending road. Easy descent to optional 12-04-#001 and easy walk in the valley. From there we avoided the extortioner and up to the second pass (2120m). The views are amazing. Very steep and CC descent. Wouldn't have liked to go up this part. From the pass to laguna Marinanqui is pretty boring but easy part. Laguna is very beautiful and a great place to camp. North of laguna is ankle deep in cowshit. We got up by the river to the termas. There are 2 pools. Then we headed town to Ranquil to finish the section. Carabineros let us camp on their field. Bus to Lonquimay Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6AM and 5PM in front of the police station.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-24 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR mostly / Frank <br /> <br /> At the high lakes I continued on RR-CC-I@12-57.1+7.5, a spectacular traverse but at the end there is a very steep &amp; slow descent on rock, scree &amp; sand. I would consider this descent to be dangerous &amp; best avoided by taking the Pehuenche Extortioner variant. After Maximilian's Puesto I took OH-MR-V@12-03-#001out to the road then into Liucura. At least 2 places to stay there, they both have a restaurant. Also a cafe &amp; 3 shops, you can resupply easily.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-23 / Hiking / SOBO / RR Ending at ranquil carabineros / Ty &amp; America <br /> <br /> Just hiked to The hot spring from the top of section 11. Not much to report. Hot springs were luke warm. There’s some sort of makeshift hut covering them. Nice camp there though. We got a hitch when nearing the carabineros to Lonquimay. Wouldn’t usually count on this though. Definitely middle of nowhere. Apparently the bus comes at 5.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-17 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 03 / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Start: Termas de Pelehue, End: Primary road towards Lonquimay<br /> Amazing section. The Termas de Pelehue are gone due to the lack of maintenance. The second hot springs the same, but the fumaroles above are quite impressive! The third hot springs down in the valley are great, there are several pools just below the camp. After the second pass (2'180) we decided not to do the investigation route as it looked pretty uncomfortable to us. The descent after the third pass (1'920) to Maximiliano's puesto was a nice trail, not at all CC. There our longing for a beer was so huge that we took the optional route 12-03-#001 through the beautiful araucaria valley. Believe it or not, shortly before arriving at the primary road there came a bus, taking us to the junction, from where a connecting bus to Lonquimay was leaving, everything within 10 minutes :-) Excellent resupply and accommodation in Lonquimay, funny town.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 15-Jan-2020 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie &amp; Tom <br /> <br /> Spectacular section, some of the best scenery we have seen so far! Some of the ascents and descents are quite steep and technical. There is lots of loose rock and no easy track to follow. It was quite windy and all the high passes are dangerous in poor weather. The trail is also overgrown and difficult to follow in some sections. This makes it slower than you might expect, however it is perfectly doable. Good resupply in Licura at the end of the section, as well as nice places to stay (around 20000 pesos for a double). <br /> <br /> <br /> * 9-Jan-2020 / 5 days (GPT11 + GPT12) / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 2 Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We combined sections 11 and 12. It took us 5 days including one zero because of weather. Patagonia showed us bit of it's potential in these two sections. <br /> All walked trails were in good condition and CC sections pretty easy to navigate. In the sadle of section 11, because of strong wind, poor visibility and fresh snow and ice we were forced to take optional to the valley. There is a big snowfield, I don't recomend sliding on it all the way. It the lower parts there were big holes into the stream. <br /> From Ranquil we took optional #002 because we didn't want to climb back up. Uphill is more a minor road, downhill nice trail. <br /> After a laguna we took a optional to the Pass 2180 and road around the Pehuenche Extortioner. We needed to get down from elevation ASAP bacause of wind. We passed puesto early in the morning and no one was around. After rainy day everything above 2000m was white. We took trail to pass 1920m which was just with bit of fresh snow and then took minor road #001 down to valley. So I have no idea about the rest of the trail.<br /> Edit: adding a picture from the last sadle 1920m, we did after &quot;rainy&quot; day.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-06 / 10 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR from Liucura without the northern slope, so we went directly to Ranquil from S38°12.723' W71°05.208'/ Sophie &amp; Hendrik <br /> <br /> In total we were 11days on the trail, of which we spend 1.5 in the tent due to bad weather. The route is free except for one fort, but there is a workaround. Also we had a couple of navigation problems, which cost us several hours. See recent alerts and suggestions.<br /> <br /> We liked: The quickly chang landscape and its huge variety, beautiful cinematic views, funny animals, that water was always available, bathing in the rivers, beautifully blooming plants.<br /> <br /> We did not like so much: The problems we encountered due to navigation mistakes, the hailstorm on the mountain ridge, beercans that people drop on the paths.<br /> <br /> We bluntly hated: The amount of horse flies. In the northern part we were not able to make one step without having at least five buzzing arround our faces. This army of blood suckers was sent by a source of pure evil to annoy hikers.<br /> <br /> The following is a chronological accumulation of all our observations made in the last 11 days. Note for navigation difficulties that we walked northbound.<br /> <br /> - The most southern CC part direclty north of Liucura is now bordered by fences. You have to follow the path and then go left through a gate. The gate on the western fence is some 80m further south than you would expect. It was locked and we had to carefully (barbed wire) climb over it. It might be a lot easier to take the optional route in the east to get up the ridge.<br /> <br /> -We were unable to find and follow the path at S38°24.881' W71°00.281' down to the valley. We endet up on a path a little further south. However, this path starts to lead further and further south, so that at some point we startet to ge back to the original path through the woods, which did cost several hours.<br /> <br /> - Getting up the mountain at S38°24.450 W71°01.871' we startet ca 300m further north than indicated by the CC route due to fences and rivercrossing opportunities in the valley. (We thought CC means come up with your own route anyway.) At ca 1720m of altitude, still 300m north of the indicated route we found a good looking path leading up the mountain and followed it. At its end we assumed it would not be a bad idea to continue from here on in north west direction up the mountain. We now know it was a very bad idea. We ended up in a very uncomfortable and seriously dangerous climbing situation in which we really did not want to be. So our advice: stick to the route here!<br /> <br /> - The Ford-125 (S38°20.908 W71°09.294') looks impassable right now. You can avoid it by using an improvised bridge about 120m further west.<br /> <br /> - At roughly S38°17.091' W71°01.354' the path broke away into a very steep descent. It is passable, but also slippery and includes a certain risk of which you should be aware.<br /> <br /> - The daily bus out of Ranquil does not stop at the busstation because it is too large to reverse there. You have to walk down the street ca. 2km to where a bridge crosses the river. The bus reverses here and does not go up further up the road. Right now it stops there at 6 in the morning.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> 2023- 2023-Dec / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> Accomodation : in Troyo there are some cabanas, just ask in the little shops <br /> <br /> - Resupply : big supermarket in Lonquemay / at the end of section 12, 30km down the road there is a village ' Troyo' where there a few small shops where you can find resupply<br /> <br /> ------------------<br /> Ranquil - no shop but there are families who sold us sopaipillas<br /> <br /> Lonquimay - Supermercado Espinoza next to the bus stop has most things. A little shop on the left hand shortly after the bus terminal when walking from the bus terminal towards the center has gas. The shop has different air mattresses, clothes and some outdoorsy things in the windows. There's also a ferretería that might have. Several accommodation options. <br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *To Liucura<br /> Updated Jan 2022:<br /> <br /> Bus from Temuco to Liucura (goes all the way to Icalma) Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:30am (+ 15:55?), 5 hours of travel. Leaves Liucura at the bus terminal next to COPEC at 12.<br /> Also busses from Lonquimay to Liucura Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 15 and Tuesday+Thursday at 14<br /> <br /> Bus from Temuco to Lonquimay every day - Monday-Saturday 15:55, Sunday 17:30<br /> There may even be busses from Santiago to Lonquimay<br /> <br /> *Ranquil<br /> Updated 2022, Jan<br /> Bus from Ranquil to Lonquimay (on Mon, Wed and Fri at 7:30am from the village<br /> <br /> Bus from Lonquimay to Ranquil Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 15:00 - bus terminal next to COPEC<br /> Buses to Troyo leave every day and can drop you off at the crossing to Ranquil, about 30-40 km, but hitching might still be difficult from here<br /> <br /> *If skipping section 13-15:<br /> We went from Pucón to Temuco, but it seems to be the long way around. It might be worth it to ask around in Pucón whether there is a rural bus to Curacautin, and from there to Lonquimay, as that seems way faster on the map - alternatively it could be possible hitching this route.<br /> <br /> *Lonquimay<br /> Update 2022, Feb<br /> <br /> Bus from Santiago - Terminal Sur to Lonquimay leaving at 21:40 and arriving around 8:00<br /> <br /> Company : Jet Sur<br /> <br /> $26.000 for semi-cama<br /> <br /> Commentaries : really comfortable, nice and professional people, USB-plugs, I took it on Sunday night, it was the only one on Sunday, I don't know if there are some on the other days<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT12 - Río Rahue]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664133.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Araucarias on GPT12]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664142.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664125.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664136.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664138.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT12_(Rio_Rahue)&diff=113566 2024-01-11T20:46:49Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-10 to 2024-Jan-11 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / {12-01} - RR - {12-C} - RR - {12-H} - RR - {12-N} - {12-P} / Lilian<br /> <br /> I connected GPT11 and GPT12, so i start at {12-01}.<br /> <br /> {12-01} from km0 to pass[4.6/1499] is dirt road walking.<br /> <br /> Pass[4.6/1499] : huge flat area, look like is a car camping spot, i saw 5 fire ring here. Lot of spots for camping, some spots are beside trees, with weather protection. Road is damaged after the pass, no more cars running.<br /> <br /> Km5.1 : welcome to a beautiful valley!<br /> <br /> Ford[7.5/1403] : crossing of Rio Pulul, rock bar underwater, flowing slow and up to knee, easy. Later you will cross this river some more times.<br /> <br /> Km8.1 : join RR.<br /> <br /> Ford RR [31.4/1301] : start crossing Rio Pulul several times until [33.6/1285], all are easy crossing as now, the deepest is around knee only.<br /> <br /> Camp[31.6/1306] : a beautiful spot.<br /> <br /> Lake,camp[33.9/1281] : Laguna Marinanqui. I never saw so many fries in my life, OMG. The lake shore is muddy, I think the south shore is a better camping spot.<br /> <br /> I take {12-C} here, because too many fries, after i take some photos beside the shore, i don't want to go back to find RR, i just want left this area.<br /> <br /> {12-C} km0.1 : cross a warm stream, some logs for crossing, but they are all underwater, also muddy around it, maybe better after some weeks. Crossing is easy, step on logs then just above ankle.<br /> <br /> {12-C} km0.2 : rejoin RR.<br /> <br /> RR Km34.3 - km35.4 : trail beside the lake. Most of them are muddy, with hundreds of fries, OMG. I'm so disappointed i can't have some relax time here.<br /> <br /> Camp[35.5/1279] : beautiful camping spot with 2 big trees. Less fries here, also is a dry area for camping. Estero Rucausey(a stream) is flowing nice with clear water just beside it.<br /> <br /> Km35.75 : excellent view point of Laguna Marinanqui!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Water[41.4/1173] : upstream 40m, you can step over the stream.<br /> <br /> Km41.1 : grassland can fit 1-3 tents, but a little steep.<br /> <br /> Km43.4 - km43.65 : cross 3 small stream, all look like need a muddy crossing, but not. All of them, you can find a spot for step over, or a log help you for dry feet.<br /> <br /> Km43.4 : after the crossing, flat spot with grassland can fit 2 tents under trees.<br /> <br /> Km43.65 : before the crossing, large flat area can fit lot of tents, but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km43.85 : junction of RR and {12-D}, also dirt road start to south.<br /> <br /> Ford[45.4/1039] : before you go down the river for crossing, compass West 100m is a large, nice flat area beside some big trees, wind protection provided by some brushes. River is up to knee but flowing slow at early morning.<br /> <br /> Easy walking until km51.3.<br /> <br /> Km47 : look at left side, a beautiful hilltop with rock column!<br /> <br /> Km48.25 : pass, a steep side trail at left side(north) leads you to viewpoint. Steep for climbing up, be careful. After enjoying the view, don't go down with the same trail, go to the east ridge for go down, then CC back to trail, it is gentle, easier and safer. Before you left, look up the top of huge rock, there is a branch pressed by stone. Maybe some crazy people bouldering to the top?<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km51.3 : junction of RR and {12-E}, RR after here just like CC, very overgrown, most of the time long grass coverd the trail, i just can use my feet to feel is it a trail i step on. Sometimes you'll step on some old cow path, then follow it walking to some wrong direction, be careful, check GPS more frequently.<br /> <br /> Km52.8 : junction of trail and CC climbing up. From here to km53.7 is steep climbing up on loose sand on RR or the trail shown on OSM. You need to find some grass foot spot and step on, tired and take long time. After i climb up a while, i cut to south side and join the spur, it is much easier and faster because lot of trees surrounding this spur. Hard leaves and sticks on the ground, also the soil is stable. I just need to step by step climb up on the stable ground, no need to find where is my next step, is it too loose or too steep to walk on.<br /> <br /> I also find a clear path at (-38.34710, -71.07574), look like climbing up on &quot;zig zag&quot;, but i lost it after about 20-30m.<br /> <br /> Km53.7 : tree line end. Climbing up on some rocks, much easier now.<br /> <br /> Water? [54.4/1930] : flowing low with warm water, maybe dry up later. Lot of tadpole and frogs swimming in it.<br /> <br /> Km55 : going in the plateau. Very beautiful area, blue lakes, green meadows, curved streams, small snow patches and some big birds, just like a aquarelle hanging on the wall.<br /> <br /> (-38.35842, -71.06810) : excellent view point, 360° beautiful views on a tiny rock hill! Climb up just 2 min!<br /> <br /> Km55.5 : look like it is possible to find a flat spot for camping beside the lake at east shore, beautiful but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km56.3 - km56.65 : flowing good with clear water by snow melt, when you climbing up this stream, don't forget to turn back take a look, beautiful plateau is behind you, also VIEWS of (from left to right) Volcán Llaima, Sierra Nevada, Volcán Lonquimay and Volcán Tolhuaca!<br /> <br /> Pass[57.2/2177] - pass[57.4/2180] : after you climb up to the pass, go down a little to east at 2160m is better, you can walk on a flat ground going south, much easier. Also when it is close to the second pass, a clear path and some rock cairns shown up.<br /> <br /> Pass[57.4/2180] : no snow at north side, just a little snow remain at south side as now. You can go around it on left side (east), or take 20sec to 1 min go down the snow patch directly. Easy.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km57.7 - km58.5 : walk your own way going down, sometimes you'll find some cairns and a clear path about 10m, then disappear.<br /> <br /> Km58.75 - km58.85 : steep snow slope, DON'T slide down at here, big hard rocks at bottom waiting for you. You can kick step going down but steep, or like me, go around at left side(NE), then go down a steep rocky slope.<br /> <br /> Km58.85 : wet, muddy, slippery trail starts, until km59.5 going under tree line. I think it is a pretty place in dry season.<br /> <br /> Km59.6 : blowdowns maze starts, tons of blowdowns cut the way, then lot of cow paths and dry riverbeds mix together. Sometimes the trail shown up and disappear for blowdowns. Need pay more attention here. Until km59.9, the trail becomes easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Road end[60.4/1745] : Dirt road start. Junction of another old dirt road on right side(west) after here 100m, it looks flat and no cars running on it, you can camp if need, also this old dirt road leads you to a small stream after 100m.<br /> <br /> Km61.5 : junction of RR and {12-F}, before this junction 20m, there is a clear trail going down, i followed it, and it is easy walk to Puesto[61.8/1550].<br /> <br /> Puesto[62.9/1523] : no people no dogs here.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Then i joined {12-H} for climbing up.<br /> <br /> {12-H} km2.6 : i would like to said, here is covered by some heavy brushes already, just like BB and CC mixture. I saw the ground have some horse prints, looks like have a better reroute, but I don't know the way and it is difficult to follow so i lost it, lastly BB CC to Puesto[3.1/1822].<br /> <br /> After puesto[3.1/1822], trail conditions become better, easy to follow and walk.<br /> <br /> Pass RR[68.0+0.2/1909] : still a tiny snow patch beside the pass, but nothing at pass. A beautiful area.<br /> <br /> Km70.7 : Dirt road start, until Laguna Escondida(RR km76.4).<br /> <br /> Ford[73.6/1517] : if you follow RR, no need follow cross this one, turn left and cross the small one.<br /> <br /> Lake,camp[76.2/1750] : covered by many trees, but no views.<br /> <br /> Km76.4 : dirt road end, if this grassland is dry, it'll be a very beautiful camping spot with excellent lake view.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km80.7 : junction of RR and {12-K}, beautiful views here! The valley towards Laguna Verde is so nice. Flat area here, wild views but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Remark, {12-K} is an impossible route, the mountain top at (-38.50732,-70.98472) is some vertical rock column, i think about 40-80m, can't climb up to walk, also can't go around, mostly is 70-80° vertical wall.<br /> <br /> Water[81.9/1889] : flowing good with a flat spot can fit 1 tent.<br /> <br /> Camp[83.0/1767] : wet, also a puesto at (-38.51828, -70.98893). When I fill some water at stream, 2 dogs running out and barking at me, they follow/chase me until km83.3, I'm not sure they are curious, or aggressive.<br /> <br /> Some puesto at west shore of lake. So i camped on a little hill at (-38.52293, -70.99734). Good location for privacy and views but no wind protection, also not easy to find a spot because of rocky ground.<br /> <br /> Km86.8 : dirt road start.<br /> <br /> Because it is a crazy windy day, so i decided stay in valley by {12-N}+{12-P}, not climb up to plateau by RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Dirt road walking 2km {12-N} then join {12-P}. {12-P} leads you all the way to Liucura. First 400m of {12-P} is dirt road, leads you to puesto[0.4/1526], then the road damaged becomes a trail, until puesto[1.9/1415].<br /> <br /> Water {12-P} [1.7/1400] : last good water until Liucura.<br /> <br /> Puesto[1.9/1415] : dirt road start again. Road go through a beautiful valley. You can look at other side of valley, some landslide trail there.<br /> <br /> Km5.0 : Left side, Volcán Batea Mahuida!<br /> <br /> Km10 : a beautiful meadow, horse trail start.<br /> <br /> Water[11.7/1289] : look clear, but I'm not sure is it flowing from cows and horse meadow.<br /> <br /> Puesto[12.1/1239] : dirt road start again, til Liucura.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Shop[104.1/1036] : chocolate, biscuits, chips, drinks and ice cream, not much for resupply, but they make hot sandwiches and breakfast, yummy yummy!!!! They also do &quot;printing&quot;, if you need some documents in paper.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 12-27 to 2024 1-03 / 7 short days and one hour/ hiking / mainly RR / Sobo / Edwin<br /> <br /> Took the easy option from Ranquil to baños de Coyuco by Oh-12-01. The baños are really nice. After that the regular route until Laguna Verde after which a suspect knee made me stick to trails and minor roads. An enjoyable trek! Some snow at higher altitudes. <br /> The river crossings before Laguna Marinanqui were not too difficult except for the second one, which whas up to my crotch (I'm 1.90 meters) and fast flowing. <br /> Plenty of water around. Only took more than half a litre once when crossing the plateau and that wasn't needed. Days were generally hot.<br /> Met few people in the puestos but the ones I met were all friendly. <br /> If you want to skip section 13... The bus to Icalma passes through Liucura around 12:30 - 13:00 Monday/Wednesday/Friday<br /> <br /> 2023 17 - 20 dec / 4 days / hiking / option 12-04, H, RR / SOBO / Frans<br /> <br /> Started on a Sunday and it wasn't clear to me if the ferry (12-02G) would be up and running. No one in Lonquimay could guarantee me this. Because of Sunday and also because this day Chileans had to vote for the constitution. So I decided to walk the 181 and join the GPT12 on 12-04End. Nice walk, plenty of traffic to hitchhike, although I decided to walk. The minimarket at camping Lolén (100m before 12-04End) was closed, Sunday or voting? Was there around 11am. It looked up and running and not abonded or something. Just a closed sign. First house after the bridge sold eggs and honey, I bought some honey from Luis, super friendly guy. The walk was nice after that, although the road was fenced on both sides until km 16-ish. No campsites or minimarkets. I ended up campung at 12-03End, pretty long stretch so next time I would definitely hitchhike the 181. <br /> <br /> Climb to the pass was steep, pass was easy, no issues with snow. Beautiful views on both sides. Going down on some patches of snow you could see and/or hear the water flowing below. Might become tricky in the next days to walk over so a little caution is recommended. Met Maxi and his father down below at his puesto. Super friendly! Continued my way to camp at laguna Escondida (North side).<br /> <br /> Next day a bit iffy weather (as expected) cloudy, windy and a bit of rain. Decided to do a short one and camped at laguna Verde. Really good camping spots on the option 12L, at the end of the lake. And I could cross here the next day to join RR, there where some planks over the small stream.<br /> <br /> This last day I really enjoyed! Walking the plateau and the ridgeline was amazing. Perfect weather also. For sure worth it, easy to follow trail and all the CC options are 90% horse trails which are good to spot. <br /> <br /> Coming close to Liucura, it didn't feel good to me to climb those fences. Guess that's just a personal thing. There was a lot of cattle, fences looked new, so I decided to not climb over them and annoy the locals. Just followed the trail down to end up at the main road, take a left to Liucara. Maybe 1km extra in total. <br /> <br /> Stayed at Normita, couple of shops to resupply all the basics. <br /> <br /> All combined, really nice section especially the final part. Water not a problem, until you go up the plateau and ridge.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-Nov-28 to 2023-Dec -02 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + variant P + variant Q + variant H + option 1 / Jens (together with Nolwenn and Yannick)<br /> <br /> To get to Liucura, take a bus from the Rural Terminal in Temuco to Lonquimay (departure 10 am) and from there another bus (3 pm). <br /> <br /> It is better to do your shopping in Liucura beforehand, the market and supermarkets are right next to the terminal. There are also some smaller supermarkets in Lonquimay. You are sure to get everything you need there. <br /> <br /> Crossing the pass at KM 57 was very strenuous and steep. There was still snow, which you could either hike around or through. The descent on the other side was very steep. It took two hours. You can camp well on both sides, even at the top if necessary, but it is very windy. <br /> <br /> From kilometre 26 north of the Marinanqui lagoon, we had to cross the river several times. We had some difficulties. The water was up to our hips. We couldn't have coped with any more water. The lake is beautiful, I would rather camp at the southern end as it is rather muddy and full of mosquitoes in the north. We fled from them. <br /> <br /> It had snowed overnight and so we decided not to make the crossing over the pass on RR, but to take the alternative route to the start of Section 11.<br /> <br /> 2023-Nov-28 to 2023-Dec -02 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + variant P + variant Q + variant H + option 1 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn <br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present <br /> <br /> - Snow : (1) snow on pass at km 68 ( easy to walk on it ) / (2) from km 58,4 to km 54,9 : at this point we didn't follow the RR and went on the right side to reach the ridgeline and then continue on it - the plateau still had a lot of snow but we found it was not a problem to find our own safe way / (3) we didn't do the last pass between km 15,8 and km 9,5 because it has snowed in the night and the mountain was still covered by a thick layer of snow<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : easy to find <br /> <br /> - River crossing : (1) at 45,5 km we crossed in the morning and the current was strong but we are used to river crossings so this one was easily passable for us / (2) Laguna Marinanqui between km 35,4 and km 33,9 : was higher than usual and therefore the trail was under water, we walked in the lake from time to time and it was sometimes up until our thighs / (3) the river between km 33,9 and km 31,3 is really high and need multiple crossings that sometimes goes up until the waist with a strong current, we had to improvise and do some bushbahing to find places where it was crossable <br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny, snowy, cloudy, ( overall really good weather but can be cold )<br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant P + Q : easy track, it's a dirt road, there is water on the track / variant H : to avoid the dogs / option 1 : to avoid the snow on the pass, the trail is easy and beautiful<br /> <br /> - Warning : river crossings between km 33,8 and km 31,3 was really hard but manageable if you have skills and not too small<br /> <br /> - Overall : beautiful section, still a lot of snow from 1700m<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-23 to 2023-Nov-27 / 4 days / hiking / NOBO / Regular Route and Option 3 to return to Lonquimay / Ana &amp; William<br /> <br /> We just finished part of 12 and overall it is a lovely hike though we might potentially be a bit too early in the season depending on your risk threshold.<br /> <br /> Heading NOBO the small pass after laguna verde is fine. Little snow but not bad. Next pass is a bit tough, lots of snow walking and lots of risky parts where there are hidden rivers/water ways under the snow and where cliffs of snow had broken off but we managed by being careful and taking time to judge. RR-CC-A {12} [68.1/68.5+2.9] is not passable we went on the route to the left of it. Scary but fine, you have to make your own route since it’s completely snowed over. Downhill is fine, snow is only on the south face of the mountain. Next day we skipped the pass and did a plateau crossing based on advice from a local, it was lovely, the trail is east to follow most of the way then getting across the plateau you can take any possible direction, no wrong way and it connects to the 12-03c. Coming down on though there are two tracks at 12-03c marker. OH-TL-I {12-03A} [0.9+3.4] is not a route. At least not now. It’s basically a river gorge and it’s not possible unless you can surf down waterfalls, so we scaled up almost completely vertical to meet the CC route that runs parallel. Might be possible when there is less snow melt though. The CC route we took was almost a completely verticals decent for 800 meters and I must say a bit terrifying. Clambering down on your butt/downhill rock climbing is not the hard part but if you are not careful and you don’t judge your path every few meters you can find yourself looking down a minimum 30-200 meter drop, so it’s mentally scary not knowing if you will get to the bottom. But we did. I would not advise it, instead I’d advise continuing on 12-03 past the lakes back to the normal route. Took us almost 3 hours of being very careful though. We then got to the first river. Many locals we met before told us the only way to ranquil is the balsa, but we didn’t fully understand what they meant till we got to the river. They meant Bulsa Rahue which is on the way to lonquimay. The first main crossing at Ford {12} [45.4/1039] is very deep and very fast. For us as beginners a big no go, but I honestly think for advanced that would be tough as well if not only very dangerous. We then moved back to lonquimay where for the first part of the trail the river had flowed over so much that there was no trail but then eventually the trail gains significant elevation over the river and it’s fine. We asked others we ran into on the way and they confirmed that it’s too early to pass the rivers, but again depends on the hiker I’m sure.<br /> <br /> Comment Jan Dudeck December 2023: The best route to ascent from the Plateau is the trail in the South-West of the Plateau. That's the trail on which the horses are probably moved up and down. Starting with the Track Files 2024 the normal route up and down the Plateau will be OH-TL-V {12-03} [0.0+14.4]. I have cleaned up the routes on the North-Western edge of the Plateau. These exploration routes are best taken up and not down. Starting with the Track Files 2024 these exploration options are {12-03A}, {12-03B} and {12-03C} and all classified as Exploration Routes. There pieces of trails visible on satellite images but these trail disappear into a forest and it is unclear who maintained these routes are and if these are part of an alternative access to the Plateau.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan / Martin&amp;Helena<br /> <br /> On regular route (SOBO) after puesto at 62.9, there is another puesto after approx 1km. It’s situated right on the road, soon after start of CC and before Gpt12-G End and it’s guarded by 4 or 5 agressive dogs. It was impossible to go around, so we were continuing with our trekking poles in front of us but dogs started to attack us and in the end I was bitten by one of them. The owner was there too but basically did nothing and dogs were absolutely out of her control.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-01 to 2023-Mar-05 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Arrived in Liucura late in the 28th Feb afternoon by hitchhiking our way from Lonquimay. There is also a bus that leaves at 7:30 PM. We shared our plans with the carabineros and asked for a place to pitch and he sent us near the river, after the truck &quot;parking&quot; (-38.64806, -71.08856 - really nixe and private spot). There are 3 shops in Liucura with supplies and we even had a nice diner for 6k each at the Hospedaje. <br /> Started early the next day with 12-P until 12-R. This way we avoided to climb any fence. There are plenty of paths going upward so we ended up not following the one from the tracks but something that joined the top quite directly. Then we enjoyed our walk on the ridge. We continued for a while and camped at Laguna Escondida. The marked point is in the wood, a bit far away from the water but wind protected. We decided to go much closer to the water and met our two first GPT hikers going southbound on the trail! <br /> <br /> The next day we took 12-H to avoid the aggressive dogs and then sticked to the RR until Camp {12} [51.6/1293]. The descent in the forest (RR-CC-A {12} [52.3/52.8+2.2]) was a bit painful as it is steep and without path. Following the OSM route is not better.<br /> <br /> Day 3, we followed the RR until Laguna Marinanqui (Lake, Camp {12} [33.9/1281]) where we camped. Then we met Reyes, a local from Peluhue who was waiting a group of &quot;gringo&quot; since the previous day. We spent the night here with him, tasting our first cooked pinones. <br /> <br /> On day 4, we hiked to Camp {12} [20.4/1625] (Banos Coyucos). All the fords of Rio Pulul were easy. On the trail we crossed a group of horseriders (Reyes' gringo) that got lost in the mountains and were on their way to the lake. Then we had our first pinata moment : we found an araucania and hit a ball with a branch for a rain of pinones. At the bayos, we met two persons preparing an asado for the group of riders and an other group of people just staying for a bath. Both pools are great, the second one (the smallest and a bit more down) is a bit warmer. We got invited and fed by the riders (smoked cerdo, tortillas al rescaldo, goat asado...)! They eventually left and we were alone in the bayos for the night. <br /> <br /> On Day 5, we hiked until the junction with GPT11 but without taking options 1 or 2 following the advices of the previous hikers. Then we directly continued to GPT11.<br /> On a side note, on most of the section, you will walk on well marked trails that are easy to follow. It contains multiple extremely scenics moments, at least one highlight per day (several for the last one). Definitely worth it to hike! There are no more tabanos at this period of the year, but indeed many wasps ! <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-12 to 2023-Feb-16 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Natalie+Tomàš<br /> <br /> Combined 10+11+12 continued mid-day from 11.<br /> Started mid-day at Banos de Pelehue, Tomáš explored the banos, there was a pool that had some cold water flowing to it, which is diverted, so the temperature should be nicely warm. However, it resulted in smelly hands for two days despite soap. The first hot springs waypoint is wrong but the location is very scenic. We continued to Banos Coyucos for the night and luckily arrived just before a storm hit.<br /> The Banos Coyucos were not &quot;great&quot;. The first one with the A-frame roof is not that warm, more like stale bathwater, but the second further down with only a partial roof is much better. We spent the stormy night in the second one so more heat would have been nice but I am sure it's a good temperature for day time bathing.<br /> <br /> Day2<br /> Late start but great trail from the Banos to the marshy flats. I met Rosè from the puesto right at the beginning of the flats, she was very easy to get along with and had a good sense of humor. I would recommend looking for her if you were in need of help. She also helped show me how to avoid the marsh by sticking slightly high on the side of the hill, there was a little bit of a trail. The next plateau up was forgettable, accidentally walked along variant A for too long before dropping down to the RR. The RR is much faster than the side hill that hops from one puesto to the next on variant A. The rest of the way to Laguna Marinanque was enjoyable, definitely leave your sandals on at the bottom for the multiple river crossings. <br /> At this time of year Marinanque was still boggy but caused no problem's. However, I would be careful at the Northside not to get stuck in the bog, it looked very deep. We slept at the abandoned puesto 37.7 (No Water).<br /> <br /> Day3<br /> Fast and lovely trail to camp51.6. After then and up the steep grass hill it is CC. I wouldn't rely on the GPX here as it i basically just straight up. The last water source before the hill 52.2 makes a nice rest. Just to clarify once again, there is no water at the first plateau; camp54.5. However, the water at the small lakes on the main plateau did not look awful, just goose poo around.<br /> Up and over the main/last pass is straightforward but the other side is still boggy. The first camp was not good but if you walked up the bog directly on top of it there was a source of clean water. We slept at the second camp; 59.5, which felt the best of all three, there was water, a little muddy but the third camp looked dry. <br /> <br /> Day4. <br /> You can make a small short cut on a wide &quot;road-trail&quot; just before the RR turns off from the main trail towards puesto 61.8. Crossing the bottom valley here is still very boggy. The lady at puesto 62.9 was very welcoming, offering food/chocolate/coffee. She had some angry dogs but they behaved well once she called them. The next puesto up from her had the dogs that bit a past GPT hiker. They were indeed the aggressive type but the lady tied the worst one up in order to let us pass. If she hadn't we were going to skirt around on the right into the forest to hopefully avoid them and or you could descent back down the hill and go far left.<br /> Like Veronica said there is some water at -38.41178, -70.99125, not tasty but not filtering it had no consequences. At the intersection of RR and J I met some friendly carabinieros that were going into Argentina to fetch some Chilean horses, they were taking on a good trail. From the water source I just described and towards Maximiliano's puesto I did not enjoy the trail, didn't make much sense and felt I was zig zaging in the valley for no good reason. <br /> Day got better once meeting &quot;Maxi&quot; and his son. Jan, if you are reading this Maximiliano says hi and has only good things to say about you. I told him you were off in the mountains somewhere but hopefully will come back to visit again. He wanted to make sure people were good to us and luckily we told him we only had pleasant encounters. His neighbor down the road (Seguro?) was also extremely friendly. The rest of the way to Laguna Verde was fast, a mixture of old roads and easy trails and a CC bit. The first puesto at Laguna Verde was abandoned and we slept in the grass beside it. It was very windy and the water in the lake was very dirty but luckily we found a small dribble of flowing water near the puesto. In the morning everything was covered in frost and slightly frozen, our first freeze.<br /> <br /> Day5<br /> Our final day was easy, the ridge got a little tedious (but was surprisingly beautiful in parts) and I was very happy it wasn't a hot day because otherwise it would have been very dry and uncomfortable. We managed to avoid all barbed wire fences (even though they could be jumped because 3/4 of the fence is cow panels and just the top two lines are barbed). When you are walking down from the trail from the ridge instead of turning left and jumping over your first fence we just went straight down towards the main road (aim for this open gate -38.63510, -71.09298), it is on the first dirt road marked on OSM branching from the main road when going into Chile from the border after Liucura. There were a couple big dogs at the end but they were locked up. Only 1km of road walking back to Liucura, past a nice looking restaurant, and or you could just start hitching to Lonquimay if desired. <br /> We agree that you could technically resupply in Liucura, it was a very happening border stop with fruit and vegetables, sold out bread and then all the other basics- but no canister fuel obviously. <br /> The bus situation from here is confusing as the shop owners and locals all say different things. What I gathered was that there was a bus going to Lonquimay at ~7, ~12 and ~4pm but I don't think it runs every day. Hitching to Lonquimay looked easy but we hitched to Icalma (more difficult) even though supposedly there was a bus to Icalma at 730/8/830?pm. Once again I don't think the bus runs everyday or weekends, possibly only Mon- Wed- Friday.<br /> In Icalma that was the case, if going to Lonquimay or Melipeuco there was only a bus Mon,Wed &amp; Friday. Sadly I forget the exact times but I remember the first bus was very early, leaving ~6am and then a bus to lonquimay at 3pm. Icalma had lots of little minimarkets and cheap accomodation, slept in cabana for 20mil/night (10mil each)<br /> <br /> Notes:<br /> <br /> -If I was to do this trip again I wish I had more time to spend at the puestos.<br /> <br /> -The picoñes are falling, also wish I doubled up on fuel in order to cook them. We tried mashed picoñes in Icalma and they were delicious!<br /> <br /> -The wasps have replaced horseflies, never got sting but got bit. <br /> <br /> -Many of the trails this time of year were &quot;dirt-dust&quot; but on the bright side most bogs were avoidable. <br /> <br /> -No problems with water, only had to carry extra water on the last day after the final water stop at 87.6. <br /> <br /> -luckily only had a few bad days of smoke, mainly when we were close to Trapa Trapa. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-18 to 2023-Jan-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR starting from the termas de pelehue / Will <br /> <br /> I merged onto section 12 at the termas de pelehue, where I was immediately greeted by a group of 20ish condors taking off from a patch of grass in the valley. My pace got even slower, watching them fly low around me.<br /> <br /> I went on to camp at the Banos Coyucos, easily my favorite hot springs so far. Perfect temperature, clean, but still felt natural. There were two groups of Chilean hikers there, all super friendly and generous.<br /> <br /> The next day of walking through the valleys was beautiful and pretty fast. A bit before the big climb I had my first unpleasant encounter, with a group heading down the road by ATV. The leader stopped and asked if I had authorization to hike there, I said that I didn't know that I needed it. He seemed to think that was obviously a lie. He became somewhat friendly once I explained my plans and after discovering that I was foreign. He gave me some direction advice then set off. In hindsight I figure he must have been a landowner. I did see quite a few littered beer cans afterwords, maybe he was trying to prevent that.<br /> <br /> The steep climb was tough, and I ended up camping pretty late up top. In terms of water I only saw a few muddy puddles though I didn't look very hard. There were a few ponds the next morning just over the hill. <br /> <br /> The rest of the section was easier than I expected, and not so interesting to me. I should have carried more water on the final 20km. If you want to skip the barbed wire fences you'd have to take variant R at the end of the ridge walk. I thought I could skip them with variant S but most of them were before the turnoff so I ended up following the regular route the whole way. Thankfully they were solid and pretty easy to climb.<br /> <br /> No luck hitching out of Liucura so I spent the night. There were no buses on Sunday but someone at my hostel gave me a ride to Lonquimay the next day. If you're continuing on then Liucura could work for a basic resupply, but I'm planning on relaxing a bit then skipping ahead. See busesbiobio.cl for the bus schedule out of Lonquimay.<br /> <br /> I'm still one day behind the same set of footprints I've been following all the way since section 7. I guess I'll never catch up.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-15 to 2023-Jan-18 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Termas de Pelehue (junction GPT 11, option 1 and GPT 12) - Liucura / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We connected section 11 and 12 and started at Termas de Pelehue around km 9.<br /> The first day the path was easy to find most of the time and the views were great. The canyon to Laguna Marinanqui is very beautiful. We camped after the last rivercrossing before the Laguna.<br /> <br /> To path around the Laguna involved some bushbashing and muddy ground.<br /> Until the CC ascent the path was good. The ascent itself is pretty tiring. We could not find water at the point indicated by Véronica so we continued until the first small Laguna on the plateau. That was a great spot to camp and the Laguna has clear water.<br /> <br /> The following part is not hard to navigate and continues with spectacular views.<br /> Ascending the next hill at appr. km 67 we followed a good animal path on towards the west of the hill (instead of the CC part of the RR), next to an accesible creek.<br /> Easy trails the rest of the day. We camped at the water waypoint [78.4/1775] between Laguna Escondida and Laguna verde.<br /> <br /> The next part is great and easy until towards the end of the ridge after the last ascent, where the path finding gets harder with some bush bashing parts. On the last kilometers we descended until the main road to avoid climbing barbed wire fences.<br /> The shopowner of the resupply in Liucura offered us to camp in his garden.<br /> The next morning we hitchhiked to Lonquimay. The buses from Lonquimay to Temuco leave at 8 am and 12:30 pm, not sure if there is also a later bus.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-25 to 2022-Dec-30 / 5.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (combined with GPT11 via GPT11-02) / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Junction at km 12.9 where GPT11-02 meets with GPT12 - Baños Coyucos - Laguna Marinanqui - Pehuenche Extortioner valley - Laguna Escondida - Liucura <br /> <br /> Absolutely beautiful section. Really loved the cross-country bits on high plateaus and ridges, amazing views. I did not have any navigation issues. I met no one 4 days in a row. <br /> <br /> I connected GPT11 Option 2 with GPT12, so I missed the Pelehue hot springs. I did find a good creek at the &quot;water&quot; waypoint at 15.9 km, not dry like what Veronika and Jo found last year. I really enjoyed the camp at Baños Coyucos in an araucaria forest, and the hot springs there were great too! Perfect temperature, and not as dirty as I thought they might be. <br /> <br /> Lots of boggy cow pastures along RR-TL-V {12} [25.6+07], had trouble finding any sort of trail there. Enjoyed the trail along Río Pulul in the canyon with all the fords. All the river crossings were easy, and I found many lovely potential camp spots on that stretch. <br /> <br /> Just north of Laguna Marinanqui (where you have the option to take 12-C), there is a large marsh to contour like others have mentioned. I managed to cross without getting all muddy by closely following the regular route. <br /> The trail kind of disappears after the junction with 12-E, but following the GPS it's not too hard to reach the base of the big CC climb to the high plateau. This climb is steep, but not dangerous - you climb on grass and dirt (no scree). There was no water at the &quot;Water ?&quot; waypoint, but I found a hidden spring nearby at S 38° 21.247', W 071° 04.140'. There are also shallow lagunas up on the plateau you could get water from. After the passes coming downhill into the Pehuenche Extortioner valley, the three campsites in a row there were quite waterlogged from snowmelt. The trail was a river in a couple places there too. Lots of squishy walking, wouldn't be ideal to camp there right now. <br /> <br /> The next CC stretch after the Extortioner valley is awesome on a rounded ridgetop. There is a nice meadow and good water source shortly before reaching the next pass. From this pass all the way to Maximiliano's puesto is a good horse trail, not cross-country. <br /> <br /> After the &quot;water&quot; waypoint at 87.6 km, after Laguna Verde, there is no more water until Liucura, so I filled up in order to dry camp on the ridge further along. All the subsequent CC stretches until Liucura have paths running along most of them, makes walking easier :) The final ridge walk starting at km 95.3 is fantastic, and there's lots of sheltered areas up there too where you could camp if you have enough water. <br /> <br /> I followed the regular route all the way to Liucura (ended up climbing over 4 different barbed wire fences once I was off the ridge). Hitched into Lonquimay and will be skipping down to Section 16.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Feb-14 to 2022-Feb-15 + 2022-Mar-07 to 2022-Mar-10 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> The first day we continued from GPT11, starting at Termas de Pelehue (where you can camp, though you have to search around for non-sulfury water pushing up through the meadows). We continued along the border with Argentina. Great all-around views, decent trail instead of CC most of the time, no water at S 38° 09.380', W 071° 01.300' &lt;- in agreement with Molly and Melissa.<br /> <br /> We escaped to Ranquil in the south to resupply, and got back three weeks later, taking the afternoon bus from Lonquimay (mon-wed-fri, bus early the morning and in the afternoon). Slept in the refugio in the valley east of Ranquil. The road between Ranquil and this eastern valley is almost fully MR instead of TL.<br /> <br /> Continued RR until the Pehuenche Extortioner valley, but took optionals 12-H and 12-5 to arrive at Pehuenco in time to take the bus Friday morning at 08:00 (also mon-wed-fri) to make sure we made it to our plane in Puerto Montt on Sunday. We skipped Laguna Escondida and Laguna Verde with pain in our hearts :(<br /> <br /> We saw the camp site at 12-H and asked around in the roundabout way (&quot;do you know a camp site?&quot;) standing next to it, but no positive answer came. We camped at the pass before Maximiliano's puesto instead, where there is a little water turning into the usual cow meadow. Met Maximiliano there :)<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-21 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH 02 / Romain <br /> <br /> Regular Hiking Path :<br /> - There are a lot of Araucaria trees. I managed to save 2 days of food just by harvesting piñones on the floor following the path. I would recommend to not rely on it because it depends on the period, but there was plenty.<br /> <br /> - the path after Laguna Marinanqui wasn't easy to follow because it was like a swamp but once I manage to cross this humid part it was all good<br /> <br /> - Camp on Ford {12} [32.6/1299] (Rio Pulul), great place with lot of space, grass, dry wood, almost no wind when I camped there, I really appreciated this place <br /> <br /> - I did the multiple fords without removing my water shoes because there are close and it worth it<br /> <br /> - Camp {12} [17.0/1794] : I had to stay one day there due to raining conditions. Looking at the places after, it's to my mind the last place to camp before starting going uphill, it would be too windy and too cold to camp farther. During the rainy day the temperature dropped to less than 10° I think, I had to stay in my duvet. And during the night I got ice on my tent, it wasn't extreme but it was good to be well equipped. <br /> <br /> - Option 11-02 and 11-02B to reach back the regular route was the best part I did of my entire trek, with a condor flying 10-15m above me, spectacular landscapes, ... I really recommend it but only in stable good conditions because it was really really windy, and going northbound otherwise 11-02B would be very demanding because of the sand.<br /> <br /> - the hot spring {11-02B} [1.2/2113] and more generally the place with vapors and boiling water at some places and many condors flying around you is very impressive<br /> <br /> - Nobo : Demanding clampering, in good weather only : everything is in the title and the other commentaries well describe it. I hadn't felt really in danger following the track but I was much tense and aware of everything. It's definitely not a good idea to be there not in good conditions. And you need to have time to do it in one time, there is no place adapted to camp until the pass {11} [27.6/2174] and event just after it's still much wind, and at some point the earth/sand soil make you hike very slowly. I thank the people who wants through before me, their tracks were much helpful to see the way and to not slip in the sand. Except these points the place is beautiful and I appreciated it a lot in the continuity of the part before.<br /> <br /> <br /> Option 12-02 :<br /> <br /> - 11-05G : the road from Lonquimay start with concrete and become gravel at a certain point, but lot of people use it and without hitchhiking many proposed me to take me<br /> <br /> - transition 11-05G to 12-02 : the road leading to the ferry is really smaller than the main one, I missed it because I wasn't enough attentive to that<br /> <br /> - Ferry : the indicated opening time are : 8:30-17:30 from Monday to Friday, 8:00-10:00/16:00-18:00 on saturday ; I arrived there at 13:30 on the Monday and there was nobody to move it, fishermen told me to wait for a car but they seem to say there should be one until 1 or 2 hours so I crossed the river going up, water reached my hips and I arrived in a farmer property, people were very friendly, but should I do it again I would cross going down (easier to reach + no problem with entering a property)<br /> <br /> - 12-02 continues by crossing the river on a beautiful wood hanging bridge (12-02A continues straight), I appreciated this path with plenty of rabbits, aracauria trees and beautiful landscapes. I slept close to the river in a flat field with apple and peach trees. It seemed people are used to camp there with lot of campfire marks, really windy the day I camp there<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Jan-10 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / Molly og Melissa<br /> <br /> Amazing section with great views. Definitely don't skip the two high parts unless the weather is bad. We didn't find it to be dangerously steep except for a few metres on the descent before Laguna Marinanqui, which were uncomfortable.<br /> Tábanos were better than expected, it was pretty windy. We also brought a fly swatter. It was very effective for killing those who sticked around during breaks, and gave a lot of satisfaction<br /> <br /> We took the alternative route to the east right out of Liucura due to the notes of other people. Shortly after, we saw a path climbing the mountain, and took that. Big mistake - the path disappeared quickly and left us to climb steeply through dense bamboo. We learned the lesson of staying close to the route, and this payed off. Often, when the route is marked as CC, a path exists that follows the route closely.<br /> On one of the CC sections we met a man with his animals, who wanted to know what we were doing. He said that we needed a permission from someone in Liucura to be there, and that many people came by and disturbed the animals. When we apologized and said we didn't know and that we'd go on to Laguna Verde he didn't pursue the subject and seemed friendly enough.<br /> We ended up camping on the beach by Laguna Escondida.<br /> On the descent from there to the Pehuenche Extortioner valley we passed a puesto not marked on the GPS. It seemed empty, and the gravel road was right next to it. There were some very aggressive dogs that we gave a shock, though, they quickly surrounded us. The owner got them calmed down a bit, but one of them to still took a bite of my sleeping mat on the bottom of my bag while we were calmly talking to the owner. <br /> After the Pehuenche Extortioner valley you climb a pretty tall mountain pass to an amazing high plain. The descent from here is, as others have written, very steep, not too difficult but definitely better down than up. From there you have a very nice easy trail with good views almost all the way to Laguna Marinanqui, but at the river crossing and every time there is a puesto of trail the trail diverges, and you often have to follow the less obvious trail, so it pays off to look at the GPS often.<br /> After Laguna Marinanqui we just kept our wading shoes on for the six river crossings, it worked very well. None of the crossings were difficult in any way.<br /> We camped at the Coyuco hot springs. It's a nice enough camp site with a little bench and table under the Aucaria trees, but not too many big sites for the tent. The hot springs are a little bellow, covered by some planks. They are pretty dirty but a perfect temperature, no views either.<br /> <br /> The last big ascent nearing the Argentine border was amazing and should definitely not be skipped unless the weather is bad! There is a small CC section, but most of the way through the pass there is a nice trail - stick to the route and you will find it! It lasts all the way to the gravel road to Ranquil. There is a boarder post, and a pretty flat grassy area where it would be possible to camp on the Argentinian side of the border, next to a stream. In general, plenty of water all the way to the second hot springs. From there, nothing until you reach the river in the bottom. The hot springs are in an amazing area, and would be a beautiful campsite with great views, bit requires clear and calm water. We didn't see the hot springs ourselves, but we met some Chilean tourists who liked them. <br /> <br /> Water:<br /> Generally, water is plentiful, but with some comments. We started from Liucura on midday on a very hot day, and having read about plentiful water we brought a liter each. However, there was nothing until the first waypoint, which we couldn't reach, so we ended up going down to the river in the eastern valley and camping there.<br /> Furthermore, on the ascent from the Pehuenche Extortioner valley where there are three campsites on a row, the first didn't have water and the second only very little.<br /> On the high plain where it's marked water? there was water, but very still and dirty. Would only drink it if very desperate. Shortly after joining the path after the descent there are very nice streams.<br /> We arrived in Ranquil in the afternoon on a Sunday, and hitched to Lonquimay - very challenging though, with three rides and some walking in between<br /> <br /> <br /> *2021-Nov-23 / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony<br /> <br /> After i finished GPT 3 i headed down south to GPT 12 in order to hike the next couple of groups in a northbound direction since it’s more suitable to hike from down here this time of year compared to the more northern sections<br /> <br /> It was love at first sight! I was so thrilled to escape the exposed terrain of the north and come down here to this beautiful part of the country, where you can enjoy the nice shade from the Arucania trees. Got the bus from Lonquimay to Liucura at 14:00 and started my trip on the optional route east of the RR to avoid previously mentioned barbed wire fence.<br /> Later I climbed up to the mountain ridge and followed the RR.<br /> <br /> After my first night I was woken up by the sound of a bunch of cows running around my tent, and a stuck my head out to find a Pehuenche man on a horse wearing a balaclava, looking at me. Was very surprised at first but he was a nice guy who was just curious about me. We took some photos of each other and I got to ride around on his horse.<br /> I general I found water to be plenty, the weather good and the trail in good condition. There are although some very steep sections every now and then where you have to be careful. I was also hit by a hail storm during a mountain pass but luckily it quickly passed.<br /> <br /> At laguna Marinanqui towards the end of the section I met a group of Chileans from Victoria who were out on a weekend fishing trip. We drank a few beers together while catching some salmon in the Laguna and after i joined on the walk back to Ranquil. We took GPT option 1 to skip the nothern hump. And on arrival at Ranquil they gave me a ride back to Lonquimay. Great fun!<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *Feb 2020-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / Lauric<br /> <br /> Took optional #002 east of regular trail to avoid climbing over barbed wire. It is an easy road. Then we climbed up on the ridge with optional #003. Not exactly on the track but we found a trail going up. On the ridge it's amazing with 360 views. Easy walking too. Optional down in the valley would be easier but less rewarding. Continued our way to the pass 1920m (after taking mate at Maximiliano's puesto). At the pass we left the regular trail to end up on a descending road. Easy descent to optional 12-04-#001 and easy walk in the valley. From there we avoided the extortioner and up to the second pass (2120m). The views are amazing. Very steep and CC descent. Wouldn't have liked to go up this part. From the pass to laguna Marinanqui is pretty boring but easy part. Laguna is very beautiful and a great place to camp. North of laguna is ankle deep in cowshit. We got up by the river to the termas. There are 2 pools. Then we headed town to Ranquil to finish the section. Carabineros let us camp on their field. Bus to Lonquimay Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6AM and 5PM in front of the police station.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-24 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR mostly / Frank <br /> <br /> At the high lakes I continued on RR-CC-I@12-57.1+7.5, a spectacular traverse but at the end there is a very steep &amp; slow descent on rock, scree &amp; sand. I would consider this descent to be dangerous &amp; best avoided by taking the Pehuenche Extortioner variant. After Maximilian's Puesto I took OH-MR-V@12-03-#001out to the road then into Liucura. At least 2 places to stay there, they both have a restaurant. Also a cafe &amp; 3 shops, you can resupply easily.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-23 / Hiking / SOBO / RR Ending at ranquil carabineros / Ty &amp; America <br /> <br /> Just hiked to The hot spring from the top of section 11. Not much to report. Hot springs were luke warm. There’s some sort of makeshift hut covering them. Nice camp there though. We got a hitch when nearing the carabineros to Lonquimay. Wouldn’t usually count on this though. Definitely middle of nowhere. Apparently the bus comes at 5.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-17 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 03 / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Start: Termas de Pelehue, End: Primary road towards Lonquimay<br /> Amazing section. The Termas de Pelehue are gone due to the lack of maintenance. The second hot springs the same, but the fumaroles above are quite impressive! The third hot springs down in the valley are great, there are several pools just below the camp. After the second pass (2'180) we decided not to do the investigation route as it looked pretty uncomfortable to us. The descent after the third pass (1'920) to Maximiliano's puesto was a nice trail, not at all CC. There our longing for a beer was so huge that we took the optional route 12-03-#001 through the beautiful araucaria valley. Believe it or not, shortly before arriving at the primary road there came a bus, taking us to the junction, from where a connecting bus to Lonquimay was leaving, everything within 10 minutes :-) Excellent resupply and accommodation in Lonquimay, funny town.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 15-Jan-2020 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie &amp; Tom <br /> <br /> Spectacular section, some of the best scenery we have seen so far! Some of the ascents and descents are quite steep and technical. There is lots of loose rock and no easy track to follow. It was quite windy and all the high passes are dangerous in poor weather. The trail is also overgrown and difficult to follow in some sections. This makes it slower than you might expect, however it is perfectly doable. Good resupply in Licura at the end of the section, as well as nice places to stay (around 20000 pesos for a double). <br /> <br /> <br /> * 9-Jan-2020 / 5 days (GPT11 + GPT12) / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 2 Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We combined sections 11 and 12. It took us 5 days including one zero because of weather. Patagonia showed us bit of it's potential in these two sections. <br /> All walked trails were in good condition and CC sections pretty easy to navigate. In the sadle of section 11, because of strong wind, poor visibility and fresh snow and ice we were forced to take optional to the valley. There is a big snowfield, I don't recomend sliding on it all the way. It the lower parts there were big holes into the stream. <br /> From Ranquil we took optional #002 because we didn't want to climb back up. Uphill is more a minor road, downhill nice trail. <br /> After a laguna we took a optional to the Pass 2180 and road around the Pehuenche Extortioner. We needed to get down from elevation ASAP bacause of wind. We passed puesto early in the morning and no one was around. After rainy day everything above 2000m was white. We took trail to pass 1920m which was just with bit of fresh snow and then took minor road #001 down to valley. So I have no idea about the rest of the trail.<br /> Edit: adding a picture from the last sadle 1920m, we did after &quot;rainy&quot; day.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-06 / 10 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR from Liucura without the northern slope, so we went directly to Ranquil from S38°12.723' W71°05.208'/ Sophie &amp; Hendrik <br /> <br /> In total we were 11days on the trail, of which we spend 1.5 in the tent due to bad weather. The route is free except for one fort, but there is a workaround. Also we had a couple of navigation problems, which cost us several hours. See recent alerts and suggestions.<br /> <br /> We liked: The quickly chang landscape and its huge variety, beautiful cinematic views, funny animals, that water was always available, bathing in the rivers, beautifully blooming plants.<br /> <br /> We did not like so much: The problems we encountered due to navigation mistakes, the hailstorm on the mountain ridge, beercans that people drop on the paths.<br /> <br /> We bluntly hated: The amount of horse flies. In the northern part we were not able to make one step without having at least five buzzing arround our faces. This army of blood suckers was sent by a source of pure evil to annoy hikers.<br /> <br /> The following is a chronological accumulation of all our observations made in the last 11 days. Note for navigation difficulties that we walked northbound.<br /> <br /> - The most southern CC part direclty north of Liucura is now bordered by fences. You have to follow the path and then go left through a gate. The gate on the western fence is some 80m further south than you would expect. It was locked and we had to carefully (barbed wire) climb over it. It might be a lot easier to take the optional route in the east to get up the ridge.<br /> <br /> -We were unable to find and follow the path at S38°24.881' W71°00.281' down to the valley. We endet up on a path a little further south. However, this path starts to lead further and further south, so that at some point we startet to ge back to the original path through the woods, which did cost several hours.<br /> <br /> - Getting up the mountain at S38°24.450 W71°01.871' we startet ca 300m further north than indicated by the CC route due to fences and rivercrossing opportunities in the valley. (We thought CC means come up with your own route anyway.) At ca 1720m of altitude, still 300m north of the indicated route we found a good looking path leading up the mountain and followed it. At its end we assumed it would not be a bad idea to continue from here on in north west direction up the mountain. We now know it was a very bad idea. We ended up in a very uncomfortable and seriously dangerous climbing situation in which we really did not want to be. So our advice: stick to the route here!<br /> <br /> - The Ford-125 (S38°20.908 W71°09.294') looks impassable right now. You can avoid it by using an improvised bridge about 120m further west.<br /> <br /> - At roughly S38°17.091' W71°01.354' the path broke away into a very steep descent. It is passable, but also slippery and includes a certain risk of which you should be aware.<br /> <br /> - The daily bus out of Ranquil does not stop at the busstation because it is too large to reverse there. You have to walk down the street ca. 2km to where a bridge crosses the river. The bus reverses here and does not go up further up the road. Right now it stops there at 6 in the morning.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> 2023- 2023-Dec / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> Accomodation : in Troyo there are some cabanas, just ask in the little shops <br /> <br /> - Resupply : big supermarket in Lonquemay / at the end of section 12, 30km down the road there is a village ' Troyo' where there a few small shops where you can find resupply<br /> <br /> ------------------<br /> Ranquil - no shop but there are families who sold us sopaipillas<br /> <br /> Lonquimay - Supermercado Espinoza next to the bus stop has most things. A little shop on the left hand shortly after the bus terminal when walking from the bus terminal towards the center has gas. The shop has different air mattresses, clothes and some outdoorsy things in the windows. There's also a ferretería that might have. Several accommodation options. <br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *To Liucura<br /> Updated Jan 2022:<br /> <br /> Bus from Temuco to Liucura (goes all the way to Icalma) Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:30am (+ 15:55?), 5 hours of travel. Leaves Liucura at the bus terminal next to COPEC at 12.<br /> Also busses from Lonquimay to Liucura Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 15 and Tuesday+Thursday at 14<br /> <br /> Bus from Temuco to Lonquimay every day - Monday-Saturday 15:55, Sunday 17:30<br /> There may even be busses from Santiago to Lonquimay<br /> <br /> *Ranquil<br /> Updated 2022, Jan<br /> Bus from Ranquil to Lonquimay (on Mon, Wed and Fri at 7:30am from the village<br /> <br /> Bus from Lonquimay to Ranquil Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 15:00 - bus terminal next to COPEC<br /> Buses to Troyo leave every day and can drop you off at the crossing to Ranquil, about 30-40 km, but hitching might still be difficult from here<br /> <br /> *If skipping section 13-15:<br /> We went from Pucón to Temuco, but it seems to be the long way around. It might be worth it to ask around in Pucón whether there is a rural bus to Curacautin, and from there to Lonquimay, as that seems way faster on the map - alternatively it could be possible hitching this route.<br /> <br /> *Lonquimay<br /> Update 2022, Feb<br /> <br /> Bus from Santiago - Terminal Sur to Lonquimay leaving at 21:40 and arriving around 8:00<br /> <br /> Company : Jet Sur<br /> <br /> $26.000 for semi-cama<br /> <br /> Commentaries : really comfortable, nice and professional people, USB-plugs, I took it on Sunday night, it was the only one on Sunday, I don't know if there are some on the other days<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT12 - Río Rahue]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664133.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Araucarias on GPT12]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664142.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664125.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664136.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664138.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT11_(Cerro_Dedos)&diff=113553 2024-01-10T23:09:40Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-06 to 2024-Jan-07 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {11-C} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Dirt road walking from RR km0 to &quot;Bridge? {11-C} [0.3/1109].<br /> <br /> Lot of nice water flowing across the road.<br /> <br /> Hot spring,camp RR[6.6/991] : i didn't go to check the hot spring, i saw it from high at road, there are lot of cows surrounded and standing in the spring, look like they are enjoying it. And a beautiful grassland is good for camping just beside it. A dirt road just before water[6.8/1035] will lead you to there.<br /> <br /> RR Km11.7 : beautiful view begin!<br /> <br /> If you follow the dirt road walking, it will lead you to Bridge? {11-C} [0.3/1109]. <br /> <br /> Bridge? {11-C} [0.3/1109] : no more bridge here, cross the stream just above ankle. After you cross it, CC back to RR.<br /> <br /> Ford RR [18.0/1199] : Crossing of Río Chaviquin, when you arrive the river, upstream 5m and look at the riverbed underwater, a rock bar there, about 45° downstream to the other side. Water is above half of thighs at noon, luckily flowing not fast and not strong.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> After the crossing, sometimes the trail easily mix with cow paths.<br /> <br /> Water, gate[19.9,136] : locked. Not a friendly gate, not easy climbing.<br /> <br /> Km22 : go into a wildfire dead trees area, for now the trail conditions still ok, but after some years they all fall down, i think it'll be difficult to follow between blowdowns.<br /> <br /> Km23.2 - km23.8 : blowdowns area, RR become difficult to follow, look like some reroute here.<br /> <br /> Ford[24.3/1688] : flowing fast and above half of calf at late afternoon. Flat spot can fit 1 tent after the crossing, surrounded by forest.<br /> <br /> Camp[25.1/1846] , Camp[26.1/1957] : both are beautiful camping spots, but no wind protection, also very wet as now, lot of tiny streams flowing nearby.<br /> <br /> X[26.8/2036] : if you don't look at the GPS, it is a &quot;must&quot; miss junction.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Pass[27.6/2174] : no need to step on any snow at north side. Still covered by lot of snow at south until km28.6(1850m). You can sit down then slide down, but some rocks appear at 2060m, better control the sliding direction otherwise your butt will cut off. I keep skiing down(with my trail runner) until almost the end of snow. You can walk on some stable ground start at km28.4(1910m). I think this part is difficult for NOBO if in heavy snow conditions. <br /> <br /> Mostly there are no trail, all walk by your own way in the valley. Maybe you'll find some nice trail like the one at km29.15, but all of them will disappear in 5min.<br /> <br /> You will cross the same river 21 times until you met a beautiful trail at km30.8. All the crossing is easy, mostly just calf, all under knee.<br /> <br /> Except km30.15, it is a small waterfall, valley become narrow, no shore for go around or stepping on, I don't know the way to go down. So i turn back to km30.1, follow the trail shown in OSM, climb up on the east side of valley. But when i going down back to the valley, look like a short part of the trail is landslide away, it becomes very steep to go down, be careful.<br /> <br /> km30.8 : trail, easy walk start.<br /> <br /> Km31.3 : locked gate with wire fence, you can go around it at right side.<br /> <br /> Hot spring? [32.0/1428] : nice spot! 2m x 2m pool with good temperature water(about 50°c), although it's not deep also grey colour, but it surprised me, just like a reward after so many cold feet crossing! Some flat spots nearby. I met a friendly family here too!<br /> <br /> Ford[33.2/1403] : crossing of Rio Ranquil, looks like up to thighs and flowing strong. Log crossing at upstream 40m, but not easy. I saw some footprints for locals crossing it, so i crossed here. After the crossing about 100m is a big fire ring and a camping spot can fit 1 tent under a tree. 80m more is a roundabout for dirt road, you can camping here if need, because the dirt road is damaged so no cars coming.<br /> <br /> And then dirt road walking all the way down. Maybe possible for hitching out on weekend if you are lucky, i saw some people driving to here for picnic when i was walking down the road on Sunday.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-dec-23/ 2 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Lukas en Tess<br /> <br /> Section 11 went fairly smooth. We followed the advice of the wiki to avoid option 1. RR was perfect, coming through some awesome forrest on the way up, we found wild cilantro and some other stuff. We camped just across the ford on K24,3 for the pools. The pools are good, but I think the next campspot on the map at K25,1 is definitely the most beautiful on the route. With awesome waterfalls not too far to venture into. The pass was no problem, lots of snow on the other side but never to steep. We sat down and went for one of our fastest decends jet :p <br /> Then the pickle began, we needed to restock for section 12, but the busses are only monday, wednesday, and Fridays. And not on public holidays like monday the 25th of dec!!! We tried hitchhiking, but there was no one passing except horses. <br /> In the end, we found a new minishop on the way to Troyo {11-5f} 14.3 k from the end of GPT11. The owners just moved here from Santiago. Maximilian and Anna are probably the nicest people we have met on the trail so far. The shop has everything you need to resupply except gas (maybe in the future). They took us in and we ended up staying with them for 2 days and celibrating Christmas together with some of their friends. It was great!<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 Dec 15 / 1 day / hiking / SOBO / option 05 + 05F + hitchhike / Frans<br /> <br /> Reading all the stories and in combination with the upcoming bad weather made me skip the pass and decide to go to Troyo or even Lonquimay and rejoin GPT 12 later. Beautiful walk through the valley tho! Really enjoyed it.<br /> <br /> First rivercrossing after 1.5km, water was pretty strong and for me (194cm) reached my waist even before I was halfway. So decided to turn back and look for a better spot. About 150m downstream the water splits in 2 streams. Much easier, didn't came any higher than my knees. So easy to cross here.<br /> <br /> About 200m before GPT11-05A End there was a gate and a man sitting in front of it. His wife joined immediately. My western interpretation of their verbal and non-verbal communication was they were grumpy and annoyed. But I could understand probably less than 5% of the words they said. I tried to smile and wave, thank them and say how beautiful the area was but it made no impression at all. After taking pictures of my driver license and paying 10k CLP they let me through and continue (and I knew this would happen because it's written here before). <br /> <br /> Got a ride to Lonquimay after joining the main road to Troyo (11-05F) by the first vehicle that passed by. <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-Dex-02 to 2023-Dec-04 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Jens<br /> <br /> We combined the two stages 12 and 11. The hot springs after about 7 kilometres gave our weary bones a little rest.<br /> <br /> I had tried the ascent to the pass along the left-hand side. I followed a trail for a few kilometres, but at some point it ended in bush bashing. The better route is probably through and along the river. <br /> <br /> As there was still a lot of snow at the beginning of December, crossing the pass was not easy. The last 100 metres in altitude were particularly steep. I can imagine that the melting of the snow could lead to avalanches in the coming weeks. <br /> <br /> On the other side, I had no further problems. There was still some snow, but I could either avoid it or walk right over it. <br /> <br /> Water: Many options<br /> <br /> Camping: Many options from two kilometres before and after the pass.<br /> <br /> 2023-Dec-3 to 2023-Dec-5 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + option 5F + option 5 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn <br /> <br /> We started section 11 and turned around just before the pass because there was too much snow for us and we felt it was dangerous. So we then took the option road to go to Troyo ( rest day) then to Guallali.<br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present<br /> <br /> - Snow : lots of snow on pass, from km 29,14 to km 27,57.<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : easy to find, the natural hot spring matked on the map is present and it's easy to camp next to it<br /> <br /> - River crossing : on RR, following the river is easy from km 30,8 to km 29,12, stay in the river bed. It's not worth it to get out of the river and try to found a way around it. We did it and regretted it. | Rio Chaquilvin on option 5 was easy to cross. (The cable car is locked) <br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny<br /> <br /> - Option roads : option 5F | (1) gravel road, for us on a Sunday, we didn't encounter a car for the first 12 km then got lucky and got a ride to Troyo - we also got an easy hitch from Toro to Puente qcontraco. Option 5 | (2) easy track. From km 7,15 ( fundo los Guindos) to km 1,2 you are in Mapuche territory. At km 7,15 , two guys with some big knifes hanging on their belt asked us to stop. They were a bit cold and not really welcoming. They explained to us that they were retaking their land and therefore needed to register everyone who was entering.They took a picture of our passport and let us go after saying that we should go to the house at km 2,45 so someone there could help us cross the river ( Rio Chaquilvin) where there is a cable car. Once we arrived to the house, a woman ( really not nice) blackmailed us in order to give her money because we were on her land. When we asked how much for the fee she just said &quot; what do you got ? &quot;. So then we negotiated a little bit but quickly gave her some money ( 7000 pesos), but she was asking more.... There was a big dog behind her and we were feeling really uncomfortable and just wanted to get out of the situation. She didn't help us cross the river and just said &quot; if you die it's your responsibility '. <br /> <br /> - Warning : Mapuche land - read section ' option roads' | A lot of snow at the pass on RR.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-05 to 2023-Mar-05 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Continued directly from GPT12 so we started at the end of RR-TL-V {11} [31.3+1.5] . We followed the RR for the whole section. <br /> <br /> On day 1, for RR-CC-A {11} [27.6+3.3], you have to stay in the river stream for the whole duration. You will find plenty of water because you walk in it, and nice pools and little cascade if you want to take a bath. Leaving the stream for higher up is not a good choice : every time we tried it was a mistake. We camped at Camp {11} [26.1/1957]. It was not protected and the night was very windy... Not our best choice.<br /> <br /> On day 2, we continued until Guallali following the RR. The trail around Km15 transforms in a MR that leads you to the village without even checking the GPS. <br /> There, we found the minishop that had limited resupply options (we bought lentils, cookies, snacks and cola). We checked in with the carabineros that were friendly and sayed we could camp wherever was wind protected. We opted for the football field which is a nice flat and grassy place.<br /> <br /> Not much to say about this section, we found the end on the dirt road relatively dull but the beginning in the mountain is awesome <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Feb-11 to 2023-Feb-12 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (option 01+ off route) / Natalie&amp;Tomáš<br /> <br /> Combined GPT 10(01)+11+12<br /> Day1<br /> Slept in Guallalí in the growth as others have described but still asked the shop owner first for permission. Carabineros were nice and told us we did not need to check in although the sign says &quot;obligatory check&quot;. Pedro at the mini shop is also kind and willing to help hikers although there is only a handful of items in his shop-bought some sweets. Pedro also told me that option05 to lonquimay would require you to pay 10mil from the locals. We took RR. At this time of year the road is the &quot;dirt-dust type&quot; but still fast until Estero Quillaylemu (14km) which makes for a nice rest. Tomáš checked out the hotsprings at 6.6. There is a table and a pool of nicely hot muddy water directly next to a river. Better camping site than in Guallali. After the Estero Quillaylemu the track gets harder to follow but becomes beautiful after the ford and bend towards the pass. Lost the trail a couple of times but found lots of wild quinoa. Camped at 25.1 behind a boulder by the river to cut the wind, camp at 26.1 looked nicer.<br /> <br /> For the pass we followed the ridge for as long as we could (option 01) and it was fun and straightforward. Luckily, although the winds were strong that day the ridge was almost windless. Made our way down similar to Will. Got off the ridge here; -38.10270, -71.07250 (later than indicated by the GPX), headed to a small dry gully next to and below the &quot;greyish&quot; dirt here; -38.10359, -71.07282, you had to use your edges as the ground was hard&quot;grit&quot;. Entered a small creek bed here;-38.10604, -71.07538 and followed it (some water) until it turned into a scramble. At that point we climbed back up to our left (East), moved south until we went down and up our final gully, just underneath 01B. This last gully was easy as Tomáš found a soft spot, somewhere around here;-38.11039, -71.07474. After this point it was easy to connect to the main route. Just the section up to here from the ridge is problematic - maybe two km. Probably fastest would be to go down the regular route and take the first option left, which is probably a trail and only means about 300 m of additional climbing. The route as mapped by the GPX files (option01; second half of the traverse) looks quite steep and exposed and does not save much elevation. It is probably possible but to us from below it does not look worth it.<br /> <br /> Lastly there are water sources on the other side of the ridge (SW, the hard side) before the hotsprings if needed.<br /> <br /> Continued onto Section 12 towards Banos Coyucos for the night.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-27 to 2023-Jan-28 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Johana &amp; Matouš<br /> <br /> We camped near the ford on the 18th kilometre (just about 20 metres upstream is a great place to take a bath in). The next day we made it all the way to the end; however, it was an ordeal. The view from the pass was jaw-dropping and parts of the path leading up to it were shaded by beautiful trees, but we feel like the horrible descent (we were doing the regular route) made it not worth it for us. Despite the fact that we were lucky enough to have the best conditions for the descent (only some snowpatches at the top, sunny weather), the terrain felt ankle-spraining. The wobbly stones kept sliding down and it required a lot of focus. We went down through the canyon and after the point where you need to go above it when it becomes too narrow we went down the wrong way and I fell down clutching at straws (literally) not to fall down. So it might be better to go through the river..? To be optimistic, the last part of the path was beautiful again. We hitched a ride and stayed with a really nice family that took us to Lonquimay the next day. It's a nice bigger town with a lot of possibilities to resupply. There are really buses only Mo-We-Fri from Ranquil. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-17 to 2023-Jan-18 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / option 1 to the Termas del Pelehue / Will <br /> <br /> I took the bus to Guallali, which took me past the Carabineros and directly into town where I set up in the standard grove. A bit after dark two carabineros showed up at my tent. Intimidating at first, they were very friendly after I explained my plans. They just said that next time I should make sure to stop and report to them on my way by.<br /> <br /> The section starts out with a not very interesting road walk, but suddenly became super beautiful 15ish km in. I camped at 25.1, a somewhat sheltered spot by a stream, where the wind rattling my tent made it hard to sleep. A few arrieros came by during the evening. The 26.1 campsite looked similar.<br /> <br /> The horse flies reappeared as I got up closer to the pass. Had flashbacks of sections 7 and 8, trying to determine whether each stab was a horse fly or a burr or a paranoid hallucination. My theory is that they've migrated up to the higher altitudes, now that it's later in the season.<br /> <br /> I took option 1 (diverging a decent amount) to join up with section 12 at the termas de pelehue. It was tough and slow going, taking around 3 hours, but I really enjoyed it. I planned my route to avoid horizontal slope traversals so I never really felt in danger of a serious fall. I did still slip a few times, cutting up my hand a bit.<br /> <br /> I started out with the ridge walk from the pass. Would have been great walking if not for the absurd winds, I spent most of it slightly to the south below the ridge. The slope was pretty gradual there and not slippery. I then went down past the two grass patches following the route on openstreetmap. I descended to the south all the way down to around 1875m, along a stream around 50m to the east of the openstreetmap route. It was easy rock walking at first, but turned into some tricky hands on scrambling as the stream got bigger.<br /> <br /> I wouldn't recommend it if the flow rate is high. Then I climbed back up to the final stretch of the main option route. The climb was steep at first but with enough vegetation and solid rock in the slope to get up. Everything after that was easy, more or less.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-14 to 2023-Jan-16 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> From Guallalí there’s a gravel road for first few kms, easy walking. We didn’t check the hot springs in a hot day, but someone mentioned it is fine. All the fords were easy. We camped around km 21 in a little forrest. The ascent to the pass is pretty gradual and we enjoyed it really. Based on previous comments we chose to stick to the RR which turned out to be a good decision. There was still quite a lot of snow and the terrain is more technical, but it just requires focus. We walked on the right edge of the snowfield and slided down in some parts. When we reached the river we didn’t walk at all on the snow but rather on river banks or even in the river itself. Closer to the junction we once or twice followed the alternative dotted line that is marked in our maps - it just goes higher up from the canyon and back. After the junction we continued to GPT12.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-13 to 2023-Jan-14 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / Guallalí - Termas de Pelehue (junction GPT 11, option 1 and GPT 12) / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> In Guallalí we camped at the same spot as Veronica after arriving around 20:30.<br /> The first day there is a lot of walking on dirt roads and good paths, so the km went by quickly. We camped at the ford waypoint [24.3/1688], where the way passes a small creek. It has some natural pools, which are amazing to take a bath.<br /> <br /> The next day after arriving on the plateau there is a CC part, so keep an eye on your navigation device. When we reached the pass we accidently went the wrong way and ended up taking option 1 to decrease the detour. Bad idea! Better don't take option 1. There is almost no path, its very steep, a lot of scrambling and there was one very stupidly dangerous descent across some gravel/rock part. It took us around 3,5 hours to cross option 1. We would definetly not do it again. We directly continued to section 12.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-25 to 2022-Dec-30 / 5.5 days (GPT11 + GPT12) / Hiking /SOBO / RR + OH 2 / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Guallalí - Junction to Section 11, Option 2 - Ridge Las Monjas - Junction with GPT12, RR-CC-A {12} [12.9+3.5]<br /> <br /> Ralco is a good resupply town, the smaller supermarket had camping gas. Took the bus back to Guallalí at 5 p.m. for 1,000 clp, arrived around 8:30 p.m. I camped in the same araucaria grove as the night before (via the wooden gate next to the escuela). Good and clear path in a pleasant valley, river fords easy. Found some ripe berries/brambles along the trail that were delicious. <br /> <br /> I decided to opt for Option 2 that goes east of Cerro Dedos. I was worried about the likelihood of snow on the steep south side of the pass (2174 m) on the regular route. I didn't need to stop in Ranquil, so figured it was best to stay high on the mountain and take either Option 1 or Option 2 to connect with GTP12. After reading the comments from other hikers, I knew I didn't want to take Option 1. A scree traverse on a south-facing slope didn't sound appealing, especially if you factor in lingering snowbanks this year. So I thought Option 2 would be best. A detailed description of my experience along that route is posted under &quot;Optional Routes&quot; (&quot;its directly under this post - modified by Joscha97&quot;) . The gist of it is - it was very technical, not much solid footing, lots of exposed scrambling. In a couple spots I genuinely feared for my life. Would not do it again. Please stay safe if going that route, and I would definitely not attempt it NOBO!<br /> <br /> Took 1.5 days to meet up with GPT12 at km 12.9<br /> <br /> OH 2:<br /> The trail is good and easy to follow in the initial valley once it splits from the RR. There was no puesto at the second &quot;puesto&quot; waypoint, just remnants of old fences and corrals. Good place to camp, sheltered from the wind. The start of the CC section is an annoying but thankfully short bushwhack to the treeline. Afterwards it's straight up to the top of the ridge, grass turning to scree/rocks higher up. Steep, but quite doable. <br /> Once at the top of the ridge, this is where my troubles started. The ridge is not nice and rounded, but very narrow and jagged, with vertical, rock outcrops/spires blocking the way frequently. You have to go around most of these obstacles (impossible to climb over), and this is the most dangerous part. To go around you need to descend back onto the nearly vertical scree slope, traverse around the rockface, then climb back up to the ridge. All on the most slippery scree/gravel I've ever experienced. It was all extremely precarious. Climbing back up around the very first obstacle, the scree was so loose I was on my hands and knees scrambling upward, trying to climb faster than the rocks falling under my body. One of the most frightening situations of my life honestly, I felt like I could have gone down with the rocks like an avalanche. After miraculously getting back up on the ridge, I couldn't stop shaking and was almost in tears. Couldn't believe what I'd gotten myself into honestly. And then came more scrambling and clambering. Poles were useless, I was using my hands the whole time. I can't stress enough how loose and unreliable most of the rocks were. Very, very difficult. Would not attempt this northbound, ever. And thank goodness the weather was good and calm too. The views were spectacular, out of this world, but not worth risking my life for, and I wouldn't ever do that section again. Don't know if Option 1 would have been better. At least snow wasn't an issue with Option 2. If I had to do it again I would stick to the regular route, go down to Ranquil and climb back up GPT12 via the RR. <br /> Anyway, south of S 38° 06.903', W 071° 02.205', the ridge becomes less steep and more rounded, easy to walk on. You reach the pass {11-04} [5.4/2385], and make a sharp left to go along the Argentina border. Go across a few easy snowfields. Amazing views of snow-capped volcanoes all around. Condors swooping near my head. Felt like I was the only human on earth. Still lots of snow on Cerro Dedos. Once GPT11-02 meets with GPT12, you pick up a faint path and navigation is easier.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-25 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Romain <br /> <br /> - If you cook on campfire or on wood burning stove you have better stay discrete because everything burnt some years ago and the landscapes are still marked.<br /> <br /> - There are a lot of Araucaria trees. You can easily save food just by harvesting piñones on the floor following the path. I would recommend to not rely on it because it depends on the period, but there was plenty.<br /> <br /> - Camp {11} [22.6/1461] : I loved this place. It was very comfortable with grass on the soil, almost flat, protected from the wind even if there is some in the valley, discrete, and I spent much time looking at the stars thanks to a good and warm (or at least not cold as it was the previous days) weather. To get water you have to walk 3 minutes following the point on the GPS which is precise<br /> <br /> - Ford {11} [18.0/1199] : I had good time there, the weather was very good, the place is calm and good to rest, water is still cold but there is enough to wash if you want to<br /> <br /> - From GPT-11C Start to Guallali it's now a Minor Road so it's very easy to follow and you meet a lot cars going in both directions, they just waved me.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-13 to 2022-Feb-14 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 11-01 (ABCDE) from the pass to Termas Pelehue on GPT12 / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> The MR out of Guallalí continues until about km 12 on RR-TL-V (another trail that's been jeep-tracked recently) where it veers off to the north. We found out two kilometers too late, but got back to optional route 11-C by CCing through some araucaria forest. This turned out to be a happy little accident, as, this way, we saw a family collecting things from the ground, which turned out to be piñones. Here is where we learned that the ripe cones are &quot;café&quot;, and that the piñones just fall down when the cone is hit with a stick or a rock. It's basically nature's piñata (no etymological relation though!). Before getting back to the track, we found some low-hanging ripe cones, which sprinkled more piñones than we wished to carry. Got a nice free meal out of those we did pick up :)<br /> <br /> Camped in one of the many camp sites deeper in the mountains.<br /> <br /> The next day, we decided to skip the descent to Ranquil after the pass, instead taking the optional route 11-01 (ABCDE). 11-01 stays above 2000m on the slopes of the peaks to get to Termas de Pelehue on GPT12. We had food for three more days and the weather was excellent.<br /> <br /> We regretted this decision. 11-01 is CC without a clear path. Initially you're walking diagonally on a 45° incline of scree and sand, which is technical and requires constant concentration to find the scree-free spots. Later on, you're going from lower-incline slope to slope with little high-incline &quot;gulleys&quot; in between (as usual on a mountain flank). At some point, we did not see how to cross such a gulley at the spot suggested by the track files. We decided to descend to the point where the gulley seemed to have a passable incline, to ascend back on the next slope. This turned out to be a mistake, as the slope became more inclined before the gulley became passable. In the end, we did a lot of clambering, I got some fresh cuts from sliding down high-incline scree, and we narrowly avoided some scary looking cliff edges at the low end of our slope. This was the most dangerous situation we got in so far, and we were not really prepared to handle it well.<br /> <br /> I'm not blaming the track files: it was clear that it was high-altitude CC, and there was a waypoint warning of &quot;demanding clambering&quot; (though it should not be limited to &quot;nobo&quot;). Maybe going up the problematic slope instead of down would have been the better decision. Just be aware of the challenges this optional route brings. Definitely not doable in bad weather (you would just slide down to your death in some spots).<br /> Note that OSM shows a trail a little to the west (a little lower on the slopes) of 11-01, which connects at the beginning and end. We think we saw this path at some points during our traverse. This may be the easier route to follow instead of sticking to the CC points (which was the superior strategy on all other CC sections so far ;)<br /> There's a water spring at S 38° 06.178', W 071° 04.579'.<br /> <br /> Anyway, we were happy to reach the Termas de Pelehue. Sub-par hot spring, but great scenery all around. You can camp there, we went for a small spot protected on most sides by mountain slopes: S 38° 07.407', W 071° 03.775'. There are some non-sulfur water springs as well as a warm river to wash up in the surroundings.<br /> <br /> We continued on GPT12 for one day, getting back to Ranquil via the southern optional route 12-01. This way, we could catch the bus to Lonquimay the morning after (left at 07:55, there's a second one at ~17:00 Mo-We-Fr). Camped opposite the carabineros (on their suggestion) a bit behind the bus stop, close to the river.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Jan-17 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Molly and Melissa <br /> <br /> We arrived in Ranquil with the bus at 17, and walked about two hours to the hot springs where we camped. They are not very deep, but you can probably lie in them comfortably. Nicely warm. <br /> The ascent towards the pass next to Cerro Moncol follows the riverbed, and as previously noted, it's necessary to cross it multiple times. We were able to cross without getting our feet wet every time, though. The terrain before the pass is difficult, but after it immediately gets easier and the trail is easy to find. We were in a snowstorm and found it easily.<br /> The trail to Guallalí is pretty easy, a long way before Guallalí it becomes a gravel road.<br /> <br /> As described by others, there is a shop in Guallalí with VERY limited supply. It's next to the brown house of big planks, but you enter in front of the little red house to the right. <br /> Romina normally still offers accomodation, but when we were there she was leaving for an appointment in the evening and couldn't have us. She pointed us to the carabineros to camp, but they didn't want us there and told us to go to the camping ground &quot;3 km&quot; down the road. It turned out to be more like 12, and we ended up camping on a field some km from Guallalí<br /> <br /> <br /> *2021-Dec-03/ 1.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony<br /> <br /> Took the bus from Lonquimay to Ranquil friday at 15:00 (leaves Monday, Wednesday and Friday). On arrival I met two fellow GPT-hikers. Started off in some pretty bad weather with hail and thunder, but it luckily passed after a few hours.<br /> The first challenge I encountered was walking up the small river towards the first mountain pass (NoBo). To make my way up this section I had to cross the river countless times because of the difficult terrain by the river banks. Getting wet feet was inevitable. Afterwards I encountered a snowfield that leads up to the pass. Definitely possible to avoid the snow by walking along the edge, but I found it easier to just make my way up through the snowfield.<br /> Continued on to guallalí where there is a mini-shop with very limited supplies. (There are no flags or signs that indicate there’s a shop but it’s by the brown house made of rustic wooden planks.)<br /> Went directly on to GPT10 and made camp at the camping ground by el barco lake (5000 pesos) you can ask them to charge your electronics by the house where you pay. They didn’t sell any food.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2021-Dec / Hiking / NOBO / OH 5 / Franck &amp; Damien <br /> <br /> Be aware there are only 2 water spots on the road around the volcano<br /> One at the start (tap by the conaf barrack) and a very small one at the camp before entering the scoria field (not sure if water flows after december).<br /> Make sure you load liters of water, esp. in summer (heat + exposure to sun)<br /> Plenty of water (snow melt) once you passed the volcanoe.<br /> The TL from Contracto bridge to Communidad Chenqueco is now a kind of MR, we crossed several 4WD there (? !!). There is plenty of water there.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-28 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH5 / Martin <br /> <br /> 4 days. 120 km. Because of bad weather forecast in the high parts of the cordillera, with strong winds, rain and even snow, we opted to take Alternative route 5 from Chenqueco to Lonquimay Volcanoe. A lot of road walking at the begining but the scenery and trail in the National Park were really amazing and worth it. Beware that in the traverse through the volcanoe to Corralco Ski Resort, there is no water and also difficult to camp. High winds and a lot of rain at the end. We checked many hostels in Lonquimay and the most convenient for us, was Hostal Nativo close to the main square.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-23 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (mostly) / Frank<br /> <br /> 2 days &amp; continued to GPT12<br /> At Pass 2180 wind &amp; rain came in, I diverted onto OH-CC-A@11-03-#001 as described by Linda. Snowfields were old &amp; undercut by stream leaving tunnels 5M deep, definitely not safe to slide on. Walked on edge of snowfields or a little above them on right. Then you enter a gorge, it is best to stay close to the stream &amp; only leave the gorge if you must. In to Ranquil, nothing there apart from Carabineros &amp; no traffic. From Ranquil I continued on OH-TL-V@12-01-#001 to GPT12<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-23 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Ty &amp; America <br /> <br /> Guayali - Termas de Pelehue<br /> Short &amp; Beautiful. 4:00 Bus Ralco - Guallali. Arrived at carabineros after 8. Luckily they let us camp outside. TONS OF FLIES, so be ready for that. The thermal pools at Pelehue are up by the fumarole. The traverse over there is gnarly, steep, slippery, all the good stuff. Quite small, but with an AMAZING view. The lower one seemed fine to get in, we didn’t as we wanted to make it to the next hot springs on section 12.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-17 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Start: Guallalí, End: Termas de Pelehue<br /> 2.5 days. We went from Ralco to Guallalí by Fletes (see section &quot;To section start&quot;). It's a bit expensive but we didn't want to take the bus at 16:30, arriving late. Beautiful section. The first hot springs are worth the detour if you have time to clean them and dig a bigger pot (would take you approx. 2h), otherwise you just have a warm foot bath. After the pass we took the optional route #002 leading back to the regular route, then we switched some times between optional and regular route and finally took the optional route directly to the Termas de Pelehue. This part is quite demanding as there are some landslides where you have to find your way through somehow. The hot springs are gone due to lack of maintenance. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-15 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 5 / Maddie &amp; Tom<br /> <br /> 3 days, 120km walking around Volcán Lonquimay. Given section 11 was not feasible due to high levels of snow we took Optional Route 5. For us it was 5 star scenery. It is beautiful and the trail is very easy to follow with trail markings in the CONAF park. We found it to be quite a quick section as a result of the easy navigation and good trail quality. Good resupply options in Lonquimay (we stocked up on food as well as bought some new socks and more 95% alcohol for our stove).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-09 / 5 days (GPT11+12) / Hiking / SOBO / OH / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> We combined sections 11 and 12. It took us 5 days including one zero because of weather. Patagonia showed us bit of it's potential in these two sections. <br /> All walked trails were in good condition and CC sections pretty easy to navigate. In the sadle of section 11, because of strong wind, poor visibility and fresh snow and ice we were forced to take optional to the valley. There is a big snowfield, I don't recomend sliding on it all the way. It the lower parts there were big holes into the stream. <br /> From Ranquil we took optional #002 because we didn't want to climb back up. Uphill is more a minor road, downhill nice trail. <br /> After a laguna we took a optional to the Pass 2180 and road around the Pehuenche Extortioner. We needed to get down from elevation ASAP bacause of wind. We passed puesto early in the morning and no one was around. After rainy day everything above 2000m was white. We took trail to pass 1920m which was just with bit of fresh snow and then took minor road #001 down to valley. So I have no idea about the rest of the trail.<br /> Edit: adding a picture from the last sadle 1920m, we did after &quot;rainy&quot; day.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Dec-27 to 2019-Dec-28 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 3 / Linda<br /> <br /> Regular hiking route until the pass 2180 meters and then Option 3<br /> Nice section ! After the pass, I decided to go down along Option 3 that goes into the canyon. Lot of snow at the beginning, but that was fun cause the slope was not very steep and I could use my bag raincover as a sledge to go down!<br /> Then, I ended up into the canyon, crossing the river at least 20 times but no problem cause the water level is low and the river is tight (compared to GPT07 for instance).<br /> The only difficulty was once the canyon becomes too tight and I had to find a way up and had to face a landslide. Just one part of 5 meters wide but quite dangerous cause very sleepy with the rocks falling down.<br /> After, back into the canyon until I could join the Regular Hiking route. No difficulties until Ranquil.<br /> Was lucky to find people with a car who dropped me in Lonquimai cause I had to resupply. Otherwise, only 3 Buses a week from Ranquil (no tiendas to resupply) to Lonquimai = Monday, Wednesday, Friday<br /> Supermercado with everything to resupply and accommodations in Lonquimai<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-12 / 4.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Sophie &amp; Hendrik <br /> <br /> In total we were 5.5 days on the trail, of which we spend 1 in the tent due to bad weather. On Cerro Moncol there was still some snow, which made us very slow, as we either had the options to walk on steep snow or walk higher up in more difficult terrain. Rivercrossings were no problem.<br /> We liked: The amazing views, the condors we met at the northern part of the pass (they came very close to us), the mountain crystals of which there are plenty on the northern side of Cerro Moncol.<br /> We did not like so much: The higher difficulty due to the snow in some parts (Snow on top of Cerro Moncol made the regular route more difficult)<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> Accommodation in Guallali:<br /> Brown house, ask for Romira; bed, dinner and breakfast for 30k<br /> <br /> Supplies:<br /> Hitchhiked to Chenqueco, 10 km, shop with small selection, some veggies, pasta, the essentials<br /> <br /> Bus to Ralco with more options every day at 5.30 am takes 3,5 h<br /> <br /> Same bus to Los Angeles <br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> Ranquil:<br /> new minishop on the way to Troyo {11-5f} 14.3 k from the end of GPT11. The owners just moved here from Santiago. Maximilian and Anna are probably the nicest people we have met on the trail so far. The shop has everything you need to resupply except gas (maybe in the future).<br /> <br /> Resupply on optional road : in Troyo there are 3 small shops enought to resupply for section 10 and 9 ( vegetables, pasta, rice, semoula, galletas, mayonnaise, bread.. ) <br /> <br /> - Accomodation on optional road : in Troyo, we stayed in a cabana for 30000 a night for 2 people. Wood for fire included and kitchen. Just ask at one of the little shop | In Guallali, we stayed with a lovely family in front of the school (wooden house ). 30 000 pesos per person per night - dinner and breakfast included<br /> <br /> *Lonquimay (from Ranquil) <br /> - Supermercado Espinoza next to the bus terminal has most things. A little shop on the left hand shortly after the bus terminal when walking from the bus terminal towards the center has gas. The shop has different air mattresses, clothes and some outdoorsy things in the windows. There's also a ferretería that might have.<br /> Several accommodation options<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> <br /> *Guallali<br /> (2020-Jan)<br /> <br /> Bus Ralco-Guallalí 16:30 Mon-Sat, 9PM Sun. (~2.5h) The bus leaves Los Angeles terminal rural around 2PM Mon-Sat, 7:30PM Sun, continuing to Ralco &amp; Guallali<br /> <br /> Fletes: 4x4 Cars in front of the supermercado. They drive you everywhere. CLP 80'000 to Guallalí, but if you find one going there anyway the price is much lower ;-)<br /> <br /> *Ranquil<br /> (2022 Jan)<br /> Bus from Lonquimay Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 15<br /> Other days bus to Troyo can take you most of the way, but hitching the rest might be difficult<br /> <br /> Bus from Ranquil to Lonquimay Monday, Wednesday and Friday 7:30<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT11 - Cerro Moncol]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830032.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Marinaqui]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830130.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[file:Guayali.jpeg|thumb|1100px|center|Guallalí, Por Norberto Seebach, 1100px|center|[http://www.recorriendochile.cl/ Recorriendo Chile].]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830046.jpg|1100px|center|Laguna Marinanqui]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830051.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Marinanqui]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830070.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Marinanqui]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830082.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Marinanqui]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830115.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Marinanqui]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664147.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664155.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664163.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664167.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:GPT_6_Guallali_108664189.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108829980.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108829987.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830002.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:GPT_7_Laguna_Marinanqui_108830021.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT10_(Laguna_El_Barco)&diff=113552 2024-01-10T23:06:56Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-04 to 2024-Jan-05 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {10-C} - RR - {10-E} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> After have a nice breakfast with the lovely family, i keep going south.<br /> <br /> Km0 - km13.6 : easy walking, easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Km13.6 : junction of RR and {10-01}.<br /> <br /> Ford[14.1/1269] : if you are not decided go to {10-C} or visit Laguna Liay (lake), it is the last water until km33 Laguna El Barco ( or a stream just before this lake ).<br /> <br /> Km14.47 : climb up start, the entrance is beside the corner of wooden fence.<br /> <br /> Km15.65 : a sharp turning, after here trail become very overgrown, until km15.9. At km15.65 and km15.9, i both saw a clear path going to east, I'm not sure is it a new reroute by local and are they connect or not.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km16.1 : junction of RR and {10-C} , I don't decide go for walk around the whole lake, but just want to visit it take a look, and collect some water.<br /> <br /> {10-C} km0.33 : (-37.83379, -71.27817) a sandy slope steep going down, the trail to Laguna Liay (lake) is here, you can see some trail trace on the sandy slope. A little overgrown and sometimes fallen tree block your way, but mostly you can step over them. About 10min you will arrive a sandy beach (-37.83326, -71.28031) at km0.5. Not a camping spot, but here have some big trees fell in the lake, easy walking on them go to the lake for collecting better water. Good view point of Laguna Liay with Volcán Callaqui, i also saw some beautiful ducks with red brown body and blue beak swimming here! <br /> <br /> After collecting water and a long nap, i decided back to RR, i took another trail on the sandy slope that closer to lake side (not shown on map), it is easy to follow and easy walk, lastly join RR at km16.5.<br /> <br /> RR Km16.9 : what a beautiful grassland! Easy trail start, enjoy the land scape changing and Araucaria forest. I love this area!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Pass RR [20.6/1850] : large flat area ( Most of the section10 is flat area), nice view point of Volcán Callaqui! Also the first view ( for SOBO) of Volcán Tolhuaca!<br /> <br /> Km26.6 : left side, Volcán Copahue!<br /> <br /> Km31.4 : pass, from dirt road to trail going down, but before going down, there is a side trail to south for climbing up a small hill, just distance 500m and climb up 70m, go for it! Excellent view point of Laguna El Barco, Volcán Callaqui, Volcán Copahue and Volcán Lonquimay( Sierra Nevada behind it?) !<br /> <br /> X[31.2/1469] : a campground with picnic table ( i think it is a paid area because a sign at front gate but didn't see anyone when i passed there) and a stream flowing nice with clear water just before it. If you don't decide go to Laguna El Barco for collecting water, it is the only water until Guallalí.<br /> <br /> Because the weather becomes worse, very windy and cloudy, also the forecast said it maybe rain at afternoon, so i took {10-E}, shorter the distance rush to Guallalí.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Bus {10-E} [8.4/938] didn't find the shop that Martin &amp; Helena said (close to Bus 10-E mark.) I asked the house owner beside the bus stop, and she said no shop there. I saw a sign beside the bus stop is erased away, also a banner looks like said &quot;selling thing&quot; already being discarded on the ground, so maybe the shop is closed no more? ( I'm not sure).<br /> <br /> {10-E} km10.0 rejoin RR.<br /> <br /> RR km46.05 : look like a very old shop, I saw a sign for candy and cigarettes, but the house is broken and no people there any more.<br /> <br /> Shop {11} [0.1/951] : No sign for shop, it is a beautiful looking wooden house, cross a tiny wooden bridge to their front gate. A little better stock than i think before, more than the shop at Trapa Trapa and almost the same as Los Álamos. Pastas, rice, some canned food, biscuits, drinks and chips. Not picky and i resupply for 3 days food here. I asked for accommodation, and the female owner said can stay in their house, 30000 CLP for a single room(4 beds) with light, quilt and electric charger, shower(cold) with shampoo, dinner and breakfast, maybe can use their washer for laundry, but finally i use my hand for washing them, because my clothes are too dusty and don't want to pollut their machine. It has a feeling look like guesthouse at some tourist routes in Nepal, but of course the one in Nepal are much commercial.<br /> <br /> Dinner is delicious for goat and rice! Although not much enough for hiker hunger (never enough), but it is one of the best meal i eaten in Chile so far. They are super friendly, i'm very happy staying here with them!<br /> <br /> <br /> I saw a bus arrive Shop {11} [0.1/951] on friday 6pm, but I don't know where it come from.<br /> <br /> (-38.04741, -71.27506) look like is the church that Maks&amp; Gabi said. A tree with beautiful grassland, but no good water resources nearby, the river beside it is flowing brown water, also farming and people living at upstream.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 Dec 30 to Dec 31 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Ella<br /> <br /> TLDR: beautiful secluded camping on plateau but no water. be cognizant of tensions between Pehuenche and non Indigenous people <br /> <br /> Day 1: Trail was beautiful and mostly easy to navigate. Camped that night at around 11 km on the right side of the river, pushed back into the trees quite a bit. Chose not to camp at one of the marked campsites near the puestos because I became a bit worried about the large number of beer cans I was seeing along the way, and I didn’t meet any women at any of the puestos. Though I’m sure there’s mostly very kind people in this valley and I had no encounters that made me feel otherwise, I didn’t feel like taking my chances as a young solo woman given a few past reports on this section. However, it was a challenge to find a camping spot that felt both safely hidden and like I wasn’t on someone’s land without permission (though I probably still was) - there’s many more puestos in this valley now than appear on the waypoints, and there’s also loads of cows and horses grazing! If you find yourself in a similar position to me, I highly recommend just mustering up the energy to hike up to the plateau and camp about a kilometer in. Very nice and secluded spots up there. You would just need to bring a lot of water because there’s none until Laguna El Barco. <br /> <br /> Day 2: Plateau was beautiful, but keep an eye on the GPS. As others have said, you have to pass through what is now a campsite with a gate just before the main road to Laguna El Barco, but no one was there so I didn’t get charged. Laguna El Barco camping was nice and lively on New Year’s eve. The store is still not set up yet, but the staff charged my devices for me. If you continue on the RR for about a km you will find the wooden sign for Entel service which did work for me. Just be aware that you have to walk by what is demarcated as a “dangerous zone” on Pehuenche land. I’m not quite sure what this means, but when I was walking to get service someone I passed warned me of it as well… <br /> <br /> Next day I got a ride from someone leaving the campground to Ralco (2 hour drive!). Bigger market was open even when nothing else was on a national holiday (January 1) and had good options. Camped at Camping Nativo about a 30 min walk outside of town, which is close to a great river spot and has sinks, outlets and even a shower! <br /> <br /> Given the tensions between the Pehuenche and non Indigenous people on the lands that this trail crosses, I’m curious if we, as non Indigenous hikers, should think about having a broader conversation to understand what kind of place we have (if any) in using these lands. Ideally with direct input from Pehuenche people themselves. Both for the sake of respecting the people of these lands and feeling safe as hikers. <br /> <br /> 2023 Dec 22 to Dec 26 / 4,5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; part Option 1 &amp; Completely new option / Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> Note: Our path was of course convoluted. We walked the optional route 10-01 to volcan Copahue last year. It is splendid and recommended for our option. We came back to the area to find a new connection that would avoid almost 25 km of unpleasant roadwalking after Laguna El Barco. We suceeded, see below.<br /> <br /> We followed the regular route to Laguna el Barco. The route and the Laguna are indeed very pleasant. We paid 1000 each to be able to pass through (?) and use the camping tables for lunch. The store was closed even on Saturday (Dec 23). About 300 m from the lagoon, there is a sign about Entel coverage and 4g indeed works decently there. We then took the minor road to the hot spring under Volcan Copahue.<br /> <br /> No cars seem to be using the road, especially the second part is quite eroded and after the hot spring it is bordering on impassable for cars. The hot spring is still nice. We then followed the road to an incredibly beautiful valley under Copahue. Few hundred metres before reaching Argentina, we left the road and shortly found a path that traversed into the valley in the south next to the border. The path petered out once we got above the bushes. It was really easy to reach the ridge and folow it (and the Argentinian border) to 37.9575000S, 71.1211474W. With snow all around on the slopes and with condors circling us, it was stunning (the ridge is mostly snow free). Made camp under the summit next to a 10m-high wall of ice for wind protection. There was no path but walking was easy, thr ridge is rather flat.<br /> <br /> There are three options we explored from there on. The recommended one is the last one we explored, but here they follow in chronological order. Continuing on the ridge towards Cerro Dedo would require climbing or exposed traversing (if one dropped to Argentina, one could probably find a path to reconnect to GOT after Cerro Dedos if there are no border controls). Instead we went down side of the mountain roughly to here: 37.9650794S, 71.1206588W (it was steep but full of stones, so not slippery and we did not think it was dangerous). Then we started traversing (it did not feel exposed, but was a bit strenuous) until about here: 37.9792148S, 71.1245764W, from where we started going down a narrow ridge that was flanked by creeks on both sides. Again it was not dangerous and first half was good CC (like all the previous traverse), the second half was part cow trail (with cow poop), part bush bashing, but surprisingly easy and painless with long sleeeves.<br /> <br /> At the bottom of the valley, we came out on a clearly visible trail. We went up it further into the valley, where there was a deserted puesto on a meadow under enormous aracauria trees with a magnificent views on snowy slopes full of huge waterfalls. We made camp.<br /> <br /> In the evening, Tomáš then went to explore a scary looking ridge to reach this peak: <br /> 37.9767704S, 71.1623784W. It turned out not to be scary. The sidehill up the ridge is mostly without trees or bushes, so it is steep but good CC. Once up the ridge, one can go around the pinacles from the southern side (left facing up), occasionally using the tree branches as support - there is a little of easy climbing, but with no exposure. Then the ridge is steep and somewhat narrow but one can mostly go up only using poles and not hands. Altogether SAC 5. It was fun and pretty, but caution needs to apply. From the top, one could easily traverse north towards here: 37.9611427S, 71.1539942W.<br /> <br /> The next day, we went up a ridge dividing the valley we slept in into two (this one: 37.9714484S, 71.1414231W). There is a trail up that branches off the main valley trail about 300 m downstream of the abandoned puesto. One goes up a slope for about 400 m and then down to a ford and then up. There are a variety of cow trails with bamboo cut some time ago. It is partly bush bashing, but very easy and just a few hundred metres. Once up the steep slope, the trail is much clearer. Above the tree line, it is easy CC. Once you get up the main ridge, you can either go right to the peak we slept at two days ago (a walk upno need to use hands, the rocky features vmcan be easily skirted, SAC 3-4) or left to the coordinates that end the previous paragraph. From there one could go down to the valley in the north and either CC and ford (probably possible, but unceartain) or follow the road/path that is mapped in OSM (look it online, it was only added in late November) toward El Barco. Navigating this SOBO is much easier, we posted the GPX route of the most tricky part and a rough overall route painted over satellite image in the Facebook group and hopefully it will be included in the GPT next year.<br /> <br /> Going down the valley to reconnect to the GPT leading from Gaulali is easy 5 km on a clear trail. Once you hit car tracks (almost in the main valley) that will soon turn left, you can probably follow one of the trails going straight and save yourself maybe a 0.5 km detour to a puesto here: 38.0095590S, 71.1391237W. From the puesto, there is a very ugly road that was enlarged this year all the way to Guallali. Going NOBO, you reconnect to the trail going to Cerro Dedos very soon and thus almost entirely eclipsing the roadwalk. Plus our proposed new route is really pretty.<br /> <br /> From Gaullali, there seems to be a daily bus leaving at 5.30 AM from in front of the turnoff to the carabinieros station. It goes to Ralco and then to Los Angeles. By mistake we first bought tickets to Ralco for 1300 and then to Los Angeles for 1500. It arrives in Ralco at 8:00 and stops there for 10 or so minutes. Next bigger stop is in Santa Barbara around 9:30. It arrives to Los Angels after 10:30. I think it goes back in the afternoon, possibly at 14:00, nut ask at the station.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 dec 12 - dec 14 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / RR + B + C + F / Frans<br /> <br /> Took the bus from Ralco to Trapa Trapa, start of GPT10. 2 busses a day, 4.30 and 16.30. I was at the busstop at 4.10, but the driver probably didn't expect anyone and took a shortcut and therefore didn't pass the busstop. So if you want to take that one, walk 100m further to the crossing of the main road.<br /> 16.30 no problems, plenty of people taking that bus. Total of 2.5hrs to get to Trapa Trapa.<br /> <br /> Missing the bus gave me time to explore Ralco a bit, plenty of shops, turist information center and a Museum about the Pewenche. Small, but worth a visit (1000 CLP).<br /> <br /> Didn't explore anything in Trapa Trapa since I wanted to cover some gound before darkness. Did see some signs of shops tho.<br /> Easy trail, no issues here. Ended up to camp at: Camp 10 [7.1/1181]. Got woken up by some cows and horses in the morning. <br /> <br /> Took the route (C) along the lake, also with the intention to get some extra water for the plateau. Although there was plenty at the plateau (for now), at least 5 good streams and more small ones. All because of the melting snow, so I don't know for how long that will be in the upcoming weeks. <br /> <br /> Walk was easy, pass is easy, some snow/ice walking but all stable. You might be taking a little caution when it starts melting more but walk around the snow is also an easy option.<br /> <br /> I camped at the plateau, almost at the end just before you walk into the greenzone again. On the right side is a flat spot next to some trees and bushes. <br /> <br /> Next day via Laguna el Barco, some people camping there, no one at the entry so didn't had to pay anything. Easy walk again. Took option (F) and first house on the left after crossing the bridge had a sign that they sold ice cream. Stopped there, friendly people and as they told me they will sell more stuff in the future. It also looked like that, they were constructing a store, shelves, counter everything. Just no inventory yet. Unclear when they will, at least to me with my limited Spanish.<br /> <br /> Reached Guillali easily, had a chat with the local Cabaniero. He gave me a Entell Sim-card so I could have cell service. Stayed at Romina. Bed, dinner, breakfast 30.000 CLP. <br /> <br /> Really nice walk all along. Easy navigation, nice views and not really demanding terrain. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-Dec- to 2023-Dec-8 / 2,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + variant G + variant E + variant C / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn &amp; Jens<br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present<br /> <br /> - Snow : a little bit of snow around the pass, super easy to navigate <br /> <br /> - Camping spot : easy to find<br /> - River crossing : easy<br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny<br /> <br /> - Resupply : there is a small 'negocio' in Trapa Trapa, and you can have breakfast with a really nice family at the 'lodging and food' <br /> <br /> - Option roads : Variant C - really nice lake, just a little bit of bushbashing to rejoin the RR<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-07 to 2023-Mar-09 / 2.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> After a night in Guallali, we continued on GPT10. This section is short and awesome, definitely worth hiking! <br /> <br /> On Day 1, we decided to reach the camping of Laguna El Barco (Lake, Camp $ {10} [32.9/1292]). We managed to get two rides that shorten the day, and enjoyed an afternoon of rest in the campground (we cooked some pinones). As other as noted, the price is 8pp and the water in the shower ice cold. We were hungry for sopapillas but sadly, this late in the season, the shop was closed. Because we asked, we were able to buy tortillas (2k each) directly from the owners for the next morning. Expect heavy bread - one half is enough for a meal.<br /> <br /> On Day 2, we hiked through the plateau. Of note, X {10} [32.1/1296] is now a gate (and a camp) and we were asked to pay 1pp for the right of way. <br /> The plateau is easy walking with a clear trail while filled with beautiful views. Better pack some water before because we did not find any before reaching the end of the descent in the forest (RR-TL-V {10} [13.6+2.5]). We camped at Camp {10} [9.6/1175], which is in a bosquet and wind sheltered.<br /> <br /> On Day 3, we finished the section until Trapa Trapa and asked for lodging at Mirellas (Lodging, Food {09-03E} [0.3/956]). It costs 20k pp for room / dinner / breakfast (no hot water). We were told there are some &quot;thermas&quot; close to -37.69656, -71.29006 but when asking our way, we were told it costs 4pp to use them. It did not seem worth it so we backtracked.<br /> The three shops in Trapa Trapa are located at -37.71004, -71.26861 (closed when we passed by), -37.71040, -71.26661 (had various sweets, ice cream) and -37.71234, -71.25523 (the biggest of them). However, expect limited supplies (we could not find batterias nor sunscreen for the next sections).<br /> <br /> Not much more to say on this section. We initially planned to go on 10-01 for the Volcan, but were told it would be a day of heavy rain and thus stayed on the RR (finally, not a single drop, just a little cloudy and windy). <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-07 to 2023-Feb-10 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + option 01 Volcán Copahue / Natalie&amp;Tomàš<br /> <br /> The forest fire situation made planning for this extremely difficult. We packed for GPT 09-12 with volcano side trips but we had to skip 09 because of park closure and gamble on starting directly in Trapa Trapa. We took the direct bus to trapa trapa from Los Angeles, it was long...5+hours and leaves once a day at 2:15pm (Feb,2023). Although it was memorable we think it would have been faster to bus to Ralco and try to hitch as there are &quot;some&quot; cars. The road condition looked as if it has been recently fixed and is being improved even more.<br /> Arrived in trapa trapa at ~730pm and started hiking right away. Beautiful town and valley. We were going to camp at km07 but there were people staying there with dogs so we moved on to the next river crossing not great for camping. <br /> <br /> Day2<br /> Easy walk towards the junction for option 01 to volcán Copahue with a long conversation and piñone testing with &quot;Pedro&quot; from puesto 13.7. We were lucky to hike during the season that the piñones were dropping but sadly we did not find Laureline's cellphone:(. Our plan was to summit Copahue but my stomach bug came back and we stopped very early to camp, we had a few days of excess food so this was no problem. We camped near the large creek separating 01&amp;01a -37.83511, -71.24072. The smoke was also getting us down. There is water here obviously but there is also a nice water source earlier here; -37.83542, -71.24258. This trail (01) is slightly overgrown and the &quot;aggressive puesto&quot; @ 1.2 was locked up with no one there. <br /> <br /> Day 3<br /> We took option 01a (BB) to the pass. Tomáš had tested it the day before to see if it was BB but there was a path. Although there was a path we both got lost in the bamboo for the first bit but luckily once you get under the canopy of the Araucaria's the trail is clear and non bushy, actually it is really pleasant! In the forest there is water here; -37.83520, -71.23177 and a small broken down puesto here; -37.83893, -71.22434. <br /> Out of the forest there is a beautiful grassy (and boggy) plateau with two puestos (one occupied) and lots of water (-37.84756, -71.22044). We spoke with the lady of the puesto and her 5yr old son-genuinely nice people! There is a trail from her puesto (-37.84760, -71.22095) that goes straight up East. The trail exists until you hit a waterfall fed creek and the rocks start; -37.85161, -71.21874. from there on it is CC on grippy rocks, dirt and boulders. Last water source before the pass is not far; -37.85768, -71.21610 and would make a nice camp. Getting to his pass, although beautiful, took a long time! <br /> At the pass we dropped our bags and followed the osm route for volcán Copahue. The osm route was better than the GPT bcs it followed a firm snow patch for a good while making walking fast. There was a good stream of snow melt on the approach (-37.86132, -71.19051) and the walk to the summit was easy, some loose little boulders. The summit was well worth it as the crater of Copahue is very impressive; a large broken glacier with a beautiful glacier lake. We think apart from our climb of Azul it was the nicest volcano so far. <br /> The way down to Termas de Pucon Mahuida was very slow going. Followed the osm route rather than GPT bcs it seemed more accurate.However it was still CC on rocks almost the whole way. Up high there is water here; -37.87362, -71.20509 and &quot;some&quot; spots for camping. Later there is a scenic valley good for water and camping, nice views of Copahue's glacier; -37.87753, -71.19874. We followed this valley down until we had to cross out of it, once leaving this valley there is no drinking water until the hot springs.<br /> We camped at the hot springs which are a good temperature, one small pool but I think there are more higher up. The area around is not good for camping and very boggy, we found one half decent spot. Unfortunately Tomáš had his turn with the stomach bug and the smoke crept in strongly overnight. We rested late until the next day. <br /> <br /> Day4<br /> We rested until late morning as Tomáš was still barely recovered from his stomach bug and walked the long road too ...<br /> <br /> The beginning of the road could have been some of my favorite scenery so far, The Araucaria trees surpassed my expectations and especially when they are backdropped with mountains and at one time an orange river ( glacier water flowing through sulphur like sediment?). The road for option01 had plenty of good water sources (~5x). Friendliest dogs at this puesto; -37.95898, -71.26155 and a teeny tiny amount of water.<br /> Luckily got a hitch with a local to the bus stop shortly after the intersection with 01 and RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-25 to 2023-Jan-27 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maks&amp; Gabi<br /> <br /> Really quick section. We started about 2 pm on 25.01 and finished about 2 pm on the 27.01.<br /> Nice and easy with visible trail and no problems from the locals (all of them really nice). There is no water between 14 and 33km even after rain. <br /> We stayed at Camping by Laguna el Barco and paid 8 000 for the both of us. The water in the shower is ice cold, but there are few ladies selling fresh, warm bread. <br /> The public transport from the end of the section is the bus at 5.30 (Guallali) or bus point 5.45. We tried to hitchhike but with no luck. We camped in Guallali by the river (next to the church.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-25 to 2023-Jan-27 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Johana &amp; Matouš<br /> <br /> We found this section surprisingly attractive - mainly the plateau was breathtaking. We spent the first night at a property of a Mapuche family (waypoint Camp - 7,1 km). Right before the ascent to Laguna Liay, there was a Mapuche family whose father approached us, he acted rather reserved from the start towards tourists (as he told us that they bring litter into the mountains) but we ended up drinking harina tostada with the family which also sold us some bread. We took the optional route which goes around the Laguna Liay and couldn't find the path so we somehow slid down the hill and went around the beach. Laguna Liay was really great to take a swim in and felt private (until a helicopter started hovering above our heads, taking water from the lake). There really seemed to be no water on the plateau - we took it from the Laguna and spent the night on the plateau - lots of space for camping there. The next day we arrived at Laguna El Barco, we didn't have to pay for the entry to the lake. The tienda there was open until 8 p.m. and had tuna, rice, pasta, biscuits, beverages, toilet paper, instant soups. There was a stand that made sopaipillas, churascos, french fries, salad, tortillas. Then there were some ladies going around the beach offering almost the same. We hitchhiked some of the last kilometres of the road to Guallalí. There's a shop as others indicated and a bus going only in the morning as written below. The chances of hitch hiking from there are rather scarce, as our Polish fellow travelers found out. There's a quite nice camping spot by the river further down the road (it's a few metres into the start of the section 11); it's not very private but people that were passing by didn't mind us camping there. Continued to section 11 thereafter. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-12 to 2023-Jan-15 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / detour past Laguna las Totoras / Will <br /> <br /> Another quick section, with some super unique Araucaria forests. I decided to try and find the trail to Laguna las Totoras that Jo and Veronica mentioned. The route wasn't exactly traditionally scenic, but I had a good time. The lake was more of a shallow grassy pond surrounded by thick Araucaria forest. To me it was a nice change from all the classic alpine lakes. Flat grassy bank that seemed perfect for camping. The water itself was warm and a bit muddy. I didn't see anyone along the detour, other than a few bulls at the lake.<br /> <br /> I turned off the main trail at -37.90827, -71.30880. I followed some horse tracks curving to the south along the edge of the woods. The tracks went through some sandy clearings before I eventually lost them in the woods. The woods were pretty easy travel, before too long I was out on a grassy plateau where I found tracks leading to the mirador marked on openstreetmap. Went up the road through some inspiring woods to the lake. I then walked south along the not very scenic road back to the main route.<br /> <br /> Could be a nice option to take if you're in the mood for a change from the open alpine trail.<br /> <br /> Other than that I missed the turnoff to the Laguna liay and decided to try bushwhacking straight through. Had a good time going off trail due west to the bottom right corner of the lake, open woods with a few pretty easy scrambles up/down rocky cliffs. Had a worse time trying to head southeast back to the main trail, encountering some thicker woods.<br /> <br /> The bus to Ralco comes at 2pm on Sunday, so I spent two nights at Laguna El Barco with a quick walk Sunday morning to catch the bus. For 15000 I rented a kayak to circle the lake in a bit under two hours, super nice. The campsite was crowded for the weekend. There were some nice ladies selling simple food. The trail to the right of the campsite along the lake is beautiful.<br /> <br /> Had a hard time finding accommodation in Ralco, the first five places I tried were full. Eventually found a spot at Cabañas Nehuen Antu for 30k.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-11 to 2023-Jan-13 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We continued from Trapa Trapa in the late afternoon to the camp at km 7. Trail is easy to navigate from the beginning. We set the camp actually a few meters before the puesto, in the forrest on the right side that seemed to be more quiet and hidden place. There is a nice spot with water around km 8, before entering the valley. We have seen just a few people around the puestos. Ascent to the pass is not bad, we enjoyed again very different landscape all around. Continuing to laguna, we decided to camp below arucaria trees a little before the official camp (cca 2 km) since we would get there pretty late. Based on comments from other hikers we went through the camp the next morning to check if there is opportunity to buy some food and eventhough the shop was closed, there were two ladies selling tortillas and sopapillas, churrasco and a few other things. The trail after laguna is mostly a dirt road passing around puestos. There was a community festival in Guallalí (1st edition) which was really nice to see, we tried grilled goat and bought some local products, great experience. One of the guys from the festival took us to Ralco in the evening and arranged a cabaña for us (35k CLP). There are 2-3 bigger shops with basically everything, gas is in the one next to the biggest market on the plaza. On the other hand, minishop in Guallalí is very limited, but they have some drinks, ice cream, cookies etc. There is also one small shop on the way to Guallalí, close to Bus 10-E mark.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-09 to 2023-Jan-10 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Trapa Trapa - Laguna El Barco / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We started from Trapa Trapa around 11 am after finishing section 9. The first part nearly until Laguna Liay is an easy walk on dirt roads/nice paths with several water sources.<br /> We met some pehuenche people who greated us friendly, only one man mumbled if we had a 'permiso' to pass there (we couldn't understand him very well). But then his friends told him to let us pass, he went away and we continued walking.<br /> On the last km to Laguna Liay there is a lot of bush bashing. But it's definitely worth it, a very nice camping spot up there.<br /> The next day we took option C around the lake, which was a mistake because at some point we couldn't find a path and ended up on a sketchy climb to the top of the plateau. The rest of the way to Laguna el Barco is easy with good paths.There is no water between Laguna Liay and Laguna el Barco.<br /> At the Laguna they charge 5000 CLP p.p. for the picnic/beach and 8000 CLP p.p. for camping. From there we hitchhiked to Ralco to resupply.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-20 to 2022-Dec-23 / 4 days (GPT9 + GPT10) / Hiking / SOBO / Option C / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Trapa Trapa - Laguna Liay - Laguna El Barco - Guallalí<br /> <br /> Two days from Trapa Trapa to Guallalí. Easy trail up the valley towards Laguna Liay. Didn't see anyone, most of the puestos appeared unoccupied. Lovely araucaria grove at the base of the big climb to Laguna Liay. The trail during the climb was overgrown/hard to distinguish in some places, and had a few areas of blowdowns too, which made the going slow during that bit.<br /> <br /> I took Option C around Laguna Liay, which I found to be a frustrating maze of cow paths. One minute it's nice and clear and then it disappears, leaving me to bushwhack my way along until I stumble upon it again. The lake is beautiful though, and it's the last water before Laguna El Barco, so I filled up a couple litres. Met my first other GPT hikers in 3 weeks there too, they were going NOBO. Really beautiful up on the plateau of araucarias. <br /> There was no one at Laguna El Barco when I got there around lunchtime, no one selling food either. Spent over an hour there enjoying the shady picnic tables and the beach. <br /> <br /> Easy trails/4×4 tracks the rest of the way to Guallalí. The two NOBO GPT hikers I met yesterday got charged 10,000 pesos by some local Mapuche folks to pass through this area, but I (again) didn't meet anyone. <br /> The shop in Guallalí is very limited. When I saw the selection, I decided to take the bus the next morning to Ralco, it leaves at 5:30 am. The shop owner was also not offering accommodation, but pointed me to the lovely araucaria grove across the street to camp. There is Entel cell service here :)<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-27 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Romain <br /> <br /> - Lake, Camp $ {10} [32.9/1292] : the place is nice, as mentioned there are lot of bins, the camping is also very nice and the showers still very cold. They charged me $5.000 for the night. It was written &quot;with no (something I didn't manage to read)&quot; on the bill so if they charge you $8.000 you can try to specify you don't have car, or I don't know... They removed the panel for the grocery just after I asked for it so it's now fixed, there is no grocery. The family selling cooked food wasn't selling food when I visited them around 11:00, maybe because it was monday morning, maybe because it was the end of summer, I don't know<br /> <br /> - Close to GPT10-C Start there is a point of view on the whole valley, it's beautiful and you can see all the puestos <br /> <br /> - Just after it there are many paths to go down, I haven't taken the one from the GPS but it's very easy to reach it then<br /> <br /> - Around Puesto {10} [14.5/1297] an arriero told me there are 2 paths going down the valley, one on each side of the river, I've followed the GPT to try to reach Trapa Trapa before the night so I didn't go further about them but if someone try<br /> <br /> - Around fords there are often a &quot;bridge&quot; made of one massive plank, the same arriero told me about some so they probably check each year they are usable. You just have to look for it, but it can not be the case at some points<br /> <br /> - The number of puestos in this Valley is impressive, I only had good contacts with the people I met<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-11 to 2022-Feb-12 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + optional section 10-E straight from Laguna El Barco to Guallalí / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> In one day from Trapa Trapa to Laguna Liay, camping at the north side. There are many cow trails leading down to the laguna. The one we took seemed suitable for hikers too. Going back up the next day we got lost in the cow maze though, and only by searching for our own footprints from the previous day did we get back on the RR. It may be worth having a look at our GPS tracking data to figure out our initial path.<br /> <br /> The next day continued to Guallalí. Beatiful plateau! Got to harvest our first piñones as well! However, we hurt the araucaria tree by breaking off a small but not insignificant branch when trying to get the green &quot;pinecone&quot; to break off, using the &quot;strong rope&quot; method described in the hiker's manual. Only later we learned you should go for the brownish, &quot;café&quot;-colored cones. Just hit these with your walking stick and the piñones will fall right off. You then collect them from the ground. The threatened araucaria will be much happier not being hurt :)<br /> <br /> When in need of water at the plateau, there should be a path to Laguna Totora from S 37° 54.510', W 071° 18.580', according to an arriero who passed by. Maybe a future optional route?<br /> <br /> The optional routes 10-E and 10-G have become MR instead of TL.<br /> <br /> The lodging at the shop in Guallalí was not avaible, but the shop owner pointed us to an araucaria grove closeby (you can enter via a wooden gate next to the escuela). We camped there: S 38° 02.647', W 071° 16.441'. There were some villagers passing by, so it seems to be public land. There's a small stream to the east with quite clear water. Maybe it's possible to camp more upstream to the north, where there are bridges and where the stream has passed fewer houses.<br /> <br /> Continued to GPT11 immediately after.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Jan-19 /3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Molly and Melissa <br /> <br /> Between Guallalí and Laguna el Barco is mainly gravel road, but sometimes there are small, discrete paths that connect them, so keep an eye on the GPS.<br /> The camping at Laguna el barco is now 8000 per person. There are toilets, very cold showers and many garbage bins. There is also a family selling tortillas (bread baked in the ash) and sopaipillas, as well as some other people who come down in the evening and morning selling tortillas. There's a shop advertising ice cream, bread, sodas and other stuff, but it's closed. The people at the camping told us that it would open at 13, and then at 20, and then next day. A lady who had stayed there for a week said it had been like that the whole week, so I wouldn't count on it being open. As noted, you can ask the campground people to charge your phone. All in all, it was a nice campsite.<br /> Shortly after, the big climb starts. You have to pass through a fence and by some houses - again keep an eye on the GPS. We were charged 1000 per person, probably wouldn't happen for people going southbound. <br /> As warned, there was no water on the plateau until Laguna Liay. At the camp-waypoint, there is a very small lake, it doesn't look like the best drinking water, and the path directly to the lake seems very overgrown. Instead, we continued around the lake and found a decent campsite on the far side. The path around the lake is faint at best, and we ended up doing some serious scrambling down a cliff, however when we got down we found a path coming more from the right, so maybe there's a better way. The walk around is pretty, though.<br /> After the descent, the rest is easy walking past many puestos.<br /> In Trapa Trapa, we stayed at the house marked &quot;lodging, food&quot;. They charge 20,000 per person for a room, dinner and breakfast. Very nice family, they might be away in their puesto sometimes though. There's also the option to take a bath in their inflatable swimming pool with shampoo, and they sell some honey. We were served cazuela and loads of sopaipillas for dinner. They were building a cabaña when we were there. Right next to them in a little red house behind a black gate there is a minishop, which according to them is the biggest in Trapa Trapa. They had pasta, rice, tuna, sodas, chocolate covered nuts, matches, toilet paper. They were open Saturday when we were there. Apart from that there are two other minishops, one in each direction, which we didn't check out.<br /> <br /> The bus apparently leaves for Ralco at 6 and 18 every day including weekends.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2021-Dec-03 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + option D / Marc Anthony <br /> <br /> After finishing GPT9 I went directly on to GPT10 and made camp at the camping ground by el barco lake (5000 pesos) you can ask them to charge your electronics by the house where you pay. They didn’t sell any food.<br /> Like already mentioned by others, remember to bring a lot of water for the following section. The plateau you climb up on after El Barco lake was very dry. Next water source with good clean water was at Laguna Liay. I was getting desperate for water, so I took variant D directly down to the laguna. The trail was very overgrown and requires some bush bashing. Frustrating amounts of mosquitos and horseflies in this part of the section, might be worth bringing some mosquito spray!<br /> <br /> Next section towards trapa trapa was nice and easy with perfect weather and plenty of water.<br /> Found two mini-shops in Trapa Trapa with only limited supplies. A bus to Ralco, leaves weekdays 6:00 in the morning. Therefore I spent the night in a room that a local Mapuche family were renting out. Was served a very big plate of grilled sheep meat and really enjoyed talking with the family. Later in the evening the father returned home very drunk. He was nice and talkative but I was getting at bit of a bad vibe from him, so thanked them for the food and went off to bed. Later at night I was awaken by someone vigorously trying to open the door which I thankfully locked. Rest of the family woke up and I heard a mans voice shouting something about “extranjero” and soon after the abuela kicked this guy out of the house.<br /> <br /> Instantly thought I was gonna get robbed, but might just have been a drunk family member or the father who had forgot I was sleeping in their room. Hard to say… Apart from this I really enjoyed interacting with the locals in this region and I’ve had a lot of nice and memorable experiences.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-02 / Incident on GPT10 at Puesto-55 Location S 37* 49‘ 31.79‘‘ / W 71* 16‘ 23.38‘‘ / Published on behalf of Trevor Mattson<br /> <br /> &quot;Sad to report that i had a very negative experience about 15km into section 10 on sunday (2/2). I was offered food and a place to camp by a very nice pehuenche lady (miriam, goes by &quot;mila&quot;, the puesto after puesto 55 marked as &quot;puesto, food&quot; at the beginning of the OH route right after it splits from RR) only to have her husband come home later an try to rob me. She was extremely friendly. Although he was noticeably intoxicated, he was also nice at first as we joked, drank maté an collected firewood together. After a couple hours, as the sun was almost completely gone (~10pm), he went inside his puesto, grabbed a knife, an approached me from behind as i sat around the fire with his wife. He marched me to my tent with the knife pressed againt my neck. I allowed him to search it (he kept saying &quot;plata, plata, plata&quot; an his Spanish wasn't very good) which gave me the opportunity to pick up a rock an intimidate him a bit. I had a lot of money an wasn't just gonna let him take it and all of my stuff up in the mountains at night. His wife then came an tried to get between us / protect me (she was pleading him to stop). He was shoving her around, but this gave me just enough time to rip my tent out of the ground, which had all my stuff in it, an quickly drag it to the nearest puesto (~100metres). He followed me on horseback after a minute or two an the family there armed themselves with sticks an told him to f**k off. <br /> <br /> I hiked for a few hours through the night an met an incredible family at around 1700metres on the optional route (papa named exequel). They told me that he (bernardino from &quot;puesto, food&quot;) has robbed a &quot;chino&quot; (means anyone that looks even remotely asian in my latin American experiences) in the past an that &quot;se vuelve loco&quot; when he drinks vine. I bought more cheese from bernardino an his wife than i wanted/needed as a nice gesture an we seemed to get along, so this was reassuring that he was just crazy an it was nothing that i did to provoke him. In other words, i behave according to the manual provided by Jan an it is not at fault.<br /> All in all, the pehuenches an mapuches i've met are all amazing except this guy. I definitely had to inform you all but don't want you to think that they are some uncivilized savages by any means. Bernardino kept telling his wife that i was &quot;solo&quot; as his justification for robbing me as they argued. Therefore i don't recommend passing through there alone, especially not later in the evening. I think if you stick to the regular you will narrowly avoid the puesto entirely. Or definitely worth the extra few KMs to continue to exequel's puesto further up the OH route. Also, i had a few extra pesos in a separate pocket that i was able to pretend like was all the money i had which was clutch. An from now on, I'm not staking anything into the ground until i know the father of the family well. <br /> Anyway, happy trekking, stay safe, an if anyone knows a good place to try an fix tent poles in concepción by chance then that would be awesome!&quot;<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-23 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank <br /> <br /> Came in from Trapa Trapa in evening &amp; camped @ Camp 81. There is a Mapuche family living there, talked to them &amp; they were OK with me camping nearby. I was caught out by the sudden transition from river valley to dry plateau, had very little water &amp; was as dry as dirt when I got to stream 1KM before Laguna Barco, drank 3 litres there. 3000CLP camping for 1 person @ Laguna. There is a Mapuche family with a food stall there, they have chips, sopaipillas &amp; tortilla. The tortilla is like a small bread loaf. Next morning as I was leaving around 8:30 the Mapuche woman came round the campsite with fresh sopaipillas &amp; tortilla. Walked in to Guallali from Laguna Barco in about 3 hours. Shop in Guallali is small but Romina who runs the shop provides beds &amp; meals. 20,000 CLP for evening meal (usually goat &amp; rice), bed &amp; breakfast. Walked out 9KM to Comunidad Chanqueco, there is a good shop there. From Chanqueco it's easier to hitch, traffic coming from Laguna Barco but very little from Guallali. Hitched into Ralco, stayed @ Hosteria Montana there, about 15000CLP single.<br /> 2 supermarkets in Ralco, they sometimes have camping gas.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-12 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> This section was well marked/distinguished relative to all the other sections on thus far. There were many Puestos along the way as well. This was also the first section where the araucaria tree is very prevalent across the landscape. This section was my final section on the GPT and the araucaria trees and the lush green landscape provided good contrast to the semi-desert climate south of Santiago de Chile. <br /> <br /> Difficulties: <br /> There was a small 12km ish section without water close to the pass. <br /> <br /> Highlights: <br /> Change in landscape. Great views of the many volcanoes in the area.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-22 / 4 days (GPT9 + GPT10) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin <br /> <br /> Combined sections 9 &amp; 10. 4 days. Sierra Velluda and Antuco Volcanoe were amazing. In Trapa Trapa the two small shops were out of stock, so we couldn't buy anything. Pehuenche settlers in &quot;veranadas&quot; were really welcoming and friendly to us. We asked anyway for permission to camp close to their settlements. We were invited by familia Crespo Manquepi for tortillas, tea and some other food and stayed there for a few hours. They are welcome to recieve gpt hikers and in the future sell some food and lodging. Really kind family. Just before the last big climb in section 10. No water for a long stretch after it. Recomend the detour to Laguna Liay, amazing. Resupplied in Ralco.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-15 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie &amp; Tom <br /> <br /> The trail was in good condition and we didn’t experience any issues. Possible to resupply at Guallalí but the selection isn’t huge (pasta, dry soups, crackers, tuna etc). If you are looking to bus into Lonquimay, it was leaving at 5:30AM the next morning for us (but we didn’t take it). <br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-10 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Easy trail and navigation. We got in this really bad weather too. Storm and ice at the pass. In Guallali we had coffee and sopapillas at the carabinieros and spent the night at the same place as Matus, Anna and Linda. We took the bus at 05:30 towards Los Angeles and are staying in Ralco for resupply and drying. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Dec-25 to 2019-Dec-26 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Linda<br /> <br /> - Nice hike with no major difficulties. The plateau with the araucarias after the pass is amazing!!!<br /> <br /> - No river when you leave the valley toward the pass and then down to the other valley BUT, as I wanted to sleep on this plateau (25 km after the start of the section) I found a small river 300 meters on the right from the regular track and camped at this place : S37,895511° O71,308919° Wonderful sunset!!! <br /> <br /> - In Guallali, end of the section, lodging, food and mini shop. Lodging at the way point Minishop very nice = guesthouse with diner and breakfast for 20000 CLP. Very nice family!!!!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-17 / 3.5 days (11 walking hours) / Hiking / NOBO / RR with hitch hiking between Guallali and Laguna el Barco / Sophie &amp; Hendrik <br /> <br /> In total we were 3.5 days on the trail, of which we spend 1 in the tent due to bad weather. The 0.5 day we had left from arriving in Guallali we spend buying food and hitch hiking to the campground at Laguna el Barco. We did so because we expected rain soon and wanted to camp it out. Also we were not too keen for the gravel road part.<br /> <br /> We liked: Nice araucaria trees, an amazing sunset we saw a tad south of Laguna Llai and after section 11 and 12 the easy terrain.<br /> <br /> We did not like so much: The horsflies.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-04 / 3.5 days (GPT9 + GPT10) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> GPT09 and GPT10 Season section log. <br /> We combined these two sections. It took us 3.5 days via regular trail SOBO.<br /> Trail in both section is in good condition. There is snowfield in first pass as was mentioned. We went left, but it would be worth to check is it's possible to go through rocks on the right as it seems much shorter. <br /> Water is not marked on a map but there is a stream before the pass. <br /> Resuply in Trapa Trapa is very limited. They had few tunas, other caned fish, some pasta, flour, cola, crisps... We didn't check for accomodation. <br /> We stayed in a paid campsite at Laguna el Barco for 5000 both. Around 8 there was a woman selling bread and sweet pastry, but mind that it was weekend. <br /> Resuply in Guallali again very limited. They have tunas, caned fish, pasta, oil, crackers and bit more. We are staying in a house next to the shop.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Trapa Trapa<br /> - Accommodation: The house marked &quot;lodging, food&quot; charge 20,000 per person for a room, dinner and breakfast. There's also the option to take a bath in their inflatable swimming pool with shampoo, and they sell some honey. We were served cazuela and loads of sopaipillas for dinner. <br /> <br /> - Shopping: Right next to them in a little red house behind a black gate there is a minishop, which according to them is the biggest in Trapa Trapa. They had pasta, rice, tuna, sodas, chocolate covered nuts, matches, toilet paper. They were open Saturday when we were there. There is a panel just before the street going to the grocery indicating that the mini-market is 100m away. There are two other minishops.<br /> <br /> - Bus: The bus apparently leaves for Ralco at 6 and 18 every day including weekends.<br /> <br /> *Guallalí<br /> Lodging at the way point Minishop very nice = guesthouse with dinner and breakfast for 20000 CLP. <br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> *Laguna El Barco :<br /> Updated Mar 22<br /> <br /> -The family selling cooked food close to Lake, Camp $ {10} [32.9/1292] wasn't selling food when I visited them around 11:00, maybe because it was monday morning, maybe because it was the end of summer, I don't know<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> Bus Guallali - Ralco - Santa Barbara - Los Angeles 05:30<br /> <br /> Updated January 2022:<br /> Bus from Trapa Trapa to Ralco at 6 and 18 every day including weekends<br /> <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT10 - Laguna El Barco]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> [[File:GPT_5_Laguna_El_Barco_108664113.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT10 - Laguna El Barco]]<br /> [[File:GPT_5_Laguna_El_Barco_108603529.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT10 - Laguna El Barco]]<br /> [[File:GPT_5_Laguna_El_Barco_108603527.jpg|thumb|Araucarias at GPT10 - Laguna El Barco]]<br /> [[File:GPT_5_Laguna_El_Barco_108603530.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT10 - Laguna El Barco]]<br /> [[File:GPT_5_Laguna_El_Barco_108603538.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT10 - Laguna El Barco]]<br /> [[File:GPT_5_Laguna_El_Barco_1086641189.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|GPT10 - Laguna El Barco]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT09_(Volcan_Antuco)&diff=113551 2024-01-10T23:04:43Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-01 to 2024-Jan-03 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {09-B} - {09-C} - RR - {09-D} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> I combined GPT09+10+11+12, first resupply 6 days food in Antuco, then take 2.5 days for 09, stay in Trapa Trapa(save 2 meals), resupply in Trapa Trapa for 1.5 days food(low stock and limited selection). Then take 2 days for 10, stay in Guallalí(save 2 meals), resupply in Guallalí for 2 days food(low stock and limited selection but better than Trapa Trapa). Lastly 2 days for 11, 4 days for 12)<br /> <br /> <br /> Nice resupply in Antuco, but most of them are closed because i visit here on the first day of 2024.<br /> <br /> A friendly local give me a ride to the entrance of national park, thank you so much to him! There are some beautiful waterfalls start at RR km2.3 to km4.7, remember to take a look, they are at the mountain side(right side)! Lot of families come to here for enjoy their holidays.<br /> <br /> RR km5.7 : ranger station for vehicles and people control for entering the park. Super nice and let me go in after i told them my route, no need to pay any fee or show any permits.<br /> <br /> Park ranger[8.4/1110] : look like is a ranger station, didn't see anyone when I passed here on 5.30pm.<br /> <br /> Km9.7 : flat area, you can camp here if need, but no water.<br /> <br /> Km11.25 - km11.9 : lava trail, there are some rock cairn for you to follow, not difficult.<br /> <br /> Km11.9 : if you continue going south at the RR sharp turning, about 200m you will met a stream, flowing good with cold and clear water, flat spots nearby too, but I'm not sure it will dry up or not.<br /> <br /> Follow rock cairn to the pass, mostly you'll lost the trail and cairn at km15.6, look at the right side, go down the dry riverbed then climb up to the other side, you'll find cairn again. Don't walk in riverbed, they'll block your way at the end.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Still lot of snow after the pass, follow Véronica's comment, climb up the ridge to compass NE ( I walk on the top of snow slope, because it is flat and gentle, also i think it is easier than walking on loose sand.)<br /> <br /> At about 2150m, there is a break without snow, a sandy slope that you can walk down. ( -37.43215, -71.36002 )<br /> <br /> Not steep, i think is easy go down but slow, so when i go down a little, i go back to south side to join the snow slope for fast moving, snow slope becomes more gentle when it gets lower.<br /> <br /> By the way, you can climb up and go down the pass without stepping on any snow now.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km20.7 : you'll find car track here, you can follow it to dirt road, i take {09-B} here, avoid crossing Petronquines(RR km28.9) at downstream. {09-B} is something look like a very old car track on the ground, no cars running on it anymore, easy walking but not easy to follow.<br /> <br /> {09-B} km1.15 : crossing of Estero El Aguada o El Volcán ( a long name), a stream. A very good crossing point, stream break to 6 parts here, all below half of calf at afternoon. Flowing nice with clear water.<br /> <br /> After the crossing, i can't find any trail or car track on the other side, but after i keep going CC about 400m, a dirt road in good condition at mountain side, it'll lead you to the main dirt road and join {09-C}.<br /> <br /> Bridge {09-C} [1.7/1417] : milky water.<br /> <br /> Border control CL[2.5/1420] : gate for vehicles but not for people. Didn't see anyone when I passed here at 5pm.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km3.7: excellent view point of Volcán Antuco and meadows.<br /> <br /> Bridge[5.3/1444] : crossing Petronquines on a bridge, beautiful view and lot of clear water, maybe it is difficult to cross it at downstream (RR) as now. Look like you can camp beside, or under the bridge. But every 0.5 - 1 hour have a border control vehicle patroling the road, I don't know camping beside this road is it a good idea.<br /> <br /> Bridge[7.3/1470] : clear water but no flat spots.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> X RR[34.9/1495] : rejoin RR.<br /> <br /> Ford[37.0/1512] : below half of calf at late afternoon.<br /> <br /> Km39.4 - pass[50.4/1878] : lot of stream crossing the road, have 1-2 need wet feet crossing, just beside the pass is a stream flowing too.<br /> <br /> Pass[50.4/1878] : beautiful grassland, flat and nice for camping, but 20+cows when I passed here.<br /> <br /> RR-TL-V{09} [50.4+9.6] is a nice and maintained trail ,easy to follow, sometimes you'll find orange ribbon leads where you go.<br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[52.3/1648] : no river crossing here.<br /> <br /> Km53.15 - km53.65 : you need to cross the stream 4 times, then walk in the stream about 50m, but all dry feet crossing, rock hopping or log bridge will help you.<br /> <br /> Km54.55 : junction of RR and {09-D}, but i miss the turning to RR, so i go for {09-D}.<br /> <br /> {09-D} km0.4: river crossing, rock hopping for dry feet. Also a small grassland can fit 1-3 tents after the crossing 150m.<br /> <br /> Km0.6 : a stream flowing good crossing the trail with a tiny waterfall, you can sit under it to enjoy a cool shower in a hot day. Look like the other side of river have a nice grassland for camping can fit 2-4 tents, but wet feet crossing.<br /> <br /> Km1.1 : rejoin RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Viewpoint RR [57.4/1338] : if you are SOBO, it is the first view of Volcán Callaqui. Also nice view of Trapa Trapa.<br /> <br /> Km58.6 : CAUTION, if you see a red ribbon, DON'T keep going, you are not on the trail, turn back immediately and check your GPS. RR trail is a sharp turning then go down, you are walking away from the trail and towards a very steep slope now.<br /> <br /> Km58.95 : RR have some reroute at here, but mostly you can follow the only trail to main road.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I stayed at Trapa Trapa with the lovely family at (Lodging,food) waypoint. Simple single room with bed, quilt, chair, light and electric charger, also dinner and breakfast. I buy some sausage from the shop nearby and share with all people here. They are very exciting where i come from, what I'm doing, and what interesting things happened when I'm hiking, it is a warm night, i love them! And they invited me to watch their sterilization of horse, OMG OMG OMG, so shock to me, OMG.<br /> <br /> <br /> Shop (-37.71249,-71.25642) : at compass West of (Lodging,food) waypoint, very close just 2 min walking. Two red house here, the small one is shop. Selling drinks, ice cream, biscuits, pasta, coffee, tea and some frozen meat( mostly is sausage). This shop have a sign on the main road, no sign at the front gate and the gate is opened.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 Dec 28 to Dec 29 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / Option 2 + RR+ 09-C/ Ella<br /> <br /> TLDR: no issue at border control. don’t count on Lagunillas Camping cafeteria or the Lodging, Food waypoint in Trapa Trapa<br /> <br /> Bussed from Los Angeles to Abanico - make sure to go to the terminal for rural busses which will be different from where you might get off an intercity bus. Hitched from there to Lagunillas Camping. Campground was nice and spacious. The host is really kind and helpful. The cafeteria was not open for food when I was there, just coffee and tea. <br /> Day 1: Due to a stormy forecast, I chose to avoid the already sketchy-seeming pass and head for the route around the lake (option 2). To get there, I took the small trails around the main road heading east from the campground, which were scenic for a cloudy day with no mountain view - enjoyed the volcanic landscape and the waterfall Salto Las Chilcas. I then was able to hitch a ride on the road beside the lake to the other side of the Volcano, which was good because there didn’t appear to be many streams or campsite options. I continued on by foot on Variant C. I went through border control and the officer was very thorough, but didn’t try to give me an exit stamp when I explained I wasn’t going to cross the border. He mostly seemed concerned that I was alone and tried to offer food and a bathroom! I camped a few kilometers further along that road by one of the streams that crosses it. Beware of aggressive bulls in the area. <br /> <br /> Day 2: Easy walking all the way to the pass. Water is still available about every kilometer or two along this route. After the pass there are a few points with a bit of landslide risk where you’re walking on very unstable skree. In retrospect it seems Variant D may exist to avoid some of this but I can’t be sure because I didn’t take it. When I got to Trapa Trapa I was dismayed to find no one at the lodging and food point that others had raved about. The small market just beside this point (sign for “provisions” is only on the main road. looks like a small house with the front painted red next to a larger house) was indeed open at 6pm on a Friday after I called out. There were many types of biscuits and cold drinks, pasta sauce (no pasta), coffee, and maybe even some type of meat in the freezer that I wasn’t quite daring enough to buy. Highly recommend the calorific Chiky Bum biscuits for avoiding mental collapse after a nearly 30km day. I asked the owner about the lodging option next door and she said the family was away for a few days, so guess I just got unlucky. Further down the road towards GPT 10 where there is sign “Kiosco”, there’s also a small ice cream shop/market that was closed when I arrived. I didn’t find another market. Went back up the GPT 09 trail just a bit to get out of town and found a nice camping spot along the river for the night. Visits from goats and a baby horse were a welcome occurrence. No Entel service in Trapa Trapa.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 Dec 20 to Dec 22 / 2,5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; 09-C/ Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> We took a bus at 19:00 from Los Angeles (which has a great system of shared taxis with fixed routes, number eight goes from the big bus station to Jumbo and back to rural bus station for 1000 per person) to Albanico and upon arriving there after five minutes, the first passing car took us to the border of the national park. We pitched our tent in the delta of the river not far from the road but not visible from it. Without the smoke of last year and with the yellow of brooms everywhere and Antuco under snow, the valley was extremely pretty.<br /> <br /> The next day we talked to a CONAF ranger, he said an Argentinian hiker told him there was ice in the pass. We did not pay anything.<br /> <br /> The climb is pretty, in the pass there was a lot of snow. We followed Véronica's suggestion from last year and climbed about 100 m of elevation to the east and then ran down on the snow. The path in the valley was rather invisible. Two lone acuaria trees guard the road. We thought Rio de los Pines would be impossible to ford now with all the thawing (others seem to have passed though) so took variant C along the main road to Argentina. Carabinieros just looked at our passports and let us go. A car passed about every half an hour. The valley is stunning yet the roadwalk is a drudge. The following minor road seems virtually never to be driven by cars and is in places badly damaged by water. The valley up is nice.<br /> <br /> Going down to Trapa-Trapa, about 1 km after the pass, the path is eroded and new one was created going down to the water. The walk down through the forrest was quite pleasant. We met several groups of arrieros on both side of the pass, they were nice.<br /> <br /> In Trapa-Trapa, we had lunch at &quot;Lodging, Food&quot; waypoint. We could not see any sign. We got tomatoes, cheese, bread, pasta, a piece of down fried in oil (tasty) and maté. We paid them a good price for it, we hope it was not too much. From March 2024, there should be (probably) Entel coverage in the valley, the telecomunication tower is already up. We did not see any shops but did not look for them. Altogether, GPT 9 is quite nice, especially now with the snow.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-dec-18/ 2,5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; 09-A/ Lukas en Tess<br /> <br /> As of now the pass on K16,8 is imposible to cross. Going around and taking 09-A is posible but the rock scrambling is a pain. But I would argue the awesome lava field is worth it. <br /> Otherwise the trail was nice and easy, I realy enjoyed the wide open landscape. Arriving in Trapa Trapa we where offered some Harina tostada drink after starting a conversation with some old ladies. We got some cheese at a minishop that is not on the track files. Z37,712542° W71,266816°, something like haloumi, so try roasing it!<br /> <br /> 2023-Dec-8 to 2023-Dec- 10 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + option 2 + cross country for the volcano / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn &amp; Jens<br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present<br /> <br /> - Snow : on RR on km 16,8 seems impassable because there was still a lot of snow. Yannick wanted to summit the volcano, he went on the East part and went until 2700m of altitude. The North face had less snow.<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : easy to find<br /> <br /> - River crossing : easy between km 57,9 and km 52,3<br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny<br /> <br /> - Resupply : in Abanico a little shop and some cabanas, more options in Antuco, everything you need to resupply there - even gaz canister in the ferreteria<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-10 to 2023-Mar-12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH-1 / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> After a rest in Trapa Trapa at Lodging, Food {09-03E} [0.3/956], we started GPT09 in the morning. The ascent following RR-TL-V {09} [57.4/50.4+9.6] is a well marked horse trail that clims slowly, perfect for a start. Then, the RR-MR-V {09} [41.8/34.9+13.3] is flat and passes through a nice valley, a bit above the river but multiple streams crosses it. Like others, we took 09-C, but had no luck with hitchhiking and ended up walking the 11km. No problem at the border control. We finally ended up camping close to -37.46277, -71.31864 (aim for the big tree, and you will find some camp spot with firepits) after a pretty long day. <br /> <br /> On Day 2, we followed the RR and took Option 09-01 to climb the summit. We left most of our gear at the Pass {09} [16.8/2043]. It's better to follow the track for the first part, until the conic shape because it goes along a ridge and avoid pointless ups and down. Then, on the conic shape, you are on your own. We followed a trail made by a group of 8 hikers that were a bit ahead when we found it. It definitely helped as the parts without were really clambering. The views on the top and the small crater made it definitely worthwhile for us. Going down is much more easy and fun, you slide on the sand! As it was late in the season, we did not had any snow on our way but it sill took about 4h to go up (and 1 to go down).<br /> We ended up camping at Campamento Anfiteatro (-37.42427, -71.41517) pretty exhausted. The river here is really chalky but clean water is available from the ice cave.<br /> <br /> On Day 3, we took a small detour to see the tunnel of ice (worthy!) and headed down towards Chacay. Then we tried to hitchhike until Abanico with poor luck (on a Sunday morning). Took us 4 rides, but the last one went until Antuco. As there are also limited buses on Sundays, we then did more hitchhike to Los Angeles to ressuply. <br /> <br /> A short section but filled with great landscapes and stunning views. Plus you walk in a lava field! Definitely worth it, we really loved it! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-14 to 2023-Jan-16 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + volcan Antuco / Martial / <br /> <br /> Combined with Section 10.<br /> Laja national Parc was reopened after fire preventive closure on 13/02. Took the bus from LA to Abanico at 4:30PM arriving late at Campamiento viejo (7000$/n) after walking cause poor hitchhiking at this hour (parc closes 17:30). Next morning much more efficient and someone droped me at the start after giving pre-order entry number to CONAF staff (was not important that my ticket was for the previous day).<br /> The ascent to Amphiteatro camping is quick and really well maintained trail. Then i strongly recommend visiting detour to the waterfall for a unique glaciar tunnel walking experience.<br /> Next CC on Antuco’s lava fields was real fun in perfect cloudy weather. Don’t miss the impressive lava bridge !<br /> After reaching the pass early, legs were feeling like summiting Antuco the same day so i decided to search for a high camp. Mission completed here at 2300m : -37.42532, -71.35615 with flat sand next to fresh clean water ponds from the snow. Summiting 2h after setting camp, sunset rewarded me with unique views on laguna Laja and massive Sierra Veluda. Just don’t get caught by the night or bad weather !!<br /> RR descent is sandy and hot traversing a sand deserted bareland so I strongly recommand the O9-C to avoid struggle like I did before shortening to reach the road. Had a meal from a generous family staying at the next Puesto + a hike to piedra del Indio. Then Vegas de Trapa is quick walking MR with lots of puesto and camping option so personally stoped here : -37.57620, -71.24127. Arrived in Trappa next early afternoon for sweet delights in the only shop fenced and garded by 3 dogs. Directly continued to section 10 for reaching puesto at 7.1 wich i also recommand for it’s comfy grassy camping and amable Mapuche family.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-23 to 2023-Jan-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 9c / Maks &amp; Gabi<br /> <br /> Combined with Section 10.<br /> The road is nice and visible. There is no snow on the pass. <br /> At the entrance to the national park, the guards asked for permission, but when we told them that we were going to Trapa Trapa, they let us go. We slept at the camping inside the park (10000/person).<br /> We took a detour to see a waterfall by the glacier. It was about 4 km go and back. <br /> We camped right outside the national park, by the river. There were a lot of cows but none of them aggressive. We the took the optional route 9c and walked by the carabineros station.No problems there. Just explained that we are going to Trapa Trapa, without crossing the border. They checked out passports and let us go. <br /> There were no further surprises, and the road is really well maintained. Just be careful when going down to Trapa Trapa after rain. It's quite slippery. <br /> There is plenty of water along all the trail. <br /> The shop in Trapa Trapa is marked with a sign on the main road. They have some sweetest and noodles but not much more. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-21 to 2023-Jan-23 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Johana &amp; Matouš<br /> <br /> We really enjoyed this section. We took a bus from Los Angeles to Abanico at 3 o'clock and then hitchhiked to the end of the main road. We arrived at the CONAF control point with no one there (7 p.m.). We slept at the Lagunillas camping, which was for 10000 per person, they had beers, jugos, empanadas, tortillas..We teamed up with Gabi and Max from Poland and enjoyed their company throughout the section (hello! :⁠-⁠)). The ascent to the volcano was amazing, looked like Mordor. Near the point &quot;Campamento Anfiteatro&quot; there's a waterfall that ends in a snowpatch whereby it creates a cave of ice. It's amazing. You can see it from the distance. There's clean water as well, the next clean water is on the other side of the volcano in the valley. We confirm that there's no need to stay away from the carabineros anymore, they only took down our passport numbers. Then it was easy walking until after the pass. We camped at a nice spot in the forest next to the river (S 37° 40.6391' W 071°14.1985). We somehow didn't manage to find the food/lodging point, but were approached by an older lady who fed us cookies and seemed to know a lot about other hikers. There are said to be three shops in Trapa Trapa, we only found the one next to the school which had only biscuits. Continued to GPT10 straight after.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-10 to 2023-Jan-12 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> Combined with section 10<br /> Nice easy section, loved crossing the fresh crunchy volcanic wasteland at the start. Everything after that was fast trail. Mild temperatures, no horse flies.<br /> I had some trouble getting back from Antuco to the trail. I got told a couple wrong times for the bus, and had no luck during my quick hitchhiking attempt. Eventually caught a bus to abanico at 2, and then two rides got me into the park. The couple driving me spoke for me at the park entrance, and I ended up having to pay 4500 for the entrance. I probably should have gotten out and talked my way through separately.<br /> I stayed at openstreetmap's amphitheater campsite night 1. Nice sheltered spot at the base of sierra velluda, soft sand.<br /> The camp/puesto markers at km 47 seem a bit out of date. There wasn't much at the puesto maker, and there was a puesto right at the campsite marker. The family at the puesto happily let me camp there.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-06 to 2023-Jan-08 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> Antuco - Trapa Trapa<br /> We hitchhiked from Camping Rucue back to the national park. The landscape was really magnificent the first day. There was almost no snow left after the pass.<br /> After the descent walking gets tougher due to the sand and the path is partially hard to find.<br /> But after the second roadcrossing there is a lot of easy walking on dirt roads. <br /> Atfter leaving the river at around km 47, there is still accessible water in the first part of the small ascent. On the plateau there are no watersources until the descent. We carried some water and camped on the plateau, a very nice spot.<br /> Walking down to Trapa Trapa was really nice. We followed the main route. In retrospective we would have taken option 3, because it is shorter.<br /> We met a couple of locals along the way and they all greated us very nicely. Trapa Trapa was pretty empty when we arrived at around 11 am. We continued right to section 10.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-20 to 2022-Dec-23 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica <br /> <br /> combined GPT09 and GPT10<br /> Route: CONAF waypoint - shoulder of Volcán Antuco - road through border control checkpoint - Trapa Trapa <br /> <br /> Two days from national park to Trapa Trapa. From Antuco, I hitched back to the national park and got there around noon. Didn't get charged an entry fee, I just told the entrance staff what trail I planned to take. Nice path most of the way up the volcano, even the CC section has occasional cairns marking the way. You go along a creek as you go up, so lots of accessible water. <br /> <br /> Lots of snow on the southeast side of the pass. Tried to go around on the right along/through the rocks, but it's mostly siltstone, very crumbly, and very steep. Got really precarious there so I backtracked to the pass and went around the snow on the left. This involved climbing an additional 150m through volcanic sand, but it felt much safer. The rest of the way down is pretty much all cross-country, couldn't really find a path, but navigation was simple. There were some water sources on the way down too, courtesy of the melting snow. <br /> <br /> The next morning, I took Option C that goes along the dirt road. There was no one at the border control checkpoint, probably because I went through before 7 a.m. <br /> <br /> Rest of the way to Trapa Trapa is easy, no issues whatsoever. It's nice and forested on the south side of the pass. I didn't investigate resupply or bus options in Trapa Trapa as I went straight through to GPT10. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022-Mar-01 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Romain <br /> <br /> - Camp {09} [47.1/1709] : I slept around 47.5, the place was calm, flat, with grass and close to the water (that was finally not usable because there was too much sand in, but you can easily find drinkable water when going down the valley), many people from the puestos came to talk as it seemed to be the end of the season, it was really pleasant. One offered me to come by him but it was late and I was too tired to move by him, I tried to meet him back the day after but I didn't find his puesto with its indications<br /> <br /> - The valley from Puesto {09} [49.3/1820] to Puesto {09} [39.8/1558] : very pleasant, with nice people in, I really liked this place. The water in the middle isn't usable but you can find fresh drinkable water going down from the hills at some points<br /> <br /> - There is a Puesto around {09} [37.0/1512], people were nice and asked me if I needed anything<br /> <br /> - The way on RR-TL-V {09} just after GPT09-C end isn't easy to find, just stick to the GPS until meeting a road leading to a Puesto close to the river at the Ford on Rio de los Pinos, then it's much easy to follow<br /> <br /> - I got an excellent bath when crossing the river close to GPT08-04 end, the water coming from one river was warm and there was enough depth <br /> <br /> - the CC from GPT08-04 end to GPT09-02 end was beautiful but demanding because of the soil made of earth and sand, it took me more time than I thought. After having cross the river I got close to an other one with many cows next to it, following it at one point a source of clear drinkable water was running on 3-4m to reach the river<br /> <br /> - There is a Campbase with many places cleaned to set up tents and do campfires close to the river following up the road around Bridge {09} [23.3/1409]. It's located at the base of a huge araucaria tree, you can't miss it<br /> <br /> - After the RH-CC-A {09} the RH-TL-V {09} is easily findable just by looking at the GPS and is marked with many cairns<br /> <br /> - National Park : when leaving it I went to see the guards at the entrance and they were ok with that, didn't ask for any information or fee<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-09 to 2022-Feb-10 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> Took the bus from Antuco to Abanico, got a ride by a friendly Chilean to the national park (no camping allowed). Had to pay entry to the park. Took the CC route avoiding the carabineros to camp in the meadows just beyond the park (S 37° 27.927', W 07). There was a spring emptying in the meadows there. Finished after a long hiking day at Elvira's &quot;lodging, food&quot;. Very friendly family, took us in even after 21:00. Understandably there was no goat stew, but we also only payed half price (20.000). Great homemade bread in the morning though :) Continued to GPT10 immediately after.<br /> <br /> In the first morning when breaking down camp, we were greeted by two carabineros on horseback, who may have been surprised at the sight of our tent out of sight next to a sand slope. They asked who we were, where we're from and where we're going too, and didn't mind us camping there. No questions about the border with Argentina after. I guess there's no need to stay away from the carabineros here any longer.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Jan-21 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + Antuco summit / Molly and Melissa <br /> <br /> In Trapa Trapa, we stayed at the house marked &quot;lodging, food&quot;. They charge 20,000 per person for a room, dinner and breakfast. There's also the option to take a bath in their inflatable swimming pool with shampoo, and they sell some honey. We were served cazuela and loads of sopaipillas for dinner. Right next to them in a little red house behind a black gate there is a minishop, which according to them is the biggest in Trapa Trapa. They had pasta, rice, tuna, sodas, chocolate covered nuts, matches, toilet paper. They were open Saturday when we were there.<br /> <br /> The path up from Trapa Trapa starts next to the river. Nice path all the way, that transitions to a long gravel road, very easy to follow and many little streams. We camped at the beginning of the next valley at the waypoint &quot;ford&quot;. The second to last puesto, on the right hand, belongs to Felizario whose family has the lodging option in Trapa Trapa. He is open to people camping nearby.<br /> <br /> The cc section is easy navigation-wise, but the sand is tough to walk in, and it is very exposed. There's little water apart from the fords, but enough. The water coming down from the valley next to Volcan Antuco is very chalky though, and at the waypoint &quot;camp&quot; the stream is all dried up. Further in the valley the water is fine, and it might be possible to find a campsite just before leaving the stream on the optional route.<br /> The building at the &quot;police&quot; waypoint is abandoned. We ended up camping by the carabineros at the &quot;boarder control&quot; waypoint.<br /> While walking on the primary road we were stopped by a boarder control car who wanted to see our passports and pase de movilidad (covid-19) and hear about our route. There were no problems with that. He was very convinced we couldn't cross to Abanico through the pass on the regular route because there wasn't a trail on the other side, but he let us try. Absolutely no snow in the pass on Volcán Antuco's shoulder - apparently it's a very low snow year<br /> <br /> Volcán Antuco summit:<br /> We followed the route up, it leads along the ridge to avoid the very strong stream in the valley. This part is not too difficult. The summit itself is very hard, though. It's very steep through loose, big lava rocks that slide everywhere. Tough and a little dangerous. On the other side, the terrain is made of the same kind of rocks for over half of the descent, which makes for a very slow going. Maybe there is a nicer path under the ski lifts, we found one almost in the end. Definitely not worth it for everyone.<br /> The place marked &quot;restaurant, lodging&quot; was closed - apparently they are open only during the ski season. Not too difficult to hitch from there if not too late<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-10 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> This section has you cross over a volcanic lava field and over a pass at first and then follows trails south thru and area with many puestos and ranches. The first part of this section involves some route finding and cross country while the second half follows well established dirt roads and dirt trails thru grass Valley.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: <br /> WARNING: Huge snow field at the top of the pass that is untraversable. It is very steep and must be avoided if not yet melted. Must go around so please be safe. My biggest difficult was the sections across the lava rocks. My shoes were almost destroyed by this point and the sharp, jagged and uneven surface of the lava rock caused so much pain in my feet and completely took out what ever life was left in my trail runners. Also, lots of route finding and cross country in this area. <br /> <br /> Highlights: Amazing mountain pass with many views of waterfalls. Glaciers.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-22 / 4 days (GPT9 + GPT19) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin <br /> <br /> Combined sections 9 &amp; 10. 4 days. Sierra Velluda and Antuco Volcanoe were amazing. In Trapa Trapa the two small shops were out of stock, so we couldn't buy anything. Pehuenche settlers in &quot;veranadas&quot; were really welcoming and friendly to us. We asked anyway for permission to camp close to their settlements. We were invited by familia Crespo Manquepi for tortillas, tea and some other food and stayed there for a few hours. They are welcome to recieve gpt hikers and in the future sell some food and lodging. Really kind family. Just before the last big climb in section 10. No water for a long stretch after it. Recomend the detour to Laguna Liay, amazing. Resupplied in Ralco.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-22 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (mostly) / Frank <br /> <br /> 2 days &amp; continued to GPT10 on 2nd day.<br /> There is at least one place to stay in Abanico &amp; as you go on the road past Abanico towards the park there are a few cabins &amp; one campsite. In the park @ small lake 2K before Conaf1 there is a campsite with cabins. You pay 4000CLP entry @ Conaf but I went in before 8AM, no one there. At the pass, around 2050M on the shoulder of Antuco, I was able to slide down the lowest part of the snowfield. Northbound or earlier in the season you may need to go around it. <br /> Virtually no shade on this route. 3 small shops in Trapa Trapa. Last one, Provisiones Bety, has a rest area, she sometimes has bread. <br /> <br /> Went on OH-PR-V@09-B-#002, talked to Carabineros @ Border Control &amp; told them I would stay in Chile &amp; continue to Trapa Trapa. They were OK with that &amp; didn't ask to see my passport, so I would say there is no need to divert around the border post any more.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-15 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie &amp; Tom <br /> <br /> Easy hitch from Abanico to the start of the National Park (~10km into the section). The CONAF station at the park entrance took us longer than expected to pass through and explain what we were doing (they appeared to be unsure as to whether we were crossing the border into Argentina or not). However after explaining our route to them they let us pass without paying the entrance fee to the national park. The cross country sections were easy to navigate and overall the trail was of good quality.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-10 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> We passed the big snowfield at the right side through the rocks, as Matus suggested. It was steep but ok and definitively the shorter way around the snow. Nothing to add to the previous comments. In Trapa Trapa we continued straight to Section 10.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-04 / 3.5 days (GPT9 + GPT10) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> GPT09 and GPT10 Season section log. <br /> We combined these two sections. <br /> Trail in both section is in good condition. There is snowfield in first pass as was mentioned. We went left, but it would be worth to check is it's possible to go through rocks on the right as it seems much shorter. <br /> Water is not marked on a map but there is a stream before the pass. <br /> Resuply in Trapa Trapa is very limited. They had few tunas, other caned fish, some pasta, flour, cola, crisps... We didn't check for accomodation. <br /> We stayed in a paid campsite at Laguna el Barco for 5000 both. Around 8 there was a woman selling bread and sweet pastry, but mind that it was weekend. <br /> Resuply in Guallali again very limited. They have tunas, caned fish, pasta, oil, crackers and bit more. We are staying in a house next to the shop.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Antuco<br /> Many smaller supermarkets, which have most things - easy enough to resupply here.<br /> One of the two ferreterías has gas (the one furthest from Abanico).<br /> Many accommodation options and some restaurants.<br /> There is an ATM at the town square which even gives some smaller notes<br /> <br /> Also panaderias (one selling good sopaipillas for $300 if you haven't tried yet), restaurants but also food truck, brewery<br /> <br /> *Abanico<br /> At least one shop. A pizzeria<br /> Bus to Antuco/Los Angeles<br /> <br /> *Trapa Trapa<br /> 3 shops but they are all small. They all have biscuits &amp; soft drinks. First one has ice cream &amp; flour. Second one has pasta, matches, chocolate, canned fish. Third one ( Provisiones Bety) sometimes has bread.<br /> <br /> Accomodation in a small room at the waypoint &quot;lodging, food&quot; - 20,000 pesos for dinner, breakfast and accommodation. <br /> <br /> Bus to Ralco<br /> <br /> *Cabañas<br /> <br /> Cottages and Campsite $ of the Natural Park around 1-2km going in direction of the entrance from the GPT, swimming pool and places to rest, seems cosy, I don't know the price as I didn't camp there but it seemed to be open. You can find it on the classic map. The website of the place : https://www.parqueantuco.cl/<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> Bus from Los Angeles to Antuco about once an hour in daytime. A few of them continue to Abanico or you can hitch fairly easily (also see here: [[Volc%C3%A1n_Antuco#Acceso_en_transporte_p.C3.BAblico_y_autostop]].<br /> <br /> Updated January 2022: Bus from Trapa Trapa to Ralco at 6 and 18 every day including weekends<br /> <br /> - Many people going and coming from the National Park, it hadn't been easy to hitchhike to reach Antuco but it worked<br /> <br /> - Bus from Antuco to Santiago - Terminal Sur leaving at 21:30 and arriving at 6:30<br /> <br /> Company : Nilahue<br /> <br /> $26.300 for semi-cama<br /> <br /> Commentaries : &quot;cheap&quot; company, no USB-plugs, not much space for the legs, the bus stop is at the entrance of Antuco coming from the Andes, it's a shelter made of bricks just next to a food truck selling fries and hamburgers<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> Update November 2023: The Chilean Border Control had be relocated and is now closer to the border and not any more on the GPT route. Therefore it is not any more required to sneak around the Chilean Border Control.<br /> <br /> This is the only place where it is strongly recommended to sneak around a police station. This recommendation applies in particular to all non-Chileans going southbound.<br /> The reason: The forward border control Pichachen is located about 20 km before the actual border. And only here the regional superiors of the PDI (Policia de Investigation) came up with the silly rule that everyone that passes the border control post towards Argentina gets stamped out of the country regardless if he leaves Chile or not. They simply ignore the fact that a few kilometers down the main road at Piedra del Indio long before reaching Argentina a horse trail diverts towards the next village in Chile called Trapa Trapa. Should you get an exit stamp into your passport but continue to hike in Chile you will be an illegal alien without a valid tourist visa. This may not instantly cause you a problem but the next time you want to leave Chile orderly i.e. from an airport the immigration system will show that you illegally in Chile and the police will assume that you trespassed into Chile. And that’s taken pretty serious. Forget about your flight and your further travel plans.<br /> Every hikers that passed this border control got into some kind of trouble and caused these officers a headache. Some hikers could convince them after long discussions to pass without an exit stamp. Some hikers got and exit stamp and run into problems later. Some hikers pretended to walk back and took a partly overgrown route to walk around the border control. When we hiked this section in January 2014 I got unasked an exit stamp while they “just checked my documents” but luckily after a long talk I could convince them to give me a new entry stamp.<br /> You can’t blame these poor officials at the border control for this situation; they understand these occasional hikers but their regional superiors gave them strict orders. In short: this place is a potential disaster for hikers and hikers are a disturbance for these officials.<br /> Therefore, to avoid this issue I simply rerouted the regular hiking route to bypass the border control post Pichachen. It’s easier for everyone: for the hikers and for the poor police officer that have to comply with this silly order. The re-routed track leads cross country through the normally dry lake bed of the Laguna de Las Lajas and just crosses the main road at the diversion to Trapa Trapa. Walking around the border control may be suspicious but is not illegal and saves everyone nerves and endless discussions. It actually prevents you from getting into an illegal migration status while staying in Chile.<br /> The Regular Packrafting Route anyway bypasses the border control.<br /> Luckily this is the only border control post I’m aware off where such a stupid rule is applied. In many other forward border controls you need to proactively approach the police and request your exit stamp if you plan to leave Chile. Should you just visit the area between the border control and the actual border you can normally just pass or explain your intentions.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT09 - Volcán Antuco]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT09-Laguna_de_las_Lajas.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT09_(Volcan_Antuco)&diff=113550 2024-01-10T23:03:44Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2024-Jan-01 to 2024-Jan-03 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR - {09-B} - {09-C} - RR - {09-D} - RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> I combined GPT09+10+11+12, first resupply 6 days food in Antuco, then take 2 days for 09, stay in Trapa Trapa(save 2 meals), resupply in Trapa Trapa for 1.5 days food(low stock and limited selection). Then take 2 days for 10, stay in Guallalí(save 2 meals), resupply in Guallalí for 2 days food(low stock and limited selection but better than Trapa Trapa). Lastly 2 days for 11, 4 days for 12)<br /> <br /> <br /> Nice resupply in Antuco, but most of them are closed because i visit here on the first day of 2024.<br /> <br /> A friendly local give me a ride to the entrance of national park, thank you so much to him! There are some beautiful waterfalls start at RR km2.3 to km4.7, remember to take a look, they are at the mountain side(right side)! Lot of families come to here for enjoy their holidays.<br /> <br /> RR km5.7 : ranger station for vehicles and people control for entering the park. Super nice and let me go in after i told them my route, no need to pay any fee or show any permits.<br /> <br /> Park ranger[8.4/1110] : look like is a ranger station, didn't see anyone when I passed here on 5.30pm.<br /> <br /> Km9.7 : flat area, you can camp here if need, but no water.<br /> <br /> Km11.25 - km11.9 : lava trail, there are some rock cairn for you to follow, not difficult.<br /> <br /> Km11.9 : if you continue going south at the RR sharp turning, about 200m you will met a stream, flowing good with cold and clear water, flat spots nearby too, but I'm not sure it will dry up or not.<br /> <br /> Follow rock cairn to the pass, mostly you'll lost the trail and cairn at km15.6, look at the right side, go down the dry riverbed then climb up to the other side, you'll find cairn again. Don't walk in riverbed, they'll block your way at the end.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Still lot of snow after the pass, follow Véronica's comment, climb up the ridge to compass NE ( I walk on the top of snow slope, because it is flat and gentle, also i think it is easier than walking on loose sand.)<br /> <br /> At about 2150m, there is a break without snow, a sandy slope that you can walk down. ( -37.43215, -71.36002 )<br /> <br /> Not steep, i think is easy go down but slow, so when i go down a little, i go back to south side to join the snow slope for fast moving, snow slope becomes more gentle when it gets lower.<br /> <br /> By the way, you can climb up and go down the pass without stepping on any snow now.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km20.7 : you'll find car track here, you can follow it to dirt road, i take {09-B} here, avoid crossing Petronquines(RR km28.9) at downstream. {09-B} is something look like a very old car track on the ground, no cars running on it anymore, easy walking but not easy to follow.<br /> <br /> {09-B} km1.15 : crossing of Estero El Aguada o El Volcán ( a long name), a stream. A very good crossing point, stream break to 6 parts here, all below half of calf at afternoon. Flowing nice with clear water.<br /> <br /> After the crossing, i can't find any trail or car track on the other side, but after i keep going CC about 400m, a dirt road in good condition at mountain side, it'll lead you to the main dirt road and join {09-C}.<br /> <br /> Bridge {09-C} [1.7/1417] : milky water.<br /> <br /> Border control CL[2.5/1420] : gate for vehicles but not for people. Didn't see anyone when I passed here at 5pm.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km3.7: excellent view point of Volcán Antuco and meadows.<br /> <br /> Bridge[5.3/1444] : crossing Petronquines on a bridge, beautiful view and lot of clear water, maybe it is difficult to cross it at downstream (RR) as now. Look like you can camp beside, or under the bridge. But every 0.5 - 1 hour have a border control vehicle patroling the road, I don't know camping beside this road is it a good idea.<br /> <br /> Bridge[7.3/1470] : clear water but no flat spots.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> X RR[34.9/1495] : rejoin RR.<br /> <br /> Ford[37.0/1512] : below half of calf at late afternoon.<br /> <br /> Km39.4 - pass[50.4/1878] : lot of stream crossing the road, have 1-2 need wet feet crossing, just beside the pass is a stream flowing too.<br /> <br /> Pass[50.4/1878] : beautiful grassland, flat and nice for camping, but 20+cows when I passed here.<br /> <br /> RR-TL-V{09} [50.4+9.6] is a nice and maintained trail ,easy to follow, sometimes you'll find orange ribbon leads where you go.<br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[52.3/1648] : no river crossing here.<br /> <br /> Km53.15 - km53.65 : you need to cross the stream 4 times, then walk in the stream about 50m, but all dry feet crossing, rock hopping or log bridge will help you.<br /> <br /> Km54.55 : junction of RR and {09-D}, but i miss the turning to RR, so i go for {09-D}.<br /> <br /> {09-D} km0.4: river crossing, rock hopping for dry feet. Also a small grassland can fit 1-3 tents after the crossing 150m.<br /> <br /> Km0.6 : a stream flowing good crossing the trail with a tiny waterfall, you can sit under it to enjoy a cool shower in a hot day. Look like the other side of river have a nice grassland for camping can fit 2-4 tents, but wet feet crossing.<br /> <br /> Km1.1 : rejoin RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Viewpoint RR [57.4/1338] : if you are SOBO, it is the first view of Volcán Callaqui. Also nice view of Trapa Trapa.<br /> <br /> Km58.6 : CAUTION, if you see a red ribbon, DON'T keep going, you are not on the trail, turn back immediately and check your GPS. RR trail is a sharp turning then go down, you are walking away from the trail and towards a very steep slope now.<br /> <br /> Km58.95 : RR have some reroute at here, but mostly you can follow the only trail to main road.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I stayed at Trapa Trapa with the lovely family at (Lodging,food) waypoint. Simple single room with bed, quilt, chair, light and electric charger, also dinner and breakfast. I buy some sausage from the shop nearby and share with all people here. They are very exciting where i come from, what I'm doing, and what interesting things happened when I'm hiking, it is a warm night, i love them! And they invited me to watch their sterilization of horse, OMG OMG OMG, so shock to me, OMG.<br /> <br /> <br /> Shop (-37.71249,-71.25642) : at compass West of (Lodging,food) waypoint, very close just 2 min walking. Two red house here, the small one is shop. Selling drinks, ice cream, biscuits, pasta, coffee, tea and some frozen meat( mostly is sausage). This shop have a sign on the main road, no sign at the front gate and the gate is opened.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 Dec 28 to Dec 29 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / Option 2 + RR+ 09-C/ Ella<br /> <br /> TLDR: no issue at border control. don’t count on Lagunillas Camping cafeteria or the Lodging, Food waypoint in Trapa Trapa<br /> <br /> Bussed from Los Angeles to Abanico - make sure to go to the terminal for rural busses which will be different from where you might get off an intercity bus. Hitched from there to Lagunillas Camping. Campground was nice and spacious. The host is really kind and helpful. The cafeteria was not open for food when I was there, just coffee and tea. <br /> Day 1: Due to a stormy forecast, I chose to avoid the already sketchy-seeming pass and head for the route around the lake (option 2). To get there, I took the small trails around the main road heading east from the campground, which were scenic for a cloudy day with no mountain view - enjoyed the volcanic landscape and the waterfall Salto Las Chilcas. I then was able to hitch a ride on the road beside the lake to the other side of the Volcano, which was good because there didn’t appear to be many streams or campsite options. I continued on by foot on Variant C. I went through border control and the officer was very thorough, but didn’t try to give me an exit stamp when I explained I wasn’t going to cross the border. He mostly seemed concerned that I was alone and tried to offer food and a bathroom! I camped a few kilometers further along that road by one of the streams that crosses it. Beware of aggressive bulls in the area. <br /> <br /> Day 2: Easy walking all the way to the pass. Water is still available about every kilometer or two along this route. After the pass there are a few points with a bit of landslide risk where you’re walking on very unstable skree. In retrospect it seems Variant D may exist to avoid some of this but I can’t be sure because I didn’t take it. When I got to Trapa Trapa I was dismayed to find no one at the lodging and food point that others had raved about. The small market just beside this point (sign for “provisions” is only on the main road. looks like a small house with the front painted red next to a larger house) was indeed open at 6pm on a Friday after I called out. There were many types of biscuits and cold drinks, pasta sauce (no pasta), coffee, and maybe even some type of meat in the freezer that I wasn’t quite daring enough to buy. Highly recommend the calorific Chiky Bum biscuits for avoiding mental collapse after a nearly 30km day. I asked the owner about the lodging option next door and she said the family was away for a few days, so guess I just got unlucky. Further down the road towards GPT 10 where there is sign “Kiosco”, there’s also a small ice cream shop/market that was closed when I arrived. I didn’t find another market. Went back up the GPT 09 trail just a bit to get out of town and found a nice camping spot along the river for the night. Visits from goats and a baby horse were a welcome occurrence. No Entel service in Trapa Trapa.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023 Dec 20 to Dec 22 / 2,5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; 09-C/ Tomáš &amp; Natalie<br /> <br /> We took a bus at 19:00 from Los Angeles (which has a great system of shared taxis with fixed routes, number eight goes from the big bus station to Jumbo and back to rural bus station for 1000 per person) to Albanico and upon arriving there after five minutes, the first passing car took us to the border of the national park. We pitched our tent in the delta of the river not far from the road but not visible from it. Without the smoke of last year and with the yellow of brooms everywhere and Antuco under snow, the valley was extremely pretty.<br /> <br /> The next day we talked to a CONAF ranger, he said an Argentinian hiker told him there was ice in the pass. We did not pay anything.<br /> <br /> The climb is pretty, in the pass there was a lot of snow. We followed Véronica's suggestion from last year and climbed about 100 m of elevation to the east and then ran down on the snow. The path in the valley was rather invisible. Two lone acuaria trees guard the road. We thought Rio de los Pines would be impossible to ford now with all the thawing (others seem to have passed though) so took variant C along the main road to Argentina. Carabinieros just looked at our passports and let us go. A car passed about every half an hour. The valley is stunning yet the roadwalk is a drudge. The following minor road seems virtually never to be driven by cars and is in places badly damaged by water. The valley up is nice.<br /> <br /> Going down to Trapa-Trapa, about 1 km after the pass, the path is eroded and new one was created going down to the water. The walk down through the forrest was quite pleasant. We met several groups of arrieros on both side of the pass, they were nice.<br /> <br /> In Trapa-Trapa, we had lunch at &quot;Lodging, Food&quot; waypoint. We could not see any sign. We got tomatoes, cheese, bread, pasta, a piece of down fried in oil (tasty) and maté. We paid them a good price for it, we hope it was not too much. From March 2024, there should be (probably) Entel coverage in the valley, the telecomunication tower is already up. We did not see any shops but did not look for them. Altogether, GPT 9 is quite nice, especially now with the snow.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-dec-18/ 2,5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; 09-A/ Lukas en Tess<br /> <br /> As of now the pass on K16,8 is imposible to cross. Going around and taking 09-A is posible but the rock scrambling is a pain. But I would argue the awesome lava field is worth it. <br /> Otherwise the trail was nice and easy, I realy enjoyed the wide open landscape. Arriving in Trapa Trapa we where offered some Harina tostada drink after starting a conversation with some old ladies. We got some cheese at a minishop that is not on the track files. Z37,712542° W71,266816°, something like haloumi, so try roasing it!<br /> <br /> 2023-Dec-8 to 2023-Dec- 10 / 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + option 2 + cross country for the volcano / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn &amp; Jens<br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present<br /> <br /> - Snow : on RR on km 16,8 seems impassable because there was still a lot of snow. Yannick wanted to summit the volcano, he went on the East part and went until 2700m of altitude. The North face had less snow.<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : easy to find<br /> <br /> - River crossing : easy between km 57,9 and km 52,3<br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny<br /> <br /> - Resupply : in Abanico a little shop and some cabanas, more options in Antuco, everything you need to resupply there - even gaz canister in the ferreteria<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-10 to 2023-Mar-12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH-1 / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> After a rest in Trapa Trapa at Lodging, Food {09-03E} [0.3/956], we started GPT09 in the morning. The ascent following RR-TL-V {09} [57.4/50.4+9.6] is a well marked horse trail that clims slowly, perfect for a start. Then, the RR-MR-V {09} [41.8/34.9+13.3] is flat and passes through a nice valley, a bit above the river but multiple streams crosses it. Like others, we took 09-C, but had no luck with hitchhiking and ended up walking the 11km. No problem at the border control. We finally ended up camping close to -37.46277, -71.31864 (aim for the big tree, and you will find some camp spot with firepits) after a pretty long day. <br /> <br /> On Day 2, we followed the RR and took Option 09-01 to climb the summit. We left most of our gear at the Pass {09} [16.8/2043]. It's better to follow the track for the first part, until the conic shape because it goes along a ridge and avoid pointless ups and down. Then, on the conic shape, you are on your own. We followed a trail made by a group of 8 hikers that were a bit ahead when we found it. It definitely helped as the parts without were really clambering. The views on the top and the small crater made it definitely worthwhile for us. Going down is much more easy and fun, you slide on the sand! As it was late in the season, we did not had any snow on our way but it sill took about 4h to go up (and 1 to go down).<br /> We ended up camping at Campamento Anfiteatro (-37.42427, -71.41517) pretty exhausted. The river here is really chalky but clean water is available from the ice cave.<br /> <br /> On Day 3, we took a small detour to see the tunnel of ice (worthy!) and headed down towards Chacay. Then we tried to hitchhike until Abanico with poor luck (on a Sunday morning). Took us 4 rides, but the last one went until Antuco. As there are also limited buses on Sundays, we then did more hitchhike to Los Angeles to ressuply. <br /> <br /> A short section but filled with great landscapes and stunning views. Plus you walk in a lava field! Definitely worth it, we really loved it! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-14 to 2023-Jan-16 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + volcan Antuco / Martial / <br /> <br /> Combined with Section 10.<br /> Laja national Parc was reopened after fire preventive closure on 13/02. Took the bus from LA to Abanico at 4:30PM arriving late at Campamiento viejo (7000$/n) after walking cause poor hitchhiking at this hour (parc closes 17:30). Next morning much more efficient and someone droped me at the start after giving pre-order entry number to CONAF staff (was not important that my ticket was for the previous day).<br /> The ascent to Amphiteatro camping is quick and really well maintained trail. Then i strongly recommend visiting detour to the waterfall for a unique glaciar tunnel walking experience.<br /> Next CC on Antuco’s lava fields was real fun in perfect cloudy weather. Don’t miss the impressive lava bridge !<br /> After reaching the pass early, legs were feeling like summiting Antuco the same day so i decided to search for a high camp. Mission completed here at 2300m : -37.42532, -71.35615 with flat sand next to fresh clean water ponds from the snow. Summiting 2h after setting camp, sunset rewarded me with unique views on laguna Laja and massive Sierra Veluda. Just don’t get caught by the night or bad weather !!<br /> RR descent is sandy and hot traversing a sand deserted bareland so I strongly recommand the O9-C to avoid struggle like I did before shortening to reach the road. Had a meal from a generous family staying at the next Puesto + a hike to piedra del Indio. Then Vegas de Trapa is quick walking MR with lots of puesto and camping option so personally stoped here : -37.57620, -71.24127. Arrived in Trappa next early afternoon for sweet delights in the only shop fenced and garded by 3 dogs. Directly continued to section 10 for reaching puesto at 7.1 wich i also recommand for it’s comfy grassy camping and amable Mapuche family.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-23 to 2023-Jan-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + OH 9c / Maks &amp; Gabi<br /> <br /> Combined with Section 10.<br /> The road is nice and visible. There is no snow on the pass. <br /> At the entrance to the national park, the guards asked for permission, but when we told them that we were going to Trapa Trapa, they let us go. We slept at the camping inside the park (10000/person).<br /> We took a detour to see a waterfall by the glacier. It was about 4 km go and back. <br /> We camped right outside the national park, by the river. There were a lot of cows but none of them aggressive. We the took the optional route 9c and walked by the carabineros station.No problems there. Just explained that we are going to Trapa Trapa, without crossing the border. They checked out passports and let us go. <br /> There were no further surprises, and the road is really well maintained. Just be careful when going down to Trapa Trapa after rain. It's quite slippery. <br /> There is plenty of water along all the trail. <br /> The shop in Trapa Trapa is marked with a sign on the main road. They have some sweetest and noodles but not much more. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-21 to 2023-Jan-23 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Johana &amp; Matouš<br /> <br /> We really enjoyed this section. We took a bus from Los Angeles to Abanico at 3 o'clock and then hitchhiked to the end of the main road. We arrived at the CONAF control point with no one there (7 p.m.). We slept at the Lagunillas camping, which was for 10000 per person, they had beers, jugos, empanadas, tortillas..We teamed up with Gabi and Max from Poland and enjoyed their company throughout the section (hello! :⁠-⁠)). The ascent to the volcano was amazing, looked like Mordor. Near the point &quot;Campamento Anfiteatro&quot; there's a waterfall that ends in a snowpatch whereby it creates a cave of ice. It's amazing. You can see it from the distance. There's clean water as well, the next clean water is on the other side of the volcano in the valley. We confirm that there's no need to stay away from the carabineros anymore, they only took down our passport numbers. Then it was easy walking until after the pass. We camped at a nice spot in the forest next to the river (S 37° 40.6391' W 071°14.1985). We somehow didn't manage to find the food/lodging point, but were approached by an older lady who fed us cookies and seemed to know a lot about other hikers. There are said to be three shops in Trapa Trapa, we only found the one next to the school which had only biscuits. Continued to GPT10 straight after.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-10 to 2023-Jan-12 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> Combined with section 10<br /> Nice easy section, loved crossing the fresh crunchy volcanic wasteland at the start. Everything after that was fast trail. Mild temperatures, no horse flies.<br /> I had some trouble getting back from Antuco to the trail. I got told a couple wrong times for the bus, and had no luck during my quick hitchhiking attempt. Eventually caught a bus to abanico at 2, and then two rides got me into the park. The couple driving me spoke for me at the park entrance, and I ended up having to pay 4500 for the entrance. I probably should have gotten out and talked my way through separately.<br /> I stayed at openstreetmap's amphitheater campsite night 1. Nice sheltered spot at the base of sierra velluda, soft sand.<br /> The camp/puesto markers at km 47 seem a bit out of date. There wasn't much at the puesto maker, and there was a puesto right at the campsite marker. The family at the puesto happily let me camp there.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-06 to 2023-Jan-08 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> Antuco - Trapa Trapa<br /> We hitchhiked from Camping Rucue back to the national park. The landscape was really magnificent the first day. There was almost no snow left after the pass.<br /> After the descent walking gets tougher due to the sand and the path is partially hard to find.<br /> But after the second roadcrossing there is a lot of easy walking on dirt roads. <br /> Atfter leaving the river at around km 47, there is still accessible water in the first part of the small ascent. On the plateau there are no watersources until the descent. We carried some water and camped on the plateau, a very nice spot.<br /> Walking down to Trapa Trapa was really nice. We followed the main route. In retrospective we would have taken option 3, because it is shorter.<br /> We met a couple of locals along the way and they all greated us very nicely. Trapa Trapa was pretty empty when we arrived at around 11 am. We continued right to section 10.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-20 to 2022-Dec-23 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica <br /> <br /> combined GPT09 and GPT10<br /> Route: CONAF waypoint - shoulder of Volcán Antuco - road through border control checkpoint - Trapa Trapa <br /> <br /> Two days from national park to Trapa Trapa. From Antuco, I hitched back to the national park and got there around noon. Didn't get charged an entry fee, I just told the entrance staff what trail I planned to take. Nice path most of the way up the volcano, even the CC section has occasional cairns marking the way. You go along a creek as you go up, so lots of accessible water. <br /> <br /> Lots of snow on the southeast side of the pass. Tried to go around on the right along/through the rocks, but it's mostly siltstone, very crumbly, and very steep. Got really precarious there so I backtracked to the pass and went around the snow on the left. This involved climbing an additional 150m through volcanic sand, but it felt much safer. The rest of the way down is pretty much all cross-country, couldn't really find a path, but navigation was simple. There were some water sources on the way down too, courtesy of the melting snow. <br /> <br /> The next morning, I took Option C that goes along the dirt road. There was no one at the border control checkpoint, probably because I went through before 7 a.m. <br /> <br /> Rest of the way to Trapa Trapa is easy, no issues whatsoever. It's nice and forested on the south side of the pass. I didn't investigate resupply or bus options in Trapa Trapa as I went straight through to GPT10. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022-Mar-01 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Romain <br /> <br /> - Camp {09} [47.1/1709] : I slept around 47.5, the place was calm, flat, with grass and close to the water (that was finally not usable because there was too much sand in, but you can easily find drinkable water when going down the valley), many people from the puestos came to talk as it seemed to be the end of the season, it was really pleasant. One offered me to come by him but it was late and I was too tired to move by him, I tried to meet him back the day after but I didn't find his puesto with its indications<br /> <br /> - The valley from Puesto {09} [49.3/1820] to Puesto {09} [39.8/1558] : very pleasant, with nice people in, I really liked this place. The water in the middle isn't usable but you can find fresh drinkable water going down from the hills at some points<br /> <br /> - There is a Puesto around {09} [37.0/1512], people were nice and asked me if I needed anything<br /> <br /> - The way on RR-TL-V {09} just after GPT09-C end isn't easy to find, just stick to the GPS until meeting a road leading to a Puesto close to the river at the Ford on Rio de los Pinos, then it's much easy to follow<br /> <br /> - I got an excellent bath when crossing the river close to GPT08-04 end, the water coming from one river was warm and there was enough depth <br /> <br /> - the CC from GPT08-04 end to GPT09-02 end was beautiful but demanding because of the soil made of earth and sand, it took me more time than I thought. After having cross the river I got close to an other one with many cows next to it, following it at one point a source of clear drinkable water was running on 3-4m to reach the river<br /> <br /> - There is a Campbase with many places cleaned to set up tents and do campfires close to the river following up the road around Bridge {09} [23.3/1409]. It's located at the base of a huge araucaria tree, you can't miss it<br /> <br /> - After the RH-CC-A {09} the RH-TL-V {09} is easily findable just by looking at the GPS and is marked with many cairns<br /> <br /> - National Park : when leaving it I went to see the guards at the entrance and they were ok with that, didn't ask for any information or fee<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-09 to 2022-Feb-10 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> Took the bus from Antuco to Abanico, got a ride by a friendly Chilean to the national park (no camping allowed). Had to pay entry to the park. Took the CC route avoiding the carabineros to camp in the meadows just beyond the park (S 37° 27.927', W 07). There was a spring emptying in the meadows there. Finished after a long hiking day at Elvira's &quot;lodging, food&quot;. Very friendly family, took us in even after 21:00. Understandably there was no goat stew, but we also only payed half price (20.000). Great homemade bread in the morning though :) Continued to GPT10 immediately after.<br /> <br /> In the first morning when breaking down camp, we were greeted by two carabineros on horseback, who may have been surprised at the sight of our tent out of sight next to a sand slope. They asked who we were, where we're from and where we're going too, and didn't mind us camping there. No questions about the border with Argentina after. I guess there's no need to stay away from the carabineros here any longer.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Jan-21 / 3 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + Antuco summit / Molly and Melissa <br /> <br /> In Trapa Trapa, we stayed at the house marked &quot;lodging, food&quot;. They charge 20,000 per person for a room, dinner and breakfast. There's also the option to take a bath in their inflatable swimming pool with shampoo, and they sell some honey. We were served cazuela and loads of sopaipillas for dinner. Right next to them in a little red house behind a black gate there is a minishop, which according to them is the biggest in Trapa Trapa. They had pasta, rice, tuna, sodas, chocolate covered nuts, matches, toilet paper. They were open Saturday when we were there.<br /> <br /> The path up from Trapa Trapa starts next to the river. Nice path all the way, that transitions to a long gravel road, very easy to follow and many little streams. We camped at the beginning of the next valley at the waypoint &quot;ford&quot;. The second to last puesto, on the right hand, belongs to Felizario whose family has the lodging option in Trapa Trapa. He is open to people camping nearby.<br /> <br /> The cc section is easy navigation-wise, but the sand is tough to walk in, and it is very exposed. There's little water apart from the fords, but enough. The water coming down from the valley next to Volcan Antuco is very chalky though, and at the waypoint &quot;camp&quot; the stream is all dried up. Further in the valley the water is fine, and it might be possible to find a campsite just before leaving the stream on the optional route.<br /> The building at the &quot;police&quot; waypoint is abandoned. We ended up camping by the carabineros at the &quot;boarder control&quot; waypoint.<br /> While walking on the primary road we were stopped by a boarder control car who wanted to see our passports and pase de movilidad (covid-19) and hear about our route. There were no problems with that. He was very convinced we couldn't cross to Abanico through the pass on the regular route because there wasn't a trail on the other side, but he let us try. Absolutely no snow in the pass on Volcán Antuco's shoulder - apparently it's a very low snow year<br /> <br /> Volcán Antuco summit:<br /> We followed the route up, it leads along the ridge to avoid the very strong stream in the valley. This part is not too difficult. The summit itself is very hard, though. It's very steep through loose, big lava rocks that slide everywhere. Tough and a little dangerous. On the other side, the terrain is made of the same kind of rocks for over half of the descent, which makes for a very slow going. Maybe there is a nicer path under the ski lifts, we found one almost in the end. Definitely not worth it for everyone.<br /> The place marked &quot;restaurant, lodging&quot; was closed - apparently they are open only during the ski season. Not too difficult to hitch from there if not too late<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-10 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> This section has you cross over a volcanic lava field and over a pass at first and then follows trails south thru and area with many puestos and ranches. The first part of this section involves some route finding and cross country while the second half follows well established dirt roads and dirt trails thru grass Valley.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: <br /> WARNING: Huge snow field at the top of the pass that is untraversable. It is very steep and must be avoided if not yet melted. Must go around so please be safe. My biggest difficult was the sections across the lava rocks. My shoes were almost destroyed by this point and the sharp, jagged and uneven surface of the lava rock caused so much pain in my feet and completely took out what ever life was left in my trail runners. Also, lots of route finding and cross country in this area. <br /> <br /> Highlights: Amazing mountain pass with many views of waterfalls. Glaciers.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-22 / 4 days (GPT9 + GPT19) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin <br /> <br /> Combined sections 9 &amp; 10. 4 days. Sierra Velluda and Antuco Volcanoe were amazing. In Trapa Trapa the two small shops were out of stock, so we couldn't buy anything. Pehuenche settlers in &quot;veranadas&quot; were really welcoming and friendly to us. We asked anyway for permission to camp close to their settlements. We were invited by familia Crespo Manquepi for tortillas, tea and some other food and stayed there for a few hours. They are welcome to recieve gpt hikers and in the future sell some food and lodging. Really kind family. Just before the last big climb in section 10. No water for a long stretch after it. Recomend the detour to Laguna Liay, amazing. Resupplied in Ralco.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-22 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (mostly) / Frank <br /> <br /> 2 days &amp; continued to GPT10 on 2nd day.<br /> There is at least one place to stay in Abanico &amp; as you go on the road past Abanico towards the park there are a few cabins &amp; one campsite. In the park @ small lake 2K before Conaf1 there is a campsite with cabins. You pay 4000CLP entry @ Conaf but I went in before 8AM, no one there. At the pass, around 2050M on the shoulder of Antuco, I was able to slide down the lowest part of the snowfield. Northbound or earlier in the season you may need to go around it. <br /> Virtually no shade on this route. 3 small shops in Trapa Trapa. Last one, Provisiones Bety, has a rest area, she sometimes has bread. <br /> <br /> Went on OH-PR-V@09-B-#002, talked to Carabineros @ Border Control &amp; told them I would stay in Chile &amp; continue to Trapa Trapa. They were OK with that &amp; didn't ask to see my passport, so I would say there is no need to divert around the border post any more.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-15 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie &amp; Tom <br /> <br /> Easy hitch from Abanico to the start of the National Park (~10km into the section). The CONAF station at the park entrance took us longer than expected to pass through and explain what we were doing (they appeared to be unsure as to whether we were crossing the border into Argentina or not). However after explaining our route to them they let us pass without paying the entrance fee to the national park. The cross country sections were easy to navigate and overall the trail was of good quality.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-10 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> We passed the big snowfield at the right side through the rocks, as Matus suggested. It was steep but ok and definitively the shorter way around the snow. Nothing to add to the previous comments. In Trapa Trapa we continued straight to Section 10.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-04 / 3.5 days (GPT9 + GPT10) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> GPT09 and GPT10 Season section log. <br /> We combined these two sections. <br /> Trail in both section is in good condition. There is snowfield in first pass as was mentioned. We went left, but it would be worth to check is it's possible to go through rocks on the right as it seems much shorter. <br /> Water is not marked on a map but there is a stream before the pass. <br /> Resuply in Trapa Trapa is very limited. They had few tunas, other caned fish, some pasta, flour, cola, crisps... We didn't check for accomodation. <br /> We stayed in a paid campsite at Laguna el Barco for 5000 both. Around 8 there was a woman selling bread and sweet pastry, but mind that it was weekend. <br /> Resuply in Guallali again very limited. They have tunas, caned fish, pasta, oil, crackers and bit more. We are staying in a house next to the shop.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> *Antuco<br /> Many smaller supermarkets, which have most things - easy enough to resupply here.<br /> One of the two ferreterías has gas (the one furthest from Abanico).<br /> Many accommodation options and some restaurants.<br /> There is an ATM at the town square which even gives some smaller notes<br /> <br /> Also panaderias (one selling good sopaipillas for $300 if you haven't tried yet), restaurants but also food truck, brewery<br /> <br /> *Abanico<br /> At least one shop. A pizzeria<br /> Bus to Antuco/Los Angeles<br /> <br /> *Trapa Trapa<br /> 3 shops but they are all small. They all have biscuits &amp; soft drinks. First one has ice cream &amp; flour. Second one has pasta, matches, chocolate, canned fish. Third one ( Provisiones Bety) sometimes has bread.<br /> <br /> Accomodation in a small room at the waypoint &quot;lodging, food&quot; - 20,000 pesos for dinner, breakfast and accommodation. <br /> <br /> Bus to Ralco<br /> <br /> *Cabañas<br /> <br /> Cottages and Campsite $ of the Natural Park around 1-2km going in direction of the entrance from the GPT, swimming pool and places to rest, seems cosy, I don't know the price as I didn't camp there but it seemed to be open. You can find it on the classic map. The website of the place : https://www.parqueantuco.cl/<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> Bus from Los Angeles to Antuco about once an hour in daytime. A few of them continue to Abanico or you can hitch fairly easily (also see here: [[Volc%C3%A1n_Antuco#Acceso_en_transporte_p.C3.BAblico_y_autostop]].<br /> <br /> Updated January 2022: Bus from Trapa Trapa to Ralco at 6 and 18 every day including weekends<br /> <br /> - Many people going and coming from the National Park, it hadn't been easy to hitchhike to reach Antuco but it worked<br /> <br /> - Bus from Antuco to Santiago - Terminal Sur leaving at 21:30 and arriving at 6:30<br /> <br /> Company : Nilahue<br /> <br /> $26.300 for semi-cama<br /> <br /> Commentaries : &quot;cheap&quot; company, no USB-plugs, not much space for the legs, the bus stop is at the entrance of Antuco coming from the Andes, it's a shelter made of bricks just next to a food truck selling fries and hamburgers<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> Update November 2023: The Chilean Border Control had be relocated and is now closer to the border and not any more on the GPT route. Therefore it is not any more required to sneak around the Chilean Border Control.<br /> <br /> This is the only place where it is strongly recommended to sneak around a police station. This recommendation applies in particular to all non-Chileans going southbound.<br /> The reason: The forward border control Pichachen is located about 20 km before the actual border. And only here the regional superiors of the PDI (Policia de Investigation) came up with the silly rule that everyone that passes the border control post towards Argentina gets stamped out of the country regardless if he leaves Chile or not. They simply ignore the fact that a few kilometers down the main road at Piedra del Indio long before reaching Argentina a horse trail diverts towards the next village in Chile called Trapa Trapa. Should you get an exit stamp into your passport but continue to hike in Chile you will be an illegal alien without a valid tourist visa. This may not instantly cause you a problem but the next time you want to leave Chile orderly i.e. from an airport the immigration system will show that you illegally in Chile and the police will assume that you trespassed into Chile. And that’s taken pretty serious. Forget about your flight and your further travel plans.<br /> Every hikers that passed this border control got into some kind of trouble and caused these officers a headache. Some hikers could convince them after long discussions to pass without an exit stamp. Some hikers got and exit stamp and run into problems later. Some hikers pretended to walk back and took a partly overgrown route to walk around the border control. When we hiked this section in January 2014 I got unasked an exit stamp while they “just checked my documents” but luckily after a long talk I could convince them to give me a new entry stamp.<br /> You can’t blame these poor officials at the border control for this situation; they understand these occasional hikers but their regional superiors gave them strict orders. In short: this place is a potential disaster for hikers and hikers are a disturbance for these officials.<br /> Therefore, to avoid this issue I simply rerouted the regular hiking route to bypass the border control post Pichachen. It’s easier for everyone: for the hikers and for the poor police officer that have to comply with this silly order. The re-routed track leads cross country through the normally dry lake bed of the Laguna de Las Lajas and just crosses the main road at the diversion to Trapa Trapa. Walking around the border control may be suspicious but is not illegal and saves everyone nerves and endless discussions. It actually prevents you from getting into an illegal migration status while staying in Chile.<br /> The Regular Packrafting Route anyway bypasses the border control.<br /> Luckily this is the only border control post I’m aware off where such a stupid rule is applied. In many other forward border controls you need to proactively approach the police and request your exit stamp if you plan to leave Chile. Should you just visit the area between the border control and the actual border you can normally just pass or explain your intentions.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT09 - Volcán Antuco]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:GPT09-Laguna_de_las_Lajas.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> <br /> [[category:Greater Patagonian Trail]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT08_(Volcan_Chillan)&diff=113399 2024-01-01T17:59:14Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2023-Dec-28 to 2024-Jan-01 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {08-03} - {08-C} - RR - {08-06} - {08-06B} / Lilian<br /> <br /> Avoid of crossing Rio Ñuble, i go for {08-03}.<br /> <br /> There is a bus from Chillán to Los Lleuques at 18:00, take about 1.5 hour. A small shop and some tiny shops there, friendly and good resupply. Look like have some restaurants too, but i'm too late so they're already closed.<br /> <br /> {08-03} km3.3 : tiny shop selling drinks.<br /> <br /> Km4.3 : camping spots or camping possibilities start from here to south.<br /> <br /> <br /> Km11.3 : ranger station for guard of Reserva National, look like need booking in advance or some permits. Otherwise you can't go in by this gate. (It is impossible for sneak in, two dogs here.)<br /> <br /> Luckily after i took 10min to explain what I'm doing, where does my routes go, why i'm here, I'll pack out all my trash, no fire, no pick plants, dig a hole for poop, etc. He let me go in, 1000% thank you to him!<br /> <br /> <br /> Km19 : bridge for crossing Río Diguillín.<br /> <br /> Km19.45 : El Trumao, Camping Relbún. Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here.<br /> <br /> Km19.7 : closed gate, you can open it on left side. Old, steep and rocky dirt road behind this gate, look like no cars on it for some years. (Some place landslide, cars impossible to pass by)<br /> <br /> Km21.3 : Rio Relbún, good water flowing nice, rock hopping for dry feet.<br /> <br /> Km22.8 : view point of valley, also some flat spots with trees can fit 2-4 tents.<br /> <br /> Km23.7 : pass, Paso Atacalco, descent to a beautiful valley.<br /> <br /> Km25.3-km26.2 : some tiny streams flowing with good water, but maybe dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Km28.4 : Valle Hermoso, Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here. Río Blanquillo flowing at here too.<br /> <br /> Some more tiny streams flowing across the road at south, but i think they will all dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Km35.6 : a side trail to see a waterfall, I think it is just soso.<br /> <br /> Then connect with {08-C}, then back to RR.<br /> <br /> {08-C} km2.4 : a very beautiful demon rock hill on your left side, worth take a look!<br /> <br /> RR Ford[71.3/1089] : crossing of Río Polcura, it's a wide river crossing about 80m, luckily it is already made for vehicles crossing so have a rock bar underwater, easy to cross. Mostly just half of calf, in the middle about 10m, up to knee and flowing very fast.<br /> <br /> Camp[72.9/1104] : it's a really nice camping spot with tree shade and beside a river.<br /> <br /> Camp[78.6/1203] : this spot is not beside RR. When you finish valley trail walk, if you don't join dirt road and keep going walk in the valley then you'll arrive here.<br /> <br /> Water[79.1/1214] : log bridge crossing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Trailhead[80.5/1248] : not easy to notice the trailhead, although it have a fallen board on the ground.<br /> <br /> North of the pass is overgrown, south of the pass lot of fallen trees block the trail.<br /> <br /> Didn't see any camping spots until almost to valley.<br /> <br /> Water[81.8/1475] : when you get close, be careful dont walk too fast. Just before the stream dont follow the trail to left side and go down, it is already landslide and you'll fall off 2m vertically.<br /> <br /> Pass[84.2/1744] : tons of huge dead trees and ready to fall down in next second. Don't camp here, it is dangerous.<br /> <br /> Km85.8 : flat spot can fit 2-3 tents.<br /> <br /> Km86: flat spots can fit 1 tent before and after a stream crossing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km95.2 : excellent view point of Volcán Antuco, look like some flat spots at downhill side close to the beach.<br /> <br /> Camp[97.8/1456] : beside a tree, can fit 1-2 tents with fire ring. Last reliable water when you climbing up.<br /> <br /> Km102 : snow start here, but all you can go around.<br /> <br /> Camp without water[102.3/2063] : no camping spot as now, wet, muddy and lot of stream are flowing by snow melt, a fire ring is in the stream too!<br /> <br /> I camped at km103.45, just before the pass, there is some brushes provide wind protection from west. Can fit 1-2 small tents.<br /> <br /> Km104.1 : a large flat area, but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> X[105.4/1934] : no more trail junction at &quot;X&quot;, you need to go down a little, then CC to connect the trail at south.<br /> <br /> Camp[106.6/1938] : wet, grassy and steep spot. A large flat area after you climb up the stream at km106.95, it is in a valley and no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km109.45 : a small pass, excellent view point of Volcán Antuco and Sierra Velluda!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Snow start at km109.9, unfortunately when i almost climbed up to ridge, i found that km111.8 to km113.5(at least) , all covered by snow on a very steep slope. It is not a good idea to go through this high risk area, also Cerro El Toro is a very sharp rocky peak, not possible walk on the ridge to go around the slope, so i turn back to &quot;X&quot;[105.4/1934], and join {08-06} continues to south.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {08-06} is a nice trail to go down, and look like somone have maintained it, nearly no fallen trees and just very little overgrown, easy to follow and walk.<br /> <br /> {08-06} km4.5 : junction of {08-06} and {08-06A}, look like {08-06} in a better condition, also {08-06} from here to km5.6, it is an old dirt road and no more using.<br /> <br /> Km5.6 : junction to join a good dirt road. Camping spot just before the junction, and there are also lot of camping possibilities along the good dirt road.<br /> <br /> Gate[8.6/808] : locked, climb over it.<br /> <br /> Km9.3 : another gate, you can open it on left side, if you want to camping, better before this gate.<br /> <br /> Km22.4 : i join {08-06B} for shorter distance to main road for hitching to Antuco.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Dec-19 to 2023-Dec-20/ 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / Antuco RR and Option 6/ Jens<br /> <br /> <br /> Tried to go up the main route. First pass was steep and full of snow. Decided to turn around and try Option 6. <br /> <br /> <br /> As option 6 is on private land owned by the Hydroelectrico, a guard picked me up and told me to register with the Carabineros in Antuco. Frustrated I decided to skip section 8 in favour of section 7.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Dec-21 to 2023-Dec-24/ 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / San Fabian - Las Trancas / Ella<br /> <br /> TLDR: River fords are still heinous, especially Ñuble. Bring micro spikes if crossing Paso Prigallo to go towards Las Termas de Chillan.<br /> <br /> Day 1: Hitched a ride part of the way from San Fabian, and then caught a bus (was a Thursday around 1 pm) until Punilla. Camped at a small, windy site with good river access and near the Punilla swimming hole, which is definitely worth a visit. Some friendly caballeros came around 8 pm to camp as well.<br /> Day 2: Walked towards Los Sauces, splitting off to the right where the road/trail led. Could not cross river here because of construction. Went back to the main road and walked North to where there was a (padlocked) cable car and did a challenging ford - current was somewhat strong and water went to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm). In retrospect, would have been better to just walk/bus all the way into Los Sauces and make a safer crossing there. Cabineros in El Roble were nicer to me that the ones in San Fabian. Camped just before Camp {08} [21.6/873] since it now seems to be on private property. <br /> Day 3: Had to trespass for about a mile before reaching the Ñuble river but didn’t run into anyone. Ñuble was really difficult. I got there just before 8 am. Crossing the river at designated spot was not possible. I went upstream, around the bend, and about a hundred meters further to where the river widens and gets a bit shallower. I crossed with water about up to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm) but a little past midway the current took me off my feet and I went for a brief swim before grabbing a rock and recovering on the other side. After getting to the other side, I had to scramble/bushwhack up a near-vertical slope to where there appears to be sort of a terrace in the landscape. I found the best spot was behind where the bank of the river flattened out a bit. Thankfully once getting to the top, you’re blessed with a faint trail leading back to the main route. This approach was not very fun at all - it is probably best to wait another week or two before attempting the river. <br /> After that, the trail gets harder to follow, especially after entering the larger valley. As per others advice, I tried crossing the river in the valley to the right side, but also ran into impassable shrubbery/broken trees there so I ended up crossing back and forth as needed. The first pass didn’t have any snow. There is a difficult ford after the marker for Trailhead {08} [34.6/1873]. Camped at Camp {08} [36.2/1953] which was lovely.<br /> Day 4: Headed towards Las Termas de Chillan. Both passes were very snowy. The second pass, only necessary if going off main trail towards Las Termas, had steep sections that called for micro spikes. I was lucky that there were some people who had just come through and kicked steps in, making this part easier. Hitched a ride to Las Trancas where there are multiple well stocked mini markets and nice hostal options. Not sure if I will continue on GPT 08 given the snow and river conditions so far.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-06/ 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Los Peucos - Recinto / RR + OH03 / Hannes &amp; Luisa<br /> <br /> Hitchhiked from San Fabian to way after El Roble, rather easy on weekends as it seems many locals around. Ñuble crossing with strong current and water above knees (me 185cm), but still ok compared to other months I think. Went up the mountain and into this valley with beautiful oak-trees. Getting out of this forest we crossed the river to the orographic left side as suggested by others...initially a good choice, all the same we had to switch like 2 to 3 times river bank to avoid some nasty Bush bashing...We reccomend to just open your eyes and see which side works best for you after the initial crossing at approximately -36.856679 -71.275261. After the last camp in the valley path clearly visible and steep ascent to the pass. After the pass we got into this amazing volcanic landscape east of Volcan Chillàn. After the second pass we descended to Aguas Calientes, hot thermal pools at the end of a valley surrounded by some green yellow pasture and loads of cows. Good spot to camp...Then we went to Termas Los Peucos, took us 3.5 days till there. Just for the pools they take 10k, pools and camp was 14k. As one of us felt little sick we decided to hitchhike out over OH03. Do not consider this an emergency exit as it is rather difficult to hh out there, very few cars on the road as access is limited due to a private tunnel and only Carabineros and some oil- and gas-pipeline companies are around there with their cars it seems. All the same we were lucky and got out to Recinto (further down in the valley of Termas de Chillán, near Las Trancas...) In this valley or if you get out at Termas de Chillán we highly recommend Cabañas Ayunkoyam owned by Vincente Ruiz in Recinto, +56999991737, call him before. For this rather expensive valley quite a good option. Vincente is a local mountain guide who seems to know every mountain in his country and is a nice guy to talk to.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-02 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Volcán Chillán - Termas de Chillán / Noémie<br /> Very short section because I got a lift from San Fabián until after El Roble (21.0), a bit before the end of the minor road. Carabineros checked ID and asked for sufficient equipment. Ñuble crossing was not that hard but I had water until my waist, even at the end of the season (I am 1m60 though...). Camped the first night at Camp {08} [29.5/1441], on the left bank of the river, where there was a bit of space. The next morning, it was a bit hard to go up the valley with all the dead trees and no path visible. Tried to follow fellow GPT hikers advices, but ended up crossing the river multiple times to find a walkable path without too many bushes, until Camp {08} [31.3/1629]. After this tricky part, both paths are beautiful and quite easy. The thermal river is amazing. There was plenty of space with beautiful hot water pools but also cold water at Camp {08} [40.4/2150]. The last day, I took OH {08-02} and OH {08-02A} to go up Volcán Chillán and then exit at Termas de Chillán. Beautiful ascent with no specific difficulty except the steep last 300 meters. The place is full of condors flying really close, super impressive. <br /> There are no housing options and no buses during the week leaving from Termas de Chillán. You can walk/hitchhike until -36.910163, -71.417798 where buses leave regularly everyday for Chillán. Found many cabañas options in Trancas de Chillán a bit further down. Overall, very beautiful and diverse section (forests, rivers, sand deserts, volcanos) with amazing hot springs!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-13 to 2023-Mar-18 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Abanico — Thermas de Chillán / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Starting from Los Angeles, we took a bus (at 12:30) towards Abanico and then two rides until the start of OH-MR-V {08-K} [0.0+0.1]. Then, there is a gate (after the Bridge, Gate {08} [126.7/1339] point) locked with a padlock but easy to climb. The CC section (RH-CC-A {08} [26.4/122.0+1.9]) is actually following the MR so we thought better stay on the road. When we reached Camp {08} [120.2/1520], it was completely dry so we continued a bit and found a nice spot in the forest (close to -37.32983, -71.39823).<br /> <br /> On Day 2, we continued on the trail, simply taking the shortcut OH-TL-V {08-I} [0.0+0.2]. Then, we chose to take option 08-H to stay high, it was really beautiful. We stayed on the rim until a hard part and then we diverged on the trail that was present a bit below us. As other as noted, on RH-CC-A {08} [18.1/113.7+2.0] you follow a trail or a set of footprints. When the trail and the trace diverge, follow the trail, it is usually the best option. And don't miss Trailhead {08} [113.7/2184], we tried to go around it but regretted it. Then, the trail until Laguna El Robles (Camp {08} [98.2/1456]) is nice but the descent is steep. We believe the path has been cleared recently because lot of fresh fallen branches on the ground. On the lake, we camped on the east side but it was very windy. The other side looked more protected. <br /> <br /> On Day 3, we followed the RR until Camp {08} [73.3/1104]. It was a rather uneventful day except we met a lot of arrieros in the morning that went for a wild bull hunt. The camp is nice and felt like a campground.<br /> <br /> On Day 4, we hiked for just a few kilometers to reach the Thermas Peucos. It was a very worthy stop, an oasis in the middle of the hike : 10k PP for the camping and hot springs (stoned pools). We even bought a lunch from the minishop which has quite a nice selection. Like others, we used the option 08-C to avoid the pointless climb in the RR. <br /> <br /> On Day 5, we did a rather long walk until Camp {08} [40.4/2150] to enjoy the natural pool. The trail is a bit overgrown after the thermas but nothing bad. The day was full of going up : 2500 on the tracks but the GPS said only 2100 at the end of the day. The hot springs are amazing, truly the best we encountered. And we were alone there. <br /> <br /> On Day 6, we met a horserider when leaving the camp a bit angry because he did not sleep. He camped near a group that partied the whole night (we believe it was close to Ford {08-02} [1.6/2097]). Then, option 08-02 and variant A to ascend the volcan. It starts with a nice trail and ends up with sand that is really hard to climb. Nothing difficult nor dangerous but extremely tiresome. It took us 3h to go up but we enjoyed our lunch at the top! Then the descent is really fast, thanks to this sand (about 1h). The rest of the trail until Thermas de Chillán is a bit overrun, we met numerous hikers (but it was a Saturday). There, we hitched a ride until Recinto and took the 7:00PM bus to Chillán for a ressuply.<br /> <br /> Overall our impressions on this section are a bit mixed. We enjoyed the numerous hot baths and the volcan summit but we were less amazed by the landscapes compared to the previous sections (of note as we did go up quite a lot, we probably were a bit too exhausted to truly enjoy it completely!) . Perhaps it is more rewarding when going SOBO? <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-08 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + emergency exit / Martial <br /> <br /> Puente Inglés - Los Peucos - Antuco <br /> Super pleasant trekk in various landscapes and sweet hot springs. Met Ondrej at the start and shared the road walking before he eventually escapes in the first climb ! Met again finally at the hot river for a deserved rest after big climbing day. Next the descent to los Peucos is rather long with overgrown detour of the swamp at the end. That’s where my phone died for no reason. May it RIP with all my pictures :’( Still if there’s a good soul out there with a machete and long trousers feel free to save this beautiful trail ! Then los Peucos was a paradise oasis for a 14000$ 24h rest day. Not so expensive to me considering the quality of the hotspring service and resupply in the middle of nowhere ! « El Toro » hotspring is a once in lifetime experience for sunrise and had the all domain for myself 😌 Do not hesitate to stop there and meet Ricardo who doesn’t see many souls otherwise.<br /> 4th night spent 3km down near los Peucos in a super recommanded magical waterfall bassins with perfect « nuit à la belle étoile » on the hot rock.<br /> After km 80 the forest is kind of colonised with annoying flyes and thermites wich makes it not an enjoyable place. Also recommend taking plenty of water from laguna el roble cause dry climb and ridge walking ahead (there’s still a little stream pond under a tree a few km after the pass if you look well). Arrived there in late afternoon with no place to camp and saw emergency exit on the right which triggered green light in my brain (as gear failures were acumalating and motivation low). Felt good after a few tears but the long road walking in the hydraucentral gave me some regrets until i eventually arrived in Antuco after hotish hitchhiking.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-28 to 2023-Feb-04 / 7.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + volcán chillàn &amp; volcán Antuco / Natalie &amp; Tomáš<br /> <br /> Day 1<br /> Got off the bus here (-36.67295, -71.29201) instead of los sauces for an easy ford. The bus driver knew of this place. The ford was here -36.67738, -71.28739, knee-high. We crossed around 3pm. The road section until the cabineros was surprisingly popular on a weekend, we got a 3km hitch but if we started earlier I am sure we could have hitched a lot more. The valley is nice though to walk in.<br /> The cabineros basically just wanted to know if we had a proper gps and map, we could not understand if they were telling us &quot;not&quot; to go close to volcán chillàn or just &quot;warning&quot; us, I checked online the day before and it said the volcano is in green but the cabineros said it was yellow.<br /> Made camp at the 17km way point because it was a good spot. Lots of unmarked water waypoints on the road such as; -36.69615, -71.27770 and -36.72718, -71.26420.<br /> Day 2. <br /> Crossed Nuble with no problems around 9am. The water was not strong but not totally calm and was under our crotches, I am 170cm and Tomáš is ~173cm. Hats off to the others that crossed when water levels were much higher! Remember to turn right and not left after the ford.<br /> The path was better than expected but still can be easily lost until the first pass at 33.2km. Thanks to the tip from Will we took the path on the other side of the river once out of the trees to avoid the blow down, somewhere around or close to camp 29.5. Hot pass.<br /> We made camp at the hotsprings after the second pass, their beauty and heat made up for the long day. There are a couple perfect spots near the hotsprings with some cold water for drinking, -36.90156, -71.35089. Spent two nights here. The hot springs are regular creeks, most of which in the valley are hot. Saw some locals camping in other spots, seems like a popular place.<br /> Day 3.<br /> Volcán Chillàn. Easy climb following the standard route but the last 600m was slow sandish-like material which made for a very quick descent. Instead of going back the way we came we followed an unmarked/unmapped &quot;road&quot; on the south side of volcán Chillàn that lead to switchbacks down to the hotsprings that we saw earlier that morning. Basically if coming from volcán follow the road east from here -36.89199, -71.38543 and aim for the switchbacks to the hotsprings camp here -36.90336, -71.36145. There is some dirty water on the way but very interesting and scenic. I am slightly worried about posting this because it is likely not meant to be walked, also not sure it actually saves time in compared to the normal trail but it allows for a nice rounddtrip. One can get Internet on the way to the volcano when the ski resorts is visible. Camped again at the hotsprings.<br /> Day4<br /> Nothing to add for this day, trail was nice and under trees a lot of the way, all fords easy or jump-able. Met two French who were doing the GPT northbound. Camped near the puesto 61.7 before the hotsprings, path was always there, just a little overgrown. <br /> Day5<br /> Trail to hotsprings was not that bad, just overgrown bamboo but otherwise nice. The hotsprings is not actually CONAF but a concession. Prices were as described 14mil for camping and 7mil just for hotsprings. If you want to buy food from them I recommend going at the beginning of the month as that is when they restock, for us there was still lots of food left but nothing fresh or good, very expensive. <br /> On the road we used option C to avoid the hill as others suggested (seems like the main road now) and as for variant D we did not see anything so we back tracked a bit and took a different unmarked trail here that was successful -37.06894, -71.39599 and forded river here -37.06857, -71.39158 to meet the RR.<br /> The trailhead at 81.0 is hard to see, be ready.<br /> That trail from 81.0 to the pass was more overgrown in my mind than the rest of the days but still not terrible. Camped on the other side 88.9 (actually a bit further down were nicer camp-spots with lovely short grass)<br /> Day6<br /> Somehow at camp 88.9 we woke up to frost over everything. Have no idea what kind of phenomenon this is because I don't think it froze (forecast was for 16 in the night) but even the little moisture in my breakfast bowl froze shortly after eating it...<br /> Quick trail to Laguna el roble except the trail is easy to loose just before the Laguna in the grassy section, keep climbing left towards an unmarked puesto here -37.20868, -71.33023.<br /> There should technically be a better water source than the lake itself at camp 98.8 but I just took water from the lake:S. The next pass towards the ridge was hot but easy. Good trail until you hit the X at 105.9. Then the path is harder to follow. The camp at 107.1 seems silly and would be better higher above the listed water source. We ended up going cross country all the way from a pass like structure here -37.25066, -71.38499 to Laguna Hermosa because there was a trail on the other side (a bit lower than official RR so it made sense to follow it elevation-wise) that eventually faded away.<br /> Laguna Hermosa was worth it as others have stated but unfortunately very heavy winds crept in that night. It was way less windy ok the East side of the lagoonwhich we only noticed in the morning.<br /> Day7<br /> Very heavy winds. We made a small short cut to the RR from the Laguna by heading west sooner. We considered turning around on the ridge as the winds were likely around 80km/hr at one point near the pylons but luckily since the route is not actually on the ridge the rest of the way was okay, still windy but not pushing us over. The rest of the ridge was no problem for us, slower of course since there is sidehilling and edging but nothing scary or exposed. There was no snow though.<br /> El Puesto at 121 had two dogs but did not see anyone. We camped at Laguna Laja (not nice) to climb Antuco the next day. To no surprise the restaurant and cafe at the ski resort are closed. Other than the water in the lake there are no good water sources past the last water source before El puesto if heading in this direction. There is Enter 3G coverage here.<br /> Day8<br /> Started early to beat the heat for Antuco. I turned back after the top of the ski lift because of a stomach bug (probably food but still nicer to vomit in the shade...) but Tomáš went on to finish the climb. The climb was was not worth it. The volcán is not black sand but rather loose rock (boulders to pebbles) which made especially going down annoying. After the ski lift there is virtually no trail. Plus the fact there was only a small crater on top and the weather was very hot and windy in the early morning. I think we were there during a small heat wave, supposedly the day before was 38°C in Antuco proper. After the climb we hitched to the campsite Lagunillas (10mil/person) in hopes of going back to los Angeles but after analyzing the smoke situation of the forest fires we stayed here and used it as a base for preparing for GPT09-10.<br /> <br /> It took us 168 hours but without climbing the Volcans the trail could have been walked in five full walking days. End of January means there were virtually no horseflies. <br /> Nice trip but due to foot issues, things breaking down and a stomach bug at the end it was a bit of a suffer-fest for Natálie (Tomáš's new shoes are unfortunately painful too). However, the hotsprings, volcán Chillán, Laguna Hermose and the trees (especially the ones with usnea) made it worth while!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 08-C / Ondrej <br /> <br /> Puente Inglés - Camping Las Lagunillas <br /> Overall an extremely beautiful route, my favourite in GPT06-08. Compared to GPT06 and 07, this section felt most diverse but also most challenging to navigate. I accidentaly got off track much more often. Still, the route is visible most of the time except the last day after Laguna Hermosa. Even there, sticking to the gpx files makes the section easily passable. One just need to pay a higher attention to where their steps are placed. The fauna is quite rich too - I had a chance to see a tarrantula (the minor road on day 1), crayfish in the rivers, and a snake which I believe was Tachymenis chilensis (on the shores of Laguna El Roble). I believe this section is much more demanding in Dec or early Jan when snow is still present on the slopes. Horseflies were not a problem in my case. I encountered some between km 75 and 85 but that was far from frustrating. I recommend gaiters due to dusty roads in some sections. From thermas Chillan I haven’t met a soul until the end of the section.<br /> <br /> Details:<br /> On the first day, it is easy walking on a minor road that winds through a forest so you can enjoy shade most of the walk! No complications, just need to climb some gates. I enjoyed a company of a fellow GPT hiker Martial, who shared some useful trout fishing tips and gear with me. We camped at the Nuble crossing. <br /> <br /> Second day, Nuble crossing was no problem. Knee-deep at the recommended ford. Then I got lost in the forest numerous time. Checking the gpx frequently definitely helped. I followed the advice of others to cross the river and find a path om the right upstream side. That worked really well, didn’t have to cross any fallen trees! I camped at the hot springs - it is actually a whole thermal river. Amazing, amazing place. Loved to lay in it and watch the stars. Quite a few other people were there (some arrieros and a Chilean family) but there really was enough space for everyone. <br /> <br /> The third and fourth day were rather uneventful for me. Very beautiful views along the trail, which was mostly through forests and relatively simple to follow all the way to 2km before Los Peucos. Even there the trail was visible, it was just overgrown. I worried about this part too much based on the previous reports. The path actually felt quite okay in my case. Unfortunately, no soul at Los Peucos. I saw a parked car and a horse, but no human in the area. So I decided to walk 3km more and camp at the next river ford at km 66.4. I also took option C as recommeded by other hikers below, it was perfect!<br /> <br /> The 5th day was easy up to the laguna El Roble. Then the climb is quite demanding. Most importantly, there is hardly any water between Laguna El Roble and km106.1. I found a little stream at km102.8 but I wouldn’t rely on it. My strategy was to drink about 1 liter at the laguna El Roble (I filtered the water there as the laguna didn’t seem that clear) and then I took 1.5l with me. It lasted me all the way to Laguna Hermosa. Maybe next time I would take only 1 liter. However, I felt safe to have the reserves. Once you get to the pass, the views are beautiful, as is Laguna Hermosa where I camped for the last night. <br /> <br /> On the 6th day, I started from Laguna Hermosa at 8am and reached the main car road around 3pm. The trail after Hermosa disappears and requires a lot of attention to your GPS to navigate. The scree traverses are entirely manageable. I had to think twice before placing my feet though. The trail becomes visible and much easier at km115 when the valley trail connects. No one was at the puesto at km121.1, just three dogs. Trekking poles were enough to fend them off. There is indeed a new metal gate with a lock at approx km 126. No guards are positioned there. I climbed the gate without issues. I then hiked to Camping Lagunillas. There is a very kind owner and his son. Really good people to chat with. After listening to my story they also let me a cabana for a price of camping (10,000 CLP) for the night. The owner’s son is keen to learn more about the GPT and to potentially hike part of the route too. The camping has a small almacen there with some lentils and rice to buy (however, the selection is not enough to resupply). They also sell beer, cookies and can make you a soft dinner and breakfast (empanadas, lentils, waffles, coffee, sandwiches). I hitchhiked to Abanico the next day. It seems there are many more buses from Abanico to Antuco/Los Angeles than just two these days. The bus schedules could be looked up on the Internet. I caught one at 9:30am. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-16 Frank RR SOBO 5 days<br /> <br /> Crossed the river before Los Sauces where a dirt road goes right, crossing was only ankle deep. The cable car at Los Sauces is locked &amp; there is often no one there. River is a lot deeper by the cable car (at least waist deep)<br /> <br /> At Los Robles the carabineros were not very friendly, which was unusual, &amp; were not too happy about me hiking solo, but after I told them I'd walked there from Santiago they allowed me to proceed. They had no info. about the activity level of Chillan. The 'shop' in Los Robles only had 2L bottles of soft drink &amp; eggs. Rio Nuble was thigh deep late in the evening but you need to pick your spot: a few metres downstream from the RR crossing, before some boulders in the water. Camped a little after the crossing. Before Rio Nuble there is a no entry sign &amp; locked gate but you can climb over it easily &amp; there was no one there. Campsite marked on track file before the crossing was fenced off with no entry sign.<br /> <br /> Coming down from the pass late on day 2 there is a cold water spring just before the hot waterfall. Filled up at the spring as the water in the valley is thermal, not sure if it's good to drink. Camped in the valley by the hot stream.<br /> <br /> At the CONAF hot springs it was 14,000 CLP to camp but they allowed me to use the hot bath for free. They have a shop but most items are too bulky for one person. I continued for about 10KM &amp; camped in a 3 sided hut 100M to the right off the road before a wide but easy ford. The hut has a dirt floor so you can pitch a tent inside. After Laguna Roble you climb to a pass &amp; there is a spring a little after the pass. I camped just before the spring (room for one small tent, had to clear away some rocks but it was OK) The traverse after the aerials was a bit sketchy but soon improved &amp; I picked up a tiny trail through the scree. Walked to the CONAF entrance gate on the road &amp; hitched out from there. There is a lot of traffic on the weekend. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-13 to 2023-Jan-18 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Start in Termas the Chillan opt. 2 than RR from 40km to 105.9 and finished using opt. 6. / Maks&amp;Gabi <br /> <br /> Trail is visible almost all the time. All the fords are easily passable. We had met arrieros 3 times, they were nice and helpful. One of them asked about why we are hiking, as there is a lot of people going this way, but he seemed to be okay with it.<br /> There is a lot of really horseflies especially between 83 and 93 km. <br /> There were also quite a lot of cows on trail, that were not so happy to see us, but we just walked around them (with some bigger distance). Be careful as the bulls seem to be very protective over the small ones. <br /> <br /> Option 06A is probably overgrown - we spent about 15 min trying to find the trail but we gave up after all ( it was about 300m after crossroad ).<br /> Gate on 8.6km of option 6 was locked with the padlock, but noone was there so we just walked over the fence. <br /> <br /> All other gates on all trail were easily passable. One of the arrieros just noted that we should close them after crossing. <br /> From the hydro powerplant till the end of the option 06B there were a lot of people working on a road but none of them seemed to have a problem with us being there.<br /> We hitch hiked to Antuco. <br /> It was our first try on the GPT (recommended by a local mountain guide from Termas de Chillan) and it was definitely worth it! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-08 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> Probably my favorite section so far! A nice mix of remote alpine stretches, forests, and fields. However the horseflies made it hard to appreciate at times, they were pretty much constant during the later section around Laguna Laha.<br /> <br /> I hitched from San Fabián around noon and did most of the road walk the first day. The campsite at 21.6 is fenced off. I stayed at 20.3 which didn't have great water access, just a muddy spring. Scrambling down to the river wasn't feasible but I found a bit of clean flow partway down.<br /> The Nuble crossing wasn't so bad for me, it was just below my waist (5'11/181cm). Still the hardest one so far. I found the trail afterwords pretty hard to follow, with lots of side paths eventually leading to thorny bushwhacking. It finally convinced me to pull the route up on my watch for the first time, definitely worth it here.<br /> A ways after the river crossing you'll come out of the woods into an open river valley. I recommend crossing the stream there and finding the path on the other side, instead of struggling through the blowdown/landslide debris along the gpx track.<br /> The trail was fairly slow from the Nuble crossing to los Peucos. After that it's super fast except for a few stretches in the mountains above the Laguna Laha. <br /> The natural hot springs just below the pass near the Volcan Chillan were very nice, but full of little flies. They didn't seem to bite.<br /> The camping at los peucos was very expensive, but they had a bit of food for sale (fruit!!). Comfy grass, wifi, well maintained bathrooms. The hot springs there were too hot for me, slightly painful.<br /> I missed option C and definitely regretted it. The road up was super rocky, and hot with no shade.<br /> The stretch above Laguna Laha was the driest I've passed so far. Thankfully there were a few snow fed streams/ponds left, but I should have carried more water to be safe. Laguna Hermosa was true to its name, a nice place to camp my last night.<br /> The main road at the end was pretty busy, you could hitch right away and skip the entire last 13ish km. But the extra little stretch of trail at the end was definitely worth it to me.<br /> It took me a while to get a ride to Antuco even though the road was busy. Most people were just going a bit further along. It's not the nicest town but there's decent selection for resupply. I got a room for 15k/night at a cabana/hostal place on Sgto. Aldea street. For some reason I didn't have cell service there, with Movistar.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-01 to 2023-Jan-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option C / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We took bus from San Fabian (corner on the other side of the gas station) in the afternoon, and camped after ford of Los Sauces river (water only to the ankles). A lot of annoying tabanos, but plenty of space to camp. Quite a lot of locals go there as well. The next day we continued to the ford or Rio Nuble that turned out to be the worst so far for us. Doing it in the afternoon was not the best idea - the current was strong and even when it was just waist-high, we were not able to pass through the fastest part where the path takes you. We figured out to go more upstream, but just like 30m maybe? to a point where the water was really deep but completely calm. There is a rock wall on the other side. The water reached our chest at that part and our hands holding poles were under the water, making it hard to gain stability. We decided to take our chances and try to cross, using rocks covered with some grass to gain traction. There were times when we were floating in the water with close to 0 stability but we eventually made it. Best to be there early to have the best possible conditions. Until the end of the day we managed to get up through the forrest. Before you get out of the forrest you are crossing a stream that is going down between the rocks, but if you take a minute or two before it path that goes lower than trail, you will find a nice spot by the water with some wooden bench and nice covered place to camp. We prefered to be out of the forrest so we continued, but found only a field of fallen trees caused by landslide. It was possible to find a place to camp closer to the river. It is best to continue on the other side, which we did the next day. You will soon connect to the trail again, before going up.<br /> <br /> The way up from the valley is quite steep. From the pass you get a nice view of the Chillan volcano. Going further down to the lava field, we followed advices of others and get up to the top of lava field right away and continued walking on it. After the pass you will find a valley with hot springs which are simply amazing. Good to plan camping there so you can enjoy it fully. From the valley the trail is clear, until a short section before the official camp (1-2 kms before it), where it’s more of a bush-bashing. This part starts near a puesto where we came across herd of young bulls that seemed to be more curious that we would like and we had to go around them, a little off the trail. We struggled a little to find our way into the camp, which was not so clear from our gps (eventhough the path is clear all the way to the river) - the camp is secured by wire fences that we wanted to avoid, but at the end we crawled under them to get to the camp, aprox. according to our gps. If you follow the river downstream you might get to the official gate / entrance, not sure. Like other mentioned the price is quite high, and so are things in the little shop - most of it are classic camping things that last long like pasta, rice, canned fruits, a lot of cookies… but we were grateful for it anyway. The hot springs there are also amazing, man-made stone pools, with the view of the stars in the night it is perfect and worth the price. There are maybe 10 dedicated places to camp with wooden desk and bench, covered by roof (good when it’s raining). More space is close to the showers and the common, shared house with kitchen, fireplace and again desks with benches. We met there some workers from a gas company, fixing pipes close to the laguna, who were sleeping in the camp. The guy watching over the camp (from CONAF) was also nice and helpful - if you need anything, this is the right person to ask.<br /> <br /> On the next day, we continued on the minor road, where we took the C option, like others. Following the RR we found the 08-E option (which follows the MR) to be a better choice since the RR is a little overgrown in the beginning and with thistle-vegetation. Easy pass in the forest, and nice places to camp in the valley. We were lucky to find their cows again (luckily on the other side of the river), but bulls woke us up in the morning - this must have been the fastest packing in the history. We enjoyed more fun with the cows and bulls later in the valley, that were blocking our way and refusing to go away - that made us to take another short detour around them.<br /> <br /> A lot has been already written about the last part of this section that takes you up to the plateau. The climb is quite steep and long so don’t forget to take water from the last laguna - that is the last option. The next stream we found was about 2 kms from the point where you reach the ridge. We camped before Laguna Hermosa with nice view of the volcano. There was some melting snow above the laguna and we found 4G signal there (where the pole is). We found the descent down to be quite ok, there are small slippery rocks so it’s necessary to be careful, but nothing too bad. The descent gets very dusty later (when it’s dry) and is still steep in the forrest with a lot of water from the snow. We got to the main road in the afternoon and were lucky to catch a ride all the way to Antuco. We booked the only available place we found on booking called Puelche de Antuco, a really nice cabin. The town is nice with a lot of restaurants and shops.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-28 to 2023-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Los Sauces - Antuco / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We took the bus at 6 pm from San Fabián to Los Sauces and camped next to the river.<br /> <br /> The path until the river crossing of Rio Ñuble is basically a dirtroad, so we got there pretty fast. Only the horseflies were very annoying. We recommend bringing insect repellent.<br /> Christopher is 1.88m and the water went up to his navel at the main route crossing. Anna with 1.63m was not able to cross the river there.<br /> After some tries we found a possibility a couple of hundred meters upstream, where the water just went up to Anns knees. The tough part was to get up to the path on the other side. After some bush bashing, you have to get up a 3 to 4 meter high, almost vertical slope. We found a tree, whose roots we used to climb up, which was not super easy. Once you are up there, there is a good path that leads to the main route.<br /> <br /> The next day was nice until the valley around km 25 (where the river is not correctly positioned in the gaia app). There are tons of fallen trees and it was really hard to get through and there was mostly no visible path. It's probably best to stick to the upstream right side of the river.<br /> Afterwards the path gets really nice. Especially in the evening sun, it was very beautiful to cross the volcanic landscape. We camped in the valley at km 40 at the hot springs.<br /> <br /> The third day has a good path at the beginning. Just the last 3 km it gets more difficult, especially approx. 2 km before Los Peucos, where it's mostly bush bashing.<br /> The camping at Los Peucos is nice, as well as the hot springs, but we had to pay 14k CLP p.p. to camp there and in the evening there are tons of mosquitos. We would have camped a bit further downstream, if we had known that to be honest.<br /> <br /> The next day we took option C, like Veronica suggested, to avoid an unnecessary climb. Then we made an unnecessary climb following the road and not the main path, because we couldn't find the entry to the path right away and feared more bush bashing. But the path looked great from above.<br /> The rest of the route until shortly after Laguna Hermosa was really good. There is not much snow left and therefore there are not a great many places to fill up water.<br /> After Laguna Hermosa the path gets very hard to cross, due to lots of stones and gravel without a visible path.<br /> But it's very beautiful up there and finally not hot anymore.<br /> The descend has a easy to find path but is pretty slippery. Once you pass that the rest is pretty easy until the road, from where we hitchhiked to Antuco. We stayed at Camping Rucue for 15k CLP the camping lot. You pay for the lot not per person.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-19 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT08-02 / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Los Sauces - Río Ñuble crossing - backtrack to Los Sauces - hitch to Termas se Chillán (GPT08 option 2) - Los Peucos - Laguna Laja - Laguna Hermosa - CONAF near Abanico <br /> <br /> San Fabian is a great place, loved swimming in the Ñuble River when it got hot. The owner of Cabañas San Fabian is super kind. I hitched back to the trail because I didn't want to wait all day for the bus that leaves at 6pm. <br /> <br /> Registered with the carabineros at El Roble, but I could not ford Río Ñuble at the RR crossing. Current was very strong, and has I been able to stand up in it, the water would have easily reached my chest (I'm165 cm). I tried several times to ford the river at three different places, several km apart from each other, with no success. I would advance in the stream until I felt I couldn't take another step without being swept, and couldn't get halfway across. I suppose I should have expected this - it's a very high snow year and mid-December. I even tried calling out for help at the puesto on the west side of the river near the &quot;no trespassing&quot; gates, but no one was there. The long walk back to Los Sauces felt very defeating. Also, the &quot;wooden bridges&quot; described by Jo and Veronika are actually only cable crossings, and inaccessible by two barbed wire fences. Not possible to cross the river there either. Ríos Los Sauces and Las Truchas only came up mid-thigh though. <br /> <br /> Regained the GPT at Termas de Chillán, Option 2. Basicall took almost the whole second day to hitch there. Beautiful trail, but steep. You get to ford hot creeks, which was pretty cool. <br /> <br /> The trail is overgrown in some places, the worst spot is between the last puesto before Los Peucos and Los Peucos. Very hard walking through, wished I had a machete. Only lasts a km or two thankfully. All three puestos before Los Peucos looked abandoned. <br /> <br /> Didn't meet anyone at Los Peucos since I got there fairly early in the morning, but the hot springs there are amazing. Really hot, clear water, a little stone pool in a garden. Loved spending time there. <br /> <br /> Taking GPT08-C avoids a pointless climb and descent on the regular route, and has a nice path the whole way. <br /> <br /> Trail gets more difficult once you start climbing up to the ridge after Laguna El Roble. The views are incredible though, absolutely spectacular. Lots of water sources up on the ridge due to many lingering snow patches. Most of them are not a problem. After the junction with GPT08-06, the trail kind of disappears. Keep an eye on the GPS as you climb and descend steeply on the slopes. It reappears again after the following camp and water waypoints. <br /> <br /> Laguna Hermosa still has a couple snow patches on its shores, cold place to camp, but beautiful. After Laguna Hermosa is where it gets really challenging. There is no trail afterwards that I could find, basically cross country the whole way to the TR at 116.8 km. As you approach the &quot;trailhead&quot; waypoint, there is LOTS of scree traverses, and steep snow patches which require microspikes or extreme clambering to get around. Treacherous in some places. I fell a couple times. The ground is very loose and unstable. Things get better actually once you reach the official cross country section at Laguna Lágrima. Still some steep bits, but the ground is more consolidated, and there's more bedrock to help with traction. I reccomend taking the optional route CC-08-H. There's a faint trail to follow and it avoids clambering up on the ridge. <br /> <br /> Very glad to see a clear track again at 116.8. But still some problematic snow fields in this stretch above Laguna Toro, where it was too steep even with microspikes, and I had to do some very careful/serious climbing around. Not fun. Fell again here. Once you reach the long descent into Valle de los Carpinteros it gets much better. Still some snow in the woods over the creek. Right now you can walk on top of it like an ice bridge. There clearly was a LOT of snow here this past winter, it lingers until 1750 m or so in the south-facing valley. <br /> <br /> The puesto at 121.1 looks abandonned too.  Lots of downed trees in the area. There was no one, and no metal gate (or any gate) whatsoever before reaching the road in the National Park. <br /> <br /> The 4 days from Volcán Chillán to the end of the section, I saw no other human. I found this section also to be harder than GPT06, especially the last day. The snow complicates things. If you wish to avoid dangerous clambering and sketchy snow and scree traverses, take Option 06. The trail is good before then.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Jan-28 to 2022-Feb-06 / 10 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo<br /> <br /> Los Sauces -&gt; banks of Rio Ñuble -&gt; hot springs at flanks of Chillan (-&gt; escape to Concepción via Termas de Chillan to buy new shoes -&gt; hot springs at flanks of Chillan) -&gt; Los Peucos -&gt; camp before Laguna Laja -&gt; Laguna Hermosa -&gt; camping Lagunillas (6 proper hiking days)<br /> <br /> Nice section again. Hot springs in the first half, beautiful views of Laguna Laja, Volcán Antuco, Siella Veluda in the second half. Laguna Hermosa is true to its name, and was the first to not have horse or cow droppings on its sandy shores :D Sad to not have crossed Molly and Melissa.<br /> <br /> - The lady at the cable car was not sure whether we could cross with our heavy backpacks, so we forded the river at Los Sauces.<br /> <br /> - From about km 20 the sides of the road are fenced. The camp at km 21.6 is no longer available. <br /> <br /> - There is a gate at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (blocking access to the trail) marked private, no entry. We saw some cars returning through a second gate (blocking access to the river) and asked if it was ok to cross the first gate. They said &quot;For you, sure.&quot; I get the impression that Chileans rather want to keep Chileans out... This gate is not a problem NOBO.<br /> <br /> - Fording Rio Ñuble was the deepest ford we ever did. Balls deep indeed! Quite doable though, as the water is clear.<br /> <br /> - There may be an alternative path on the western bank, starting at the wooden bridges at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206'. Some local at the San Fabián tourist office mentioned having hiked this way.<br /> <br /> - The trail at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (around km 30) has eroded. After searching, we had to push through some bushes on a steep ridge to continue the trail. Maybe more obvious NOBO.<br /> <br /> - At the start of the cross country at km 34.6 get to the top of the lava strip after fording the river. For us, this was easiest at S 36° 52.853', W 071° 18.793'.<br /> <br /> - The water at the camp at km 37.3 was mostly dried up. Don't count on it by the end of January.<br /> <br /> - The bus stop at Termas de Chillan is close go Hotel Nevados de Chillan. There are way more buses at Las Trancas de Chillan, 8 km down the road. Fortunately, the whole area has great 4G coverage with Entel, so you can look up the bus tables with the key words &quot;REM bus Termas de Chillan&quot;.<br /> <br /> - The CONAF camp Los Peucos has excellent hot springs and a mini shop. Camping costs 10.000 pp. The guards are very friendly and donated some fruit :)<br /> <br /> - The CC section around km 95 had a clear path, but the subsequent TL section before Laguna El Roble did not.<br /> <br /> - The trail after Laguna Hermosa was hard to find, we went quite slowly clambering on the loose scree or sand. Going down the mountain ridge at the end of the CC section was similarly difficult. Fell twice - could not find solid footing on the slope.<br /> <br /> - The lady at the puesto at km 121.6 was friendly, asked where we came from, went to, and pointed us to the exit road. She seemed friendly, but a subtle hint to &quot;please stay off my land&quot; would have been lost on us in translation. The new metal gate is easy to pass through. The CONAF guard's wife at the final CONAF post mentioned that we were hiking the &quot;sendero biologico&quot; when we mentioned Laguna Hermosa. This trail must pass over the lady's land too?<br /> <br /> - The ATM at Antuco is broken.<br /> <br /> - Supermercado Santa Teresa in Antuco sells 125ml bottles of alcohol desnaturalizado 96° in the nail polish section.v<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-24 / 6.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH Cerro Las Águilas / Molly and Melissa<br /> <br /> At the &quot;gate&quot; waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.<br /> <br /> We took the bus to Abanico and hitched to the national park, not the easiest as all the cars were full. The car was stopped at the entrance, and we had to explain our route. We weren't asked to pay, probably because we weren't really going to the national park. You walk a little through it though on some nice paths, and then you reach a gravel road. Shortly after, at the &quot;gate&quot; waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.<br /> As noted previously, after climbing to the ridge on the rr, the terrain is difficult, but the views are amazing. Not a lot of water, but we managed. Many of the campsites off route, including Laguna Hermosa, require quite a climb down.<br /> You stay high up quite a while, which gives amazing views. <br /> <br /> The cross country along Laguna Laja has a nice path all the way. Then you reach Patricio's puesto. He's very welcoming, and has had people stay in his puesto before. We just drank coffee with him though. His brother German lives in the valley right after Laguna el Roble, but his puesto is hidden in the trees.<br /> <br /> Alternative route Cerro Las Águilas<br /> We chose the Cerro las Águilas alternative, because Volcán Chillán was in yellow alert. While walking there, we met two carabineros on horseback who wanted to know which way we went. Don't know if they would have forbidden the rr. The ascent to Laguna el Lobo is through deep sand, it was very tough and took way longer than we thought. We ended up camping at the Laguna which was nice enough. The ascent from there of the first little hill seemed completely unnecessary to us, at least if you have been by the laguna, as you descend to the same level. It would be worth it to walk to the right and ascend directly on the brown mountain, following the GPS from there. The ridge walk was tough as well, a lot of scrambling. The GPS often wanted us to go right of the rocky tops, where going left or directly over often seemed easier/safer. There is no water until the valley between the two passes. There, we also found a nice campsite right after the big stream on the bottom, a little to the left.<br /> After reaching Rio Ñuble, you follow it for a long time. There are multiple streams running towards it where we had to take off our shoes - no lack of water here, though. The alternative also fords Rio Ñuble itself in a different location compared to the rr - we had no problems whatsoever there. It reached mid-thigh and wasn't too strong, and we are both around 160 cm. It is a very low snow year though, and very dry. Here would be a nice place to camp.<br /> <br /> After rejoining the rr, we decided to continue to the waypoint &quot;camp&quot;. That was a mistake, though, as everything around there is fenced in with big signs saying &quot;private property&quot;. The second campsite right after is not fenced in, but doesn't look that good on the first glance. The rest of the way to Puente Ingles is gravel road. El Roble has a house that sells sodas - it has a &quot;bebidas&quot; sign. <br /> We crossed Rio Los Sauces beneath the cable cars quite easily, the water was mid-thigh - again very dry year. <br /> <br /> Puente Ingles<br /> In Puente Ingles we stayed at a campsite a little north of the cable car crossing, marked on the map in Locus Maps as &quot;lugar&quot;. It is 10,000 per tent, there are bathrooms, cold showers and tables. They also have a cabaña which was occupied. Puente Ingles has a small shop with sodas, ice cream, tortillas, biscuits, coffee and chips. It is quite nice to bath in the river. The bus still leaves at 7 and 10 in the morning.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2021-Dec-15 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony<br /> <br /> Beautiful view of volcán Antuco when walking up towards the ridge line by Laguna Laja and a staying at Los Peucos camping site was a big highlight on my journey on the GPT. Had my dinner in their wonderful hot spring while staring at the clear starlit sky in the cool night. Two nice guys working here and they even donated me some pasta, fruits and vegetables. Walking near the active Chillán Volcano and watching the fumaroles while being circled by a group of condors was also a cool experience. <br /> <br /> With that said, this section kicked my ass. Mainly due to some bad fitting shoes I recently bought in Los Ángeles and because I suffered from bad chafing in my butt which made me walk like I had shit my pants for a couple of days. This combined with some tough terrain (specially near Laguna Laja) and countless of horseflies made this section quite challenging for me. But definitely worth it! <br /> <br /> Like mentioned by hikers in the previous years fording Rio Ñuble can be a bit demanding especially for shorter people. It was getting late when I reached the river so I decided to camp nearby and cross the river in the morning. Had water up to the balls (i’m 189cm) and the current a bit strong but it was not too bad. <br /> Hitched a ride from Puente El Ingles to San Fabian and later jumped on a bus to Chillán to buy new shoes once again. Room with private bathroom for 15.000 at hostal El Molino in San Fabian, nice lady who owns the place.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2019-Nov-10 / Jan Dudeck<br /> Volcan Chillán remains active. The regular route passes the crater closely therefore Option 1 appears currently the saver if someone does not want skip section GPT08 completely. This option passes the danger zone with more distance. In case of an eruption volcanic ash is likely to affect Option 1 but the risk of direct volcanic effects is lower (flash flood from melting snow and glaciers, land slides, lava and flying rocks). <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-30 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> Just want to say quick that the termas vapaors in Mèdano are worth checking out, I highly recommend them. Please consider checking them out, they are only ½ km off the trail and absolutely worth it. They are sauna boxes built around a few hot rocks emitting hot steam. The result is a steam room/ sauna experience. I personally spend over 4 hours chilling out in the steam rooms.<br /> After a 2-hour road walk on the side of the highway you make your way back on trial. This section takes you thru many areas used for grazing livestock with puestos in sight almost all the time. Carizales a small settlement right on trail has a small store and the family also sells bread. There was also a puesto that sold us fresh goat cheese and Coca Cola. It is marked as a waypoint on the GPX file about 20km south of Carizales. Much of the trail is very dry and exposed and the landscape is void of trees and vegetation. There are many great places to jump into the river and cool off. The section up and around the lake offers great views of the mountains, volcanoes nearby and Laguna Dial. The trail itself is well established and never had any real trouble navigation. There were also quite a few hot springs on trail or close by.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: Hot and Exposed (especially in summertime). Resupply Distance.<br /> <br /> Highlights: Hot springs. Great sweeping views. Pools of cool water to jump into in the middle of the day.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-20 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option l start south OH 08 - 02 / Martin <br /> <br /> Solo. Because I was not allowed to walk close to the Volcanoe by the carabineros, following the RR, had to take the optional start south OH 08 - 02, in Nevados de Chillán Ski Resort. Funny enough, I walked the first day across the volcanoe anyway, it had some smoke coming out but nothing dangerous happened. Then followed RR to the end. Cross country segments in the ridge close to Laguna del Laja were demanding and not ideal for a solo hiker. But it was worth the effort, one of the most amazing views I have seen so far. Beautiful section. Resupplied and stayed for one night in Abanico.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-05 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR /Ty &amp; America <br /> <br /> Can ford river @ los sauces easily rather than walking from Puente Ingles. Cable Car was all<br /> Locked up. Registration @ El Roble like the others. We camped at the hot rivers close to Volcan Chillan and I fucked up with the gasoline in my stove. Buzzkill...: but Fortunately there was an exit to Termas De Chillan close. We got rides easily from the road.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-03 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie &amp; Tom <br /> <br /> Starting at El Ingles and hiking southbound towards Abanico. Lovely section however can be slow at times when the track is hard to follow. <br /> We had to register with the Carabineros at El Roble. Before crossing Rio Nuble there is a large gate with ‘private property: no entry’ written on it. We found this off putting. The river crossing itself was fine in the early morning but could be challenging without trekking poles and with a very heavy pack. <br /> After the Laguna de La Laja the track becomes especially more challenging and rocky. In poor weather it could be dangerous given the slippery slopes and steep descents. <br /> We honestly found this section harder than GPT06 and would swap the difficulty ratings. <br /> Took a bus into Los Angeles at 5pm to resupply for the next section. Did not investigate Abanico as we caught the bus as it was leaving.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + optional hike along Laguna de la Laja / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Los Sauces to Abanico.<br /> <br /> Los Sauces: If you tell the bus driver you want to cross the river by cable car (carro azul) he honks at the bus stop and señor Marcial comes from the other side to get you.<br /> Ford Rio Ñuble: If you are a dwarf like me, you should ask your taller hiking partner to carry your backpack, otherwise it will get wet. Demanding.<br /> Volcan Chillan: PLEASE NOTE: We were absolutely aware that our buddy Volcano could erupt or explode at ANY GIVEN MOMENT and that this was NOT a SAFE option to hike. (But it was beautiful! ...and a bit overgrown in some places. There is not much of the trail left before the first pass.)<br /> Laguna de la Laja: It was beautiful but we definitively wouldn't recommend it. There is no trail along the Laguna. At the beginning you can walk on cow tracks close to the waterfront. Afterwards it's 15 km of cross country. The 3 km into the third inlet took us 3 hours and were really dangerous because of loose rocks and steep cliffs. The following investigation part (@08-04-#002) was mainly a quite nice trail, but we lost it twice and it took us ages to find it again, and in this steep and not very easy terrain you don't want to loose the trail. We were really glad when we got back to the regular route.<br /> From Abanico there are several buses per day going directly to Los Angeles. Resupply in Abanico is possible.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-30 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 1 / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> We had to register in Carabinieros. They didn't have a problem with leting us go even regular route, seemed like eventual crossing to Argentina is their primary issue. <br /> Optional 1 - to the juction with valley walk without problem. Cross coutry part on the ridge was easy to navigate. On downhill there is no trail so we went crosscountry again. It's bit overgrown in some spots, we found trail cca after half of descend. Last flowing water is before juction with valley walk. We saw some water holes cca 2-3km before Laguna de Lobo. <br /> Rest of the regular trail - cross coutry sections were demanding. Otherwise no problem. <br /> We got hitch to Los Angeles after CONAF station so no idea about resuply or accomodation.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Jan-13 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin Lizondo <br /> Volcán Chillán was in &quot;alerta naranja&quot;.<br /> Río Ñuble impassable at S36° 50.188' W71° 14.935' Better continue following the minor road in the alternative route.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> When hiking the alternative east route (Paso Aguila) do not descend to the valley at S36° 57.919' W71° 14.752'. It's unmantained and overgrounded, because of recent forest fires. Better stay above the tree line until Laguna El Lobo.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> *Abanico<br /> At least one restaurant with pizza<br /> Store?<br /> <br /> *Antuco (from Abanico)<br /> Many smaller supermarkets, which have most things - easy enough to resupply here.<br /> One of the two ferreterías has gas (the one furthest from Abanico).<br /> Many accommodation options and some restaurants.<br /> There is an ATM at the town square which even gives some smaller notes.<br /> Bus to Los Angeles<br /> <br /> *Puente Ingles<br /> Store with chips, ice cream, bread, chocolate, sodas. Possibly some accomodation option at the store. Campground with one cabaña a little further down the room - sign says cabañas - 10,000 per tent, toilets with cold showers and a room with a fireplace for cooking<br /> <br /> *San Fabián (from Puente Ingles)<br /> Many accommodation options - almost everything was fully booked when we were there (Feb 2022). <br /> Supermercado La Montaña seems to be the best option - not the easiest place to resupply, but definitely possible. Harder than in Antuco.<br /> Great Venezuelan restaurant Canela Passion. <br /> Bus to San Carlos<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Feb-5: San Fabian to Puente Ingles <br /> Bus at 2 pm and 6 p.m. in front of the carabineros including Sundays and Holidays. <br /> <br /> *Puente Ingles to San Fabián<br /> Bus at 7 am and 10 am - leaves from the campground, drives to the shop and the back again towards San Fabián<br /> <br /> *Bus from Antuco to Los Angeles about once an hour in daytime. <br /> <br /> *A few buses from Abanico to Antuco or you can hitch fairly easily.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT08 - Volcán Chillan]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:Segundo_Rio_Termal_zona_cascadas.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|This river is hot! Aguas Calientes Valley]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (8).jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Laguna Laja and [[Volcán Antuco]], by Matúš Lašan]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT08_(Volcan_Chillan)&diff=113398 2024-01-01T17:58:10Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> *2023-Dec-28 to 2024-Jan-01 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / {08-03} - {08-C} - RR - {08-06} - {08-06B} / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> Avoid of crossing Rio Ñuble, i go for {08-03}.<br /> <br /> <br /> There is a bus from Chillán to Los Lleuques at 18:00, take about 1.5 hour. A small shop and some tiny shops there, friendly and good resupply. Look like have some restaurants too, but i'm too late so they're already closed.<br /> <br /> {08-03} km3.3 : tiny shop selling drinks.<br /> <br /> Km4.3 : camping spots or camping possibilities start from here to south.<br /> <br /> <br /> Km11.3 : ranger station for guard of Reserva National, look like need booking in advance or some permits. Otherwise you can't go in by this gate. (It is impossible for sneak in, two dogs here.)<br /> <br /> Luckily after i took 10min to explain what I'm doing, where does my routes go, why i'm here, I'll pack out all my trash, no fire, no pick plants, dig a hole for poop, etc. He let me go in, 1000% thank you to him!<br /> <br /> <br /> Km19 : bridge for crossing Río Diguillín.<br /> <br /> Km19.45 : El Trumao, Camping Relbún. Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here.<br /> <br /> Km19.7 : closed gate, you can open it on left side. Old, steep and rocky dirt road behind this gate, look like no cars on it for some years. (Some place landslide, cars impossible to pass by)<br /> <br /> Km21.3 : Rio Relbún, good water flowing nice, rock hopping for dry feet.<br /> <br /> Km22.8 : view point of valley, also some flat spots with trees can fit 2-4 tents.<br /> <br /> Km23.7 : pass, Paso Atacalco, descent to a beautiful valley.<br /> <br /> Km25.3-km26.2 : some tiny streams flowing with good water, but maybe dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Km28.4 : Valle Hermoso, Ranger station and Conaf campground, didn't see anyone when i passed here. Río Blanquillo flowing at here too.<br /> <br /> Some more tiny streams flowing across the road at south, but i think they will all dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Km35.6 : a side trail to see a waterfall, I think it is just soso.<br /> <br /> Then connect with {08-C}, then back to RR.<br /> <br /> {08-C} km2.4 : a very beautiful demon rock hill on your left side, worth take a look!<br /> <br /> RR Ford[71.3/1089] : crossing of Río Polcura, it's a wide river crossing about 80m, luckily it is already made for vehicles crossing so have a rock bar underwater, easy to cross. Mostly just half of calf, in the middle about 10m, up to knee and flowing very fast.<br /> <br /> Camp[72.9/1104] : it's a really nice camping spot with tree shade and beside a river.<br /> <br /> Camp[78.6/1203] : this spot is not beside RR. When you finish valley trail walk, if you don't join dirt road and keep going walk in the valley then you'll arrive here.<br /> <br /> Water[79.1/1214] : log bridge crossing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Trailhead[80.5/1248] : not easy to notice the trailhead, although it have a fallen board on the ground.<br /> <br /> North of the pass is overgrown, south of the pass lot of fallen trees block the trail.<br /> <br /> Didn't see any camping spots until almost to valley.<br /> <br /> Water[81.8/1475] : when you get close, be careful dont walk too fast. Just before the stream dont follow the trail to left side and go down, it is already landslide and you'll fall off 2m vertically.<br /> <br /> Pass[84.2/1744] : tons of huge dead trees and ready to fall down in next second. Don't camp here, it is dangerous.<br /> <br /> Km85.8 : flat spot can fit 2-3 tents.<br /> <br /> Km86: flat spots can fit 1 tent before and after a stream crossing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km95.2 : excellent view point of Volcán Antuco, look like some flat spots at downhill side close to the beach.<br /> <br /> Camp[97.8/1456] : beside a tree, can fit 1-2 tents with fire ring. Last reliable water when you climbing up.<br /> <br /> Km102 : snow start here, but all you can go around.<br /> <br /> Camp without water[102.3/2063] : no camping spot as now, wet, muddy and lot of stream are flowing by snow melt, a fire ring is in the stream too!<br /> <br /> I camped at km103.45, just before the pass, there is some brushes provide wind protection from west. Can fit 1-2 small tents.<br /> <br /> Km104.1 : a large flat area, but no wind protection.<br /> <br /> X[105.4/1934] : no more trail junction at &quot;X&quot;, you need to go down a little, then CC to connect the trail at south.<br /> <br /> Camp[106.6/1938] : wet, grassy and steep spot. A large flat area after you climb up the stream at km106.95, it is in a valley and no wind protection.<br /> <br /> Km109.45 : a small pass, excellent view point of Volcán Antuco and Sierra Velluda!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Snow start at km109.9, unfortunately when i almost climbed up to ridge, i found that km111.8 to km113.5(at least) , all covered by snow on a very steep slope. It is not a good idea to go through this high risk area, also Cerro El Toro is a very sharp rocky peak, not possible walk on the ridge to go around the slope, so i turn back to &quot;X&quot;[105.4/1934], and join {08-06} continues to south.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {08-06} is a nice trail to go down, and look like somone have maintained it, nearly no fallen trees and just very little overgrown, easy to follow and walk.<br /> <br /> {08-06} km4.5 : junction of {08-06} and {08-06A}, look like {08-06} in a better condition, also {08-06} from here to km5.6, it is an old dirt road and no more using.<br /> <br /> Km5.6 : junction to join a good dirt road. Camping spot just before the junction, and there are also lot of camping possibilities along the good dirt road.<br /> <br /> Gate[8.6/808] : locked, climb over it.<br /> <br /> Km9.3 : another gate, you can open it on left side, if you want to camping, better before this gate.<br /> <br /> Km22.4 : i join {08-06B} for shorter distance to main road for hitching to Antuco.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Dec-19 to 2023-Dec-20/ 2 days / Hiking / NOBO / Antuco RR and Option 6/ Jens<br /> <br /> <br /> Tried to go up the main route. First pass was steep and full of snow. Decided to turn around and try Option 6. <br /> <br /> <br /> As option 6 is on private land owned by the Hydroelectrico, a guard picked me up and told me to register with the Carabineros in Antuco. Frustrated I decided to skip section 8 in favour of section 7.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Dec-21 to 2023-Dec-24/ 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / San Fabian - Las Trancas / Ella<br /> <br /> TLDR: River fords are still heinous, especially Ñuble. Bring micro spikes if crossing Paso Prigallo to go towards Las Termas de Chillan.<br /> <br /> Day 1: Hitched a ride part of the way from San Fabian, and then caught a bus (was a Thursday around 1 pm) until Punilla. Camped at a small, windy site with good river access and near the Punilla swimming hole, which is definitely worth a visit. Some friendly caballeros came around 8 pm to camp as well.<br /> Day 2: Walked towards Los Sauces, splitting off to the right where the road/trail led. Could not cross river here because of construction. Went back to the main road and walked North to where there was a (padlocked) cable car and did a challenging ford - current was somewhat strong and water went to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm). In retrospect, would have been better to just walk/bus all the way into Los Sauces and make a safer crossing there. Cabineros in El Roble were nicer to me that the ones in San Fabian. Camped just before Camp {08} [21.6/873] since it now seems to be on private property. <br /> Day 3: Had to trespass for about a mile before reaching the Ñuble river but didn’t run into anyone. Ñuble was really difficult. I got there just before 8 am. Crossing the river at designated spot was not possible. I went upstream, around the bend, and about a hundred meters further to where the river widens and gets a bit shallower. I crossed with water about up to my navel (I’m 5’8”/172 cm) but a little past midway the current took me off my feet and I went for a brief swim before grabbing a rock and recovering on the other side. After getting to the other side, I had to scramble/bushwhack up a near-vertical slope to where there appears to be sort of a terrace in the landscape. I found the best spot was behind where the bank of the river flattened out a bit. Thankfully once getting to the top, you’re blessed with a faint trail leading back to the main route. This approach was not very fun at all - it is probably best to wait another week or two before attempting the river. <br /> After that, the trail gets harder to follow, especially after entering the larger valley. As per others advice, I tried crossing the river in the valley to the right side, but also ran into impassable shrubbery/broken trees there so I ended up crossing back and forth as needed. The first pass didn’t have any snow. There is a difficult ford after the marker for Trailhead {08} [34.6/1873]. Camped at Camp {08} [36.2/1953] which was lovely.<br /> Day 4: Headed towards Las Termas de Chillan. Both passes were very snowy. The second pass, only necessary if going off main trail towards Las Termas, had steep sections that called for micro spikes. I was lucky that there were some people who had just come through and kicked steps in, making this part easier. Hitched a ride to Las Trancas where there are multiple well stocked mini markets and nice hostal options. Not sure if I will continue on GPT 08 given the snow and river conditions so far.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-06/ 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Los Peucos - Recinto / RR + OH03 / Hannes &amp; Luisa<br /> <br /> Hitchhiked from San Fabian to way after El Roble, rather easy on weekends as it seems many locals around. Ñuble crossing with strong current and water above knees (me 185cm), but still ok compared to other months I think. Went up the mountain and into this valley with beautiful oak-trees. Getting out of this forest we crossed the river to the orographic left side as suggested by others...initially a good choice, all the same we had to switch like 2 to 3 times river bank to avoid some nasty Bush bashing...We reccomend to just open your eyes and see which side works best for you after the initial crossing at approximately -36.856679 -71.275261. After the last camp in the valley path clearly visible and steep ascent to the pass. After the pass we got into this amazing volcanic landscape east of Volcan Chillàn. After the second pass we descended to Aguas Calientes, hot thermal pools at the end of a valley surrounded by some green yellow pasture and loads of cows. Good spot to camp...Then we went to Termas Los Peucos, took us 3.5 days till there. Just for the pools they take 10k, pools and camp was 14k. As one of us felt little sick we decided to hitchhike out over OH03. Do not consider this an emergency exit as it is rather difficult to hh out there, very few cars on the road as access is limited due to a private tunnel and only Carabineros and some oil- and gas-pipeline companies are around there with their cars it seems. All the same we were lucky and got out to Recinto (further down in the valley of Termas de Chillán, near Las Trancas...) In this valley or if you get out at Termas de Chillán we highly recommend Cabañas Ayunkoyam owned by Vincente Ruiz in Recinto, +56999991737, call him before. For this rather expensive valley quite a good option. Vincente is a local mountain guide who seems to know every mountain in his country and is a nice guy to talk to.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Apr-02 to 2023-Apr-02 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / El Roble - Volcán Chillán - Termas de Chillán / Noémie<br /> Very short section because I got a lift from San Fabián until after El Roble (21.0), a bit before the end of the minor road. Carabineros checked ID and asked for sufficient equipment. Ñuble crossing was not that hard but I had water until my waist, even at the end of the season (I am 1m60 though...). Camped the first night at Camp {08} [29.5/1441], on the left bank of the river, where there was a bit of space. The next morning, it was a bit hard to go up the valley with all the dead trees and no path visible. Tried to follow fellow GPT hikers advices, but ended up crossing the river multiple times to find a walkable path without too many bushes, until Camp {08} [31.3/1629]. After this tricky part, both paths are beautiful and quite easy. The thermal river is amazing. There was plenty of space with beautiful hot water pools but also cold water at Camp {08} [40.4/2150]. The last day, I took OH {08-02} and OH {08-02A} to go up Volcán Chillán and then exit at Termas de Chillán. Beautiful ascent with no specific difficulty except the steep last 300 meters. The place is full of condors flying really close, super impressive. <br /> There are no housing options and no buses during the week leaving from Termas de Chillán. You can walk/hitchhike until -36.910163, -71.417798 where buses leave regularly everyday for Chillán. Found many cabañas options in Trancas de Chillán a bit further down. Overall, very beautiful and diverse section (forests, rivers, sand deserts, volcanos) with amazing hot springs!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-13 to 2023-Mar-18 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Abanico — Thermas de Chillán / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Starting from Los Angeles, we took a bus (at 12:30) towards Abanico and then two rides until the start of OH-MR-V {08-K} [0.0+0.1]. Then, there is a gate (after the Bridge, Gate {08} [126.7/1339] point) locked with a padlock but easy to climb. The CC section (RH-CC-A {08} [26.4/122.0+1.9]) is actually following the MR so we thought better stay on the road. When we reached Camp {08} [120.2/1520], it was completely dry so we continued a bit and found a nice spot in the forest (close to -37.32983, -71.39823).<br /> <br /> On Day 2, we continued on the trail, simply taking the shortcut OH-TL-V {08-I} [0.0+0.2]. Then, we chose to take option 08-H to stay high, it was really beautiful. We stayed on the rim until a hard part and then we diverged on the trail that was present a bit below us. As other as noted, on RH-CC-A {08} [18.1/113.7+2.0] you follow a trail or a set of footprints. When the trail and the trace diverge, follow the trail, it is usually the best option. And don't miss Trailhead {08} [113.7/2184], we tried to go around it but regretted it. Then, the trail until Laguna El Robles (Camp {08} [98.2/1456]) is nice but the descent is steep. We believe the path has been cleared recently because lot of fresh fallen branches on the ground. On the lake, we camped on the east side but it was very windy. The other side looked more protected. <br /> <br /> On Day 3, we followed the RR until Camp {08} [73.3/1104]. It was a rather uneventful day except we met a lot of arrieros in the morning that went for a wild bull hunt. The camp is nice and felt like a campground.<br /> <br /> On Day 4, we hiked for just a few kilometers to reach the Thermas Peucos. It was a very worthy stop, an oasis in the middle of the hike : 10k PP for the camping and hot springs (stoned pools). We even bought a lunch from the minishop which has quite a nice selection. Like others, we used the option 08-C to avoid the pointless climb in the RR. <br /> <br /> On Day 5, we did a rather long walk until Camp {08} [40.4/2150] to enjoy the natural pool. The trail is a bit overgrown after the thermas but nothing bad. The day was full of going up : 2500 on the tracks but the GPS said only 2100 at the end of the day. The hot springs are amazing, truly the best we encountered. And we were alone there. <br /> <br /> On Day 6, we met a horserider when leaving the camp a bit angry because he did not sleep. He camped near a group that partied the whole night (we believe it was close to Ford {08-02} [1.6/2097]). Then, option 08-02 and variant A to ascend the volcan. It starts with a nice trail and ends up with sand that is really hard to climb. Nothing difficult nor dangerous but extremely tiresome. It took us 3h to go up but we enjoyed our lunch at the top! Then the descent is really fast, thanks to this sand (about 1h). The rest of the trail until Thermas de Chillán is a bit overrun, we met numerous hikers (but it was a Saturday). There, we hitched a ride until Recinto and took the 7:00PM bus to Chillán for a ressuply.<br /> <br /> Overall our impressions on this section are a bit mixed. We enjoyed the numerous hot baths and the volcan summit but we were less amazed by the landscapes compared to the previous sections (of note as we did go up quite a lot, we probably were a bit too exhausted to truly enjoy it completely!) . Perhaps it is more rewarding when going SOBO? <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-08 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + emergency exit / Martial <br /> <br /> Puente Inglés - Los Peucos - Antuco <br /> Super pleasant trekk in various landscapes and sweet hot springs. Met Ondrej at the start and shared the road walking before he eventually escapes in the first climb ! Met again finally at the hot river for a deserved rest after big climbing day. Next the descent to los Peucos is rather long with overgrown detour of the swamp at the end. That’s where my phone died for no reason. May it RIP with all my pictures :’( Still if there’s a good soul out there with a machete and long trousers feel free to save this beautiful trail ! Then los Peucos was a paradise oasis for a 14000$ 24h rest day. Not so expensive to me considering the quality of the hotspring service and resupply in the middle of nowhere ! « El Toro » hotspring is a once in lifetime experience for sunrise and had the all domain for myself 😌 Do not hesitate to stop there and meet Ricardo who doesn’t see many souls otherwise.<br /> 4th night spent 3km down near los Peucos in a super recommanded magical waterfall bassins with perfect « nuit à la belle étoile » on the hot rock.<br /> After km 80 the forest is kind of colonised with annoying flyes and thermites wich makes it not an enjoyable place. Also recommend taking plenty of water from laguna el roble cause dry climb and ridge walking ahead (there’s still a little stream pond under a tree a few km after the pass if you look well). Arrived there in late afternoon with no place to camp and saw emergency exit on the right which triggered green light in my brain (as gear failures were acumalating and motivation low). Felt good after a few tears but the long road walking in the hydraucentral gave me some regrets until i eventually arrived in Antuco after hotish hitchhiking.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-28 to 2023-Feb-04 / 7.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + volcán chillàn &amp; volcán Antuco / Natalie &amp; Tomáš<br /> <br /> Day 1<br /> Got off the bus here (-36.67295, -71.29201) instead of los sauces for an easy ford. The bus driver knew of this place. The ford was here -36.67738, -71.28739, knee-high. We crossed around 3pm. The road section until the cabineros was surprisingly popular on a weekend, we got a 3km hitch but if we started earlier I am sure we could have hitched a lot more. The valley is nice though to walk in.<br /> The cabineros basically just wanted to know if we had a proper gps and map, we could not understand if they were telling us &quot;not&quot; to go close to volcán chillàn or just &quot;warning&quot; us, I checked online the day before and it said the volcano is in green but the cabineros said it was yellow.<br /> Made camp at the 17km way point because it was a good spot. Lots of unmarked water waypoints on the road such as; -36.69615, -71.27770 and -36.72718, -71.26420.<br /> Day 2. <br /> Crossed Nuble with no problems around 9am. The water was not strong but not totally calm and was under our crotches, I am 170cm and Tomáš is ~173cm. Hats off to the others that crossed when water levels were much higher! Remember to turn right and not left after the ford.<br /> The path was better than expected but still can be easily lost until the first pass at 33.2km. Thanks to the tip from Will we took the path on the other side of the river once out of the trees to avoid the blow down, somewhere around or close to camp 29.5. Hot pass.<br /> We made camp at the hotsprings after the second pass, their beauty and heat made up for the long day. There are a couple perfect spots near the hotsprings with some cold water for drinking, -36.90156, -71.35089. Spent two nights here. The hot springs are regular creeks, most of which in the valley are hot. Saw some locals camping in other spots, seems like a popular place.<br /> Day 3.<br /> Volcán Chillàn. Easy climb following the standard route but the last 600m was slow sandish-like material which made for a very quick descent. Instead of going back the way we came we followed an unmarked/unmapped &quot;road&quot; on the south side of volcán Chillàn that lead to switchbacks down to the hotsprings that we saw earlier that morning. Basically if coming from volcán follow the road east from here -36.89199, -71.38543 and aim for the switchbacks to the hotsprings camp here -36.90336, -71.36145. There is some dirty water on the way but very interesting and scenic. I am slightly worried about posting this because it is likely not meant to be walked, also not sure it actually saves time in compared to the normal trail but it allows for a nice rounddtrip. One can get Internet on the way to the volcano when the ski resorts is visible. Camped again at the hotsprings.<br /> Day4<br /> Nothing to add for this day, trail was nice and under trees a lot of the way, all fords easy or jump-able. Met two French who were doing the GPT northbound. Camped near the puesto 61.7 before the hotsprings, path was always there, just a little overgrown. <br /> Day5<br /> Trail to hotsprings was not that bad, just overgrown bamboo but otherwise nice. The hotsprings is not actually CONAF but a concession. Prices were as described 14mil for camping and 7mil just for hotsprings. If you want to buy food from them I recommend going at the beginning of the month as that is when they restock, for us there was still lots of food left but nothing fresh or good, very expensive. <br /> On the road we used option C to avoid the hill as others suggested (seems like the main road now) and as for variant D we did not see anything so we back tracked a bit and took a different unmarked trail here that was successful -37.06894, -71.39599 and forded river here -37.06857, -71.39158 to meet the RR.<br /> The trailhead at 81.0 is hard to see, be ready.<br /> That trail from 81.0 to the pass was more overgrown in my mind than the rest of the days but still not terrible. Camped on the other side 88.9 (actually a bit further down were nicer camp-spots with lovely short grass)<br /> Day6<br /> Somehow at camp 88.9 we woke up to frost over everything. Have no idea what kind of phenomenon this is because I don't think it froze (forecast was for 16 in the night) but even the little moisture in my breakfast bowl froze shortly after eating it...<br /> Quick trail to Laguna el roble except the trail is easy to loose just before the Laguna in the grassy section, keep climbing left towards an unmarked puesto here -37.20868, -71.33023.<br /> There should technically be a better water source than the lake itself at camp 98.8 but I just took water from the lake:S. The next pass towards the ridge was hot but easy. Good trail until you hit the X at 105.9. Then the path is harder to follow. The camp at 107.1 seems silly and would be better higher above the listed water source. We ended up going cross country all the way from a pass like structure here -37.25066, -71.38499 to Laguna Hermosa because there was a trail on the other side (a bit lower than official RR so it made sense to follow it elevation-wise) that eventually faded away.<br /> Laguna Hermosa was worth it as others have stated but unfortunately very heavy winds crept in that night. It was way less windy ok the East side of the lagoonwhich we only noticed in the morning.<br /> Day7<br /> Very heavy winds. We made a small short cut to the RR from the Laguna by heading west sooner. We considered turning around on the ridge as the winds were likely around 80km/hr at one point near the pylons but luckily since the route is not actually on the ridge the rest of the way was okay, still windy but not pushing us over. The rest of the ridge was no problem for us, slower of course since there is sidehilling and edging but nothing scary or exposed. There was no snow though.<br /> El Puesto at 121 had two dogs but did not see anyone. We camped at Laguna Laja (not nice) to climb Antuco the next day. To no surprise the restaurant and cafe at the ski resort are closed. Other than the water in the lake there are no good water sources past the last water source before El puesto if heading in this direction. There is Enter 3G coverage here.<br /> Day8<br /> Started early to beat the heat for Antuco. I turned back after the top of the ski lift because of a stomach bug (probably food but still nicer to vomit in the shade...) but Tomáš went on to finish the climb. The climb was was not worth it. The volcán is not black sand but rather loose rock (boulders to pebbles) which made especially going down annoying. After the ski lift there is virtually no trail. Plus the fact there was only a small crater on top and the weather was very hot and windy in the early morning. I think we were there during a small heat wave, supposedly the day before was 38°C in Antuco proper. After the climb we hitched to the campsite Lagunillas (10mil/person) in hopes of going back to los Angeles but after analyzing the smoke situation of the forest fires we stayed here and used it as a base for preparing for GPT09-10.<br /> <br /> It took us 168 hours but without climbing the Volcans the trail could have been walked in five full walking days. End of January means there were virtually no horseflies. <br /> Nice trip but due to foot issues, things breaking down and a stomach bug at the end it was a bit of a suffer-fest for Natálie (Tomáš's new shoes are unfortunately painful too). However, the hotsprings, volcán Chillán, Laguna Hermose and the trees (especially the ones with usnea) made it worth while!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-02 to 2023-Feb-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 08-C / Ondrej <br /> <br /> Puente Inglés - Camping Las Lagunillas <br /> Overall an extremely beautiful route, my favourite in GPT06-08. Compared to GPT06 and 07, this section felt most diverse but also most challenging to navigate. I accidentaly got off track much more often. Still, the route is visible most of the time except the last day after Laguna Hermosa. Even there, sticking to the gpx files makes the section easily passable. One just need to pay a higher attention to where their steps are placed. The fauna is quite rich too - I had a chance to see a tarrantula (the minor road on day 1), crayfish in the rivers, and a snake which I believe was Tachymenis chilensis (on the shores of Laguna El Roble). I believe this section is much more demanding in Dec or early Jan when snow is still present on the slopes. Horseflies were not a problem in my case. I encountered some between km 75 and 85 but that was far from frustrating. I recommend gaiters due to dusty roads in some sections. From thermas Chillan I haven’t met a soul until the end of the section.<br /> <br /> Details:<br /> On the first day, it is easy walking on a minor road that winds through a forest so you can enjoy shade most of the walk! No complications, just need to climb some gates. I enjoyed a company of a fellow GPT hiker Martial, who shared some useful trout fishing tips and gear with me. We camped at the Nuble crossing. <br /> <br /> Second day, Nuble crossing was no problem. Knee-deep at the recommended ford. Then I got lost in the forest numerous time. Checking the gpx frequently definitely helped. I followed the advice of others to cross the river and find a path om the right upstream side. That worked really well, didn’t have to cross any fallen trees! I camped at the hot springs - it is actually a whole thermal river. Amazing, amazing place. Loved to lay in it and watch the stars. Quite a few other people were there (some arrieros and a Chilean family) but there really was enough space for everyone. <br /> <br /> The third and fourth day were rather uneventful for me. Very beautiful views along the trail, which was mostly through forests and relatively simple to follow all the way to 2km before Los Peucos. Even there the trail was visible, it was just overgrown. I worried about this part too much based on the previous reports. The path actually felt quite okay in my case. Unfortunately, no soul at Los Peucos. I saw a parked car and a horse, but no human in the area. So I decided to walk 3km more and camp at the next river ford at km 66.4. I also took option C as recommeded by other hikers below, it was perfect!<br /> <br /> The 5th day was easy up to the laguna El Roble. Then the climb is quite demanding. Most importantly, there is hardly any water between Laguna El Roble and km106.1. I found a little stream at km102.8 but I wouldn’t rely on it. My strategy was to drink about 1 liter at the laguna El Roble (I filtered the water there as the laguna didn’t seem that clear) and then I took 1.5l with me. It lasted me all the way to Laguna Hermosa. Maybe next time I would take only 1 liter. However, I felt safe to have the reserves. Once you get to the pass, the views are beautiful, as is Laguna Hermosa where I camped for the last night. <br /> <br /> On the 6th day, I started from Laguna Hermosa at 8am and reached the main car road around 3pm. The trail after Hermosa disappears and requires a lot of attention to your GPS to navigate. The scree traverses are entirely manageable. I had to think twice before placing my feet though. The trail becomes visible and much easier at km115 when the valley trail connects. No one was at the puesto at km121.1, just three dogs. Trekking poles were enough to fend them off. There is indeed a new metal gate with a lock at approx km 126. No guards are positioned there. I climbed the gate without issues. I then hiked to Camping Lagunillas. There is a very kind owner and his son. Really good people to chat with. After listening to my story they also let me a cabana for a price of camping (10,000 CLP) for the night. The owner’s son is keen to learn more about the GPT and to potentially hike part of the route too. The camping has a small almacen there with some lentils and rice to buy (however, the selection is not enough to resupply). They also sell beer, cookies and can make you a soft dinner and breakfast (empanadas, lentils, waffles, coffee, sandwiches). I hitchhiked to Abanico the next day. It seems there are many more buses from Abanico to Antuco/Los Angeles than just two these days. The bus schedules could be looked up on the Internet. I caught one at 9:30am. <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-16 Frank RR SOBO 5 days<br /> <br /> Crossed the river before Los Sauces where a dirt road goes right, crossing was only ankle deep. The cable car at Los Sauces is locked &amp; there is often no one there. River is a lot deeper by the cable car (at least waist deep)<br /> <br /> At Los Robles the carabineros were not very friendly, which was unusual, &amp; were not too happy about me hiking solo, but after I told them I'd walked there from Santiago they allowed me to proceed. They had no info. about the activity level of Chillan. The 'shop' in Los Robles only had 2L bottles of soft drink &amp; eggs. Rio Nuble was thigh deep late in the evening but you need to pick your spot: a few metres downstream from the RR crossing, before some boulders in the water. Camped a little after the crossing. Before Rio Nuble there is a no entry sign &amp; locked gate but you can climb over it easily &amp; there was no one there. Campsite marked on track file before the crossing was fenced off with no entry sign.<br /> <br /> Coming down from the pass late on day 2 there is a cold water spring just before the hot waterfall. Filled up at the spring as the water in the valley is thermal, not sure if it's good to drink. Camped in the valley by the hot stream.<br /> <br /> At the CONAF hot springs it was 14,000 CLP to camp but they allowed me to use the hot bath for free. They have a shop but most items are too bulky for one person. I continued for about 10KM &amp; camped in a 3 sided hut 100M to the right off the road before a wide but easy ford. The hut has a dirt floor so you can pitch a tent inside. After Laguna Roble you climb to a pass &amp; there is a spring a little after the pass. I camped just before the spring (room for one small tent, had to clear away some rocks but it was OK) The traverse after the aerials was a bit sketchy but soon improved &amp; I picked up a tiny trail through the scree. Walked to the CONAF entrance gate on the road &amp; hitched out from there. There is a lot of traffic on the weekend. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-13 to 2023-Jan-18 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Start in Termas the Chillan opt. 2 than RR from 40km to 105.9 and finished using opt. 6. / Maks&amp;Gabi <br /> <br /> Trail is visible almost all the time. All the fords are easily passable. We had met arrieros 3 times, they were nice and helpful. One of them asked about why we are hiking, as there is a lot of people going this way, but he seemed to be okay with it.<br /> There is a lot of really horseflies especially between 83 and 93 km. <br /> There were also quite a lot of cows on trail, that were not so happy to see us, but we just walked around them (with some bigger distance). Be careful as the bulls seem to be very protective over the small ones. <br /> <br /> Option 06A is probably overgrown - we spent about 15 min trying to find the trail but we gave up after all ( it was about 300m after crossroad ).<br /> Gate on 8.6km of option 6 was locked with the padlock, but noone was there so we just walked over the fence. <br /> <br /> All other gates on all trail were easily passable. One of the arrieros just noted that we should close them after crossing. <br /> From the hydro powerplant till the end of the option 06B there were a lot of people working on a road but none of them seemed to have a problem with us being there.<br /> We hitch hiked to Antuco. <br /> It was our first try on the GPT (recommended by a local mountain guide from Termas de Chillan) and it was definitely worth it! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-08 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> Probably my favorite section so far! A nice mix of remote alpine stretches, forests, and fields. However the horseflies made it hard to appreciate at times, they were pretty much constant during the later section around Laguna Laha.<br /> <br /> I hitched from San Fabián around noon and did most of the road walk the first day. The campsite at 21.6 is fenced off. I stayed at 20.3 which didn't have great water access, just a muddy spring. Scrambling down to the river wasn't feasible but I found a bit of clean flow partway down.<br /> The Nuble crossing wasn't so bad for me, it was just below my waist (5'11/181cm). Still the hardest one so far. I found the trail afterwords pretty hard to follow, with lots of side paths eventually leading to thorny bushwhacking. It finally convinced me to pull the route up on my watch for the first time, definitely worth it here.<br /> A ways after the river crossing you'll come out of the woods into an open river valley. I recommend crossing the stream there and finding the path on the other side, instead of struggling through the blowdown/landslide debris along the gpx track.<br /> The trail was fairly slow from the Nuble crossing to los Peucos. After that it's super fast except for a few stretches in the mountains above the Laguna Laha. <br /> The natural hot springs just below the pass near the Volcan Chillan were very nice, but full of little flies. They didn't seem to bite.<br /> The camping at los peucos was very expensive, but they had a bit of food for sale (fruit!!). Comfy grass, wifi, well maintained bathrooms. The hot springs there were too hot for me, slightly painful.<br /> I missed option C and definitely regretted it. The road up was super rocky, and hot with no shade.<br /> The stretch above Laguna Laha was the driest I've passed so far. Thankfully there were a few snow fed streams/ponds left, but I should have carried more water to be safe. Laguna Hermosa was true to its name, a nice place to camp my last night.<br /> The main road at the end was pretty busy, you could hitch right away and skip the entire last 13ish km. But the extra little stretch of trail at the end was definitely worth it to me.<br /> It took me a while to get a ride to Antuco even though the road was busy. Most people were just going a bit further along. It's not the nicest town but there's decent selection for resupply. I got a room for 15k/night at a cabana/hostal place on Sgto. Aldea street. For some reason I didn't have cell service there, with Movistar.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-01 to 2023-Jan-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option C / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We took bus from San Fabian (corner on the other side of the gas station) in the afternoon, and camped after ford of Los Sauces river (water only to the ankles). A lot of annoying tabanos, but plenty of space to camp. Quite a lot of locals go there as well. The next day we continued to the ford or Rio Nuble that turned out to be the worst so far for us. Doing it in the afternoon was not the best idea - the current was strong and even when it was just waist-high, we were not able to pass through the fastest part where the path takes you. We figured out to go more upstream, but just like 30m maybe? to a point where the water was really deep but completely calm. There is a rock wall on the other side. The water reached our chest at that part and our hands holding poles were under the water, making it hard to gain stability. We decided to take our chances and try to cross, using rocks covered with some grass to gain traction. There were times when we were floating in the water with close to 0 stability but we eventually made it. Best to be there early to have the best possible conditions. Until the end of the day we managed to get up through the forrest. Before you get out of the forrest you are crossing a stream that is going down between the rocks, but if you take a minute or two before it path that goes lower than trail, you will find a nice spot by the water with some wooden bench and nice covered place to camp. We prefered to be out of the forrest so we continued, but found only a field of fallen trees caused by landslide. It was possible to find a place to camp closer to the river. It is best to continue on the other side, which we did the next day. You will soon connect to the trail again, before going up.<br /> <br /> The way up from the valley is quite steep. From the pass you get a nice view of the Chillan volcano. Going further down to the lava field, we followed advices of others and get up to the top of lava field right away and continued walking on it. After the pass you will find a valley with hot springs which are simply amazing. Good to plan camping there so you can enjoy it fully. From the valley the trail is clear, until a short section before the official camp (1-2 kms before it), where it’s more of a bush-bashing. This part starts near a puesto where we came across herd of young bulls that seemed to be more curious that we would like and we had to go around them, a little off the trail. We struggled a little to find our way into the camp, which was not so clear from our gps (eventhough the path is clear all the way to the river) - the camp is secured by wire fences that we wanted to avoid, but at the end we crawled under them to get to the camp, aprox. according to our gps. If you follow the river downstream you might get to the official gate / entrance, not sure. Like other mentioned the price is quite high, and so are things in the little shop - most of it are classic camping things that last long like pasta, rice, canned fruits, a lot of cookies… but we were grateful for it anyway. The hot springs there are also amazing, man-made stone pools, with the view of the stars in the night it is perfect and worth the price. There are maybe 10 dedicated places to camp with wooden desk and bench, covered by roof (good when it’s raining). More space is close to the showers and the common, shared house with kitchen, fireplace and again desks with benches. We met there some workers from a gas company, fixing pipes close to the laguna, who were sleeping in the camp. The guy watching over the camp (from CONAF) was also nice and helpful - if you need anything, this is the right person to ask.<br /> <br /> On the next day, we continued on the minor road, where we took the C option, like others. Following the RR we found the 08-E option (which follows the MR) to be a better choice since the RR is a little overgrown in the beginning and with thistle-vegetation. Easy pass in the forest, and nice places to camp in the valley. We were lucky to find their cows again (luckily on the other side of the river), but bulls woke us up in the morning - this must have been the fastest packing in the history. We enjoyed more fun with the cows and bulls later in the valley, that were blocking our way and refusing to go away - that made us to take another short detour around them.<br /> <br /> A lot has been already written about the last part of this section that takes you up to the plateau. The climb is quite steep and long so don’t forget to take water from the last laguna - that is the last option. The next stream we found was about 2 kms from the point where you reach the ridge. We camped before Laguna Hermosa with nice view of the volcano. There was some melting snow above the laguna and we found 4G signal there (where the pole is). We found the descent down to be quite ok, there are small slippery rocks so it’s necessary to be careful, but nothing too bad. The descent gets very dusty later (when it’s dry) and is still steep in the forrest with a lot of water from the snow. We got to the main road in the afternoon and were lucky to catch a ride all the way to Antuco. We booked the only available place we found on booking called Puelche de Antuco, a really nice cabin. The town is nice with a lot of restaurants and shops.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-28 to 2023-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Los Sauces - Antuco / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> We took the bus at 6 pm from San Fabián to Los Sauces and camped next to the river.<br /> <br /> The path until the river crossing of Rio Ñuble is basically a dirtroad, so we got there pretty fast. Only the horseflies were very annoying. We recommend bringing insect repellent.<br /> Christopher is 1.88m and the water went up to his navel at the main route crossing. Anna with 1.63m was not able to cross the river there.<br /> After some tries we found a possibility a couple of hundred meters upstream, where the water just went up to Anns knees. The tough part was to get up to the path on the other side. After some bush bashing, you have to get up a 3 to 4 meter high, almost vertical slope. We found a tree, whose roots we used to climb up, which was not super easy. Once you are up there, there is a good path that leads to the main route.<br /> <br /> The next day was nice until the valley around km 25 (where the river is not correctly positioned in the gaia app). There are tons of fallen trees and it was really hard to get through and there was mostly no visible path. It's probably best to stick to the upstream right side of the river.<br /> Afterwards the path gets really nice. Especially in the evening sun, it was very beautiful to cross the volcanic landscape. We camped in the valley at km 40 at the hot springs.<br /> <br /> The third day has a good path at the beginning. Just the last 3 km it gets more difficult, especially approx. 2 km before Los Peucos, where it's mostly bush bashing.<br /> The camping at Los Peucos is nice, as well as the hot springs, but we had to pay 14k CLP p.p. to camp there and in the evening there are tons of mosquitos. We would have camped a bit further downstream, if we had known that to be honest.<br /> <br /> The next day we took option C, like Veronica suggested, to avoid an unnecessary climb. Then we made an unnecessary climb following the road and not the main path, because we couldn't find the entry to the path right away and feared more bush bashing. But the path looked great from above.<br /> The rest of the route until shortly after Laguna Hermosa was really good. There is not much snow left and therefore there are not a great many places to fill up water.<br /> After Laguna Hermosa the path gets very hard to cross, due to lots of stones and gravel without a visible path.<br /> But it's very beautiful up there and finally not hot anymore.<br /> The descend has a easy to find path but is pretty slippery. Once you pass that the rest is pretty easy until the road, from where we hitchhiked to Antuco. We stayed at Camping Rucue for 15k CLP the camping lot. You pay for the lot not per person.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-19 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT08-02 / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: Los Sauces - Río Ñuble crossing - backtrack to Los Sauces - hitch to Termas se Chillán (GPT08 option 2) - Los Peucos - Laguna Laja - Laguna Hermosa - CONAF near Abanico <br /> <br /> San Fabian is a great place, loved swimming in the Ñuble River when it got hot. The owner of Cabañas San Fabian is super kind. I hitched back to the trail because I didn't want to wait all day for the bus that leaves at 6pm. <br /> <br /> Registered with the carabineros at El Roble, but I could not ford Río Ñuble at the RR crossing. Current was very strong, and has I been able to stand up in it, the water would have easily reached my chest (I'm165 cm). I tried several times to ford the river at three different places, several km apart from each other, with no success. I would advance in the stream until I felt I couldn't take another step without being swept, and couldn't get halfway across. I suppose I should have expected this - it's a very high snow year and mid-December. I even tried calling out for help at the puesto on the west side of the river near the &quot;no trespassing&quot; gates, but no one was there. The long walk back to Los Sauces felt very defeating. Also, the &quot;wooden bridges&quot; described by Jo and Veronika are actually only cable crossings, and inaccessible by two barbed wire fences. Not possible to cross the river there either. Ríos Los Sauces and Las Truchas only came up mid-thigh though. <br /> <br /> Regained the GPT at Termas de Chillán, Option 2. Basicall took almost the whole second day to hitch there. Beautiful trail, but steep. You get to ford hot creeks, which was pretty cool. <br /> <br /> The trail is overgrown in some places, the worst spot is between the last puesto before Los Peucos and Los Peucos. Very hard walking through, wished I had a machete. Only lasts a km or two thankfully. All three puestos before Los Peucos looked abandoned. <br /> <br /> Didn't meet anyone at Los Peucos since I got there fairly early in the morning, but the hot springs there are amazing. Really hot, clear water, a little stone pool in a garden. Loved spending time there. <br /> <br /> Taking GPT08-C avoids a pointless climb and descent on the regular route, and has a nice path the whole way. <br /> <br /> Trail gets more difficult once you start climbing up to the ridge after Laguna El Roble. The views are incredible though, absolutely spectacular. Lots of water sources up on the ridge due to many lingering snow patches. Most of them are not a problem. After the junction with GPT08-06, the trail kind of disappears. Keep an eye on the GPS as you climb and descend steeply on the slopes. It reappears again after the following camp and water waypoints. <br /> <br /> Laguna Hermosa still has a couple snow patches on its shores, cold place to camp, but beautiful. After Laguna Hermosa is where it gets really challenging. There is no trail afterwards that I could find, basically cross country the whole way to the TR at 116.8 km. As you approach the &quot;trailhead&quot; waypoint, there is LOTS of scree traverses, and steep snow patches which require microspikes or extreme clambering to get around. Treacherous in some places. I fell a couple times. The ground is very loose and unstable. Things get better actually once you reach the official cross country section at Laguna Lágrima. Still some steep bits, but the ground is more consolidated, and there's more bedrock to help with traction. I reccomend taking the optional route CC-08-H. There's a faint trail to follow and it avoids clambering up on the ridge. <br /> <br /> Very glad to see a clear track again at 116.8. But still some problematic snow fields in this stretch above Laguna Toro, where it was too steep even with microspikes, and I had to do some very careful/serious climbing around. Not fun. Fell again here. Once you reach the long descent into Valle de los Carpinteros it gets much better. Still some snow in the woods over the creek. Right now you can walk on top of it like an ice bridge. There clearly was a LOT of snow here this past winter, it lingers until 1750 m or so in the south-facing valley. <br /> <br /> The puesto at 121.1 looks abandonned too.  Lots of downed trees in the area. There was no one, and no metal gate (or any gate) whatsoever before reaching the road in the National Park. <br /> <br /> The 4 days from Volcán Chillán to the end of the section, I saw no other human. I found this section also to be harder than GPT06, especially the last day. The snow complicates things. If you wish to avoid dangerous clambering and sketchy snow and scree traverses, take Option 06. The trail is good before then.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Jan-28 to 2022-Feb-06 / 10 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo<br /> <br /> Los Sauces -&gt; banks of Rio Ñuble -&gt; hot springs at flanks of Chillan (-&gt; escape to Concepción via Termas de Chillan to buy new shoes -&gt; hot springs at flanks of Chillan) -&gt; Los Peucos -&gt; camp before Laguna Laja -&gt; Laguna Hermosa -&gt; camping Lagunillas (6 proper hiking days)<br /> <br /> Nice section again. Hot springs in the first half, beautiful views of Laguna Laja, Volcán Antuco, Siella Veluda in the second half. Laguna Hermosa is true to its name, and was the first to not have horse or cow droppings on its sandy shores :D Sad to not have crossed Molly and Melissa.<br /> <br /> - The lady at the cable car was not sure whether we could cross with our heavy backpacks, so we forded the river at Los Sauces.<br /> <br /> - From about km 20 the sides of the road are fenced. The camp at km 21.6 is no longer available. <br /> <br /> - There is a gate at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (blocking access to the trail) marked private, no entry. We saw some cars returning through a second gate (blocking access to the river) and asked if it was ok to cross the first gate. They said &quot;For you, sure.&quot; I get the impression that Chileans rather want to keep Chileans out... This gate is not a problem NOBO.<br /> <br /> - Fording Rio Ñuble was the deepest ford we ever did. Balls deep indeed! Quite doable though, as the water is clear.<br /> <br /> - There may be an alternative path on the western bank, starting at the wooden bridges at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206'. Some local at the San Fabián tourist office mentioned having hiked this way.<br /> <br /> - The trail at S 36° 49.177', W 071° 15.206' (around km 30) has eroded. After searching, we had to push through some bushes on a steep ridge to continue the trail. Maybe more obvious NOBO.<br /> <br /> - At the start of the cross country at km 34.6 get to the top of the lava strip after fording the river. For us, this was easiest at S 36° 52.853', W 071° 18.793'.<br /> <br /> - The water at the camp at km 37.3 was mostly dried up. Don't count on it by the end of January.<br /> <br /> - The bus stop at Termas de Chillan is close go Hotel Nevados de Chillan. There are way more buses at Las Trancas de Chillan, 8 km down the road. Fortunately, the whole area has great 4G coverage with Entel, so you can look up the bus tables with the key words &quot;REM bus Termas de Chillan&quot;.<br /> <br /> - The CONAF camp Los Peucos has excellent hot springs and a mini shop. Camping costs 10.000 pp. The guards are very friendly and donated some fruit :)<br /> <br /> - The CC section around km 95 had a clear path, but the subsequent TL section before Laguna El Roble did not.<br /> <br /> - The trail after Laguna Hermosa was hard to find, we went quite slowly clambering on the loose scree or sand. Going down the mountain ridge at the end of the CC section was similarly difficult. Fell twice - could not find solid footing on the slope.<br /> <br /> - The lady at the puesto at km 121.6 was friendly, asked where we came from, went to, and pointed us to the exit road. She seemed friendly, but a subtle hint to &quot;please stay off my land&quot; would have been lost on us in translation. The new metal gate is easy to pass through. The CONAF guard's wife at the final CONAF post mentioned that we were hiking the &quot;sendero biologico&quot; when we mentioned Laguna Hermosa. This trail must pass over the lady's land too?<br /> <br /> - The ATM at Antuco is broken.<br /> <br /> - Supermercado Santa Teresa in Antuco sells 125ml bottles of alcohol desnaturalizado 96° in the nail polish section.v<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-24 / 6.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + OH Cerro Las Águilas / Molly and Melissa<br /> <br /> At the &quot;gate&quot; waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.<br /> <br /> We took the bus to Abanico and hitched to the national park, not the easiest as all the cars were full. The car was stopped at the entrance, and we had to explain our route. We weren't asked to pay, probably because we weren't really going to the national park. You walk a little through it though on some nice paths, and then you reach a gravel road. Shortly after, at the &quot;gate&quot; waypoint, we actually met two men installing a new metal gate. They told us we needed permission to pass, and that the owner would come by shortly. We talked to her, and at first she was very determined not to let us through. I don't know what convinced her - we showed her our garbage bag and shovel to show we would leave no trace, we told about the gpt and how far we had walked. She also expressed concern for her animals being disturbed, or that we would get lost. We then showed her our personal locator beacon, and she finally softened and told us we could go through if we payed 5000 pesos each and continued all the way to Laguna Hermosa, past her lands, before we made camp. She also owns the puesto marked on the route. If going northbound and wanting to avoid a potential conflict, it might be better to take the option along the ridge.<br /> As noted previously, after climbing to the ridge on the rr, the terrain is difficult, but the views are amazing. Not a lot of water, but we managed. Many of the campsites off route, including Laguna Hermosa, require quite a climb down.<br /> You stay high up quite a while, which gives amazing views. <br /> <br /> The cross country along Laguna Laja has a nice path all the way. Then you reach Patricio's puesto. He's very welcoming, and has had people stay in his puesto before. We just drank coffee with him though. His brother German lives in the valley right after Laguna el Roble, but his puesto is hidden in the trees.<br /> <br /> Alternative route Cerro Las Águilas<br /> We chose the Cerro las Águilas alternative, because Volcán Chillán was in yellow alert. While walking there, we met two carabineros on horseback who wanted to know which way we went. Don't know if they would have forbidden the rr. The ascent to Laguna el Lobo is through deep sand, it was very tough and took way longer than we thought. We ended up camping at the Laguna which was nice enough. The ascent from there of the first little hill seemed completely unnecessary to us, at least if you have been by the laguna, as you descend to the same level. It would be worth it to walk to the right and ascend directly on the brown mountain, following the GPS from there. The ridge walk was tough as well, a lot of scrambling. The GPS often wanted us to go right of the rocky tops, where going left or directly over often seemed easier/safer. There is no water until the valley between the two passes. There, we also found a nice campsite right after the big stream on the bottom, a little to the left.<br /> After reaching Rio Ñuble, you follow it for a long time. There are multiple streams running towards it where we had to take off our shoes - no lack of water here, though. The alternative also fords Rio Ñuble itself in a different location compared to the rr - we had no problems whatsoever there. It reached mid-thigh and wasn't too strong, and we are both around 160 cm. It is a very low snow year though, and very dry. Here would be a nice place to camp.<br /> <br /> After rejoining the rr, we decided to continue to the waypoint &quot;camp&quot;. That was a mistake, though, as everything around there is fenced in with big signs saying &quot;private property&quot;. The second campsite right after is not fenced in, but doesn't look that good on the first glance. The rest of the way to Puente Ingles is gravel road. El Roble has a house that sells sodas - it has a &quot;bebidas&quot; sign. <br /> We crossed Rio Los Sauces beneath the cable cars quite easily, the water was mid-thigh - again very dry year. <br /> <br /> Puente Ingles<br /> In Puente Ingles we stayed at a campsite a little north of the cable car crossing, marked on the map in Locus Maps as &quot;lugar&quot;. It is 10,000 per tent, there are bathrooms, cold showers and tables. They also have a cabaña which was occupied. Puente Ingles has a small shop with sodas, ice cream, tortillas, biscuits, coffee and chips. It is quite nice to bath in the river. The bus still leaves at 7 and 10 in the morning.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2021-Dec-15 / 5.5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Marc Anthony<br /> <br /> Beautiful view of volcán Antuco when walking up towards the ridge line by Laguna Laja and a staying at Los Peucos camping site was a big highlight on my journey on the GPT. Had my dinner in their wonderful hot spring while staring at the clear starlit sky in the cool night. Two nice guys working here and they even donated me some pasta, fruits and vegetables. Walking near the active Chillán Volcano and watching the fumaroles while being circled by a group of condors was also a cool experience. <br /> <br /> With that said, this section kicked my ass. Mainly due to some bad fitting shoes I recently bought in Los Ángeles and because I suffered from bad chafing in my butt which made me walk like I had shit my pants for a couple of days. This combined with some tough terrain (specially near Laguna Laja) and countless of horseflies made this section quite challenging for me. But definitely worth it! <br /> <br /> Like mentioned by hikers in the previous years fording Rio Ñuble can be a bit demanding especially for shorter people. It was getting late when I reached the river so I decided to camp nearby and cross the river in the morning. Had water up to the balls (i’m 189cm) and the current a bit strong but it was not too bad. <br /> Hitched a ride from Puente El Ingles to San Fabian and later jumped on a bus to Chillán to buy new shoes once again. Room with private bathroom for 15.000 at hostal El Molino in San Fabian, nice lady who owns the place.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> *2019-Nov-10 / Jan Dudeck<br /> Volcan Chillán remains active. The regular route passes the crater closely therefore Option 1 appears currently the saver if someone does not want skip section GPT08 completely. This option passes the danger zone with more distance. In case of an eruption volcanic ash is likely to affect Option 1 but the risk of direct volcanic effects is lower (flash flood from melting snow and glaciers, land slides, lava and flying rocks). <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-30 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> Just want to say quick that the termas vapaors in Mèdano are worth checking out, I highly recommend them. Please consider checking them out, they are only ½ km off the trail and absolutely worth it. They are sauna boxes built around a few hot rocks emitting hot steam. The result is a steam room/ sauna experience. I personally spend over 4 hours chilling out in the steam rooms.<br /> After a 2-hour road walk on the side of the highway you make your way back on trial. This section takes you thru many areas used for grazing livestock with puestos in sight almost all the time. Carizales a small settlement right on trail has a small store and the family also sells bread. There was also a puesto that sold us fresh goat cheese and Coca Cola. It is marked as a waypoint on the GPX file about 20km south of Carizales. Much of the trail is very dry and exposed and the landscape is void of trees and vegetation. There are many great places to jump into the river and cool off. The section up and around the lake offers great views of the mountains, volcanoes nearby and Laguna Dial. The trail itself is well established and never had any real trouble navigation. There were also quite a few hot springs on trail or close by.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: Hot and Exposed (especially in summertime). Resupply Distance.<br /> <br /> Highlights: Hot springs. Great sweeping views. Pools of cool water to jump into in the middle of the day.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-20 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option l start south OH 08 - 02 / Martin <br /> <br /> Solo. Because I was not allowed to walk close to the Volcanoe by the carabineros, following the RR, had to take the optional start south OH 08 - 02, in Nevados de Chillán Ski Resort. Funny enough, I walked the first day across the volcanoe anyway, it had some smoke coming out but nothing dangerous happened. Then followed RR to the end. Cross country segments in the ridge close to Laguna del Laja were demanding and not ideal for a solo hiker. But it was worth the effort, one of the most amazing views I have seen so far. Beautiful section. Resupplied and stayed for one night in Abanico.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-05 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR /Ty &amp; America <br /> <br /> Can ford river @ los sauces easily rather than walking from Puente Ingles. Cable Car was all<br /> Locked up. Registration @ El Roble like the others. We camped at the hot rivers close to Volcan Chillan and I fucked up with the gasoline in my stove. Buzzkill...: but Fortunately there was an exit to Termas De Chillan close. We got rides easily from the road.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-03 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie &amp; Tom <br /> <br /> Starting at El Ingles and hiking southbound towards Abanico. Lovely section however can be slow at times when the track is hard to follow. <br /> We had to register with the Carabineros at El Roble. Before crossing Rio Nuble there is a large gate with ‘private property: no entry’ written on it. We found this off putting. The river crossing itself was fine in the early morning but could be challenging without trekking poles and with a very heavy pack. <br /> After the Laguna de La Laja the track becomes especially more challenging and rocky. In poor weather it could be dangerous given the slippery slopes and steep descents. <br /> We honestly found this section harder than GPT06 and would swap the difficulty ratings. <br /> Took a bus into Los Angeles at 5pm to resupply for the next section. Did not investigate Abanico as we caught the bus as it was leaving.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-02 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + optional hike along Laguna de la Laja / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Los Sauces to Abanico.<br /> <br /> Los Sauces: If you tell the bus driver you want to cross the river by cable car (carro azul) he honks at the bus stop and señor Marcial comes from the other side to get you.<br /> Ford Rio Ñuble: If you are a dwarf like me, you should ask your taller hiking partner to carry your backpack, otherwise it will get wet. Demanding.<br /> Volcan Chillan: PLEASE NOTE: We were absolutely aware that our buddy Volcano could erupt or explode at ANY GIVEN MOMENT and that this was NOT a SAFE option to hike. (But it was beautiful! ...and a bit overgrown in some places. There is not much of the trail left before the first pass.)<br /> Laguna de la Laja: It was beautiful but we definitively wouldn't recommend it. There is no trail along the Laguna. At the beginning you can walk on cow tracks close to the waterfront. Afterwards it's 15 km of cross country. The 3 km into the third inlet took us 3 hours and were really dangerous because of loose rocks and steep cliffs. The following investigation part (@08-04-#002) was mainly a quite nice trail, but we lost it twice and it took us ages to find it again, and in this steep and not very easy terrain you don't want to loose the trail. We were really glad when we got back to the regular route.<br /> From Abanico there are several buses per day going directly to Los Angeles. Resupply in Abanico is possible.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-30 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH 1 / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> We had to register in Carabinieros. They didn't have a problem with leting us go even regular route, seemed like eventual crossing to Argentina is their primary issue. <br /> Optional 1 - to the juction with valley walk without problem. Cross coutry part on the ridge was easy to navigate. On downhill there is no trail so we went crosscountry again. It's bit overgrown in some spots, we found trail cca after half of descend. Last flowing water is before juction with valley walk. We saw some water holes cca 2-3km before Laguna de Lobo. <br /> Rest of the regular trail - cross coutry sections were demanding. Otherwise no problem. <br /> We got hitch to Los Angeles after CONAF station so no idea about resuply or accomodation.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Jan-13 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin Lizondo <br /> Volcán Chillán was in &quot;alerta naranja&quot;.<br /> Río Ñuble impassable at S36° 50.188' W71° 14.935' Better continue following the minor road in the alternative route.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> When hiking the alternative east route (Paso Aguila) do not descend to the valley at S36° 57.919' W71° 14.752'. It's unmantained and overgrounded, because of recent forest fires. Better stay above the tree line until Laguna El Lobo.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> *Abanico<br /> At least one restaurant with pizza<br /> Store?<br /> <br /> *Antuco (from Abanico)<br /> Many smaller supermarkets, which have most things - easy enough to resupply here.<br /> One of the two ferreterías has gas (the one furthest from Abanico).<br /> Many accommodation options and some restaurants.<br /> There is an ATM at the town square which even gives some smaller notes.<br /> Bus to Los Angeles<br /> <br /> *Puente Ingles<br /> Store with chips, ice cream, bread, chocolate, sodas. Possibly some accomodation option at the store. Campground with one cabaña a little further down the room - sign says cabañas - 10,000 per tent, toilets with cold showers and a room with a fireplace for cooking<br /> <br /> *San Fabián (from Puente Ingles)<br /> Many accommodation options - almost everything was fully booked when we were there (Feb 2022). <br /> Supermercado La Montaña seems to be the best option - not the easiest place to resupply, but definitely possible. Harder than in Antuco.<br /> Great Venezuelan restaurant Canela Passion. <br /> Bus to San Carlos<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Feb-5: San Fabian to Puente Ingles <br /> Bus at 2 pm and 6 p.m. in front of the carabineros including Sundays and Holidays. <br /> <br /> *Puente Ingles to San Fabián<br /> Bus at 7 am and 10 am - leaves from the campground, drives to the shop and the back again towards San Fabián<br /> <br /> *Bus from Antuco to Los Angeles about once an hour in daytime. <br /> <br /> *A few buses from Abanico to Antuco or you can hitch fairly easily.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT08 - Volcán Chillan]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:Segundo_Rio_Termal_zona_cascadas.jpg|thumb|center|1100px|This river is hot! Aguas Calientes Valley]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (8).jpg|thumb|center|1100px|Laguna Laja and [[Volcán Antuco]], by Matúš Lašan]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT07_(Laguna_Dial)&diff=113367 2023-12-27T17:50:31Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-22 to 2023-Dec-27 / 5.5days / Hiking / SOBO / {07-03}-{07-04A}-{07-04}-{07-04C}-{07-04}- RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> Avoid of right of way dipute and crossing Rio Guaiquivilo, so i go for {07-03}.<br /> <br /> <br /> {07-03} Km6.1 - km7.2 : Lot of campong spot beside the road.<br /> <br /> Pass[11.8/1175] : not a camping place<br /> <br /> Shop,camp[16.3/801] : the shop is not at GPS marked, it is at km16.1. When you come down from pass when get close, you can see your left side have a red roof house, with some ice cream+drinks sign at front gate. When i get to there, shop is open but nobody, only a black dog watching me, take me about 10min to figure out the shop owner is working in farm behind the house.<br /> I called him loudly and he noticed me. He is a nice and very friendly guy. I ate canned fish, bread, ice cream and coke in the shop for lunch, yummy yummy!<br /> The shop mostly for alcohol, but you still can buy some small items for chill.<br /> <br /> Km17.4 : start from here, lot of possible camping spots beside the dirt road in this valley<br /> <br /> Km17.4 - km40 : good cell service.<br /> <br /> Bridge[33.1/763]: dont cross it, it is impossible to cross Río Melado come back to this side by {07-08G}<br /> <br /> Police[20.5/775] : they'll mark down your basic information, destination and the reason why go in this area. Friendly, they give me some ice cold water to drink!<br /> <br /> Shop,camp[25.7/813] : look like is closed, sign for private area<br /> <br /> Km29.5 : look like a small shop for drinks and ice cream here, with a sign&quot;BEBDIAS HELADAS CIGARROS&quot; at the front gate. But no luck, nobody home when i was there.<br /> <br /> Bridge[38.4/936] : i love this bridge.<br /> <br /> Ford[41.9/1031] : look like up tp thighs at road crossing, log bridge for dry feet crossing upstream 50m.<br /> <br /> I forget to mark the location, 1 more stream flowing up to knee, also a log bridge upstream 20m for crossing.<br /> <br /> Settlter[51.6/1138] : a small stream crossing, bridge downstream 15m.<br /> <br /> Water[56.8/1117] : two dirt road crossing the river here, downstream one is deeper like up to waist and much stronger. Upstream one is easier, it break to 2 part by an island, first part go downstream 5m, rock bar underwater, flowing strong and just above knee at late afternoon. After arrive the island, go upstream back to road crossing point, easy crossing there for second part.<br /> <br /> OH-MR-V{07-03}[56.8+1.5] : the middle part is washed away by huge flood, you can walk, but no more dirt road.<br /> <br /> {07-03} Km59.0 : just like Lukas en Tess said, the river is impossible to cross at this moment. So i turn to {07-04A} then {07-04} to keep going south. Also {07-04B} is impossible to hike too, because it need to cross 2 times of that river.<br /> <br /> {07-04} km6.8 : river breaks into 2 parts by an island. There are 2 bridges for crossing, cross the first one, then walk downstream 200m on the island to cross the second bridge.<br /> <br /> First bridge : -36.24670, -70.95043<br /> <br /> Second bridge: -36.24481, -70.94877<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Mostly you can follow a trail on {07-04C} easily until {07-04C} km7.0, then the trail become hard to find and follow, so i walk on the riverbed by my own way. If you want, you can cross the river to join {07-04}, but just remian a little part of trail (others maybe wash away by flood).<br /> <br /> Walk to the end of riverbed at {07-04} km18.8, the trail shows you need to cross the river and climb up to the west. Dont cross the river at RR, it is flowing fast and strong, and look like up to waist at afternoon. At downstream 60m, river breaks into 2 parts, just before the breaking, the river becomes wider, cross at the wide point, it is fast too, but just above knee. When you arrive the west side and meet RR, you'll walk on a trail again.<br /> <br /> {07-04} Km21.1 : Pass, some flat spots at this area.<br /> <br /> Follow the trail in a beautiful valley until km28.7.<br /> <br /> Pass[28.7/1959] : excellent view point of Nevado de Chillán! Still lot of snow of the north side! Beautiful!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Hot spring[38.6/1306] : i hope you don't have any expectations on it and the one beside it. It is just a warm spring at the GPS point, maybe 30°C, a little hotter small pool at upstream, but it is surrounded by tons of cow poops. You wouldn't smell sulfur, because the smell all covered by ....... And i saw one of them is floating inside.<br /> <br /> Hot spring[38.7/1312] : it is much hotter, like boiled water, but very spread, flowing very weak and no pool.<br /> <br /> Puesto[38.8/1304] : after here, you need to cross Rio La Zorra 4 times immediately. Up to knee at morning.<br /> <br /> Ford[41.1/1236] : after this river crossing, from here to Puesto[48.5/1102], is overgrown with thorny plants, more up and down and distance than GPX said. Leave more time for it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[48.6/1109] : RR crossing is impossible for this moment, flowing strong and look like need to swim to cross because too deep my feet can't touch the riverbed.<br /> <br /> But there are better crossing point, when you stand at RR crossing, look at upstream, river breaks into 2 parts, go to there. Get to upstream even 50m more than the break. You'll see a huge white rock, cross before it, it is the widest point of the first part, just half of calf, easy.<br /> <br /> After you get on the island, continue going upstream a little about 30m, it is the widest point of the second part, also half of calf, easy. You can walk on the rock bar of second part, back to RR, a camping spot with fire ring and log seats there.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> OH-MR-V {07-04} [48.7+13.4] : please don't have any expectations on it, it is an overgrown with thorny plants, loose rocks, old and damaged dirt road, you wouldn't enjoy it. Look like no cars running on it for some years.<br /> <br /> {07-04} km53.3 : finally!! The road go under tree line, road conditions become nice, easy walking start!<br /> <br /> No luck, there was no bus on Wednesday 10am to San Fabián. So i walk a little further to see hitch hike possibilities.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> FYI : bridge{07} [155.3+1.7/703](cable car crossing) is chain locked. Look like can't use in some moments. But i find another cable car is at 600m before it.<br /> <br /> OH-TL-V {08-A} [1.2], -36.66468, -71.27290<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-dec-17 / 6 days / hiking / NOBO / O7 + O4 + O8 + O8C / Jens<br /> <br /> It was all pretty straightforward. The only hard part was on option 8C between the lagoon and where it joins option 3. Rough terrain. No trails. All cross country. <br /> <br /> I really enjoyed Option 8. Many huge waterfalls and lush forests. <br /> <br /> Done the supply in Talca. At that time buses only ran once a day from La Mina. <br /> <br /> Very limited supply in La Mina and El Medano. <br /> <br /> 7.30 from La Mina to Talca<br /> 15.00 from Talca to La Mina<br /> <br /> Buses to and from Armadillo are more frequent.<br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-dec-9/ 7 days / hiking / SOBO /7-1B, RR, 7-3, 7-4 / Lukas en Tess<br /> <br /> We stayed a night at el Medano coming from Talca to resupply. Next day we hichhiked to Laguna del Maule to start hiking 7 option 1 B to join RR at K30. We did this to avoid the right of way dipute and the steep climb in the snow. A guy called Arturo gave us a lift and he was in charge of the clearing of the road to Argentina. He told us that what they are doing now they usually do in August!!! Following 7 option1B was no problem exept for a strange snowlake we had to cross we tried to stay at the edge as much as possible. Breaking through the top layer of snow just gave you really wetand icy cold feet but you didnt fall in completely.<br /> From there we had no issues folowing RR until Rio Las Yeguas. The river was the toughest ford we did but we managed, Tess clamping on to my backpack and moving together. The best place was just where RR crosses, we tried moving up and down the river a couple 100 meters to no avail. We continued al the way down to the termas, the minishop on the way was not open. Termas are great! We met a lot of<br /> Awesome caballeros at the camp and we shared food and drink and they gave us a lot of advice. Some offered to help us cross Rio Guaiquivillo but others argued that is was not possible. One guy crossed with his horse and the water came over the back of the horse!! So turning back and following 7 option 3 seamed the best option. That soon turned into 7 option 4 as we were unable to cross the River at 7-3, K59. We where able to cross with a small bridge at a puesto where we met some great people, they told us a guy passed 3 days before and we were able to track his footprints al the way to the end of section 7. The route option 4 is great at times, horrible at others but the perfect alternative. We didn't get to see Laguna Del Dial but the amazing mountain forests we passed made up for it.<br /> <br /> 2023-Dec-17 to 2023-Dec- 22 / 6 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR + option 4 + option 3 + option 1 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present<br /> <br /> - Snow : a little bit of snow left on the pass and around Laguna del Maule but nothing important.<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : easy to find<br /> <br /> - River crossing : (1) option 4 at km 7,8 - the water was really high in the afternoon and the current really strong, Nolwenn thankfully got helped by some caballeros to cross it | (2) on RR at km 47,7 Rio Las Yeguas was crossable in the morning, take your time to find a good spot to cross | the other river crossings were easy<br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny<br /> <br /> - Resupply : (1) in Carizales at km 58,2, you can ask for Dagoberto he has a little ' negocio where he sells some beverages and he will try to have some food as well to sell | (2) the mini market at El Medano is not enough, (3) we went to Talca because we had to buy new shoes (lot of good hiking shop)<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-03 to 2023-Jan-09 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / David and Erika<br /> <br /> We shortened this route by 25 km with a resupply at the restaurant in Los Alamos (past the ghost town of Los Ciprese) Great peeps there, who served us breakfast, recharged batteries, sold us enough ramen and soup to keep us going. For another 5 days. Also gave us a lift to a road above the border crossing at Laguna del Maule, avoiding an unnecessary conversation with boarder guards. It intersects OH-CC-A{07-01C} and starts at where the lake begins, also know as GPT section 2 alts Laguna Dial. This is a great at and plenty of water in Jan. Eliminated also the 500 meter climb and avoids some locked gaits and right of passage issues. Pretty straight forward from there till the end. One Pyrenes puppy trailed us after passing a Puesto. Owners said the puppy didn’t come back. If that happens again, they suggest to deter the puppy from following by using a stick. We found that the settlers at the first water source after the English bridge (marked Water, Settlement {07} [150.6/834]-36.61455, -71.2763) is a delightful family who offered us refuge, a lift in the morning to San Carlos, and lively entertainment. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-23 to 2023-Mar-30 / 8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Hannes, Luisa and Noemi <br /> <br /> Hitchhiked from San Clemente to Laguna del Maule (there are some buses to El Colorado). First night up the valley, second night we slept in Carizales. Little before we were welcomed at the puesto de Carabineros who gave us harina tostada, warm bread, marmelade and juice and showed us the way to the mini shop; Friendly owner there who let us sleep close to the shop. Next day we slept in the middle of this amazing huge and warm valley where Irma and Co. make their cheese...the following day we stood at her puesto and had a great evening with some local arrieros. The day after we went up to the Laguna and camped at the first lake fed by the Laguna, was a great option, nearly no wind and warm water to swim in....Next days (2,5 more) all along to get out at Los Sauces. A section which impressed by the people we met, not so much because of the trail, which has been rather annoying sometimes because of entire valleys to be walked through....Laguna Dial was a highlight but the rest just walking to get in and out with no super special highlights. This is a section where you get loads of contact with arrieros and this makes this section so unique. Value is more on the people than on the panorama.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-24 to 2023-Jan-29 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 7/ Ondrej <br /> <br /> El Medano - Puente Inglés<br /> Overall, GPT07 has many different faces which I really enjoyed - alpine-like pastures, mighty rivers, an impressive laguna, and even forests for the last 25km. Most of the trail goes through long valleys. There is minimum of steep descents and ascents. However, the length and the afternoon heat still make this section challenging. Occassional fruit trees, mini-shops, arrieros, and friendly carabineros make this trail even nicer. <br /> <br /> Details:<br /> <br /> On the 1st day, I started hitchhiking from El Medano at 8am Tuesday, no luck after 20 min so I decided walking, hitched a car in the middle (after 6km). As I got to the fence at the trailhead, there were two cars but no one outside, so I just walked around it and all was ok. Path up the first valey was nice, there is a beautiful green plateau afterwards (what a pleasant change after gpt06!). Cows sometimes camp at the “camp” waypoints. Better not to 100% rely on the marked spots and look for other places. In general there are many good spots for camping. <br /> <br /> The 2nd day marked a slow descent to Carrizales, easy trail and nice views, water pastures can be avoided by following the cliffs alongside the valey. Just be careful, some rocks are unstable - I fell once and scratched myself. On a sidenote, I was quite impressed by the birds that start screaming like an old alarm clock as soon as they spot you, so every being in the valey knows you’re there. Carabineros in Carizales are the best guys ever. They served me a chilled cola and taught me how to prepare harina tostada (i also got some from them). I showed them how the satellite comm device works in return. I camped at the amazing hotsprings after Carozzales. I met two arrieros there who were just leaving. No one else showed up, so I rolled out my mat just next to the hotsprings (there is not enough space for a full tent, but a mat fits quite nicely) and spent a night there.<br /> <br /> 3rd to 5th days are again slow descents/ascents through valleys. Fords are very easy at this time, not above knees. Cheese from Irma is great (10k CLP per kilo) but pack it at least in two ziplock bags otherwise you’ll have the excess liquid all in your backpack like I had. Irma also had beer, cookies, chips and tuna. Laguna Dial is beautiful but indeed no shade. I camped in the middle at one of the camping spots on the shore. <br /> <br /> On the 6th day I was walking along Rio Gonzáles. From km 130 the section is full of forests and extremely beautiful. The fords are fun. Once the route reached the bridge (km 143.1), I decided to follow the advice of other folks and took the alterative option 7 (i.e. staying at the left bank of the river). The climb is significant for the first 6km of the optional route (about 500m in altitude) and without a proper shade. Fortunately there are multiple streams around during the climb. Once you get to about 1200m in altitude, an oak forest starts, another face of gpt07, very beautiful. At about there the trail forks into two paths. I took the option 07-B (the southeastern path of the fork) and it was a bad choice. The trail was hard to find and there were overgrown parts. After some trying I decided to turn back to the fork and continue with the north-west route. The trail there was very well marked and easy to follow. So my advice is once you reach the fork, take the path to your right.<br /> <br /> Buses from Puente Inglés to San Fabian go at 7am and 10am. San Fabian has cabanas that tend to be overbooked. Here is my advice: try to book Cabanas Nativas in advance (they are on whatsapp). If not possible, visit them and check on the day. The owner called about 4 other cabana sites for me and tried to find me a spot. He then offered me to stay with them in the last free cabana (for 12 people) for 35,000 CLP (i.e. a price of a small cabana) which was amazing. There are also two camping sites which have always a spot for a tent. The first one is located at (-36.5650377, -71.5525476) and is just next to a river. It is called Camping Jahuel. Price is 6,000 CLP per person. The second one is at (-36.5541935, -71.5406932) and is called Camping Luciernagas. The price is 15,000 per a tent slot. I liked the first camping more. In terms of resupply, La Montana supermarket has gas canisters. There is also a good supermarket on the main road (approximately -36.5579937, -71.5514614). San Fabian is overall a lovely city worth spending some time in. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-31 to 2023-Jan-05 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option 07 / Tomáš <br /> <br /> This has so far going SOBO been the easiest but also the worst part. Apart from the last 45 km amd a few spots, there is a lot of road walking and the long flat valleys are not much spectacular. I wonder how the alternatives compare. Laguna del Dial is not that attractive, there are no trees around. What is good are fruit trees, from the shop in the middle of nowhere there are plume-like trees that probably ripen in late January, at the Laguna there are probably edible bushes of wild currant (probably ripe in January) and at the end at the penultimate bridge, there are lots of cherries at a puesto and then 1 km further in a former puesto - these ripen in December.<br /> <br /> By this time of the year, all the fords were easy, not above my knees.<br /> <br /> I ressuplied in Talca, where I got using two cars, it took me about five drivers and about 4 hours to go to the place where GPT branches off the main road. I missed the hot springs in El Medano. The trackfiles want to you to keep walking far to the West of the hut in the fenced compound, but there is a trail close to the fence that can be followed to the minor road behind. There is no cell phone coverage on the major road after the hot springs.<br /> <br /> The first pass is nice, soon after there are lot of puestos and this was the first section where I actually met people-arrieros every day. The descent to the valley is uneventful, once you reach Rio Saso, there is a minor road with very little cars. Carabinieros took my details, asked where I went, I said Laguna del Dial and that was that. There was nobody at the shop (and they have very little supply from what I could see from the window) around 1830. They seemed to have wifi in case somebody badly needs it, it is password protected but you could ask. A few km before the hot springs, a trail branches off the main road - then it is about 10 km of trail before you reach the road again. This stretch and a few km around the shop are quite nice deapite the road).<br /> <br /> The hot springs are nice, perfect temperature. Right next to them, there is place for a single person for sleeping otherwise you need to camp further downstream or at the camp waypoint. They can easily be reached in two days, the trail is easy. I managed without really wanting to miss the second carabinieros befora the Laguna. The roads only ends less then 10 km from the Laguna.<br /> <br /> The first waypoint &quot;hot springs?&quot; is in the middle of the river, not sure what itnisnsupposed to mean.<br /> <br /> The section feom the second pass (the one after the laguna) is really nice, first woth some trees, at the end with lots of trees. <br /> <br /> The second &quot;hot spring?&quot; waypoint is real you need to ford through the canyon a bit (which is fun on its own, there are places where you can leave the canyon abiut 200 m downstream from the hot.spring) to reach it. The water is too hot, it springs not much above the levlnof the river. I tried to make a pool where the water could cool down but have not finished it. I encourage you to build upon it.<br /> <br /> Then there is a stretch with a lot of fording (there it is gorgeous), one last ford is missing from the waypoints- you need to ford about 20 m along a steep rock fa e that falls dire,tly to the river. Do not try to go around it.<br /> <br /> Once you reach the last bridge where the minornroad to the end of section begins (in the files it is mislabeled as trail), I encourage you to stay on the left bank and climb a bit on option 07. It goes through really nice oak (I think) forrest and it is a trail almost to the end of the section. I think thi Sparta is almost the nicest of all GPT 07 and I think RR should be routed through this option. The trail is in good condition. From Los Sauces ,there are not many cars (congratulations to other people havong been lucky). Luckily there are buses at 7 and 10 in themornong to San Fabian. The second bus goes back at two. I thinknon Sundays itnisnall shifted by one hour (so it leaves an hiur later) but I am not sure. There is signal from the last bridge but there is no cell cig al in Los Sauces.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-25 to 2022-Dec-31 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 3 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> After some good time spent at El Medano (there was a small shop and kiosk with basic food and drinks) we followed the road for first few kms. At the end at km 11.3 going right to join the trail to the mountains, we went around the security house, greeting the guard from distance and further following the gps. But after joining the minor road we got into a little right of way conflict - there were 2 cars going down the road from the mountains and they stopped to tell us its a private property and its not possible to get through without permission. We tried to explain everything, showing maps and garmin device, no intention to set up fire, ziplock for trash etc, but we got the same answer all over again - its private, not possible to pass and that the way is dangerous anyway. For some time it looked like we would be able to obtain the permission from the guard, so we agreed to go with them back to the security house, but at the time it was getting dark already, the guard didnt seem to worry about us, but we understood they will not let us go through - we were told that the permission is not possible to get now and that there is another way around which turned out to be the option 3 going through the next valley. The family offered us to take us to their house and to the other road (start of 07-03) the next day which we accepted, eventhough it would be probably possible to refuse and somehow sneak into there, we decided to respect their will and it turned out to be really nice evening with this family, we learned a lot about the place.

Option 3 was not that intersting, basically a dirt road all the time. Shop at km 16.3 is actually on the opposite side than what shows the gps, just a few meters back, you cant miss that. There is a wide selection of drinks, beer and wine (probably locals favorites) and some basic things like canned fish, biscuits etc. Possibly even some food that we have seen on the sign, but didn’t ask. A lot of annoying tabanos everywhere in this part. Shop in Carrisales is really small but still something to look forward, it has even beer and ice cream. It is run by a friendly man who’s looking after the property.<br /> <br /> We really liked the whole stretch in the valley and around all the puestos. We forded the river in its wider part after marked hot spring and walked on the other side. Some parts were a little more exposed on the trail we took but otherwise easy to follow. We have seen even some people camping and fishing there. The way to Irma’s puesto is well described below. Stopping there is a must, they invited us to sit with them for a while in the evening and let us camp on their yard (honestly not the best place with all the animals 😄). But we bought some drinks, beer (!) and even pan + goat cheese in the morning. 1 kg of cheese was for 16k CLP i believe. At police station we had no problem.<br /> <br /> The next few kms were quite exhausting for us in the hot weather, but we made it to Laguna Dial in the afternoon. Good place to have some rest in the beginning where is a rock on the other side. On that day we made it aprox. half way around the lake where we met some Argentinian fishermen still celebrating their World Cup win, what a nice encounter. We didn’t have any problem on the rest of the trail and it took us 2 more days to El Ingles. Last ~20km on the road are fast, but its still up and down quite a lot. We finished this section on 31st Dec in the afternoon. With no hope of any bus going to the town we bought some snacks and beer in a small shop in some construction site by the main road and continued in the direction to the south. After less than 15m waiting in a bus station by the cable car a car arrived and took us all the way to San Fabian.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-26 to 2022-Dec-31 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> El Médano - Puente Inglés <br /> I had a tougher time than expected on this section, but overall still a good experience. My pace ended up similar to section 6, at times slower but with the occasional fast road to make up for it. I spent a lot of time trying to keep my feet dry but they always just ended up getting wet anyway, I had a bunch of blisters by the end of day two. My main advice just be to accept it and just trudge straight through the waterlogged pastures.<br /> <br /> Meeting the arrieros/settlers along the way was one of the highlights. No one seemed to mind me passing through their country. Most of the time we'd just wave, and sometimes they'd call out and chat for a bit. They had some amazing yells. There was no one at the shop in Carrizales when I passed through at 4:30, but I did manage to get a fanta and some great goat cheese later from Irma. The cheese lasted well through a day and a half of hiking in the heat. 500g was the least she'd sell, so I just ate a bunch of it with chips for my last few meals.<br /> <br /> Everyone I passed told me about another pair of hikers doing the same route, but a day ahead of me. I never caught up with them, but I know their footprints well.<br /> <br /> The horseflies were really swarming on some stretches, they made a few nights and lunch breaks pretty uncomfortable. But I found that if I just kept walking I'd normally find a bug free spot within an hour or so. I never figured out how to predict where I'd find them. There were generally more at lower altitude and sheltered places, with lots of exceptions.<br /> <br /> The fords were all easy for me, the highest came up to my thighs (I'm 5'11/180cm).<br /> <br /> I spent the first night at El Médano. They didn't have a midday bus from Talca, the earliest I could go was at 3pm. The vapores were great, but a little hard to find. Pretty much empty at 6pm. The next morning I hitched easily to the start. I decided to start hiking on the other side of the river where I got dropped off, and then ford further down after the building.<br /> <br /> I luckily caught a ride from some carabineros pretty early along the road walk at the end, who took me straight to San Fabián.<br /> <br /> Overall a great hike. Doing it in five walking days was reasonable, but felt a bit rushed for me. The second half was definitely more enjoyable for me. If I could go back in time I'd probably hitch a bit further to the Laguna del Maule and do one of the options starting from there.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-17 to 2022-Dec-23 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Anna &amp; Christopher <br /> <br /> El Médano - Puente Inglés <br /> We started by hitchhiking to the beginning of the dirtroad (11 km from El Médano). At about 7:30 am on a saturday we got a ride within a minute :)<br /> As Veronica wrote there is a closed gate, but you can walk around it. We met a local living there and he greeted us niceley, so it seems to be no problem.<br /> The next day we arrived in Carrizales around 4 pm. We resupplied there (the shop has a modest selection). The almacén is basically at the owners house, so one can propably buy sth there pretty late or early in the day. Plus the owner is super nice. She even offered us some fruits and vegetables for free and allowed us to camp opposite her house.<br /> <br /> The first river crossing was the hardest for us. Anna is 1,63 m and the water reached above her hips. The other two rivers were pretty easy to cross.<br /> <br /> From Puente Inglés we hitchhiked to San Fabián. There is also a bus once a day which leaves at 10 am.<br /> <br /> Section 7 is really nice with beautiful views and a very diverse landscape. It gets really hot in the afternoon though.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-07 to 2022-Dec-12 / 5.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica <br /> <br /> Route: El Médano - Carrizales - Río Guaiquivillo - Laguna Dial - Río González - Puente Inglés <br /> <br /> A wonderful stretch of the GPT, I especially enjoyed the second half of it. Decent trails, except when they go into cow pastures or traverse some sandy/scree cliffs where erosion has taken place. Lots of great swimming opportunities, which is good because the midday/afternoon heat gets quite oppresive. <br /> <br /> Some demanding river fords this time of year. The ones that stand out as being particularly difficult are 1: the one after the first pass after Carrizales, 2: Río Guaiquivillo (downright scary), 3: Río Paralelo before Laguna Dial (although not so bad after experiencing Guaiquivillo) <br /> <br /> Took the bus from Talca back to El Médano at 3 pm. The &quot;vapores&quot; at El Médano are awesome, and free if you stay at the nearby campground. When I went three next morning at 9 a.m. there was nobody there and I got to try out and enjoy the three different saunas. <br /> <br /> Hitching the 11km along the paved road is pretty easy, but few cars go by. There was no one at the gate/fence when I arrived, easy to go around by following the river a few hundred meters. <br /> <br /> At the last cross-country section before Carrizales, I recommend taking the northern Option D route, as the RR takes you straight into a muddy, flooded cow pasture, and the drier mountainside is covered in pesky, sharp/thorny yellow flowers which will tear through your legs. The northern route has to be better than that! <br /> <br /> The fences before Carrizales start near the junction where Option H ends, but I found lots of accessible water sources and decent campsites even along the fenced section. The best one was less than a km after the last &quot;settler&quot; waypoint before Carrizales, with lots of shade, grass, and mature trees to the right of the trail. <br /> <br /> The hot springs after Carrizales are definitely worth the detour! They are properly hot, and right next to a beautiful, cool creek. <br /> <br /> I'm 165 cm and Río Guaiquivillo was one of, if not the most, demanding ford I've ever done. I went upstream a couple hundred meters from where the RR crosses it, where the river braids into two channels and is wider. The current was fast in the first channel, making little rapids over the rocks, but the water only went midway up my thighs. The second channel the water went up to my hips and nearly swept me downstream. Maybe look for a better place downstream to cross the second channel once you reach the island after the first channel. <br /> <br /> After the river crossing, follow the 4×4 path, not necessarily the GPS RR track. The GPS will try to lead you into knee-deep boggy pastures, but if you follow the 4×4 trail it should (mostly) stay dry. <br /> <br /> The carabineros at the police puesto took down my passport info and asked when I'd be returning from Laguna Dial. I explained I was continuing onward to Puente Inglés and wouldn't be coming back. <br /> <br /> Between the police puesto and Río Los Sauces, I only saw 2 people (arrieros), and not a soul at Laguna Dial. Must be a quieter time of year. Laguna Dial is amazing - clear, cold, deep waters perfect for swimming. The trail from the west end of Laguna Dial all the way to the last bridge before Puente Inglés is awesome - clear and easy to follow. The stretch along Río González was probably my favorite part, as you are in frequent forests going along a steep-walled canyon. Plus the fords along that river were not difficult :) <br /> <br /> I got offered a ride once I was midway through the hot, dusty road walk to Puente Inglés, and they took me straight through to San Fabian. So I can't comment on the bus schedule.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2022-Feb-28 to 2022-Mar-06 / 7 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Carlos <br /> <br /> There is now a locked gate to acces the dirt road from/to Road 115 CH at the power station building. I was told it wasn't allowed to enter and was asked how I had got in (going Northbound it was the end of my hike). I explained I was coming from Carrizales on a trail and they opened the gate for me.<br /> <br /> It was a Sunday and oddly enough the guards just happened to be crossing the gate in a pick up just at the very moment I arrived, so couldn't find out if the station is manned during the week.<br /> <br /> As It was quite obvious they were not happy at all me being there I couldn't scout the place to find a way around but it looked quite possible to walk around the fence, either towards the slope or next to the river. Although if you want to enter (hiking Southbound) and there is a guard at the gate you might be turn around.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-06 / 8 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Molly and Melissa <br /> <br /> Generally an easy trail, but tough due to the heat and the heavy pack. Plenty of water despite the dry landscape. Not many panoramic views - instead the attraction consists of meeting the many arrieros and walking through the land where they live. <br /> We arrived by bus at El Inglés at 3:30 pm and started walking down the very hot, dry gravel road. Lots of places along the river seems great for camping/swimming. After walking a little, a car offered us a ride and dropped us off right before the first bridge. We wanted to camp at the first &quot;hot spring?&quot; waypoint, but there seemed to be no hot springs. From there, a nice path all the way to Laguna Dial. We ended up camping at the second camp waypoint, very nice place for a swim - which was very needed after a very hot day. The first camp waypoint has a puesto as well.<br /> We passed the police, they were very excited to have visitors and served us soda and biscuits. We camped at the next ford near a big willow. There is a campsite that seems to be used by the arrieros, but not while we were there. <br /> Irma's daughter sold us some of their cheese. They had goat and cow cheese, 1.5 L colas, beer, wine and sopaipillas. Irma wasn't home. Initially we were chased off by a pretty scary dog, but we were able to approach once some horseback riders appeared and people in the puesto came out and could shout at the dogs. <br /> After her puesto, we had some trouble finding the right path - the route kept leading off the gravel road with no path in sight. In the end, we just followed the gravel road, returning to the regular route just before the climb at the second &quot;hot springs?&quot; waypoint. This required a river crossing that was a little difficult even in this dry year.<br /> Pretty easy walk the rest of the way to Carrizales on a gravel road. We found many delicious brambles along the road. <br /> <br /> The shop in Carrizales had pasta, canned tuna, cakes, many different biscuits, popsicles, chips, bread, sodas, marmelade, harina tostada, batteries, caramels. The town itself consisted of a few houses and an avanzada de carabineros. As mentioned, some fences after the town. We camped at the next &quot;ford&quot; waypoint, on a nice meadow next to the river.<br /> <br /> On the next cross country section, better stick to the route along the mountain side - the whole valley is very wet, and there's often a path to follow along the route. Many animals and puestos all the way up the mountain.<br /> We camped at the camp/ford waypoint after reaching the last gravel road. A lot of garbage, but we found a nice little place and even caught a trout.<br /> The main road is pretty big, probably easy to hitch, but goes through some pretty mountains as well. <br /> <br /> Termas el Medano is a nice place as well, there is a big hot pool (with some cold currents in-between) and some smaller lukewarm ones, and you can swim in the river. The entrance is 1000 pesos, but if you camp at the nearby campground (3000 pesos per person), acces is free. There is also a minishop with sodas, chocolate, chips, sunscreen and a few other things, and a restaurant with typical Chilean food. The bus leaves for Talca at 7:10 in front of the parking lot, but you have to call in advance as it only goes that far if they know someone is going - +56994741961.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-17 to 2022-Jan-24 / 8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo<br /> <br /> Termas El Médano -&gt; Carrizales (2 days) -&gt; Rio Maule -&gt; Laguna del Dial -&gt; El Inglés (3 days)<br /> <br /> Greatly enjoyed this section, which took us seven proper hiking days to complete.<br /> <br /> We started at 19:00 at Termas El Médano because the only bus at Talca left at 15:00. Hiked the 11 km of tarmac and camped on the river bank next to 115, about 1 km beyond section 1 (S 35° 52.736', W 070° 40.119', courtesy of iOverlander).<br /> <br /> At the end of the third section (around S 35° 57.665', W 070° 38.836') we could not find the path on the northern scree and rock slopes. Instead, we switched to the southern valley flank about a hundred meters before the actual switch, fording the small stream easily and following cow trails until we were back on the path. Found a decent camp site (S 35° 52.736', W 070° 40.119') after the first puesto on the mountain plains.<br /> <br /> From about 10 km before Carrizales, all water and accompanying meadows are fenced in. If you plan to camp before Carrizales, turn back the moment you see fences appear on the side of the road. At the end of a long day, we asked the shop owner in Carrizales if she knew a good spot, and she let us camp on one of their fields (with accompanying barking dogs ;). Still, muchas gracias!<br /> <br /> The hot springs after Carrizales were the best so far and definitely worth the detour. Señora Irma sold us fresh cheese, tomatoes, bread and coke, even though we happened upon her puesto in the middle of celebrating January 20th - either in the honor of San Sebastian or a victory in the war between Chile and Peru-Bolivia - with friends and family. Thanks again!<br /> <br /> Laguna del Dial was gorgeous and great to swim in. We camped right at the start of the lake (S 36° 25.533', W 070° 55.101') where the water had sufficiently retreated to leave room for one tent. After the lake, we had the impression of taking an arriero highway, encountering plenty of horseback riders, most of them arrieros. For us, it was often hard to understand their dialect, given that we're very novice Spanish speakers. Still, got to see a glimpse of the way these modern day cowboys live.<br /> <br /> The first bridge you encounter (sobo, around S 36° 33.547', W 071° 10.798') is rickety and unusable. Hence the second smaller bridge a bit further upstream, which I only found out about after fording the river :D<br /> <br /> The bus at El Inglés to San Fabián left at 7:00 and 10:00 in the morning. At the bridge, the river bank opposite to the shop has some smaller streams pouring into the river, making this the relatively nicer side to camp (though there's plenty of garbage on both sides, despite the signs requesting not to litter). Some Chilean campers showed us the streams, thanks once again!<br /> <br /> In San Fabián, stayed at Cabañas Anfer Domos for 35.000 CLP per night for two. Cabañas Nativas and Hostal El Molino were both full.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-26 to 2022-Jan-04 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Option to Reserva Achibueno / <br /> <br /> From Parque Inglés to the entrance of Reserva Achibueno<br /> Buy your ticket online for “El Bolsón” on the CONAF website and get to the trailhead before 3pm<br /> 4hrs hike to El Bolsón, a great place with waterfall, great views, nice camping spots, hikers<br /> TO CHECK: Bus from Molina to Parque Ingles leaves at 9 am (not positive) on week-ends and holidays <br /> Easy hitch from Radal to Parque Ingles coz lots of campers going there on week-ends<br /> Be careful a ranger told me the park closes on Mondays <br /> It took me around 4 days from Parque Siete Tazas Park entrance to the road Q115 (Central Cipreses)<br /> From Road 115 I hitched to a village by Colbún lake where I resupplied : good supermarkets (a little on the expensive side), food truck , pastry shop <br /> I didn't like Altos de Lircay NP : after El Bolson (4 hrs in) no fucking shade for 3 days and an half except that of a shelter a little off trail, blazing sun all day, sand sand sand, I found the place so inhospitable, monotonous sights : sand dunes for ever, quite some struggling pedalling in the soft sand, plus I had no gaiters (stupid me) and low heels shoes so that was a bummer. However the place is super special, feels like on the moon (beautiful pictures) and I can understand why many love it<br /> Some “hot springs” are actually just luke and others just a hole or boiling hot (I added these informations to the track and waypoints I sent to Jan Dudek) so don't be like me fantasizing all day on that fantastic bath you will get or wait for Jan's update (thanks so so much for all you do mate).<br /> After resupplying I hitched on option 7 XXX all the way the Mellado cañon (really nice, by the river all the time), communities. After hiking South from Carizales (which has a very limited “store”) I was short on time and food and realized bare landscapes over the tree line were not my cup of tea (I prefer hiking below 1700 m in this part of Patagonia) so I left RR and took another option all the way to the West to Reserva Achibueno which I really enjoyed : great landscapes, lakes, rivers and met some cool hikers and fishermen<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-30 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias<br /> <br /> Overview:<br /> Just want to say quick that the termas vapaors in Mèdano are worth checking out, I highly recommend them. Please consider checking them out, they are only ½ km off the trail and absolutely worth it. They are sauna boxes built around a few hot rocks emitting hot steam. The result is a steam room/ sauna experience. I personally spend over 4 hours chilling out in the steam rooms.<br /> After a 2-hour road walk on the side of the highway you make your way back on trial. This section takes you thru many areas used for grazing livestock with puestos in sight almost all the time. Carizales a small settlement right on trail has a small store and the family also sells bread. There was also a puesto that sold us fresh goat cheese and Coca Cola. It is marked as a waypoint on the GPX file about 20km south of Carizales. Much of the trail is very dry and exposed and the landscape is void of trees and vegetation. There are many great places to jump into the river and cool off. The section up and around the lake offers great views of the mountains, volcanoes nearby and Laguna Dial. The trail itself is well established and never had any real trouble navigation. There were also quite a few hot springs on trail or close by.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: Hot and Exposed (especially in summertime). Resupply Distance.<br /> <br /> Highlights: Hot springs. Great sweeping views. Pools of cool water to jump into in the middle of the day.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-17 / 7.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Bruno and Martin <br /> <br /> 7.5 days for this great section. We resupplied in el Médano and continued with the section. Just enough variety. Highly recomend eating harina tostada, a vital meal for the arrieros, nutritious and practical. Be minded tha in our camping ground in El Médano there were only three hours of electricity a day, may be hard to recharge. Regular trail was easy to follow, except on mountain pastures where is also likely to get your feet wet. Bought some food in Carrizales. Passed through the welcoming puesto of señora Irma for some eggs, bread and cheese. Irma te manda saludos Jan! Laguna Dial is amazing and we stayed one day fishing, resting and swiming in Lake Camp -2. We were invited for some mate and tortas by a local arriero.The Rio Gonzalez valley is a complete change of scenery, with forests which we enjoyed very much. Resupplying in San Fabián. <br /> <br /> After talking with the carabineros in San Fabián, we were told that we would not be allowed to pass through the RR near Volcán Chillán, in the last comisaria in El Roble, due to current volcanic risk. Trying instead an optional start further south, in Termas de Chillán. Maybe for next hikers it would be ok, but better to ask anyway.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2020-Jan-3 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Maddie &amp; Tom <br /> <br /> Starting at El Medano, hiking the regular route southbound towards El Ingles. <br /> 11km in we encountered a gate to get onto the trail with private property signs. However no one was there so we walked in without difficulty by walking around the fence (it was late Christmas Day however so it could have been quiter than normal). In general a nice route however when the track descends into cow pastures it gets very boggy and the track sometimes disappears. We did not think there were any dangerous spots. <br /> To resupply at the end of the section we took a bus in the morning from Los Sauces (10am) to San Fabian. We caught the same bus back at 1pm. Great selection of cheap food in the local ‘mountain’ supermarket and overall a good town for resupply options. It had methylated spirits for cooking but the bottle did not state the concentration. I suspect around 70%.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-29/ 8 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR with optional start at Cruze de Melano / Tyler &amp; America <br /> <br /> We took our sweet time through this section. The optional start helped...as we were able to hitch all the way up to the RR at Carizales. (Bus from Talca @3, 2000 CP each) Hot springs near Carizales were warm &amp; awesome. Two nice little tubs. We took our time and had a great time with all the arrieros along the way. Irma sells beer, wine, and delicious cheese. Other arrieros will welcome you in and treat you like family as well...so be sure to leave them with whatever you feel fit in return. All river crossings good, be diligent on filtering throughout this entire section. Dog at El Ingles shop bit me, so be careful with that. We camped down by the river for free. Bus leaves at 7:00 and 10:00 to San Fabian, and amazingly friendly town. We got a 1 bed Cabin at Cabanas Nativa for 30,000/N total. Pool, private bath &amp; kitchen, ok WiFi, welcoming people. Fine town for re supply. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 4 days / Hiking / Optional/Exploration Route around Laguna del Maule / Lea Geibel &amp; Kevin Moe <br /> <br /> After finishing section 5 we only had 4 days left before the end of our hiking time, so we decided to do some exploring in the area instead of following the regular route of section 7. We followed the main road to the Laguna del Maule where we roughly went in a loop around the Laguna (~60km) starting at the Chilean Border Control. We checked in with the border control and informed them about our plans (that involved to not cross into Argentina but stay in Chile, just behind the Border Control). It was no problem for them, we just had to go through the Border Control again on our way back to have our backpacks checked for food. The water level of the laguna is very low and walking along the shore is mostly easy travel on sand/pumice, however, sometimes can be rather rocky and tedious. We climbed up some of the 3000 meter peaks around the Laguna (that mark the border with Argentina), each of them offering beautiful views on the area. There are several beautiful hidden lagunas higher up in glaciers that are well worth exploring. We never followed any particular route but just headed cross country to whichever place we fancied, which is very easy in the open, sandy terrain. The Southern end of the Laguna has many flamingos living in it, the East shore is mostly untouched by humans and the east side has some puestos and fishermen (mostly on weekends and close to the roads) but we didn't see anyone around. Around the Laguna there is a very strong thermal wind that picks up during the day but dies down/weakens a lot during the nights.<br /> Highlights: all the views, swimming in laguna, lava fields flowing into the laguna, flamingos, numerous obsidian fields, empanadas de queso at the bistro right next to the border control (only open on weekends)<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Dec-24 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> 7 days for this awesome section. Absolutely agree with all of Matus &amp; Anna's remarks :-) We went to San Fabian (excellent resupply place) for some days off.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2019-Dec-24 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna <br /> <br /> Trail was in good conditon. <br /> River crossings were not a problem but plenty of water everywhere. <br /> In tienda in Carizales you can buy pasta, tuna, cola, beer some cookies. <br /> We bought huge chunk of cheese and some bread from Irma. It was amazing. <br /> Tienda in El Ingles is not best for resupply. We saw some tunas and pasta, but it was not enough for us to buy for next section. There is one more tienda down the road in Los Sauces but it was closed with no one around. <br /> We took bus to San Carlos which is leaving at 7am. <br /> We didn't find accomodation in El Ingles but it's possible to camp just before the bridge on the right side of the road.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-07 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / Arnaud <br /> <br /> Great section, easy to walk, nice people met on the way.<br /> After 11km, we leave the road with a minor road in a private property (zona geotermica). After discussion with the guard, he let us pass by the rio, and not by the porton (to join the road 400m further) because the access on the road is prohibited... ;-)<br /> Then the uphill is easy until the top.<br /> Possible resupply in Carizales with elia, whose welcome with half a sandia was perfect (pasta, atun, frutas y verduras, harina tostada but no gas).<br /> Laguna del Dial is great to have some rest. Don't hesitate to plan to spend some time there. It seems to be a good spot to fish.<br /> With the state of the volcan chillan, we decided to skip the section 8 and have some rest in San Fabian.<br /> From los Sauces to San Fabian, the micro leaves at 11pm only.<br /> We stayed by the Anfer Domos of Edgardo Lopez (+56 9 630 91 627), which is a great place to have some rest (a little far from the centre (1km), but he lends bikes if necessary), cabañas Nativa were full.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-12 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank <br /> <br /> No access problem as you leave main road @ KM11, just go left around the fenced area &amp; you will find a small track that leads up to the dirt road. Termas El Medano is last stop for bus but you can hitch first 11K. Don't expect much from shop in Carizales, contents listed by Matus are all she has. Irma, about a 1 day walk beyond Carizales has cheese, drinks in 2L bottles &amp; sometimes bread. At Puesto 9 before Puesto Irma, fresh cold water comes up from the ground into a small pool, safe to drink without filtering. There is an arreiro living there so talk to him first. Very hot in Guaiquivilo Valley &amp; as you go round Laguna Dial. Little shade in the valley &amp; virtually none @ Laguna Dial. Spectacular trail down canyon on last day. You cross the river 8 times. Dogs @ Puente Ingles shop attacked me &amp; if I didn't have a stick would have been bitten also. Camped down by Puente Ingles bridge but it's noisy on weekends &amp; lots of horseflies. 2 buses out from Puente Ingles around 7 &amp; 7:50AM<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> *El Médano<br /> <br /> Termas el Medano is a nice place as well, there is a big hot pool (with some cold currents in-between) and some smaller lukewarm ones, and you can swim in the river. The entrance is 1000 pesos, but if you camp at the nearby campground (3000 pesos per person), acces is free. There is also a minishop with sodas, chocolate, chips, sunscreen and a few other things - maybe some bread and flour, but nothing else for resupplying. There's also a restaurant with typical Chilean food, it was very busy when we were there but they do take away as well. The bus leaves for Talca at 7:10 in front of the parking lot, but you have to call in advance as it only goes that far if they know someone is going - +56994741961 - many others went when we were there, though. <br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> *Bus Talca - Termas El Medano <br /> <br /> 07:00, 12:30,15:00, 18:45<br /> <br /> from Terminal Talca<br /> <br /> <br /> *Bus Termas el Médano - Talca<br /> <br /> The bus leaves for Talca at 7:10 am at the bus shed in front of the parking lot, but you have to call in advance as it only goes that far if they know someone is going - +56994741961. Otherwise it leaves from La Mina at 7 am <br /> <br /> <br /> *Bus from Puente Ingles around 7 &amp; 10AM. Confirm times @ the shop. Bus back from San Fabián at 2 and 6 pm <br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> * Martin &amp; Helena: We got into a right of way conflict on 25th of Dec 2022 - for detailed description see our section log from that time. Short version is that we met 2 cars going down the minor road to the security house at km 11. They refused to let us pass, but we believe it was just their good intention and fear of a possible accident. We tried to convince them in every possible way, but with no success, maybe someone with better Spanish could talk his way through. The guard saw us before and didn't care, so it was just a bad luck for us to meet these cars.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT07 - Laguna Dial]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 13 Laguna Dial.PNG|center|1100px|thumb|Laguna Dial]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 21.jpg|center|1100px|thumb|Laguna Dial]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_118949889.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_73779722.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_108320977.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_108320982.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_108320989.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_108321002.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 01.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 02.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 03.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 04.PNG|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 05.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 06 Puesto.PNG|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 06.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 07.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 08.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 09.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 10.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 11.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 12.PNG|thumb|center|1100px|Laguna Dial]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 14 Laguna Dial 2.PNG|thumb|center|1100px|Laguna Dial]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 15.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 16.PNG|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 17.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 18.PNG|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 19.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 20.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 22.PNG|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 23.PNG|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 25.PNG|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 26.PNG|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 27.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:Laguna Dial, Greater Patagonian Trail 28.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_108321024.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_108321027.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_118949851.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]<br /> [[File:GPT_2_Laguna_Dial_118949853.jpg|thumb|center|1100px]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT01_(Cerro_Purgatorio)&diff=113358 2023-12-27T11:07:59Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> * 2023-Dec-5 to 2023-Dec-6/ 2 days / SOBO / OH &amp; RR / Matthias<br /> <br /> I started option 2 right from the school (San Juan Oriente). Camp spots on the way to the ridge if you start late in Santiago. Took the route to the summit of Cerro Purgatorio (option 2 - variant B). <br /> <br /> From the summit I continued the ridge southwards (OH-CC-A {01-02B}). That’s a wonderful alpine (I mean andine 😅) cross-country hiking route mostly on steep scree or rock ledge (Schrofen in German), difficulty according to SAC hiking scale T4, I’d guess. No real clambering necessary, hands only occasionally needed for support. The descent from the summit gives you a good impression of the difficulty, it will not become more difficult. Mostly I did not walk directly on the rocky ridge but on the western slope.<br /> <br /> Camped right on the ridge at ca. 33°38'30'' 70°24'47''. Beautiful sunset and sunrise.<br /> <br /> On the descent to GPT02 there is a marked trail (white markers) on the last kms. One can follow that path instead of RR where variant F comes in and avoid the walk on MR. When the path comes to a fence turn right and you’ll hit the RR again.<br /> <br /> * 2023-Dec-15-18 / 72 hours / Hiking / nobo / Option 04, ridge, option 02 / Tomáš<br /> <br /> Apart from Option 02, I did not actually follow any existing GPT track but I this should be added for 2024/25, Jan said it looks excellent. I think the approcah will be called option 4. I started at the southernmost stop of bus MB-74. The bus actually goes to several streets there and back before reaching here, so do not get off too early. You should be able to start from here: 33.7277389S, 70.5544877W. Just before the bridge, there is a locked gate. Some cars were passing though and let me through, just told me not to make fire. If the gate is locked use the bridge 200 m downstream and go in the riverbank for 200 northwards - it is dry. There is another gate where the sideroad splits from the road that is still on OSM, roughly here: 33.7412080S, 70.5586867W. Again somobody opened it for me but this one could have been climbed easily.<br /> <br /> The trail is both easily visible on satelite and Strava heatmap. First 2 km it is a road, then a worse road that transofrms to path branches to the left to rejoin the road where another gate is - this cca 5 km part is flat. One then follows the fence on a steep slope until 100 m higher one rejoins very clear path. I am sure there is a better way than I took but it was still easy enough. From there a very clear trail goes all the way up to cca Cerro los Crystalles. Met a group of seven people on motorbikes who went up and down in a day. No water until about 2500 m. On Facebook group, I put pictures of the route, the GPX track need to wait until spring.<br /> <br /> From the ridge, one could easily follow on GPT02 but I was interested in the ridge between RR and Option 3 roughly from here: 33.8464060S, 70.4211017W to Cerro los Purgatorio through Cerros Loma del Diablo, San Roque and Cruzada Las Hormigas. From the coordinates above, there is a trail that follows the ridge for a few km. Once it starts going down I traversed back to the ridge. Better would have been to go over the hill than traversing. The ridge can be followed, there is a psth that comes and go so it is a mix of TR and CC. Going down from San Roque is a bit tricky, one needs to sidetrack from the ridge at one point and maybe use a hand here and there. Another a bit challenging part is just before the final ascent to Cruzada Las Hormingas. It is abit exposed in those parts but not to much. In SAC scale, somewhere around 4 or five, but out of 20 km of the ridge, this is only about 1 km m at most. And I do not claim to have found the best route, I think some of the clambering parts that were never vertical could probably have been sidetracked.<br /> <br /> This time of the year, even on the ridge I crossed a stream with water three times (I will add the streams to OSM later), very roughly at km 11, 17 and 20 (this one being on the RR). Only saw cows and condors.<br /> <br /> I then crossed the RR and went on option 02. I would say it is SAC 4 (somewhat easier than the ridge), I used hands but it was very easy and not exposed at all. Descent from Cerro Purgatorio was surprisingly beautiful with all the flowers (which were there all over the ridge too). Even going down, from about 1500, the heat was really strong. Would not recommend any of this from early January till end of february given there might be very little water. Perfect for December and earlier. I hope both the ascent and the ridgewalk are added to GPT. Every day, I would be abel to get enough cell phone coverage to receive e-mails and chats but not much more.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Dec-06 / 1 day / Hiking / sobo / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> I took uber from Providencia to the gate, about 20000CLP and 1hour.<br /> <br /> The gate is locked at 10am on Wednesday. Luckily after 5min a young man drive out and open the gate, he didn't said anything and let me go inside.<br /> Hot but more water resources that i think before, a small grassy stream is still flowing just before the pass 800m, lot of tadpoles swimming inside too.<br /> <br /> Long way going down with rocky dirt road, didn't see any people all the way to the end.<br /> After you join the trail in valley, lot of camping spots you can find.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-17 to 2023-Nov-19 / 1,5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR &amp; OH / Jens<br /> <br /> In Melocoton I had to cross private property. The guy charged me 2000 pesos. Lots of water and camping south of Cerro Purgatorio.<br /> There is an alternative route that's marked with white paint that is also marked in the OSM data. <br /> <br /> I started NOBO from El Melocoton. I took the exploratory route to Cerro Purgatorio. I have to report that there is no path to the summit from the south. The data and the OSM suggest that there is a path, but I only found rocks that I had to climb over and steep drops. I had to slide down to join the other trail as it was too dangerous to continue.<br /> <br /> The northern route to the summit is fine. But you'd have to go back the same way to rejoin the main PGT route.<br /> <br /> Comment Jan Dudeck: I removed the southern ascent to the summit of Cerro Purgatorio. Now only the the ascent from the west remains in the track files.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-11 to 2023-Nov-12 / 1,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn <br /> <br /> - Gates : all were open, it was a Saturday<br /> <br /> - Water : all the water markers were correct, even more water present<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 29,4<br /> <br /> - Weather : cold and cloudy so not a problem for the first big ascent - there is an exceptional cold weather on the Santiago area this year<br /> <br /> - River crossing : 31,65 km (easy)<br /> <br /> - Overall : trail in good condition.Lots of stray dogs on the trail but really friendly.We combined section 1 &amp; 2.<br /> <br /> If you want to see some pictures of the sections and/or ask us some questions, you can find us on Instagram : @2funambules<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-19 to 2023-Feb-20 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Luisa &amp; Hannes<br /> <br /> Started in Ramon Supercaseaux 8200 directly at the gate. Pretty hot below 2000m, siesta highly recommended. A lot of bees around everywhere except pass-area. No water in the first spot after the pass, you'll find it about 1-2 kms ahead. A local said that water was cut up there. Weekend with many tourists in Estero El Sauce Valley. Good Kiosk at the valley entrance. Took us 2 days.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-04 / Hiking / SOBO / Option 1: Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I really wanted to try the option through Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo. I took the bus MB-74 to Pirque. The last stop is here: 33.7290444S, 70.5371567W. There was a sign saying it is prohibited to enter, but some people told me I can pass. From there one can walk along the airport. Once you get to the main road, there is a locked gate, but the fence can be crawled under. I would recommend to take the standard route for cars, the walk was schorching. It was Sunday, I am not sure the other bus lines were in service. I have not seen them, MB74 seemed to be going once every twenty minutes or so for 900 pesos.<br /> <br /> Once on the standard route, I hitched a car going to the reserve, we put my backpack into the trunk, so the CONAF guards did not notice me at all and did not tell me anything. I had a reservation made online, there is a day limit of visitors. It cost 11500 pesos.<br /> <br /> Once in the reserve, I took the trail going west of the stream (so the stream was on my left hand going uphill). Nobody noticed me and then I have not met anybody for 4 days. The trail is fairly clear, one goes up along a stream up until around 1900 metres (up to the last recommended camp). From then on until the nextother side of the mountain, there is no reliable water (I slept near a marsh around 2650m, but the water would not have been great).<br /> <br /> The route is quite attractive. Walking in the lower valley in the heat is really sweat inducing. It took me 1,5 days to go up to the border of the reserve, I was weak from not much sleep before and the heat. But also it is quite far and I have not started walking until six or so on the first day as I rested quite a few hours waiting for te heat to pass.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-24 to 2022-Nov-26 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT01-F / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We started the first section from the metro station at Puento Alto, which is also a good place to buy some missing supplies and water - mall with Lider shop is right next to the main square. The gate 1 at approx. km 12 opened after less than 15mins and some guy in a car let us in after explaining that we just want to pass and showing the map. The other gate not so far away from the entrance was opened. Following the main route, we spent the night in a nice camp place at km 19.5 with water available just few hundred meters before that (bridge, water 18.7). Keep in mind to carry enough water on the way to the pass! We met the next day 2 families at the bridge, water 29.7 that went there for camping. We decided to finish the section the next day, which was Staturday, and therefore as we were coming closer to the village we met a lot of day hikers at the GPT01-F. Before continuing to the section 2, we stopped to refresh ourselves at Kiosko Los Acacios, on the left side after the bridge on the main road (the other kiosk before the river was closed at the time). They have fried empanadas, amazing natural strawberry juice (jugo frutilla), yogurt with granola and some other small things, everything with reasonable prices.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-09 / Hiking / SOBO / Adrien Kunzli <br /> <br /> Start at the reserva natural de clarillo impossible even if i arrived at 8h30 am. No arrangement possible with the guard.<br /> I went by waking through the wasteland (many dogs be carefull but a good stone in the hand frightens them without worries) but Start at GPT01-B impossible : Big Electronic portal and no luck with cars.<br /> Start at GPT 01-03 by the optional tracks ok. After the school you take the left road and almost immediately you have to pass under a fence on the left with a little hole. <br /> Just after San José de Maipo the RR-MR-V (02) (3,6+0,4) at S33°41.069', W070°20.876' was denied to me by some conductors (private propriety). But te other optional road without passing the bridge works perfectly fine.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Okt-31 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> We traveled by metro to Puento Alto. Because the bus MB73 did not come (probably because of holiday) we took an Uber to Posta la Puntilla (much cheaper than to Puntilla Rural).<br /> Gate 1 closed, after waiting 2 minutes a car came.<br /> Gate 2 open on the right side.<br /> Water available at all marked spots. <br /> Nice campground with small swimming pool at the back of the small river at Camp 01 [4/29/1415].<br /> Several campsites on the river around El Melocoton.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021 Nov-19 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We wanted to avoid the boring through-town and road walking so we took the micro-bus from Puente Alto to Puntilla Rural which only left us 2km of road walking. It’s a micro-bus MB73 and it goes right on the same street when you come out of the subway. It doesn’t have a stop so you just have to wave it down when you see it coming, ticket costs 750 pesos. After those 2km on the asphalt road we turned off to a minor road with an impassable gate which is normally closed, but luckily we only waited less than 10 min. and a car came and we just walked in, they didn’t ask us anything so it seemed alright. 2nd gate was open. Water sources were flowing well. Climb was brutal, super steep and very, very hot. We imagine this section could easily be walked a month earlier to avoid the baking in the furnace. Great views from the “Pass”. We camped at the “Bridge, Water” waypoint after the pass, nice place, but unfortunately we had lots of tiny, very hungry biting flies there. We saw a lot of campers in the valley before El Melocotón, which was a bit of a surprise, more than 20 tents, perhaps people enjoying nature on the weekend? We didn’t go in to El Melocotón but continued straight to GPT02. <br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-09 to 2021-Nov-10 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Marc Anthony <br /> <br /> Started afternoon on first day and arrived in melocotón same time next day. Took a taxi from Puento Alto metro station to the Plaza in Pirque, because I was advised against walking alone through Puente Alto by the locals. Quite a lot of mini shops with empenadas and other food when following the paved road from Pirque. When turning from the paved road onto the first minor road I encountered a big locked gate, which luckily opened because cars were driving through from the other side. After a couple of kilometers another locked gate appears but i walked around the right side and found a smaller open gate that I passed through. When the terrain starts getting steeper, I found it very hot to walk here during the afternoon. Definitely wouldn’t want to walk there in the middle of the day during summer. Also the section right before the mountain pass is very steep. Best to walk here during the morning when you’ll have the shadow of the mountain. Rest of the way was generally easy enough, carried plenty of water with me.<br /> <br /> Found a place called Posada Del Jinete in southern part of El Melocotón with Cabañas for 80.000 and hostal room with to beds for 40.000. Not the cheapest but didn’t find a lot of options nearby. The father and son who are running the place are nice people who can tell a lot about the area. Small tienda/café down the road from hostal with only basic supplies<br /> <br /> Started this section on November 9th. The gate at -33 36.774’ -070 30.027’ is locked. Didn’t find anybody around to ask, but it magically opened up behind me just as I was about to leave, because cars were coming through from the other side. Did see a couple more cars going the same direction as I walked on the minor road. Might be worth waiting around for some time to see if anyone will drive through?<br /> <br /> Found water in all expected places. Would recommend carrying a good amount with you on your way up onto the mountain pass, since this a very hot and steep section especially in the afternoon and it will be awhile before the next water source.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Nov-14 / 1 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Ricardo Gold<br /> <br /> We tried both entrances to the gravel road. Both closed with big gates (RR @KM13). We did an alternative start from Pirque that it did work, but is a significant longer (but nice). I would suggest to review this segment as the two main entrances seems closed for good.<br /> <br /> After you get into the road is very straight forward, very easy to navigate. There is water in all expected points and I think they will last long into the summer. <br /> Indeed, it is very exposed, it will be hard to do in a sunny day, as it will be hot. Alternatively you can start really early or even do it partially at night as it is easy to navigate and not dangerous at all. <br /> <br /> The climb is pretty steep for a maintenance road. it is +20% for ~4km, so I suggest to tackle this section really early in the morning. There is a good water source just before starting and probably also a good camping ground.<br /> <br /> Next water source is ~14km after, but with also ~1000m of uphill, so be mindful of the time to get into there. Btw, this water source has a small cascate and pond that is great to jump in and refresh. Just walk ~10m into the upstream.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-03 to 2020-Jan-04 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank<br /> <br /> See transport section if you want to skip the first 13KM roadwalk. Midsummer is not the ideal time for GPT01 as it is very hot, there is little shade &amp; not much water. If you do walk there are several small shops on the road up to KM13.<br /> <br /> It was difficult to access the start. At KM 16.5 on the road, RR-PR-V@01-6.9+4.3 &amp; 700 metres further after the bridge, route sealed by two 15 foot high gates with spikes on top. No one there to ask to open them. Back on RR @ KM13, 2 locked gates. At OH-MR-V@01-A-#002 a resident let me through the locked gate. There is a new fence a little up the road that will probably close off this variant (I got in through a small unfinished section). It is very dry now so RR gates may be closed due to lack of water &amp; fire risk. The only water on RR until 14KM after the pass is on section RR-MR-V@01-16.3+7.8 marked Bridge, Water on GPX, making a camp @ the site 15 mins. walk above (marked Camp No Water) highly advisable. Look for the gas pipeline, route follows it most of the way. Kiosk with drinks &amp; snacks &amp; campsite on the route 3KM before Melocoton are open all week in midsummer, weekends only in low season. No need to go to Melocoton. Get bus to Santiago @ road junction 500 metres down the road after bridge over Rio Maipo<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-13 to 2019-Dec-17 / 5 Days / Hiking / SOBO / GPT01 Option 1 and GPT02 / Ian Hikes <br /> <br /> Overview: I decided to combine GPT 01 and 02 using the alternative route through Rio Clarillo National Reserve which is something I do recommend. You do have to pay $5.000 to enter the park. You then follow the river up to the pass where it joins the official route. The two sections are very open and exposed with wide open views across the mountains and high mountain passes. <br /> <br /> Difficulties: My biggest difficult in this section was the lack of water. There were many sections that were dry and, on many occasions, found me going 15-20km with water. I would suggest taking extra care planning out water resupply along the route. I usually took 2-4L of water at any given time in these two sections. Also this section is very remote and did not see anyone for 3 days.<br /> <br /> Highlights: High mountain passes and great open views (especially for sunrise and sunset)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-27 / Hiking / SOBO / Family Size <br /> <br /> Locked gate with barbed wire (S 33° 36.795', W 070° 30.049') on the official route. Found someone at the gate up the road (S 33° 36.702', W 070° 29.640') who unlocked that one for me. He said the road behind is no private property, but it's always locked. After another gate (S 33° 37.141', W 070° 29.927'), with a hole on the right to climb climb through, this road connects back to the official route.<br /> <br /> There is plenty of water on the B alternet uphill. Almost at the top it tastes a bit like cow shit after filtering. There is a lot of OK water at the bottom of the downhill and quite a few tourists especially on weekends.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-17 to 2019-Nov-18 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We walked GPT01 in 2 days, including one nero day. We used uber to get to the trail, hope your driver won't be stupid enough to take shortcuts through slums :). There is a gate on the beginning of trail, after a &quot;discussion&quot; (we don't speak spanish) they let us go through. Climb was really hot, make sure you take enough water from the last source on the way up. There is water on the other side, but first marked water source didn't look the best. There is a river cutting a trail a bit down from that point. We stayed in a campsite on the begining of next section which was nice. They have really sticky ferral dogs there which we had a real problem to chase to not hike with us.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-11 to 2019-Nov-13 / 3 days / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> It took us 3 days as we started late in Santiago and arrived early in Melocoton. As it's still low season everything is shut down in Melocoton so we took the bus (which runs every 30 minutes) to San Alfonso, where we found nice cabañas and three small resupply tiendas.<br /> <br /> We went to Puente Alto and then Pirque by Uber. The drivers know where the protests take place and avoid those areas or areas which got recently destroyed.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Oct-27 / Alert / Jan Dudeck<br /> <br /> The Metro line 4 to Puente Alto is currently out of operation due to vandalism during the current protests. Check online for current the status and delete this alert once metro operation to Puente Alto resumes.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2018-Dec-16 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin Lizondo<br /> <br /> Carry plenty of water on this section as water sources might dry out in early summer after all snow has molten.<br /> <br /> Puente Alto is not particular safe area of Santiago, so residents recommend not walking very early in the morning or at night through this outskirt of Santiago.<br /> Old entrance of regular route is closed by gate (S33° 37.320' W70° 32.182'). Better start from the public minor road and you won't have any problem (S33° 36.768' W70° 30.033'). The GPT Track File 2019 incorporates this change so follow the Regular Route if you use the current update.&lt;br /&gt;<br /> <br /> Carry as much water as possible just before ascending to the pass (S33° 38.394' W70° 27.191'). There won't be water until 14 km further, and it's not of good quality (S33° 41.000' W70° 23.100').<br /> <br /> Instead of deviating to El Melocotón, you can spend the night in Reserva Coyanco (camping, food, services), from where GPT02 starts. Just turn right at S33° 40.813' W70° 20.812'.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2018-Dec-15 to 1018-Dec-16 / 1.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Austin Davis<br /> <br /> http://notabadplacetopee.com/gpt01/<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> * 2017-Feb / Hiking / NOBO / GPT02 &amp; GPT01 Option 1 Rio Clarillo / Bethany Hughes, Lauren Reed<br /> <br /> https://her-odyssey.org/<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2017-Jan / Hiking / SOBO / GPT01 Option 1 Rio Clarillo &amp; GPT02 / Gerald Klamer<br /> <br /> http://geraldtrekkt.blogspot.com/2017/04/greater-patagonian-trail-1-santiago-coya.html<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> ==Start Regular Route: Santiago, Metro Station Puente Alto==<br /> <br /> Plaza De Puente Alto is an underground metro station and the southern terminal station of Line 4 of the Santiago Metro network. Underground trains run frequently between 6 am in the morning and 11 pm in the evening. <br /> <br /> Calculate 1 hour from the city centre to the terminal station Puente Alto.<br /> <br /> From Plaza De Puente Alto buses leave to most towns and villages in the Maipo valley and the surrounding area. (2019)<br /> <br /> If you don't want to walk the first 13KM of the regular route on the road then get bus MB73 from Puente Alto.<br /> <br /> ==Finish Regular Route: El Melocoton==<br /> <br /> See also [[GPT02]]<br /> <br /> From Plaza De Puente Alto the following bus gets you to El Melocoton in the Maipo valley: Bus MB-72B<br /> <br /> Buses are frequent and calculate a bit over 1 hour for the bus ride. (2019)<br /> <br /> ==Start or Finish Option 1 (Rio Clarillo): Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo==<br /> <br /> From Plaza De Puente Alto the following buses get you close to Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo: <br /> <br /> - Bus 978 towards Rio Clarillo (this is the best option, gets you the closest to the entrance to the reserve)<br /> <br /> - Bus MB-74 towards El Principal De Pirque (last stop is here: 33.7290444S, 70.5371567W)<br /> <br /> - Bus MB-80 towards El Principal De Pirque<br /> <br /> Buses are frequent and calculate 1 hour for the bus ride. (2019)<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> ==Regular Route==<br /> No permit or entry fees apply to the regular route but a high gate was build in 2021. If the the gate at waypoint &quot;X, Gate {01} [11.2/787]&quot; is locked, continue 2.1 km on the main road and take Option 2 (Filo Purgatorio).<br /> <br /> ==Option 1 (Rio Clarillo)==<br /> Access into Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo is controlled by CONAF at the main entrance near Pirque. The park is intended for daytime visits only and does not provide camp grounds. Cooking inside the park is strictly banned including with camping stoves. A maximum of 800 persons are permitted entry on one day. CONAF park rangers might not permit a southbound traverse and all visitors are probably required to leave the park in the evening at the main gate. The entrance fee is 11,500 CLP (2022) for foreign nationals and 2000 to 4000 CLP for Chileans. The tickets needs to be bought online in advance and there is not cell coverage at the entrance to the reserve.<br /> <br /> A northbound traverse is probably free of charge. (2019)<br /> <br /> ==Option 2 (Filo Purgatorio)==<br /> No permit or entry fees apply to Option 2 (Filo Purgatorio). No right-of-way conflicts reported yet. If the gate issue on the RR persists to cause problems and Option 2 (Filo Purgatorio) is recommended by more hikers then Option 2 may become the new Regular Route.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT01 - Cerro Purgatorio]]<br /> <br /> ==Regular Route==<br /> Wikiexplora: [[San Juan de Pirque - El Toyo]]<br /> <br /> ==Option 1 (Rio Clarillo)==<br /> Wikiexplora: [[Río Clarillo]]<br /> <br /> National Park: http://www.conaf.cl/parques/reserva-nacional-rio-clarillo/<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> [[Archivo:gpt01 Cerro Purgatorio.jpg|View to the central Andes, by [http://notabadplacetopee.com/gpt01/ Austin Davis]]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (6).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 1]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT02_(Mina_El_Teniente)&diff=113357 2023-12-27T11:07:01Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Dec-6 to 2023-Dec-11/ 5 days / SOBO / RR, variants A+D+E+G+J+M / Matthias<br /> <br /> GPT02 was a great hike in these spring conditions. <br /> With the snow on the upper part and the variants + shortcuts I could avoid most of the more boring walking on MR until bridge at km 64.3!<br /> <br /> Forded Coyanco river on variant A on 6th of December late afternoon ca. 150m upstream of location on track. Water up to thighs for me (188cm).<br /> <br /> Steep snowpatches on GPT02 are a serious danger as snow is compacting daily now. But you can go around all of them, particularly around km34, I went 100m uphill to avoid the remains of the cornice.<br /> <br /> I could not find a path for RR where variant J stays easy on the ridge. Seems like a fence is being build at the end east of RR, perhaps blocking access to variant M (and other variants?) in future.<br /> <br /> Hitch-hiked to Rancagua from road at end of variant M. <br /> <br /> Camps:<br /> - on river bank of Coyanco river after fording ca. 33°42'30&quot;S 70°20'45&quot;W<br /> - at track waypoint at km 22.9 (beside stone-walled rock)<br /> - very beautiful at 33°54'15&quot;S 70°23'33&quot;W (in cirque one platform below RR)<br /> - 1.5km after bridge at km 64.3 besides the path (no great spot)<br /> - on the ridge south of Cerro Alto El Paico (km 90.4) - no water<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-07 to 2023-Dec-10 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Gate[3.3/1049] : gate is opened, nobody there on 7am.<br /> <br /> Water,bridge{01} : look like is broken, wet feet crossing. Strong flow and up to knee at early morning.<br /> <br /> Water?{8.7/1298} : dry at river crossing, but is still flowing at downstream, after you cross the stream, dont climb up immediately, there is a side trail on your right side to downstream, follow it about 1 min, you'll hear water flowing, water spot is on your right side, but is overgrown and muddy, not easy to get close. It has a small pool and like a spigot (2min/L).<br /> <br /> Water?{11.8/1648} : excellent spot, water flowing good with clear and coldwater, has a huge shade for lunch or a break, also a sandy spot for 1 tent.<br /> <br /> Water{15.6/1616} : good flowing with a small waterfall at RR crossing, great to take a cold shower in hot mid-day.<br /> <br /> Water{20.7/2064} : flowing good.<br /> <br /> Ford{21.6/2033} : easier spot at 30m upstream of RR crossing, flowing fast and up to knee at early morning, much easier than the broken bridge one. A small sandy spot for a small single person tent.<br /> <br /> Ford, camp?{22.9/2067} : RR crossing look like up to knee. Downstream 30m is a better crossing spot, rock bar under water, just up to half of calf, easy. After crossing there is a large flat area, have stone wall for 1-2 tents.<br /> <br /> From here to &quot;Ford,camp?{27.5/2209}&quot;, some more river crossing, mostly just up to knee.<br /> <br /> Ford,camp?{27.5/2209} : look like no camping spot here?<br /> <br /> <br /> Climb up steep but easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Snow conditions just like Yannick &amp; Nolwenn said, if not comfortable with snow, wait 1-2 weeks for melting.<br /> <br /> Still lot of snow after the pass. The last snow slope you need to cross is at km54.1<br /> <br /> <br /> Camp{57.0+0.3/2286} : when you first see the meadows from high, keep walking a little and look at the mountain side, a stream with a red and white pipe is there, flowing with crystal clear and cold water.<br /> <br /> Water, bridge{64.3/1733} : tons of brown sandy water.<br /> <br /> Km64.7 : camping spot, but dead cows here.<br /> Km67 : camping spot on valley side, some tree covers and great view, some side trail leads you to there.<br /> Km68.6 : camping spot beside the road.<br /> <br /> <br /> Bridge, water?camp?{78.2/1736} : flowing good with clear and cool water. Can fit some tents at road shoulder. It is the LAST WATER before the ridge.<br /> <br /> Mostly have flat spots for camping at each pass before km85, but windy.<br /> <br /> Km85.5 : excellent camping spot, can fit 1 tent, with a blouder for wind protection from south, great views, BBQ grill and cell service.<br /> <br /> Lastly, i took 4.5L water go over the ridge, and water all gone, better bring more in January and February.<br /> <br /> <br /> Coya have a small shop for resupply, not the best but enough, also friendly!<br /> Beside the store is Bar Catalán Coya, they make nice sandwiches!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-04 to 2023-Dec-08 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> Half the bridge gone at the beginning.<br /> 1st water was flowing but not where the trail crosses the stream but lower down - there is a dirt path to the water.<br /> <br /> River crossings are fine until the one at km26.5 was very rapid and strong; we crossed below the regular crossing point. Probably not a good idea atm to do the crossings in late afternoon. We then took the alternate trail that stays on the left of the river in order to skip two crossings. Good campsite when back down by the river, aimed to do the last crossing in the early morning, which was much better.<br /> <br /> The way up had good trail and more water than marked, due to the snowmelt. Snowpatches started once we reached the ridge, mostly very easy to cross except the patches on south-facing slopes; we used microspikes here.<br /> <br /> Careful: an unexploded explosive on the ridge at -33.94081, -70.41171.<br /> <br /> The road on the way down has lots of rockfall, many places with minor landslides. Some extra streams are flowing between Estero Codegua and the mine.<br /> <br /> You can follow us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-12 to 2023-Nov-16 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT02 variant A + improvised trail due to a lot of snow between km30 and km52 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Gates : <br /> (1) gate at km3 for the Reserva, nobody there, the gate was open so we just went through.<br /> (2) Gate at km80,3 was closed, we just went around on the right side of the fence and followed it to reach the track again.<br /> <br /> - Water : water markers correct and more water due to snow melt<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 17,7 | km 36,5 | km 55 | km 82,6 <br /> <br /> - River crossing : <br /> (1) bridge (km3,6) was inaccessible for us, stream too strong - so we took the variant A and crossed the river further on. The current was really strong and up until the hips, we took our time and had previous experiences of river crossings before.<br /> (2)Between km21,6 and km27,5 we had to cross the river 9 times, it was usually up until our thighs.<br /> <br /> - Weather : 3 days of sun and 1 cloudy day. <br /> <br /> WARNING : Update on snow conditions.From km 30,5 the snow is present until km 52. Be really careful between km 34.6 and km 41, because it is icy and a fall could be fatal. We diverted from the gpt trail because following was impossible due to the snow. Sometimes there was 1 meter of snow. Follow the ridgline from km 42 to km 47, and not the gpt trail because at the moment it is completely covered in icy snow. For those who are planning to do this section in the next few days, defenetly check the weather and be aware of the impact of the sun on the snow ( melting, icy...)<br /> <br /> - Resupply : Coya, a small shop has everything you need for the next section <br /> <br /> - Accomodation : ' Hostal &amp; Residencial' for 20 000 pesos a night <br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant A ( easy to follow ) / variant M + N ( trail overgrown at some stages ) / at the control Maintenes, a friendly worker didn't let us take the gravel road at km 101,3 so we walked along the ruta H203 and reach the trail again at km102,4<br /> <br /> - Overall : beautiful section but the snow made it really challenging for us. We met some wild cows and bulls and they were afraid of us and ran away, same for wild horses.<br /> <br /> If you want to see some pictures of the sections and/or ask us some questions, you can find us on Instagram : @2funambules<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-25 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Luisa &amp; Hannes <br /> <br /> Very hot below 2000m. For river crossing not even wet feet. Passed a kind of informal puesto little below junction to Clarillo, nobody there, just a crazy dog. No territorial cows/bulls around as stated somewhere else. Just give them time they need to check the situation and they will trot away...We where lucky to have met very nice people in the puesto before the mine. Got off at emergency1...took us ttl 6 days for this trip with one day almost off...<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-05 4 days RR SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> I arrived at the private nature reserve entrance @ 5PM &amp; admitted I would overnight in the park so they charged me 12,000 pesos. The entry is 6000 pesos per day. They are not aware of the RR beyond the first few KM &amp; it seems best not to discuss it. As there is no water for about 7KM on RR after you cross the first bridge it seems best to stay on the small road which is quicker &amp; easier than RR. There is an official campsite at the end of the road. Fill up when you cross the river after campsite, the first camp &amp; water source on RR is normally dry. I came in on RR &amp; night hiked about 10KM as I didn't have enough water to camp. There is more water as you go further in. On 2nd night approaching the pass where a waterfall comes down a cliff I went downstream &amp; camped by a big boulder. Room for 1 small tent here. You could also camp in the last valley before the pass. After the pass you are on a dirt road all the way to the mine.<br /> <br /> Once over the pass the landscape changes &amp; it's semi desert with a long way between water sources. As you approach a green hut there is a spring coming from the rock by the road. Go into the puesto, if there is no one there you can get water from a spring at the back. The puesto owners are friendly &amp; will have no problem giving you water if they are there. Best to camp at or near the puesto, fill up &amp; start very early next day. Walk the first few KM on the road before dawn if you can. Last water 25KM? was as dry as dirt in January. When you get to the mine stay outside it, go to the right of the boundary fence &amp; handrail it, then you will have no problems. Midsummer i.e. January is not the best time to do the last section, there is hardly any shade &amp; it becomes a desert survival test. The water I had in my pack side pocket was hot enough to make tea. Got to the road OK but felt a bit faint. Heat exhaustion is a real possibility on the last section, go earlier in the season if you can. November once the snow has cleared is ideal. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-06 to 2022–Dec-08 / Hiking / SOBO / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I continued from the Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo. I went up to Cerro Los Cristales, there was entel 4g for fifteen minutes on the ridge and then it stopped completely, but I managed to have a audio call over internet. Nice view on lakes from the top but a detour. Have not met anybody all three days it took me to walk this. The cows were all afraid of me (somebody commented they are territorial).<br /> <br /> The MR till the waypoint last water 50 km (it is not 50 km from there!!!) is actually impassable for cars due to debris. There was plenty of water everywhere until then.<br /> <br /> About 10 km further on, there is a puesto - it has water, you need to go in the puesto. There was nobody there so I slept there in the yard. From here on, there was 4g Entel coverage pretty much everywhere.<br /> <br /> About 1 km from the puesto, there is a horse trail going to the left (not mapped), I took it. It goes up and then it us easy CC downhill. I took a detour to south-east due to misunderstanding what the mine looks like (it is that large flat white-yellow valley - probably debris from the mine). Thanks to that Ihave not met any gates. There was a trickle of water in the last water point ( i crossed it somewhat upstream from RR). Walked under the dam and along the fence of the mine. Kept up from the RR, its suggested track lose some altitude for no reason.<br /> <br /> The part on the ridge is quite beautiful, I would recommend not taking the emergency exits if you can. Very clear path pretty much everywhere. But it is far, took me five hours of fast walking to get to the road to Coya from mine. At the end, do not take the TL {02-M} option the seems like the shortest way to Coya from the end of the ridge. There is no trail, it is overgrown, I would call it bush bashing. No fun in the dark. Once i get to the PR, I immediately hitched a car to Coya and stayed at a hostel for 15000 at 34.2057545S, 70.5306223W. Now I will try to get some food.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-26 to 2022-Dec-01 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> After a few hundred meters into the section we reached the entrance to the nature reservation and were asked for 6000$ per person + our ID numbers. We enjoyed some time by the river that is close to the entrance. Good to carry enough water from the beginning of this section. The alternative way / climb from the valley with water 37.2 gets pretty steep. Snowfields after Cerros de Pueco were still there but it wasn’t difficult to find a way below them. We met a few bulls close to the minor road trail that didnt look very friendly, rather turn around and find a different way. We took some alternative and more attractive trails from the long minor road part (GPT02 D+E). Tiny stream of water available at Sobo: Last Water 25km. We met some workers at the mine who were nice and reminded us that its a private property, no other problem. As suggested in one of the previous comments we didnt go over the gate at the mine but followed a path close to the fence that connects to the CC part. The whole ridge walk at the end is really nice. Quite a lot of traffic on the road to Coya. Overall really hot weather that requires enough water to carry, but nice section. We took a bus to Rancagua before 5PM - ask locals about the schedule.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-28 / Hiking / SOBO/ RR / tom&amp;miky <br /> <br /> We left on the 24 of November north to south, hard sun, no water on the second spot marked (water?) Around +/- 5 km<br /> The sobo last water was brown, we find clear water few km away maybe due to snow melt?<br /> We also found water at Sobo 25 km to finish this section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-10 / Hiking / SOBO / Adrien Kunzli <br /> <br /> Just after San José de Maipo the RR-MR-V (02) (3,6+0,4) at S33°41.069', W070°20.876' was denied to me by some conductors (private propriety). But the other optional road without passing the bridge works perfectly fine.<br /> <br /> Be careful with the wild herd of bulls and cows before getting to Cerros de Peuco. Very territorial ! Better turning around ! <br /> <br /> The camp (02-D)(1,3/2800) at S33°57.791', W070°25.710' were full of snow at this time of year.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021 Nov-20 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> Locked gate (-33.682407, -70.346283) on the route in the beginning of secotion is for the entrance of Reserva Coyanco. There was a lady that opened the gate and said that one day pass through the reserve costs 5000 pesos, but that we can pay it somewhere later. But as the RR doesn’t continue up the valley but across the bridge and up the ridge from the other side then we didn’t meet anyone who would collect the fees. It could be that it’s a weekend thing as there were quite a few people in the area mostly going to see the Calabozo del Diablo. <br /> <br /> No water at the first marked location with question mark (-33.72155, -70.345093), but as Marc Anthony already mentioned there is a small stream of water about 3km further (-33.741233, -70.3534). <br /> <br /> From there we night-hiked until the second ford where we camped. It was such a relief to hike in bearable temperatures and all the critters were out. We saw a snake, a tarantula, a scorpion, some giant bug, bunch of toads, bunnies and a culpeo fox. <br /> <br /> Once we reached the first ford from there onwards until the last water before the mine there was a lot of water in almost every gully, especially as you reach higher elevations. Snow patches are still melting and providing water. The last water is where it’s marked. <br /> <br /> Once we got to the mine/plantation we didn’t jump the gate to walk in the fenced-off plantation, but walked around the fence, handrailed it. There is a faint path for first few hundred meters and then it’s and easy cross country, just aim for the shoulder on the mountain. <br /> <br /> The last part was actually really beautiful and I wouldn’t want to skip it, we had a cloud inversion in the morning and about 8 condors circling us as we descended the ridge, it was spectacular. <br /> <br /> On average we carried 1,7L of water each and besides the first part until the first water and the last part from the last water there really was plenty of water on trail and we could have easily carried only a litre each. For the last part we carried 10L for both of us and it was enough for dry-camping on the ridge and washing dishes and we ended up pouring out about a litre in the morning because we didn’t need that much water. <br /> <br /> Once we descended to the road we had an easy hitch to Machali where we resupplied and hitched back to Coya, again an easy hitch. But unfortunately we could not find a camping gas (with thread) which fitted out stove. We checked every ferreteria and supermercado in Machali, even took the bus to Lider Express on the edge of the town, no luck. They only had the gas canisters where you punch the hole. <br /> However we found a gas with thread in a shop in Coya. Anyways, lesson is - bring the adapter.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 and a half days to hike this section, our last camp was about 9,5km from the road.<br /> <br /> We ate some great food and recharged all of our batteries in a Peruvian restaurant “Sumaq Ñusta” in Coya before heading back out on trail.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-12 to 2021-Nov-15 / 4 days / Hiking / Marc Anthony <br /> <br /> Big locked gate at -33 40.961’ -070 20.773’ after leaving el melocotón heading south. Didn’t find anyone around to ask, but luckily it can easily be jumped if you walk around on the left side. Carry a lot of water! Quite a few kilometers between the water sources. There is a waypoint in the track files at -33 43.298’ -070 20.705’ that is marked “Water ? 02”, there is no water here! But I found an unmarked water source a few kilometers further at -33 44.474’ -070 21.204’<br /> <br /> When walking down from mountain pass towards the mine, the last water source I found was at -34 04.070’ -070 29.602’ marked in track files with “Sobo: Last water 25 km ???”. In was only running a little bit, might dry out soon?<br /> <br /> At the walking into the plantation area close to the mine on the regular route you will encounter a tall locked gate at -34 04.123’ -070 30.702’. I was able to jump over, but keep in mind that there are a lot of the workers at the plantation driving on the road next to it during the day. If you when you continue through the plantation you will encounter a barbed wire fence that runs all the way across the area blocking the path up onto the mountains. Very difficult to jump over! I noticed another gate when walking straight ahead after jumping the first gate. Would advice that you jump over this gate to exit the plantation, instead of following the track files. This way you avoid the barbed wire.<br /> <br /> Took me 4 days to hike this section, but I took the emergency exit number 2 because I ran out of water, so didn’t do the last few kilometers.<br /> <br /> All the river fords were easy. Quite a long distance between water sources in the beginning. Like in GPT 1 i found the beginning of this section to be quite difficult because of the heat even though it is still springtime. But I only have experience hiking in Scandinavia, so I probably don’t have the best heat tolerance :) As soon as I climbed up to the cooler temperature of the higher altitudes it was a wonderful hike.<br /> <br /> Had a lot some trouble with locked gates and barbed wire fence when entering the mine/plantation area. And unfortunately ripped open my plastic water bottle when throwing my backpack over the barbed wire, so lost some precious water.<br /> <br /> After a several hours of hiking in the mountains next to the mine I ended up taking emergency exit number 2 because I was running low on water. Must admit that hiking in this exposed terrain during the afternoon heat was also quite exhausting.<br /> The guards that picked me up after a while when waiting by the road where extremely jolly and nice. We had a good talk and some good laughs about the whole situation. They gave me water and put me on a bus to Coya by mine entrance. Bus driver even drove me around town so that I could find a open hostel. Certainly didn’t expect all this kindness when trespassing private property! <br /> <br /> Ended up in a place called Hostel Vista al Cerro in Coya.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-02 / Hiking / SOBO / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> First gate from El Melocoton was closed, but you can just go around to the left and jump the fence. As mentioned by Anthony, there is no water at the marked water point -33 43.298' -070 20.705', but there is water at -33 44.474' -070 21.204'. Nice camp spot a few 100m ahead [S33.73625 W070.35510]. Sufficient water available up to pass (water from melting snowfields). <br /> Way from about 2800 a.s.l. was partly covered by snowfields which could be crossed without problem. After pass sufficient water until &quot;Important Sobo: last water 50km&quot; available. After that only a small trickle at: &quot;Important Sobo: last water 25km???&quot;. (Should be filtered). We used Emergency Exit 1 because our water filter and tent was broken. The worker at the gate was surprised but very friendly. The internal Securitas checked our passports and then drove us to Rancagua. All employees were very friendly and helpful.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Nov-07 / Hiking / SOBO / Fran &amp; Rodri<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 in five days, at first, we wanted to start from Reserva Río Clarillo but it was impossible. The guards of Conaf didn't even try to listen to us, they just said &quot;you can't pass&quot;, so we try the alternative across the river and after 5km, they caught us, it's a natural private reserve and closed for public ( more strict than conaf) so they kick us out. Finally we start in the regular route in &quot;El Melocotón&quot;.<br /> <br /> The entrances it's a private tourism property, once inside, you have 2 alternatives, we took the regular because of the water but we had to pay 5.000 pesos each.<br /> <br /> Then we walk in and the problems disappear. in the beginning the water spots are between 7km aprox so be careful with that.<br /> <br /> In the second day we have a lot of river crossing but it was easy. A lot of sun.<br /> <br /> At the end of the route we took the emergency exit 1 in the &quot;Mina Teniente&quot; of course its a super private zone, but they were very friendly, make us a lot of questions, our personal details and they took us to the end of the private zone. Then we walk 5km and arrive to Coya.<br /> <br /> In town there is a very good place to eat called &quot;bar catan&quot; (delicious and cheap), and pass the night in &quot;Hostal el ensueño&quot; (15.000 each).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-28 / Family Size <br /> <br /> The campground Estero Coyanco (S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779') seams to be only open on weekends? One can walk around the closed gate and a person in the campground allowed me to sleep there on a weekday. There would be a small shop, food places and toilets. I stayed up the valley close to S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779'.<br /> <br /> There was a dead goat further up in the water.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-24 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 five days. Including 2 nero days. Again a really hot section, but there is enough water till Estero Codegua. Marked source before mine (water last 25km) is still flowing. Not much, but flowing. After that you won't find any. Trail is in good condition, in few undefines spots just follow gps. We took last optional trail to the left to meet road to Coya, trail was bit overgrown but doable, then we took a regular trail to Coya which is gravel. Shortly after first emergency exit in mine, where is trail cutting a mine property, they are building a high fence that won't be easy to jump.<br /> <br /> In Coya we are staying in Tu Casita for 20k including dinner. So far it's nice. Ressuplying is good here, we found everything that we needed. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-16 / Hiking / SOBO / RR Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to walk this section. Trails are in good condition. There is practically no snow left and water levels are low. We took the third Emergency Exit in the mine, so we don't know about the last 10 km. The mine's Security Officer wasn't very pleased to drive us out of the mine. In Coya we found accommodation and resupply tiendas. You can also take the bus to Rancagua which runs every full hour.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-14 / Hiking / Ty &amp; America / SOBO<br /> <br /> We camped on Reserva Coyanco for 5000 pesos and sweet spots right next to the river. We took a taxi straight there from the city center of Santiago for 25,000. I just saw on the television that the metro is back up to Puente Alto as well.....so that’s cool.<br /> <br /> We also took the first emergency exit when arriving at Mina Teniente. Everybody was SUPER friendly. They even gave us a free ride to Machali for Resupply (Isabel supermarket).<br /> <br /> After water at the bridge over Estero Codegua, water is pretty much non existent. Nobody was at the puesto, and the next water source was still and dense with tad poles (definitely not ideal)....and probably won’t last for much longer.<br /> <br /> There was some just recently passable areas near the top of the pass, but pretty easy to get by! Prefect timing 👌<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2018-Dec-20 / Hiking / Martin Lizondo / Regular Route Southbound<br /> <br /> A lot of water capacity is required. Last water source at Estero Bodegua (S34° 00.894' W70° 25.507'). Avoid the route near puesto at S34° 04.633' W70° 30.757' because the pass is forbidden. Instead, keep following the track high off trail.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> Get the metro to Plaza De Puente Alto then Bus MB-72B to El Melocoton.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT02 - Mina El Teniente]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (18).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (13).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT06_(Descabezado)&diff=113246 2023-12-23T09:59:28Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-18 to 2023-Dec-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+{06-D} / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> It is the most amazing section from GPT01 to here so far!<br /> <br /> I hiked RR, it is still covered by tons of snow, i recommend use ice axe and micro spikes if you want to hike from Portezuelo Las Cruces(pass) to El Estadio(pass), there is some really steep snow slope. (RR-TL-V)<br /> <br /> Parque Ingles have a restaurant and a tiny store selling food, fruits, drinks and some 230g gas canisters.<br /> <br /> <br /> I hopped the gate to the park at 6:30. No one was there.<br /> <br /> There are 3 main pass for RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> First pass, snow start at km14.3(2050m), not difficult for climbing up to pass[15.4/2257].<br /> <br /> Laguna Las Animas(lake)[16.7/2286] is still frozen, very beautiful. I climbed up on some rocks at the north side of the lake, then mostly choose my own way to climb up to pass, because RR look steep.<br /> <br /> Arrive the pass[19.4/2547], if you are not comfortable with snow, it is the LAST CHANCE to turn back.<br /> <br /> Pass is flat and dry, you can camping here but windy.<br /> <br /> There are no RR after the pass because covered by many snow, find a way go down to valley by snow slope, then walk all the way on snow to km20.2, you can see the trail but on the other side at km20.2, steep go down the snow slope then connect to RR.<br /> <br /> Follow the trail about 5min, you will go into a big valley, trail and the whole valley covered by snow, but you can see a trail is at the far away other side of valley.<br /> <br /> Go your own way to water[22.0/2279], i think it is lot ways to go down, but dont too close to cliff side, it is steep and easily to fall off.<br /> <br /> After you arrive water[22.0/2279], then straight forward to km22.6.<br /> <br /> A large flat area can fit lot of tents at the downhill side of km22.6.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> After km22.6, the most dangerous part begins, from here to km26, lot of steep snow slope you need to cross, be careful, kick step and don't slide.<br /> <br /> Km26 is another large flat area for camping, i camped here with nice sunrise.<br /> <br /> Snow continues to km26.6, but easy way. The first pass's snow end.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> About the second pass, snow start at ford[29.4/2190], strong flow and look like up to thighs, i cross it on snow bridge.<br /> <br /> Stay on east side until km31.25, then stay down walking in the valley, easier than on the slope.<br /> <br /> Although full of snow, but I think it is easy to go to the pass[33.8/2695] from here, so i dont mention the details. It is also easy to go down, most of them are gentle slope.<br /> <br /> Snow end at km41.4, but mostly you can find some flat sandy spot start at km39.1.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Hot spring[45.6/1881] : completely dry. Some camping spots with rock wall nearby.<br /> <br /> Water,camp[48.1/1837] : amazing oasis in desert! Clear and cold water, some shade, also lot of swallows flying in the sky catching some food for their kid.<br /> <br /> Km49.1 - km49.8 : best view point of Volcán Descabezado Grande and Volcán Azul! If you want to camp with stunning views, bring water at oasis then climb up here, lot of sandy spots beside some rocks, enjoy you sleep with volcano.<br /> <br /> Km53.2 - km54.7 : Laguna del Caracol(lake), maybe because too much snow melts? Trail underwater, you need to walk in the lake shore for a while.<br /> <br /> Camp[56.3/2034] : oasis again! Crystal clear and cold water! It is possible to cut off from km56 to x[57.3/2073] directly, stream flowing slow and up to knee.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Third pass, steep climb up to km57.9, if you follow RR, then you will turn right and face some steep snow climbing up.<br /> <br /> If you look up at left side, there is some foot steps straight climb up on a dry slope, which is no snow but looses sand.<br /> <br /> I go for the left one to the pass, ok but steep and really tried.<br /> <br /> Most of the snow is after pass, from pass[59.3/2518] to km61.5, first go to east side go around the snow, then you will find a trail, follow it a little then go your own way in snow valley. <br /> <br /> I follow RR, mostly easy to go down until km61.5, a steep slope. I don't want to take the risk, so i crossed a snow bridge to a sandy slope at south side. Go down the slope and rejoin RR about km62.1.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[63.4/1909] : i crossed the river before a huge rock, below knee at morning. The huge rock also provide some wind protection, i saw some camping trace beside it.<br /> <br /> Volcán Los Hornitos : km65.3, {06-D}, just beside RR, no need CC, a trail leads you to the top, just climb up 70m! Go for it!<br /> <br /> Lastly with no luck, i saw a car going down just 10min before i arrived the road, then no more cars, so i walk all the way to Los Cipreses.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Met a super friendly worker at Los Cipreses, he give me some cherry to eat and a ride to Los Alamos. A tiny shop there , if you are not picky, a little pricey but enough food resupply for 1 people six days. It have a sign &quot;Almacen&quot; at its front gate. You can ask locals where it is, i saw many workers go to there buy things.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-dec-3/ 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; 6 option 1 / Lukas en Tess<br /> <br /> As this was our first section on the GPT and there still was a lot of snow in the mountains we decided to play it safe and folow option 1 from el Bolsón. It is less steep and less long above the snoweline about 2000m at the time. It went great but Tess burned her eyes so good sunglasses are definetly a must when hiking in the snow. From there we continued the RR at Laguna del Caracol we had to walk in the lake on the edge, no idea if that's normal but it was funny. The next and final big obstacle was the pass on k59 we decided to try and bypass it because it looked very steep with a lot of snow and ice and Tess with her burning eyes had a hard time looking at any snow at her feet. So we went up right next to it (north). Realy though rock scrambling but we managed. Going down the next valley was okay with the snow but crossing rivers covered in snow is tricky so try to avoid it. Walking into los Cipreces we were told we were not supposed to be there but still we had lunch in the cafeteria and they fixed a ride to bring us to the road, realy nice people there. From there we hitchhiked to el colorado where we stayed for two days to let Tess' eyes heal.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-14 to 2023-Mar-19 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Parque Ingles - Los Cipreses / Noemie<br /> <br /> Parque Inglés - El Bolsón - Termas de Azufre - Blanquillo - Laguna Hornitos - Los Cipreses<br /> <br /> First try on the GPT and amazing section to start. There were buses from Molina at 10am and 5pm going to Parque Ingles. You must arrive there before 1pm and buy an entrance for El Bolson (with camping) to enter the Park. It's also possible to camp in Parque Ingles (7.000 CLP/night). When I entered, CONAF asked me where I was going, if I had a GPS, and gave me some kind of permit to show in Los Cipreses. I wasn't asked to show it when I arrived there though. <br /> Landscapes and panoramas were extremely beautiful and very impressive. There was still water in all marked points and fords were easy to cross. Trail is easy to follow almost everywhere, except after Termas de Azufre (be careful to look for the right pools on the map and do not go up too much, I ended up in a place with almost boiling water). The whole section is full of beautiful sand dunes, so gaiters were extremely useful. In Blanquillo, you are supposed to get an authorization from the dueño to stay there, but it looks like it is not really enforced. I spent a day in Blanquillo to rest, drink maté and learn how to make sopaipillas with Umberto. I hitchhiked from Los Cipreses to San Clemente (one hostel, two supermarkets, decent to resupply) so I can't comment on the bus schedule. However, to come back to Los Cipreses/Termas del Médano, be aware that there is now only a bus leaving at 3pm from Talca, going up until La Mina. I took a small bus to Colorado on morning (every 45 min.) and hitchhiked easily back until Laguna del Maule for GPT 07.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-21 to 2023-Mar-25 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Vilches — Volcan – Parque Ingles / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Our last section on the GPT for this year! We started in Vilches Alto with the option 06-05 because we rented horses with the arriero Jose Lopez. The beginning is placed in the Reserva Nacional Altos de Lircay, which requires a permit to go until the Volcan. The entrance fee is also 7k pp. We finished our first day at Camp, CONAF {06-05} [10.2/1158]. I believe we mostly followed the GPS track. <br /> <br /> On the second day, we continued with the horses until Hot Spring {06} [45.6/1881] (Banos del Blanquillo) still following the track. We then were disappointed because the arriero left us here whereas our agreement (clearly stated by messages before the rent) was to climb the volcano with the horses (it turns to be not possible, too steep).<br /> Thankfully, we had an excess day of food so we could attempt the climb the next day. We also met Umberto, the guy staying in the refugio, who was extremely friendly. He told us to start the volcano climb early in the night to avoid heavy winds. <br /> <br /> On Day 3, we started the ascent at 2am with our headlights. 6h30 later we were on the top, with the morning lights rewarding us and stunning landscape. The ascent was extremely tiresome (sand material), as always with volcanos, and it was very cold but the crater and the views were very worth it. After a breakfast at the top, the descent, mostly running, took us about 2h. We rested for the rest of day at Banos del Blanquillo and even got a sopapilla making class with Umberto.<br /> <br /> On Day 4, we followed the RR in the beautiful Descabezado landscape. Expect no shade but stunning dunes of white sand. There is plenty of water during the day because you will cross at least 2 rivers that were not dry this late in the season. The trail is easy to follow (because that is the only one) and is also part of the Circuit of the Condores. However, after Ford {06} [29.4/2190], you have about a dozen of options and the navigation until Hot Spring {06} [27.4/1986] (Hot Sping del Azufre) is more challenging. We decided to ignore the GPS and follow our instinct - just aim for the fumerolles. There you can enjoy a hot bath in one of the three hot natural pools (along some weird soft alguees). <br /> <br /> On Day 5, we simply followed the RR until Parque Ingles. The trail is well marked until the end, you just have to enjoy multiple highlights in the landscape. Of note, when reaching El Bolsón, the CONAF ranger forbid us to bath in the pools because it was too late (3PM) and told us to leave the park before 5:30. He was not friendly and also checked the entrance tickets of Livan Ray. We got extremely lucky and caught a bus leaving Parque Ingles when we reached it (it leaves at 5:00).<br /> <br /> This hike concludes our GPT adventure. We loved to start it riding horses to feel a bit more like the trails main user. The final day hiking and the volcano ascent were astonishing, truly one of (or even the) best section of our GPT.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-03 to 2023-Feb-08 / 6 days/ Hiking / SOBO / RR + Descabezado / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé<br /> <br /> Our first trip on the GPT, plenty of water, we didnt carry more than 1.5L each. Here is our trip :<br /> <br /> Day 1 - Laguna Las Animas - 18km - +1200m/-100m<br /> We entered the parc illegally at 7:30 in the morning as some others hikers have done reading the wiki. We did this because the parc was full for the next 3 days. I can only advise you to book in advance on internet (conaf). We slept at a camping in front of the entrance for 7k CLP per person. Plenty of buses goes up there from Molina in 2 hours. At least a dozen. Same for going back. If you buy your ticket online : if you sleep at El Bolson, you can enter the park until 3pm, if you go further with only the El Bolson ticket, you can entered until 11am only!<br /> So, we hiked until the Laguna las Animas, a rather long day for the first one.<br /> The camp on the beach was quite windy too.<br /> <br /> Day 2 - Termas de Azufre - 11km - +400m/-700m<br /> A short day, nice to enjoy the hot springs in the afternoon. The pass in the morning was very windy too.<br /> <br /> Day 3 - Refugio El Blanquillo - 20km - +800m/-900m<br /> A long but beautiful day. Leave early the camp to avoid hot temperatures while ascending the pass. Well welcomed by the arrierio Umberto ! Very kind.<br /> <br /> Day 4 - Volcan Descabezado Grande - 16km - +2000m/-2000m<br /> We did the ascent without our bags, we went back to our camp in the night. It's long and hard. According to Umberto, 12h are needed in total, we did in 10h. Same, Leave early to avoid hot temperatures. <br /> <br /> Day 5 - Laguna los Hornitos - 20km - +900m/-900m<br /> Another nice day, passing next to Laguna Caracol. The descent from the pass is a bit annoying if you didnt follow the track (as we did). So, advice : follow the RR and go down on your right. The Laguna is very dry, just enough to have a bath. Hard to maintain the pitch of the tent in the dry dirt.<br /> <br /> Day 6 - Los Cipreses - 15km - +100m/-1000m<br /> Last short day to end this beautiful section. The gravel road is a bit boring but passing pickup are proposing you to get you down to the main road. Here, only one bus at 7am. And a little shop selling ice cream, chips and drinks. We hitchiked to El Colorado where plenty of buses are going down to Talca for 2 000 CLP (+ 400 CLP per bag)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-24 to 2023-Jan-30/ 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Descabezado / Martial<br /> <br /> First trip 6 days on GPT being a wonderfully intense experience ! Lunar landscapes, silent and remote, few but great people. No particular difficulty.<br /> Started park ingles with a mandatory 7000peso night at quiet camping near the river and bought ticket for Bolsón overnight 8$. Finally did not stay at Bolson a half day walk from entrance and camped in Laguna de las Animas instead. Great spot for Condors watching. After that follow Will’s advice and put on your mandatory gaiters till the end of the section ! + Walking on sand can be tough for the ankle. Don’t resist and don’t do too much !! Learned it the painfull way.. Trail visible but don’t get confused at termas Azufres especially if you try the (very) hot pools ! RR way is up the valley. Camp with water possible before the pass. The way down called « la Calle » is beautifull sandy dune remote desert. Exceptional. Aimed for Blanquillo refugio aka best basecamp for Descabezado intent. Meet Umberto the arriero at the hut and ask him where the termal pool and the drinking water are. He may be offended if you don’t show up and is a nice generous guy ! Also had a Chilean horse riding group intended the Descabezado so were a nice bunch by the camp fire. As weather window was fine, I decided to try a high camp in order to preserve weak foot from a very long ascent (10h). Took plenty of water as they are only glaciar dirty patches up there and aimed for Descabezado to Cerra Azul osm trail just as Nat and Tomas did (so i could have a chance to summit both also). Finally chose not to cross the nasty glaciar but found a very well sheltered highcamp here (-35.60569, -70.76147). Incredible sunset ! Not advisable in case of rain coming (a storm was growing in Argentina so stayed prepared for an emergency descent). Next day summited Descabezado at 11AM with no wind ideal conditions. Dive your front foot flat in sand just like snow climb when it gets to steep ! Nice ski descent sensations straight to the termas for a well deserved rest at the termas ! Also met Carlos a local climbing half way up so we would share joy later at the camp :).<br /> Exit through RR is also nice but regreted haven’t camped here (-35.67102, -70.83649) for there was some playfull trouts to catch with my survival fishing kit !<br /> Beautiful view from the pass to sandyland and then landscape changes and recommend OH variant C descending (less overgrown). Trail not so visible till laguna los hornos witch i climbed volcano to enjoy the crater caldera. After that descent to los Cipreses is kind of boring and hot so was definitely happy to find a camping by the bridge after the gate with lovely Victorina and her family here (-35.81524, -70.83224). They have been incredibly carring, fed me and brought me to the termas caves (also worth it) in El Medano !<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-16 to 2023-Jan-25 / 10 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH 06-02 &amp; 06-03 Laguna Maule to Vilches w/ volcans / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> An extremely long description so my apologies but hopefully it will help someone. We Started in Laguna del Maule and ended in Vilches with inclusion of Descabezado, Azul, Descabezado Chico and Colorado.<br /> <br /> All fords super easy or jump-able. Only times water was scarce was Descabezado and Azul (technically there is melt water from glaciers at Azul), the afternoon around Descanezado Chico and also water was scarce around the Laguna des acquas caliente because I would not trust drinking that water (some springs are cold water though). Weather turned bad only once while we were climbing Azul, the change happened rapidly and we went from blue skies to total white out (~10m or less visibility) within an hour. Other than that weather was amazing, a little cold at night and a little warm in the day.<br /> <br /> Happy we started in Laguna del Maule and finished in Vilches. This saved elevation gain and let us decide whether or not we had enough food in the end to climb Descabezado, Azul, chico and for Tomáš Colorado.<br /> <br /> Day1.<br /> Starting in Talca, due to a certain someone (me) I accidentally sent Tomáš and I too Molina on a bus instead of &quot;la mina&quot; so our day was very messed up but we still managed to take a bus to Colorado and hitchhike to the start of this route. Buses from Talca to la Mina go at; 7:00am, 1:00pm (only to la Suiza), 3:00pm and 7:00pm. We took a bus to Colorado due to time and hitched the rest of the way. The last hitch was in a snowplow truck and he dropped us off miraculously at the start of the trail and before any customs or checks.<br /> <br /> OH-TL-V {06-02} (109.1). Straight away the trail is hard to see, do not take the road-looking trail on the side of the mountain because it ends, stick to the gps. However soon we were walking on the correct route through the sand and down to a creek with fun boulders. Easy to follow. After this first creek we followed option OH-CC-A (06-02) {98} For only -5km until making camp in-between a river and and canal with flowing water. Bogs in this area slowed us down a lot.<br /> <br /> Day2. <br /> OH- {06-02} -[ (93) &amp; (86) ]<br /> This day seemed long, we crossed two passes, one small (-35.94909, -70.45347) and one much larger (-35.88855, -70.46776). I liked the entire area south of the second pass, many beautiful camp spots, water was available almost to the top of the pass and there is also a nice waterfall/swimming pool located roughly around (-35.90452, -70.45218). Trail to first pass was easy but trail between first and second was much more cross country, there are many animal tracks, I followed the gps and Tomáš followed a trail closer to the river and we both ended up at the same spot... After the second pass, the GPX goes cross-country right away, but one can follow a trail that goes left and later reconnects with GPx.<br /> <br /> After the second pass there is a small plateau and then it follows down a creek with water until you must cross an east hill and go towards your first mountain puesto to the east (noone home). There is only a little bit of water here, better water at the creek you came from and or a few creeks ahead. <br /> <br /> From the puesto (-35.86707, -70.47589) there is a good trail that trvaerses the slope ahead. We should have camped but we continued. There were a few nice creeks that were passed along the way. We were forced to make a &quot;make-shift&quot; camp before hitting a much nicer plateau because it was dark and I was not having a good day 😅. It is about 6 km between the puesto and the plateau.<br /> <br /> Day 3<br /> OH {06-02} [78.6] + [75.7] + [63.6]<br /> Easy day, only one small pass. There is an ex-carabiniero puesto at (-35.84277, -70.40285) and a highlight was two rivers, one at (-35.76317, -70.42051) and one river at (-35.74734, -70.45623). The GPX is marked as trail a bit further than the actual trail goes (the trail continues to a puesto down-river). You need to go down a ridge and ford the river, there were some footsteps that can be followed. We walked near {06-02E} along a river filled with sand and not great for drinking but there is a creek that starts/ends here (-35.72759, -70.44125). We camped near this way point in the sand but it got windy at night, we wished we camped a bit further from the river in the little hills where it was considerably less windy. <br /> <br /> Day4<br /> OH {06-02} [59.6] + [29.1] + {06-02D}<br /> <br /> This day we passed a large pass (-35.65200, -70.43356) via {06-02D}. This option was more direct and involved a very short and easy scramble onto a windy plateau. Surprisingly lots of water up towards the pass, last one being (-35.66343, -70.42666) , however the water available had a lot of sand in it, fyi. From camp we followed a cow trail until a lake like feature (-35.70057, -70.42733) and then went cross country. I hope my cairns marking the turn for {06-02D} survive. <br /> <br /> After the pass the true Descabezado environment begins. We both made note of how terrible it would be to be on this plateau in bad weather, very open and CC. Next water source would be a couple of creeks here (-35.61215, -70.42156). From a break at this creek we ended up going straight down the creek bed. Kind of exhausting mentally and would not be possible in early season due to water levels but it shot us out directly in line for making a green camp here (-35.56164, -70.44009). <br /> <br /> Day 05<br /> OH {06-02} [29.1] + [20]<br /> Lagunas de aquas calientes day. <br /> An easy day with a lot of time spent at Aquas Caliente, true to the name. <br /> Trail from camp was easy to follow until (-35.53519, -70.46551) and then it went CC to the Laguna. If shelter is needed in this open landscape we found a rock shelter here (-35.51276, -70.51035). The creek feeding the Laguna was fabulously warm in places - either at the source of the creek or at a spring on the right side about 100m upriver. Tomáš found the proper source of the spring here (-35.50395, -70.52347). It is easy to get sunburn why bathing mid-day though. There are some camping spots near the creek. After this Laguna there is a nasty and windy sand stretch until a creek located here (-35.48980, -70.57667). On this stretch I chose not to follow the sand but detoured on more solid ground to the east (-35.48839, -70.56200) and was glad I did. Later on we found snow melt here (-35.48544, -70.59940) and loaded all the water we would need for night/morning and exploring Descabozado Chico the next day. <br /> <br /> Day 06<br /> OH {06-02} [20] + {06-02C Chico} + [4.5]<br /> Descabozado Chico + Vulcan Colorado (Tomáš)<br /> <br /> Went up and around the crater of Descabozado Chico in the morning which I highly recommend. The crater is easy to walk around and gives an amazing 360 experience. The climb up is tedious but non-dangerous scree that makes for a super fast decent. Make sure you have enough water because water is scarce there. I saw a waterfall on the NE side the lake but did not go to it, Tomáš got water somewhere off trail around here (-35.51226, -70.65626) and I drank out of the next lake -35.52036, -70.65873 (questionable, but nothing happened to me). <br /> From the lake the next pass begins and I stupidly made Tomáš and I carry 5L of water up it because I did not think there would be water on the south side (both of us overlooking the river indicated on the map)...I was wrong, no water high up but lots of water down low. For the pass we opted not to follow the route because it was thick steep sand so we instead climbed a more solid ridge here (-35.52506, -70.66854). Tomáš went to continue up Vulcan Colorado and I boringly traversed to the normal pass and enjoyed a very fun sand ski down the south side. The Vulcan is a steep but not technical hike up, the crater can be walked around with a steep but fun descent on the other side in SW direction. This pass would be very tiresome climbing up due to sand. If you are coming from the opposite direction and do not trust the lagoon water then you should aim for (-35.51226, -70.65626) or bring water.<br /> <br /> Everything this day was CC. I found it to be the hardest day navigation-wise but still not troublesome. We finished the day in a nice valley before the next days climb here (-35.55427, -70.70793). The water around this area is a bit sandy but better further up.<br /> <br /> Day 07 <br /> Last pass and New route possibly <br /> <br /> From camp a trail existed to the pass at -35.55228, -70.73791. There was a little bit of snow at the top but since there were already steps made, it was zero problem. Lots of water on the SE of this pass but only a trickle of water on the NW side at -35.54575, -70.75672. This water trickle point is where we left the trail to make a short cut to Descabezado. To our surprise our route worked and in 4hrs we were making a camp at 2630m next to the approach trail to Descabezado, therefore saving a lot of time, distance and elevation. In our route there was only one difficulty and that was a deep gorge and creek &quot;jump&quot; at -35.57904, -70.77929. Personally I would not recommend this in early season because the consequence of falling in the river might take you down a waterfall and the traverse may otherwise be nasty if there are still snowfields around altitude 2700m. The gorge is fed by the glacier in the crater of Descabezado so in the morning it should be better but the water is very dirty.<br /> <br /> I drew the route on my photos of the pass if anyone wants them. Otherwise here is my description of our route.<br /> <br /> From the small trickle creek at -35.54575, -70.75672 head SW up the creek bed in the direction of this easy pass ***-35.55513, -70.76977. Nearby spots would work too except for the pass directly above the creek bed, the other side of that one had snow and rocks. After this pass I believe it is easiest to just go straight down and up like a half pipe rather than trying to traverse and keep elevation, we aimed for a middle looking plateau on the other side, this middle plateau took us to the proper crossing of the gorge here, -35.57923, -70.77864 (más o menos). We jumped the gorge and climbed easily up the other side although the other side looks like a scramble it was actually just walking. We travesed this altitude for a little longer (although I would suggest easier walking a little lower) until we made camp in a ravine very close to the Descabezado approach route. Our camp even had a small amount of flowong snow melt so it was heaven in my mind! (Camp with water; -35.59280, -70.78723). <br /> <br /> Day 8<br /> Descabezado &amp; Azul.<br /> <br /> This is turning into a novel so I will keep this short. We left our tent in place and set off early to do Descabezado and Azul as a day trip. Descabezado was straightforward, it seems the trail will change slightly every year depending on who makes the tracks (neither the route in oSM or GPT seem to follow the actual trail from about 2600 to 3300). If wanting to make the true summit it looks like you have to go down into the crater, cross the glacier and approach it from the other side. Coming down Descabezado was very fast but we made a huge mistake and left the GPT trail to follow the other osm route that heads east then west called &quot;Descabezado Grande - Quizapu - cerro Azul&quot;. <br /> <br /> This route should be avoided for many reasons apart from the fact that the other route is easier despite elevation gain (we took the other route back). This osm route took us here -35.61301, -70.75604 which was actually a glacier covered in sand with a small hanging glacier above causing a lot of rockfall, it was a very ugly place and we carefully got out of there and made or way to the proper route to Azul. Despite loosing almost 2hours on an already tight day we continued (although I wasted an extra 30min due to making up my mind🙄). Once again on the way up to Azul we did not follow the normal way but went to the east side of the crater of Azul where the bad osm route is. There were a foot print here and there but it was CC. The crater was amazing but too windy to enjoy much, we saw a few fumaroles. We continued CC to the base of Azul, a tiny bit of snow (or glacier remnants?) but posed no difficulties. The base of Azul is beautiful with melt water if needed. We followed the ridge to Azul, it was more involved than Descabezado but no more than a low 3rd class (it is a bit exposed and steep but almost exclusively hiking). There is a interesting summit tower on Azul but because of the wind and time we had no desire to stretch our limits. Weather moved in fast and before we were off the ridge of Azul we were completely covered in a white out, maybe maximum 10m of visibility. Navigation was incredibly hard but we took our chances and took the other (&quot;valle&quot;) OSM route down and luckily it was a very easy route and we were down below the clouds and able to see again. The rest of the night was CC back to our camp ~1030pm. It as a good day. <br /> <br /> Day 9.<br /> <br /> From our camp in the ravine we headed CC and then onto the trail that lead to the puesto at basecamp Blancquillo and from then on we were on a good trail. While walking down we opted to stay in sandals and just walk in the river, it was refreshing. We didn't have clean water until the valley bottom at the CONAF camp (valley El venado) where there was also lots of pear trees and yellow plum-like trees. Many people there (first people seen). We made camp at the river before the pass (Mirador del valle del venado) but the walk from the CONAF camp until then was slower than expected because it was along a river bed with confusing tracks.<br /> <br /> Day 10.<br /> <br /> Good trail up and down from Mirador del valle del venado with lots of water and trees for shade. Took us almost half the time we thought it would take. Note that you cannot actually camp at campsites/restong areas on this trail after the Mirador. The CONAF guards asked us where we were coming from and when we said Laguna del Maule he just sounded impressed and let us go on our way. There was a decent restaurant with empanadas, beer ext near the bus stop . There was a posted schedule of the bus but it clearly did not follow this schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus. <br /> <br /> Great trip, beautiful views and details and just the right amount of challenge.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-20 to 2023-Jan-23 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Ondrej <br /> <br /> I got to Parque Inglés from Santiago de Chile by taking a train to Curico (advice: if you want to travel by train, buy a ticket online at least 2 days in advance as it books out quickly). From Curico I took a blue collectivo to Molina and then a bus to Parque Ingles.<br /> <br /> At the park entrance I was turned away by a CONAF officer because I bought a “day trip” ticket (El bolson - para día) and not the one with overnight camping. For the ticket I bought they allow entry only by 11:00am. I did not explain that I will continue beyond El Bolson - maybe I should have done that but did not want to get myself into more unnecessary discussions. CONAF said they cannot change my ticket to the “camping” type and when I tried to book the other one, it was booked out for the next two days, so the advice is book early and the right ticket type (el bolson - camping)!<br /> <br /> I ended up camping at the Rocas Basilicas for the night.<br /> <br /> On the first hike day hopped the gate to the park at 7:00. No one was there so no issues. I hiked to Thermas de Azufre. It was a very long day. There is no shade at all after El Bolson. I made a provisional shade using my tent’s footprint during lunchbreaks. Once I arrived to the Azufre hotsprings, a few arrieros were there. I decided to camp further up the river.<br /> <br /> On the second day I hiked to Refugio Blanquillo, met a settler who resides there for three months each year (if I understood correctly). The scenery before the refugio was otherwoŕldy and beautiful. Gaiters, good hat, sunscreen and sunglasses were my most loved pieces of gear. I camped at the first “camp” waypoint after Refugio Blanquillo. Amazing place to camp (but no grass), with a good stream and even some small shade thanks to the bushes. <br /> <br /> My third day was quite straightforward, I made it almost to Los Cipresses but decided to camp close to the last “water” checkpoint, shortly before the gate with the guard. It was alright but I would recommend walking all the way to the shop and camp there for the night.<br /> <br /> On the fourth day I walked through the gate with the security guard. I also met a number of the power station workers and all were friendly. We waved at each other. The guard at the gate was nice, took my passport number and name. Once at the shop I found it was closed (9am). I needed to get to El Medano to join GPT07 and decided to continue hiking through Los Alamos. It might have been to early (10am) as also the almacén in Los Alamos was closed. The road after Los Almacén was uneventful and a bit sketchy at places, so I forded the river at the “bridge” waypoint after Los Alamos to get to the main road and hitchike to El Medáno. Got a ride in approx 20 min. El Medáno is a great base - the thermals are nice and there is an electricity socket next to the toilets. They have shade for the tent too. There is also a restaurant with filling foods and a small shop.<br /> <br /> Overall a fantstic section but I wasn’t expecting the heat to be that oppresive!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-31 to 2023-Jan-3 / 5 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR / David and Erika<br /> <br /> Get to TH Parque ingle before 1:00 pm, otherwise they close it for entrance. We did get internet and got the correct CONAF ticket -the one heading to El Bolsón. Once you get out of the park and into the Cuesta Las Anima, the wild parts begin. Hope you got your dirty girl gaiters; cause you’re going to need them. Sand city. Gaiters worked great. Remote and desolately beautiful. Water up at the end of Laguna del Caracol, at the river that comes out of the ground, you have a dry climb ahead. Walk out was straightforward. Got a lift from ENEL employee.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-28 to 2022-Dec-29 / 2 days/ Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I connected in Thermas Azufre from GPT 05. I recommend it as a camping spot. I have seen the tracks of people staying on the western side of the valley but I think it is better to ford, there is anoce trail there on the eastern side. There is a place with and island where I needed to remove my shoes just for about three meters (the stream was not strong enough for me to keep the shoes on).<br /> <br /> I took a detour to the lake at the pass - nice. No snow anymore. Reached the Refugio Blanquillo (which is a puesto, an arriero had two dogs and a thousand shep there), met a group of tourists on horses and two Chilean hikers there, so crowded all of a sudden. The pool there is indeed lukewarm. The water from the stream is said not to be good - I filtered it (for the first time on GPT) and was fine. But if not climbing the volcano, I would recommend to camp 2 km further at the next water source. I no longer carry water with me and just drink a lot when I find a source, there is a lot of them, even in the semidesert (the sand is actually white pumice from the volcanoes). It is quite dusty, my hands got dry and that normally does not happen to me. I agree with the recommendation to apply sunscreen at least three times a day! <br /> <br /> The second day I walked all the way to the main road. Stthe pass, there is still a bit of snow but white manageable. Going down from the lake, there is no water until around half or one third of the minor road in the valley, beware. Walking-wise, this was the easiest section on GPT for me. At the mainroad, the camping at the shop after the bridge was closed. I hitched somebody in he truck who knew the owners, called them and they came to open it for me. 5000 pesos but I gave the lady 10000 as she had to drive here to open the aging for me. There is electricity and cold shower and shadow. Almost nothing at the shop. The bus is said to leave at seven. I slept and now will try hitchhiking.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-20 to 2022-Dec-24 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> Amazing trail! It's quite desolate but the landscape varies enough to always keep things interesting. Trudging up the sandy hills could be demoralizing, but getting to run down the other side more than made up for it. Water was still plentiful though not much snow was left, I only had to cross a few small patches. Thankfully heat wasn't a problem at all for me, I even felt cold a few times with the altitude and wind.<br /> <br /> Caught the 5pm bus from Molina to Radal for 3000 pesos, then a van came by a few minutes later to take us to parque inglés for another 3000. Was nice to meet a bunch of Chilean hikers, who were all going to El Bolson and back. We camped at the Rocas Basílicas campsite right at parque inglés, 7000 pesos next to a beautiful river.<br /> <br /> I had phone signal at parque inglés, so I bought the pass online for 8 USD. There was no one at the Conaf office at 7 30 the next morning, so I just hopped the gate and walked through. <br /> <br /> I ran into a few arrieros relaxing at the Azufre hot springs, the only people I saw along the trail. They were friendly but it was tough to understand their heavy Chilean Spanish. They said I could camp with them but there wasn't a ton of room so I walked on.<br /> <br /> There were some geysers shooting up from the muddy riverbank near the gpx track so I took a wider route around. An arriero also told me to take a trail higher up along the dunes so I followed that to the ford. The ford looked tough so I kept walking 2ish km along the other side until I could easily hop across. But it was slow going, probably not worth it.<br /> <br /> I ended up having to camp on a random sand dune. I had some trouble getting my tent to stay up tied to rocks, since I couldn't get stakes in. I'd definitely recommend using tieouts you can really secure to rocks, or even a freestanding tent.<br /> <br /> The rest of the hike went smoothly. I easily made it to los cipreses in three days of hiking from parque inglés. The guard was super friendly, inviting me in and giving me a bunch of water. I camped across the street from the shop near the bus stop, ask at the shop if you want to camp there. The guy running the camping was also super nice, he messaged the bus driver and told me it would be at 9 or 9 30 the next morning, because it was a Saturday (it was also Christmas eve). The bus ended up showing up at 9 45, and costed 3200 pesos to Talca.<br /> <br /> The side trip up Volcan Los Hornitos was very worth it, there's a fairly gradual trail up and you can just sprint straight down. I didn't even need to bring any water (just some gummy bears).<br /> <br /> I got by without gaiters, but bring them if you can. I should have used more sunscreen, the reflection off the sand is strong.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-17 to 2022-Dec-20 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Joining section 6 directly from the previous one with a little challenging connection trail (see our comment from section 5), we continued to the Hot Spring del Azufre. On the way there is one steep traverse. We used hot spring to cook our rice which really saved us as we run out of gas. The landscape on the whole section is amazing, we really enjoyed it! Ascent to the pass is nice and gradual, hiking in the sand is a little slower, but the opposite when going down. We camped at the El Estadio, almost no wind that day, great place to sleep . In the morning we continued on a nice and easy trail, great views around the volcanos… short break by the laguna thats great for swimming. We camped a little before the camp marked in the gps, there is one place, probably used by arrieros, with a fireplace and a few rocks around it. Being out of the gas we set a fire using wood that was already in there and some others we gather during the day. The view to the volcanos must be one of the best we have seen here so far! The next day we continued to the last Hornitos pass and through the valley, again really nice hiking on a clear trail. Last few kms on the road and since we missed the only bus to Talca that is leaving early in the morning (7:00) and did not have luck with hitchhiking, we stayed in a camp right next to the road. Its just a few meters before it, in the same direction we came from. On the left side is a house with some old advertisment sign (coca-cola or similir) on its fence, and the lady there has a small shop. The camp is on the other side - cold shower, toilets, electricity and access to the river, all for 5000 for 2 people. We even got sandwiches for dinner as there was no other place around to eat. Overall, when combining both sections we recommend to plan carefully, but its definitely worth the effort, especially this section 6.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-16 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Anna&amp;Christopher <br /> <br /> The section is pretty tough, but beautiful with a quite unique landscape. We definetly would do it again.<br /> <br /> Recomendations: bring lots of suncreme, a good hat, gaiters.<br /> <br /> How to get there:<br /> We took a bus from Santiago (terminal at the metro station Universidad de Santiago) to Curico. Across the street from the bus terminal in Curico leaves a blue bus to Molina for 1k CLP. From Molina we hitchhiked to Parque Inglés.<br /> You have to be there before 3 pm to be allowed to hike up to El Bolson. To camp they charge 8k CLP p.p and the park entry is also 8k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The first day we started early from El Bolson. From midday on it was super tough due to the white sand which makes walking really tiring and reflects the sun which makes it super hot without shade. The next day was pretty similar.<br /> The whole section there was plenty of water. There was no much snow left at the passes, so we had no trouble without spikes.<br /> On the last day, after arriving to the dirtroad (8 km from los Cipreses), we got offered a ride after a while and the guy brought us directly to El Médano.<br /> The shop there has pasta, rice, bread, tomato salsa, mayo, chips, biscuits/chocolate and suncreme (but quite pricey).<br /> In El Médano we camped for 6k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-03 to 2022-Dec-06 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica<br /> <br /> Route: Parque Inglés - Laguna Ánimas - Termas del Azufre - Termas del Blanquillo - Laguna del Caracol - Laguna de los Hornos - Los Cipreses<br /> <br /> A beautiful, remote section of true mountain wilderness. It took me 4 days, but only 2 hours hiking the dirt road to Los Cipreses on the last day (so very doable in 3 days). The only people I saw were a couple of arrieros at Termas del Blanquillo who told me they hadn't had a winter as snowy as this one in over 10 years. I was glad to have my microspikes for the vast snow fields near/on the passes. A couple places would have felt quite unsafe without them. <br /> <br /> Notable tidbits: <br /> <br /> Took a bus from Molina at 5pm (on a Friday) to El Radal, then hitchhiked to Parque Inglés. I camped there the first night for 7000 pesos. Pricey, but at least I had a beautiful and secluded spot by Rio Claro. <br /> <br /> The stretch between Las Ánimas Pass and Termas de Azufre had some sketchy traverses across disintegrating scree slopes that were downright nerve-wracking. I suppose if you go down to Laguna Mondaca, then back up to the Termas, you may not encounter this hazard. But I did get to observe a condor soar above my head on thermals for an hour as he surveilled his domain, that was super cool. <br /> <br /> For the first ford after Termas de Azufre, I crossed further upstream than indicated on the GPS track (see Carlos's comment below). It looked a lot safer there than downstream. There's continuous snow for about 3 km going over the pass after Thermas de Azufre, best to cross in the morning to avoid postholing when the snow gets too soft. <br /> <br /> Los Hornitos pass has a large, very steep lip of snow (leftover cornice) on its south side. It's possible to go around it by heading north for 50-100 meters and then making your way down on the volcanic sand.<br /> <br /> The spring between Termas del Blanquillo and Laguna del Caracol is a beautiful little desert oasis in an orherwise hot and dry stretch. It was a splendid spot to camp. <br /> <br /> There is LOTS of water. Laguna del Caracol and Laguna de los Hornos are both full of clear, refreshing water. A lot of the &quot;water&quot; GPS waypoints are actually fords this time of year (easy ones), and there's a lot of other water sources not listed on the tracks. But the section is very exposed, no shade, and very hot in the midday sun unless a breeze is blowing. <br /> <br /> No issues with the guards at Los Cipreses, they were friendly and let me pass no problem. From the first bus stop on the road, I hitched easily to Talca to resupply.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-20 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Molly <br /> <br /> Amazing section! I found the landscape to be very varied despite the lack of vegetation - and even with many pretty flowers near the streams. I personally found it to be a great ending to my GPT journey, a big contrast to the landscapes further south. Would make for a tough start though.<br /> Plenty of water. Met one hiker doing Circuito el Cóndor and three Chilean tourists on horseback. No arrieros, but plenty of cows and horses. The weather was cold and windy, sometimes veritable sandstorms which meant I almost couldn't open my eyes - maybe sunglasses could have helped. I wore my long pants over my boots instead of gaiters - should have listened to the advice, so much sand! <br /> <br /> Signs on the way to parque inglés say that you can only buy tickets online - don't know how strict they are, but no cell phone coverage at parque inglés and long before in case they insist. You have to be there before 15 to be let through to El Bolsón.<br /> Easy 11 km to El Bolsón through a young forest. No water at the first &quot;ford&quot; waypoint. Campground has toilets and showers, it's the only place you're allowed to camp until after Valle del Indio. Nice enough place next to the impressive Colmillo del Diablo. In hot weather it might be nice to camp here to take the long ascent in the morning.<br /> Laguna de las Animas would be a good campsite plus a nice place to swim. The first &quot;water&quot; waypoint afterwards is also great for camping - there is a nice little meadow.<br /> Las Animas pass is gorgeous!<br /> After Termas Azufre there are many confusing paths. They mostly seem to lead to the same place, but keep an eye on the GPS. When descending from the 2700 m pass towards Termas Blanquillo, you don't have to cross the stream to your right even though many paths do it. As noted by others, the hot springs Baños del Blanquillo are luke warm - but fine if you want to wash yourself a little and the stream is too cold. The refuge is locked.<br /> The next camp waypoint is in a cute valley with many streams, bushes and flowers. No grass, though. <br /> Laguna Caracol is beautiful as well, but very bare, surrounded by sand. I really liked the campsite afterwards, with views of both Volcán Descabezado and Cerro Azul. From there, a small CC section to the ascent where the path picks up again towards the Hornitos pass. Even more gorgeous with great and very different views to each site. Volcán Hornitos and the other little craters look really funny and special. Some hail was coming in, though, so I quickly slided down to the next camp waypoint, again a nice flat meadow. No water on the ascent. The first streams at the top of the pass were dry, but the path crosses a stream in 2100 m altitude. If you fill up at the water waypoint before the pass I agree you wouldn't have to carry extra water, the time between these two water points is around 2-3 hours.<br /> I climbed to the rim of Volcán Hornitos, there's nothing in there, but if you walk to the highest point the view is nice enough. It took me 20 minutes in total, and it was about worth that.<br /> The gravel road is nice the first kilometres, but then it gets pretty boring. The security guard at the end was very nice and welcoming.<br /> I camped at the shop just before the road - nice place by the river, 3000 per person with toilets and a cold shower, or 50,000 for a cabaña. From there I hitched the 3 km down the road to Restaurant Cordillera, nice enough, great with a beer, meat and fries. <br /> Bus left from the bus shed at 7:20 next morning - think it depends whether it goes to El Médano or not <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-20 to 2022-Jan-25 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Carlos <br /> Route: Parque Inglés - El Bolsón (Colmillo del Diablo summit) - Termas del Azufre - Termas del Blanquillo - Laguna Caracol - First bus stop on CH115 road.<br /> <br /> I hiked this route only a couple of days after Verónica &amp; Jo. Not much to add except:<br /> <br /> First day just hiked to El Bolsón (easy 4 hours), pitched my tent on the gorgeous campsite, left the heavy load and climbed the imposing &quot;Colmillo del Diablo&quot; (easy hike on a trail that goes around the back of the mountain).<br /> <br /> From Termas del Azufre climbing to the pass I followed a faint track on the steep loose slope instead of crossing at the first river ford. After a few hundred meters the track takes you to a flat wide rocky area (just before the slope becomes impossibly steep), where you can very easily ford the river (I didn't even get my feet wet).<br /> <br /> Plenty of buses Molina - Parque Inglés. But only one bus from el Médano - Los Cipreses to Talca, at around 7 am, which returns at 15:00. Only week days. Basic camping just in front of Los Cipreses shop (only ice cream, drinks, choco bars, biscuits): $4.000 pp.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-10 to 2022-Jan-15 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> Route: Parque Inglès -&gt; Laguna de las Animas -&gt; Termas de Azufre -&gt; Descabezado base camp -&gt; Laguna del Caracol -&gt; Laguna Hornitos -&gt; First bus stop on 115-CH<br /> <br /> The five nights we just spent in a tent was the longest stretch we have ever gone without a decent bed on a hike. We skipped Radal, Laguna Mondaca and Termas de Medano, but still hiked in 6 days what others did in 3-4. We're basically easing into the GPT, gaining some fitness and experience before taking on the harder challenges.<br /> <br /> As others have said: the views are otherworldly and stunning. We felt like Touaregs traveling from oasis to oasis in the Saharan desert. Except that there actually are plenty of springs and little rivers flowing in most valleys.<br /> <br /> Useful tidbits:<br /> <br /> - There really is no shade after El Bolsòn. Either you make your own (e.g., adapting your tent to not trap heat) or you dress like a Touareg (loose clothing fully blocking the sun). For us, this was the hardest to deal with. We got up early but often stopped hiking at 13:00, enjoying the lakes or even just sitting down doing nothing that takes energy.<br /> <br /> - High-heeled boots and long trousers work well to keep the sand out.<br /> <br /> - Confirming Shn0rhelez: going up from Termas de Azufre until the second ford indeed passes plenty of water, no need to carry any.<br /> <br /> - Laguna Hornitos is drying up and hence less beautiful than the other lakes. Maybe it's better to camp at the start of the Hornitos plateau (SOBO, so north entry) as the area is flat and there is reasonably clean running water there.<br /> <br /> - There is no bus to Talca from Los Cipreses on saturdays or sundays. We asked at the shop and got a ride to Colorado from the brother-in-law of the shopkeeper for 15000 CLP.<br /> <br /> - In supermarkets, you can buy alcohol desnaturalizado cheaply in the nail polish section, or alternatively, use alcohol de quemar from the combustibles section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-26 to 2022-Jan-04 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / <br /> <br /> From Parque Inglés to the entrance of Reserva Achibueno<br /> Buy your ticket online for “El Bolsón” on the CONAF website and get to the trailhead before 3pm<br /> 4hrs hike to El Bolsón, a great place with waterfall, great views, nice camping spots, hikers<br /> TO CHECK: Bus from Molina to Parque Ingles leaves at 9 am (not positive) on week-ends and holidays <br /> Easy hitch from Radal to Parque Ingles coz lots of campers going there on week-ends<br /> Be careful a ranger told me the park closes on Mondays <br /> It took me around 4 days from Parque Siete Tazas Park entrance to the road Q115 (Central Cipreses)<br /> From Road 115 I hitched to a village by Colbún lake where I resupplied : good supermarkets (a little on the expensive side), food truck , pastry shop <br /> I didn't like Altos de Lircay NP : after El Bolson (4 hrs in) no fucking shade for 3 days and an half except that of a shelter a little off trail, blazing sun all day, sand sand sand, I found the place so inhospitable, monotonous sights : sand dunes for ever, quite some struggling pedalling in the soft sand, plus I had no gaiters (stupid me) and low heels shoes so that was a bummer. However the place is super special, feels like on the moon (beautiful pictures) and I can understand why many love it<br /> Some “hot springs” are actually just luke and others just a hole or boiling hot (I added these informations to the track and waypoints I sent to Jan Dudek) so don't be like me fantasizing all day on that fantastic bath you will get or wait for Jan's update (thanks so so much for all you do mate).<br /> After resupplying I hitched on option 7 XXX all the way the Mellado cañon (really nice, by the river all the time), communities. After hiking South from Carizales (which has a very limited “store”) I was short on time and food and realized bare landscapes over the tree line were not my cup of tea (I prefer hiking below 1700 m in this part of Patagonia) so I left RR and took another option all the way to the West to Reserva Achibueno which I really enjoyed : great landscapes, lakes, rivers and met some cool hikers and fishermen<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-09 to 2021-Dec-12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / AR past Laguna Manatial Pelado / Vera &amp; James<br /> <br /> We arrived the day before at Parque Ingles and camped the night there. From Molina there is a bus to Radal at 5pm wed-fri, and direct to Parque Ingles on weekends. The only way to pay for park entry is online at www.aspticket.cl.<br /> <br /> As an aside, we really liked Molina. It has plenty for resupply whilst being nice and small. There is a fishing shop opposite the Santa Isabel supermarket that sells gas.<br /> <br /> Day 1 we headed up the RR as far as just above Laguna de las Animas by 2pm, a brutal climb in the midday sun! At this point the sun disappeared and clouds quickly rolled in, within 10 minutes lightning was hitting the peaks directly around us. We beat a hasty retreat back to El Bolsen and camped there.<br /> <br /> We decided to take the alternate route past Laguna Manatial Pelado. A beautiful route if hot and sandy. We have realised the best time time to take on a long, sandy ascent in sunny weather is very early in the morning, after 9am it was brutally hot. <br /> <br /> We then continued on the regular route. As has been said before, it's remote and stunning. We had some strong winds coming over Pass de Hornitos, and even some sleet on the final day!<br /> <br /> Arrived in Los Cipreses on a Sunday and we didn't see a single person except the security guard. We got mixed messages from him and then the mini shop owner about buses to Talca. I would assume there isn't one on a Sunday. We hitched to El Colorado then got a bus from there to Talca.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-03 to 2021-Dec-09 / 7 days (GPT 05 + 06) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We also decided to combine sections 5 and 6 to avoid in’n’out to and from Parque Inglés. It took us 6 and a half days and some of it was bloody hard. I have never before experienced my ass being handed over to me by a trail. We got beaten to the point where first signs of weakness started to show and I have to admit we kind of even started discussing a plan B and bailing this ditch trail. But only for a moment, once you hit the rock bottom there is only one way to go - up! It was literally and figuratively, and as terrain improved so did our mood and we laughed off the silly thoughts we had had earlier. <br /> <br /> The first 45km of the section 5 were great, awesome hiking and then shit hit the fan real quick. Ascent up from the ford at km 45 was hard but alright. And then came the descent down to Rio Negro (51km), very steep and very loose scree slope. We wanted to make it to Rio Colorado for the night to cross it early in the morning in case there is no bridge. But because the trail or I must rather say the lack of it was really taking more time than we expected, by the time we got to Rio Negro it was already getting dark. The river was very rapid and murky so you couldn’t gauge the depth of it and couldn’t see where to step, we had to really concentrate to cross it, luckily it was only balls deep.<br /> <br /> It was dark as we got across it and we continued the fun, albeit type 2 fun, illuminated by our headlamps. Then came the insanely steep gully that allowed you to enter the valley of Rio Colorado. Something was off with the elevation lines on Gaia and it showed that we will be descending right over the cliff, it was luckily only a glitch. As we couldn’t see much ahead we kept descending ever so carefully on this very very challenging terrain, I would even go as far as to say that it was stupid and outright dangerous. But there was no other way, you just had to stay focused. There were also some rocks falling off the cliff under which we were descending. In a sense night was a good time to do it because you couldn’t see all the dangers - only what lie within the beam of the headlamp. <br /> <br /> Then came an extremely slow going, pretty much crawling speed traverse down to Rio Colorado, which we fully improvised as there was no trail anyway and got down to Rio colorado about a kilometer before the bridge, where we set up camp abit past midnight. <br /> <br /> So yes, the bridge was there - a decent one, seemed permanent and it was a relief that we at least don’t have to start the day by risking our lives fording Rio Colorado. The river was pretty wide and the current seemed pretty fast, it wasn’t murky though but you couldn’t see how deep it really was. But we think it could have been forded in case there would be no bridge. There were a few places that looked doable with somewhat laminar flow. The excitement of the existence of the bridge didn’t last too long as we were slapped back into reality by the difficult terrain, it wasn’t as dangerous anymore as the previous night but difficult nevertheless. Once we got closer to the pass the trail appeared and it was actually pleasant hiking once again. <br /> <br /> To sum it up the descent down to the Rio Colorado valley, then traversing it and the first part of crawling out of the valley sucks big time, but the rest of the section is really nice and not too challenging terrain-wise. I wouldn’t want to skip this section because it had some breathingtaking views. Just that on the hard part of it you can’t really enjoy any of it as all your effort is elsewhere. <br /> <br /> The guards at Laguna Mondaca were the nicest people we have met in Chile so far. They invited us to stay at the property, gave us food and drinks. They insisted we don’t use any of our supplies or gear. They even provided us with a room with a bed and we got to recharge all of our electronics and got a hot shower aswell. It was perfect! And just to make it clear there are no fancy villas there just a few small simple houses where the owner of the property comes for fishing once in a while. And guards weren’t armed either.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to get to Laguna Mondaca and not far after it we joined the section 6 which took 2 and a half more days. <br /> <br /> Section 6 was really something, we haven’t had such a strong otherworldly experience anywhere else. It was really like being on another planet at times. The blue sky was the only thing that gave it away that we were still on Earth. Really bizarre landscape and definitely the most beautiful breathtaking section of the six that we have done so far. <br /> <br /> Regarding the difficulty, compared to section 5 it didn’t feel that difficult at all. Walking on sand is challenging, yes, especially going uphill. But on the other side going down is much easier on the soft sand - you can just run/jog without much impact on your body as the sand absorbs it all. Shoes got completely wrecked and we took many “shoe-emptying” breaks because they were just filled with rocks and coarse sand. <br /> <br /> We even took a dip in one of the lakes close to Descabezado and seeing how water is just coming out of the sand and turning into a river was really really cool, just as the whole landscape around there. <br /> <br /> We camped at the lake about 5km from Los Cipreses. When we arrived to the road to take bus to Talca the bus stop didn’t have any schedule and the shop close by was closed. So we couldn’t find out about the bus schedule and the traffic on the road seemed pretty dead. But luckily after 15 min of waiting a car that was going to Talca picked us up, perfecto! <br /> <br /> Overall plenty of water on both sections, a lot of exposure to the sun, and some challenging terrain. It all together made for a great experience, just what we were looking for. It humbled us and we definitely had to adjust our expectations and recalibrate our way of hiking, it is GPT - not more and not less. <br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH to Laguna Manantial / Frank <br /> <br /> At Parque Ingles I registered with Conaf, they record your route &amp; where you will camp. Deregistered by email later. Easy 3 hour walk to El Bolson, lots of people camping there but they don't go any further. Took optional route to Laguna Manantial. At 2160M there is a small meadow &amp; stream, this is last water &amp; last camp before the lake. You go over a pass @ 2560M then drop 80M to the lake. Camped on the lakeshore. <br /> Termas Blanquillo were only tepid. Camped on a small beach @ S end of Laguna de Los Hornos. The lake is nearly dried out, only a little semi stagnant water left. Best to carry water in from one of the streams a little above the lake. Last 11KM are on dirt roads, you could hitch easily if you want. Met 2 security guards, they were both friendly, no access problems if you are Southbound. Small campsite @ shop on way out. Amazing section, some tough uphill on sand but scenery is like Mars. Definitely use small gaiters or you will be emptying sand out of your shoes every 10 mins.<br /> <br /> At the end of GPT06 if you go on the north bank of Rio Maule the route is blocked by a cliff beyond Los Alamos &amp; you need to cross the river to continue. Better to go on the road. After 2KM on the road you pass 2 shops, better food selection than in El Medano. They have accommodation also. At Bridge 17 you can rejoin RR or continue on road but RR is nicer.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-24 / 7 days (GPT 05 + 06) / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> So, I decided to combine GPT sections 5 and 6 in order to avoid a 30k out and back resupply section into parque ingles. I thought this was a good decision for me and really enjoyed being out there for a week. In my opinion this was the hardest section of the GPT in between sections GPT 01-10. I went the first 5 days without seeing another person which I thought was quite cool. So, these two sections are quite remote, and you are way out there in the mountains. There was also some pretty intense river crossing in “GPT Section 5” that I found to be manageable (keep in mind I’m 185cm and have lots of thru hiking experience.) but still a little difficult. The rivers were also very dark and murky which made it hard to see where you would step. There was also an improvised bridge crossing the Colorado River that I used, and thought was safe to use. These two sections are dominated by a volcanic profile with much of the route on ash and volcanic rock. Most of the route is very exposed and there are not many trees or vegetation that grow in the volcanic ash/rocks. There was plenty of water with springs coming out of the hills everywhere and then disappearing into the sand.<br /> <br /> Difficulties:<br /> It was slow going walking thru the sand, especially when hiking vertically. Exposure to the sun. River crossings. Isolation and remoteness. Hiking up and down lose rock and scree fields.<br /> <br /> Highlights:<br /> Hot Springs. Great views of the volcanic region. Mountain Lakes. Sunrise and Sunsets were epic with the landscape. <br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-23 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Shn0rhelez<br /> <br /> Parque Ingles to El Medano southbound/main route ... 7 days duration(2 nights spent on laguna Las Animas)...section passable...Strong sun, no shadow after the park... Gaiters strongly recommended...the SUBsection between termas del azufre and second ford Before the pass (2700m) is full with water... my personal opinion is the backpack weight can be minimized... Good luck! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-09 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Bruno &amp; Martin<br /> <br /> Parque Inglés to El Medano<br /> 5 days for this amazing section. We started in Parque Inglés in Radal 7 Tazas National Park. Had to wait for one more day because of limited hiking permits towards El Bolsón. 80 daily permits allowed and delivered at 8:30 in the morning, to be minded on weekends when the park is full. Followed Regular Route Laguna Las Ánimas, Azufre Hotsprings, Descabezado base camp, Laguna Caracol and then down to Los Cipreses. Cold section and bad weather towards the end, some rain and freezing wind. Had to camp in Laguna Caracol waiting for the storm to pass and hike the last pass. <br /> The use of lightweight gaiters is advised for keeping the sand out of your shoes.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Parque Ingles to El Medano. Very beautiful (and exposed) section. Lots of water. The track from Los Cipreses to El Medano suffered from a few landslides meaning the route was slower than anticipated. I would consider taking the road next time as there is no loss of scenery. We resupplied in El Medano by basically buying all the food at the tienda (60000 CP for food for two people for the next section). Selection was good enough. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from Vilches Alto / Tyler &amp; America <br /> <br /> A Stunning section. Vilches Alto made for a great optional start; rather than returning to Parque Ingles. (We came from Talca by bus - 2100 CP). Entrance fee was 6000 and camping 3000 PP. All trails were beautiful and a bit more trodden that sections before. Arrieros at thermal pools (not hot) were welcoming and friendly for us to camp. We took our sweet time in the beautiful section. We bussed from the first road access (south of town Los Cipreses/ OH-MR-V@06-E-#001) to Talca for a good re supply before the long next section, 2200 CP. Bus leaves this stop around 11.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR with optional start coming from GPT 5 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We combined sections 5 and 6 via optional trail. <br /> GPT06 took us 2 days and bit (first day we did just 4km from 6th section).<br /> I agree with everything what was written in previous updates.<br /> Nice sandy trails. Mornings were freezing cold. No problems while crossing rivers. After optional start regular trail didn't correspond with any trail. We finally took one on the right side and after while they merged. And I don't know who was so commited, but thanks for marking the trail 😊<br /> <br /> There is a small tienda with coke and crisps before entering a main road from Los Cipress. If you continue by main road toward El Medano there is restaurant Cordillera where we refueled again. Accomodation in El Medano. I will edit with ressuply options later. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-14 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (mainly) / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> As we came from GPT05 and didn't want to go all the way &quot;back&quot; to the Paso Las Animas, we tried the Optional Investigation Route which starts at Parque Ingles right at the other side (South) of Rio Claro. It leads through private property, so we went to the guard, showed him the CONAF Permit (we bought one just in case, and of course they said it's not possible to walk on the other side of the river), explained him that we would only hike through and gave him some cerezas. He informed his Colleagues via radio to let us pass. It was a nice and easy hike. Nothing to add to Linda's remarks for the rest of the trail.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-06 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Linda <br /> <br /> Start = Parque Ingles <br /> Finish = Las Termas El Medano<br /> <br /> GENERAL FEELING<br /> <br /> Amazing section !!!! Incredible mineral landscapes as soon as you go beyond Laguna Las Animas. It was tough because of the passes (and this was also my first hiking days and I carried too much food ... ) and the ground around the volcanoes is sand ! So it makes each step even more difficult. I loved the contrast between the areas around the volcanoes and the Laguna Caracol is just one of the most beautiful place I've ever seen !!! <br /> <br /> LOGISTICS<br /> <br /> - Bus from Molina to El Radal (off season and weekdays = only one bus at 5pm in Molina that stops in El Radal. Weekend : it goes directly to Parque Ingles and the schedule may also be different)<br /> <br /> - Hitchhiked from El Radal to Parque Ingles<br /> <br /> - First night in a camping in Parque Ingles = 5000 CLP<br /> <br /> - The day after, I had to register to CONAF. Office opening at 8:30 am. Entrance fee = 6000 CLP<br /> Some people (5 or 6) were going to El Bolson for the day but after Laguna Las Animas, there was absolutely nobody till the end !<br /> <br /> - Still snow when you go beyond the 2300 meters high<br /> <br /> - Be careful for the last pass Las Hornitos, a lot of snow at the top and it makes it impossible to follow the GPS track to go down. I found my way on the left when you face the valley and then got back to the GPS track<br /> <br /> - No problem to go out from the mine. Actually, workers I met on my way down to Los Cipreses suggestedto drop me by car to the main road. The guard was just smiling when he saw me in the car and when I told him I was hiking<br /> <br /> - Mini market where you can find basic food (eggs, spaghetti, chocolate ...) in Las Termas El Medano<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-07 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Arnaud<br /> <br /> Amazing but hard section with a lot of denivelation. <br /> As we did not walk the section 5, we took the bus from Molina to Parque Ingles-7 Tazas (many buses, 4-5 buses per day). We registered to the Conaf Office and paid the entrance fee 6000 clp for foreigners. They gave us a mail adress so that we can announce our exit of the parque, to check the security.<br /> We walked the first 11km to the campspot El Bolson. It costs 4000 clp per person but has no interest. As the zone is protected, it is possible to freecamp only after el Bolson, before, it is prohibited.<br /> The Laguna Las Animas is very very beautiful and is welcome for a bath with the heat of this season.<br /> Then the paso las animas is easy and ashes are fun for downhills!<br /> We met nobody on the trail after el Bolson. So great! Except at one spot with termas with full of chilenos there.<br /> We lacked a bit of water at the laguna el Caracol but found 3kms further (just before the strong uphill) a source with drinkable water.<br /> No problem then to exit los cypress. We hitchhiked on the road with workers until the road to los Medanos.<br /> We stayed one day in los termas de los Medanos, at the camping and exit quickly (too many noise, people). The water is hot and nice after a hard section like this one. <br /> We resupplied at los termas (with pasta, arros, pancito, manjar). No gas available there.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> You need to carry all the food for the entire trail. There is no food supply after Parque Ingles. If you meet arrieros at one of the Puestos you may ask for some goat or lamb meet but if you are not ready to take an entire or at least half an animal they may be reluctant to sell. Refill your water supply at the marked river crossings and the camps. In between these waypoints your will find only ocasinally some trickling water because water trickles away easily into the volcanic soil.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> * 2021 / Vera &amp; James<br /> <br /> Molina: It has plenty for resupply whilst being nice and small. There is a fishing shop opposite the Santa Isabel supermarket that sells gas.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> * 2022 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Los Cipresses: small shop (only ice cream, drinks, choco bars, biscuits) + camp with cold shower, toilets, electricity and access to the river, all for 5000 for 2 people. We even got sandwiches for dinner as there was no other place around to eat. <br /> <br /> * 2022 7 Anna&amp;Christopher <br /> <br /> El Médano: The shop there has pasta, rice, bread, tomato salsa, mayo, chips, biscuits/chocolate and suncreme (but quite pricey).<br /> In El Médano we camped for 6k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> * 2020 / Frank <br /> After 2KM on the road after Los Alamos (to El Medano) you pass 2 shops, better food selection than in El Medano. They have accommodation also.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route= <br /> <br /> ==Parque Ingles==<br /> <br /> During the main season in January and February several buses go from Molina and Curico to Radal and some even go all the way to Parque Ingles. Outside of the main season there is only one daily bus from Molina to Radal leaving in the afternoon from the rural bus station in Molina.<br /> <br /> *2020 / Frank In summer there are 6 buses a day Molina-Parque Ingles.<br /> <br /> Mon-Sat they leave Molina @ 10:20, 11:30, 12:40, 3PM, 6:15PM, 8:15 PM Sunday Molina- Parque Ingles 7:45, 9:30, 2PM, 7:30PM, 10PM 2 hours to Parque Ingles, buses leave from terminal near main plaza in Molina. Parque Ingles-Molina 7:10, 11, 1PM, 3:45PM, 4:45PM, 6:30PM Mon-Sat Sun. 10:30, 1:30PM, 3:30PM, 5:45PM, 6:45PM <br /> <br /> <br /> *2019/ Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Monday to Thursday: Molina-Radal: 17:00 // Radal-Molina: 07:30<br /> <br /> Friday: Molina-P.Ingles: 17:00 // Radal-Molina: 07:30<br /> <br /> Saturday: Molina-P.Ingles: 11:30 // 13:30 / P.Ingles-Molina: 18:00<br /> <br /> Sunday: Molina-P.Ingles: 09:00 // P.Ingles-Molina: 15:30 / 17:00<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Los Cipreses / El Medano ==<br /> <br /> * 7 am in front of Los Cipreses - someone has to call in advance for the bus to go all the way to el Médano - loads of tourists there, though, so someone might have called. Other connections should be at 9:15 and 17:20 (one at 1620 l3aves from further downstream). The other way around, the buses leave Talca at 7, 13, 15 and 19, according to the schedule at Talca bus station.<br /> <br /> <br /> *This trail section finished at the Route 115 to Talca. Big road with many cars (hitchhiking possible)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023 / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé <br /> <br /> From Los Cipreses only one bus at 7am. We hitchiked to El Colorado where plenty of buses are going down to Talca for 2 000 CLP (+ 400 CLP per bag)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023 / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Buses from Talca to la Mina go at; 7:00am, 1:00pm (only to la Suiza), 3:00pm and 7:00pm. <br /> Vilches: bus clearly did not follow the posted schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022 / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> - There is no bus to Talca from Los Cipreses on saturdays or sundays. We asked at the shop and got a ride to Colorado from the brother-in-law of the shopkeeper for 15000 CLP. <br /> <br /> <br /> == Vilches ==<br /> <br /> * 2023 / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Bus clearly did not follow the posted schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> * CONAF does register all trekkers at Parque Ingles (GPT01-WP004) but does not charge an entrance fee. Camp fires are not permitted within the national park that reaches from Radal (GPT01-WP001) to the Laguna las Ánimas (GPT01-WP013).<br /> <br /> * 2023<br /> <br /> When starting from Vilches and going northbound, a permit to access the Volcano (or the Condor Circuit) is required. CONAF won't let you enter in Altos de Lircay without it. Call them to get the correct number. Moreover, you have to pay the entrance fee to the reserve and it is closed on Mondays in March.<br /> <br /> *2023 <br /> <br /> Start at Parque Ingles: <br /> Entry ticket for Bolsón overnight needed: 8$ (book it before online at www.aspticket.cl + get to the trailhead before 3pm) <br /> The parc can be entered illegally in the morning (around 7 pm).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019<br /> <br /> Optional start Vilches Alto: Entrance fee was 6000 and camping 3000 PP.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT06 - Volcán Descabezado]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:18 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|In the huge ash field]]<br /> [[File:10 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (9).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT06 - Volcán Descabezado]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (5).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Greater Patagonian Trail]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (17).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|[[Cerro Azul]].]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (11).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 6]]<br /> [[File:01 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, El Bolsón.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|El Bolsón]]<br /> [[File:02 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Leaving El Bolsón.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Leaving El Bolsón]]<br /> [[File:03 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:04 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Las Ánimas.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Las Ánimas]]<br /> [[File:05 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Pass 2560 m.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Pass 2560 m]]<br /> [[File:06 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Approaching Laguna Mondaca.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Approaching Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:07 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Mondaca.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:08 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, that bypasses Laguna Mondaca.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Bypasses Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:09 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:11 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Termas de Azufre.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Termas de Azufre]]<br /> [[File:12 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:13 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:16 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:17 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:19 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:20 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:21 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:23 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:24 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:25 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:26 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Leaving the Base Camp Descabezado Grande.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Leaving the Base Camp Descabezado Grande]]<br /> [[File:27 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Hot springs at Base Camp Descabezado Grande.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Hot springs at Base Camp Descabezado Grande]]<br /> [[File:28 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:29 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:31 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:32 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:33 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:34 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:35 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:37 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:38 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:39 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:40 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:41 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:43 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Camp near Laguna Los Hornitos.jpg|Camp near Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:44 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Los Hornitos.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:45 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Los Hornitos.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:46 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:47 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:48 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT06_(Descabezado)&diff=113242 2023-12-22T16:35:17Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-18 to 2023-Dec-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+{06-D} / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> It is the most amazing section from GPT01 to here so far!<br /> <br /> I hiked RR, it is still covered by tons of snow, i recommend use ice axe and micro spikes if you want to hike from Portezuelo Las Cruces(pass) to El Estadio(pass), there is some really steep snow slope. (RR-TL-V)<br /> <br /> <br /> I hopped the gate to the park at 6:30. No one was there.<br /> <br /> There are 3 main pass for RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> First pass, snow start at km14.3(2050m), not difficult for climbing up to pass[15.4/2257].<br /> <br /> Laguna Las Animas(lake)[16.7/2286] is still frozen, very beautiful. I climbed up on some rocks at the north side of the lake, then mostly choose my own way to climb up to pass, because RR look steep.<br /> <br /> Arrive the pass[19.4/2547], if you are not comfortable with snow, it is the LAST CHANCE to turn back.<br /> <br /> Pass is flat and dry, you can camping here but windy.<br /> <br /> There are no RR after the pass because covered by many snow, find a way go down to valley by snow slope, then walk all the way on snow to km20.2, you can see the trail but on the other side at km20.2, steep go down the snow slope then connect to RR.<br /> <br /> Follow the trail about 5min, you will go into a big valley, trail and the whole valley covered by snow, but you can see a trail is at the far away other side of valley.<br /> <br /> Go your own way to water[22.0/2279], i think it is lot ways to go down, but dont too close to cliff side, it is steep and easily to fall off.<br /> <br /> After you arrive water[22.0/2279], then straight forward to km22.6.<br /> <br /> A large flat area can fit lot of tents at the downhill side of km22.6.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> After km22.6, the most dangerous part begins, from here to km26, lot of steep snow slope you need to cross, be careful, kick step and don't slide.<br /> <br /> Km26 is another large flat area for camping, i camped here with nice sunrise.<br /> <br /> Snow continues to km26.6, but easy way. The first pass's snow end.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> About the second pass, snow start at ford[29.4/2190], strong flow and look like up to thighs, i cross it on snow bridge.<br /> <br /> Stay on east side until km31.25, then stay down walking in the valley, easier than on the slope.<br /> <br /> Although full of snow, but I think it is easy to go to the pass[33.8/2695] from here, so i dont mention the details. It is also easy to go down, most of them are gentle slope.<br /> <br /> Snow end at km41.4, but mostly you can find some flat sandy spot start at km39.1.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Hot spring[45.6/1881] : completely dry. Some camping spots with rock wall nearby.<br /> <br /> Water,camp[48.1/1837] : amazing oasis in desert! Clear and cold water, some shade, also lot of swallows flying in the sky catching some food for their kid.<br /> <br /> Km49.1 - km49.8 : best view point of Volcán Descabezado Grande and Volcán Azul! If you want to camp with stunning views, bring water at oasis then climb up here, lot of sandy spots beside some rocks, enjoy you sleep with volcano.<br /> <br /> Km53.2 - km54.7 : Laguna del Caracol(lake), maybe because too much snow melts? Trail underwater, you need to walk in the lake shore for a while.<br /> <br /> Camp[56.3/2034] : oasis again! Crystal clear and cold water! It is possible to cut off from km56 to x[57.3/2073] directly, stream flowing slow and up to knee.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Third pass, steep climb up to km57.9, if you follow RR, then you will turn right and face some steep snow climbing up.<br /> <br /> If you look up at left side, there is some foot steps straight climb up on a dry slope, which is no snow but looses sand.<br /> <br /> I go for the left one to the pass, ok but steep and really tried.<br /> <br /> Most of the snow is after pass, from pass[59.3/2518] to km61.5, first go to east side go around the snow, then you will find a trail, follow it a little then go your own way in snow valley. <br /> <br /> I follow RR, mostly easy to go down until km61.5, a steep slope. I don't want to take the risk, so i crossed a snow bridge to a sandy slope at south side. Go down the slope and rejoin RR about km62.1.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[63.4/1909] : i crossed the river before a huge rock, below knee at morning. The huge rock also provide some wind protection, i saw some camping trace beside it.<br /> <br /> Volcán Los Hornitos : km65.3, {06-D}, just beside RR, no need CC, a trail leads you to the top, just climb up 70m! Go for it!<br /> <br /> Lastly with no luck, i saw a car going down just 10min before i arrived the road, then no more cars, so i walk all the way to Los Cipreses.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Met a super friendly worker at Los Cipreses, he give me some cherry to eat and a ride to Los Alamos. A tiny shop there , if you are not picky, a little pricey but enough food resupply for 1 people six days. It have a sign &quot;Almacen&quot; at its front gate. You can ask locals where it is, i saw many workers go to there buy things.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-dec-3/ 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; 6 option 1 / Lukas en Tess<br /> <br /> As this was our first section on the GPT and there still was a lot of snow in the mountains we decided to play it safe and folow option 1 from el Bolsón. It is less steep and less long above the snoweline about 2000m at the time. It went great but Tess burned her eyes so good sunglasses are definetly a must when hiking in the snow. From there we continued the RR at Laguna del Caracol we had to walk in the lake on the edge, no idea if that's normal but it was funny. The next and final big obstacle was the pass on k59 we decided to try and bypass it because it looked very steep with a lot of snow and ice and Tess with her burning eyes had a hard time looking at any snow at her feet. So we went up right next to it (north). Realy though rock scrambling but we managed. Going down the next valley was okay with the snow but crossing rivers covered in snow is tricky so try to avoid it. Walking into los Cipreces we were told we were not supposed to be there but still we had lunch in the cafeteria and they fixed a ride to bring us to the road, realy nice people there. From there we hitchhiked to el colorado where we stayed for two days to let Tess' eyes heal.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-14 to 2023-Mar-19 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Parque Ingles - Los Cipreses / Noemie<br /> <br /> Parque Inglés - El Bolsón - Termas de Azufre - Blanquillo - Laguna Hornitos - Los Cipreses<br /> <br /> First try on the GPT and amazing section to start. There were buses from Molina at 10am and 5pm going to Parque Ingles. You must arrive there before 1pm and buy an entrance for El Bolson (with camping) to enter the Park. It's also possible to camp in Parque Ingles (7.000 CLP/night). When I entered, CONAF asked me where I was going, if I had a GPS, and gave me some kind of permit to show in Los Cipreses. I wasn't asked to show it when I arrived there though. <br /> Landscapes and panoramas were extremely beautiful and very impressive. There was still water in all marked points and fords were easy to cross. Trail is easy to follow almost everywhere, except after Termas de Azufre (be careful to look for the right pools on the map and do not go up too much, I ended up in a place with almost boiling water). The whole section is full of beautiful sand dunes, so gaiters were extremely useful. In Blanquillo, you are supposed to get an authorization from the dueño to stay there, but it looks like it is not really enforced. I spent a day in Blanquillo to rest, drink maté and learn how to make sopaipillas with Umberto. I hitchhiked from Los Cipreses to San Clemente (one hostel, two supermarkets, decent to resupply) so I can't comment on the bus schedule. However, to come back to Los Cipreses/Termas del Médano, be aware that there is now only a bus leaving at 3pm from Talca, going up until La Mina. I took a small bus to Colorado on morning (every 45 min.) and hitchhiked easily back until Laguna del Maule for GPT 07.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-21 to 2023-Mar-25 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Vilches — Volcan – Parque Ingles / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Our last section on the GPT for this year! We started in Vilches Alto with the option 06-05 because we rented horses with the arriero Jose Lopez. The beginning is placed in the Reserva Nacional Altos de Lircay, which requires a permit to go until the Volcan. The entrance fee is also 7k pp. We finished our first day at Camp, CONAF {06-05} [10.2/1158]. I believe we mostly followed the GPS track. <br /> <br /> On the second day, we continued with the horses until Hot Spring {06} [45.6/1881] (Banos del Blanquillo) still following the track. We then were disappointed because the arriero left us here whereas our agreement (clearly stated by messages before the rent) was to climb the volcano with the horses (it turns to be not possible, too steep).<br /> Thankfully, we had an excess day of food so we could attempt the climb the next day. We also met Umberto, the guy staying in the refugio, who was extremely friendly. He told us to start the volcano climb early in the night to avoid heavy winds. <br /> <br /> On Day 3, we started the ascent at 2am with our headlights. 6h30 later we were on the top, with the morning lights rewarding us and stunning landscape. The ascent was extremely tiresome (sand material), as always with volcanos, and it was very cold but the crater and the views were very worth it. After a breakfast at the top, the descent, mostly running, took us about 2h. We rested for the rest of day at Banos del Blanquillo and even got a sopapilla making class with Umberto.<br /> <br /> On Day 4, we followed the RR in the beautiful Descabezado landscape. Expect no shade but stunning dunes of white sand. There is plenty of water during the day because you will cross at least 2 rivers that were not dry this late in the season. The trail is easy to follow (because that is the only one) and is also part of the Circuit of the Condores. However, after Ford {06} [29.4/2190], you have about a dozen of options and the navigation until Hot Spring {06} [27.4/1986] (Hot Sping del Azufre) is more challenging. We decided to ignore the GPS and follow our instinct - just aim for the fumerolles. There you can enjoy a hot bath in one of the three hot natural pools (along some weird soft alguees). <br /> <br /> On Day 5, we simply followed the RR until Parque Ingles. The trail is well marked until the end, you just have to enjoy multiple highlights in the landscape. Of note, when reaching El Bolsón, the CONAF ranger forbid us to bath in the pools because it was too late (3PM) and told us to leave the park before 5:30. He was not friendly and also checked the entrance tickets of Livan Ray. We got extremely lucky and caught a bus leaving Parque Ingles when we reached it (it leaves at 5:00).<br /> <br /> This hike concludes our GPT adventure. We loved to start it riding horses to feel a bit more like the trails main user. The final day hiking and the volcano ascent were astonishing, truly one of (or even the) best section of our GPT.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-03 to 2023-Feb-08 / 6 days/ Hiking / SOBO / RR + Descabezado / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé<br /> <br /> Our first trip on the GPT, plenty of water, we didnt carry more than 1.5L each. Here is our trip :<br /> <br /> Day 1 - Laguna Las Animas - 18km - +1200m/-100m<br /> We entered the parc illegally at 7:30 in the morning as some others hikers have done reading the wiki. We did this because the parc was full for the next 3 days. I can only advise you to book in advance on internet (conaf). We slept at a camping in front of the entrance for 7k CLP per person. Plenty of buses goes up there from Molina in 2 hours. At least a dozen. Same for going back. If you buy your ticket online : if you sleep at El Bolson, you can enter the park until 3pm, if you go further with only the El Bolson ticket, you can entered until 11am only!<br /> So, we hiked until the Laguna las Animas, a rather long day for the first one.<br /> The camp on the beach was quite windy too.<br /> <br /> Day 2 - Termas de Azufre - 11km - +400m/-700m<br /> A short day, nice to enjoy the hot springs in the afternoon. The pass in the morning was very windy too.<br /> <br /> Day 3 - Refugio El Blanquillo - 20km - +800m/-900m<br /> A long but beautiful day. Leave early the camp to avoid hot temperatures while ascending the pass. Well welcomed by the arrierio Umberto ! Very kind.<br /> <br /> Day 4 - Volcan Descabezado Grande - 16km - +2000m/-2000m<br /> We did the ascent without our bags, we went back to our camp in the night. It's long and hard. According to Umberto, 12h are needed in total, we did in 10h. Same, Leave early to avoid hot temperatures. <br /> <br /> Day 5 - Laguna los Hornitos - 20km - +900m/-900m<br /> Another nice day, passing next to Laguna Caracol. The descent from the pass is a bit annoying if you didnt follow the track (as we did). So, advice : follow the RR and go down on your right. The Laguna is very dry, just enough to have a bath. Hard to maintain the pitch of the tent in the dry dirt.<br /> <br /> Day 6 - Los Cipreses - 15km - +100m/-1000m<br /> Last short day to end this beautiful section. The gravel road is a bit boring but passing pickup are proposing you to get you down to the main road. Here, only one bus at 7am. And a little shop selling ice cream, chips and drinks. We hitchiked to El Colorado where plenty of buses are going down to Talca for 2 000 CLP (+ 400 CLP per bag)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-24 to 2023-Jan-30/ 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Descabezado / Martial<br /> <br /> First trip 6 days on GPT being a wonderfully intense experience ! Lunar landscapes, silent and remote, few but great people. No particular difficulty.<br /> Started park ingles with a mandatory 7000peso night at quiet camping near the river and bought ticket for Bolsón overnight 8$. Finally did not stay at Bolson a half day walk from entrance and camped in Laguna de las Animas instead. Great spot for Condors watching. After that follow Will’s advice and put on your mandatory gaiters till the end of the section ! + Walking on sand can be tough for the ankle. Don’t resist and don’t do too much !! Learned it the painfull way.. Trail visible but don’t get confused at termas Azufres especially if you try the (very) hot pools ! RR way is up the valley. Camp with water possible before the pass. The way down called « la Calle » is beautifull sandy dune remote desert. Exceptional. Aimed for Blanquillo refugio aka best basecamp for Descabezado intent. Meet Umberto the arriero at the hut and ask him where the termal pool and the drinking water are. He may be offended if you don’t show up and is a nice generous guy ! Also had a Chilean horse riding group intended the Descabezado so were a nice bunch by the camp fire. As weather window was fine, I decided to try a high camp in order to preserve weak foot from a very long ascent (10h). Took plenty of water as they are only glaciar dirty patches up there and aimed for Descabezado to Cerra Azul osm trail just as Nat and Tomas did (so i could have a chance to summit both also). Finally chose not to cross the nasty glaciar but found a very well sheltered highcamp here (-35.60569, -70.76147). Incredible sunset ! Not advisable in case of rain coming (a storm was growing in Argentina so stayed prepared for an emergency descent). Next day summited Descabezado at 11AM with no wind ideal conditions. Dive your front foot flat in sand just like snow climb when it gets to steep ! Nice ski descent sensations straight to the termas for a well deserved rest at the termas ! Also met Carlos a local climbing half way up so we would share joy later at the camp :).<br /> Exit through RR is also nice but regreted haven’t camped here (-35.67102, -70.83649) for there was some playfull trouts to catch with my survival fishing kit !<br /> Beautiful view from the pass to sandyland and then landscape changes and recommend OH variant C descending (less overgrown). Trail not so visible till laguna los hornos witch i climbed volcano to enjoy the crater caldera. After that descent to los Cipreses is kind of boring and hot so was definitely happy to find a camping by the bridge after the gate with lovely Victorina and her family here (-35.81524, -70.83224). They have been incredibly carring, fed me and brought me to the termas caves (also worth it) in El Medano !<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-16 to 2023-Jan-25 / 10 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH 06-02 &amp; 06-03 Laguna Maule to Vilches w/ volcans / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> An extremely long description so my apologies but hopefully it will help someone. We Started in Laguna del Maule and ended in Vilches with inclusion of Descabezado, Azul, Descabezado Chico and Colorado.<br /> <br /> All fords super easy or jump-able. Only times water was scarce was Descabezado and Azul (technically there is melt water from glaciers at Azul), the afternoon around Descanezado Chico and also water was scarce around the Laguna des acquas caliente because I would not trust drinking that water (some springs are cold water though). Weather turned bad only once while we were climbing Azul, the change happened rapidly and we went from blue skies to total white out (~10m or less visibility) within an hour. Other than that weather was amazing, a little cold at night and a little warm in the day.<br /> <br /> Happy we started in Laguna del Maule and finished in Vilches. This saved elevation gain and let us decide whether or not we had enough food in the end to climb Descabezado, Azul, chico and for Tomáš Colorado.<br /> <br /> Day1.<br /> Starting in Talca, due to a certain someone (me) I accidentally sent Tomáš and I too Molina on a bus instead of &quot;la mina&quot; so our day was very messed up but we still managed to take a bus to Colorado and hitchhike to the start of this route. Buses from Talca to la Mina go at; 7:00am, 1:00pm (only to la Suiza), 3:00pm and 7:00pm. We took a bus to Colorado due to time and hitched the rest of the way. The last hitch was in a snowplow truck and he dropped us off miraculously at the start of the trail and before any customs or checks.<br /> <br /> OH-TL-V {06-02} (109.1). Straight away the trail is hard to see, do not take the road-looking trail on the side of the mountain because it ends, stick to the gps. However soon we were walking on the correct route through the sand and down to a creek with fun boulders. Easy to follow. After this first creek we followed option OH-CC-A (06-02) {98} For only -5km until making camp in-between a river and and canal with flowing water. Bogs in this area slowed us down a lot.<br /> <br /> Day2. <br /> OH- {06-02} -[ (93) &amp; (86) ]<br /> This day seemed long, we crossed two passes, one small (-35.94909, -70.45347) and one much larger (-35.88855, -70.46776). I liked the entire area south of the second pass, many beautiful camp spots, water was available almost to the top of the pass and there is also a nice waterfall/swimming pool located roughly around (-35.90452, -70.45218). Trail to first pass was easy but trail between first and second was much more cross country, there are many animal tracks, I followed the gps and Tomáš followed a trail closer to the river and we both ended up at the same spot... After the second pass, the GPX goes cross-country right away, but one can follow a trail that goes left and later reconnects with GPx.<br /> <br /> After the second pass there is a small plateau and then it follows down a creek with water until you must cross an east hill and go towards your first mountain puesto to the east (noone home). There is only a little bit of water here, better water at the creek you came from and or a few creeks ahead. <br /> <br /> From the puesto (-35.86707, -70.47589) there is a good trail that trvaerses the slope ahead. We should have camped but we continued. There were a few nice creeks that were passed along the way. We were forced to make a &quot;make-shift&quot; camp before hitting a much nicer plateau because it was dark and I was not having a good day 😅. It is about 6 km between the puesto and the plateau.<br /> <br /> Day 3<br /> OH {06-02} [78.6] + [75.7] + [63.6]<br /> Easy day, only one small pass. There is an ex-carabiniero puesto at (-35.84277, -70.40285) and a highlight was two rivers, one at (-35.76317, -70.42051) and one river at (-35.74734, -70.45623). The GPX is marked as trail a bit further than the actual trail goes (the trail continues to a puesto down-river). You need to go down a ridge and ford the river, there were some footsteps that can be followed. We walked near {06-02E} along a river filled with sand and not great for drinking but there is a creek that starts/ends here (-35.72759, -70.44125). We camped near this way point in the sand but it got windy at night, we wished we camped a bit further from the river in the little hills where it was considerably less windy. <br /> <br /> Day4<br /> OH {06-02} [59.6] + [29.1] + {06-02D}<br /> <br /> This day we passed a large pass (-35.65200, -70.43356) via {06-02D}. This option was more direct and involved a very short and easy scramble onto a windy plateau. Surprisingly lots of water up towards the pass, last one being (-35.66343, -70.42666) , however the water available had a lot of sand in it, fyi. From camp we followed a cow trail until a lake like feature (-35.70057, -70.42733) and then went cross country. I hope my cairns marking the turn for {06-02D} survive. <br /> <br /> After the pass the true Descabezado environment begins. We both made note of how terrible it would be to be on this plateau in bad weather, very open and CC. Next water source would be a couple of creeks here (-35.61215, -70.42156). From a break at this creek we ended up going straight down the creek bed. Kind of exhausting mentally and would not be possible in early season due to water levels but it shot us out directly in line for making a green camp here (-35.56164, -70.44009). <br /> <br /> Day 05<br /> OH {06-02} [29.1] + [20]<br /> Lagunas de aquas calientes day. <br /> An easy day with a lot of time spent at Aquas Caliente, true to the name. <br /> Trail from camp was easy to follow until (-35.53519, -70.46551) and then it went CC to the Laguna. If shelter is needed in this open landscape we found a rock shelter here (-35.51276, -70.51035). The creek feeding the Laguna was fabulously warm in places - either at the source of the creek or at a spring on the right side about 100m upriver. Tomáš found the proper source of the spring here (-35.50395, -70.52347). It is easy to get sunburn why bathing mid-day though. There are some camping spots near the creek. After this Laguna there is a nasty and windy sand stretch until a creek located here (-35.48980, -70.57667). On this stretch I chose not to follow the sand but detoured on more solid ground to the east (-35.48839, -70.56200) and was glad I did. Later on we found snow melt here (-35.48544, -70.59940) and loaded all the water we would need for night/morning and exploring Descabozado Chico the next day. <br /> <br /> Day 06<br /> OH {06-02} [20] + {06-02C Chico} + [4.5]<br /> Descabozado Chico + Vulcan Colorado (Tomáš)<br /> <br /> Went up and around the crater of Descabozado Chico in the morning which I highly recommend. The crater is easy to walk around and gives an amazing 360 experience. The climb up is tedious but non-dangerous scree that makes for a super fast decent. Make sure you have enough water because water is scarce there. I saw a waterfall on the NE side the lake but did not go to it, Tomáš got water somewhere off trail around here (-35.51226, -70.65626) and I drank out of the next lake -35.52036, -70.65873 (questionable, but nothing happened to me). <br /> From the lake the next pass begins and I stupidly made Tomáš and I carry 5L of water up it because I did not think there would be water on the south side (both of us overlooking the river indicated on the map)...I was wrong, no water high up but lots of water down low. For the pass we opted not to follow the route because it was thick steep sand so we instead climbed a more solid ridge here (-35.52506, -70.66854). Tomáš went to continue up Vulcan Colorado and I boringly traversed to the normal pass and enjoyed a very fun sand ski down the south side. The Vulcan is a steep but not technical hike up, the crater can be walked around with a steep but fun descent on the other side in SW direction. This pass would be very tiresome climbing up due to sand. If you are coming from the opposite direction and do not trust the lagoon water then you should aim for (-35.51226, -70.65626) or bring water.<br /> <br /> Everything this day was CC. I found it to be the hardest day navigation-wise but still not troublesome. We finished the day in a nice valley before the next days climb here (-35.55427, -70.70793). The water around this area is a bit sandy but better further up.<br /> <br /> Day 07 <br /> Last pass and New route possibly <br /> <br /> From camp a trail existed to the pass at -35.55228, -70.73791. There was a little bit of snow at the top but since there were already steps made, it was zero problem. Lots of water on the SE of this pass but only a trickle of water on the NW side at -35.54575, -70.75672. This water trickle point is where we left the trail to make a short cut to Descabezado. To our surprise our route worked and in 4hrs we were making a camp at 2630m next to the approach trail to Descabezado, therefore saving a lot of time, distance and elevation. In our route there was only one difficulty and that was a deep gorge and creek &quot;jump&quot; at -35.57904, -70.77929. Personally I would not recommend this in early season because the consequence of falling in the river might take you down a waterfall and the traverse may otherwise be nasty if there are still snowfields around altitude 2700m. The gorge is fed by the glacier in the crater of Descabezado so in the morning it should be better but the water is very dirty.<br /> <br /> I drew the route on my photos of the pass if anyone wants them. Otherwise here is my description of our route.<br /> <br /> From the small trickle creek at -35.54575, -70.75672 head SW up the creek bed in the direction of this easy pass ***-35.55513, -70.76977. Nearby spots would work too except for the pass directly above the creek bed, the other side of that one had snow and rocks. After this pass I believe it is easiest to just go straight down and up like a half pipe rather than trying to traverse and keep elevation, we aimed for a middle looking plateau on the other side, this middle plateau took us to the proper crossing of the gorge here, -35.57923, -70.77864 (más o menos). We jumped the gorge and climbed easily up the other side although the other side looks like a scramble it was actually just walking. We travesed this altitude for a little longer (although I would suggest easier walking a little lower) until we made camp in a ravine very close to the Descabezado approach route. Our camp even had a small amount of flowong snow melt so it was heaven in my mind! (Camp with water; -35.59280, -70.78723). <br /> <br /> Day 8<br /> Descabezado &amp; Azul.<br /> <br /> This is turning into a novel so I will keep this short. We left our tent in place and set off early to do Descabezado and Azul as a day trip. Descabezado was straightforward, it seems the trail will change slightly every year depending on who makes the tracks (neither the route in oSM or GPT seem to follow the actual trail from about 2600 to 3300). If wanting to make the true summit it looks like you have to go down into the crater, cross the glacier and approach it from the other side. Coming down Descabezado was very fast but we made a huge mistake and left the GPT trail to follow the other osm route that heads east then west called &quot;Descabezado Grande - Quizapu - cerro Azul&quot;. <br /> <br /> This route should be avoided for many reasons apart from the fact that the other route is easier despite elevation gain (we took the other route back). This osm route took us here -35.61301, -70.75604 which was actually a glacier covered in sand with a small hanging glacier above causing a lot of rockfall, it was a very ugly place and we carefully got out of there and made or way to the proper route to Azul. Despite loosing almost 2hours on an already tight day we continued (although I wasted an extra 30min due to making up my mind🙄). Once again on the way up to Azul we did not follow the normal way but went to the east side of the crater of Azul where the bad osm route is. There were a foot print here and there but it was CC. The crater was amazing but too windy to enjoy much, we saw a few fumaroles. We continued CC to the base of Azul, a tiny bit of snow (or glacier remnants?) but posed no difficulties. The base of Azul is beautiful with melt water if needed. We followed the ridge to Azul, it was more involved than Descabezado but no more than a low 3rd class (it is a bit exposed and steep but almost exclusively hiking). There is a interesting summit tower on Azul but because of the wind and time we had no desire to stretch our limits. Weather moved in fast and before we were off the ridge of Azul we were completely covered in a white out, maybe maximum 10m of visibility. Navigation was incredibly hard but we took our chances and took the other (&quot;valle&quot;) OSM route down and luckily it was a very easy route and we were down below the clouds and able to see again. The rest of the night was CC back to our camp ~1030pm. It as a good day. <br /> <br /> Day 9.<br /> <br /> From our camp in the ravine we headed CC and then onto the trail that lead to the puesto at basecamp Blancquillo and from then on we were on a good trail. While walking down we opted to stay in sandals and just walk in the river, it was refreshing. We didn't have clean water until the valley bottom at the CONAF camp (valley El venado) where there was also lots of pear trees and yellow plum-like trees. Many people there (first people seen). We made camp at the river before the pass (Mirador del valle del venado) but the walk from the CONAF camp until then was slower than expected because it was along a river bed with confusing tracks.<br /> <br /> Day 10.<br /> <br /> Good trail up and down from Mirador del valle del venado with lots of water and trees for shade. Took us almost half the time we thought it would take. Note that you cannot actually camp at campsites/restong areas on this trail after the Mirador. The CONAF guards asked us where we were coming from and when we said Laguna del Maule he just sounded impressed and let us go on our way. There was a decent restaurant with empanadas, beer ext near the bus stop . There was a posted schedule of the bus but it clearly did not follow this schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus. <br /> <br /> Great trip, beautiful views and details and just the right amount of challenge.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-20 to 2023-Jan-23 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Ondrej <br /> <br /> I got to Parque Inglés from Santiago de Chile by taking a train to Curico (advice: if you want to travel by train, buy a ticket online at least 2 days in advance as it books out quickly). From Curico I took a blue collectivo to Molina and then a bus to Parque Ingles.<br /> <br /> At the park entrance I was turned away by a CONAF officer because I bought a “day trip” ticket (El bolson - para día) and not the one with overnight camping. For the ticket I bought they allow entry only by 11:00am. I did not explain that I will continue beyond El Bolson - maybe I should have done that but did not want to get myself into more unnecessary discussions. CONAF said they cannot change my ticket to the “camping” type and when I tried to book the other one, it was booked out for the next two days, so the advice is book early and the right ticket type (el bolson - camping)!<br /> <br /> I ended up camping at the Rocas Basilicas for the night.<br /> <br /> On the first hike day hopped the gate to the park at 7:00. No one was there so no issues. I hiked to Thermas de Azufre. It was a very long day. There is no shade at all after El Bolson. I made a provisional shade using my tent’s footprint during lunchbreaks. Once I arrived to the Azufre hotsprings, a few arrieros were there. I decided to camp further up the river.<br /> <br /> On the second day I hiked to Refugio Blanquillo, met a settler who resides there for three months each year (if I understood correctly). The scenery before the refugio was otherwoŕldy and beautiful. Gaiters, good hat, sunscreen and sunglasses were my most loved pieces of gear. I camped at the first “camp” waypoint after Refugio Blanquillo. Amazing place to camp (but no grass), with a good stream and even some small shade thanks to the bushes. <br /> <br /> My third day was quite straightforward, I made it almost to Los Cipresses but decided to camp close to the last “water” checkpoint, shortly before the gate with the guard. It was alright but I would recommend walking all the way to the shop and camp there for the night.<br /> <br /> On the fourth day I walked through the gate with the security guard. I also met a number of the power station workers and all were friendly. We waved at each other. The guard at the gate was nice, took my passport number and name. Once at the shop I found it was closed (9am). I needed to get to El Medano to join GPT07 and decided to continue hiking through Los Alamos. It might have been to early (10am) as also the almacén in Los Alamos was closed. The road after Los Almacén was uneventful and a bit sketchy at places, so I forded the river at the “bridge” waypoint after Los Alamos to get to the main road and hitchike to El Medáno. Got a ride in approx 20 min. El Medáno is a great base - the thermals are nice and there is an electricity socket next to the toilets. They have shade for the tent too. There is also a restaurant with filling foods and a small shop.<br /> <br /> Overall a fantstic section but I wasn’t expecting the heat to be that oppresive!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-31 to 2023-Jan-3 / 5 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR / David and Erika<br /> <br /> Get to TH Parque ingle before 1:00 pm, otherwise they close it for entrance. We did get internet and got the correct CONAF ticket -the one heading to El Bolsón. Once you get out of the park and into the Cuesta Las Anima, the wild parts begin. Hope you got your dirty girl gaiters; cause you’re going to need them. Sand city. Gaiters worked great. Remote and desolately beautiful. Water up at the end of Laguna del Caracol, at the river that comes out of the ground, you have a dry climb ahead. Walk out was straightforward. Got a lift from ENEL employee.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-28 to 2022-Dec-29 / 2 days/ Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I connected in Thermas Azufre from GPT 05. I recommend it as a camping spot. I have seen the tracks of people staying on the western side of the valley but I think it is better to ford, there is anoce trail there on the eastern side. There is a place with and island where I needed to remove my shoes just for about three meters (the stream was not strong enough for me to keep the shoes on).<br /> <br /> I took a detour to the lake at the pass - nice. No snow anymore. Reached the Refugio Blanquillo (which is a puesto, an arriero had two dogs and a thousand shep there), met a group of tourists on horses and two Chilean hikers there, so crowded all of a sudden. The pool there is indeed lukewarm. The water from the stream is said not to be good - I filtered it (for the first time on GPT) and was fine. But if not climbing the volcano, I would recommend to camp 2 km further at the next water source. I no longer carry water with me and just drink a lot when I find a source, there is a lot of them, even in the semidesert (the sand is actually white pumice from the volcanoes). It is quite dusty, my hands got dry and that normally does not happen to me. I agree with the recommendation to apply sunscreen at least three times a day! <br /> <br /> The second day I walked all the way to the main road. Stthe pass, there is still a bit of snow but white manageable. Going down from the lake, there is no water until around half or one third of the minor road in the valley, beware. Walking-wise, this was the easiest section on GPT for me. At the mainroad, the camping at the shop after the bridge was closed. I hitched somebody in he truck who knew the owners, called them and they came to open it for me. 5000 pesos but I gave the lady 10000 as she had to drive here to open the aging for me. There is electricity and cold shower and shadow. Almost nothing at the shop. The bus is said to leave at seven. I slept and now will try hitchhiking.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-20 to 2022-Dec-24 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> Amazing trail! It's quite desolate but the landscape varies enough to always keep things interesting. Trudging up the sandy hills could be demoralizing, but getting to run down the other side more than made up for it. Water was still plentiful though not much snow was left, I only had to cross a few small patches. Thankfully heat wasn't a problem at all for me, I even felt cold a few times with the altitude and wind.<br /> <br /> Caught the 5pm bus from Molina to Radal for 3000 pesos, then a van came by a few minutes later to take us to parque inglés for another 3000. Was nice to meet a bunch of Chilean hikers, who were all going to El Bolson and back. We camped at the Rocas Basílicas campsite right at parque inglés, 7000 pesos next to a beautiful river.<br /> <br /> I had phone signal at parque inglés, so I bought the pass online for 8 USD. There was no one at the Conaf office at 7 30 the next morning, so I just hopped the gate and walked through. <br /> <br /> I ran into a few arrieros relaxing at the Azufre hot springs, the only people I saw along the trail. They were friendly but it was tough to understand their heavy Chilean Spanish. They said I could camp with them but there wasn't a ton of room so I walked on.<br /> <br /> There were some geysers shooting up from the muddy riverbank near the gpx track so I took a wider route around. An arriero also told me to take a trail higher up along the dunes so I followed that to the ford. The ford looked tough so I kept walking 2ish km along the other side until I could easily hop across. But it was slow going, probably not worth it.<br /> <br /> I ended up having to camp on a random sand dune. I had some trouble getting my tent to stay up tied to rocks, since I couldn't get stakes in. I'd definitely recommend using tieouts you can really secure to rocks, or even a freestanding tent.<br /> <br /> The rest of the hike went smoothly. I easily made it to los cipreses in three days of hiking from parque inglés. The guard was super friendly, inviting me in and giving me a bunch of water. I camped across the street from the shop near the bus stop, ask at the shop if you want to camp there. The guy running the camping was also super nice, he messaged the bus driver and told me it would be at 9 or 9 30 the next morning, because it was a Saturday (it was also Christmas eve). The bus ended up showing up at 9 45, and costed 3200 pesos to Talca.<br /> <br /> The side trip up Volcan Los Hornitos was very worth it, there's a fairly gradual trail up and you can just sprint straight down. I didn't even need to bring any water (just some gummy bears).<br /> <br /> I got by without gaiters, but bring them if you can. I should have used more sunscreen, the reflection off the sand is strong.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-17 to 2022-Dec-20 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Joining section 6 directly from the previous one with a little challenging connection trail (see our comment from section 5), we continued to the Hot Spring del Azufre. On the way there is one steep traverse. We used hot spring to cook our rice which really saved us as we run out of gas. The landscape on the whole section is amazing, we really enjoyed it! Ascent to the pass is nice and gradual, hiking in the sand is a little slower, but the opposite when going down. We camped at the El Estadio, almost no wind that day, great place to sleep . In the morning we continued on a nice and easy trail, great views around the volcanos… short break by the laguna thats great for swimming. We camped a little before the camp marked in the gps, there is one place, probably used by arrieros, with a fireplace and a few rocks around it. Being out of the gas we set a fire using wood that was already in there and some others we gather during the day. The view to the volcanos must be one of the best we have seen here so far! The next day we continued to the last Hornitos pass and through the valley, again really nice hiking on a clear trail. Last few kms on the road and since we missed the only bus to Talca that is leaving early in the morning (7:00) and did not have luck with hitchhiking, we stayed in a camp right next to the road. Its just a few meters before it, in the same direction we came from. On the left side is a house with some old advertisment sign (coca-cola or similir) on its fence, and the lady there has a small shop. The camp is on the other side - cold shower, toilets, electricity and access to the river, all for 5000 for 2 people. We even got sandwiches for dinner as there was no other place around to eat. Overall, when combining both sections we recommend to plan carefully, but its definitely worth the effort, especially this section 6.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-16 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Anna&amp;Christopher <br /> <br /> The section is pretty tough, but beautiful with a quite unique landscape. We definetly would do it again.<br /> <br /> Recomendations: bring lots of suncreme, a good hat, gaiters.<br /> <br /> How to get there:<br /> We took a bus from Santiago (terminal at the metro station Universidad de Santiago) to Curico. Across the street from the bus terminal in Curico leaves a blue bus to Molina for 1k CLP. From Molina we hitchhiked to Parque Inglés.<br /> You have to be there before 3 pm to be allowed to hike up to El Bolson. To camp they charge 8k CLP p.p and the park entry is also 8k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The first day we started early from El Bolson. From midday on it was super tough due to the white sand which makes walking really tiring and reflects the sun which makes it super hot without shade. The next day was pretty similar.<br /> The whole section there was plenty of water. There was no much snow left at the passes, so we had no trouble without spikes.<br /> On the last day, after arriving to the dirtroad (8 km from los Cipreses), we got offered a ride after a while and the guy brought us directly to El Médano.<br /> The shop there has pasta, rice, bread, tomato salsa, mayo, chips, biscuits/chocolate and suncreme (but quite pricey).<br /> In El Médano we camped for 6k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-03 to 2022-Dec-06 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica<br /> <br /> Route: Parque Inglés - Laguna Ánimas - Termas del Azufre - Termas del Blanquillo - Laguna del Caracol - Laguna de los Hornos - Los Cipreses<br /> <br /> A beautiful, remote section of true mountain wilderness. It took me 4 days, but only 2 hours hiking the dirt road to Los Cipreses on the last day (so very doable in 3 days). The only people I saw were a couple of arrieros at Termas del Blanquillo who told me they hadn't had a winter as snowy as this one in over 10 years. I was glad to have my microspikes for the vast snow fields near/on the passes. A couple places would have felt quite unsafe without them. <br /> <br /> Notable tidbits: <br /> <br /> Took a bus from Molina at 5pm (on a Friday) to El Radal, then hitchhiked to Parque Inglés. I camped there the first night for 7000 pesos. Pricey, but at least I had a beautiful and secluded spot by Rio Claro. <br /> <br /> The stretch between Las Ánimas Pass and Termas de Azufre had some sketchy traverses across disintegrating scree slopes that were downright nerve-wracking. I suppose if you go down to Laguna Mondaca, then back up to the Termas, you may not encounter this hazard. But I did get to observe a condor soar above my head on thermals for an hour as he surveilled his domain, that was super cool. <br /> <br /> For the first ford after Termas de Azufre, I crossed further upstream than indicated on the GPS track (see Carlos's comment below). It looked a lot safer there than downstream. There's continuous snow for about 3 km going over the pass after Thermas de Azufre, best to cross in the morning to avoid postholing when the snow gets too soft. <br /> <br /> Los Hornitos pass has a large, very steep lip of snow (leftover cornice) on its south side. It's possible to go around it by heading north for 50-100 meters and then making your way down on the volcanic sand.<br /> <br /> The spring between Termas del Blanquillo and Laguna del Caracol is a beautiful little desert oasis in an orherwise hot and dry stretch. It was a splendid spot to camp. <br /> <br /> There is LOTS of water. Laguna del Caracol and Laguna de los Hornos are both full of clear, refreshing water. A lot of the &quot;water&quot; GPS waypoints are actually fords this time of year (easy ones), and there's a lot of other water sources not listed on the tracks. But the section is very exposed, no shade, and very hot in the midday sun unless a breeze is blowing. <br /> <br /> No issues with the guards at Los Cipreses, they were friendly and let me pass no problem. From the first bus stop on the road, I hitched easily to Talca to resupply.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-20 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Molly <br /> <br /> Amazing section! I found the landscape to be very varied despite the lack of vegetation - and even with many pretty flowers near the streams. I personally found it to be a great ending to my GPT journey, a big contrast to the landscapes further south. Would make for a tough start though.<br /> Plenty of water. Met one hiker doing Circuito el Cóndor and three Chilean tourists on horseback. No arrieros, but plenty of cows and horses. The weather was cold and windy, sometimes veritable sandstorms which meant I almost couldn't open my eyes - maybe sunglasses could have helped. I wore my long pants over my boots instead of gaiters - should have listened to the advice, so much sand! <br /> <br /> Signs on the way to parque inglés say that you can only buy tickets online - don't know how strict they are, but no cell phone coverage at parque inglés and long before in case they insist. You have to be there before 15 to be let through to El Bolsón.<br /> Easy 11 km to El Bolsón through a young forest. No water at the first &quot;ford&quot; waypoint. Campground has toilets and showers, it's the only place you're allowed to camp until after Valle del Indio. Nice enough place next to the impressive Colmillo del Diablo. In hot weather it might be nice to camp here to take the long ascent in the morning.<br /> Laguna de las Animas would be a good campsite plus a nice place to swim. The first &quot;water&quot; waypoint afterwards is also great for camping - there is a nice little meadow.<br /> Las Animas pass is gorgeous!<br /> After Termas Azufre there are many confusing paths. They mostly seem to lead to the same place, but keep an eye on the GPS. When descending from the 2700 m pass towards Termas Blanquillo, you don't have to cross the stream to your right even though many paths do it. As noted by others, the hot springs Baños del Blanquillo are luke warm - but fine if you want to wash yourself a little and the stream is too cold. The refuge is locked.<br /> The next camp waypoint is in a cute valley with many streams, bushes and flowers. No grass, though. <br /> Laguna Caracol is beautiful as well, but very bare, surrounded by sand. I really liked the campsite afterwards, with views of both Volcán Descabezado and Cerro Azul. From there, a small CC section to the ascent where the path picks up again towards the Hornitos pass. Even more gorgeous with great and very different views to each site. Volcán Hornitos and the other little craters look really funny and special. Some hail was coming in, though, so I quickly slided down to the next camp waypoint, again a nice flat meadow. No water on the ascent. The first streams at the top of the pass were dry, but the path crosses a stream in 2100 m altitude. If you fill up at the water waypoint before the pass I agree you wouldn't have to carry extra water, the time between these two water points is around 2-3 hours.<br /> I climbed to the rim of Volcán Hornitos, there's nothing in there, but if you walk to the highest point the view is nice enough. It took me 20 minutes in total, and it was about worth that.<br /> The gravel road is nice the first kilometres, but then it gets pretty boring. The security guard at the end was very nice and welcoming.<br /> I camped at the shop just before the road - nice place by the river, 3000 per person with toilets and a cold shower, or 50,000 for a cabaña. From there I hitched the 3 km down the road to Restaurant Cordillera, nice enough, great with a beer, meat and fries. <br /> Bus left from the bus shed at 7:20 next morning - think it depends whether it goes to El Médano or not <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-20 to 2022-Jan-25 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Carlos <br /> Route: Parque Inglés - El Bolsón (Colmillo del Diablo summit) - Termas del Azufre - Termas del Blanquillo - Laguna Caracol - First bus stop on CH115 road.<br /> <br /> I hiked this route only a couple of days after Verónica &amp; Jo. Not much to add except:<br /> <br /> First day just hiked to El Bolsón (easy 4 hours), pitched my tent on the gorgeous campsite, left the heavy load and climbed the imposing &quot;Colmillo del Diablo&quot; (easy hike on a trail that goes around the back of the mountain).<br /> <br /> From Termas del Azufre climbing to the pass I followed a faint track on the steep loose slope instead of crossing at the first river ford. After a few hundred meters the track takes you to a flat wide rocky area (just before the slope becomes impossibly steep), where you can very easily ford the river (I didn't even get my feet wet).<br /> <br /> Plenty of buses Molina - Parque Inglés. But only one bus from el Médano - Los Cipreses to Talca, at around 7 am, which returns at 15:00. Only week days. Basic camping just in front of Los Cipreses shop (only ice cream, drinks, choco bars, biscuits): $4.000 pp.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-10 to 2022-Jan-15 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> Route: Parque Inglès -&gt; Laguna de las Animas -&gt; Termas de Azufre -&gt; Descabezado base camp -&gt; Laguna del Caracol -&gt; Laguna Hornitos -&gt; First bus stop on 115-CH<br /> <br /> The five nights we just spent in a tent was the longest stretch we have ever gone without a decent bed on a hike. We skipped Radal, Laguna Mondaca and Termas de Medano, but still hiked in 6 days what others did in 3-4. We're basically easing into the GPT, gaining some fitness and experience before taking on the harder challenges.<br /> <br /> As others have said: the views are otherworldly and stunning. We felt like Touaregs traveling from oasis to oasis in the Saharan desert. Except that there actually are plenty of springs and little rivers flowing in most valleys.<br /> <br /> Useful tidbits:<br /> <br /> - There really is no shade after El Bolsòn. Either you make your own (e.g., adapting your tent to not trap heat) or you dress like a Touareg (loose clothing fully blocking the sun). For us, this was the hardest to deal with. We got up early but often stopped hiking at 13:00, enjoying the lakes or even just sitting down doing nothing that takes energy.<br /> <br /> - High-heeled boots and long trousers work well to keep the sand out.<br /> <br /> - Confirming Shn0rhelez: going up from Termas de Azufre until the second ford indeed passes plenty of water, no need to carry any.<br /> <br /> - Laguna Hornitos is drying up and hence less beautiful than the other lakes. Maybe it's better to camp at the start of the Hornitos plateau (SOBO, so north entry) as the area is flat and there is reasonably clean running water there.<br /> <br /> - There is no bus to Talca from Los Cipreses on saturdays or sundays. We asked at the shop and got a ride to Colorado from the brother-in-law of the shopkeeper for 15000 CLP.<br /> <br /> - In supermarkets, you can buy alcohol desnaturalizado cheaply in the nail polish section, or alternatively, use alcohol de quemar from the combustibles section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-26 to 2022-Jan-04 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / <br /> <br /> From Parque Inglés to the entrance of Reserva Achibueno<br /> Buy your ticket online for “El Bolsón” on the CONAF website and get to the trailhead before 3pm<br /> 4hrs hike to El Bolsón, a great place with waterfall, great views, nice camping spots, hikers<br /> TO CHECK: Bus from Molina to Parque Ingles leaves at 9 am (not positive) on week-ends and holidays <br /> Easy hitch from Radal to Parque Ingles coz lots of campers going there on week-ends<br /> Be careful a ranger told me the park closes on Mondays <br /> It took me around 4 days from Parque Siete Tazas Park entrance to the road Q115 (Central Cipreses)<br /> From Road 115 I hitched to a village by Colbún lake where I resupplied : good supermarkets (a little on the expensive side), food truck , pastry shop <br /> I didn't like Altos de Lircay NP : after El Bolson (4 hrs in) no fucking shade for 3 days and an half except that of a shelter a little off trail, blazing sun all day, sand sand sand, I found the place so inhospitable, monotonous sights : sand dunes for ever, quite some struggling pedalling in the soft sand, plus I had no gaiters (stupid me) and low heels shoes so that was a bummer. However the place is super special, feels like on the moon (beautiful pictures) and I can understand why many love it<br /> Some “hot springs” are actually just luke and others just a hole or boiling hot (I added these informations to the track and waypoints I sent to Jan Dudek) so don't be like me fantasizing all day on that fantastic bath you will get or wait for Jan's update (thanks so so much for all you do mate).<br /> After resupplying I hitched on option 7 XXX all the way the Mellado cañon (really nice, by the river all the time), communities. After hiking South from Carizales (which has a very limited “store”) I was short on time and food and realized bare landscapes over the tree line were not my cup of tea (I prefer hiking below 1700 m in this part of Patagonia) so I left RR and took another option all the way to the West to Reserva Achibueno which I really enjoyed : great landscapes, lakes, rivers and met some cool hikers and fishermen<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-09 to 2021-Dec-12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / AR past Laguna Manatial Pelado / Vera &amp; James<br /> <br /> We arrived the day before at Parque Ingles and camped the night there. From Molina there is a bus to Radal at 5pm wed-fri, and direct to Parque Ingles on weekends. The only way to pay for park entry is online at www.aspticket.cl.<br /> <br /> As an aside, we really liked Molina. It has plenty for resupply whilst being nice and small. There is a fishing shop opposite the Santa Isabel supermarket that sells gas.<br /> <br /> Day 1 we headed up the RR as far as just above Laguna de las Animas by 2pm, a brutal climb in the midday sun! At this point the sun disappeared and clouds quickly rolled in, within 10 minutes lightning was hitting the peaks directly around us. We beat a hasty retreat back to El Bolsen and camped there.<br /> <br /> We decided to take the alternate route past Laguna Manatial Pelado. A beautiful route if hot and sandy. We have realised the best time time to take on a long, sandy ascent in sunny weather is very early in the morning, after 9am it was brutally hot. <br /> <br /> We then continued on the regular route. As has been said before, it's remote and stunning. We had some strong winds coming over Pass de Hornitos, and even some sleet on the final day!<br /> <br /> Arrived in Los Cipreses on a Sunday and we didn't see a single person except the security guard. We got mixed messages from him and then the mini shop owner about buses to Talca. I would assume there isn't one on a Sunday. We hitched to El Colorado then got a bus from there to Talca.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-03 to 2021-Dec-09 / 7 days (GPT 05 + 06) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We also decided to combine sections 5 and 6 to avoid in’n’out to and from Parque Inglés. It took us 6 and a half days and some of it was bloody hard. I have never before experienced my ass being handed over to me by a trail. We got beaten to the point where first signs of weakness started to show and I have to admit we kind of even started discussing a plan B and bailing this ditch trail. But only for a moment, once you hit the rock bottom there is only one way to go - up! It was literally and figuratively, and as terrain improved so did our mood and we laughed off the silly thoughts we had had earlier. <br /> <br /> The first 45km of the section 5 were great, awesome hiking and then shit hit the fan real quick. Ascent up from the ford at km 45 was hard but alright. And then came the descent down to Rio Negro (51km), very steep and very loose scree slope. We wanted to make it to Rio Colorado for the night to cross it early in the morning in case there is no bridge. But because the trail or I must rather say the lack of it was really taking more time than we expected, by the time we got to Rio Negro it was already getting dark. The river was very rapid and murky so you couldn’t gauge the depth of it and couldn’t see where to step, we had to really concentrate to cross it, luckily it was only balls deep.<br /> <br /> It was dark as we got across it and we continued the fun, albeit type 2 fun, illuminated by our headlamps. Then came the insanely steep gully that allowed you to enter the valley of Rio Colorado. Something was off with the elevation lines on Gaia and it showed that we will be descending right over the cliff, it was luckily only a glitch. As we couldn’t see much ahead we kept descending ever so carefully on this very very challenging terrain, I would even go as far as to say that it was stupid and outright dangerous. But there was no other way, you just had to stay focused. There were also some rocks falling off the cliff under which we were descending. In a sense night was a good time to do it because you couldn’t see all the dangers - only what lie within the beam of the headlamp. <br /> <br /> Then came an extremely slow going, pretty much crawling speed traverse down to Rio Colorado, which we fully improvised as there was no trail anyway and got down to Rio colorado about a kilometer before the bridge, where we set up camp abit past midnight. <br /> <br /> So yes, the bridge was there - a decent one, seemed permanent and it was a relief that we at least don’t have to start the day by risking our lives fording Rio Colorado. The river was pretty wide and the current seemed pretty fast, it wasn’t murky though but you couldn’t see how deep it really was. But we think it could have been forded in case there would be no bridge. There were a few places that looked doable with somewhat laminar flow. The excitement of the existence of the bridge didn’t last too long as we were slapped back into reality by the difficult terrain, it wasn’t as dangerous anymore as the previous night but difficult nevertheless. Once we got closer to the pass the trail appeared and it was actually pleasant hiking once again. <br /> <br /> To sum it up the descent down to the Rio Colorado valley, then traversing it and the first part of crawling out of the valley sucks big time, but the rest of the section is really nice and not too challenging terrain-wise. I wouldn’t want to skip this section because it had some breathingtaking views. Just that on the hard part of it you can’t really enjoy any of it as all your effort is elsewhere. <br /> <br /> The guards at Laguna Mondaca were the nicest people we have met in Chile so far. They invited us to stay at the property, gave us food and drinks. They insisted we don’t use any of our supplies or gear. They even provided us with a room with a bed and we got to recharge all of our electronics and got a hot shower aswell. It was perfect! And just to make it clear there are no fancy villas there just a few small simple houses where the owner of the property comes for fishing once in a while. And guards weren’t armed either.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to get to Laguna Mondaca and not far after it we joined the section 6 which took 2 and a half more days. <br /> <br /> Section 6 was really something, we haven’t had such a strong otherworldly experience anywhere else. It was really like being on another planet at times. The blue sky was the only thing that gave it away that we were still on Earth. Really bizarre landscape and definitely the most beautiful breathtaking section of the six that we have done so far. <br /> <br /> Regarding the difficulty, compared to section 5 it didn’t feel that difficult at all. Walking on sand is challenging, yes, especially going uphill. But on the other side going down is much easier on the soft sand - you can just run/jog without much impact on your body as the sand absorbs it all. Shoes got completely wrecked and we took many “shoe-emptying” breaks because they were just filled with rocks and coarse sand. <br /> <br /> We even took a dip in one of the lakes close to Descabezado and seeing how water is just coming out of the sand and turning into a river was really really cool, just as the whole landscape around there. <br /> <br /> We camped at the lake about 5km from Los Cipreses. When we arrived to the road to take bus to Talca the bus stop didn’t have any schedule and the shop close by was closed. So we couldn’t find out about the bus schedule and the traffic on the road seemed pretty dead. But luckily after 15 min of waiting a car that was going to Talca picked us up, perfecto! <br /> <br /> Overall plenty of water on both sections, a lot of exposure to the sun, and some challenging terrain. It all together made for a great experience, just what we were looking for. It humbled us and we definitely had to adjust our expectations and recalibrate our way of hiking, it is GPT - not more and not less. <br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH to Laguna Manantial / Frank <br /> <br /> At Parque Ingles I registered with Conaf, they record your route &amp; where you will camp. Deregistered by email later. Easy 3 hour walk to El Bolson, lots of people camping there but they don't go any further. Took optional route to Laguna Manantial. At 2160M there is a small meadow &amp; stream, this is last water &amp; last camp before the lake. You go over a pass @ 2560M then drop 80M to the lake. Camped on the lakeshore. <br /> Termas Blanquillo were only tepid. Camped on a small beach @ S end of Laguna de Los Hornos. The lake is nearly dried out, only a little semi stagnant water left. Best to carry water in from one of the streams a little above the lake. Last 11KM are on dirt roads, you could hitch easily if you want. Met 2 security guards, they were both friendly, no access problems if you are Southbound. Small campsite @ shop on way out. Amazing section, some tough uphill on sand but scenery is like Mars. Definitely use small gaiters or you will be emptying sand out of your shoes every 10 mins.<br /> <br /> At the end of GPT06 if you go on the north bank of Rio Maule the route is blocked by a cliff beyond Los Alamos &amp; you need to cross the river to continue. Better to go on the road. After 2KM on the road you pass 2 shops, better food selection than in El Medano. They have accommodation also. At Bridge 17 you can rejoin RR or continue on road but RR is nicer.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-24 / 7 days (GPT 05 + 06) / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> So, I decided to combine GPT sections 5 and 6 in order to avoid a 30k out and back resupply section into parque ingles. I thought this was a good decision for me and really enjoyed being out there for a week. In my opinion this was the hardest section of the GPT in between sections GPT 01-10. I went the first 5 days without seeing another person which I thought was quite cool. So, these two sections are quite remote, and you are way out there in the mountains. There was also some pretty intense river crossing in “GPT Section 5” that I found to be manageable (keep in mind I’m 185cm and have lots of thru hiking experience.) but still a little difficult. The rivers were also very dark and murky which made it hard to see where you would step. There was also an improvised bridge crossing the Colorado River that I used, and thought was safe to use. These two sections are dominated by a volcanic profile with much of the route on ash and volcanic rock. Most of the route is very exposed and there are not many trees or vegetation that grow in the volcanic ash/rocks. There was plenty of water with springs coming out of the hills everywhere and then disappearing into the sand.<br /> <br /> Difficulties:<br /> It was slow going walking thru the sand, especially when hiking vertically. Exposure to the sun. River crossings. Isolation and remoteness. Hiking up and down lose rock and scree fields.<br /> <br /> Highlights:<br /> Hot Springs. Great views of the volcanic region. Mountain Lakes. Sunrise and Sunsets were epic with the landscape. <br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-23 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Shn0rhelez<br /> <br /> Parque Ingles to El Medano southbound/main route ... 7 days duration(2 nights spent on laguna Las Animas)...section passable...Strong sun, no shadow after the park... Gaiters strongly recommended...the SUBsection between termas del azufre and second ford Before the pass (2700m) is full with water... my personal opinion is the backpack weight can be minimized... Good luck! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-09 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Bruno &amp; Martin<br /> <br /> Parque Inglés to El Medano<br /> 5 days for this amazing section. We started in Parque Inglés in Radal 7 Tazas National Park. Had to wait for one more day because of limited hiking permits towards El Bolsón. 80 daily permits allowed and delivered at 8:30 in the morning, to be minded on weekends when the park is full. Followed Regular Route Laguna Las Ánimas, Azufre Hotsprings, Descabezado base camp, Laguna Caracol and then down to Los Cipreses. Cold section and bad weather towards the end, some rain and freezing wind. Had to camp in Laguna Caracol waiting for the storm to pass and hike the last pass. <br /> The use of lightweight gaiters is advised for keeping the sand out of your shoes.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Parque Ingles to El Medano. Very beautiful (and exposed) section. Lots of water. The track from Los Cipreses to El Medano suffered from a few landslides meaning the route was slower than anticipated. I would consider taking the road next time as there is no loss of scenery. We resupplied in El Medano by basically buying all the food at the tienda (60000 CP for food for two people for the next section). Selection was good enough. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from Vilches Alto / Tyler &amp; America <br /> <br /> A Stunning section. Vilches Alto made for a great optional start; rather than returning to Parque Ingles. (We came from Talca by bus - 2100 CP). Entrance fee was 6000 and camping 3000 PP. All trails were beautiful and a bit more trodden that sections before. Arrieros at thermal pools (not hot) were welcoming and friendly for us to camp. We took our sweet time in the beautiful section. We bussed from the first road access (south of town Los Cipreses/ OH-MR-V@06-E-#001) to Talca for a good re supply before the long next section, 2200 CP. Bus leaves this stop around 11.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR with optional start coming from GPT 5 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We combined sections 5 and 6 via optional trail. <br /> GPT06 took us 2 days and bit (first day we did just 4km from 6th section).<br /> I agree with everything what was written in previous updates.<br /> Nice sandy trails. Mornings were freezing cold. No problems while crossing rivers. After optional start regular trail didn't correspond with any trail. We finally took one on the right side and after while they merged. And I don't know who was so commited, but thanks for marking the trail 😊<br /> <br /> There is a small tienda with coke and crisps before entering a main road from Los Cipress. If you continue by main road toward El Medano there is restaurant Cordillera where we refueled again. Accomodation in El Medano. I will edit with ressuply options later. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-14 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (mainly) / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> As we came from GPT05 and didn't want to go all the way &quot;back&quot; to the Paso Las Animas, we tried the Optional Investigation Route which starts at Parque Ingles right at the other side (South) of Rio Claro. It leads through private property, so we went to the guard, showed him the CONAF Permit (we bought one just in case, and of course they said it's not possible to walk on the other side of the river), explained him that we would only hike through and gave him some cerezas. He informed his Colleagues via radio to let us pass. It was a nice and easy hike. Nothing to add to Linda's remarks for the rest of the trail.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-06 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Linda <br /> <br /> Start = Parque Ingles <br /> Finish = Las Termas El Medano<br /> <br /> GENERAL FEELING<br /> <br /> Amazing section !!!! Incredible mineral landscapes as soon as you go beyond Laguna Las Animas. It was tough because of the passes (and this was also my first hiking days and I carried too much food ... ) and the ground around the volcanoes is sand ! So it makes each step even more difficult. I loved the contrast between the areas around the volcanoes and the Laguna Caracol is just one of the most beautiful place I've ever seen !!! <br /> <br /> LOGISTICS<br /> <br /> - Bus from Molina to El Radal (off season and weekdays = only one bus at 5pm in Molina that stops in El Radal. Weekend : it goes directly to Parque Ingles and the schedule may also be different)<br /> <br /> - Hitchhiked from El Radal to Parque Ingles<br /> <br /> - First night in a camping in Parque Ingles = 5000 CLP<br /> <br /> - The day after, I had to register to CONAF. Office opening at 8:30 am. Entrance fee = 6000 CLP<br /> Some people (5 or 6) were going to El Bolson for the day but after Laguna Las Animas, there was absolutely nobody till the end !<br /> <br /> - Still snow when you go beyond the 2300 meters high<br /> <br /> - Be careful for the last pass Las Hornitos, a lot of snow at the top and it makes it impossible to follow the GPS track to go down. I found my way on the left when you face the valley and then got back to the GPS track<br /> <br /> - No problem to go out from the mine. Actually, workers I met on my way down to Los Cipreses suggestedto drop me by car to the main road. The guard was just smiling when he saw me in the car and when I told him I was hiking<br /> <br /> - Mini market where you can find basic food (eggs, spaghetti, chocolate ...) in Las Termas El Medano<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-07 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Arnaud<br /> <br /> Amazing but hard section with a lot of denivelation. <br /> As we did not walk the section 5, we took the bus from Molina to Parque Ingles-7 Tazas (many buses, 4-5 buses per day). We registered to the Conaf Office and paid the entrance fee 6000 clp for foreigners. They gave us a mail adress so that we can announce our exit of the parque, to check the security.<br /> We walked the first 11km to the campspot El Bolson. It costs 4000 clp per person but has no interest. As the zone is protected, it is possible to freecamp only after el Bolson, before, it is prohibited.<br /> The Laguna Las Animas is very very beautiful and is welcome for a bath with the heat of this season.<br /> Then the paso las animas is easy and ashes are fun for downhills!<br /> We met nobody on the trail after el Bolson. So great! Except at one spot with termas with full of chilenos there.<br /> We lacked a bit of water at the laguna el Caracol but found 3kms further (just before the strong uphill) a source with drinkable water.<br /> No problem then to exit los cypress. We hitchhiked on the road with workers until the road to los Medanos.<br /> We stayed one day in los termas de los Medanos, at the camping and exit quickly (too many noise, people). The water is hot and nice after a hard section like this one. <br /> We resupplied at los termas (with pasta, arros, pancito, manjar). No gas available there.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> You need to carry all the food for the entire trail. There is no food supply after Parque Ingles. If you meet arrieros at one of the Puestos you may ask for some goat or lamb meet but if you are not ready to take an entire or at least half an animal they may be reluctant to sell. Refill your water supply at the marked river crossings and the camps. In between these waypoints your will find only ocasinally some trickling water because water trickles away easily into the volcanic soil.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> * 2021 / Vera &amp; James<br /> <br /> Molina: It has plenty for resupply whilst being nice and small. There is a fishing shop opposite the Santa Isabel supermarket that sells gas.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> * 2022 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Los Cipresses: small shop (only ice cream, drinks, choco bars, biscuits) + camp with cold shower, toilets, electricity and access to the river, all for 5000 for 2 people. We even got sandwiches for dinner as there was no other place around to eat. <br /> <br /> * 2022 7 Anna&amp;Christopher <br /> <br /> El Médano: The shop there has pasta, rice, bread, tomato salsa, mayo, chips, biscuits/chocolate and suncreme (but quite pricey).<br /> In El Médano we camped for 6k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> * 2020 / Frank <br /> After 2KM on the road after Los Alamos (to El Medano) you pass 2 shops, better food selection than in El Medano. They have accommodation also.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route= <br /> <br /> ==Parque Ingles==<br /> <br /> During the main season in January and February several buses go from Molina and Curico to Radal and some even go all the way to Parque Ingles. Outside of the main season there is only one daily bus from Molina to Radal leaving in the afternoon from the rural bus station in Molina.<br /> <br /> *2020 / Frank In summer there are 6 buses a day Molina-Parque Ingles.<br /> <br /> Mon-Sat they leave Molina @ 10:20, 11:30, 12:40, 3PM, 6:15PM, 8:15 PM Sunday Molina- Parque Ingles 7:45, 9:30, 2PM, 7:30PM, 10PM 2 hours to Parque Ingles, buses leave from terminal near main plaza in Molina. Parque Ingles-Molina 7:10, 11, 1PM, 3:45PM, 4:45PM, 6:30PM Mon-Sat Sun. 10:30, 1:30PM, 3:30PM, 5:45PM, 6:45PM <br /> <br /> <br /> *2019/ Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Monday to Thursday: Molina-Radal: 17:00 // Radal-Molina: 07:30<br /> <br /> Friday: Molina-P.Ingles: 17:00 // Radal-Molina: 07:30<br /> <br /> Saturday: Molina-P.Ingles: 11:30 // 13:30 / P.Ingles-Molina: 18:00<br /> <br /> Sunday: Molina-P.Ingles: 09:00 // P.Ingles-Molina: 15:30 / 17:00<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Los Cipreses / El Medano ==<br /> <br /> * 7 am in front of Los Cipreses - someone has to call in advance for the bus to go all the way to el Médano - loads of tourists there, though, so someone might have called. Other connections should be at 9:15 and 17:20 (one at 1620 l3aves from further downstream). The other way around, the buses leave Talca at 7, 13, 15 and 19, according to the schedule at Talca bus station.<br /> <br /> <br /> *This trail section finished at the Route 115 to Talca. Big road with many cars (hitchhiking possible)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023 / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé <br /> <br /> From Los Cipreses only one bus at 7am. We hitchiked to El Colorado where plenty of buses are going down to Talca for 2 000 CLP (+ 400 CLP per bag)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023 / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Buses from Talca to la Mina go at; 7:00am, 1:00pm (only to la Suiza), 3:00pm and 7:00pm. <br /> Vilches: bus clearly did not follow the posted schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022 / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> - There is no bus to Talca from Los Cipreses on saturdays or sundays. We asked at the shop and got a ride to Colorado from the brother-in-law of the shopkeeper for 15000 CLP. <br /> <br /> <br /> == Vilches ==<br /> <br /> * 2023 / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Bus clearly did not follow the posted schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> * CONAF does register all trekkers at Parque Ingles (GPT01-WP004) but does not charge an entrance fee. Camp fires are not permitted within the national park that reaches from Radal (GPT01-WP001) to the Laguna las Ánimas (GPT01-WP013).<br /> <br /> * 2023<br /> <br /> When starting from Vilches and going northbound, a permit to access the Volcano (or the Condor Circuit) is required. CONAF won't let you enter in Altos de Lircay without it. Call them to get the correct number. Moreover, you have to pay the entrance fee to the reserve and it is closed on Mondays in March.<br /> <br /> *2023 <br /> <br /> Start at Parque Ingles: <br /> Entry ticket for Bolsón overnight needed: 8$ (book it before online at www.aspticket.cl + get to the trailhead before 3pm) <br /> The parc can be entered illegally in the morning (around 7 pm).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019<br /> <br /> Optional start Vilches Alto: Entrance fee was 6000 and camping 3000 PP.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT06 - Volcán Descabezado]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:18 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|In the huge ash field]]<br /> [[File:10 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (9).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT06 - Volcán Descabezado]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (5).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Greater Patagonian Trail]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (17).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|[[Cerro Azul]].]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (11).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 6]]<br /> [[File:01 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, El Bolsón.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|El Bolsón]]<br /> [[File:02 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Leaving El Bolsón.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Leaving El Bolsón]]<br /> [[File:03 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:04 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Las Ánimas.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Las Ánimas]]<br /> [[File:05 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Pass 2560 m.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Pass 2560 m]]<br /> [[File:06 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Approaching Laguna Mondaca.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Approaching Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:07 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Mondaca.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:08 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, that bypasses Laguna Mondaca.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Bypasses Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:09 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:11 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Termas de Azufre.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Termas de Azufre]]<br /> [[File:12 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:13 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:16 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:17 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:19 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:20 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:21 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:23 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:24 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:25 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:26 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Leaving the Base Camp Descabezado Grande.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Leaving the Base Camp Descabezado Grande]]<br /> [[File:27 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Hot springs at Base Camp Descabezado Grande.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Hot springs at Base Camp Descabezado Grande]]<br /> [[File:28 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:29 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:31 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:32 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:33 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:34 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:35 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:37 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:38 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:39 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:40 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:41 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:43 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Camp near Laguna Los Hornitos.jpg|Camp near Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:44 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Los Hornitos.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:45 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Los Hornitos.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:46 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:47 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:48 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT02_(Mina_El_Teniente)&diff=113241 2023-12-22T16:30:31Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-07 to 2023-Dec-10 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Gate[3.3/1049] : gate is opened, nobody there on 7am.<br /> <br /> Water,bridge{01} : look like is broken, wet feet crossing. Strong flow and up to knee at early morning.<br /> <br /> Water?{8.7/1298} : dry at river crossing, but is still flowing at downstream, after you cross the stream, dont climb up immediately, there is a side trail on your right side to downstream, follow it about 1 min, you'll hear water flowing, water spot is on your right side, but is overgrown and muddy, not easy to get close. It has a small pool and like a spigot (2min/L).<br /> <br /> Water?{11.8/1648} : excellent spot, water flowing good with clear and coldwater, has a huge shade for lunch or a break, also a sandy spot for 1 tent.<br /> <br /> Water{15.6/1616} : good flowing with a small waterfall at RR crossing, great to take a cold shower in hot mid-day.<br /> <br /> Water{20.7/2064} : flowing good.<br /> <br /> Ford{21.6/2033} : easier spot at 30m upstream of RR crossing, flowing fast and up to knee at early morning, much easier than the broken bridge one. A small sandy spot for a small single person tent.<br /> <br /> Ford, camp?{22.9/2067} : RR crossing look like up to knee. Downstream 30m is a better crossing spot, rock bar under water, just up to half of calf, easy. After crossing there is a large flat area, have stone wall for 1-2 tents.<br /> <br /> From here to &quot;Ford,camp?{27.5/2209}&quot;, some more river crossing, mostly just up to knee.<br /> <br /> Ford,camp?{27.5/2209} : look like no camping spot here?<br /> <br /> <br /> Climb up steep but easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Snow conditions just like Yannick &amp; Nolwenn said, if not comfortable with snow, wait 1-2 weeks for melting.<br /> <br /> Still lot of snow after the pass. The last snow slope you need to cross is at km54.1<br /> <br /> <br /> Camp{57.0+0.3/2286} : when you first see the meadows from high, keep walking a little and look at the mountain side, a stream with a red and white pipe is there, flowing with crystal clear and cold water.<br /> <br /> Water, bridge{64.3/1733} : tons of brown sandy water.<br /> <br /> Km64.7 : camping spot, but dead cows here.<br /> Km67 : camping spot on valley side, some tree covers and great view, some side trail leads you to there.<br /> Km68.6 : camping spot beside the road.<br /> <br /> <br /> Bridge, water?camp?{78.2/1736} : flowing good with clear and cool water. Can fit some tents at road shoulder. It is the LAST WATER before the ridge.<br /> <br /> Mostly have flat spots for camping at each pass before km85, but windy.<br /> <br /> Km85.5 : excellent camping spot, can fit 1 tent, with a blouder for wind protection from south, great views, BBQ grill and cell service.<br /> <br /> Lastly, i took 4.5L water go over the ridge, and water all gone, better bring more in January and February.<br /> <br /> <br /> Coya have a small shop for resupply, not the best but enough, also friendly!<br /> Beside the store is Bar Catalán Coya, they make nice sandwiches!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-04 to 2023-Dec-08 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> Half the bridge gone at the beginning.<br /> 1st water was flowing but not where the trail crosses the stream but lower down - there is a dirt path to the water.<br /> <br /> River crossings are fine until the one at km26.5 was very rapid and strong; we crossed below the regular crossing point. Probably not a good idea atm to do the crossings in late afternoon. We then took the alternate trail that stays on the left of the river in order to skip two crossings. Good campsite when back down by the river, aimed to do the last crossing in the early morning, which was much better.<br /> <br /> The way up had good trail and more water than marked, due to the snowmelt. Snowpatches started once we reached the ridge, mostly very easy to cross except the patches on south-facing slopes; we used microspikes here.<br /> <br /> Careful: an unexploded explosive on the ridge at -33.94081, -70.41171.<br /> <br /> The road on the way down has lots of rockfall, many places with minor landslides. Some extra streams are flowing between Estero Codegua and the mine.<br /> <br /> You can follow us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-12 to 2023-Nov-16 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT02 variant A + improvised trail due to a lot of snow between km30 and km52 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Gates : <br /> (1) gate at km3 for the Reserva, nobody there, the gate was open so we just went through.<br /> (2) Gate at km80,3 was closed, we just went around on the right side of the fence and followed it to reach the track again.<br /> <br /> - Water : water markers correct and more water due to snow melt<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 17,7 | km 36,5 | km 55 | km 82,6 <br /> <br /> - River crossing : <br /> (1) bridge (km3,6) was inaccessible for us, stream too strong - so we took the variant A and crossed the river further on. The current was really strong and up until the hips, we took our time and had previous experiences of river crossings before.<br /> (2)Between km21,6 and km27,5 we had to cross the river 9 times, it was usually up until our thighs.<br /> <br /> - Weather : 3 days of sun and 1 cloudy day. <br /> <br /> WARNING : Update on snow conditions.From km 30,5 the snow is present until km 52. Be really careful between km 34.6 and km 41, because it is icy and a fall could be fatal. We diverted from the gpt trail because following was impossible due to the snow. Sometimes there was 1 meter of snow. Follow the ridgline from km 42 to km 47, and not the gpt trail because at the moment it is completely covered in icy snow. For those who are planning to do this section in the next few days, defenetly check the weather and be aware of the impact of the sun on the snow ( melting, icy...)<br /> <br /> - Resupply : Coya, a small shop has everything you need for the next section <br /> <br /> - Accomodation : ' Hostal &amp; Residencial' for 20 000 pesos a night <br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant A ( easy to follow ) / variant M + N ( trail overgrown at some stages ) / at the control Maintenes, a friendly worker didn't let us take the gravel road at km 101,3 so we walked along the ruta H203 and reach the trail again at km102,4<br /> <br /> - Overall : beautiful section but the snow made it really challenging for us. We met some wild cows and bulls and they were afraid of us and ran away, same for wild horses.<br /> <br /> If you want to see some pictures of the sections and/or ask us some questions, you can find us on Instagram : @2funambules<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-25 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Luisa &amp; Hannes <br /> <br /> Very hot below 2000m. For river crossing not even wet feet. Passed a kind of informal puesto little below junction to Clarillo, nobody there, just a crazy dog. No territorial cows/bulls around as stated somewhere else. Just give them time they need to check the situation and they will trot away...We where lucky to have met very nice people in the puesto before the mine. Got off at emergency1...took us ttl 6 days for this trip with one day almost off...<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-05 4 days RR SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> I arrived at the private nature reserve entrance @ 5PM &amp; admitted I would overnight in the park so they charged me 12,000 pesos. The entry is 6000 pesos per day. They are not aware of the RR beyond the first few KM &amp; it seems best not to discuss it. As there is no water for about 7KM on RR after you cross the first bridge it seems best to stay on the small road which is quicker &amp; easier than RR. There is an official campsite at the end of the road. Fill up when you cross the river after campsite, the first camp &amp; water source on RR is normally dry. I came in on RR &amp; night hiked about 10KM as I didn't have enough water to camp. There is more water as you go further in. On 2nd night approaching the pass where a waterfall comes down a cliff I went downstream &amp; camped by a big boulder. Room for 1 small tent here. You could also camp in the last valley before the pass. After the pass you are on a dirt road all the way to the mine.<br /> <br /> Once over the pass the landscape changes &amp; it's semi desert with a long way between water sources. As you approach a green hut there is a spring coming from the rock by the road. Go into the puesto, if there is no one there you can get water from a spring at the back. The puesto owners are friendly &amp; will have no problem giving you water if they are there. Best to camp at or near the puesto, fill up &amp; start very early next day. Walk the first few KM on the road before dawn if you can. Last water 25KM? was as dry as dirt in January. When you get to the mine stay outside it, go to the right of the boundary fence &amp; handrail it, then you will have no problems. Midsummer i.e. January is not the best time to do the last section, there is hardly any shade &amp; it becomes a desert survival test. The water I had in my pack side pocket was hot enough to make tea. Got to the road OK but felt a bit faint. Heat exhaustion is a real possibility on the last section, go earlier in the season if you can. November once the snow has cleared is ideal. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-06 to 2022–Dec-08 / Hiking / SOBO / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I continued from the Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo. I went up to Cerro Los Cristales, there was entel 4g for fifteen minutes on the ridge and then it stopped completely, but I managed to have a audio call over internet. Nice view on lakes from the top but a detour. Have not met anybody all three days it took me to walk this. The cows were all afraid of me (somebody commented they are territorial).<br /> <br /> The MR till the waypoint last water 50 km (it is not 50 km from there!!!) is actually impassable for cars due to debris. There was plenty of water everywhere until then.<br /> <br /> About 10 km further on, there is a puesto - it has water, you need to go in the puesto. There was nobody there so I slept there in the yard. From here on, there was 4g Entel coverage pretty much everywhere.<br /> <br /> About 1 km from the puesto, there is a horse trail going to the left (not mapped), I took it. It goes up and then it us easy CC downhill. I took a detour to south-east due to misunderstanding what the mine looks like (it is that large flat white-yellow valley - probably debris from the mine). Thanks to that Ihave not met any gates. There was a trickle of water in the last water point ( i crossed it somewhat upstream from RR). Walked under the dam and along the fence of the mine. Kept up from the RR, its suggested track lose some altitude for no reason.<br /> <br /> The part on the ridge is quite beautiful, I would recommend not taking the emergency exits if you can. Very clear path pretty much everywhere. But it is far, took me five hours of fast walking to get to the road to Coya from mine. At the end, do not take the TL {02-M} option the seems like the shortest way to Coya from the end of the ridge. There is no trail, it is overgrown, I would call it bush bashing. No fun in the dark. Once i get to the PR, I immediately hitched a car to Coya and stayed at a hostel for 15000 at 34.2057545S, 70.5306223W. Now I will try to get some food.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-26 to 2022-Dec-01 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> After a few hundred meters into the section we reached the entrance to the nature reservation and were asked for 6000$ per person + our ID numbers. We enjoyed some time by the river that is close to the entrance. Good to carry enough water from the beginning of this section. The alternative way / climb from the valley with water 37.2 gets pretty steep. Snowfields after Cerros de Pueco were still there but it wasn’t difficult to find a way below them. We met a few bulls close to the minor road trail that didnt look very friendly, rather turn around and find a different way. We took some alternative and more attractive trails from the long minor road part (GPT02 D+E). Tiny stream of water available at Sobo: Last Water 25km. We met some workers at the mine who were nice and reminded us that its a private property, no other problem. As suggested in one of the previous comments we didnt go over the gate at the mine but followed a path close to the fence that connects to the CC part. The whole ridge walk at the end is really nice. Quite a lot of traffic on the road to Coya. Overall really hot weather that requires enough water to carry, but nice section. We took a bus to Rancagua before 5PM - ask locals about the schedule.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-28 / Hiking / SOBO/ RR / tom&amp;miky <br /> <br /> We left on the 24 of November north to south, hard sun, no water on the second spot marked (water?) Around +/- 5 km<br /> The sobo last water was brown, we find clear water few km away maybe due to snow melt?<br /> We also found water at Sobo 25 km to finish this section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-10 / Hiking / SOBO / Adrien Kunzli <br /> <br /> Just after San José de Maipo the RR-MR-V (02) (3,6+0,4) at S33°41.069', W070°20.876' was denied to me by some conductors (private propriety). But the other optional road without passing the bridge works perfectly fine.<br /> <br /> Be careful with the wild herd of bulls and cows before getting to Cerros de Peuco. Very territorial ! Better turning around ! <br /> <br /> The camp (02-D)(1,3/2800) at S33°57.791', W070°25.710' were full of snow at this time of year.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021 Nov-20 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> Locked gate (-33.682407, -70.346283) on the route in the beginning of secotion is for the entrance of Reserva Coyanco. There was a lady that opened the gate and said that one day pass through the reserve costs 5000 pesos, but that we can pay it somewhere later. But as the RR doesn’t continue up the valley but across the bridge and up the ridge from the other side then we didn’t meet anyone who would collect the fees. It could be that it’s a weekend thing as there were quite a few people in the area mostly going to see the Calabozo del Diablo. <br /> <br /> No water at the first marked location with question mark (-33.72155, -70.345093), but as Marc Anthony already mentioned there is a small stream of water about 3km further (-33.741233, -70.3534). <br /> <br /> From there we night-hiked until the second ford where we camped. It was such a relief to hike in bearable temperatures and all the critters were out. We saw a snake, a tarantula, a scorpion, some giant bug, bunch of toads, bunnies and a culpeo fox. <br /> <br /> Once we reached the first ford from there onwards until the last water before the mine there was a lot of water in almost every gully, especially as you reach higher elevations. Snow patches are still melting and providing water. The last water is where it’s marked. <br /> <br /> Once we got to the mine/plantation we didn’t jump the gate to walk in the fenced-off plantation, but walked around the fence, handrailed it. There is a faint path for first few hundred meters and then it’s and easy cross country, just aim for the shoulder on the mountain. <br /> <br /> The last part was actually really beautiful and I wouldn’t want to skip it, we had a cloud inversion in the morning and about 8 condors circling us as we descended the ridge, it was spectacular. <br /> <br /> On average we carried 1,7L of water each and besides the first part until the first water and the last part from the last water there really was plenty of water on trail and we could have easily carried only a litre each. For the last part we carried 10L for both of us and it was enough for dry-camping on the ridge and washing dishes and we ended up pouring out about a litre in the morning because we didn’t need that much water. <br /> <br /> Once we descended to the road we had an easy hitch to Machali where we resupplied and hitched back to Coya, again an easy hitch. But unfortunately we could not find a camping gas (with thread) which fitted out stove. We checked every ferreteria and supermercado in Machali, even took the bus to Lider Express on the edge of the town, no luck. They only had the gas canisters where you punch the hole. <br /> However we found a gas with thread in a shop in Coya. Anyways, lesson is - bring the adapter.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 and a half days to hike this section, our last camp was about 9,5km from the road.<br /> <br /> We ate some great food and recharged all of our batteries in a Peruvian restaurant “Sumaq Ñusta” in Coya before heading back out on trail.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-12 to 2021-Nov-15 / 4 days / Hiking / Marc Anthony <br /> <br /> Big locked gate at -33 40.961’ -070 20.773’ after leaving el melocotón heading south. Didn’t find anyone around to ask, but luckily it can easily be jumped if you walk around on the left side. Carry a lot of water! Quite a few kilometers between the water sources. There is a waypoint in the track files at -33 43.298’ -070 20.705’ that is marked “Water ? 02”, there is no water here! But I found an unmarked water source a few kilometers further at -33 44.474’ -070 21.204’<br /> <br /> When walking down from mountain pass towards the mine, the last water source I found was at -34 04.070’ -070 29.602’ marked in track files with “Sobo: Last water 25 km ???”. In was only running a little bit, might dry out soon?<br /> <br /> At the walking into the plantation area close to the mine on the regular route you will encounter a tall locked gate at -34 04.123’ -070 30.702’. I was able to jump over, but keep in mind that there are a lot of the workers at the plantation driving on the road next to it during the day. If you when you continue through the plantation you will encounter a barbed wire fence that runs all the way across the area blocking the path up onto the mountains. Very difficult to jump over! I noticed another gate when walking straight ahead after jumping the first gate. Would advice that you jump over this gate to exit the plantation, instead of following the track files. This way you avoid the barbed wire.<br /> <br /> Took me 4 days to hike this section, but I took the emergency exit number 2 because I ran out of water, so didn’t do the last few kilometers.<br /> <br /> All the river fords were easy. Quite a long distance between water sources in the beginning. Like in GPT 1 i found the beginning of this section to be quite difficult because of the heat even though it is still springtime. But I only have experience hiking in Scandinavia, so I probably don’t have the best heat tolerance :) As soon as I climbed up to the cooler temperature of the higher altitudes it was a wonderful hike.<br /> <br /> Had a lot some trouble with locked gates and barbed wire fence when entering the mine/plantation area. And unfortunately ripped open my plastic water bottle when throwing my backpack over the barbed wire, so lost some precious water.<br /> <br /> After a several hours of hiking in the mountains next to the mine I ended up taking emergency exit number 2 because I was running low on water. Must admit that hiking in this exposed terrain during the afternoon heat was also quite exhausting.<br /> The guards that picked me up after a while when waiting by the road where extremely jolly and nice. We had a good talk and some good laughs about the whole situation. They gave me water and put me on a bus to Coya by mine entrance. Bus driver even drove me around town so that I could find a open hostel. Certainly didn’t expect all this kindness when trespassing private property! <br /> <br /> Ended up in a place called Hostel Vista al Cerro in Coya.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-02 / Hiking / SOBO / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> First gate from El Melocoton was closed, but you can just go around to the left and jump the fence. As mentioned by Anthony, there is no water at the marked water point -33 43.298' -070 20.705', but there is water at -33 44.474' -070 21.204'. Nice camp spot a few 100m ahead [S33.73625 W070.35510]. Sufficient water available up to pass (water from melting snowfields). <br /> Way from about 2800 a.s.l. was partly covered by snowfields which could be crossed without problem. After pass sufficient water until &quot;Important Sobo: last water 50km&quot; available. After that only a small trickle at: &quot;Important Sobo: last water 25km???&quot;. (Should be filtered). We used Emergency Exit 1 because our water filter and tent was broken. The worker at the gate was surprised but very friendly. The internal Securitas checked our passports and then drove us to Rancagua. All employees were very friendly and helpful.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Nov-07 / Hiking / SOBO / Fran &amp; Rodri<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 in five days, at first, we wanted to start from Reserva Río Clarillo but it was impossible. The guards of Conaf didn't even try to listen to us, they just said &quot;you can't pass&quot;, so we try the alternative across the river and after 5km, they caught us, it's a natural private reserve and closed for public ( more strict than conaf) so they kick us out. Finally we start in the regular route in &quot;El Melocotón&quot;.<br /> <br /> The entrances it's a private tourism property, once inside, you have 2 alternatives, we took the regular because of the water but we had to pay 5.000 pesos each.<br /> <br /> Then we walk in and the problems disappear. in the beginning the water spots are between 7km aprox so be careful with that.<br /> <br /> In the second day we have a lot of river crossing but it was easy. A lot of sun.<br /> <br /> At the end of the route we took the emergency exit 1 in the &quot;Mina Teniente&quot; of course its a super private zone, but they were very friendly, make us a lot of questions, our personal details and they took us to the end of the private zone. Then we walk 5km and arrive to Coya.<br /> <br /> In town there is a very good place to eat called &quot;bar catan&quot; (delicious and cheap), and pass the night in &quot;Hostal el ensueño&quot; (15.000 each).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-28 / Family Size <br /> <br /> The campground Estero Coyanco (S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779') seams to be only open on weekends? One can walk around the closed gate and a person in the campground allowed me to sleep there on a weekday. There would be a small shop, food places and toilets. I stayed up the valley close to S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779'.<br /> <br /> There was a dead goat further up in the water.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-24 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 five days. Including 2 nero days. Again a really hot section, but there is enough water till Estero Codegua. Marked source before mine (water last 25km) is still flowing. Not much, but flowing. After that you won't find any. Trail is in good condition, in few undefines spots just follow gps. We took last optional trail to the left to meet road to Coya, trail was bit overgrown but doable, then we took a regular trail to Coya which is gravel. Shortly after first emergency exit in mine, where is trail cutting a mine property, they are building a high fence that won't be easy to jump.<br /> <br /> In Coya we are staying in Tu Casita for 20k including dinner. So far it's nice. Ressuplying is good here, we found everything that we needed. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-16 / Hiking / SOBO / RR Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to walk this section. Trails are in good condition. There is practically no snow left and water levels are low. We took the third Emergency Exit in the mine, so we don't know about the last 10 km. The mine's Security Officer wasn't very pleased to drive us out of the mine. In Coya we found accommodation and resupply tiendas. You can also take the bus to Rancagua which runs every full hour.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-14 / Hiking / Ty &amp; America / SOBO<br /> <br /> We camped on Reserva Coyanco for 5000 pesos and sweet spots right next to the river. We took a taxi straight there from the city center of Santiago for 25,000. I just saw on the television that the metro is back up to Puente Alto as well.....so that’s cool.<br /> <br /> We also took the first emergency exit when arriving at Mina Teniente. Everybody was SUPER friendly. They even gave us a free ride to Machali for Resupply (Isabel supermarket).<br /> <br /> After water at the bridge over Estero Codegua, water is pretty much non existent. Nobody was at the puesto, and the next water source was still and dense with tad poles (definitely not ideal)....and probably won’t last for much longer.<br /> <br /> There was some just recently passable areas near the top of the pass, but pretty easy to get by! Prefect timing 👌<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2018-Dec-20 / Hiking / Martin Lizondo / Regular Route Southbound<br /> <br /> A lot of water capacity is required. Last water source at Estero Bodegua (S34° 00.894' W70° 25.507'). Avoid the route near puesto at S34° 04.633' W70° 30.757' because the pass is forbidden. Instead, keep following the track high off trail.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> Get the metro to Plaza De Puente Alto then Bus MB-72B to El Melocoton.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT02 - Mina El Teniente]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (18).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (13).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT03_(Rios_Claros)&diff=113240 2023-12-22T16:27:16Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-11 to 2023-Dec-14 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> Km4.6 : water switch on the ground, under a rock after the junction. Be aware turn on lightly, otherwise it will inject several meters away.<br /> <br /> Km7.4 : camping spot with fire ring, rock seats and nice tree shades, a stream is flowing nearby too.<br /> <br /> Ford[16.1/877] : just up to half of calf, camping spot with 2 fire ring before crossing.<br /> <br /> Camp[17.5/875] : crossing of Rio Claro de Cauquenes, look like up to thighs at RR crossing. When you arrive the river, keep walking to upstream about 120m until the rock beach end, you will find rock bar under water there, cross it, up to knee and mostly just half of calf. When you join back the trail, after 10-20sec a large flat area that can fit lot of tents.<br /> <br /> Km20.7 : nice water flowing and 2 locked gates, you can climb over them, or go high and back down.<br /> <br /> Water[22.8/1173] : flowing nice, and camping spot at km22.9, with fire ring, log seats, rock seats and tree cover, but most are a little steep, just 2 small spots are flat.<br /> <br /> Km23.2 : flat area can fit 3 tents on the pass.<br /> <br /> Water[25.3/1096] : another locked gate, camping spot with rock seats and shelter before the gate. After you climb over the gate and arrive the stream, a smaller camping spot there, can fit 1-2 small tents.<br /> <br /> Km25.5 : flat area can fit 3 tents on the pass.<br /> <br /> Km26.8 : a stream flowing good, and a flat spot can fit a small tent just before it. 1 more flat spot can fit 1 tent at km27.<br /> <br /> Km29 : flowing with clear water. Rock hopping for dry feet crossing, nice camping spot under a big tree can fit 2 tents after the cross.<br /> <br /> Km30.1 : a good flow stream and a locked gate. Climb over it.<br /> <br /> Ford[30.6/1315] : flowing with clear water. Rock hopping for dry feet crossing, camping spots under lot of trees can fit many tents with fire ring and log seats after the cross. But lot of trash.<br /> <br /> Km32.5 : crystal clear swimming pool!!! Flat spots under some trees can fit 2 tents just before it.<br /> <br /> Water[34.7/1696] : completely dry at RR crossing, but is still flowing good at a little downstream, better collect them before you climb up, cold, clear and taste good! Some more small stream are still flowing now before the pass, but for the report in 2019, look like they will dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Pass[36.5/2047] : if you are thinking of camping on the pass, forget it! Several flat spots, but tons of cow poop surrounding here, some are fresh, some are dry, you wouldn't like it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Bush bashing is not fun, luckily it is short and going downhill side.<br /> <br /> Ford[40.7/1398] : nice camping spot between 2 river crossing here, beside a tree on grassland can fit 2 tents.<br /> <br /> Camp without water[41.4/1424] : can fit many many tents here but no tree cover. Another spot like this one at km42.1<br /> <br /> Camp[43.5/1177] : closed gate here, use your arm power to open it.<br /> <br /> Km45 : flowing stream and unlocked gate.<br /> <br /> When you follow the valley going downstream, you will cross the river sometimes, lot of camping spots at before and after crossing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford,camp[48.3/859] : fording of Rio Claro, i cant do it. It is too hard although at 9am, very very strong flow and up to waist, i give 2 steps and turn back, otherwise I'll be knocked out.<br /> <br /> I found at upstream the place that rock beach end, river breaks into 3 parts, it looks like possible for crossing if you are have more body weight than me.<br /> <br /> I went to the bridge that Yannick &amp; Nolwenn said, it is at far away downstream but the only safe option.<br /> <br /> (-34.48000,-70.72770) : house, easy to find it on satellite map.<br /> <br /> It is a wooden rooftop and brick wall house, walking on the road wouldn't miss it. I met the family and their dog of the house, so the gate is open, and they are chilling beside the river.<br /> <br /> Follow the road behind the gate will lead you to the small iron bridge, water lever is above it, above my half of calf when i stand on the bridge at 2pm, fast and strong, so when you cross it be careful.<br /> <br /> Their dog want to cross with me, but it was washed away by strong wave in 2sec, (luckily it can swim back to shore).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> A long dirt road walk back to trail.<br /> <br /> Settler[49.7+0.2/810] : a locked gate and a stream, no need to climb gate, walk to the riverbed, you'll find a easy way back to the road that behind the gate, remember bring water, a long way climb up.<br /> <br /> Km54 : a stream flowing good with a small pool.<br /> <br /> Km54.1 : nice camping spot, can fit many tents, beautiful trees and green short grassland.<br /> <br /> Pass[55.9/1772] : lot of ......... , water is flowing in the valley after the pass, but look like will dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Km59.2 &amp; 60.7 : flat spot can fit 1-2 tents with good views on the pass.<br /> <br /> Km61.6 : several spots for total 3-5 tents on the ridge, excellent views but windy.<br /> <br /> Km62.65 : 2 small stream still flowing clear and cold water with a tiny waterfall, easy to collect. Some more stream before the high point, but i think they'll all dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Km64.7 : a large flat area can fit lot of tents.<br /> <br /> Km67.2 : water is still flowing in the valley, but maybe dry up soon.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km69 : treeline, trail conditions become much better.<br /> <br /> Km69.9 : water flowing.<br /> <br /> Water[71.5/957] : flowing nice with log bridge. Camping spot with fire ring before crossing, fire ring and log seats after crossing.<br /> <br /> Km73.1 : amazing pine trees camping spot! Can fit 10+ tents, sleeping on comfortable pine land.<br /> <br /> Km73.4 : locked gate, climb over it. From here to km73.8 is huge flat area. Km73.7 have a fire ring too.<br /> <br /> Km74.8 : closed gate, you can open it by a rope knots on right side.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Settlement[76.7/652] : Los Alps, when you get close, walk slower, at least 4 DOGS here and running out, a women will come out and help you to stop them, she is friendly but need some time to come out, so dont rush to in front of their dogs.<br /> <br /> Bridge[77.3/639] : you can follow RR crossing the river by wet feet, or go on the shaking and shaking bridge.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Lastly, i camped in the small garden of the restaurant ' La Higuera' in Aguas Buenas. Hot shower, laundry, dinner and hiker friendly. Decided tomorrow will eat the breakfast here then keep going!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-09 to 2023-Dec-13 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> On the trail from Coya nothing much has changed, the wooden bridge still holds. As of now there is water at km 7.2 (before hitting the gravel road) so we filled up there instead of spending time at Fundo Huinganes. The main gate by the road was closed but easily bypassed. At the house right after entering there are about 7 dogs, two of them loose, but they don't come out of their yard despite the gate being open. There was a car there but nobody came to see if anyone was passing. We managed to get through the private land without issues.<br /> <br /> Crossing Rio Claro de Cauquenes in the late afternoon was fine at a wide place. Camped at Casa de Piedra. The next day was very hot so we opted for a 6hr siesta and nighthiked up the the pass and down, including the bushbashing. Sunset at the pass was incredible and the starry sky even more so. The bushbashing was just as we remembered from the last time, no improvements. The trail after the bushbashing seemed not used, ie the upper pastures hadn't been grazed and the trail was grassy and a bit overgrown until the puesto at km43.5.<br /> <br /> Rio Claro was way too wild for us to cross at 9 in the morning, evident by a dead cow in the middle of the river, so we did the same detour as mentioned before - 8km each way. The small metal bridge was totally under water when we crossed it, thankfully there is a plastic hose that can be used for balance when traversing. Camped nearby the river close to where the old bridge used to be (seemed like a designated camping area, there were other campers and signs &quot;llevate la basura). <br /> <br /> No issues getting back to the puesto where the route turns up. Water reliable, trail in ok condition. The way down steep as usual but once you enter the forest you can see the arrieros have cleared it from bush. Lots if water. No issues with dogs or landowners, we didn't see anyone.<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-19 to 2023-Nov-23 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + variant D / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn <br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present - for now there is water as well in between km 55 and km 57<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 25,5 ( water 100m before) | km 43,5 | km 55,9 ( water 300m after) | km 73,6 ( we asked the permission to the settler that was present - he was really nice )<br /> <br /> - River crossing : all easy to cross except for the 'Rio Claro' that was too strong for us ( 1m80 and 65kg) - we took variant D and found out that the bridge does not exist anymore ( has been destroyed this year), we then continued on the dirt road and found another little bridge 3km after. The bridge is behind a 'closed' black gate ( you just have to lift the chain up ) on the left side of the road on front of a house. Then you can go join another dirt road on the other side that will make you rejoigned the GPT. <br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny <br /> <br /> - Resupply : in agua buena, we found everything we need for the next section in a little shop on the main road.<br /> <br /> - Accomodation : we stayed in the garden of the restaurant ' La Higuera'. They are building some accommodation but it won't be ready until January. We payed 10 000 pesos each for putting the tent, a shower, charging electronics and doing laundry. The owners are super nice and would be happy to host again.<br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant D - be careful no bridge as indicated but one 3 km down the road ( read comment on River crossing)<br /> <br /> - Warning : at km 76,7 there is a puesto with a lot of dogs that can be aggressive. We went slowly at their encounter and the lady owner came out of the house and talked to us. She gets scared when she hears her dogs screaming, she said that she would prefer if people wait and talk to her before continuing on the road. It is a safer option to wait for her to calm the dogs down.<br /> <br /> - Overall : Nice section, the bush bashing is real, it took us 40 minutes but is not that awful. We encountered a lot of cows and bulls but there were always afraid of us and ran away. We met another GPT hiker on this section!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-19 to 2023-Nov-23 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Jens<br /> <br /> The owner of the land at km 9.2 was not very pleased to see me. There is a gate that says private property, you can easily walk around it, no fences. He doesn't want anyone to cross his land, but he made an exception for me. Maybe it would be wise to take the alternative route in. <br /> <br /> Two more gates on the RR route that I jumped over. Nobody seemed to be there at the time. <br /> <br /> Plenty of water on the route. Camp sites every few kilometres. <br /> <br /> The first two river crossings were easy. <br /> <br /> Around the first pass (km 40 or so) the trail basically stopped existing for a few kilometres until halfway to the next river. Especially after the pass I had to do a lot of bush bashing. There was no trail, at least as far as I could see. All my Garmin showed was a dotted line, which in my book meant &quot;you're on your own&quot;. After what felt like an hour of scrambling, I found the trail again (black line on the Garmin). <br /> <br /> I had to cross the river at least 5 times. I tried to keep my boots dry, but gave up after the second crossing and embraced them from then on. <br /> <br /> The Rio Claro was very strong that afternoon. It wasn't a very warm day, but it carried a lot of water. I (190, 90 kilos) dared to cross it just before the other river joined it. It was hard work. Someone less heavy might want to take the detour to the bridge.<br /> <br /> On the way to Aguas Buenas, at the settlement marked on the map, a dog bit me. Not sure if there is a way around it.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-01 to 2023-Mar-06 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 4A / Hannes &amp; Luisa<br /> <br /> Wanted to start for the OH in Reserva Los Cipreses, but turned back for RR as Reserva was only allowed for day visit because of high bushfire risk. No active puesto all way long and for this trails were sometimes like a light spiny Bush bashing. At -34.4258 -70.5885 we would have to face heavy BlackBerry-Bb. Instead we took a detour uphill and crossed around this field. Marked water and Ford spots from the track files sometimes where not corresponding with actual location (we supposed a Garmin problem as our marked spots were as well off track sometimes). In Agua Buena Pedro closed down for the moment? his hostel, we slept at Tinajas and cabanas for 40k. Very nice hosts and gardens, we highly recommend.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-08 to 2022-Dec-15 / 8 days / Hiking / SOBO / Exploration of Option 1 / Tomas<br /> <br /> I got at 10 pm on the car road to coy and first car passong by (there were quite a few) gave me a ride to town. There is a red house on the left one hundred metres from the main crossroads on the road towards Reservo de los cipreses where Inslept for 15000. Hot water and electricity, room with three beds for me only. The best shop is at the same crosroad opposite this road. They had cherries and nectarines, some vegetables, bread, icecream, some salami and chips. Not greatchoice but more than enough. I went onto regular route and then branched off on alternative 03 that follows the river. I met two chilean hikers on the RR ( I walked in the late evening and early night first 20 km, it was super hot), then a group of arrieros on the alternative. Plenty of water everywhere, good watering holes too.<br /> <br /> I then took the first exploratory route. All the way up to the valey, there is an nice horse trail. The regular alternative seemed overgrown, as is marked in the GPX files. Once in the valley (at 2300 elevation, beautiful), it is crosscountry. I went competely off-track, wanting to go directly to the valley on the other side. Not a good idea, very steep loose scree, I was quite afraid at 400 m above the valley floor. But I survived. The exploratory track should be easier, there is just about 100-200 metres of exposed terrain. Follow the GPX. I could not make the shortcut, it was too steep on the other side anyway. So I went to the mountain (3400 m) where I rejoined the exploratory track. It is marked over the ridge, i do not think it is passable. I went down 200m on the other ridge and then followed a countour line to the saddle. Sometimes a bit exposed but fine overall<br /> <br /> Once in the saddle, there is a trailnof sorts, sometimes disappearing. I think the gpx going down the valley is wrong, you need to keep.on the left, following the trail. The valley is extraordinarilly beautifull (I have not been to many nicer places)., deserted, but cattle or horses must pass through there sometimes. There was some snow still, above around 2900 on the southern side. When one reaches the big waterfall, one. Needs to keep on the right. There is a path, but it is a bit exposed and not easy to follow. Once in the valley where the exploratory track stops, there is a horse trail, try to follow it. Never go in the streambed. The stream need to be crossed several times. After a kilometer or two, get on the right side of the stream. There should be a horse trail, overgrown. I was on the left side - not a good idea, it was superrhorny. Pietroglyphos on the map are not there.<br /> <br /> Once in the reserva ciprese, there is a mix of horse trail, cross country amd bush bashingut doable. Hot spring is cold, but beautiful. I slept there. It is better to keep in the ever bed from there when possible. I took the second exploratory track. At first ,follow the gpx (in go in the river bed and make a sharp turn directly up). Through the first rocny part, I went a bit to the left of the GPX. I used my hands, but it was not exposed and not entirely vertical. Then I followed a the Valle, keeping on the right. There is a track where you can just walk up all the way up. It Is steep but does not feel dangerous, it is not that steep. If you slip, you would not start rolling, I think.at the end, I went to the saddle where the track meets the other exploratory track. I think it was a bit less steep then the route by GPX. You need to go bellow the mountain, GPX goes over it but it is a rock. Going to the other valley, do not go all the way to to lowest pass but take the one that is more to the east. There was lots of snow, not to steep ,I descended like 900 m on the snow in one hour. From 2300, there is horse trail all the way down. Keep on the right bank, left bank turns to car road and the exploratory track suggesting fording is nonsense, just keep on the right bank. No cell phone cover until roughly where Pedro lives. There is internet and electricity in Termas del Flaco. Shops probably not great, I went to San Fernando. Unfortunately lost my garmin with track files. Easy to hitch there, and from there. Took me 7 days, diffuculty 5, attractivness between 4-6, I think. Have not met anybody for six days straight. I will make this more elaborate on e I come back to computer in March.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-03 to 2022-Dec-07 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Taking a bus from Rancagua terminal to Coya at 1PM, we started the section about an hour later. Old trail is in good condition. After reaching the car road we climbed below the fence a few meters after the gate. Trail starts to get overgrown in some parts but still ok. Rio Claro ford at 48.3 was no problem in the morning. Unmarked water source on the way to the second pass 55.9. Amazing landscape and places to camp before the last pass. The trail goes down through a forrest which was a nice change. We met owners of the last marked settlement who were again really friendly and showed us the way to Agua Buena that follows a minor road. In the village are a few shops and an amazing restaurant with traditional chilean meals that you cant miss. The owners are great people, we really enjoyed our time there! We stayed in Tinajas &amp; Cabanas (look at Google Maps) for 40k at beautiful new cabana. Daughter of the owners speaks English and we got even a nice little tour around the property, bread and cherries in the morning - 100% recommended! In the restaurant we met already mentioned guy José Pedro who was really nice and helped us with the beginning of the section 4 the following day. He offers a place to camp for free at his property or a room in his house for a small fee. You can find the number below, responds quickly on whatsapp.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-01 to 2022-Dec-04 / 4 days / Hiking / Tom&amp;miky<br /> <br /> The crossing of the rio claro on the morning went well, we had water up to our hips. <br /> No problem with the water supply. <br /> Variant 03-04 was moderately passable with a 150m section of bush bashing which took us 1 hour.<br /> In Agua Buenas, a great restaurant is waiting for you : &quot;La Higuera&quot; run by David Arenas who is very kind.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-10 / Hiking / SOBI / RR / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> We travelled by bus from Rancagua to Coya. The bus leaves every hour from the terminal in Rancagua. <br /> There was plenty of water all along the way. We spent one night at Camp{03}[33.5/1559], which is right on the river.<br /> Bus bashing, we followed the GPS line +/- 20m, which worked quite well.<br /> Crossing the Rio Claros was no problem, the nice camp is at (-34.50800, -70.65994).<br /> Crossing the two passes is a long day, but doable. We spent the last night at Water{03}[71.5/957]. (The front water point Water ? {03}[70.1/1142] has no water).<br /> In Auqua Buena we ate at the restaurant La Higuera. Good food and friendly owners.<br /> In Auqua Buena we stayed overnight with Pedro. He has a very nice little house in the green about 5 minutes walk from the centre. Pedro can offer a room with bathroom and breakfast. Kitchen and everything else can be shared. Pedro is a super nice guy and also helped us for the start of GPT04. He told us that he would also be happy to host other hikers. It is best to contact Pedro before starting on GPT03. Here is his number: +56 9 6135 7353<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-24 to 2021-Nov-27 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We started from Coya about 7pm and at bridge in 6km we accidentally went right instead of following the RR left because it was getting dark already and after a few hundred meters of walking we found a nice campsite with benches and a table where we decided to call it a night. <br /> <br /> Plenty of water and shade on the route, we also met some aerrieos and a bunch of tarantulas on the way. The bushbashing after the first steep pass [36,5km] was not very fun but luckily it wasn’t too long. <br /> <br /> The second pass was way easier despite almost a straight 1000m of ascent the trail was in very good condition and way more gradual. We were also a bit lucky with the weather as it was a cloudy day, making it much easier heat wise. Not that great for vistas though. There was an unmarked stream a few km before the second pass [55,9km]. The downhill after the ridgewalk and a mini-pass at [63,7km] got pretty steep at some point and turned our legs into spaghetti, but the really cool jungle-like forest captured our attention more. <br /> <br /> We camped about 9km from Agua Buena. In town there were a few already mentioned small shops, enough to resupply for the next shorter section. We had a great lunch and charged our electronics in restaurant “La Higuera” before heading back out to section four. <br /> <br /> This section took us 4 days to complete.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-18 to 2021-Nov-21 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Marc Anthony<br /> <br /> Hiked this section in 3 1/2 days. I agree with Ian that it was easier than previous sections. Especially because there are more trees and therefore more shade from the scorching sun. This made hiking this section much more enjoyable for me. Met plenty of arrieros riding on the trails and hanging out in their camps. Also had a spectacular view when a big group of them were gathering a lot of cows in an enclosure near the first mountain pass during sun set. <br /> There was only one ford were simply jumping on small rocks to cross the river with dry feet wasn’t possible, but water level was pretty low and the current not too strong, so it was easy enough to walk across.<br /> Was not able to find accommodation in Aguas Buenas, so hopped on a micro bus to San Fernando. Was told that it arrives every hour or so.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-06 to 2020-Jan-09 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank<br /> <br /> All river crossings OK. At KM 47.1 the camp is after you ford the Rio Claro, a few minutes after you reach the road. Water mentioned by Matus &amp; Anna on way to 1780M pass is on the trail @ 1420M. It's a long day if you want to get from Rio Claro camp over the 1780M &amp; 2020M passes to good water &amp; camping @ Water 19. The bush bashing section is well below the 2030M pass. Try to get the entry point exactly right or it will be nearly impassible. 2 good shops in Agua Buena &amp; a good restaurant, La Higuera. Updated transport section.<br /> <br /> 6KM from Coya after 2 footbridges there is a trail junction. If you fork right onto OH-TL-V@03-B-#001, when you reach the road access to it is blocked by a high fence. I was able to get through a small hole in the fence but it would be better to fork left as regular route is shorter &amp; avoids the fence<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-13 to 2019-Dec-17 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes<br /> <br /> Overview: For this section I had a few issues with my GPS and the track files. As a result, I personally had trouble navigating this section. On the other hand, I think this section is relative easier compared to the other sections in the area. It is shorter and there are not too many difficulties. I took the alternate over a large pass which was a huge highlight for me in this section. I recommend this although there is a lot of cross country involved and is a little slower and longer. Aguas Buena has two “mini shops” with enough food for me to continue to section 4. There is also a restaurant/bar that sells empanadas for $1.000 each.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: Navigation (for me)<br /> <br /> Highlights: Nice views, clear creeks and rivers.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-07 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days, including one nero day. Regular trail is in good condition. <br /> <br /> I agree with what was written, I just want to clarify that overgrown part of trail (cca 1km) is after the pass (2030m), which is first marked pass in gps files. After the last posts we were not sure. <br /> Last good water source is in the climb to the pass (1780m), but filtration needed. There is one more further in the junction with optional trail, but it was quite slow and it would be challenging to take enough water from it. <br /> <br /> River crossings were not a problem. In the morning after a second cross of Rio Claro river was suddenly at least twice as stronger, but looked still crossable.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-26 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tyler &amp; America<br /> <br /> the optional track around the last big climb of the route is pretty dang difficult to navigate in a couple places. Be prepared for some bush bashing and the route to not be the most accurate. I had downloaded satellite AND topo maps of the section on Gaia GPS and this was very valuable in finding the best ways through this. Bush Bashing: OH-BB-A@03-03-#006. Trail down to Rio Antivero (last half SOBO): OH-TL-V@03-03-#009<br /> <br /> It took us six days to hike this section. We took a great nearo day down by Rio Claro. Agreed with everything said by Martina. This section was pretty challenging navigation wise for us too. We decided to take the shortest optional route around the second pass. The bush bashing section was THICK. I would say nearly impassable. Luckily I had satellite version of the route downloaded on Gaia and found an easy route around it. After this the trial was very overgrown. Past the puesto and descending back down to Rio Antivero, the route was VERY difficult to find on steep terrain. We had to emergency camp and found our way out the next day after finding a well worn trail near the bottom that led us down safely. If I were to do it again I would just stick to the recommended route the whole second half. In San Fernando we found a horse right next to Hostel O Higgins with private room/both for 20,000. Definitely the best prices in town by far.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-24 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina and Ivo<br /> <br /> It took us five days to walk this section. Water levels are very low, so river crossings never caused any problems. One short part of the trail (1 km) after the second pass is quite overgrown and we were really glad doing it downhill and not uphill (northbound). Instead of climbing the third pass we took the alternative route to the East and from there the exploration route, again to the East. The &quot;yellow&quot; part of it was a 700 m hell of a suicidal bush bashing, but mainly because there was thick fog and we couldn't get an overview at the top. The rest of the route (orange) was a trail in good condition. Back on the alternative route we couldn't find a safe way to start the bush bashing part, so we turned around and again took the exploration route, which was a great decision, as we found a trail in excellent condition. In Aguas Buenas are some small tiendas but for accommodation you'd have to go to San Fernando. There is a Microbus twice a day (morning at ??? and evening at 17:00).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> ==Start Regular Route: Coya==<br /> Buses once every daytime hour from Rancagua Terminal Rural to Coya.<br /> <br /> ==Finish Regular Route: Agua Buenas==<br /> <br /> See also [[GPT04]]<br /> <br /> Bus every half hour from Agua Buena to San Fernando. If you don't want to walk the last 5-6 KM to Agua Buena it should be easy to hitch a lift with fruit farm workers.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT03 - Ríos Claros]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:GPT03.jpg|GPT03, by [http://notabadplacetopee.com/gpt01/ Austin Davis]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT06_(Descabezado)&diff=113239 2023-12-22T16:12:01Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-18 to 2023-Dec-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+{06-D} / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> It is the most amazing section from GPT01 to here so far!<br /> <br /> I hiked RR, it is still covered by tons of snow, i recommend use ice axe and micro spikes if you want to hike from Portezuelo Las Cruces(pass) to El Estadio(pass), there is some really steep snow slope. (RR-TL-V)<br /> <br /> <br /> I hopped the gate to the park at 6:30. No one was there.<br /> <br /> There are 3 main pass for RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> First pass, snow start at km14.3(2050m), not difficult for climbing up to pass[15.4/2257].<br /> <br /> Laguna Las Animas(lake)[16.7/2286] is still frozen, very beautiful. I climbed up on some rocks at the north side of the lake, then mostly choose my own way to climb up to pass, because RR look steep.<br /> <br /> Arrive the pass[19.4/2547], if you are not comfortable with snow, it is the LAST CHANCE to turn back.<br /> <br /> Pass is flat and dry, you can camping here but windy.<br /> <br /> There are no RR after the pass because covered by many snow, find a way go down to valley by snow slope, then walk all the way on snow to km20.2, you can see the trail but on the other side at km20.2, steep go down the snow slope then connect to RR.<br /> <br /> Follow the trail about 5min, you will go into a big valley, trail and the whole valley covered by snow, but you can see a trail is at the far away other side of valley.<br /> <br /> Go your own way to water[22.0/2279], i think it is lot ways to go down, but dont too close to cliff side, it is steep and easily to fall off.<br /> <br /> After you arrive water[22.0/2279], then straight forward to km22.6.<br /> <br /> A large flat area can fit lot of tents at the downhill side of km22.6.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> After km22.6, the most dangerous part begins, from here to km26, lot of steep snow slope you need to cross, be careful, kick step and don't slide.<br /> <br /> Km26 is another large flat area for camping, i camped here with nice sunrise.<br /> <br /> Snow continues to km26.6, but easy way. The first pass's snow end.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> About the second pass, snow start at ford[29.4/2190], strong flow and look like up to thighs, i cross it on snow bridge.<br /> <br /> Stay on east side until km31.25, then stay down walking in the valley, easier than on the slope.<br /> <br /> Although full of snow, but I think it is easy to go to the pass[33.8/2695] from here, so i dont mention the details. It is also easy to go down, most of them are gentle slope.<br /> <br /> Snow end at km41.4, but mostly you can find some flat sandy spot start at km39.1.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Hot spring[45.6/1881] : completely dry. Some camping spots with rock wall nearby.<br /> <br /> Water,camp[48.1/1837] : amazing oasis in desert! Clear and cold water, some shade, also lot of swallows flying in the sky catching some food for their kid.<br /> <br /> Km49.1 - km49.8 : best view point of Volcán Descabezado Grande and Volcán Azul! If you want to camp with stunning views, bring water at oasis then climb up here, lot of sandy spots beside some rocks, enjoy you sleep with volcano.<br /> <br /> Km53.2 - km54.7 : Laguna del Caracol(lake), maybe because too much snow melts? Trail underwater, you need to walk in the lake shore for a while.<br /> <br /> Camp[56.3/2034] : oasis again! Crystal clear and cold water! It is possible to cut off from km56 to x[57.3/2073] directly, stream flowing slow and up to knee.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Third pass, steep climb up to km57.9, if you follow RR, then you will turn right and face some steep snow climbing up.<br /> <br /> If you look up at left side, there is some foot steps straight climb up on a dry slope, which is no snow but looses sand.<br /> <br /> I go for the left one to the pass, ok but steep and really tried.<br /> <br /> Most of the snow is after pass, from pass[59.3/2518] to km61.5, first go to east side go around the snow, then you will find a trail, follow it a little then go your own way in snow valley. <br /> <br /> I follow RR, mostly easy to go down until km61.5, a steep slope. I don't want to take the risk, so i crossed a snow bridge to a sandy slope at south side. Go down the slope and rejoin RR about km62.1.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[63.4/1909] : i crossed the river beside a huge rock, below knee at morning. The huge rock also provide some wind protection, i saw some camping trace beside it.<br /> <br /> Volcán Los Hornitos : km65.3, {06-D}, just beside RR, no need CC, a trail leads you to the top, just climb up 70m! Go for it!<br /> <br /> Lastly with no luck, i saw a car going down just 10min before i arrived the road, then no more cars, so i walk all the way to Los Cipreses.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Met a super friendly worker at Los Cipreses, he give me some cherry to eat and a ride to Los Alamos. A tiny shop there , if you are not picky, a little pricey but enough food resupply for 1 people six days. It have a sign &quot;Almacen&quot; at its front gate. You can ask locals where it is, i saw many workers go to there buy things.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-dec-3/ 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; 6 option 1 / Lukas en Tess<br /> <br /> As this was our first section on the GPT and there still was a lot of snow in the mountains we decided to play it safe and folow option 1 from el Bolsón. It is less steep and less long above the snoweline about 2000m at the time. It went great but Tess burned her eyes so good sunglasses are definetly a must when hiking in the snow. From there we continued the RR at Laguna del Caracol we had to walk in the lake on the edge, no idea if that's normal but it was funny. The next and final big obstacle was the pass on k59 we decided to try and bypass it because it looked very steep with a lot of snow and ice and Tess with her burning eyes had a hard time looking at any snow at her feet. So we went up right next to it (north). Realy though rock scrambling but we managed. Going down the next valley was okay with the snow but crossing rivers covered in snow is tricky so try to avoid it. Walking into los Cipreces we were told we were not supposed to be there but still we had lunch in the cafeteria and they fixed a ride to bring us to the road, realy nice people there. From there we hitchhiked to el colorado where we stayed for two days to let Tess' eyes heal.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-14 to 2023-Mar-19 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Parque Ingles - Los Cipreses / Noemie<br /> <br /> Parque Inglés - El Bolsón - Termas de Azufre - Blanquillo - Laguna Hornitos - Los Cipreses<br /> <br /> First try on the GPT and amazing section to start. There were buses from Molina at 10am and 5pm going to Parque Ingles. You must arrive there before 1pm and buy an entrance for El Bolson (with camping) to enter the Park. It's also possible to camp in Parque Ingles (7.000 CLP/night). When I entered, CONAF asked me where I was going, if I had a GPS, and gave me some kind of permit to show in Los Cipreses. I wasn't asked to show it when I arrived there though. <br /> Landscapes and panoramas were extremely beautiful and very impressive. There was still water in all marked points and fords were easy to cross. Trail is easy to follow almost everywhere, except after Termas de Azufre (be careful to look for the right pools on the map and do not go up too much, I ended up in a place with almost boiling water). The whole section is full of beautiful sand dunes, so gaiters were extremely useful. In Blanquillo, you are supposed to get an authorization from the dueño to stay there, but it looks like it is not really enforced. I spent a day in Blanquillo to rest, drink maté and learn how to make sopaipillas with Umberto. I hitchhiked from Los Cipreses to San Clemente (one hostel, two supermarkets, decent to resupply) so I can't comment on the bus schedule. However, to come back to Los Cipreses/Termas del Médano, be aware that there is now only a bus leaving at 3pm from Talca, going up until La Mina. I took a small bus to Colorado on morning (every 45 min.) and hitchhiked easily back until Laguna del Maule for GPT 07.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-21 to 2023-Mar-25 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Vilches — Volcan – Parque Ingles / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Our last section on the GPT for this year! We started in Vilches Alto with the option 06-05 because we rented horses with the arriero Jose Lopez. The beginning is placed in the Reserva Nacional Altos de Lircay, which requires a permit to go until the Volcan. The entrance fee is also 7k pp. We finished our first day at Camp, CONAF {06-05} [10.2/1158]. I believe we mostly followed the GPS track. <br /> <br /> On the second day, we continued with the horses until Hot Spring {06} [45.6/1881] (Banos del Blanquillo) still following the track. We then were disappointed because the arriero left us here whereas our agreement (clearly stated by messages before the rent) was to climb the volcano with the horses (it turns to be not possible, too steep).<br /> Thankfully, we had an excess day of food so we could attempt the climb the next day. We also met Umberto, the guy staying in the refugio, who was extremely friendly. He told us to start the volcano climb early in the night to avoid heavy winds. <br /> <br /> On Day 3, we started the ascent at 2am with our headlights. 6h30 later we were on the top, with the morning lights rewarding us and stunning landscape. The ascent was extremely tiresome (sand material), as always with volcanos, and it was very cold but the crater and the views were very worth it. After a breakfast at the top, the descent, mostly running, took us about 2h. We rested for the rest of day at Banos del Blanquillo and even got a sopapilla making class with Umberto.<br /> <br /> On Day 4, we followed the RR in the beautiful Descabezado landscape. Expect no shade but stunning dunes of white sand. There is plenty of water during the day because you will cross at least 2 rivers that were not dry this late in the season. The trail is easy to follow (because that is the only one) and is also part of the Circuit of the Condores. However, after Ford {06} [29.4/2190], you have about a dozen of options and the navigation until Hot Spring {06} [27.4/1986] (Hot Sping del Azufre) is more challenging. We decided to ignore the GPS and follow our instinct - just aim for the fumerolles. There you can enjoy a hot bath in one of the three hot natural pools (along some weird soft alguees). <br /> <br /> On Day 5, we simply followed the RR until Parque Ingles. The trail is well marked until the end, you just have to enjoy multiple highlights in the landscape. Of note, when reaching El Bolsón, the CONAF ranger forbid us to bath in the pools because it was too late (3PM) and told us to leave the park before 5:30. He was not friendly and also checked the entrance tickets of Livan Ray. We got extremely lucky and caught a bus leaving Parque Ingles when we reached it (it leaves at 5:00).<br /> <br /> This hike concludes our GPT adventure. We loved to start it riding horses to feel a bit more like the trails main user. The final day hiking and the volcano ascent were astonishing, truly one of (or even the) best section of our GPT.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-03 to 2023-Feb-08 / 6 days/ Hiking / SOBO / RR + Descabezado / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé<br /> <br /> Our first trip on the GPT, plenty of water, we didnt carry more than 1.5L each. Here is our trip :<br /> <br /> Day 1 - Laguna Las Animas - 18km - +1200m/-100m<br /> We entered the parc illegally at 7:30 in the morning as some others hikers have done reading the wiki. We did this because the parc was full for the next 3 days. I can only advise you to book in advance on internet (conaf). We slept at a camping in front of the entrance for 7k CLP per person. Plenty of buses goes up there from Molina in 2 hours. At least a dozen. Same for going back. If you buy your ticket online : if you sleep at El Bolson, you can enter the park until 3pm, if you go further with only the El Bolson ticket, you can entered until 11am only!<br /> So, we hiked until the Laguna las Animas, a rather long day for the first one.<br /> The camp on the beach was quite windy too.<br /> <br /> Day 2 - Termas de Azufre - 11km - +400m/-700m<br /> A short day, nice to enjoy the hot springs in the afternoon. The pass in the morning was very windy too.<br /> <br /> Day 3 - Refugio El Blanquillo - 20km - +800m/-900m<br /> A long but beautiful day. Leave early the camp to avoid hot temperatures while ascending the pass. Well welcomed by the arrierio Umberto ! Very kind.<br /> <br /> Day 4 - Volcan Descabezado Grande - 16km - +2000m/-2000m<br /> We did the ascent without our bags, we went back to our camp in the night. It's long and hard. According to Umberto, 12h are needed in total, we did in 10h. Same, Leave early to avoid hot temperatures. <br /> <br /> Day 5 - Laguna los Hornitos - 20km - +900m/-900m<br /> Another nice day, passing next to Laguna Caracol. The descent from the pass is a bit annoying if you didnt follow the track (as we did). So, advice : follow the RR and go down on your right. The Laguna is very dry, just enough to have a bath. Hard to maintain the pitch of the tent in the dry dirt.<br /> <br /> Day 6 - Los Cipreses - 15km - +100m/-1000m<br /> Last short day to end this beautiful section. The gravel road is a bit boring but passing pickup are proposing you to get you down to the main road. Here, only one bus at 7am. And a little shop selling ice cream, chips and drinks. We hitchiked to El Colorado where plenty of buses are going down to Talca for 2 000 CLP (+ 400 CLP per bag)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-24 to 2023-Jan-30/ 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Descabezado / Martial<br /> <br /> First trip 6 days on GPT being a wonderfully intense experience ! Lunar landscapes, silent and remote, few but great people. No particular difficulty.<br /> Started park ingles with a mandatory 7000peso night at quiet camping near the river and bought ticket for Bolsón overnight 8$. Finally did not stay at Bolson a half day walk from entrance and camped in Laguna de las Animas instead. Great spot for Condors watching. After that follow Will’s advice and put on your mandatory gaiters till the end of the section ! + Walking on sand can be tough for the ankle. Don’t resist and don’t do too much !! Learned it the painfull way.. Trail visible but don’t get confused at termas Azufres especially if you try the (very) hot pools ! RR way is up the valley. Camp with water possible before the pass. The way down called « la Calle » is beautifull sandy dune remote desert. Exceptional. Aimed for Blanquillo refugio aka best basecamp for Descabezado intent. Meet Umberto the arriero at the hut and ask him where the termal pool and the drinking water are. He may be offended if you don’t show up and is a nice generous guy ! Also had a Chilean horse riding group intended the Descabezado so were a nice bunch by the camp fire. As weather window was fine, I decided to try a high camp in order to preserve weak foot from a very long ascent (10h). Took plenty of water as they are only glaciar dirty patches up there and aimed for Descabezado to Cerra Azul osm trail just as Nat and Tomas did (so i could have a chance to summit both also). Finally chose not to cross the nasty glaciar but found a very well sheltered highcamp here (-35.60569, -70.76147). Incredible sunset ! Not advisable in case of rain coming (a storm was growing in Argentina so stayed prepared for an emergency descent). Next day summited Descabezado at 11AM with no wind ideal conditions. Dive your front foot flat in sand just like snow climb when it gets to steep ! Nice ski descent sensations straight to the termas for a well deserved rest at the termas ! Also met Carlos a local climbing half way up so we would share joy later at the camp :).<br /> Exit through RR is also nice but regreted haven’t camped here (-35.67102, -70.83649) for there was some playfull trouts to catch with my survival fishing kit !<br /> Beautiful view from the pass to sandyland and then landscape changes and recommend OH variant C descending (less overgrown). Trail not so visible till laguna los hornos witch i climbed volcano to enjoy the crater caldera. After that descent to los Cipreses is kind of boring and hot so was definitely happy to find a camping by the bridge after the gate with lovely Victorina and her family here (-35.81524, -70.83224). They have been incredibly carring, fed me and brought me to the termas caves (also worth it) in El Medano !<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-16 to 2023-Jan-25 / 10 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH 06-02 &amp; 06-03 Laguna Maule to Vilches w/ volcans / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> An extremely long description so my apologies but hopefully it will help someone. We Started in Laguna del Maule and ended in Vilches with inclusion of Descabezado, Azul, Descabezado Chico and Colorado.<br /> <br /> All fords super easy or jump-able. Only times water was scarce was Descabezado and Azul (technically there is melt water from glaciers at Azul), the afternoon around Descanezado Chico and also water was scarce around the Laguna des acquas caliente because I would not trust drinking that water (some springs are cold water though). Weather turned bad only once while we were climbing Azul, the change happened rapidly and we went from blue skies to total white out (~10m or less visibility) within an hour. Other than that weather was amazing, a little cold at night and a little warm in the day.<br /> <br /> Happy we started in Laguna del Maule and finished in Vilches. This saved elevation gain and let us decide whether or not we had enough food in the end to climb Descabezado, Azul, chico and for Tomáš Colorado.<br /> <br /> Day1.<br /> Starting in Talca, due to a certain someone (me) I accidentally sent Tomáš and I too Molina on a bus instead of &quot;la mina&quot; so our day was very messed up but we still managed to take a bus to Colorado and hitchhike to the start of this route. Buses from Talca to la Mina go at; 7:00am, 1:00pm (only to la Suiza), 3:00pm and 7:00pm. We took a bus to Colorado due to time and hitched the rest of the way. The last hitch was in a snowplow truck and he dropped us off miraculously at the start of the trail and before any customs or checks.<br /> <br /> OH-TL-V {06-02} (109.1). Straight away the trail is hard to see, do not take the road-looking trail on the side of the mountain because it ends, stick to the gps. However soon we were walking on the correct route through the sand and down to a creek with fun boulders. Easy to follow. After this first creek we followed option OH-CC-A (06-02) {98} For only -5km until making camp in-between a river and and canal with flowing water. Bogs in this area slowed us down a lot.<br /> <br /> Day2. <br /> OH- {06-02} -[ (93) &amp; (86) ]<br /> This day seemed long, we crossed two passes, one small (-35.94909, -70.45347) and one much larger (-35.88855, -70.46776). I liked the entire area south of the second pass, many beautiful camp spots, water was available almost to the top of the pass and there is also a nice waterfall/swimming pool located roughly around (-35.90452, -70.45218). Trail to first pass was easy but trail between first and second was much more cross country, there are many animal tracks, I followed the gps and Tomáš followed a trail closer to the river and we both ended up at the same spot... After the second pass, the GPX goes cross-country right away, but one can follow a trail that goes left and later reconnects with GPx.<br /> <br /> After the second pass there is a small plateau and then it follows down a creek with water until you must cross an east hill and go towards your first mountain puesto to the east (noone home). There is only a little bit of water here, better water at the creek you came from and or a few creeks ahead. <br /> <br /> From the puesto (-35.86707, -70.47589) there is a good trail that trvaerses the slope ahead. We should have camped but we continued. There were a few nice creeks that were passed along the way. We were forced to make a &quot;make-shift&quot; camp before hitting a much nicer plateau because it was dark and I was not having a good day 😅. It is about 6 km between the puesto and the plateau.<br /> <br /> Day 3<br /> OH {06-02} [78.6] + [75.7] + [63.6]<br /> Easy day, only one small pass. There is an ex-carabiniero puesto at (-35.84277, -70.40285) and a highlight was two rivers, one at (-35.76317, -70.42051) and one river at (-35.74734, -70.45623). The GPX is marked as trail a bit further than the actual trail goes (the trail continues to a puesto down-river). You need to go down a ridge and ford the river, there were some footsteps that can be followed. We walked near {06-02E} along a river filled with sand and not great for drinking but there is a creek that starts/ends here (-35.72759, -70.44125). We camped near this way point in the sand but it got windy at night, we wished we camped a bit further from the river in the little hills where it was considerably less windy. <br /> <br /> Day4<br /> OH {06-02} [59.6] + [29.1] + {06-02D}<br /> <br /> This day we passed a large pass (-35.65200, -70.43356) via {06-02D}. This option was more direct and involved a very short and easy scramble onto a windy plateau. Surprisingly lots of water up towards the pass, last one being (-35.66343, -70.42666) , however the water available had a lot of sand in it, fyi. From camp we followed a cow trail until a lake like feature (-35.70057, -70.42733) and then went cross country. I hope my cairns marking the turn for {06-02D} survive. <br /> <br /> After the pass the true Descabezado environment begins. We both made note of how terrible it would be to be on this plateau in bad weather, very open and CC. Next water source would be a couple of creeks here (-35.61215, -70.42156). From a break at this creek we ended up going straight down the creek bed. Kind of exhausting mentally and would not be possible in early season due to water levels but it shot us out directly in line for making a green camp here (-35.56164, -70.44009). <br /> <br /> Day 05<br /> OH {06-02} [29.1] + [20]<br /> Lagunas de aquas calientes day. <br /> An easy day with a lot of time spent at Aquas Caliente, true to the name. <br /> Trail from camp was easy to follow until (-35.53519, -70.46551) and then it went CC to the Laguna. If shelter is needed in this open landscape we found a rock shelter here (-35.51276, -70.51035). The creek feeding the Laguna was fabulously warm in places - either at the source of the creek or at a spring on the right side about 100m upriver. Tomáš found the proper source of the spring here (-35.50395, -70.52347). It is easy to get sunburn why bathing mid-day though. There are some camping spots near the creek. After this Laguna there is a nasty and windy sand stretch until a creek located here (-35.48980, -70.57667). On this stretch I chose not to follow the sand but detoured on more solid ground to the east (-35.48839, -70.56200) and was glad I did. Later on we found snow melt here (-35.48544, -70.59940) and loaded all the water we would need for night/morning and exploring Descabozado Chico the next day. <br /> <br /> Day 06<br /> OH {06-02} [20] + {06-02C Chico} + [4.5]<br /> Descabozado Chico + Vulcan Colorado (Tomáš)<br /> <br /> Went up and around the crater of Descabozado Chico in the morning which I highly recommend. The crater is easy to walk around and gives an amazing 360 experience. The climb up is tedious but non-dangerous scree that makes for a super fast decent. Make sure you have enough water because water is scarce there. I saw a waterfall on the NE side the lake but did not go to it, Tomáš got water somewhere off trail around here (-35.51226, -70.65626) and I drank out of the next lake -35.52036, -70.65873 (questionable, but nothing happened to me). <br /> From the lake the next pass begins and I stupidly made Tomáš and I carry 5L of water up it because I did not think there would be water on the south side (both of us overlooking the river indicated on the map)...I was wrong, no water high up but lots of water down low. For the pass we opted not to follow the route because it was thick steep sand so we instead climbed a more solid ridge here (-35.52506, -70.66854). Tomáš went to continue up Vulcan Colorado and I boringly traversed to the normal pass and enjoyed a very fun sand ski down the south side. The Vulcan is a steep but not technical hike up, the crater can be walked around with a steep but fun descent on the other side in SW direction. This pass would be very tiresome climbing up due to sand. If you are coming from the opposite direction and do not trust the lagoon water then you should aim for (-35.51226, -70.65626) or bring water.<br /> <br /> Everything this day was CC. I found it to be the hardest day navigation-wise but still not troublesome. We finished the day in a nice valley before the next days climb here (-35.55427, -70.70793). The water around this area is a bit sandy but better further up.<br /> <br /> Day 07 <br /> Last pass and New route possibly <br /> <br /> From camp a trail existed to the pass at -35.55228, -70.73791. There was a little bit of snow at the top but since there were already steps made, it was zero problem. Lots of water on the SE of this pass but only a trickle of water on the NW side at -35.54575, -70.75672. This water trickle point is where we left the trail to make a short cut to Descabezado. To our surprise our route worked and in 4hrs we were making a camp at 2630m next to the approach trail to Descabezado, therefore saving a lot of time, distance and elevation. In our route there was only one difficulty and that was a deep gorge and creek &quot;jump&quot; at -35.57904, -70.77929. Personally I would not recommend this in early season because the consequence of falling in the river might take you down a waterfall and the traverse may otherwise be nasty if there are still snowfields around altitude 2700m. The gorge is fed by the glacier in the crater of Descabezado so in the morning it should be better but the water is very dirty.<br /> <br /> I drew the route on my photos of the pass if anyone wants them. Otherwise here is my description of our route.<br /> <br /> From the small trickle creek at -35.54575, -70.75672 head SW up the creek bed in the direction of this easy pass ***-35.55513, -70.76977. Nearby spots would work too except for the pass directly above the creek bed, the other side of that one had snow and rocks. After this pass I believe it is easiest to just go straight down and up like a half pipe rather than trying to traverse and keep elevation, we aimed for a middle looking plateau on the other side, this middle plateau took us to the proper crossing of the gorge here, -35.57923, -70.77864 (más o menos). We jumped the gorge and climbed easily up the other side although the other side looks like a scramble it was actually just walking. We travesed this altitude for a little longer (although I would suggest easier walking a little lower) until we made camp in a ravine very close to the Descabezado approach route. Our camp even had a small amount of flowong snow melt so it was heaven in my mind! (Camp with water; -35.59280, -70.78723). <br /> <br /> Day 8<br /> Descabezado &amp; Azul.<br /> <br /> This is turning into a novel so I will keep this short. We left our tent in place and set off early to do Descabezado and Azul as a day trip. Descabezado was straightforward, it seems the trail will change slightly every year depending on who makes the tracks (neither the route in oSM or GPT seem to follow the actual trail from about 2600 to 3300). If wanting to make the true summit it looks like you have to go down into the crater, cross the glacier and approach it from the other side. Coming down Descabezado was very fast but we made a huge mistake and left the GPT trail to follow the other osm route that heads east then west called &quot;Descabezado Grande - Quizapu - cerro Azul&quot;. <br /> <br /> This route should be avoided for many reasons apart from the fact that the other route is easier despite elevation gain (we took the other route back). This osm route took us here -35.61301, -70.75604 which was actually a glacier covered in sand with a small hanging glacier above causing a lot of rockfall, it was a very ugly place and we carefully got out of there and made or way to the proper route to Azul. Despite loosing almost 2hours on an already tight day we continued (although I wasted an extra 30min due to making up my mind🙄). Once again on the way up to Azul we did not follow the normal way but went to the east side of the crater of Azul where the bad osm route is. There were a foot print here and there but it was CC. The crater was amazing but too windy to enjoy much, we saw a few fumaroles. We continued CC to the base of Azul, a tiny bit of snow (or glacier remnants?) but posed no difficulties. The base of Azul is beautiful with melt water if needed. We followed the ridge to Azul, it was more involved than Descabezado but no more than a low 3rd class (it is a bit exposed and steep but almost exclusively hiking). There is a interesting summit tower on Azul but because of the wind and time we had no desire to stretch our limits. Weather moved in fast and before we were off the ridge of Azul we were completely covered in a white out, maybe maximum 10m of visibility. Navigation was incredibly hard but we took our chances and took the other (&quot;valle&quot;) OSM route down and luckily it was a very easy route and we were down below the clouds and able to see again. The rest of the night was CC back to our camp ~1030pm. It as a good day. <br /> <br /> Day 9.<br /> <br /> From our camp in the ravine we headed CC and then onto the trail that lead to the puesto at basecamp Blancquillo and from then on we were on a good trail. While walking down we opted to stay in sandals and just walk in the river, it was refreshing. We didn't have clean water until the valley bottom at the CONAF camp (valley El venado) where there was also lots of pear trees and yellow plum-like trees. Many people there (first people seen). We made camp at the river before the pass (Mirador del valle del venado) but the walk from the CONAF camp until then was slower than expected because it was along a river bed with confusing tracks.<br /> <br /> Day 10.<br /> <br /> Good trail up and down from Mirador del valle del venado with lots of water and trees for shade. Took us almost half the time we thought it would take. Note that you cannot actually camp at campsites/restong areas on this trail after the Mirador. The CONAF guards asked us where we were coming from and when we said Laguna del Maule he just sounded impressed and let us go on our way. There was a decent restaurant with empanadas, beer ext near the bus stop . There was a posted schedule of the bus but it clearly did not follow this schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus. <br /> <br /> Great trip, beautiful views and details and just the right amount of challenge.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-20 to 2023-Jan-23 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Ondrej <br /> <br /> I got to Parque Inglés from Santiago de Chile by taking a train to Curico (advice: if you want to travel by train, buy a ticket online at least 2 days in advance as it books out quickly). From Curico I took a blue collectivo to Molina and then a bus to Parque Ingles.<br /> <br /> At the park entrance I was turned away by a CONAF officer because I bought a “day trip” ticket (El bolson - para día) and not the one with overnight camping. For the ticket I bought they allow entry only by 11:00am. I did not explain that I will continue beyond El Bolson - maybe I should have done that but did not want to get myself into more unnecessary discussions. CONAF said they cannot change my ticket to the “camping” type and when I tried to book the other one, it was booked out for the next two days, so the advice is book early and the right ticket type (el bolson - camping)!<br /> <br /> I ended up camping at the Rocas Basilicas for the night.<br /> <br /> On the first hike day hopped the gate to the park at 7:00. No one was there so no issues. I hiked to Thermas de Azufre. It was a very long day. There is no shade at all after El Bolson. I made a provisional shade using my tent’s footprint during lunchbreaks. Once I arrived to the Azufre hotsprings, a few arrieros were there. I decided to camp further up the river.<br /> <br /> On the second day I hiked to Refugio Blanquillo, met a settler who resides there for three months each year (if I understood correctly). The scenery before the refugio was otherwoŕldy and beautiful. Gaiters, good hat, sunscreen and sunglasses were my most loved pieces of gear. I camped at the first “camp” waypoint after Refugio Blanquillo. Amazing place to camp (but no grass), with a good stream and even some small shade thanks to the bushes. <br /> <br /> My third day was quite straightforward, I made it almost to Los Cipresses but decided to camp close to the last “water” checkpoint, shortly before the gate with the guard. It was alright but I would recommend walking all the way to the shop and camp there for the night.<br /> <br /> On the fourth day I walked through the gate with the security guard. I also met a number of the power station workers and all were friendly. We waved at each other. The guard at the gate was nice, took my passport number and name. Once at the shop I found it was closed (9am). I needed to get to El Medano to join GPT07 and decided to continue hiking through Los Alamos. It might have been to early (10am) as also the almacén in Los Alamos was closed. The road after Los Almacén was uneventful and a bit sketchy at places, so I forded the river at the “bridge” waypoint after Los Alamos to get to the main road and hitchike to El Medáno. Got a ride in approx 20 min. El Medáno is a great base - the thermals are nice and there is an electricity socket next to the toilets. They have shade for the tent too. There is also a restaurant with filling foods and a small shop.<br /> <br /> Overall a fantstic section but I wasn’t expecting the heat to be that oppresive!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-31 to 2023-Jan-3 / 5 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR / David and Erika<br /> <br /> Get to TH Parque ingle before 1:00 pm, otherwise they close it for entrance. We did get internet and got the correct CONAF ticket -the one heading to El Bolsón. Once you get out of the park and into the Cuesta Las Anima, the wild parts begin. Hope you got your dirty girl gaiters; cause you’re going to need them. Sand city. Gaiters worked great. Remote and desolately beautiful. Water up at the end of Laguna del Caracol, at the river that comes out of the ground, you have a dry climb ahead. Walk out was straightforward. Got a lift from ENEL employee.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-28 to 2022-Dec-29 / 2 days/ Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I connected in Thermas Azufre from GPT 05. I recommend it as a camping spot. I have seen the tracks of people staying on the western side of the valley but I think it is better to ford, there is anoce trail there on the eastern side. There is a place with and island where I needed to remove my shoes just for about three meters (the stream was not strong enough for me to keep the shoes on).<br /> <br /> I took a detour to the lake at the pass - nice. No snow anymore. Reached the Refugio Blanquillo (which is a puesto, an arriero had two dogs and a thousand shep there), met a group of tourists on horses and two Chilean hikers there, so crowded all of a sudden. The pool there is indeed lukewarm. The water from the stream is said not to be good - I filtered it (for the first time on GPT) and was fine. But if not climbing the volcano, I would recommend to camp 2 km further at the next water source. I no longer carry water with me and just drink a lot when I find a source, there is a lot of them, even in the semidesert (the sand is actually white pumice from the volcanoes). It is quite dusty, my hands got dry and that normally does not happen to me. I agree with the recommendation to apply sunscreen at least three times a day! <br /> <br /> The second day I walked all the way to the main road. Stthe pass, there is still a bit of snow but white manageable. Going down from the lake, there is no water until around half or one third of the minor road in the valley, beware. Walking-wise, this was the easiest section on GPT for me. At the mainroad, the camping at the shop after the bridge was closed. I hitched somebody in he truck who knew the owners, called them and they came to open it for me. 5000 pesos but I gave the lady 10000 as she had to drive here to open the aging for me. There is electricity and cold shower and shadow. Almost nothing at the shop. The bus is said to leave at seven. I slept and now will try hitchhiking.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-20 to 2022-Dec-24 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> Amazing trail! It's quite desolate but the landscape varies enough to always keep things interesting. Trudging up the sandy hills could be demoralizing, but getting to run down the other side more than made up for it. Water was still plentiful though not much snow was left, I only had to cross a few small patches. Thankfully heat wasn't a problem at all for me, I even felt cold a few times with the altitude and wind.<br /> <br /> Caught the 5pm bus from Molina to Radal for 3000 pesos, then a van came by a few minutes later to take us to parque inglés for another 3000. Was nice to meet a bunch of Chilean hikers, who were all going to El Bolson and back. We camped at the Rocas Basílicas campsite right at parque inglés, 7000 pesos next to a beautiful river.<br /> <br /> I had phone signal at parque inglés, so I bought the pass online for 8 USD. There was no one at the Conaf office at 7 30 the next morning, so I just hopped the gate and walked through. <br /> <br /> I ran into a few arrieros relaxing at the Azufre hot springs, the only people I saw along the trail. They were friendly but it was tough to understand their heavy Chilean Spanish. They said I could camp with them but there wasn't a ton of room so I walked on.<br /> <br /> There were some geysers shooting up from the muddy riverbank near the gpx track so I took a wider route around. An arriero also told me to take a trail higher up along the dunes so I followed that to the ford. The ford looked tough so I kept walking 2ish km along the other side until I could easily hop across. But it was slow going, probably not worth it.<br /> <br /> I ended up having to camp on a random sand dune. I had some trouble getting my tent to stay up tied to rocks, since I couldn't get stakes in. I'd definitely recommend using tieouts you can really secure to rocks, or even a freestanding tent.<br /> <br /> The rest of the hike went smoothly. I easily made it to los cipreses in three days of hiking from parque inglés. The guard was super friendly, inviting me in and giving me a bunch of water. I camped across the street from the shop near the bus stop, ask at the shop if you want to camp there. The guy running the camping was also super nice, he messaged the bus driver and told me it would be at 9 or 9 30 the next morning, because it was a Saturday (it was also Christmas eve). The bus ended up showing up at 9 45, and costed 3200 pesos to Talca.<br /> <br /> The side trip up Volcan Los Hornitos was very worth it, there's a fairly gradual trail up and you can just sprint straight down. I didn't even need to bring any water (just some gummy bears).<br /> <br /> I got by without gaiters, but bring them if you can. I should have used more sunscreen, the reflection off the sand is strong.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-17 to 2022-Dec-20 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Joining section 6 directly from the previous one with a little challenging connection trail (see our comment from section 5), we continued to the Hot Spring del Azufre. On the way there is one steep traverse. We used hot spring to cook our rice which really saved us as we run out of gas. The landscape on the whole section is amazing, we really enjoyed it! Ascent to the pass is nice and gradual, hiking in the sand is a little slower, but the opposite when going down. We camped at the El Estadio, almost no wind that day, great place to sleep . In the morning we continued on a nice and easy trail, great views around the volcanos… short break by the laguna thats great for swimming. We camped a little before the camp marked in the gps, there is one place, probably used by arrieros, with a fireplace and a few rocks around it. Being out of the gas we set a fire using wood that was already in there and some others we gather during the day. The view to the volcanos must be one of the best we have seen here so far! The next day we continued to the last Hornitos pass and through the valley, again really nice hiking on a clear trail. Last few kms on the road and since we missed the only bus to Talca that is leaving early in the morning (7:00) and did not have luck with hitchhiking, we stayed in a camp right next to the road. Its just a few meters before it, in the same direction we came from. On the left side is a house with some old advertisment sign (coca-cola or similir) on its fence, and the lady there has a small shop. The camp is on the other side - cold shower, toilets, electricity and access to the river, all for 5000 for 2 people. We even got sandwiches for dinner as there was no other place around to eat. Overall, when combining both sections we recommend to plan carefully, but its definitely worth the effort, especially this section 6.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-16 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Anna&amp;Christopher <br /> <br /> The section is pretty tough, but beautiful with a quite unique landscape. We definetly would do it again.<br /> <br /> Recomendations: bring lots of suncreme, a good hat, gaiters.<br /> <br /> How to get there:<br /> We took a bus from Santiago (terminal at the metro station Universidad de Santiago) to Curico. Across the street from the bus terminal in Curico leaves a blue bus to Molina for 1k CLP. From Molina we hitchhiked to Parque Inglés.<br /> You have to be there before 3 pm to be allowed to hike up to El Bolson. To camp they charge 8k CLP p.p and the park entry is also 8k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The first day we started early from El Bolson. From midday on it was super tough due to the white sand which makes walking really tiring and reflects the sun which makes it super hot without shade. The next day was pretty similar.<br /> The whole section there was plenty of water. There was no much snow left at the passes, so we had no trouble without spikes.<br /> On the last day, after arriving to the dirtroad (8 km from los Cipreses), we got offered a ride after a while and the guy brought us directly to El Médano.<br /> The shop there has pasta, rice, bread, tomato salsa, mayo, chips, biscuits/chocolate and suncreme (but quite pricey).<br /> In El Médano we camped for 6k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-03 to 2022-Dec-06 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica<br /> <br /> Route: Parque Inglés - Laguna Ánimas - Termas del Azufre - Termas del Blanquillo - Laguna del Caracol - Laguna de los Hornos - Los Cipreses<br /> <br /> A beautiful, remote section of true mountain wilderness. It took me 4 days, but only 2 hours hiking the dirt road to Los Cipreses on the last day (so very doable in 3 days). The only people I saw were a couple of arrieros at Termas del Blanquillo who told me they hadn't had a winter as snowy as this one in over 10 years. I was glad to have my microspikes for the vast snow fields near/on the passes. A couple places would have felt quite unsafe without them. <br /> <br /> Notable tidbits: <br /> <br /> Took a bus from Molina at 5pm (on a Friday) to El Radal, then hitchhiked to Parque Inglés. I camped there the first night for 7000 pesos. Pricey, but at least I had a beautiful and secluded spot by Rio Claro. <br /> <br /> The stretch between Las Ánimas Pass and Termas de Azufre had some sketchy traverses across disintegrating scree slopes that were downright nerve-wracking. I suppose if you go down to Laguna Mondaca, then back up to the Termas, you may not encounter this hazard. But I did get to observe a condor soar above my head on thermals for an hour as he surveilled his domain, that was super cool. <br /> <br /> For the first ford after Termas de Azufre, I crossed further upstream than indicated on the GPS track (see Carlos's comment below). It looked a lot safer there than downstream. There's continuous snow for about 3 km going over the pass after Thermas de Azufre, best to cross in the morning to avoid postholing when the snow gets too soft. <br /> <br /> Los Hornitos pass has a large, very steep lip of snow (leftover cornice) on its south side. It's possible to go around it by heading north for 50-100 meters and then making your way down on the volcanic sand.<br /> <br /> The spring between Termas del Blanquillo and Laguna del Caracol is a beautiful little desert oasis in an orherwise hot and dry stretch. It was a splendid spot to camp. <br /> <br /> There is LOTS of water. Laguna del Caracol and Laguna de los Hornos are both full of clear, refreshing water. A lot of the &quot;water&quot; GPS waypoints are actually fords this time of year (easy ones), and there's a lot of other water sources not listed on the tracks. But the section is very exposed, no shade, and very hot in the midday sun unless a breeze is blowing. <br /> <br /> No issues with the guards at Los Cipreses, they were friendly and let me pass no problem. From the first bus stop on the road, I hitched easily to Talca to resupply.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-20 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Molly <br /> <br /> Amazing section! I found the landscape to be very varied despite the lack of vegetation - and even with many pretty flowers near the streams. I personally found it to be a great ending to my GPT journey, a big contrast to the landscapes further south. Would make for a tough start though.<br /> Plenty of water. Met one hiker doing Circuito el Cóndor and three Chilean tourists on horseback. No arrieros, but plenty of cows and horses. The weather was cold and windy, sometimes veritable sandstorms which meant I almost couldn't open my eyes - maybe sunglasses could have helped. I wore my long pants over my boots instead of gaiters - should have listened to the advice, so much sand! <br /> <br /> Signs on the way to parque inglés say that you can only buy tickets online - don't know how strict they are, but no cell phone coverage at parque inglés and long before in case they insist. You have to be there before 15 to be let through to El Bolsón.<br /> Easy 11 km to El Bolsón through a young forest. No water at the first &quot;ford&quot; waypoint. Campground has toilets and showers, it's the only place you're allowed to camp until after Valle del Indio. Nice enough place next to the impressive Colmillo del Diablo. In hot weather it might be nice to camp here to take the long ascent in the morning.<br /> Laguna de las Animas would be a good campsite plus a nice place to swim. The first &quot;water&quot; waypoint afterwards is also great for camping - there is a nice little meadow.<br /> Las Animas pass is gorgeous!<br /> After Termas Azufre there are many confusing paths. They mostly seem to lead to the same place, but keep an eye on the GPS. When descending from the 2700 m pass towards Termas Blanquillo, you don't have to cross the stream to your right even though many paths do it. As noted by others, the hot springs Baños del Blanquillo are luke warm - but fine if you want to wash yourself a little and the stream is too cold. The refuge is locked.<br /> The next camp waypoint is in a cute valley with many streams, bushes and flowers. No grass, though. <br /> Laguna Caracol is beautiful as well, but very bare, surrounded by sand. I really liked the campsite afterwards, with views of both Volcán Descabezado and Cerro Azul. From there, a small CC section to the ascent where the path picks up again towards the Hornitos pass. Even more gorgeous with great and very different views to each site. Volcán Hornitos and the other little craters look really funny and special. Some hail was coming in, though, so I quickly slided down to the next camp waypoint, again a nice flat meadow. No water on the ascent. The first streams at the top of the pass were dry, but the path crosses a stream in 2100 m altitude. If you fill up at the water waypoint before the pass I agree you wouldn't have to carry extra water, the time between these two water points is around 2-3 hours.<br /> I climbed to the rim of Volcán Hornitos, there's nothing in there, but if you walk to the highest point the view is nice enough. It took me 20 minutes in total, and it was about worth that.<br /> The gravel road is nice the first kilometres, but then it gets pretty boring. The security guard at the end was very nice and welcoming.<br /> I camped at the shop just before the road - nice place by the river, 3000 per person with toilets and a cold shower, or 50,000 for a cabaña. From there I hitched the 3 km down the road to Restaurant Cordillera, nice enough, great with a beer, meat and fries. <br /> Bus left from the bus shed at 7:20 next morning - think it depends whether it goes to El Médano or not <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-20 to 2022-Jan-25 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Carlos <br /> Route: Parque Inglés - El Bolsón (Colmillo del Diablo summit) - Termas del Azufre - Termas del Blanquillo - Laguna Caracol - First bus stop on CH115 road.<br /> <br /> I hiked this route only a couple of days after Verónica &amp; Jo. Not much to add except:<br /> <br /> First day just hiked to El Bolsón (easy 4 hours), pitched my tent on the gorgeous campsite, left the heavy load and climbed the imposing &quot;Colmillo del Diablo&quot; (easy hike on a trail that goes around the back of the mountain).<br /> <br /> From Termas del Azufre climbing to the pass I followed a faint track on the steep loose slope instead of crossing at the first river ford. After a few hundred meters the track takes you to a flat wide rocky area (just before the slope becomes impossibly steep), where you can very easily ford the river (I didn't even get my feet wet).<br /> <br /> Plenty of buses Molina - Parque Inglés. But only one bus from el Médano - Los Cipreses to Talca, at around 7 am, which returns at 15:00. Only week days. Basic camping just in front of Los Cipreses shop (only ice cream, drinks, choco bars, biscuits): $4.000 pp.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-10 to 2022-Jan-15 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> Route: Parque Inglès -&gt; Laguna de las Animas -&gt; Termas de Azufre -&gt; Descabezado base camp -&gt; Laguna del Caracol -&gt; Laguna Hornitos -&gt; First bus stop on 115-CH<br /> <br /> The five nights we just spent in a tent was the longest stretch we have ever gone without a decent bed on a hike. We skipped Radal, Laguna Mondaca and Termas de Medano, but still hiked in 6 days what others did in 3-4. We're basically easing into the GPT, gaining some fitness and experience before taking on the harder challenges.<br /> <br /> As others have said: the views are otherworldly and stunning. We felt like Touaregs traveling from oasis to oasis in the Saharan desert. Except that there actually are plenty of springs and little rivers flowing in most valleys.<br /> <br /> Useful tidbits:<br /> <br /> - There really is no shade after El Bolsòn. Either you make your own (e.g., adapting your tent to not trap heat) or you dress like a Touareg (loose clothing fully blocking the sun). For us, this was the hardest to deal with. We got up early but often stopped hiking at 13:00, enjoying the lakes or even just sitting down doing nothing that takes energy.<br /> <br /> - High-heeled boots and long trousers work well to keep the sand out.<br /> <br /> - Confirming Shn0rhelez: going up from Termas de Azufre until the second ford indeed passes plenty of water, no need to carry any.<br /> <br /> - Laguna Hornitos is drying up and hence less beautiful than the other lakes. Maybe it's better to camp at the start of the Hornitos plateau (SOBO, so north entry) as the area is flat and there is reasonably clean running water there.<br /> <br /> - There is no bus to Talca from Los Cipreses on saturdays or sundays. We asked at the shop and got a ride to Colorado from the brother-in-law of the shopkeeper for 15000 CLP.<br /> <br /> - In supermarkets, you can buy alcohol desnaturalizado cheaply in the nail polish section, or alternatively, use alcohol de quemar from the combustibles section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-26 to 2022-Jan-04 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / <br /> <br /> From Parque Inglés to the entrance of Reserva Achibueno<br /> Buy your ticket online for “El Bolsón” on the CONAF website and get to the trailhead before 3pm<br /> 4hrs hike to El Bolsón, a great place with waterfall, great views, nice camping spots, hikers<br /> TO CHECK: Bus from Molina to Parque Ingles leaves at 9 am (not positive) on week-ends and holidays <br /> Easy hitch from Radal to Parque Ingles coz lots of campers going there on week-ends<br /> Be careful a ranger told me the park closes on Mondays <br /> It took me around 4 days from Parque Siete Tazas Park entrance to the road Q115 (Central Cipreses)<br /> From Road 115 I hitched to a village by Colbún lake where I resupplied : good supermarkets (a little on the expensive side), food truck , pastry shop <br /> I didn't like Altos de Lircay NP : after El Bolson (4 hrs in) no fucking shade for 3 days and an half except that of a shelter a little off trail, blazing sun all day, sand sand sand, I found the place so inhospitable, monotonous sights : sand dunes for ever, quite some struggling pedalling in the soft sand, plus I had no gaiters (stupid me) and low heels shoes so that was a bummer. However the place is super special, feels like on the moon (beautiful pictures) and I can understand why many love it<br /> Some “hot springs” are actually just luke and others just a hole or boiling hot (I added these informations to the track and waypoints I sent to Jan Dudek) so don't be like me fantasizing all day on that fantastic bath you will get or wait for Jan's update (thanks so so much for all you do mate).<br /> After resupplying I hitched on option 7 XXX all the way the Mellado cañon (really nice, by the river all the time), communities. After hiking South from Carizales (which has a very limited “store”) I was short on time and food and realized bare landscapes over the tree line were not my cup of tea (I prefer hiking below 1700 m in this part of Patagonia) so I left RR and took another option all the way to the West to Reserva Achibueno which I really enjoyed : great landscapes, lakes, rivers and met some cool hikers and fishermen<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-09 to 2021-Dec-12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / AR past Laguna Manatial Pelado / Vera &amp; James<br /> <br /> We arrived the day before at Parque Ingles and camped the night there. From Molina there is a bus to Radal at 5pm wed-fri, and direct to Parque Ingles on weekends. The only way to pay for park entry is online at www.aspticket.cl.<br /> <br /> As an aside, we really liked Molina. It has plenty for resupply whilst being nice and small. There is a fishing shop opposite the Santa Isabel supermarket that sells gas.<br /> <br /> Day 1 we headed up the RR as far as just above Laguna de las Animas by 2pm, a brutal climb in the midday sun! At this point the sun disappeared and clouds quickly rolled in, within 10 minutes lightning was hitting the peaks directly around us. We beat a hasty retreat back to El Bolsen and camped there.<br /> <br /> We decided to take the alternate route past Laguna Manatial Pelado. A beautiful route if hot and sandy. We have realised the best time time to take on a long, sandy ascent in sunny weather is very early in the morning, after 9am it was brutally hot. <br /> <br /> We then continued on the regular route. As has been said before, it's remote and stunning. We had some strong winds coming over Pass de Hornitos, and even some sleet on the final day!<br /> <br /> Arrived in Los Cipreses on a Sunday and we didn't see a single person except the security guard. We got mixed messages from him and then the mini shop owner about buses to Talca. I would assume there isn't one on a Sunday. We hitched to El Colorado then got a bus from there to Talca.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-03 to 2021-Dec-09 / 7 days (GPT 05 + 06) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We also decided to combine sections 5 and 6 to avoid in’n’out to and from Parque Inglés. It took us 6 and a half days and some of it was bloody hard. I have never before experienced my ass being handed over to me by a trail. We got beaten to the point where first signs of weakness started to show and I have to admit we kind of even started discussing a plan B and bailing this ditch trail. But only for a moment, once you hit the rock bottom there is only one way to go - up! It was literally and figuratively, and as terrain improved so did our mood and we laughed off the silly thoughts we had had earlier. <br /> <br /> The first 45km of the section 5 were great, awesome hiking and then shit hit the fan real quick. Ascent up from the ford at km 45 was hard but alright. And then came the descent down to Rio Negro (51km), very steep and very loose scree slope. We wanted to make it to Rio Colorado for the night to cross it early in the morning in case there is no bridge. But because the trail or I must rather say the lack of it was really taking more time than we expected, by the time we got to Rio Negro it was already getting dark. The river was very rapid and murky so you couldn’t gauge the depth of it and couldn’t see where to step, we had to really concentrate to cross it, luckily it was only balls deep.<br /> <br /> It was dark as we got across it and we continued the fun, albeit type 2 fun, illuminated by our headlamps. Then came the insanely steep gully that allowed you to enter the valley of Rio Colorado. Something was off with the elevation lines on Gaia and it showed that we will be descending right over the cliff, it was luckily only a glitch. As we couldn’t see much ahead we kept descending ever so carefully on this very very challenging terrain, I would even go as far as to say that it was stupid and outright dangerous. But there was no other way, you just had to stay focused. There were also some rocks falling off the cliff under which we were descending. In a sense night was a good time to do it because you couldn’t see all the dangers - only what lie within the beam of the headlamp. <br /> <br /> Then came an extremely slow going, pretty much crawling speed traverse down to Rio Colorado, which we fully improvised as there was no trail anyway and got down to Rio colorado about a kilometer before the bridge, where we set up camp abit past midnight. <br /> <br /> So yes, the bridge was there - a decent one, seemed permanent and it was a relief that we at least don’t have to start the day by risking our lives fording Rio Colorado. The river was pretty wide and the current seemed pretty fast, it wasn’t murky though but you couldn’t see how deep it really was. But we think it could have been forded in case there would be no bridge. There were a few places that looked doable with somewhat laminar flow. The excitement of the existence of the bridge didn’t last too long as we were slapped back into reality by the difficult terrain, it wasn’t as dangerous anymore as the previous night but difficult nevertheless. Once we got closer to the pass the trail appeared and it was actually pleasant hiking once again. <br /> <br /> To sum it up the descent down to the Rio Colorado valley, then traversing it and the first part of crawling out of the valley sucks big time, but the rest of the section is really nice and not too challenging terrain-wise. I wouldn’t want to skip this section because it had some breathingtaking views. Just that on the hard part of it you can’t really enjoy any of it as all your effort is elsewhere. <br /> <br /> The guards at Laguna Mondaca were the nicest people we have met in Chile so far. They invited us to stay at the property, gave us food and drinks. They insisted we don’t use any of our supplies or gear. They even provided us with a room with a bed and we got to recharge all of our electronics and got a hot shower aswell. It was perfect! And just to make it clear there are no fancy villas there just a few small simple houses where the owner of the property comes for fishing once in a while. And guards weren’t armed either.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to get to Laguna Mondaca and not far after it we joined the section 6 which took 2 and a half more days. <br /> <br /> Section 6 was really something, we haven’t had such a strong otherworldly experience anywhere else. It was really like being on another planet at times. The blue sky was the only thing that gave it away that we were still on Earth. Really bizarre landscape and definitely the most beautiful breathtaking section of the six that we have done so far. <br /> <br /> Regarding the difficulty, compared to section 5 it didn’t feel that difficult at all. Walking on sand is challenging, yes, especially going uphill. But on the other side going down is much easier on the soft sand - you can just run/jog without much impact on your body as the sand absorbs it all. Shoes got completely wrecked and we took many “shoe-emptying” breaks because they were just filled with rocks and coarse sand. <br /> <br /> We even took a dip in one of the lakes close to Descabezado and seeing how water is just coming out of the sand and turning into a river was really really cool, just as the whole landscape around there. <br /> <br /> We camped at the lake about 5km from Los Cipreses. When we arrived to the road to take bus to Talca the bus stop didn’t have any schedule and the shop close by was closed. So we couldn’t find out about the bus schedule and the traffic on the road seemed pretty dead. But luckily after 15 min of waiting a car that was going to Talca picked us up, perfecto! <br /> <br /> Overall plenty of water on both sections, a lot of exposure to the sun, and some challenging terrain. It all together made for a great experience, just what we were looking for. It humbled us and we definitely had to adjust our expectations and recalibrate our way of hiking, it is GPT - not more and not less. <br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH to Laguna Manantial / Frank <br /> <br /> At Parque Ingles I registered with Conaf, they record your route &amp; where you will camp. Deregistered by email later. Easy 3 hour walk to El Bolson, lots of people camping there but they don't go any further. Took optional route to Laguna Manantial. At 2160M there is a small meadow &amp; stream, this is last water &amp; last camp before the lake. You go over a pass @ 2560M then drop 80M to the lake. Camped on the lakeshore. <br /> Termas Blanquillo were only tepid. Camped on a small beach @ S end of Laguna de Los Hornos. The lake is nearly dried out, only a little semi stagnant water left. Best to carry water in from one of the streams a little above the lake. Last 11KM are on dirt roads, you could hitch easily if you want. Met 2 security guards, they were both friendly, no access problems if you are Southbound. Small campsite @ shop on way out. Amazing section, some tough uphill on sand but scenery is like Mars. Definitely use small gaiters or you will be emptying sand out of your shoes every 10 mins.<br /> <br /> At the end of GPT06 if you go on the north bank of Rio Maule the route is blocked by a cliff beyond Los Alamos &amp; you need to cross the river to continue. Better to go on the road. After 2KM on the road you pass 2 shops, better food selection than in El Medano. They have accommodation also. At Bridge 17 you can rejoin RR or continue on road but RR is nicer.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-24 / 7 days (GPT 05 + 06) / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> So, I decided to combine GPT sections 5 and 6 in order to avoid a 30k out and back resupply section into parque ingles. I thought this was a good decision for me and really enjoyed being out there for a week. In my opinion this was the hardest section of the GPT in between sections GPT 01-10. I went the first 5 days without seeing another person which I thought was quite cool. So, these two sections are quite remote, and you are way out there in the mountains. There was also some pretty intense river crossing in “GPT Section 5” that I found to be manageable (keep in mind I’m 185cm and have lots of thru hiking experience.) but still a little difficult. The rivers were also very dark and murky which made it hard to see where you would step. There was also an improvised bridge crossing the Colorado River that I used, and thought was safe to use. These two sections are dominated by a volcanic profile with much of the route on ash and volcanic rock. Most of the route is very exposed and there are not many trees or vegetation that grow in the volcanic ash/rocks. There was plenty of water with springs coming out of the hills everywhere and then disappearing into the sand.<br /> <br /> Difficulties:<br /> It was slow going walking thru the sand, especially when hiking vertically. Exposure to the sun. River crossings. Isolation and remoteness. Hiking up and down lose rock and scree fields.<br /> <br /> Highlights:<br /> Hot Springs. Great views of the volcanic region. Mountain Lakes. Sunrise and Sunsets were epic with the landscape. <br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-23 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Shn0rhelez<br /> <br /> Parque Ingles to El Medano southbound/main route ... 7 days duration(2 nights spent on laguna Las Animas)...section passable...Strong sun, no shadow after the park... Gaiters strongly recommended...the SUBsection between termas del azufre and second ford Before the pass (2700m) is full with water... my personal opinion is the backpack weight can be minimized... Good luck! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-09 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Bruno &amp; Martin<br /> <br /> Parque Inglés to El Medano<br /> 5 days for this amazing section. We started in Parque Inglés in Radal 7 Tazas National Park. Had to wait for one more day because of limited hiking permits towards El Bolsón. 80 daily permits allowed and delivered at 8:30 in the morning, to be minded on weekends when the park is full. Followed Regular Route Laguna Las Ánimas, Azufre Hotsprings, Descabezado base camp, Laguna Caracol and then down to Los Cipreses. Cold section and bad weather towards the end, some rain and freezing wind. Had to camp in Laguna Caracol waiting for the storm to pass and hike the last pass. <br /> The use of lightweight gaiters is advised for keeping the sand out of your shoes.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Parque Ingles to El Medano. Very beautiful (and exposed) section. Lots of water. The track from Los Cipreses to El Medano suffered from a few landslides meaning the route was slower than anticipated. I would consider taking the road next time as there is no loss of scenery. We resupplied in El Medano by basically buying all the food at the tienda (60000 CP for food for two people for the next section). Selection was good enough. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from Vilches Alto / Tyler &amp; America <br /> <br /> A Stunning section. Vilches Alto made for a great optional start; rather than returning to Parque Ingles. (We came from Talca by bus - 2100 CP). Entrance fee was 6000 and camping 3000 PP. All trails were beautiful and a bit more trodden that sections before. Arrieros at thermal pools (not hot) were welcoming and friendly for us to camp. We took our sweet time in the beautiful section. We bussed from the first road access (south of town Los Cipreses/ OH-MR-V@06-E-#001) to Talca for a good re supply before the long next section, 2200 CP. Bus leaves this stop around 11.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR with optional start coming from GPT 5 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We combined sections 5 and 6 via optional trail. <br /> GPT06 took us 2 days and bit (first day we did just 4km from 6th section).<br /> I agree with everything what was written in previous updates.<br /> Nice sandy trails. Mornings were freezing cold. No problems while crossing rivers. After optional start regular trail didn't correspond with any trail. We finally took one on the right side and after while they merged. And I don't know who was so commited, but thanks for marking the trail 😊<br /> <br /> There is a small tienda with coke and crisps before entering a main road from Los Cipress. If you continue by main road toward El Medano there is restaurant Cordillera where we refueled again. Accomodation in El Medano. I will edit with ressuply options later. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-14 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (mainly) / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> As we came from GPT05 and didn't want to go all the way &quot;back&quot; to the Paso Las Animas, we tried the Optional Investigation Route which starts at Parque Ingles right at the other side (South) of Rio Claro. It leads through private property, so we went to the guard, showed him the CONAF Permit (we bought one just in case, and of course they said it's not possible to walk on the other side of the river), explained him that we would only hike through and gave him some cerezas. He informed his Colleagues via radio to let us pass. It was a nice and easy hike. Nothing to add to Linda's remarks for the rest of the trail.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-06 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Linda <br /> <br /> Start = Parque Ingles <br /> Finish = Las Termas El Medano<br /> <br /> GENERAL FEELING<br /> <br /> Amazing section !!!! Incredible mineral landscapes as soon as you go beyond Laguna Las Animas. It was tough because of the passes (and this was also my first hiking days and I carried too much food ... ) and the ground around the volcanoes is sand ! So it makes each step even more difficult. I loved the contrast between the areas around the volcanoes and the Laguna Caracol is just one of the most beautiful place I've ever seen !!! <br /> <br /> LOGISTICS<br /> <br /> - Bus from Molina to El Radal (off season and weekdays = only one bus at 5pm in Molina that stops in El Radal. Weekend : it goes directly to Parque Ingles and the schedule may also be different)<br /> <br /> - Hitchhiked from El Radal to Parque Ingles<br /> <br /> - First night in a camping in Parque Ingles = 5000 CLP<br /> <br /> - The day after, I had to register to CONAF. Office opening at 8:30 am. Entrance fee = 6000 CLP<br /> Some people (5 or 6) were going to El Bolson for the day but after Laguna Las Animas, there was absolutely nobody till the end !<br /> <br /> - Still snow when you go beyond the 2300 meters high<br /> <br /> - Be careful for the last pass Las Hornitos, a lot of snow at the top and it makes it impossible to follow the GPS track to go down. I found my way on the left when you face the valley and then got back to the GPS track<br /> <br /> - No problem to go out from the mine. Actually, workers I met on my way down to Los Cipreses suggestedto drop me by car to the main road. The guard was just smiling when he saw me in the car and when I told him I was hiking<br /> <br /> - Mini market where you can find basic food (eggs, spaghetti, chocolate ...) in Las Termas El Medano<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-07 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Arnaud<br /> <br /> Amazing but hard section with a lot of denivelation. <br /> As we did not walk the section 5, we took the bus from Molina to Parque Ingles-7 Tazas (many buses, 4-5 buses per day). We registered to the Conaf Office and paid the entrance fee 6000 clp for foreigners. They gave us a mail adress so that we can announce our exit of the parque, to check the security.<br /> We walked the first 11km to the campspot El Bolson. It costs 4000 clp per person but has no interest. As the zone is protected, it is possible to freecamp only after el Bolson, before, it is prohibited.<br /> The Laguna Las Animas is very very beautiful and is welcome for a bath with the heat of this season.<br /> Then the paso las animas is easy and ashes are fun for downhills!<br /> We met nobody on the trail after el Bolson. So great! Except at one spot with termas with full of chilenos there.<br /> We lacked a bit of water at the laguna el Caracol but found 3kms further (just before the strong uphill) a source with drinkable water.<br /> No problem then to exit los cypress. We hitchhiked on the road with workers until the road to los Medanos.<br /> We stayed one day in los termas de los Medanos, at the camping and exit quickly (too many noise, people). The water is hot and nice after a hard section like this one. <br /> We resupplied at los termas (with pasta, arros, pancito, manjar). No gas available there.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> You need to carry all the food for the entire trail. There is no food supply after Parque Ingles. If you meet arrieros at one of the Puestos you may ask for some goat or lamb meet but if you are not ready to take an entire or at least half an animal they may be reluctant to sell. Refill your water supply at the marked river crossings and the camps. In between these waypoints your will find only ocasinally some trickling water because water trickles away easily into the volcanic soil.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> * 2021 / Vera &amp; James<br /> <br /> Molina: It has plenty for resupply whilst being nice and small. There is a fishing shop opposite the Santa Isabel supermarket that sells gas.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> * 2022 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Los Cipresses: small shop (only ice cream, drinks, choco bars, biscuits) + camp with cold shower, toilets, electricity and access to the river, all for 5000 for 2 people. We even got sandwiches for dinner as there was no other place around to eat. <br /> <br /> * 2022 7 Anna&amp;Christopher <br /> <br /> El Médano: The shop there has pasta, rice, bread, tomato salsa, mayo, chips, biscuits/chocolate and suncreme (but quite pricey).<br /> In El Médano we camped for 6k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> * 2020 / Frank <br /> After 2KM on the road after Los Alamos (to El Medano) you pass 2 shops, better food selection than in El Medano. They have accommodation also.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route= <br /> <br /> ==Parque Ingles==<br /> <br /> During the main season in January and February several buses go from Molina and Curico to Radal and some even go all the way to Parque Ingles. Outside of the main season there is only one daily bus from Molina to Radal leaving in the afternoon from the rural bus station in Molina.<br /> <br /> *2020 / Frank In summer there are 6 buses a day Molina-Parque Ingles.<br /> <br /> Mon-Sat they leave Molina @ 10:20, 11:30, 12:40, 3PM, 6:15PM, 8:15 PM Sunday Molina- Parque Ingles 7:45, 9:30, 2PM, 7:30PM, 10PM 2 hours to Parque Ingles, buses leave from terminal near main plaza in Molina. Parque Ingles-Molina 7:10, 11, 1PM, 3:45PM, 4:45PM, 6:30PM Mon-Sat Sun. 10:30, 1:30PM, 3:30PM, 5:45PM, 6:45PM <br /> <br /> <br /> *2019/ Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Monday to Thursday: Molina-Radal: 17:00 // Radal-Molina: 07:30<br /> <br /> Friday: Molina-P.Ingles: 17:00 // Radal-Molina: 07:30<br /> <br /> Saturday: Molina-P.Ingles: 11:30 // 13:30 / P.Ingles-Molina: 18:00<br /> <br /> Sunday: Molina-P.Ingles: 09:00 // P.Ingles-Molina: 15:30 / 17:00<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Los Cipreses / El Medano ==<br /> <br /> * 7 am in front of Los Cipreses - someone has to call in advance for the bus to go all the way to el Médano - loads of tourists there, though, so someone might have called. Other connections should be at 9:15 and 17:20 (one at 1620 l3aves from further downstream). The other way around, the buses leave Talca at 7, 13, 15 and 19, according to the schedule at Talca bus station.<br /> <br /> <br /> *This trail section finished at the Route 115 to Talca. Big road with many cars (hitchhiking possible)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023 / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé <br /> <br /> From Los Cipreses only one bus at 7am. We hitchiked to El Colorado where plenty of buses are going down to Talca for 2 000 CLP (+ 400 CLP per bag)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023 / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Buses from Talca to la Mina go at; 7:00am, 1:00pm (only to la Suiza), 3:00pm and 7:00pm. <br /> Vilches: bus clearly did not follow the posted schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022 / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> - There is no bus to Talca from Los Cipreses on saturdays or sundays. We asked at the shop and got a ride to Colorado from the brother-in-law of the shopkeeper for 15000 CLP. <br /> <br /> <br /> == Vilches ==<br /> <br /> * 2023 / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Bus clearly did not follow the posted schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> * CONAF does register all trekkers at Parque Ingles (GPT01-WP004) but does not charge an entrance fee. Camp fires are not permitted within the national park that reaches from Radal (GPT01-WP001) to the Laguna las Ánimas (GPT01-WP013).<br /> <br /> * 2023<br /> <br /> When starting from Vilches and going northbound, a permit to access the Volcano (or the Condor Circuit) is required. CONAF won't let you enter in Altos de Lircay without it. Call them to get the correct number. Moreover, you have to pay the entrance fee to the reserve and it is closed on Mondays in March.<br /> <br /> *2023 <br /> <br /> Start at Parque Ingles: <br /> Entry ticket for Bolsón overnight needed: 8$ (book it before online at www.aspticket.cl + get to the trailhead before 3pm) <br /> The parc can be entered illegally in the morning (around 7 pm).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019<br /> <br /> Optional start Vilches Alto: Entrance fee was 6000 and camping 3000 PP.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT06 - Volcán Descabezado]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:18 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|In the huge ash field]]<br /> [[File:10 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (9).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT06 - Volcán Descabezado]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (5).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Greater Patagonian Trail]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (17).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|[[Cerro Azul]].]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (11).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 6]]<br /> [[File:01 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, El Bolsón.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|El Bolsón]]<br /> [[File:02 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Leaving El Bolsón.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Leaving El Bolsón]]<br /> [[File:03 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:04 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Las Ánimas.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Las Ánimas]]<br /> [[File:05 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Pass 2560 m.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Pass 2560 m]]<br /> [[File:06 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Approaching Laguna Mondaca.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Approaching Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:07 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Mondaca.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:08 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, that bypasses Laguna Mondaca.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Bypasses Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:09 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:11 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Termas de Azufre.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Termas de Azufre]]<br /> [[File:12 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:13 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:16 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:17 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:19 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:20 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:21 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:23 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:24 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:25 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:26 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Leaving the Base Camp Descabezado Grande.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Leaving the Base Camp Descabezado Grande]]<br /> [[File:27 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Hot springs at Base Camp Descabezado Grande.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Hot springs at Base Camp Descabezado Grande]]<br /> [[File:28 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:29 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:31 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:32 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:33 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:34 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:35 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:37 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:38 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:39 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:40 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:41 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:43 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Camp near Laguna Los Hornitos.jpg|Camp near Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:44 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Los Hornitos.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:45 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Los Hornitos.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:46 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:47 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:48 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT06_(Descabezado)&diff=113238 2023-12-22T16:10:55Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-18 to 2023-Dec-21 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR+{06-D} / Lilian<br /> <br /> It is the most amazing section from GPT01 to here so far!<br /> <br /> I hiked RR, it is still covered by tons of snow, i recommend use ice axe and micro spikes if you want to hike from Portezuelo Las Cruces(pass) to El Estadio(pass), there is some really steep snow slope. (RR-TL-V)<br /> <br /> <br /> I hopped the gate to the park at 6:30. No one was there.<br /> <br /> There are 3 main pass for RR.<br /> <br /> <br /> First pass, snow start at km14.3(2050m), not difficult for climbing up to pass[15.4/2257].<br /> <br /> Laguna Las Animas(lake)[16.7/2286] is still frozen, very beautiful. I climbed up on some rocks at the north side of the lake, then mostly choose my own way to climb up to pass, because RR look steep.<br /> <br /> Arrive the pass[19.4/2547], if you are not comfortable with snow, it is the LAST CHANCE to turn back.<br /> <br /> Pass is flat and dry, you can camping here but windy.<br /> <br /> There are no RR after the pass because covered by many snow, find a way go down to valley by snow slope, then walk all the way on snow to km20.2, you can see the trail but on the other side at km20.2, steep go down the snow slope then connect to RR.<br /> <br /> Follow the trail about 5min, you will go into a big valley, trail and the whole valley covered by snow, but you can see a trail is at the far away other side of valley.<br /> <br /> Go your own way to water[22.0/2279], i think it is lot ways to go down, but dont too close to cliff side, it is steep and easily to fall off.<br /> <br /> After you arrive water[22.0/2279], then straight forward to km22.6.<br /> <br /> A large flat area can fit lot of tents at the downhill side of km22.6.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> After km22.6, the most dangerous part begins, from here to km26, lot of steep snow slope you need to cross, be careful, kick step and don't slide.<br /> <br /> Km26 is another large flat area for camping, i camped here with nice sunrise.<br /> <br /> Snow continues to km26.6, but easy way. The first pass's snow end.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> About the second pass, snow start at ford[29.4/2190], strong flow and look like up to thighs, i cross it on snow bridge.<br /> <br /> Stay on east side until km31.25, then stay down walking in the valley, easier than on the slope.<br /> <br /> Although full of snow, but I think it is easy to go to the pass[33.8/2695] from here, so i dont mention the details. It is also easy to go down, most of them are gentle slope.<br /> <br /> Snow end at km41.4, but mostly you can find some flat sandy spot start at km39.1.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Hot spring[45.6/1881] : completely dry. Some camping spots with rock wall nearby.<br /> <br /> Water,camp[48.1/1837] : amazing oasis in desert! Clear and cold water, some shade, also lot of swallows flying in the sky catching some food for their kid.<br /> <br /> Km49.1 - km49.8 : best view point of Volcán Descabezado Grande and Volcán Azul! If you want to camp with stunning views, bring water at oasis then climb up here, lot of sandy spots beside some rocks, enjoy you sleep with volcano.<br /> <br /> Km53.2 - km54.7 : Laguna del Caracol(lake), maybe because too much snow melts? Trail underwater, you need to walk in the lake shore for a while.<br /> <br /> Camp[56.3/2034] : oasis again! Crystal clear and cold water! It is possible to cut off from km56 to x[57.3/2073] directly, stream flowing slow and up to knee.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Third pass, steep climb up to km57.9, if you follow RR, then you will turn right and face some steep snow climbing up.<br /> <br /> If you look up at left side, there is some foot steps straight climb up on a dry slope, which is no snow but looses sand.<br /> <br /> I go for the left one to the pass, ok but steep and really tried.<br /> <br /> Most of the snow is after pass, from pass[59.3/2518] to km61.5, first go to east side go around the snow, then you will find a trail, follow it a little then go your own way in snow valley. <br /> <br /> I follow RR, mostly easy to go down until km61.5, a steep slope. I don't want to take the risk, so i crossed a snow bridge to a sandy slope at south side. Go down the slope and rejoin RR about km62.1.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford[63.4/1909] : i crossed the river beside a huge rock, below knee at morning. The huge rock also provide some wind protection, i saw some camping trace beside it.<br /> <br /> Volcán Los Hornitos : km65.3, {06-D}, just beside RR, no need CC, a trail leads you to the top, just climb up 70m! Go for it!<br /> <br /> Lastly with no luck, i saw a car going down just 10min before i arrived the road, then no more cars, so i walk all the way to Los Cipreses.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Met a super friendly worker at Los Cipreses, he give me some cherry to eat and a ride to Los Alamos. A tiny shop there , if you are not picky, a little pricey but enough food resupply for 1 people six days. It have a sign &quot;Almacen&quot; at its front gate. You can ask locals where it is, i saw many workers go to there buy things.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> 2023-dec-3/ 4 days / hiking / SOBO / RR &amp; 6 option 1 / Lukas en Tess<br /> <br /> As this was our first section on the GPT and there still was a lot of snow in the mountains we decided to play it safe and folow option 1 from el Bolsón. It is less steep and less long above the snoweline about 2000m at the time. It went great but Tess burned her eyes so good sunglasses are definetly a must when hiking in the snow. From there we continued the RR at Laguna del Caracol we had to walk in the lake on the edge, no idea if that's normal but it was funny. The next and final big obstacle was the pass on k59 we decided to try and bypass it because it looked very steep with a lot of snow and ice and Tess with her burning eyes had a hard time looking at any snow at her feet. So we went up right next to it (north). Realy though rock scrambling but we managed. Going down the next valley was okay with the snow but crossing rivers covered in snow is tricky so try to avoid it. Walking into los Cipreces we were told we were not supposed to be there but still we had lunch in the cafeteria and they fixed a ride to bring us to the road, realy nice people there. From there we hitchhiked to el colorado where we stayed for two days to let Tess' eyes heal.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-14 to 2023-Mar-19 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Parque Ingles - Los Cipreses / Noemie<br /> <br /> Parque Inglés - El Bolsón - Termas de Azufre - Blanquillo - Laguna Hornitos - Los Cipreses<br /> <br /> First try on the GPT and amazing section to start. There were buses from Molina at 10am and 5pm going to Parque Ingles. You must arrive there before 1pm and buy an entrance for El Bolson (with camping) to enter the Park. It's also possible to camp in Parque Ingles (7.000 CLP/night). When I entered, CONAF asked me where I was going, if I had a GPS, and gave me some kind of permit to show in Los Cipreses. I wasn't asked to show it when I arrived there though. <br /> Landscapes and panoramas were extremely beautiful and very impressive. There was still water in all marked points and fords were easy to cross. Trail is easy to follow almost everywhere, except after Termas de Azufre (be careful to look for the right pools on the map and do not go up too much, I ended up in a place with almost boiling water). The whole section is full of beautiful sand dunes, so gaiters were extremely useful. In Blanquillo, you are supposed to get an authorization from the dueño to stay there, but it looks like it is not really enforced. I spent a day in Blanquillo to rest, drink maté and learn how to make sopaipillas with Umberto. I hitchhiked from Los Cipreses to San Clemente (one hostel, two supermarkets, decent to resupply) so I can't comment on the bus schedule. However, to come back to Los Cipreses/Termas del Médano, be aware that there is now only a bus leaving at 3pm from Talca, going up until La Mina. I took a small bus to Colorado on morning (every 45 min.) and hitchhiked easily back until Laguna del Maule for GPT 07.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-21 to 2023-Mar-25 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / Vilches — Volcan – Parque Ingles / Iris, Alexis <br /> <br /> Our last section on the GPT for this year! We started in Vilches Alto with the option 06-05 because we rented horses with the arriero Jose Lopez. The beginning is placed in the Reserva Nacional Altos de Lircay, which requires a permit to go until the Volcan. The entrance fee is also 7k pp. We finished our first day at Camp, CONAF {06-05} [10.2/1158]. I believe we mostly followed the GPS track. <br /> <br /> On the second day, we continued with the horses until Hot Spring {06} [45.6/1881] (Banos del Blanquillo) still following the track. We then were disappointed because the arriero left us here whereas our agreement (clearly stated by messages before the rent) was to climb the volcano with the horses (it turns to be not possible, too steep).<br /> Thankfully, we had an excess day of food so we could attempt the climb the next day. We also met Umberto, the guy staying in the refugio, who was extremely friendly. He told us to start the volcano climb early in the night to avoid heavy winds. <br /> <br /> On Day 3, we started the ascent at 2am with our headlights. 6h30 later we were on the top, with the morning lights rewarding us and stunning landscape. The ascent was extremely tiresome (sand material), as always with volcanos, and it was very cold but the crater and the views were very worth it. After a breakfast at the top, the descent, mostly running, took us about 2h. We rested for the rest of day at Banos del Blanquillo and even got a sopapilla making class with Umberto.<br /> <br /> On Day 4, we followed the RR in the beautiful Descabezado landscape. Expect no shade but stunning dunes of white sand. There is plenty of water during the day because you will cross at least 2 rivers that were not dry this late in the season. The trail is easy to follow (because that is the only one) and is also part of the Circuit of the Condores. However, after Ford {06} [29.4/2190], you have about a dozen of options and the navigation until Hot Spring {06} [27.4/1986] (Hot Sping del Azufre) is more challenging. We decided to ignore the GPS and follow our instinct - just aim for the fumerolles. There you can enjoy a hot bath in one of the three hot natural pools (along some weird soft alguees). <br /> <br /> On Day 5, we simply followed the RR until Parque Ingles. The trail is well marked until the end, you just have to enjoy multiple highlights in the landscape. Of note, when reaching El Bolsón, the CONAF ranger forbid us to bath in the pools because it was too late (3PM) and told us to leave the park before 5:30. He was not friendly and also checked the entrance tickets of Livan Ray. We got extremely lucky and caught a bus leaving Parque Ingles when we reached it (it leaves at 5:00).<br /> <br /> This hike concludes our GPT adventure. We loved to start it riding horses to feel a bit more like the trails main user. The final day hiking and the volcano ascent were astonishing, truly one of (or even the) best section of our GPT.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-03 to 2023-Feb-08 / 6 days/ Hiking / SOBO / RR + Descabezado / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé<br /> <br /> Our first trip on the GPT, plenty of water, we didnt carry more than 1.5L each. Here is our trip :<br /> <br /> Day 1 - Laguna Las Animas - 18km - +1200m/-100m<br /> We entered the parc illegally at 7:30 in the morning as some others hikers have done reading the wiki. We did this because the parc was full for the next 3 days. I can only advise you to book in advance on internet (conaf). We slept at a camping in front of the entrance for 7k CLP per person. Plenty of buses goes up there from Molina in 2 hours. At least a dozen. Same for going back. If you buy your ticket online : if you sleep at El Bolson, you can enter the park until 3pm, if you go further with only the El Bolson ticket, you can entered until 11am only!<br /> So, we hiked until the Laguna las Animas, a rather long day for the first one.<br /> The camp on the beach was quite windy too.<br /> <br /> Day 2 - Termas de Azufre - 11km - +400m/-700m<br /> A short day, nice to enjoy the hot springs in the afternoon. The pass in the morning was very windy too.<br /> <br /> Day 3 - Refugio El Blanquillo - 20km - +800m/-900m<br /> A long but beautiful day. Leave early the camp to avoid hot temperatures while ascending the pass. Well welcomed by the arrierio Umberto ! Very kind.<br /> <br /> Day 4 - Volcan Descabezado Grande - 16km - +2000m/-2000m<br /> We did the ascent without our bags, we went back to our camp in the night. It's long and hard. According to Umberto, 12h are needed in total, we did in 10h. Same, Leave early to avoid hot temperatures. <br /> <br /> Day 5 - Laguna los Hornitos - 20km - +900m/-900m<br /> Another nice day, passing next to Laguna Caracol. The descent from the pass is a bit annoying if you didnt follow the track (as we did). So, advice : follow the RR and go down on your right. The Laguna is very dry, just enough to have a bath. Hard to maintain the pitch of the tent in the dry dirt.<br /> <br /> Day 6 - Los Cipreses - 15km - +100m/-1000m<br /> Last short day to end this beautiful section. The gravel road is a bit boring but passing pickup are proposing you to get you down to the main road. Here, only one bus at 7am. And a little shop selling ice cream, chips and drinks. We hitchiked to El Colorado where plenty of buses are going down to Talca for 2 000 CLP (+ 400 CLP per bag)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-24 to 2023-Jan-30/ 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Descabezado / Martial<br /> <br /> First trip 6 days on GPT being a wonderfully intense experience ! Lunar landscapes, silent and remote, few but great people. No particular difficulty.<br /> Started park ingles with a mandatory 7000peso night at quiet camping near the river and bought ticket for Bolsón overnight 8$. Finally did not stay at Bolson a half day walk from entrance and camped in Laguna de las Animas instead. Great spot for Condors watching. After that follow Will’s advice and put on your mandatory gaiters till the end of the section ! + Walking on sand can be tough for the ankle. Don’t resist and don’t do too much !! Learned it the painfull way.. Trail visible but don’t get confused at termas Azufres especially if you try the (very) hot pools ! RR way is up the valley. Camp with water possible before the pass. The way down called « la Calle » is beautifull sandy dune remote desert. Exceptional. Aimed for Blanquillo refugio aka best basecamp for Descabezado intent. Meet Umberto the arriero at the hut and ask him where the termal pool and the drinking water are. He may be offended if you don’t show up and is a nice generous guy ! Also had a Chilean horse riding group intended the Descabezado so were a nice bunch by the camp fire. As weather window was fine, I decided to try a high camp in order to preserve weak foot from a very long ascent (10h). Took plenty of water as they are only glaciar dirty patches up there and aimed for Descabezado to Cerra Azul osm trail just as Nat and Tomas did (so i could have a chance to summit both also). Finally chose not to cross the nasty glaciar but found a very well sheltered highcamp here (-35.60569, -70.76147). Incredible sunset ! Not advisable in case of rain coming (a storm was growing in Argentina so stayed prepared for an emergency descent). Next day summited Descabezado at 11AM with no wind ideal conditions. Dive your front foot flat in sand just like snow climb when it gets to steep ! Nice ski descent sensations straight to the termas for a well deserved rest at the termas ! Also met Carlos a local climbing half way up so we would share joy later at the camp :).<br /> Exit through RR is also nice but regreted haven’t camped here (-35.67102, -70.83649) for there was some playfull trouts to catch with my survival fishing kit !<br /> Beautiful view from the pass to sandyland and then landscape changes and recommend OH variant C descending (less overgrown). Trail not so visible till laguna los hornos witch i climbed volcano to enjoy the crater caldera. After that descent to los Cipreses is kind of boring and hot so was definitely happy to find a camping by the bridge after the gate with lovely Victorina and her family here (-35.81524, -70.83224). They have been incredibly carring, fed me and brought me to the termas caves (also worth it) in El Medano !<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-16 to 2023-Jan-25 / 10 days / Hiking / NOBO / OH 06-02 &amp; 06-03 Laguna Maule to Vilches w/ volcans / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> An extremely long description so my apologies but hopefully it will help someone. We Started in Laguna del Maule and ended in Vilches with inclusion of Descabezado, Azul, Descabezado Chico and Colorado.<br /> <br /> All fords super easy or jump-able. Only times water was scarce was Descabezado and Azul (technically there is melt water from glaciers at Azul), the afternoon around Descanezado Chico and also water was scarce around the Laguna des acquas caliente because I would not trust drinking that water (some springs are cold water though). Weather turned bad only once while we were climbing Azul, the change happened rapidly and we went from blue skies to total white out (~10m or less visibility) within an hour. Other than that weather was amazing, a little cold at night and a little warm in the day.<br /> <br /> Happy we started in Laguna del Maule and finished in Vilches. This saved elevation gain and let us decide whether or not we had enough food in the end to climb Descabezado, Azul, chico and for Tomáš Colorado.<br /> <br /> Day1.<br /> Starting in Talca, due to a certain someone (me) I accidentally sent Tomáš and I too Molina on a bus instead of &quot;la mina&quot; so our day was very messed up but we still managed to take a bus to Colorado and hitchhike to the start of this route. Buses from Talca to la Mina go at; 7:00am, 1:00pm (only to la Suiza), 3:00pm and 7:00pm. We took a bus to Colorado due to time and hitched the rest of the way. The last hitch was in a snowplow truck and he dropped us off miraculously at the start of the trail and before any customs or checks.<br /> <br /> OH-TL-V {06-02} (109.1). Straight away the trail is hard to see, do not take the road-looking trail on the side of the mountain because it ends, stick to the gps. However soon we were walking on the correct route through the sand and down to a creek with fun boulders. Easy to follow. After this first creek we followed option OH-CC-A (06-02) {98} For only -5km until making camp in-between a river and and canal with flowing water. Bogs in this area slowed us down a lot.<br /> <br /> Day2. <br /> OH- {06-02} -[ (93) &amp; (86) ]<br /> This day seemed long, we crossed two passes, one small (-35.94909, -70.45347) and one much larger (-35.88855, -70.46776). I liked the entire area south of the second pass, many beautiful camp spots, water was available almost to the top of the pass and there is also a nice waterfall/swimming pool located roughly around (-35.90452, -70.45218). Trail to first pass was easy but trail between first and second was much more cross country, there are many animal tracks, I followed the gps and Tomáš followed a trail closer to the river and we both ended up at the same spot... After the second pass, the GPX goes cross-country right away, but one can follow a trail that goes left and later reconnects with GPx.<br /> <br /> After the second pass there is a small plateau and then it follows down a creek with water until you must cross an east hill and go towards your first mountain puesto to the east (noone home). There is only a little bit of water here, better water at the creek you came from and or a few creeks ahead. <br /> <br /> From the puesto (-35.86707, -70.47589) there is a good trail that trvaerses the slope ahead. We should have camped but we continued. There were a few nice creeks that were passed along the way. We were forced to make a &quot;make-shift&quot; camp before hitting a much nicer plateau because it was dark and I was not having a good day 😅. It is about 6 km between the puesto and the plateau.<br /> <br /> Day 3<br /> OH {06-02} [78.6] + [75.7] + [63.6]<br /> Easy day, only one small pass. There is an ex-carabiniero puesto at (-35.84277, -70.40285) and a highlight was two rivers, one at (-35.76317, -70.42051) and one river at (-35.74734, -70.45623). The GPX is marked as trail a bit further than the actual trail goes (the trail continues to a puesto down-river). You need to go down a ridge and ford the river, there were some footsteps that can be followed. We walked near {06-02E} along a river filled with sand and not great for drinking but there is a creek that starts/ends here (-35.72759, -70.44125). We camped near this way point in the sand but it got windy at night, we wished we camped a bit further from the river in the little hills where it was considerably less windy. <br /> <br /> Day4<br /> OH {06-02} [59.6] + [29.1] + {06-02D}<br /> <br /> This day we passed a large pass (-35.65200, -70.43356) via {06-02D}. This option was more direct and involved a very short and easy scramble onto a windy plateau. Surprisingly lots of water up towards the pass, last one being (-35.66343, -70.42666) , however the water available had a lot of sand in it, fyi. From camp we followed a cow trail until a lake like feature (-35.70057, -70.42733) and then went cross country. I hope my cairns marking the turn for {06-02D} survive. <br /> <br /> After the pass the true Descabezado environment begins. We both made note of how terrible it would be to be on this plateau in bad weather, very open and CC. Next water source would be a couple of creeks here (-35.61215, -70.42156). From a break at this creek we ended up going straight down the creek bed. Kind of exhausting mentally and would not be possible in early season due to water levels but it shot us out directly in line for making a green camp here (-35.56164, -70.44009). <br /> <br /> Day 05<br /> OH {06-02} [29.1] + [20]<br /> Lagunas de aquas calientes day. <br /> An easy day with a lot of time spent at Aquas Caliente, true to the name. <br /> Trail from camp was easy to follow until (-35.53519, -70.46551) and then it went CC to the Laguna. If shelter is needed in this open landscape we found a rock shelter here (-35.51276, -70.51035). The creek feeding the Laguna was fabulously warm in places - either at the source of the creek or at a spring on the right side about 100m upriver. Tomáš found the proper source of the spring here (-35.50395, -70.52347). It is easy to get sunburn why bathing mid-day though. There are some camping spots near the creek. After this Laguna there is a nasty and windy sand stretch until a creek located here (-35.48980, -70.57667). On this stretch I chose not to follow the sand but detoured on more solid ground to the east (-35.48839, -70.56200) and was glad I did. Later on we found snow melt here (-35.48544, -70.59940) and loaded all the water we would need for night/morning and exploring Descabozado Chico the next day. <br /> <br /> Day 06<br /> OH {06-02} [20] + {06-02C Chico} + [4.5]<br /> Descabozado Chico + Vulcan Colorado (Tomáš)<br /> <br /> Went up and around the crater of Descabozado Chico in the morning which I highly recommend. The crater is easy to walk around and gives an amazing 360 experience. The climb up is tedious but non-dangerous scree that makes for a super fast decent. Make sure you have enough water because water is scarce there. I saw a waterfall on the NE side the lake but did not go to it, Tomáš got water somewhere off trail around here (-35.51226, -70.65626) and I drank out of the next lake -35.52036, -70.65873 (questionable, but nothing happened to me). <br /> From the lake the next pass begins and I stupidly made Tomáš and I carry 5L of water up it because I did not think there would be water on the south side (both of us overlooking the river indicated on the map)...I was wrong, no water high up but lots of water down low. For the pass we opted not to follow the route because it was thick steep sand so we instead climbed a more solid ridge here (-35.52506, -70.66854). Tomáš went to continue up Vulcan Colorado and I boringly traversed to the normal pass and enjoyed a very fun sand ski down the south side. The Vulcan is a steep but not technical hike up, the crater can be walked around with a steep but fun descent on the other side in SW direction. This pass would be very tiresome climbing up due to sand. If you are coming from the opposite direction and do not trust the lagoon water then you should aim for (-35.51226, -70.65626) or bring water.<br /> <br /> Everything this day was CC. I found it to be the hardest day navigation-wise but still not troublesome. We finished the day in a nice valley before the next days climb here (-35.55427, -70.70793). The water around this area is a bit sandy but better further up.<br /> <br /> Day 07 <br /> Last pass and New route possibly <br /> <br /> From camp a trail existed to the pass at -35.55228, -70.73791. There was a little bit of snow at the top but since there were already steps made, it was zero problem. Lots of water on the SE of this pass but only a trickle of water on the NW side at -35.54575, -70.75672. This water trickle point is where we left the trail to make a short cut to Descabezado. To our surprise our route worked and in 4hrs we were making a camp at 2630m next to the approach trail to Descabezado, therefore saving a lot of time, distance and elevation. In our route there was only one difficulty and that was a deep gorge and creek &quot;jump&quot; at -35.57904, -70.77929. Personally I would not recommend this in early season because the consequence of falling in the river might take you down a waterfall and the traverse may otherwise be nasty if there are still snowfields around altitude 2700m. The gorge is fed by the glacier in the crater of Descabezado so in the morning it should be better but the water is very dirty.<br /> <br /> I drew the route on my photos of the pass if anyone wants them. Otherwise here is my description of our route.<br /> <br /> From the small trickle creek at -35.54575, -70.75672 head SW up the creek bed in the direction of this easy pass ***-35.55513, -70.76977. Nearby spots would work too except for the pass directly above the creek bed, the other side of that one had snow and rocks. After this pass I believe it is easiest to just go straight down and up like a half pipe rather than trying to traverse and keep elevation, we aimed for a middle looking plateau on the other side, this middle plateau took us to the proper crossing of the gorge here, -35.57923, -70.77864 (más o menos). We jumped the gorge and climbed easily up the other side although the other side looks like a scramble it was actually just walking. We travesed this altitude for a little longer (although I would suggest easier walking a little lower) until we made camp in a ravine very close to the Descabezado approach route. Our camp even had a small amount of flowong snow melt so it was heaven in my mind! (Camp with water; -35.59280, -70.78723). <br /> <br /> Day 8<br /> Descabezado &amp; Azul.<br /> <br /> This is turning into a novel so I will keep this short. We left our tent in place and set off early to do Descabezado and Azul as a day trip. Descabezado was straightforward, it seems the trail will change slightly every year depending on who makes the tracks (neither the route in oSM or GPT seem to follow the actual trail from about 2600 to 3300). If wanting to make the true summit it looks like you have to go down into the crater, cross the glacier and approach it from the other side. Coming down Descabezado was very fast but we made a huge mistake and left the GPT trail to follow the other osm route that heads east then west called &quot;Descabezado Grande - Quizapu - cerro Azul&quot;. <br /> <br /> This route should be avoided for many reasons apart from the fact that the other route is easier despite elevation gain (we took the other route back). This osm route took us here -35.61301, -70.75604 which was actually a glacier covered in sand with a small hanging glacier above causing a lot of rockfall, it was a very ugly place and we carefully got out of there and made or way to the proper route to Azul. Despite loosing almost 2hours on an already tight day we continued (although I wasted an extra 30min due to making up my mind🙄). Once again on the way up to Azul we did not follow the normal way but went to the east side of the crater of Azul where the bad osm route is. There were a foot print here and there but it was CC. The crater was amazing but too windy to enjoy much, we saw a few fumaroles. We continued CC to the base of Azul, a tiny bit of snow (or glacier remnants?) but posed no difficulties. The base of Azul is beautiful with melt water if needed. We followed the ridge to Azul, it was more involved than Descabezado but no more than a low 3rd class (it is a bit exposed and steep but almost exclusively hiking). There is a interesting summit tower on Azul but because of the wind and time we had no desire to stretch our limits. Weather moved in fast and before we were off the ridge of Azul we were completely covered in a white out, maybe maximum 10m of visibility. Navigation was incredibly hard but we took our chances and took the other (&quot;valle&quot;) OSM route down and luckily it was a very easy route and we were down below the clouds and able to see again. The rest of the night was CC back to our camp ~1030pm. It as a good day. <br /> <br /> Day 9.<br /> <br /> From our camp in the ravine we headed CC and then onto the trail that lead to the puesto at basecamp Blancquillo and from then on we were on a good trail. While walking down we opted to stay in sandals and just walk in the river, it was refreshing. We didn't have clean water until the valley bottom at the CONAF camp (valley El venado) where there was also lots of pear trees and yellow plum-like trees. Many people there (first people seen). We made camp at the river before the pass (Mirador del valle del venado) but the walk from the CONAF camp until then was slower than expected because it was along a river bed with confusing tracks.<br /> <br /> Day 10.<br /> <br /> Good trail up and down from Mirador del valle del venado with lots of water and trees for shade. Took us almost half the time we thought it would take. Note that you cannot actually camp at campsites/restong areas on this trail after the Mirador. The CONAF guards asked us where we were coming from and when we said Laguna del Maule he just sounded impressed and let us go on our way. There was a decent restaurant with empanadas, beer ext near the bus stop . There was a posted schedule of the bus but it clearly did not follow this schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus. <br /> <br /> Great trip, beautiful views and details and just the right amount of challenge.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Jan-20 to 2023-Jan-23 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Ondrej <br /> <br /> I got to Parque Inglés from Santiago de Chile by taking a train to Curico (advice: if you want to travel by train, buy a ticket online at least 2 days in advance as it books out quickly). From Curico I took a blue collectivo to Molina and then a bus to Parque Ingles.<br /> <br /> At the park entrance I was turned away by a CONAF officer because I bought a “day trip” ticket (El bolson - para día) and not the one with overnight camping. For the ticket I bought they allow entry only by 11:00am. I did not explain that I will continue beyond El Bolson - maybe I should have done that but did not want to get myself into more unnecessary discussions. CONAF said they cannot change my ticket to the “camping” type and when I tried to book the other one, it was booked out for the next two days, so the advice is book early and the right ticket type (el bolson - camping)!<br /> <br /> I ended up camping at the Rocas Basilicas for the night.<br /> <br /> On the first hike day hopped the gate to the park at 7:00. No one was there so no issues. I hiked to Thermas de Azufre. It was a very long day. There is no shade at all after El Bolson. I made a provisional shade using my tent’s footprint during lunchbreaks. Once I arrived to the Azufre hotsprings, a few arrieros were there. I decided to camp further up the river.<br /> <br /> On the second day I hiked to Refugio Blanquillo, met a settler who resides there for three months each year (if I understood correctly). The scenery before the refugio was otherwoŕldy and beautiful. Gaiters, good hat, sunscreen and sunglasses were my most loved pieces of gear. I camped at the first “camp” waypoint after Refugio Blanquillo. Amazing place to camp (but no grass), with a good stream and even some small shade thanks to the bushes. <br /> <br /> My third day was quite straightforward, I made it almost to Los Cipresses but decided to camp close to the last “water” checkpoint, shortly before the gate with the guard. It was alright but I would recommend walking all the way to the shop and camp there for the night.<br /> <br /> On the fourth day I walked through the gate with the security guard. I also met a number of the power station workers and all were friendly. We waved at each other. The guard at the gate was nice, took my passport number and name. Once at the shop I found it was closed (9am). I needed to get to El Medano to join GPT07 and decided to continue hiking through Los Alamos. It might have been to early (10am) as also the almacén in Los Alamos was closed. The road after Los Almacén was uneventful and a bit sketchy at places, so I forded the river at the “bridge” waypoint after Los Alamos to get to the main road and hitchike to El Medáno. Got a ride in approx 20 min. El Medáno is a great base - the thermals are nice and there is an electricity socket next to the toilets. They have shade for the tent too. There is also a restaurant with filling foods and a small shop.<br /> <br /> Overall a fantstic section but I wasn’t expecting the heat to be that oppresive!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-31 to 2023-Jan-3 / 5 day / Hiking / SOBO / RR / David and Erika<br /> <br /> Get to TH Parque ingle before 1:00 pm, otherwise they close it for entrance. We did get internet and got the correct CONAF ticket -the one heading to El Bolsón. Once you get out of the park and into the Cuesta Las Anima, the wild parts begin. Hope you got your dirty girl gaiters; cause you’re going to need them. Sand city. Gaiters worked great. Remote and desolately beautiful. Water up at the end of Laguna del Caracol, at the river that comes out of the ground, you have a dry climb ahead. Walk out was straightforward. Got a lift from ENEL employee.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-28 to 2022-Dec-29 / 2 days/ Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I connected in Thermas Azufre from GPT 05. I recommend it as a camping spot. I have seen the tracks of people staying on the western side of the valley but I think it is better to ford, there is anoce trail there on the eastern side. There is a place with and island where I needed to remove my shoes just for about three meters (the stream was not strong enough for me to keep the shoes on).<br /> <br /> I took a detour to the lake at the pass - nice. No snow anymore. Reached the Refugio Blanquillo (which is a puesto, an arriero had two dogs and a thousand shep there), met a group of tourists on horses and two Chilean hikers there, so crowded all of a sudden. The pool there is indeed lukewarm. The water from the stream is said not to be good - I filtered it (for the first time on GPT) and was fine. But if not climbing the volcano, I would recommend to camp 2 km further at the next water source. I no longer carry water with me and just drink a lot when I find a source, there is a lot of them, even in the semidesert (the sand is actually white pumice from the volcanoes). It is quite dusty, my hands got dry and that normally does not happen to me. I agree with the recommendation to apply sunscreen at least three times a day! <br /> <br /> The second day I walked all the way to the main road. Stthe pass, there is still a bit of snow but white manageable. Going down from the lake, there is no water until around half or one third of the minor road in the valley, beware. Walking-wise, this was the easiest section on GPT for me. At the mainroad, the camping at the shop after the bridge was closed. I hitched somebody in he truck who knew the owners, called them and they came to open it for me. 5000 pesos but I gave the lady 10000 as she had to drive here to open the aging for me. There is electricity and cold shower and shadow. Almost nothing at the shop. The bus is said to leave at seven. I slept and now will try hitchhiking.<br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-20 to 2022-Dec-24 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Will <br /> <br /> Amazing trail! It's quite desolate but the landscape varies enough to always keep things interesting. Trudging up the sandy hills could be demoralizing, but getting to run down the other side more than made up for it. Water was still plentiful though not much snow was left, I only had to cross a few small patches. Thankfully heat wasn't a problem at all for me, I even felt cold a few times with the altitude and wind.<br /> <br /> Caught the 5pm bus from Molina to Radal for 3000 pesos, then a van came by a few minutes later to take us to parque inglés for another 3000. Was nice to meet a bunch of Chilean hikers, who were all going to El Bolson and back. We camped at the Rocas Basílicas campsite right at parque inglés, 7000 pesos next to a beautiful river.<br /> <br /> I had phone signal at parque inglés, so I bought the pass online for 8 USD. There was no one at the Conaf office at 7 30 the next morning, so I just hopped the gate and walked through. <br /> <br /> I ran into a few arrieros relaxing at the Azufre hot springs, the only people I saw along the trail. They were friendly but it was tough to understand their heavy Chilean Spanish. They said I could camp with them but there wasn't a ton of room so I walked on.<br /> <br /> There were some geysers shooting up from the muddy riverbank near the gpx track so I took a wider route around. An arriero also told me to take a trail higher up along the dunes so I followed that to the ford. The ford looked tough so I kept walking 2ish km along the other side until I could easily hop across. But it was slow going, probably not worth it.<br /> <br /> I ended up having to camp on a random sand dune. I had some trouble getting my tent to stay up tied to rocks, since I couldn't get stakes in. I'd definitely recommend using tieouts you can really secure to rocks, or even a freestanding tent.<br /> <br /> The rest of the hike went smoothly. I easily made it to los cipreses in three days of hiking from parque inglés. The guard was super friendly, inviting me in and giving me a bunch of water. I camped across the street from the shop near the bus stop, ask at the shop if you want to camp there. The guy running the camping was also super nice, he messaged the bus driver and told me it would be at 9 or 9 30 the next morning, because it was a Saturday (it was also Christmas eve). The bus ended up showing up at 9 45, and costed 3200 pesos to Talca.<br /> <br /> The side trip up Volcan Los Hornitos was very worth it, there's a fairly gradual trail up and you can just sprint straight down. I didn't even need to bring any water (just some gummy bears).<br /> <br /> I got by without gaiters, but bring them if you can. I should have used more sunscreen, the reflection off the sand is strong.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-17 to 2022-Dec-20 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Joining section 6 directly from the previous one with a little challenging connection trail (see our comment from section 5), we continued to the Hot Spring del Azufre. On the way there is one steep traverse. We used hot spring to cook our rice which really saved us as we run out of gas. The landscape on the whole section is amazing, we really enjoyed it! Ascent to the pass is nice and gradual, hiking in the sand is a little slower, but the opposite when going down. We camped at the El Estadio, almost no wind that day, great place to sleep . In the morning we continued on a nice and easy trail, great views around the volcanos… short break by the laguna thats great for swimming. We camped a little before the camp marked in the gps, there is one place, probably used by arrieros, with a fireplace and a few rocks around it. Being out of the gas we set a fire using wood that was already in there and some others we gather during the day. The view to the volcanos must be one of the best we have seen here so far! The next day we continued to the last Hornitos pass and through the valley, again really nice hiking on a clear trail. Last few kms on the road and since we missed the only bus to Talca that is leaving early in the morning (7:00) and did not have luck with hitchhiking, we stayed in a camp right next to the road. Its just a few meters before it, in the same direction we came from. On the left side is a house with some old advertisment sign (coca-cola or similir) on its fence, and the lady there has a small shop. The camp is on the other side - cold shower, toilets, electricity and access to the river, all for 5000 for 2 people. We even got sandwiches for dinner as there was no other place around to eat. Overall, when combining both sections we recommend to plan carefully, but its definitely worth the effort, especially this section 6.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-14 to 2022-Dec-16 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Anna&amp;Christopher <br /> <br /> The section is pretty tough, but beautiful with a quite unique landscape. We definetly would do it again.<br /> <br /> Recomendations: bring lots of suncreme, a good hat, gaiters.<br /> <br /> How to get there:<br /> We took a bus from Santiago (terminal at the metro station Universidad de Santiago) to Curico. Across the street from the bus terminal in Curico leaves a blue bus to Molina for 1k CLP. From Molina we hitchhiked to Parque Inglés.<br /> You have to be there before 3 pm to be allowed to hike up to El Bolson. To camp they charge 8k CLP p.p and the park entry is also 8k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> The first day we started early from El Bolson. From midday on it was super tough due to the white sand which makes walking really tiring and reflects the sun which makes it super hot without shade. The next day was pretty similar.<br /> The whole section there was plenty of water. There was no much snow left at the passes, so we had no trouble without spikes.<br /> On the last day, after arriving to the dirtroad (8 km from los Cipreses), we got offered a ride after a while and the guy brought us directly to El Médano.<br /> The shop there has pasta, rice, bread, tomato salsa, mayo, chips, biscuits/chocolate and suncreme (but quite pricey).<br /> In El Médano we camped for 6k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2022-Dec-03 to 2022-Dec-06 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Véronica<br /> <br /> Route: Parque Inglés - Laguna Ánimas - Termas del Azufre - Termas del Blanquillo - Laguna del Caracol - Laguna de los Hornos - Los Cipreses<br /> <br /> A beautiful, remote section of true mountain wilderness. It took me 4 days, but only 2 hours hiking the dirt road to Los Cipreses on the last day (so very doable in 3 days). The only people I saw were a couple of arrieros at Termas del Blanquillo who told me they hadn't had a winter as snowy as this one in over 10 years. I was glad to have my microspikes for the vast snow fields near/on the passes. A couple places would have felt quite unsafe without them. <br /> <br /> Notable tidbits: <br /> <br /> Took a bus from Molina at 5pm (on a Friday) to El Radal, then hitchhiked to Parque Inglés. I camped there the first night for 7000 pesos. Pricey, but at least I had a beautiful and secluded spot by Rio Claro. <br /> <br /> The stretch between Las Ánimas Pass and Termas de Azufre had some sketchy traverses across disintegrating scree slopes that were downright nerve-wracking. I suppose if you go down to Laguna Mondaca, then back up to the Termas, you may not encounter this hazard. But I did get to observe a condor soar above my head on thermals for an hour as he surveilled his domain, that was super cool. <br /> <br /> For the first ford after Termas de Azufre, I crossed further upstream than indicated on the GPS track (see Carlos's comment below). It looked a lot safer there than downstream. There's continuous snow for about 3 km going over the pass after Thermas de Azufre, best to cross in the morning to avoid postholing when the snow gets too soft. <br /> <br /> Los Hornitos pass has a large, very steep lip of snow (leftover cornice) on its south side. It's possible to go around it by heading north for 50-100 meters and then making your way down on the volcanic sand.<br /> <br /> The spring between Termas del Blanquillo and Laguna del Caracol is a beautiful little desert oasis in an orherwise hot and dry stretch. It was a splendid spot to camp. <br /> <br /> There is LOTS of water. Laguna del Caracol and Laguna de los Hornos are both full of clear, refreshing water. A lot of the &quot;water&quot; GPS waypoints are actually fords this time of year (easy ones), and there's a lot of other water sources not listed on the tracks. But the section is very exposed, no shade, and very hot in the midday sun unless a breeze is blowing. <br /> <br /> No issues with the guards at Los Cipreses, they were friendly and let me pass no problem. From the first bus stop on the road, I hitched easily to Talca to resupply.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> *2022-Feb-20 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Molly <br /> <br /> Amazing section! I found the landscape to be very varied despite the lack of vegetation - and even with many pretty flowers near the streams. I personally found it to be a great ending to my GPT journey, a big contrast to the landscapes further south. Would make for a tough start though.<br /> Plenty of water. Met one hiker doing Circuito el Cóndor and three Chilean tourists on horseback. No arrieros, but plenty of cows and horses. The weather was cold and windy, sometimes veritable sandstorms which meant I almost couldn't open my eyes - maybe sunglasses could have helped. I wore my long pants over my boots instead of gaiters - should have listened to the advice, so much sand! <br /> <br /> Signs on the way to parque inglés say that you can only buy tickets online - don't know how strict they are, but no cell phone coverage at parque inglés and long before in case they insist. You have to be there before 15 to be let through to El Bolsón.<br /> Easy 11 km to El Bolsón through a young forest. No water at the first &quot;ford&quot; waypoint. Campground has toilets and showers, it's the only place you're allowed to camp until after Valle del Indio. Nice enough place next to the impressive Colmillo del Diablo. In hot weather it might be nice to camp here to take the long ascent in the morning.<br /> Laguna de las Animas would be a good campsite plus a nice place to swim. The first &quot;water&quot; waypoint afterwards is also great for camping - there is a nice little meadow.<br /> Las Animas pass is gorgeous!<br /> After Termas Azufre there are many confusing paths. They mostly seem to lead to the same place, but keep an eye on the GPS. When descending from the 2700 m pass towards Termas Blanquillo, you don't have to cross the stream to your right even though many paths do it. As noted by others, the hot springs Baños del Blanquillo are luke warm - but fine if you want to wash yourself a little and the stream is too cold. The refuge is locked.<br /> The next camp waypoint is in a cute valley with many streams, bushes and flowers. No grass, though. <br /> Laguna Caracol is beautiful as well, but very bare, surrounded by sand. I really liked the campsite afterwards, with views of both Volcán Descabezado and Cerro Azul. From there, a small CC section to the ascent where the path picks up again towards the Hornitos pass. Even more gorgeous with great and very different views to each site. Volcán Hornitos and the other little craters look really funny and special. Some hail was coming in, though, so I quickly slided down to the next camp waypoint, again a nice flat meadow. No water on the ascent. The first streams at the top of the pass were dry, but the path crosses a stream in 2100 m altitude. If you fill up at the water waypoint before the pass I agree you wouldn't have to carry extra water, the time between these two water points is around 2-3 hours.<br /> I climbed to the rim of Volcán Hornitos, there's nothing in there, but if you walk to the highest point the view is nice enough. It took me 20 minutes in total, and it was about worth that.<br /> The gravel road is nice the first kilometres, but then it gets pretty boring. The security guard at the end was very nice and welcoming.<br /> I camped at the shop just before the road - nice place by the river, 3000 per person with toilets and a cold shower, or 50,000 for a cabaña. From there I hitched the 3 km down the road to Restaurant Cordillera, nice enough, great with a beer, meat and fries. <br /> Bus left from the bus shed at 7:20 next morning - think it depends whether it goes to El Médano or not <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-20 to 2022-Jan-25 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Carlos <br /> Route: Parque Inglés - El Bolsón (Colmillo del Diablo summit) - Termas del Azufre - Termas del Blanquillo - Laguna Caracol - First bus stop on CH115 road.<br /> <br /> I hiked this route only a couple of days after Verónica &amp; Jo. Not much to add except:<br /> <br /> First day just hiked to El Bolsón (easy 4 hours), pitched my tent on the gorgeous campsite, left the heavy load and climbed the imposing &quot;Colmillo del Diablo&quot; (easy hike on a trail that goes around the back of the mountain).<br /> <br /> From Termas del Azufre climbing to the pass I followed a faint track on the steep loose slope instead of crossing at the first river ford. After a few hundred meters the track takes you to a flat wide rocky area (just before the slope becomes impossibly steep), where you can very easily ford the river (I didn't even get my feet wet).<br /> <br /> Plenty of buses Molina - Parque Inglés. But only one bus from el Médano - Los Cipreses to Talca, at around 7 am, which returns at 15:00. Only week days. Basic camping just in front of Los Cipreses shop (only ice cream, drinks, choco bars, biscuits): $4.000 pp.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Jan-10 to 2022-Jan-15 / 6 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> Route: Parque Inglès -&gt; Laguna de las Animas -&gt; Termas de Azufre -&gt; Descabezado base camp -&gt; Laguna del Caracol -&gt; Laguna Hornitos -&gt; First bus stop on 115-CH<br /> <br /> The five nights we just spent in a tent was the longest stretch we have ever gone without a decent bed on a hike. We skipped Radal, Laguna Mondaca and Termas de Medano, but still hiked in 6 days what others did in 3-4. We're basically easing into the GPT, gaining some fitness and experience before taking on the harder challenges.<br /> <br /> As others have said: the views are otherworldly and stunning. We felt like Touaregs traveling from oasis to oasis in the Saharan desert. Except that there actually are plenty of springs and little rivers flowing in most valleys.<br /> <br /> Useful tidbits:<br /> <br /> - There really is no shade after El Bolsòn. Either you make your own (e.g., adapting your tent to not trap heat) or you dress like a Touareg (loose clothing fully blocking the sun). For us, this was the hardest to deal with. We got up early but often stopped hiking at 13:00, enjoying the lakes or even just sitting down doing nothing that takes energy.<br /> <br /> - High-heeled boots and long trousers work well to keep the sand out.<br /> <br /> - Confirming Shn0rhelez: going up from Termas de Azufre until the second ford indeed passes plenty of water, no need to carry any.<br /> <br /> - Laguna Hornitos is drying up and hence less beautiful than the other lakes. Maybe it's better to camp at the start of the Hornitos plateau (SOBO, so north entry) as the area is flat and there is reasonably clean running water there.<br /> <br /> - There is no bus to Talca from Los Cipreses on saturdays or sundays. We asked at the shop and got a ride to Colorado from the brother-in-law of the shopkeeper for 15000 CLP.<br /> <br /> - In supermarkets, you can buy alcohol desnaturalizado cheaply in the nail polish section, or alternatively, use alcohol de quemar from the combustibles section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-26 to 2022-Jan-04 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / <br /> <br /> From Parque Inglés to the entrance of Reserva Achibueno<br /> Buy your ticket online for “El Bolsón” on the CONAF website and get to the trailhead before 3pm<br /> 4hrs hike to El Bolsón, a great place with waterfall, great views, nice camping spots, hikers<br /> TO CHECK: Bus from Molina to Parque Ingles leaves at 9 am (not positive) on week-ends and holidays <br /> Easy hitch from Radal to Parque Ingles coz lots of campers going there on week-ends<br /> Be careful a ranger told me the park closes on Mondays <br /> It took me around 4 days from Parque Siete Tazas Park entrance to the road Q115 (Central Cipreses)<br /> From Road 115 I hitched to a village by Colbún lake where I resupplied : good supermarkets (a little on the expensive side), food truck , pastry shop <br /> I didn't like Altos de Lircay NP : after El Bolson (4 hrs in) no fucking shade for 3 days and an half except that of a shelter a little off trail, blazing sun all day, sand sand sand, I found the place so inhospitable, monotonous sights : sand dunes for ever, quite some struggling pedalling in the soft sand, plus I had no gaiters (stupid me) and low heels shoes so that was a bummer. However the place is super special, feels like on the moon (beautiful pictures) and I can understand why many love it<br /> Some “hot springs” are actually just luke and others just a hole or boiling hot (I added these informations to the track and waypoints I sent to Jan Dudek) so don't be like me fantasizing all day on that fantastic bath you will get or wait for Jan's update (thanks so so much for all you do mate).<br /> After resupplying I hitched on option 7 XXX all the way the Mellado cañon (really nice, by the river all the time), communities. After hiking South from Carizales (which has a very limited “store”) I was short on time and food and realized bare landscapes over the tree line were not my cup of tea (I prefer hiking below 1700 m in this part of Patagonia) so I left RR and took another option all the way to the West to Reserva Achibueno which I really enjoyed : great landscapes, lakes, rivers and met some cool hikers and fishermen<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-09 to 2021-Dec-12 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / AR past Laguna Manatial Pelado / Vera &amp; James<br /> <br /> We arrived the day before at Parque Ingles and camped the night there. From Molina there is a bus to Radal at 5pm wed-fri, and direct to Parque Ingles on weekends. The only way to pay for park entry is online at www.aspticket.cl.<br /> <br /> As an aside, we really liked Molina. It has plenty for resupply whilst being nice and small. There is a fishing shop opposite the Santa Isabel supermarket that sells gas.<br /> <br /> Day 1 we headed up the RR as far as just above Laguna de las Animas by 2pm, a brutal climb in the midday sun! At this point the sun disappeared and clouds quickly rolled in, within 10 minutes lightning was hitting the peaks directly around us. We beat a hasty retreat back to El Bolsen and camped there.<br /> <br /> We decided to take the alternate route past Laguna Manatial Pelado. A beautiful route if hot and sandy. We have realised the best time time to take on a long, sandy ascent in sunny weather is very early in the morning, after 9am it was brutally hot. <br /> <br /> We then continued on the regular route. As has been said before, it's remote and stunning. We had some strong winds coming over Pass de Hornitos, and even some sleet on the final day!<br /> <br /> Arrived in Los Cipreses on a Sunday and we didn't see a single person except the security guard. We got mixed messages from him and then the mini shop owner about buses to Talca. I would assume there isn't one on a Sunday. We hitched to El Colorado then got a bus from there to Talca.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Dec-03 to 2021-Dec-09 / 7 days (GPT 05 + 06) / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We also decided to combine sections 5 and 6 to avoid in’n’out to and from Parque Inglés. It took us 6 and a half days and some of it was bloody hard. I have never before experienced my ass being handed over to me by a trail. We got beaten to the point where first signs of weakness started to show and I have to admit we kind of even started discussing a plan B and bailing this ditch trail. But only for a moment, once you hit the rock bottom there is only one way to go - up! It was literally and figuratively, and as terrain improved so did our mood and we laughed off the silly thoughts we had had earlier. <br /> <br /> The first 45km of the section 5 were great, awesome hiking and then shit hit the fan real quick. Ascent up from the ford at km 45 was hard but alright. And then came the descent down to Rio Negro (51km), very steep and very loose scree slope. We wanted to make it to Rio Colorado for the night to cross it early in the morning in case there is no bridge. But because the trail or I must rather say the lack of it was really taking more time than we expected, by the time we got to Rio Negro it was already getting dark. The river was very rapid and murky so you couldn’t gauge the depth of it and couldn’t see where to step, we had to really concentrate to cross it, luckily it was only balls deep.<br /> <br /> It was dark as we got across it and we continued the fun, albeit type 2 fun, illuminated by our headlamps. Then came the insanely steep gully that allowed you to enter the valley of Rio Colorado. Something was off with the elevation lines on Gaia and it showed that we will be descending right over the cliff, it was luckily only a glitch. As we couldn’t see much ahead we kept descending ever so carefully on this very very challenging terrain, I would even go as far as to say that it was stupid and outright dangerous. But there was no other way, you just had to stay focused. There were also some rocks falling off the cliff under which we were descending. In a sense night was a good time to do it because you couldn’t see all the dangers - only what lie within the beam of the headlamp. <br /> <br /> Then came an extremely slow going, pretty much crawling speed traverse down to Rio Colorado, which we fully improvised as there was no trail anyway and got down to Rio colorado about a kilometer before the bridge, where we set up camp abit past midnight. <br /> <br /> So yes, the bridge was there - a decent one, seemed permanent and it was a relief that we at least don’t have to start the day by risking our lives fording Rio Colorado. The river was pretty wide and the current seemed pretty fast, it wasn’t murky though but you couldn’t see how deep it really was. But we think it could have been forded in case there would be no bridge. There were a few places that looked doable with somewhat laminar flow. The excitement of the existence of the bridge didn’t last too long as we were slapped back into reality by the difficult terrain, it wasn’t as dangerous anymore as the previous night but difficult nevertheless. Once we got closer to the pass the trail appeared and it was actually pleasant hiking once again. <br /> <br /> To sum it up the descent down to the Rio Colorado valley, then traversing it and the first part of crawling out of the valley sucks big time, but the rest of the section is really nice and not too challenging terrain-wise. I wouldn’t want to skip this section because it had some breathingtaking views. Just that on the hard part of it you can’t really enjoy any of it as all your effort is elsewhere. <br /> <br /> The guards at Laguna Mondaca were the nicest people we have met in Chile so far. They invited us to stay at the property, gave us food and drinks. They insisted we don’t use any of our supplies or gear. They even provided us with a room with a bed and we got to recharge all of our electronics and got a hot shower aswell. It was perfect! And just to make it clear there are no fancy villas there just a few small simple houses where the owner of the property comes for fishing once in a while. And guards weren’t armed either.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to get to Laguna Mondaca and not far after it we joined the section 6 which took 2 and a half more days. <br /> <br /> Section 6 was really something, we haven’t had such a strong otherworldly experience anywhere else. It was really like being on another planet at times. The blue sky was the only thing that gave it away that we were still on Earth. Really bizarre landscape and definitely the most beautiful breathtaking section of the six that we have done so far. <br /> <br /> Regarding the difficulty, compared to section 5 it didn’t feel that difficult at all. Walking on sand is challenging, yes, especially going uphill. But on the other side going down is much easier on the soft sand - you can just run/jog without much impact on your body as the sand absorbs it all. Shoes got completely wrecked and we took many “shoe-emptying” breaks because they were just filled with rocks and coarse sand. <br /> <br /> We even took a dip in one of the lakes close to Descabezado and seeing how water is just coming out of the sand and turning into a river was really really cool, just as the whole landscape around there. <br /> <br /> We camped at the lake about 5km from Los Cipreses. When we arrived to the road to take bus to Talca the bus stop didn’t have any schedule and the shop close by was closed. So we couldn’t find out about the bus schedule and the traffic on the road seemed pretty dead. But luckily after 15 min of waiting a car that was going to Talca picked us up, perfecto! <br /> <br /> Overall plenty of water on both sections, a lot of exposure to the sun, and some challenging terrain. It all together made for a great experience, just what we were looking for. It humbled us and we definitely had to adjust our expectations and recalibrate our way of hiking, it is GPT - not more and not less. <br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / OH to Laguna Manantial / Frank <br /> <br /> At Parque Ingles I registered with Conaf, they record your route &amp; where you will camp. Deregistered by email later. Easy 3 hour walk to El Bolson, lots of people camping there but they don't go any further. Took optional route to Laguna Manantial. At 2160M there is a small meadow &amp; stream, this is last water &amp; last camp before the lake. You go over a pass @ 2560M then drop 80M to the lake. Camped on the lakeshore. <br /> Termas Blanquillo were only tepid. Camped on a small beach @ S end of Laguna de Los Hornos. The lake is nearly dried out, only a little semi stagnant water left. Best to carry water in from one of the streams a little above the lake. Last 11KM are on dirt roads, you could hitch easily if you want. Met 2 security guards, they were both friendly, no access problems if you are Southbound. Small campsite @ shop on way out. Amazing section, some tough uphill on sand but scenery is like Mars. Definitely use small gaiters or you will be emptying sand out of your shoes every 10 mins.<br /> <br /> At the end of GPT06 if you go on the north bank of Rio Maule the route is blocked by a cliff beyond Los Alamos &amp; you need to cross the river to continue. Better to go on the road. After 2KM on the road you pass 2 shops, better food selection than in El Medano. They have accommodation also. At Bridge 17 you can rejoin RR or continue on road but RR is nicer.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-24 / 7 days (GPT 05 + 06) / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes + Tobias<br /> <br /> Overview: <br /> So, I decided to combine GPT sections 5 and 6 in order to avoid a 30k out and back resupply section into parque ingles. I thought this was a good decision for me and really enjoyed being out there for a week. In my opinion this was the hardest section of the GPT in between sections GPT 01-10. I went the first 5 days without seeing another person which I thought was quite cool. So, these two sections are quite remote, and you are way out there in the mountains. There was also some pretty intense river crossing in “GPT Section 5” that I found to be manageable (keep in mind I’m 185cm and have lots of thru hiking experience.) but still a little difficult. The rivers were also very dark and murky which made it hard to see where you would step. There was also an improvised bridge crossing the Colorado River that I used, and thought was safe to use. These two sections are dominated by a volcanic profile with much of the route on ash and volcanic rock. Most of the route is very exposed and there are not many trees or vegetation that grow in the volcanic ash/rocks. There was plenty of water with springs coming out of the hills everywhere and then disappearing into the sand.<br /> <br /> Difficulties:<br /> It was slow going walking thru the sand, especially when hiking vertically. Exposure to the sun. River crossings. Isolation and remoteness. Hiking up and down lose rock and scree fields.<br /> <br /> Highlights:<br /> Hot Springs. Great views of the volcanic region. Mountain Lakes. Sunrise and Sunsets were epic with the landscape. <br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-23 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Shn0rhelez<br /> <br /> Parque Ingles to El Medano southbound/main route ... 7 days duration(2 nights spent on laguna Las Animas)...section passable...Strong sun, no shadow after the park... Gaiters strongly recommended...the SUBsection between termas del azufre and second ford Before the pass (2700m) is full with water... my personal opinion is the backpack weight can be minimized... Good luck! <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-09 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Bruno &amp; Martin<br /> <br /> Parque Inglés to El Medano<br /> 5 days for this amazing section. We started in Parque Inglés in Radal 7 Tazas National Park. Had to wait for one more day because of limited hiking permits towards El Bolsón. 80 daily permits allowed and delivered at 8:30 in the morning, to be minded on weekends when the park is full. Followed Regular Route Laguna Las Ánimas, Azufre Hotsprings, Descabezado base camp, Laguna Caracol and then down to Los Cipreses. Cold section and bad weather towards the end, some rain and freezing wind. Had to camp in Laguna Caracol waiting for the storm to pass and hike the last pass. <br /> The use of lightweight gaiters is advised for keeping the sand out of your shoes.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-25 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tom &amp; Maddie <br /> <br /> Parque Ingles to El Medano. Very beautiful (and exposed) section. Lots of water. The track from Los Cipreses to El Medano suffered from a few landslides meaning the route was slower than anticipated. I would consider taking the road next time as there is no loss of scenery. We resupplied in El Medano by basically buying all the food at the tienda (60000 CP for food for two people for the next section). Selection was good enough. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR from Vilches Alto / Tyler &amp; America <br /> <br /> A Stunning section. Vilches Alto made for a great optional start; rather than returning to Parque Ingles. (We came from Talca by bus - 2100 CP). Entrance fee was 6000 and camping 3000 PP. All trails were beautiful and a bit more trodden that sections before. Arrieros at thermal pools (not hot) were welcoming and friendly for us to camp. We took our sweet time in the beautiful section. We bussed from the first road access (south of town Los Cipreses/ OH-MR-V@06-E-#001) to Talca for a good re supply before the long next section, 2200 CP. Bus leaves this stop around 11.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-18 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR with optional start coming from GPT 5 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We combined sections 5 and 6 via optional trail. <br /> GPT06 took us 2 days and bit (first day we did just 4km from 6th section).<br /> I agree with everything what was written in previous updates.<br /> Nice sandy trails. Mornings were freezing cold. No problems while crossing rivers. After optional start regular trail didn't correspond with any trail. We finally took one on the right side and after while they merged. And I don't know who was so commited, but thanks for marking the trail 😊<br /> <br /> There is a small tienda with coke and crisps before entering a main road from Los Cipress. If you continue by main road toward El Medano there is restaurant Cordillera where we refueled again. Accomodation in El Medano. I will edit with ressuply options later. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-14 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR (mainly) / Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> As we came from GPT05 and didn't want to go all the way &quot;back&quot; to the Paso Las Animas, we tried the Optional Investigation Route which starts at Parque Ingles right at the other side (South) of Rio Claro. It leads through private property, so we went to the guard, showed him the CONAF Permit (we bought one just in case, and of course they said it's not possible to walk on the other side of the river), explained him that we would only hike through and gave him some cerezas. He informed his Colleagues via radio to let us pass. It was a nice and easy hike. Nothing to add to Linda's remarks for the rest of the trail.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-06 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Linda <br /> <br /> Start = Parque Ingles <br /> Finish = Las Termas El Medano<br /> <br /> GENERAL FEELING<br /> <br /> Amazing section !!!! Incredible mineral landscapes as soon as you go beyond Laguna Las Animas. It was tough because of the passes (and this was also my first hiking days and I carried too much food ... ) and the ground around the volcanoes is sand ! So it makes each step even more difficult. I loved the contrast between the areas around the volcanoes and the Laguna Caracol is just one of the most beautiful place I've ever seen !!! <br /> <br /> LOGISTICS<br /> <br /> - Bus from Molina to El Radal (off season and weekdays = only one bus at 5pm in Molina that stops in El Radal. Weekend : it goes directly to Parque Ingles and the schedule may also be different)<br /> <br /> - Hitchhiked from El Radal to Parque Ingles<br /> <br /> - First night in a camping in Parque Ingles = 5000 CLP<br /> <br /> - The day after, I had to register to CONAF. Office opening at 8:30 am. Entrance fee = 6000 CLP<br /> Some people (5 or 6) were going to El Bolson for the day but after Laguna Las Animas, there was absolutely nobody till the end !<br /> <br /> - Still snow when you go beyond the 2300 meters high<br /> <br /> - Be careful for the last pass Las Hornitos, a lot of snow at the top and it makes it impossible to follow the GPS track to go down. I found my way on the left when you face the valley and then got back to the GPS track<br /> <br /> - No problem to go out from the mine. Actually, workers I met on my way down to Los Cipreses suggestedto drop me by car to the main road. The guard was just smiling when he saw me in the car and when I told him I was hiking<br /> <br /> - Mini market where you can find basic food (eggs, spaghetti, chocolate ...) in Las Termas El Medano<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2020-Feb-07 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Arnaud<br /> <br /> Amazing but hard section with a lot of denivelation. <br /> As we did not walk the section 5, we took the bus from Molina to Parque Ingles-7 Tazas (many buses, 4-5 buses per day). We registered to the Conaf Office and paid the entrance fee 6000 clp for foreigners. They gave us a mail adress so that we can announce our exit of the parque, to check the security.<br /> We walked the first 11km to the campspot El Bolson. It costs 4000 clp per person but has no interest. As the zone is protected, it is possible to freecamp only after el Bolson, before, it is prohibited.<br /> The Laguna Las Animas is very very beautiful and is welcome for a bath with the heat of this season.<br /> Then the paso las animas is easy and ashes are fun for downhills!<br /> We met nobody on the trail after el Bolson. So great! Except at one spot with termas with full of chilenos there.<br /> We lacked a bit of water at the laguna el Caracol but found 3kms further (just before the strong uphill) a source with drinkable water.<br /> No problem then to exit los cypress. We hitchhiked on the road with workers until the road to los Medanos.<br /> We stayed one day in los termas de los Medanos, at the camping and exit quickly (too many noise, people). The water is hot and nice after a hard section like this one. <br /> We resupplied at los termas (with pasta, arros, pancito, manjar). No gas available there.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> You need to carry all the food for the entire trail. There is no food supply after Parque Ingles. If you meet arrieros at one of the Puestos you may ask for some goat or lamb meet but if you are not ready to take an entire or at least half an animal they may be reluctant to sell. Refill your water supply at the marked river crossings and the camps. In between these waypoints your will find only ocasinally some trickling water because water trickles away easily into the volcanic soil.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> * 2021 / Vera &amp; James<br /> <br /> Molina: It has plenty for resupply whilst being nice and small. There is a fishing shop opposite the Santa Isabel supermarket that sells gas.<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> * 2022 / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Los Cipresses: small shop (only ice cream, drinks, choco bars, biscuits) + camp with cold shower, toilets, electricity and access to the river, all for 5000 for 2 people. We even got sandwiches for dinner as there was no other place around to eat. <br /> <br /> * 2022 7 Anna&amp;Christopher <br /> <br /> El Médano: The shop there has pasta, rice, bread, tomato salsa, mayo, chips, biscuits/chocolate and suncreme (but quite pricey).<br /> In El Médano we camped for 6k CLP p.p.<br /> <br /> * 2020 / Frank <br /> After 2KM on the road after Los Alamos (to El Medano) you pass 2 shops, better food selection than in El Medano. They have accommodation also.<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route= <br /> <br /> ==Parque Ingles==<br /> <br /> During the main season in January and February several buses go from Molina and Curico to Radal and some even go all the way to Parque Ingles. Outside of the main season there is only one daily bus from Molina to Radal leaving in the afternoon from the rural bus station in Molina.<br /> <br /> *2020 / Frank In summer there are 6 buses a day Molina-Parque Ingles.<br /> <br /> Mon-Sat they leave Molina @ 10:20, 11:30, 12:40, 3PM, 6:15PM, 8:15 PM Sunday Molina- Parque Ingles 7:45, 9:30, 2PM, 7:30PM, 10PM 2 hours to Parque Ingles, buses leave from terminal near main plaza in Molina. Parque Ingles-Molina 7:10, 11, 1PM, 3:45PM, 4:45PM, 6:30PM Mon-Sat Sun. 10:30, 1:30PM, 3:30PM, 5:45PM, 6:45PM <br /> <br /> <br /> *2019/ Martina &amp; Ivo <br /> <br /> Monday to Thursday: Molina-Radal: 17:00 // Radal-Molina: 07:30<br /> <br /> Friday: Molina-P.Ingles: 17:00 // Radal-Molina: 07:30<br /> <br /> Saturday: Molina-P.Ingles: 11:30 // 13:30 / P.Ingles-Molina: 18:00<br /> <br /> Sunday: Molina-P.Ingles: 09:00 // P.Ingles-Molina: 15:30 / 17:00<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ==Los Cipreses / El Medano ==<br /> <br /> * 7 am in front of Los Cipreses - someone has to call in advance for the bus to go all the way to el Médano - loads of tourists there, though, so someone might have called. Other connections should be at 9:15 and 17:20 (one at 1620 l3aves from further downstream). The other way around, the buses leave Talca at 7, 13, 15 and 19, according to the schedule at Talca bus station.<br /> <br /> <br /> *This trail section finished at the Route 115 to Talca. Big road with many cars (hitchhiking possible)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023 / Louis, Rémi &amp; Noé <br /> <br /> From Los Cipreses only one bus at 7am. We hitchiked to El Colorado where plenty of buses are going down to Talca for 2 000 CLP (+ 400 CLP per bag)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023 / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Buses from Talca to la Mina go at; 7:00am, 1:00pm (only to la Suiza), 3:00pm and 7:00pm. <br /> Vilches: bus clearly did not follow the posted schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022 / Veronika &amp; Jo <br /> <br /> - There is no bus to Talca from Los Cipreses on saturdays or sundays. We asked at the shop and got a ride to Colorado from the brother-in-law of the shopkeeper for 15000 CLP. <br /> <br /> <br /> == Vilches ==<br /> <br /> * 2023 / Natalie &amp; Tomáš <br /> <br /> Bus clearly did not follow the posted schedule so if you are there just ask the many locals around what time the bus comes, we caught the 1230 bus.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> * CONAF does register all trekkers at Parque Ingles (GPT01-WP004) but does not charge an entrance fee. Camp fires are not permitted within the national park that reaches from Radal (GPT01-WP001) to the Laguna las Ánimas (GPT01-WP013).<br /> <br /> * 2023<br /> <br /> When starting from Vilches and going northbound, a permit to access the Volcano (or the Condor Circuit) is required. CONAF won't let you enter in Altos de Lircay without it. Call them to get the correct number. Moreover, you have to pay the entrance fee to the reserve and it is closed on Mondays in March.<br /> <br /> *2023 <br /> <br /> Start at Parque Ingles: <br /> Entry ticket for Bolsón overnight needed: 8$ (book it before online at www.aspticket.cl + get to the trailhead before 3pm) <br /> The parc can be entered illegally in the morning (around 7 pm).<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019<br /> <br /> Optional start Vilches Alto: Entrance fee was 6000 and camping 3000 PP.<br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT06 - Volcán Descabezado]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[File:18 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|In the huge ash field]]<br /> [[File:10 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (9).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT06 - Volcán Descabezado]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (5).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Greater Patagonian Trail]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (17).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|[[Cerro Azul]].]]<br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (11).jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 6]]<br /> [[File:01 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, El Bolsón.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|El Bolsón]]<br /> [[File:02 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Leaving El Bolsón.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Leaving El Bolsón]]<br /> [[File:03 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:04 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Las Ánimas.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Las Ánimas]]<br /> [[File:05 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Pass 2560 m.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Pass 2560 m]]<br /> [[File:06 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Approaching Laguna Mondaca.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Approaching Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:07 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Mondaca.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:08 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, that bypasses Laguna Mondaca.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Bypasses Laguna Mondaca]]<br /> [[File:09 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:11 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Termas de Azufre.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Termas de Azufre]]<br /> [[File:12 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:13 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:16 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:17 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|GPT 06]]<br /> [[File:19 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:20 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:21 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:23 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:24 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:25 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:26 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Leaving the Base Camp Descabezado Grande.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Leaving the Base Camp Descabezado Grande]]<br /> [[File:27 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Hot springs at Base Camp Descabezado Grande.jpg|thumb|1100px|center|Hot springs at Base Camp Descabezado Grande]]<br /> [[File:28 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:29 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:31 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:32 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:33 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:34 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:35 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:37 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:38 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:39 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:40 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:41 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.PNG|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:43 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Camp near Laguna Los Hornitos.jpg|Camp near Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:44 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Los Hornitos.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:45 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado, Laguna Los Hornitos.PNG|thumb|1100px|center|Laguna Los Hornitos]]<br /> [[File:46 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:47 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]<br /> [[File:48 Greater Patagonian Trail, Volcan Descabezado.jpg|thumb|1100px|center]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT04_(Alto_Huemul)&diff=113113 2023-12-17T17:52:23Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-15 to 2023-Dec-17 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / 04A-RR-04E-RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> I go for {04-A}, resupply at Puente Negro, 3 small shops and 2 tiny shops there. (Agua Buena and Las Peñas also have some small shops, but they were all close when I was there. Maybe too early?)<br /> <br /> Km21 : gate and 2 dogs, a women come out and charge me 4000CLP for entrance fee.<br /> <br /> Km23.2 : sandy spot can fit 1 tent just beside the road at downhill side, a side trail leads you to there in 20sec. Beside the river, with a fire ring and swimming pool!<br /> <br /> Then i take {04-E}, the junction of {04-E} is at RR km24.4, easy walking, some camping spots and water resources.<br /> <br /> Lot of camping spots with fire ring from start to {04-E} km2.5, some stream is flowing too, but maybe dry soon.<br /> <br /> {04-E} km6.5 : pass, some flat spot, but better camping spot is forward.<br /> <br /> {04-E} km7.1 : nice camping spot with fire ring and log seats, beside a flowing stream too! Look like it is a reliable water.<br /> <br /> {04-E} km8.6 : pass, large area of flat spot with great views.<br /> <br /> {04-E} km8.85 : water flowing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> RR km33.4 : water flowing.<br /> <br /> Km33.85 : pass, several sandy spot in this area can fit total 3-4 tents, you can found 2 nice spot at compass north of the pass, with great views and cell services too!<br /> <br /> Snow start from km36.1 to km39.7, not difficult and passable. Beware of windy.<br /> <br /> Look like some nice flat spot at first lake km37.7, second lake km39.3 and beside a stream km40, but they are wet and muddy now(sonw melting).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km42.5 : camping spot with fire ring and log seats at down hill side.<br /> <br /> Km45.2 : large flat area can fit some tents after a river crossing.<br /> <br /> Km46.3 : camping spot with rock seats.<br /> <br /> Km46.45 : camping spot with fire ring and rock seats, a side trail here lead you to the river(40sec), 1 more nice camping spot with rock seats is just beside the river.<br /> <br /> Km49 : pass after a stream crossing, with some flat spots and good views, but mostly the ground are hard.<br /> <br /> Km51.1 : locked gate, climb over.<br /> <br /> Km51.35 : camping spot with fire ring.<br /> <br /> Km52.55 : nice camping spot with fire ring, picnic table ang wooden seats, close to the river too.<br /> <br /> Km53.6 &amp; 53.9 : cross river 2 times, strong flow and above half of thighs at early morning.<br /> <br /> Km54.5 : dirt road start, lot of flat spots beside the road on both side.<br /> <br /> Km58.6 : locked gate, climb over.<br /> <br /> I met a park ranger at the dirt road, he said he came to here for observation, maybe this area will be national park at the future.<br /> <br /> <br /> A small shop in Los Queñes, super friendly.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-24 to 2023-Nov-26 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Jens<br /> <br /> The route over the hill of Aguas Buenas cannot be reached via the route marked on the map, as there is a gate in the way. Further to the west is another path, which at some point further up the hill meets up with the original path again. From there it is easy to reach the road to Las Penas.<br /> <br /> In Las Penas I am asked for 4000 pesos. I told the man that I wasn't going to stay but would hike to Los Quenes. He was happy with that. <br /> <br /> Shortly after the first lagoon, a cherry plantation was created, which completely blocked the main path with its fences. I tried to walk along the fence, but had to turn round after a while because of the bushes. On the other side, you can easily get around the plant ash and after about a kilometre back onto the actual path by the river. <br /> <br /> On the second day, we climbed up to 2400 metres. The climb was steep but not difficult. Shortly before the top, we were surprised by snow that remained lying on the ground and accompanied us for several kilometres towards the valley. We had no problems getting over it. However, it is possible that the snow could turn out to be problematic when it melts.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-24 to 2023-Nov-26 / 2,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Variant A + RR / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn <br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present - snow from km 36,4 to km 40,5<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 22,5 ( Laguna del encanto ) | km 40,5 ( ridgeline - water from the snow around )<br /> <br /> - River crossing : a few river crossings between km 42,4 to 54,18 - the last one on Estero Los Pejerreyes was really tricky, strong current and water at waist - Nolwenn couldn't do it with her bags so Yannick did it twice and was helped by Jen's ( other GPT hiker) - Nolwenn jumped in the current and 'swam' to the other side<br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny <br /> <br /> - Resupply : there is 2 little shops in Los Quenes, but we didn't resuplly as we are heading to section 12 to go NOBO from there -( there is too much snow on section 5&amp;6 at the moment )<br /> <br /> - Accomodation : camping ' Tres palos' at Los Quenes - 8000 pesos per person ( you can ask for informtat the pizzeria in town)<br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant A - we wanted to avoid going into private properties - the road was quiet in the morning and after ' Puente Negro' it turns into a gravel road<br /> <br /> - Warning : still some snow near the Laguna Fria area, but it was manageable for us.<br /> <br /> - Overall : Nice section, the views from the pass are beautiful. The Laguna was frozen still. The dogs in Los Quenes in the street we're all super nice and not aggressive at all.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-08 to 2023-Mar-10 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Hannes &amp; Luisa<br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Agua Buena to Las Peñas. Everything fine till -34.8001 -70.7687. There is a fenced cherry plantation with incorporated RR minor road for a few hundred meters. You can walk around on the left all along the fence and you get again to RR (or maybe take the OH where the fence starts?). Nice camp at the rio at -34.8398 -70.7613 way before the pass. There is still water going up to the pass. Last we found at -34.8576 -70.7593. Puesto with gate at -34.9740 -70.7455, nobody there. Nice camp at -34.9822 -70.7442, probably crowded on weekends and holidays...straight before we got out to the bridge close to Los Queñes another gate with supposed dogs behind, you can walk around this area left side moving down to the river. You will get out directly under the big bridge. In Los Queñes we stood for 15k each at the house of a señora who lives where is the feria de artesania, coming from the cordillera turn right after the Carabinero station and follow about 50m, turn right again, last house bottom left corner near river.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-18 to 2022-Dec-21 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO RR and SOBO Options / Tomáš<br /> <br /> First I went from Terme del Flaco over the pass to Ruta-55. It is easy trail, almost all horse trail, not CC, but in parts overgrown at knee-height with those annoying spiky things, also dusty with little rocks Fallon ginto your shoes as it has not rained since ages. In the afternoon light it was quite scenic. There is a path going from the camping ground along the hot creek (see below) and then the river for about 1 km, then there is a bridge - nicer and shorter than the official route. It took me about seven hours of walking to get to the other side. There is a mine there (I think for cement) with cell reception and I think some 3g service. Then no coverage until Los Quenes. During workweek, there are lots of trucks with the mine material going to a junction 1 km from Los Quenes, so getting a ride should be easy. There is also some traffic towards the border, so a ride as far as this route follows the optional GPT05 track should also be possible, but could involve an hour or more of waiting. In Los Quenes, there are two shops, the first (on the right before you get to town from the direction of the mountains) is better stocked, it had some nectarines, no cherries. On Monday, restaurants were closed (the one marked in OSM at the exit of the town does not seem to exist), not sure about accomodation. Probably possible to stock for a week for GPT05 but it was not great, worse then Coya. (I returned on Thursday and the estaurants were opened ,there is a pizzeria and another one but I did not eat there, the second shop now also had some nectarines).<br /> <br /> In the Termas, there was a camping at the end of the road that goes to the baths. 10000 per night. They had electricity, it went out for a few hours during evening but I charged everything. They also have wifi, slow but usable for audio calls. No cell service. The baths cost 6000 per entry (no re-entry). Hours are something like 8-12 and 1530-21. Longer on weekends. The shops that I have seen did not seem well stocked but there are lots of restaurants. From the camping ground, if you follow the water, there is a free hot creek with perfect temperature, about 30 metres far.<br /> <br /> As for transport, I got a shared car for about 15000 (it is two hours ride) from San Fernando at 1530 on Friday after asking at the bus station. I do not think it goes every day. There are cars going in both directions in the valley, so hitchiking should work, but be prepared to wait. Due to me losing some stuff, I went back - twice I got a first car in five minutes, once eight cars passed and I only got a ride after two hours. Outside of the weekends, there is less traffic that goes all the way to the Termas. No cell reception in the valley until cca 10 km out of Puente Negro.<br /> <br /> RR NOBO from Los Quenes is uneventful. The valley is quite beautiful with trees and lovely creek until about 1700, then the track (no snow now) was easy to follow but during midday rather dull including the lakes. It started to be pretty again at about the same height. Met a huge herd of goats with a silent ariero. I got over the same gate as Yannic and Mirjam, ate a few cherries from the new orchard (a few branches were overhanging the fence), then followed the MR without paying anything (I guess they meant the gate with the house and sign saying that some basic food is on sale about 3 km from the tarmac road) going NOBO. Once I reached the tarmac road, I started hitching (enough of cars), never making it to Aqua Buena and not meeting Pedro. Took me 46 hours.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-08 to 2022-Dec-11 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We started in the afternoon at the property of José Pedro (see our comment from the last section) who showed us a little different way than the beginning of RR with saying the owners changed since the trail was established and it might be problematic to get on the trail through some gate? We are not sure bc we decided to follow Jose’s advices and didn’t even try to start on the RR. His way should be a little shorter and easier, its basically the same direction to the bridge as RR but more on the left side. You just aim at the highest mountain visible in that direction, half way on the hill, and always stay on a clear path - anything else got us off after all. We lost the path a few times and ended up close to the top of the hill from where we got clear view over the farms. You just need to get down and from there you actually connect to the RR. In one point you get to a natural “fence” made out of branches that goes around the farm and thats the only time when you should go into it, just for a short time.. then there is a short section through the cherry farm (sufficient hole in the fence) and after reaching one of the main gates which was opened its easy walking down the road to the bridge.. we met even some cars with workers and there were plenty of cherries everywhere in this time of the year. We crossed the bridge at night already and therefore had to camp close to the road to Las Peñas, but there are some cabanas to spend the night in.<br /> <br /> With everything closed in Las Peñas in the morning we continued further to the Laguna. José Pedro arranged the entrance for us the day before but we don’t know if it was necessary, we ended up paying 8000$ each which is double of what other hikers paid and some of them probably got in even without paying. Anyway señora Rosa who is working at the entrance and lives in the house was amazing, we bought some drinks from her and even got a little breakfast (pan + coffee) before continuing. Toilets and water after the entrance. The first laguna was not very interesting with a lot of noisy locals so we continued further, really nice hiking all the way to the pass. As mentioned, the track files are not 100% accurate in some places (farm fields changed) but we managed to find the way, only one gate had to be jumped over. Lot of cherries everywhere. We spent the night before the pass. Laguna was really nice and overall no problem with the descent down to Los Quenes, eventhough its a little up and down all the time. One more night before we got to the village, so 3 nights in total. Los Quenes really surprised us in a positive way - the restaurant Pamela is great, we rented a cabana from them as well for 35k. 3-4 shops in total with good selection of things. Amazing cafe place (Canela), the Oasis pizza is really good as well.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-16 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> After having a relaxing rest day at Pedro's, we set off for GPT04. Although Pedro explained the route in detail, we got confused in the terrain and ended up going into the plantation.<br /> Optimal would be to start on the trail behind Pedro's house over the hills. Then follow the trail of GPT04 as soon as you reach it (plantations on the right). This way you avoid gates and crossing plantations for the most part.<br /> On the boring road to Las Peñas we made hitchhiking which worked well. From Las Penas just follow the Minor Road. At the gate you have to pay 4000 CLP/person. Just say that you are on your way to Los Quenes. Some small plantations have been newly built, which is why the road does not correspond to the GPX. Before the minor road ends, a small trail goes off to the left where there is a gate. We were able to climb through the gate at the bottom.<br /> Nice camping spot at (-34.80711, -70.76521) near the water.<br /> Good trail for the climb up to Laguna Fria. There were still a few snowfields on the pass, but they are easily passable. We spent the night on the northern shore of Laguna Fria (near rock wall at -34.87688, -70.74425) because may was better protected from the wind there.<br /> There was still a lot of snow before the descent to the second lake. We therefore walked along the ridge and then descended further ahead to the lake. Track.is not yet in the official GPT GPS files. But the trail is marked on the regular map.<br /> Descent was steep, but the trail was in good shape (easy cross country) Camp{04}[53.4/852] no longer exists. However, 500m before there is a bigger camp with tables and benches. 500m later (at -34.98982, -70.75429) a smaller one with a simple fireplace. Both directly on the river.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-28 to 2021-Nov-30 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We started from Agua Buena around noon and tried to follow Franks suggestion, but after a few hundred meters where the road turns left we encountered a gate with four angry dogs behind it, otherwise the gate would be climbable. <br /> <br /> We turned back and from the main road entered an open gate to a cherry farm in hopes to find a different route to meet the RR. There we met a nice old lady Victoria, very talkative she invited us in for a cold drink and said that through her farm it’s unfortunately impossible to pass through because of the bushes and fences, but she called her friend Pedro Jose who owns a land behind the cherry farm that we couldn’t pass earlier. <br /> <br /> We went to meet Pedro at his house and he turned out to be a really nice guy, very friendly and spoke good English because he had lived in Finland for 10 years. He also invited us in and we discussed the route among other things. He then guided us on a ninja-path, through the back bush of his and his neighbors land. He said that that guy probably wouldn’t open the gate for us, who knows. After climbing over and under two barbed wire fences we were on the route. <br /> <br /> Jose Pedro told us about a better faster route to get to Las Peñas but we opted for following the RR which was a big mistake. The first few km were fine but then it turned into a proper bush-whacky thorny adventure. Imagine one of those military training practices where people crawling in a dirt under a barbed wire, that’s how it felt at times. It was not fun and we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.<br /> Pedro’s recommendation was to go through the cherry/fruit farms to reach the road that is on the northern bank of Río Tinguiririca and follow that to the bridge over the river. <br /> <br /> Pedro allowed us to share his phone number (+56 961 357 353) in case other hikers might need help getting around the fences. Write him a phone message or on WhatsApp (don’t call), mention that you are hiking the GPT, when you are in Agua Buena. He doesn’t have a car and cannot give any rides. But he offered to host hikers at his property, you can put up your tent, have a hot shower, use kitchen and charge your electronics, all for 10.000 pesos.<br /> <br /> Sign before the bridge said private property - entrance forbidden. We went anyway and didn’t meet anyone who would turn us back. There is a small shop and a bus stop at the turn where you get on to the dirt road about 5km from Las Peñas. We didn’t want to walk in a sandstorm - because of the amount of dust generated by the passing cars - and decided to hitch that part right away which was an easy hitch. <br /> In Las Peñas there are about 5 campsites and a small shop, but they are not as good as in Agua Buena. We were lucky to arrive there on Sunday and not a day or two earlier when all the campsites are filled with party people, everyone was leaving as we arrived. <br /> <br /> We stayed in Don Bosco campsite for 8000 pesos for two, which is a very cozy Christian campsite, with pool. We think it’s a good option in case of weekend arrival as it might be more peaceful there. By the time we arrived people were already leaving and we were the only people on the whole campsite.<br /> <br /> At the shop(minimarket) in town there is a pizza menu poster and you can order a delicious pizza to Las Peñas which we did. <br /> <br /> After leaving Las Peñas there is a gate in about three kilometers whch we think charges people who go to see the little laguna with waterfall a bit further up the road. When we got there the gate was closed because of the road-widening excavation works. But after explaining ourselves to a nice lady that was in charge there she let us through and didn’t ask for any fees. <br /> <br /> The climb over the pass to the lakes was very long but plenty of shade and water on the route. <br /> <br /> We stayed at the first lake - Laguna Fria/Guzman, very beautiful but a bit windy, some firewood can be found hidden behind the boulders close to the campsite at the end of the lake, but it was too windy for fire. We also think this was the better of the two lakes to camp at the other one was very wet all around. There was also an unmarked small lake/pond on the way to he second lake, looked more sheltered in case of really bad weather. <br /> <br /> The downhill from the second lake was brutal, very steep and no actual trail, once the steepness eased off and trail appeared it was overgrown. Luckily our complaints were heard and a few km later we met an arriero who was doing a trail-maintenance and cutting all the bushes around the trail, after that it was pretty good. But don’t think it’s an easy walk out of the valley all downhill, it’s a roller coaster with fords until you get sick of it. Last 6km are very walkable though. <br /> <br /> Section took us two and a half days. <br /> <br /> Nevertheless, we missed the last bus to Curico and stayed at the Los Pinos campground in Los Queñes. 6000 per person, cold shower included, the guy working there was very nice and helpful. Town has a few shops, with limited resupply options, town also has a problem with stray dogs. <br /> <br /> There are 5 buses a day to and from Curico first is at 7:30, last is at 18:00 cost is 1700 pesos pp. it’s about 45min drive. <br /> <br /> It’s time to have a rest day before heading out to section 5 and 6. <br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-10 to 2020-Jan-12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank<br /> <br /> I thought it would be an easy hike from Agua Buena to Las Penas. It isn't. At Agua Buena 500M from start is a fruit farm with no entry sign. No one @ the gate &amp; it was unlocked so I went in. Met the owner &amp; he wasn't too happy to see me but after a discussion I was allowed through. If you go 500M beyond the start in Agua Buena on main road there is a dirt road which branches right just as the main road goes left. The dirt road should come in to join RR just where you exit the fruit farm, allowing you to avoid going through the farm.<br /> <br /> You soon leave the dirt road &amp; go down on small trails into thorn scrub. The scrub is thick &amp; if you don't get the navigation exactly right you won't get through. After about 6KM RR goes through another fruit farm. I got in @ low point in fence but had to crawl under fence to get out. It would be easier to stay outside the fence (handrail it) &amp; rejoin RR after the farm. <br /> <br /> You cross Bridge 5 into another fruit farm, no entry sign on bridge. As you leave the farm there is a house, they might not let you in here if you are Northbound. Just after you get to the road there is a shop. 3 campsites (paid camping) &amp; 3 shops in Las Penas, last one does small meals. About 2K later you pay 3000 CLP entry fee @ a gate. Camped @ Water 25. There is one place with water beyond that but nowhere else to camp until the lakes. Lakes are nice but no shade &amp; no wood. I would suggest road walking the first section to Las Penas or get the bus (see updated transport section)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-20 to 20219-Dec-22 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / Southbound / Ian Hikes<br /> <br /> Overview: If hiking southbound this is the first section where it really starts to get green and the pine trees start to appear more frequently. The first section is dominated by dirt roads with paying campsites, cabins, puestos and other developments. Later you go over a large mountain pass with sweeping views in all direction completely above the tree line. Finally, you follow the valley into Los Quenes which in a nice little town to resupply in. The town has a small supermarket with many food options along with a few restaurants. These include pizza, sandwiches and empanadas. The plaza in the center of town also has free access to WIFI which I used while I was there.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: Exposed mountain pass. Route finding<br /> <br /> Highlights: Sweeping views. High mountain passes and lakes.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-30 to 2019-Dec-03 / 4days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> low water levels, no snow, trails in excellent condition. ...and food and accommodation in Los Queñes :-)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-09 to 2019-Dec-10 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We started in Las Peñas (we took Uber there from San Fernando). It took us 2 days. <br /> Trail is in good condition. Some parts on the descend are slightly overgrown, but still easy to follow. <br /> There is enough water on both sides.<br /> Accomodation, food and tiendas in Los Quenes.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> == Start Regular Route: Agua Buenas==<br /> Bus every half hour in daytime from San Fernando to Agua Buena. 5 buses a day from San Fernando to Las Penas, first one leaves San Fernando @ 11:30.<br /> <br /> ==Finish Regular Route: Los Quenes==<br /> See images below. This Timetable was obtained in January 2020.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT04 - Alto Huemul]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Quenes.jpg|800px|Bus Timetable]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (10).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 4]]<br /> <br /> [[File:gpt04 alto huemul.jpg|Aguas Buenas Valley, by [http://benoit.mirouse.free.fr/index.php/patagonie-2018/recit-photos/5-decembre/ Benoit Mirouse].]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT04_(Alto_Huemul)&diff=113112 2023-12-17T17:51:54Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-15 to 2023-Dec-17 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / 04A-RR-04E-RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> I go for {04-A}, resupply at Puente Negro, 3 small shops and 2 tiny shops there. (Agua Buena and Las Peñas also have some small shops, but they were all close when I was there. Maybe too early?)<br /> <br /> Km21 : gate and 2 dogs, a women come out and charge me 4000CLP for entrance fee.<br /> <br /> Km23.2 : sandy spot can fit 1 tent just beside the road at downhill side, a side trail leads you to there in 20sec. Beside the river, with a fire ring and swimming pool!<br /> <br /> Then i take {04-E}, the junction of {04-E} is at RR km24.4, easy walking, some camping spots and water resources.<br /> <br /> Lot of camping spots with fire ring from start to {04-E} km2.5, some stream is flowing too, but maybe dry soon.<br /> <br /> {04-E} km6.5 : pass, some flat spot, but better camping spot is forward.<br /> <br /> {04-E} km7.1 : nice camping spot with fire ring and log seats, beside a flowing stream too! Look like it is a reliable water.<br /> <br /> {04-E} km8.6 : pass, large area of flat spot with great views.<br /> <br /> {04-E} km8.85 : water flowing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> RR km33.4 : water flowing.<br /> <br /> Km33.85 : pass, several sandy spot in this area can fit total 3-4 tents, you can found 2 nice spot at compass north of the pass, with great views and cell services too!<br /> <br /> Snow start from km36.1 to km39.7, not difficult and passable. Beware of windy.<br /> <br /> Look like some nice flat spot at first lake km37.7, second lake km39.3 and beside a stream km40, but they are wet and muddy now(sonw melting).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km42.5 : camping spot with fire ring and log seats at down hill side.<br /> <br /> Km45.2 : large flat area can fit some tents after a river crossing.<br /> <br /> Km46.3 : camping spot with rock seats.<br /> <br /> Km46.45 : camping spot with fire ring and rock seats, a side trail here lead you to the river(40sec), 1 more nice camping spot with rock seats is just beside the river.<br /> <br /> Km49 : pass after a stream crossing, with some flat spots and good views, but mostly the ground are hard.<br /> <br /> Km51.1 : locked gate, climb over.<br /> <br /> Km51.35 : camping spot with fire ring.<br /> <br /> Km52.55 : nice camping spot with fire ring, picnic table ang wooden seats, close to the river too.<br /> <br /> Km53.6 &amp; 53.9 : cross river 2 times, strong flow and above half of thighs at early morning.<br /> <br /> Km54.5 : dirt road start, lot of flat spots beside the road on both side.<br /> <br /> Km58.6 : locked gate, climb over.<br /> <br /> I met a park ranger at the dirt road, he said he came to here for observation, maybe this area will be national park at the future.<br /> <br /> <br /> A small shop in Los Queñes, super friendly.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-24 to 2023-Nov-26 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Jens<br /> <br /> The route over the hill of Aguas Buenas cannot be reached via the route marked on the map, as there is a gate in the way. Further to the west is another path, which at some point further up the hill meets up with the original path again. From there it is easy to reach the road to Las Penas.<br /> <br /> In Las Penas I am asked for 4000 pesos. I told the man that I wasn't going to stay but would hike to Los Quenes. He was happy with that. <br /> <br /> Shortly after the first lagoon, a cherry plantation was created, which completely blocked the main path with its fences. I tried to walk along the fence, but had to turn round after a while because of the bushes. On the other side, you can easily get around the plant ash and after about a kilometre back onto the actual path by the river. <br /> <br /> On the second day, we climbed up to 2400 metres. The climb was steep but not difficult. Shortly before the top, we were surprised by snow that remained lying on the ground and accompanied us for several kilometres towards the valley. We had no problems getting over it. However, it is possible that the snow could turn out to be problematic when it melts.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-24 to 2023-Nov-26 / 2,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / Variant A + RR / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn <br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present - snow from km 36,4 to km 40,5<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 22,5 ( Laguna del encanto ) | km 40,5 ( ridgeline - water from the snow around )<br /> <br /> - River crossing : a few river crossings between km 42,4 to 54,18 - the last one on Estero Los Pejerreyes was really tricky, strong current and water at waist - Nolwenn couldn't do it with her bags so Yannick did it twice and was helped by Jen's ( other GPT hiker) - Nolwenn jumped in the current and 'swam' to the other side<br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny <br /> <br /> - Resupply : there is 2 little shops in Los Quenes, but we didn't resuplly as we are heading to section 12 to go NOBO from there -( there is too much snow on section 5&amp;6 at the moment )<br /> <br /> - Accomodation : camping ' Tres palos' at Los Quenes - 8000 pesos per person ( you can ask for informtat the pizzeria in town)<br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant A - we wanted to avoid going into private properties - the road was quiet in the morning and after ' Puente Negro' it turns into a gravel road<br /> <br /> - Warning : still some snow near the Laguna Fria area, but it was manageable for us.<br /> <br /> - Overall : Nice section, the views from the pass are beautiful. The Laguna was frozen still. The dogs in Los Quenes in the street we're all super nice and not aggressive at all.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-08 to 2023-Mar-10 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Hannes &amp; Luisa<br /> <br /> We hitchhiked from Agua Buena to Las Peñas. Everything fine till -34.8001 -70.7687. There is a fenced cherry plantation with incorporated RR minor road for a few hundred meters. You can walk around on the left all along the fence and you get again to RR (or maybe take the OH where the fence starts?). Nice camp at the rio at -34.8398 -70.7613 way before the pass. There is still water going up to the pass. Last we found at -34.8576 -70.7593. Puesto with gate at -34.9740 -70.7455, nobody there. Nice camp at -34.9822 -70.7442, probably crowded on weekends and holidays...straight before we got out to the bridge close to Los Queñes another gate with supposed dogs behind, you can walk around this area left side moving down to the river. You will get out directly under the big bridge. In Los Queñes we stood for 15k each at the house of a señora who lives where is the feria de artesania, coming from the cordillera turn right after the Carabinero station and follow about 50m, turn right again, last house bottom left corner near river.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-18 to 2022-Dec-21 / 4 days / Hiking / NOBO RR and SOBO Options / Tomáš<br /> <br /> First I went from Terme del Flaco over the pass to Ruta-55. It is easy trail, almost all horse trail, not CC, but in parts overgrown at knee-height with those annoying spiky things, also dusty with little rocks Fallon ginto your shoes as it has not rained since ages. In the afternoon light it was quite scenic. There is a path going from the camping ground along the hot creek (see below) and then the river for about 1 km, then there is a bridge - nicer and shorter than the official route. It took me about seven hours of walking to get to the other side. There is a mine there (I think for cement) with cell reception and I think some 3g service. Then no coverage until Los Quenes. During workweek, there are lots of trucks with the mine material going to a junction 1 km from Los Quenes, so getting a ride should be easy. There is also some traffic towards the border, so a ride as far as this route follows the optional GPT05 track should also be possible, but could involve an hour or more of waiting. In Los Quenes, there are two shops, the first (on the right before you get to town from the direction of the mountains) is better stocked, it had some nectarines, no cherries. On Monday, restaurants were closed (the one marked in OSM at the exit of the town does not seem to exist), not sure about accomodation. Probably possible to stock for a week for GPT05 but it was not great, worse then Coya. (I returned on Thursday and the estaurants were opened ,there is a pizzeria and another one but I did not eat there, the second shop now also had some nectarines).<br /> <br /> In the Termas, there was a camping at the end of the road that goes to the baths. 10000 per night. They had electricity, it went out for a few hours during evening but I charged everything. They also have wifi, slow but usable for audio calls. No cell service. The baths cost 6000 per entry (no re-entry). Hours are something like 8-12 and 1530-21. Longer on weekends. The shops that I have seen did not seem well stocked but there are lots of restaurants. From the camping ground, if you follow the water, there is a free hot creek with perfect temperature, about 30 metres far.<br /> <br /> As for transport, I got a shared car for about 15000 (it is two hours ride) from San Fernando at 1530 on Friday after asking at the bus station. I do not think it goes every day. There are cars going in both directions in the valley, so hitchiking should work, but be prepared to wait. Due to me losing some stuff, I went back - twice I got a first car in five minutes, once eight cars passed and I only got a ride after two hours. Outside of the weekends, there is less traffic that goes all the way to the Termas. No cell reception in the valley until cca 10 km out of Puente Negro.<br /> <br /> RR NOBO from Los Quenes is uneventful. The valley is quite beautiful with trees and lovely creek until about 1700, then the track (no snow now) was easy to follow but during midday rather dull including the lakes. It started to be pretty again at about the same height. Met a huge herd of goats with a silent ariero. I got over the same gate as Yannic and Mirjam, ate a few cherries from the new orchard (a few branches were overhanging the fence), then followed the MR without paying anything (I guess they meant the gate with the house and sign saying that some basic food is on sale about 3 km from the tarmac road) going NOBO. Once I reached the tarmac road, I started hitching (enough of cars), never making it to Aqua Buena and not meeting Pedro. Took me 46 hours.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-08 to 2022-Dec-11 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> We started in the afternoon at the property of José Pedro (see our comment from the last section) who showed us a little different way than the beginning of RR with saying the owners changed since the trail was established and it might be problematic to get on the trail through some gate? We are not sure bc we decided to follow Jose’s advices and didn’t even try to start on the RR. His way should be a little shorter and easier, its basically the same direction to the bridge as RR but more on the left side. You just aim at the highest mountain visible in that direction, half way on the hill, and always stay on a clear path - anything else got us off after all. We lost the path a few times and ended up close to the top of the hill from where we got clear view over the farms. You just need to get down and from there you actually connect to the RR. In one point you get to a natural “fence” made out of branches that goes around the farm and thats the only time when you should go into it, just for a short time.. then there is a short section through the cherry farm (sufficient hole in the fence) and after reaching one of the main gates which was opened its easy walking down the road to the bridge.. we met even some cars with workers and there were plenty of cherries everywhere in this time of the year. We crossed the bridge at night already and therefore had to camp close to the road to Las Peñas, but there are some cabanas to spend the night in.<br /> <br /> With everything closed in Las Peñas in the morning we continued further to the Laguna. José Pedro arranged the entrance for us the day before but we don’t know if it was necessary, we ended up paying 8000$ each which is double of what other hikers paid and some of them probably got in even without paying. Anyway señora Rosa who is working at the entrance and lives in the house was amazing, we bought some drinks from her and even got a little breakfast (pan + coffee) before continuing. Toilets and water after the entrance. The first laguna was not very interesting with a lot of noisy locals so we continued further, really nice hiking all the way to the pass. As mentioned, the track files are not 100% accurate in some places (farm fields changed) but we managed to find the way, only one gate had to be jumped over. Lot of cherries everywhere. We spent the night before the pass. Laguna was really nice and overall no problem with the descent down to Los Quenes, eventhough its a little up and down all the time. One more night before we got to the village, so 3 nights in total. Los Quenes really surprised us in a positive way - the restaurant Pamela is great, we rented a cabana from them as well for 35k. 3-4 shops in total with good selection of things. Amazing cafe place (Canela), the Oasis pizza is really good as well.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-16 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> After having a relaxing rest day at Pedro's, we set off for GPT04. Although Pedro explained the route in detail, we got confused in the terrain and ended up going into the plantation.<br /> Optimal would be to start on the trail behind Pedro's house over the hills. Then follow the trail of GPT04 as soon as you reach it (plantations on the right). This way you avoid gates and crossing plantations for the most part.<br /> On the boring road to Las Peñas we made hitchhiking which worked well. From Las Penas just follow the Minor Road. At the gate you have to pay 4000 CLP/person. Just say that you are on your way to Los Quenes. Some small plantations have been newly built, which is why the road does not correspond to the GPX. Before the minor road ends, a small trail goes off to the left where there is a gate. We were able to climb through the gate at the bottom.<br /> Nice camping spot at (-34.80711, -70.76521) near the water.<br /> Good trail for the climb up to Laguna Fria. There were still a few snowfields on the pass, but they are easily passable. We spent the night on the northern shore of Laguna Fria (near rock wall at -34.87688, -70.74425) because may was better protected from the wind there.<br /> There was still a lot of snow before the descent to the second lake. We therefore walked along the ridge and then descended further ahead to the lake. Track.is not yet in the official GPT GPS files. But the trail is marked on the regular map.<br /> Descent was steep, but the trail was in good shape (easy cross country) Camp{04}[53.4/852] no longer exists. However, 500m before there is a bigger camp with tables and benches. 500m later (at -34.98982, -70.75429) a smaller one with a simple fireplace. Both directly on the river.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-28 to 2021-Nov-30 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We started from Agua Buena around noon and tried to follow Franks suggestion, but after a few hundred meters where the road turns left we encountered a gate with four angry dogs behind it, otherwise the gate would be climbable. <br /> <br /> We turned back and from the main road entered an open gate to a cherry farm in hopes to find a different route to meet the RR. There we met a nice old lady Victoria, very talkative she invited us in for a cold drink and said that through her farm it’s unfortunately impossible to pass through because of the bushes and fences, but she called her friend Pedro Jose who owns a land behind the cherry farm that we couldn’t pass earlier. <br /> <br /> We went to meet Pedro at his house and he turned out to be a really nice guy, very friendly and spoke good English because he had lived in Finland for 10 years. He also invited us in and we discussed the route among other things. He then guided us on a ninja-path, through the back bush of his and his neighbors land. He said that that guy probably wouldn’t open the gate for us, who knows. After climbing over and under two barbed wire fences we were on the route. <br /> <br /> Jose Pedro told us about a better faster route to get to Las Peñas but we opted for following the RR which was a big mistake. The first few km were fine but then it turned into a proper bush-whacky thorny adventure. Imagine one of those military training practices where people crawling in a dirt under a barbed wire, that’s how it felt at times. It was not fun and we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.<br /> Pedro’s recommendation was to go through the cherry/fruit farms to reach the road that is on the northern bank of Río Tinguiririca and follow that to the bridge over the river. <br /> <br /> Pedro allowed us to share his phone number (+56 961 357 353) in case other hikers might need help getting around the fences. Write him a phone message or on WhatsApp (don’t call), mention that you are hiking the GPT, when you are in Agua Buena. He doesn’t have a car and cannot give any rides. But he offered to host hikers at his property, you can put up your tent, have a hot shower, use kitchen and charge your electronics, all for 10.000 pesos.<br /> <br /> Sign before the bridge said private property - entrance forbidden. We went anyway and didn’t meet anyone who would turn us back. There is a small shop and a bus stop at the turn where you get on to the dirt road about 5km from Las Peñas. We didn’t want to walk in a sandstorm - because of the amount of dust generated by the passing cars - and decided to hitch that part right away which was an easy hitch. <br /> In Las Peñas there are about 5 campsites and a small shop, but they are not as good as in Agua Buena. We were lucky to arrive there on Sunday and not a day or two earlier when all the campsites are filled with party people, everyone was leaving as we arrived. <br /> <br /> We stayed in Don Bosco campsite for 8000 pesos for two, which is a very cozy Christian campsite, with pool. We think it’s a good option in case of weekend arrival as it might be more peaceful there. By the time we arrived people were already leaving and we were the only people on the whole campsite.<br /> <br /> At the shop(minimarket) in town there is a pizza menu poster and you can order a delicious pizza to Las Peñas which we did. <br /> <br /> After leaving Las Peñas there is a gate in about three kilometers whch we think charges people who go to see the little laguna with waterfall a bit further up the road. When we got there the gate was closed because of the road-widening excavation works. But after explaining ourselves to a nice lady that was in charge there she let us through and didn’t ask for any fees. <br /> <br /> The climb over the pass to the lakes was very long but plenty of shade and water on the route. <br /> <br /> We stayed at the first lake - Laguna Fria/Guzman, very beautiful but a bit windy, some firewood can be found hidden behind the boulders close to the campsite at the end of the lake, but it was too windy for fire. We also think this was the better of the two lakes to camp at the other one was very wet all around. There was also an unmarked small lake/pond on the way to he second lake, looked more sheltered in case of really bad weather. <br /> <br /> The downhill from the second lake was brutal, very steep and no actual trail, once the steepness eased off and trail appeared it was overgrown. Luckily our complaints were heard and a few km later we met an arriero who was doing a trail-maintenance and cutting all the bushes around the trail, after that it was pretty good. But don’t think it’s an easy walk out of the valley all downhill, it’s a roller coaster with fords until you get sick of it. Last 6km are very walkable though. <br /> <br /> Section took us two and a half days. <br /> <br /> Nevertheless, we missed the last bus to Curico and stayed at the Los Pinos campground in Los Queñes. 6000 per person, cold shower included, the guy working there was very nice and helpful. Town has a few shops, with limited resupply options, town also has a problem with stray dogs. <br /> <br /> There are 5 buses a day to and from Curico first is at 7:30, last is at 18:00 cost is 1700 pesos pp. it’s about 45min drive. <br /> <br /> It’s time to have a rest day before heading out to section 5 and 6. <br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-10 to 2020-Jan-12 / 2.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank<br /> <br /> I thought it would be an easy hike from Agua Buena to Las Penas. It isn't. At Agua Buena 500M from start is a fruit farm with no entry sign. No one @ the gate &amp; it was unlocked so I went in. Met the owner &amp; he wasn't too happy to see me but after a discussion I was allowed through. If you go 500M beyond the start in Agua Buena on main road there is a dirt road which branches right just as the main road goes left. The dirt road should come in to join RR just where you exit the fruit farm, allowing you to avoid going through the farm.<br /> <br /> You soon leave the dirt road &amp; go down on small trails into thorn scrub. The scrub is thick &amp; if you don't get the navigation exactly right you won't get through. After about 6KM RR goes through another fruit farm. I got in @ low point in fence but had to crawl under fence to get out. It would be easier to stay outside the fence (handrail it) &amp; rejoin RR after the farm. <br /> <br /> You cross Bridge 5 into another fruit farm, no entry sign on bridge. As you leave the farm there is a house, they might not let you in here if you are Northbound. Just after you get to the road there is a shop. 3 campsites (paid camping) &amp; 3 shops in Las Penas, last one does small meals. About 2K later you pay 3000 CLP entry fee @ a gate. Camped @ Water 25. There is one place with water beyond that but nowhere else to camp until the lakes. Lakes are nice but no shade &amp; no wood. I would suggest road walking the first section to Las Penas or get the bus (see updated transport section)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-20 to 20219-Dec-22 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO / Southbound / Ian Hikes<br /> <br /> Overview: If hiking southbound this is the first section where it really starts to get green and the pine trees start to appear more frequently. The first section is dominated by dirt roads with paying campsites, cabins, puestos and other developments. Later you go over a large mountain pass with sweeping views in all direction completely above the tree line. Finally, you follow the valley into Los Quenes which in a nice little town to resupply in. The town has a small supermarket with many food options along with a few restaurants. These include pizza, sandwiches and empanadas. The plaza in the center of town also has free access to WIFI which I used while I was there.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: Exposed mountain pass. Route finding<br /> <br /> Highlights: Sweeping views. High mountain passes and lakes.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-30 to 2019-Dec-03 / 4days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> low water levels, no snow, trails in excellent condition. ...and food and accommodation in Los Queñes :-)<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-09 to 2019-Dec-10 / 2 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We started in Las Peñas (we took Uber there from San Fernando). It took us 2 days. <br /> Trail is in good condition. Some parts on the descend are slightly overgrown, but still easy to follow. <br /> There is enough water on both sides.<br /> Accomodation, food and tiendas in Los Quenes.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> <br /> == Start Regular Route: Agua Buenas==<br /> Bus every half hour in daytime from San Fernando to Agua Buena. 5 buses a day from San Fernando to Las Penas, first one leaves San Fernando @ 11:30.<br /> <br /> ==Finish Regular Route: Los Quenes==<br /> See images below. This Timetable was obtained in January 2020.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT04 - Alto Huemul]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Quenes.jpg|800px|Bus Timetable]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (10).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 4]]<br /> <br /> [[File:gpt04 alto huemul.jpg|Aguas Buenas Valley, by [http://benoit.mirouse.free.fr/index.php/patagonie-2018/recit-photos/5-decembre/ Benoit Mirouse].]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT03_(Rios_Claros)&diff=113070 2023-12-15T02:38:18Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-11 to 2023-Dec-14 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> <br /> Km4.6 : water switch on the ground, under a rock after the junction. Be aware turn on lightly, otherwise it will inject several meters away.<br /> <br /> Km7.4 : camping spot with fire ring, rock seats and nice tree shades, a stream is flowing nearby too.<br /> <br /> Ford[16.1/877] : just up to half of calf, camping spot with 2 fire ring before crossing.<br /> <br /> Camp[17.5/875] : crossing of Rio Claro de Cauquenes, look like up to thighs at RR crossing. When you arrive the river, keep walking to upstream about 120m until the rock beach end, you will find rock bar under water there, cross it, up to ankle and mostly just half of calf. When you join back the trail, after 10-20sec a large flat area that can fit lot of tents.<br /> <br /> Km20.7 : nice water flowing and 2 locked gates, you can climb over them, or go high and back down.<br /> <br /> Water[22.8/1173] : flowing nice, and camping spot at km22.9, with fire ring, log seats, rock seats and tree cover, but most are a little steep, just 2 small spots are flat.<br /> <br /> Km23.2 : flat area can fit 3 tents on the pass.<br /> <br /> Water[25.3/1096] : another locked gate, camping spot with rock seats and shelter before the gate. After you climb over the gate and arrive the stream, a smaller camping spot there, can fit 1-2 small tents.<br /> <br /> Km25.5 : flat area can fit 3 tents on the pass.<br /> <br /> Km26.8 : a stream flowing good, and a flat spot can fit a small tent just before it. 1 more flat spot can fit 1 tent at km27.<br /> <br /> Km29 : flowing with clear water. Rock hopping for dry feet crossing, nice camping spot under a big tree can fit 2 tents after the cross.<br /> <br /> Km30.1 : a good flow stream and a locked gate. Climb over it.<br /> <br /> Ford[30.6/1315] : flowing with clear water. Rock hopping for dry feet crossing, camping spots under lot of trees can fit many tents with fire ring and log seats after the cross. But lot of trash.<br /> <br /> Km32.5 : crystal clear swimming pool!!! Flat spots under some trees can fit 2 tents just before it.<br /> <br /> Water[34.7/1696] : completely dry at RR crossing, but is still flowing good at a little downstream, better collect them before you climb up, cold, clear and taste good! Some more small stream are still flowing now before the pass, but for the report in 2019, look like they will dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Pass[36.5/2047] : if you are thinking of camping on the pass, forget it! Several flat spots, but tons of cow poop surrounding here, some are fresh, some are dry, you wouldn't like it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Bush bashing is not fun, luckily it is short and going downhill side.<br /> <br /> Ford[40.7/1398] : nice camping spot between 2 river crossing here, beside a tree on grassland can fit 2 tents.<br /> <br /> Camp without water[41.4/1424] : can fit many many tents here but no tree cover. Another spot like this one at km42.1<br /> <br /> Camp[43.5/1177] : closed gate here, use your arm power to open it.<br /> <br /> Km45 : flowing stream and unlocked gate.<br /> <br /> When you follow the valley going downstream, you will cross the river sometimes, lot of camping spots at before and after crossing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Ford,camp[48.3/859] : fording of Rio Claro, i cant do it. It is too hard although at 9am, very very strong flow and up to waist, i give 2 steps and turn back, otherwise I'll be knocked out.<br /> <br /> I found at upstream the place that rock beach end, river breaks into 3 parts, it looks like possible for crossing if you are have more body weight than me.<br /> <br /> I went to the bridge that Yannick &amp; Nolwenn said, it is at far away downstream but the only safe option.<br /> <br /> (-34.48000,-70.72770) : house, easy to find it on satellite map.<br /> <br /> It is a wooden rooftop and brick wall house, walking on the road wouldn't miss it. I met the family and their dog of the house, so the gate is open, and they are chilling beside the river.<br /> <br /> Follow the road behind the gate will lead you to the small iron bridge, water lever is above it, above my half of calf when i stand on the bridge at 2pm, fast and strong, so when you cross it be careful.<br /> <br /> Their dog want to cross with me, but it was washed away by strong wave in 2sec, (luckily it can swim back to shore).<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> A long dirt road walk back to trail.<br /> <br /> Settler[49.7+0.2/810] : a locked gate and a stream, no need to climb gate, walk to the riverbed, you'll find a easy way back to the road that behind the gate, remember bring water, a long way climb up.<br /> <br /> Km54 : a stream flowing good with a small pool.<br /> <br /> Km54.1 : nice camping spot, can fit many tents, beautiful trees and green short grassland.<br /> <br /> Pass[55.9/1772] : lot of ......... , water is flowing in the valley after the pass, but look like will dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Km59.2 &amp; 60.7 : flat spot can fit 1-2 tents with good views on the pass.<br /> <br /> Km61.6 : several spots for total 3-5 tents on the ridge, excellent views but windy.<br /> <br /> Km62.65 : 2 small stream still flowing clear and cold water with a tiny waterfall, easy to collect. Some more stream before the high point, but i think they'll all dry up soon.<br /> <br /> Km64.7 : a large flat area can fit lot of tents.<br /> <br /> Km67.2 : water is still flowing in the valley, but maybe dry up soon.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Km69 : treeline, trail conditions become much better.<br /> <br /> Km69.9 : water flowing.<br /> <br /> Water[71.5/957] : flowing nice with log bridge. Camping spot with fire ring before crossing, fire ring and log seats after crossing.<br /> <br /> Km73.1 : amazing pine trees camping spot! Can fit 10+ tents, sleeping on comfortable pine land.<br /> <br /> Km73.4 : locked gate, climb over it. From here to km73.8 is huge flat area. Km73.7 have a fire ring too.<br /> <br /> Km74.8 : closed gate, you can open it by a rope knots on right side.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Settlement[76.7/652] : Los Alps, when you get close, walk slower, at least 4 DOGS here and running out, a women will come out and help you to stop them, she is friendly but need some time to come out, so dont rush to in front of their dogs.<br /> <br /> Bridge[77.3/639] : you can follow RR crossing the river by wet feet, or go on the shaking and shaking bridge.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Lastly, i camped in the small garden of the restaurant ' La Higuera' in Aguas Buenas. Hot shower, laundry, dinner and hiker friendly. Decided tomorrow will eat the breakfast here then keep going!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-09 to 2023-Dec-13 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> On the trail from Coya nothing much has changed, the wooden bridge still holds. As of now there is water at km 7.2 (before hitting the gravel road) so we filled up there instead of spending time at Fundo Huinganes. The main gate by the road was closed but easily bypassed. At the house right after entering there are about 7 dogs, two of them loose, but they don't come out of their yard despite the gate being open. There was a car there but nobody came to see if anyone was passing. We managed to get through the private land without issues.<br /> <br /> Crossing Rio Claro de Cauquenes in the late afternoon was fine at a wide place. Camped at Casa de Piedra. The next day was very hot so we opted for a 6hr siesta and nighthiked up the the pass and down, including the bushbashing. Sunset at the pass was incredible and the starry sky even more so. The bushbashing was just as we remembered from the last time, no improvements. The trail after the bushbashing seemed not used, ie the upper pastures hadn't been grazed and the trail was grassy and a bit overgrown until the puesto at km43.5.<br /> <br /> Rio Claro was way too wild for us to cross at 9 in the morning, evident by a dead cow in the middle of the river, so we did the same detour as mentioned before - 8km each way. The small metal bridge was totally under water when we crossed it, thankfully there is a plastic hose that can be used for balance when traversing. Camped nearby the river close to where the old bridge used to be (seemed like a designated camping area, there were other campers and signs &quot;llevate la basura). <br /> <br /> No issues getting back to the puesto where the route turns up. Water reliable, trail in ok condition. The way down steep as usual but once you enter the forest you can see the arrieros have cleared it from bush. Lots if water. No issues with dogs or landowners, we didn't see anyone.<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-19 to 2023-Nov-23 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + variant D / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn <br /> <br /> - Water : all markers are good and even more water present - for now there is water as well in between km 55 and km 57<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 25,5 ( water 100m before) | km 43,5 | km 55,9 ( water 300m after) | km 73,6 ( we asked the permission to the settler that was present - he was really nice )<br /> <br /> - River crossing : all easy to cross except for the 'Rio Claro' that was too strong for us ( 1m80 and 65kg) - we took variant D and found out that the bridge does not exist anymore ( has been destroyed this year), we then continued on the dirt road and found another little bridge 3km after. The bridge is behind a 'closed' black gate ( you just have to lift the chain up ) on the left side of the road on front of a house. Then you can go join another dirt road on the other side that will make you rejoigned the GPT. <br /> <br /> - Weather : Sunny <br /> <br /> - Resupply : in agua buena, we found everything we need for the next section in a little shop on the main road.<br /> <br /> - Accomodation : we stayed in the garden of the restaurant ' La Higuera'. They are building some accommodation but it won't be ready until January. We payed 10 000 pesos each for putting the tent, a shower, charging electronics and doing laundry. The owners are super nice and would be happy to host again.<br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant D - be careful no bridge as indicated but one 3 km down the road ( read comment on River crossing)<br /> <br /> - Warning : at km 76,7 there is a puesto with a lot of dogs that can be aggressive. We went slowly at their encounter and the lady owner came out of the house and talked to us. She gets scared when she hears her dogs screaming, she said that she would prefer if people wait and talk to her before continuing on the road. It is a safer option to wait for her to calm the dogs down.<br /> <br /> - Overall : Nice section, the bush bashing is real, it took us 40 minutes but is not that awful. We encountered a lot of cows and bulls but there were always afraid of us and ran away. We met another GPT hiker on this section!<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-19 to 2023-Nov-23 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Jens<br /> <br /> The owner of the land at km 9.2 was not very pleased to see me. There is a gate that says private property, you can easily walk around it, no fences. He doesn't want anyone to cross his land, but he made an exception for me. Maybe it would be wise to take the alternative route in. <br /> <br /> Two more gates on the RR route that I jumped over. Nobody seemed to be there at the time. <br /> <br /> Plenty of water on the route. Camp sites every few kilometres. <br /> <br /> The first two river crossings were easy. <br /> <br /> Around the first pass (km 40 or so) the trail basically stopped existing for a few kilometres until halfway to the next river. Especially after the pass I had to do a lot of bush bashing. There was no trail, at least as far as I could see. All my Garmin showed was a dotted line, which in my book meant &quot;you're on your own&quot;. After what felt like an hour of scrambling, I found the trail again (black line on the Garmin). <br /> <br /> I had to cross the river at least 5 times. I tried to keep my boots dry, but gave up after the second crossing and embraced them from then on. <br /> <br /> The Rio Claro was very strong that afternoon. It wasn't a very warm day, but it carried a lot of water. I (190, 90 kilos) dared to cross it just before the other river joined it. It was hard work. Someone less heavy might want to take the detour to the bridge.<br /> <br /> On the way to Aguas Buenas, at the settlement marked on the map, a dog bit me. Not sure if there is a way around it.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Mar-01 to 2023-Mar-06 / 7 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + Option 4A / Hannes &amp; Luisa<br /> <br /> Wanted to start for the OH in Reserva Los Cipreses, but turned back for RR as Reserva was only allowed for day visit because of high bushfire risk. No active puesto all way long and for this trails were sometimes like a light spiny Bush bashing. At -34.4258 -70.5885 we would have to face heavy BlackBerry-Bb. Instead we took a detour uphill and crossed around this field. Marked water and Ford spots from the track files sometimes where not corresponding with actual location (we supposed a Garmin problem as our marked spots were as well off track sometimes). In Agua Buena Pedro closed down for the moment? his hostel, we slept at Tinajas and cabanas for 40k. Very nice hosts and gardens, we highly recommend.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-08 to 2022-Dec-15 / 8 days / Hiking / SOBO / Exploration of Option 1 / Tomas<br /> <br /> I got at 10 pm on the car road to coy and first car passong by (there were quite a few) gave me a ride to town. There is a red house on the left one hundred metres from the main crossroads on the road towards Reservo de los cipreses where Inslept for 15000. Hot water and electricity, room with three beds for me only. The best shop is at the same crosroad opposite this road. They had cherries and nectarines, some vegetables, bread, icecream, some salami and chips. Not greatchoice but more than enough. I went onto regular route and then branched off on alternative 03 that follows the river. I met two chilean hikers on the RR ( I walked in the late evening and early night first 20 km, it was super hot), then a group of arrieros on the alternative. Plenty of water everywhere, good watering holes too.<br /> <br /> I then took the first exploratory route. All the way up to the valey, there is an nice horse trail. The regular alternative seemed overgrown, as is marked in the GPX files. Once in the valley (at 2300 elevation, beautiful), it is crosscountry. I went competely off-track, wanting to go directly to the valley on the other side. Not a good idea, very steep loose scree, I was quite afraid at 400 m above the valley floor. But I survived. The exploratory track should be easier, there is just about 100-200 metres of exposed terrain. Follow the GPX. I could not make the shortcut, it was too steep on the other side anyway. So I went to the mountain (3400 m) where I rejoined the exploratory track. It is marked over the ridge, i do not think it is passable. I went down 200m on the other ridge and then followed a countour line to the saddle. Sometimes a bit exposed but fine overall<br /> <br /> Once in the saddle, there is a trailnof sorts, sometimes disappearing. I think the gpx going down the valley is wrong, you need to keep.on the left, following the trail. The valley is extraordinarilly beautifull (I have not been to many nicer places)., deserted, but cattle or horses must pass through there sometimes. There was some snow still, above around 2900 on the southern side. When one reaches the big waterfall, one. Needs to keep on the right. There is a path, but it is a bit exposed and not easy to follow. Once in the valley where the exploratory track stops, there is a horse trail, try to follow it. Never go in the streambed. The stream need to be crossed several times. After a kilometer or two, get on the right side of the stream. There should be a horse trail, overgrown. I was on the left side - not a good idea, it was superrhorny. Pietroglyphos on the map are not there.<br /> <br /> Once in the reserva ciprese, there is a mix of horse trail, cross country amd bush bashingut doable. Hot spring is cold, but beautiful. I slept there. It is better to keep in the ever bed from there when possible. I took the second exploratory track. At first ,follow the gpx (in go in the river bed and make a sharp turn directly up). Through the first rocny part, I went a bit to the left of the GPX. I used my hands, but it was not exposed and not entirely vertical. Then I followed a the Valle, keeping on the right. There is a track where you can just walk up all the way up. It Is steep but does not feel dangerous, it is not that steep. If you slip, you would not start rolling, I think.at the end, I went to the saddle where the track meets the other exploratory track. I think it was a bit less steep then the route by GPX. You need to go bellow the mountain, GPX goes over it but it is a rock. Going to the other valley, do not go all the way to to lowest pass but take the one that is more to the east. There was lots of snow, not to steep ,I descended like 900 m on the snow in one hour. From 2300, there is horse trail all the way down. Keep on the right bank, left bank turns to car road and the exploratory track suggesting fording is nonsense, just keep on the right bank. No cell phone cover until roughly where Pedro lives. There is internet and electricity in Termas del Flaco. Shops probably not great, I went to San Fernando. Unfortunately lost my garmin with track files. Easy to hitch there, and from there. Took me 7 days, diffuculty 5, attractivness between 4-6, I think. Have not met anybody for six days straight. I will make this more elaborate on e I come back to computer in March.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-03 to 2022-Dec-07 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> Taking a bus from Rancagua terminal to Coya at 1PM, we started the section about an hour later. Old trail is in good condition. After reaching the car road we climbed below the fence a few meters after the gate. Trail starts to get overgrown in some parts but still ok. Rio Claro ford at 48.3 was no problem in the morning. Unmarked water source on the way to the second pass 55.9. Amazing landscape and places to camp before the last pass. The trail goes down through a forrest which was a nice change. We met owners of the last marked settlement who were again really friendly and showed us the way to Agua Buena that follows a minor road. In the village are a few shops and an amazing restaurant with traditional chilean meals that you cant miss. The owners are great people, we really enjoyed our time there! We stayed in Tinajas &amp; Cabanas (look at Google Maps) for 40k at beautiful new cabana. Daughter of the owners speaks English and we got even a nice little tour around the property, bread and cherries in the morning - 100% recommended! In the restaurant we met already mentioned guy José Pedro who was really nice and helped us with the beginning of the section 4 the following day. He offers a place to camp for free at his property or a room in his house for a small fee. You can find the number below, responds quickly on whatsapp.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-01 to 2022-Dec-04 / 4 days / Hiking / Tom&amp;miky<br /> <br /> The crossing of the rio claro on the morning went well, we had water up to our hips. <br /> No problem with the water supply. <br /> Variant 03-04 was moderately passable with a 150m section of bush bashing which took us 1 hour.<br /> In Agua Buenas, a great restaurant is waiting for you : &quot;La Higuera&quot; run by David Arenas who is very kind.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-10 / Hiking / SOBI / RR / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> We travelled by bus from Rancagua to Coya. The bus leaves every hour from the terminal in Rancagua. <br /> There was plenty of water all along the way. We spent one night at Camp{03}[33.5/1559], which is right on the river.<br /> Bus bashing, we followed the GPS line +/- 20m, which worked quite well.<br /> Crossing the Rio Claros was no problem, the nice camp is at (-34.50800, -70.65994).<br /> Crossing the two passes is a long day, but doable. We spent the last night at Water{03}[71.5/957]. (The front water point Water ? {03}[70.1/1142] has no water).<br /> In Auqua Buena we ate at the restaurant La Higuera. Good food and friendly owners.<br /> In Auqua Buena we stayed overnight with Pedro. He has a very nice little house in the green about 5 minutes walk from the centre. Pedro can offer a room with bathroom and breakfast. Kitchen and everything else can be shared. Pedro is a super nice guy and also helped us for the start of GPT04. He told us that he would also be happy to host other hikers. It is best to contact Pedro before starting on GPT03. Here is his number: +56 9 6135 7353<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-24 to 2021-Nov-27 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> We started from Coya about 7pm and at bridge in 6km we accidentally went right instead of following the RR left because it was getting dark already and after a few hundred meters of walking we found a nice campsite with benches and a table where we decided to call it a night. <br /> <br /> Plenty of water and shade on the route, we also met some aerrieos and a bunch of tarantulas on the way. The bushbashing after the first steep pass [36,5km] was not very fun but luckily it wasn’t too long. <br /> <br /> The second pass was way easier despite almost a straight 1000m of ascent the trail was in very good condition and way more gradual. We were also a bit lucky with the weather as it was a cloudy day, making it much easier heat wise. Not that great for vistas though. There was an unmarked stream a few km before the second pass [55,9km]. The downhill after the ridgewalk and a mini-pass at [63,7km] got pretty steep at some point and turned our legs into spaghetti, but the really cool jungle-like forest captured our attention more. <br /> <br /> We camped about 9km from Agua Buena. In town there were a few already mentioned small shops, enough to resupply for the next shorter section. We had a great lunch and charged our electronics in restaurant “La Higuera” before heading back out to section four. <br /> <br /> This section took us 4 days to complete.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-18 to 2021-Nov-21 / 3.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Marc Anthony<br /> <br /> Hiked this section in 3 1/2 days. I agree with Ian that it was easier than previous sections. Especially because there are more trees and therefore more shade from the scorching sun. This made hiking this section much more enjoyable for me. Met plenty of arrieros riding on the trails and hanging out in their camps. Also had a spectacular view when a big group of them were gathering a lot of cows in an enclosure near the first mountain pass during sun set. <br /> There was only one ford were simply jumping on small rocks to cross the river with dry feet wasn’t possible, but water level was pretty low and the current not too strong, so it was easy enough to walk across.<br /> Was not able to find accommodation in Aguas Buenas, so hopped on a micro bus to San Fernando. Was told that it arrives every hour or so.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Jan-06 to 2020-Jan-09 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Frank<br /> <br /> All river crossings OK. At KM 47.1 the camp is after you ford the Rio Claro, a few minutes after you reach the road. Water mentioned by Matus &amp; Anna on way to 1780M pass is on the trail @ 1420M. It's a long day if you want to get from Rio Claro camp over the 1780M &amp; 2020M passes to good water &amp; camping @ Water 19. The bush bashing section is well below the 2030M pass. Try to get the entry point exactly right or it will be nearly impassible. 2 good shops in Agua Buena &amp; a good restaurant, La Higuera. Updated transport section.<br /> <br /> 6KM from Coya after 2 footbridges there is a trail junction. If you fork right onto OH-TL-V@03-B-#001, when you reach the road access to it is blocked by a high fence. I was able to get through a small hole in the fence but it would be better to fork left as regular route is shorter &amp; avoids the fence<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-13 to 2019-Dec-17 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / Ian Hikes<br /> <br /> Overview: For this section I had a few issues with my GPS and the track files. As a result, I personally had trouble navigating this section. On the other hand, I think this section is relative easier compared to the other sections in the area. It is shorter and there are not too many difficulties. I took the alternate over a large pass which was a huge highlight for me in this section. I recommend this although there is a lot of cross country involved and is a little slower and longer. Aguas Buena has two “mini shops” with enough food for me to continue to section 4. There is also a restaurant/bar that sells empanadas for $1.000 each.<br /> <br /> Difficulties: Navigation (for me)<br /> <br /> Highlights: Nice views, clear creeks and rivers.<br /> <br /> Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions at Ultratrailca@gmail.com<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Dec-07 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days, including one nero day. Regular trail is in good condition. <br /> <br /> I agree with what was written, I just want to clarify that overgrown part of trail (cca 1km) is after the pass (2030m), which is first marked pass in gps files. After the last posts we were not sure. <br /> Last good water source is in the climb to the pass (1780m), but filtration needed. There is one more further in the junction with optional trail, but it was quite slow and it would be challenging to take enough water from it. <br /> <br /> River crossings were not a problem. In the morning after a second cross of Rio Claro river was suddenly at least twice as stronger, but looked still crossable.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-26 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Tyler &amp; America<br /> <br /> the optional track around the last big climb of the route is pretty dang difficult to navigate in a couple places. Be prepared for some bush bashing and the route to not be the most accurate. I had downloaded satellite AND topo maps of the section on Gaia GPS and this was very valuable in finding the best ways through this. Bush Bashing: OH-BB-A@03-03-#006. Trail down to Rio Antivero (last half SOBO): OH-TL-V@03-03-#009<br /> <br /> It took us six days to hike this section. We took a great nearo day down by Rio Claro. Agreed with everything said by Martina. This section was pretty challenging navigation wise for us too. We decided to take the shortest optional route around the second pass. The bush bashing section was THICK. I would say nearly impassable. Luckily I had satellite version of the route downloaded on Gaia and found an easy route around it. After this the trial was very overgrown. Past the puesto and descending back down to Rio Antivero, the route was VERY difficult to find on steep terrain. We had to emergency camp and found our way out the next day after finding a well worn trail near the bottom that led us down safely. If I were to do it again I would just stick to the recommended route the whole second half. In San Fernando we found a horse right next to Hostel O Higgins with private room/both for 20,000. Definitely the best prices in town by far.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-24 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martina and Ivo<br /> <br /> It took us five days to walk this section. Water levels are very low, so river crossings never caused any problems. One short part of the trail (1 km) after the second pass is quite overgrown and we were really glad doing it downhill and not uphill (northbound). Instead of climbing the third pass we took the alternative route to the East and from there the exploration route, again to the East. The &quot;yellow&quot; part of it was a 700 m hell of a suicidal bush bashing, but mainly because there was thick fog and we couldn't get an overview at the top. The rest of the route (orange) was a trail in good condition. Back on the alternative route we couldn't find a safe way to start the bush bashing part, so we turned around and again took the exploration route, which was a great decision, as we found a trail in excellent condition. In Aguas Buenas are some small tiendas but for accommodation you'd have to go to San Fernando. There is a Microbus twice a day (morning at ??? and evening at 17:00).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> ==Start Regular Route: Coya==<br /> Buses once every daytime hour from Rancagua Terminal Rural to Coya.<br /> <br /> ==Finish Regular Route: Agua Buenas==<br /> <br /> See also [[GPT04]]<br /> <br /> Bus every half hour from Agua Buena to San Fernando. If you don't want to walk the last 5-6 KM to Agua Buena it should be easy to hitch a lift with fruit farm workers.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT03 - Ríos Claros]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:GPT03.jpg|GPT03, by [http://notabadplacetopee.com/gpt01/ Austin Davis]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT02_(Mina_El_Teniente)&diff=112959 2023-12-11T11:22:03Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-07 to 2023-Dec-10 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Gate[3.3/1049] : gate is opened, nobody there on 7am.<br /> <br /> Water,bridge{01} : look like is broken, wet feet crossing. Strong flow and up to ankle at early morning.<br /> <br /> Water?{8.7/1298} : dry at river crossing, but is still flowing at downstream, after you cross the stream, dont climb up immediately, there is a side trail on your right side to downstream, follow it about 1 min, you'll hear water flowing, water spot is on your right side, but is overgrown and muddy, not easy to get close. It has a small pool and like a spigot (2min/L).<br /> <br /> Water?{11.8/1648} : excellent spot, water flowing good with clear and coldwater, has a huge shade for lunch or a break, also a sandy spot for 1 tent.<br /> <br /> Water{15.6/1616} : good flowing with a small waterfall at RR crossing, great to take a cold shower in hot mid-day.<br /> <br /> Water{20.7/2064} : flowing good.<br /> <br /> Ford{21.6/2033} : easier spot at 30m upstream of RR crossing, flowing fast and up to ankle at early morning, much easier than the broken bridge one. A small sandy spot for a small single person tent.<br /> <br /> Ford, camp?{22.9/2067} : RR crossing look like up to ankle. Downstream 30m is a better crossing spot, rock bar under water, just up to half of calf, easy. After crossing there is a large flat area, have stone wall for 1-2 tents.<br /> <br /> From here to &quot;Ford,camp?{27.5/2209}&quot;, some more river crossing, mostly just up to ankle.<br /> <br /> Ford,camp?{27.5/2209} : look like no camping spot here?<br /> <br /> <br /> Climb up steep but easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Snow conditions just like Yannick &amp; Nolwenn said, if not comfortable with snow, wait 1-2 weeks for melting.<br /> <br /> Still lot of snow after the pass. The last snow slope you need to cross is at km54.1<br /> <br /> <br /> Camp{57.0+0.3/2286} : when you first see the meadows from high, keep walking a little and look at the mountain side, a stream with a red and white pipe is there, flowing with crystal clear and cold water.<br /> <br /> Water, bridge{64.3/1733} : tons of brown sandy water.<br /> <br /> Km64.7 : camping spot, but dead cows here.<br /> Km67 : camping spot on valley side, some tree covers and great view, some side trail leads you to there.<br /> Km68.6 : camping spot beside the road.<br /> <br /> <br /> Bridge, water?camp?{78.2/1736} : flowing good with clear and cool water. Can fit some tents at road shoulder. It is the LAST WATER before the ridge.<br /> <br /> Mostly have flat spots for camping at each pass before km85, but windy.<br /> <br /> Km85.5 : excellent camping spot, can fit 1 tent, with a blouder for wind protection from south, great views, BBQ grill and cell service.<br /> <br /> Lastly, i took 4.5L water go over the ridge, and water all gone, better bring more in January and February.<br /> <br /> <br /> Coya have a small shop for resupply, not the best but enough, also friendly!<br /> Beside the store is Bar Catalán Coya, they make nice sandwiches!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-04 to 2023-Dec-08 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> Half the bridge gone at the beginning.<br /> 1st water was flowing but not where the trail crosses the stream but lower down - there is a dirt path to the water.<br /> <br /> River crossings are fine until the one at km26.5 was very rapid and strong; we crossed below the regular crossing point. Probably not a good idea atm to do the crossings in late afternoon. We then took the alternate trail that stays on the left of the river in order to skip two crossings. Good campsite when back down by the river, aimed to do the last crossing in the early morning, which was much better.<br /> <br /> The way up had good trail and more water than marked, due to the snowmelt. Snowpatches started once we reached the ridge, mostly very easy to cross except the patches on south-facing slopes; we used microspikes here.<br /> <br /> Careful: an unexploded explosive on the ridge at -33.94081, -70.41171.<br /> <br /> The road on the way down has lots of rockfall, many places with minor landslides. Some extra streams are flowing between Estero Codegua and the mine.<br /> <br /> You can follow us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-12 to 2023-Nov-16 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT02 variant A + improvised trail due to a lot of snow between km30 and km52 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Gates : <br /> (1) gate at km3 for the Reserva, nobody there, the gate was open so we just went through.<br /> (2) Gate at km80,3 was closed, we just went around on the right side of the fence and followed it to reach the track again.<br /> <br /> - Water : water markers correct and more water due to snow melt<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 17,7 | km 36,5 | km 55 | km 82,6 <br /> <br /> - River crossing : <br /> (1) bridge (km3,6) was inaccessible for us, stream too strong - so we took the variant A and crossed the river further on. The current was really strong and up until the hips, we took our time and had previous experiences of river crossings before.<br /> (2)Between km21,6 and km27,5 we had to cross the river 9 times, it was usually up until our thighs.<br /> <br /> - Weather : 3 days of sun and 1 cloudy day. <br /> <br /> WARNING : Update on snow conditions.From km 30,5 the snow is present until km 52. Be really careful between km 34.6 and km 41, because it is icy and a fall could be fatal. We diverted from the gpt trail because following was impossible due to the snow. Sometimes there was 1 meter of snow. Follow the ridgline from km 42 to km 47, and not the gpt trail because at the moment it is completely covered in icy snow. For those who are planning to do this section in the next few days, defenetly check the weather and be aware of the impact of the sun on the snow ( melting, icy...)<br /> <br /> - Resupply : Coya, a small shop has everything you need for the next section <br /> <br /> - Accomodation : ' Hostal &amp; Residencial' for 20 000 pesos a night <br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant A ( easy to follow ) / variant M + N ( trail overgrown at some stages ) / at the control Maintenes, a friendly worker didn't let us take the gravel road at km 101,3 so we walked along the ruta H203 and reach the trail again at km102,4<br /> <br /> - Overall : beautiful section but the snow made it really challenging for us. We met some wild cows and bulls and they were afraid of us and ran away, same for wild horses.<br /> <br /> If you want to see some pictures of the sections and/or ask us some questions, you can find us on Instagram : @2funambules<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-25 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Luisa &amp; Hannes <br /> <br /> Very hot below 2000m. For river crossing not even wet feet. Passed a kind of informal puesto little below junction to Clarillo, nobody there, just a crazy dog. No territorial cows/bulls around as stated somewhere else. Just give them time they need to check the situation and they will trot away...We where lucky to have met very nice people in the puesto before the mine. Got off at emergency1...took us ttl 6 days for this trip with one day almost off...<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-05 4 days RR SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> I arrived at the private nature reserve entrance @ 5PM &amp; admitted I would overnight in the park so they charged me 12,000 pesos. The entry is 6000 pesos per day. They are not aware of the RR beyond the first few KM &amp; it seems best not to discuss it. As there is no water for about 7KM on RR after you cross the first bridge it seems best to stay on the small road which is quicker &amp; easier than RR. There is an official campsite at the end of the road. Fill up when you cross the river after campsite, the first camp &amp; water source on RR is normally dry. I came in on RR &amp; night hiked about 10KM as I didn't have enough water to camp. There is more water as you go further in. On 2nd night approaching the pass where a waterfall comes down a cliff I went downstream &amp; camped by a big boulder. Room for 1 small tent here. You could also camp in the last valley before the pass. After the pass you are on a dirt road all the way to the mine.<br /> <br /> Once over the pass the landscape changes &amp; it's semi desert with a long way between water sources. As you approach a green hut there is a spring coming from the rock by the road. Go into the puesto, if there is no one there you can get water from a spring at the back. The puesto owners are friendly &amp; will have no problem giving you water if they are there. Best to camp at or near the puesto, fill up &amp; start very early next day. Walk the first few KM on the road before dawn if you can. Last water 25KM? was as dry as dirt in January. When you get to the mine stay outside it, go to the right of the boundary fence &amp; handrail it, then you will have no problems. Midsummer i.e. January is not the best time to do the last section, there is hardly any shade &amp; it becomes a desert survival test. The water I had in my pack side pocket was hot enough to make tea. Got to the road OK but felt a bit faint. Heat exhaustion is a real possibility on the last section, go earlier in the season if you can. November once the snow has cleared is ideal. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-06 to 2022–Dec-08 / Hiking / SOBO / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I continued from the Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo. I went up to Cerro Los Cristales, there was entel 4g for fifteen minutes on the ridge and then it stopped completely, but I managed to have a audio call over internet. Nice view on lakes from the top but a detour. Have not met anybody all three days it took me to walk this. The cows were all afraid of me (somebody commented they are territorial).<br /> <br /> The MR till the waypoint last water 50 km (it is not 50 km from there!!!) is actually impassable for cars due to debris. There was plenty of water everywhere until then.<br /> <br /> About 10 km further on, there is a puesto - it has water, you need to go in the puesto. There was nobody there so I slept there in the yard. From here on, there was 4g Entel coverage pretty much everywhere.<br /> <br /> About 1 km from the puesto, there is a horse trail going to the left (not mapped), I took it. It goes up and then it us easy CC downhill. I took a detour to south-east due to misunderstanding what the mine looks like (it is that large flat white-yellow valley - probably debris from the mine). Thanks to that Ihave not met any gates. There was a trickle of water in the last water point ( i crossed it somewhat upstream from RR). Walked under the dam and along the fence of the mine. Kept up from the RR, its suggested track lose some altitude for no reason.<br /> <br /> The part on the ridge is quite beautiful, I would recommend not taking the emergency exits if you can. Very clear path pretty much everywhere. But it is far, took me five hours of fast walking to get to the road to Coya from mine. At the end, do not take the TL {02-M} option the seems like the shortest way to Coya from the end of the ridge. There is no trail, it is overgrown, I would call it bush bashing. No fun in the dark. Once i get to the PR, I immediately hitched a car to Coya and stayed at a hostel for 15000 at 34.2057545S, 70.5306223W. Now I will try to get some food.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-26 to 2022-Dec-01 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> After a few hundred meters into the section we reached the entrance to the nature reservation and were asked for 6000$ per person + our ID numbers. We enjoyed some time by the river that is close to the entrance. Good to carry enough water from the beginning of this section. The alternative way / climb from the valley with water 37.2 gets pretty steep. Snowfields after Cerros de Pueco were still there but it wasn’t difficult to find a way below them. We met a few bulls close to the minor road trail that didnt look very friendly, rather turn around and find a different way. We took some alternative and more attractive trails from the long minor road part (GPT02 D+E). Tiny stream of water available at Sobo: Last Water 25km. We met some workers at the mine who were nice and reminded us that its a private property, no other problem. As suggested in one of the previous comments we didnt go over the gate at the mine but followed a path close to the fence that connects to the CC part. The whole ridge walk at the end is really nice. Quite a lot of traffic on the road to Coya. Overall really hot weather that requires enough water to carry, but nice section. We took a bus to Rancagua before 5PM - ask locals about the schedule.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-28 / Hiking / SOBO/ RR / tom&amp;miky <br /> <br /> We left on the 24 of November north to south, hard sun, no water on the second spot marked (water?) Around +/- 5 km<br /> The sobo last water was brown, we find clear water few km away maybe due to snow melt?<br /> We also found water at Sobo 25 km to finish this section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-10 / Hiking / SOBO / Adrien Kunzli <br /> <br /> Just after San José de Maipo the RR-MR-V (02) (3,6+0,4) at S33°41.069', W070°20.876' was denied to me by some conductors (private propriety). But the other optional road without passing the bridge works perfectly fine.<br /> <br /> Be careful with the wild herd of bulls and cows before getting to Cerros de Peuco. Very territorial ! Better turning around ! <br /> <br /> The camp (02-D)(1,3/2800) at S33°57.791', W070°25.710' were full of snow at this time of year.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021 Nov-20 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> Locked gate (-33.682407, -70.346283) on the route in the beginning of secotion is for the entrance of Reserva Coyanco. There was a lady that opened the gate and said that one day pass through the reserve costs 5000 pesos, but that we can pay it somewhere later. But as the RR doesn’t continue up the valley but across the bridge and up the ridge from the other side then we didn’t meet anyone who would collect the fees. It could be that it’s a weekend thing as there were quite a few people in the area mostly going to see the Calabozo del Diablo. <br /> <br /> No water at the first marked location with question mark (-33.72155, -70.345093), but as Marc Anthony already mentioned there is a small stream of water about 3km further (-33.741233, -70.3534). <br /> <br /> From there we night-hiked until the second ford where we camped. It was such a relief to hike in bearable temperatures and all the critters were out. We saw a snake, a tarantula, a scorpion, some giant bug, bunch of toads, bunnies and a culpeo fox. <br /> <br /> Once we reached the first ford from there onwards until the last water before the mine there was a lot of water in almost every gully, especially as you reach higher elevations. Snow patches are still melting and providing water. The last water is where it’s marked. <br /> <br /> Once we got to the mine/plantation we didn’t jump the gate to walk in the fenced-off plantation, but walked around the fence, handrailed it. There is a faint path for first few hundred meters and then it’s and easy cross country, just aim for the shoulder on the mountain. <br /> <br /> The last part was actually really beautiful and I wouldn’t want to skip it, we had a cloud inversion in the morning and about 8 condors circling us as we descended the ridge, it was spectacular. <br /> <br /> On average we carried 1,7L of water each and besides the first part until the first water and the last part from the last water there really was plenty of water on trail and we could have easily carried only a litre each. For the last part we carried 10L for both of us and it was enough for dry-camping on the ridge and washing dishes and we ended up pouring out about a litre in the morning because we didn’t need that much water. <br /> <br /> Once we descended to the road we had an easy hitch to Machali where we resupplied and hitched back to Coya, again an easy hitch. But unfortunately we could not find a camping gas (with thread) which fitted out stove. We checked every ferreteria and supermercado in Machali, even took the bus to Lider Express on the edge of the town, no luck. They only had the gas canisters where you punch the hole. <br /> However we found a gas with thread in a shop in Coya. Anyways, lesson is - bring the adapter.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 and a half days to hike this section, our last camp was about 9,5km from the road.<br /> <br /> We ate some great food and recharged all of our batteries in a Peruvian restaurant “Sumaq Ñusta” in Coya before heading back out on trail.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-12 to 2021-Nov-15 / 4 days / Hiking / Marc Anthony <br /> <br /> Big locked gate at -33 40.961’ -070 20.773’ after leaving el melocotón heading south. Didn’t find anyone around to ask, but luckily it can easily be jumped if you walk around on the left side. Carry a lot of water! Quite a few kilometers between the water sources. There is a waypoint in the track files at -33 43.298’ -070 20.705’ that is marked “Water ? 02”, there is no water here! But I found an unmarked water source a few kilometers further at -33 44.474’ -070 21.204’<br /> <br /> When walking down from mountain pass towards the mine, the last water source I found was at -34 04.070’ -070 29.602’ marked in track files with “Sobo: Last water 25 km ???”. In was only running a little bit, might dry out soon?<br /> <br /> At the walking into the plantation area close to the mine on the regular route you will encounter a tall locked gate at -34 04.123’ -070 30.702’. I was able to jump over, but keep in mind that there are a lot of the workers at the plantation driving on the road next to it during the day. If you when you continue through the plantation you will encounter a barbed wire fence that runs all the way across the area blocking the path up onto the mountains. Very difficult to jump over! I noticed another gate when walking straight ahead after jumping the first gate. Would advice that you jump over this gate to exit the plantation, instead of following the track files. This way you avoid the barbed wire.<br /> <br /> Took me 4 days to hike this section, but I took the emergency exit number 2 because I ran out of water, so didn’t do the last few kilometers.<br /> <br /> All the river fords were easy. Quite a long distance between water sources in the beginning. Like in GPT 1 i found the beginning of this section to be quite difficult because of the heat even though it is still springtime. But I only have experience hiking in Scandinavia, so I probably don’t have the best heat tolerance :) As soon as I climbed up to the cooler temperature of the higher altitudes it was a wonderful hike.<br /> <br /> Had a lot some trouble with locked gates and barbed wire fence when entering the mine/plantation area. And unfortunately ripped open my plastic water bottle when throwing my backpack over the barbed wire, so lost some precious water.<br /> <br /> After a several hours of hiking in the mountains next to the mine I ended up taking emergency exit number 2 because I was running low on water. Must admit that hiking in this exposed terrain during the afternoon heat was also quite exhausting.<br /> The guards that picked me up after a while when waiting by the road where extremely jolly and nice. We had a good talk and some good laughs about the whole situation. They gave me water and put me on a bus to Coya by mine entrance. Bus driver even drove me around town so that I could find a open hostel. Certainly didn’t expect all this kindness when trespassing private property! <br /> <br /> Ended up in a place called Hostel Vista al Cerro in Coya.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-02 / Hiking / SOBO / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> First gate from El Melocoton was closed, but you can just go around to the left and jump the fence. As mentioned by Anthony, there is no water at the marked water point -33 43.298' -070 20.705', but there is water at -33 44.474' -070 21.204'. Nice camp spot a few 100m ahead [S33.73625 W070.35510]. Sufficient water available up to pass (water from melting snowfields). <br /> Way from about 2800 a.s.l. was partly covered by snowfields which could be crossed without problem. After pass sufficient water until &quot;Important Sobo: last water 50km&quot; available. After that only a small trickle at: &quot;Important Sobo: last water 25km???&quot;. (Should be filtered). We used Emergency Exit 1 because our water filter and tent was broken. The worker at the gate was surprised but very friendly. The internal Securitas checked our passports and then drove us to Rancagua. All employees were very friendly and helpful.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Nov-07 / Hiking / SOBO / Fran &amp; Rodri<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 in five days, at first, we wanted to start from Reserva Río Clarillo but it was impossible. The guards of Conaf didn't even try to listen to us, they just said &quot;you can't pass&quot;, so we try the alternative across the river and after 5km, they caught us, it's a natural private reserve and closed for public ( more strict than conaf) so they kick us out. Finally we start in the regular route in &quot;El Melocotón&quot;.<br /> <br /> The entrances it's a private tourism property, once inside, you have 2 alternatives, we took the regular because of the water but we had to pay 5.000 pesos each.<br /> <br /> Then we walk in and the problems disappear. in the beginning the water spots are between 7km aprox so be careful with that.<br /> <br /> In the second day we have a lot of river crossing but it was easy. A lot of sun.<br /> <br /> At the end of the route we took the emergency exit 1 in the &quot;Mina Teniente&quot; of course its a super private zone, but they were very friendly, make us a lot of questions, our personal details and they took us to the end of the private zone. Then we walk 5km and arrive to Coya.<br /> <br /> In town there is a very good place to eat called &quot;bar catan&quot; (delicious and cheap), and pass the night in &quot;Hostal el ensueño&quot; (15.000 each).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-28 / Family Size <br /> <br /> The campground Estero Coyanco (S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779') seams to be only open on weekends? One can walk around the closed gate and a person in the campground allowed me to sleep there on a weekday. There would be a small shop, food places and toilets. I stayed up the valley close to S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779'.<br /> <br /> There was a dead goat further up in the water.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-24 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 five days. Including 2 nero days. Again a really hot section, but there is enough water till Estero Codegua. Marked source before mine (water last 25km) is still flowing. Not much, but flowing. After that you won't find any. Trail is in good condition, in few undefines spots just follow gps. We took last optional trail to the left to meet road to Coya, trail was bit overgrown but doable, then we took a regular trail to Coya which is gravel. Shortly after first emergency exit in mine, where is trail cutting a mine property, they are building a high fence that won't be easy to jump.<br /> <br /> In Coya we are staying in Tu Casita for 20k including dinner. So far it's nice. Ressuplying is good here, we found everything that we needed. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-16 / Hiking / SOBO / RR Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to walk this section. Trails are in good condition. There is practically no snow left and water levels are low. We took the third Emergency Exit in the mine, so we don't know about the last 10 km. The mine's Security Officer wasn't very pleased to drive us out of the mine. In Coya we found accommodation and resupply tiendas. You can also take the bus to Rancagua which runs every full hour.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-14 / Hiking / Ty &amp; America / SOBO<br /> <br /> We camped on Reserva Coyanco for 5000 pesos and sweet spots right next to the river. We took a taxi straight there from the city center of Santiago for 25,000. I just saw on the television that the metro is back up to Puente Alto as well.....so that’s cool.<br /> <br /> We also took the first emergency exit when arriving at Mina Teniente. Everybody was SUPER friendly. They even gave us a free ride to Machali for Resupply (Isabel supermarket).<br /> <br /> After water at the bridge over Estero Codegua, water is pretty much non existent. Nobody was at the puesto, and the next water source was still and dense with tad poles (definitely not ideal)....and probably won’t last for much longer.<br /> <br /> There was some just recently passable areas near the top of the pass, but pretty easy to get by! Prefect timing 👌<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2018-Dec-20 / Hiking / Martin Lizondo / Regular Route Southbound<br /> <br /> A lot of water capacity is required. Last water source at Estero Bodegua (S34° 00.894' W70° 25.507'). Avoid the route near puesto at S34° 04.633' W70° 30.757' because the pass is forbidden. Instead, keep following the track high off trail.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> Get the metro to Plaza De Puente Alto then Bus MB-72B to El Melocoton.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT02 - Mina El Teniente]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (18).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (13).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT02_(Mina_El_Teniente)&diff=112958 2023-12-11T11:19:42Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-07 to 2023-Dec-10 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Gate[3.3/1049] : gate is opened, nobody there on 7am.<br /> <br /> Water,bridge{01} : look like is broken, wet feet crossing. Strong flow and up to ankle at early morning.<br /> <br /> Water?{8.7/1298} : dry at river crossing, but is still flowing at downstream, after you cross the stream, dont climb up immediately, there is a side trail on your right side to downstream, follow it about 1 min, you'll hear water flowing, water spot is on your right side, but is overgrown and muddy, not easy to get close. It has a small pool and like a spigot (2min/L).<br /> <br /> Water?{11.8/1648} : excellent spot, water flowing good with clear and coldwater, has a huge shade for lunch or a break, also a sandy spot for 1 tent.<br /> <br /> Water{15.6/1616} : good flowing with a small waterfall at RR crossing, great to take a cold shower in hot mid-day.<br /> <br /> Water{20.7/2064} : flowing good.<br /> <br /> Ford{21.6/2033} : easier spot at 30m upstream of RR crossing, flowing fast and up to ankle at early morning, much easier than the broken bridge one. A small sandy spot for a small single person tent.<br /> <br /> Ford, camp?{22.9/2067} : RR crossing look like up to ankle. Downstream 30m is a better crossing spot, rock bar under water, just up to half of calf, easy. After crossing there is a large flat area, have stone wall for 1-2 tents.<br /> <br /> From here to &quot;Ford,camp?{27.5/2209}&quot;, some more river crossing, mostly just up to ankle.<br /> Ford,camp?{27.5/2209} : look like no camping spot here?<br /> <br /> <br /> Climb up steep but easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Snow conditions just like Yannick &amp; Nolwenn said, if not comfortable with snow, wait 1-2 weeks for melting.<br /> <br /> Still lot of snow after the pass. The last snow slope you need to cross is at km54.1<br /> <br /> <br /> Camp{57.0+0.3/2286} : when you first see the meadows from high, keep walking a little and look at the mountain side, a stream with a red and white pipe is there, flowing with crystal clear and cold water.<br /> <br /> Water, bridge{64.3/1733} : tons of brown sandy water.<br /> <br /> Km64.7 : camping spot, but dead cows here.<br /> Km67 : camping spot on valley side, some tree covers and great view, some side trail leads you to there.<br /> Km68.6 : camping spot beside the road.<br /> <br /> <br /> Bridge, water?camp?{78.2/1736} : flowing good with clear and cool water. Can fit some tents at road shoulder. It is the LAST WATER before the ridge.<br /> <br /> Mostly have flat spots for camping at each pass before km85, but windy.<br /> <br /> Km85.5 : excellent camping spot, can fit 1 tent, with a blouder for wind protection from south, great views, BBQ grill and cell service.<br /> <br /> Lastly, i took 4.5L water go over the ridge, and water all gone, better bring more in January and February.<br /> <br /> <br /> Coya have a small shop for resupply, not the best but enough, also friendly!<br /> Beside the store is Bar Catalán Coya, they make nice sandwiches!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-04 to 2023-Dec-08 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> Half the bridge gone at the beginning.<br /> 1st water was flowing but not where the trail crosses the stream but lower down - there is a dirt path to the water.<br /> <br /> River crossings are fine until the one at km26.5 was very rapid and strong; we crossed below the regular crossing point. Probably not a good idea atm to do the crossings in late afternoon. We then took the alternate trail that stays on the left of the river in order to skip two crossings. Good campsite when back down by the river, aimed to do the last crossing in the early morning, which was much better.<br /> <br /> The way up had good trail and more water than marked, due to the snowmelt. Snowpatches started once we reached the ridge, mostly very easy to cross except the patches on south-facing slopes; we used microspikes here.<br /> <br /> Careful: an unexploded explosive on the ridge at -33.94081, -70.41171.<br /> <br /> The road on the way down has lots of rockfall, many places with minor landslides. Some extra streams are flowing between Estero Codegua and the mine.<br /> <br /> You can follow us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-12 to 2023-Nov-16 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT02 variant A + improvised trail due to a lot of snow between km30 and km52 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Gates : <br /> (1) gate at km3 for the Reserva, nobody there, the gate was open so we just went through.<br /> (2) Gate at km80,3 was closed, we just went around on the right side of the fence and followed it to reach the track again.<br /> <br /> - Water : water markers correct and more water due to snow melt<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 17,7 | km 36,5 | km 55 | km 82,6 <br /> <br /> - River crossing : <br /> (1) bridge (km3,6) was inaccessible for us, stream too strong - so we took the variant A and crossed the river further on. The current was really strong and up until the hips, we took our time and had previous experiences of river crossings before.<br /> (2)Between km21,6 and km27,5 we had to cross the river 9 times, it was usually up until our thighs.<br /> <br /> - Weather : 3 days of sun and 1 cloudy day. <br /> <br /> WARNING : Update on snow conditions.From km 30,5 the snow is present until km 52. Be really careful between km 34.6 and km 41, because it is icy and a fall could be fatal. We diverted from the gpt trail because following was impossible due to the snow. Sometimes there was 1 meter of snow. Follow the ridgline from km 42 to km 47, and not the gpt trail because at the moment it is completely covered in icy snow. For those who are planning to do this section in the next few days, defenetly check the weather and be aware of the impact of the sun on the snow ( melting, icy...)<br /> <br /> - Resupply : Coya, a small shop has everything you need for the next section <br /> <br /> - Accomodation : ' Hostal &amp; Residencial' for 20 000 pesos a night <br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant A ( easy to follow ) / variant M + N ( trail overgrown at some stages ) / at the control Maintenes, a friendly worker didn't let us take the gravel road at km 101,3 so we walked along the ruta H203 and reach the trail again at km102,4<br /> <br /> - Overall : beautiful section but the snow made it really challenging for us. We met some wild cows and bulls and they were afraid of us and ran away, same for wild horses.<br /> <br /> If you want to see some pictures of the sections and/or ask us some questions, you can find us on Instagram : @2funambules<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-25 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Luisa &amp; Hannes <br /> <br /> Very hot below 2000m. For river crossing not even wet feet. Passed a kind of informal puesto little below junction to Clarillo, nobody there, just a crazy dog. No territorial cows/bulls around as stated somewhere else. Just give them time they need to check the situation and they will trot away...We where lucky to have met very nice people in the puesto before the mine. Got off at emergency1...took us ttl 6 days for this trip with one day almost off...<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-05 4 days RR SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> I arrived at the private nature reserve entrance @ 5PM &amp; admitted I would overnight in the park so they charged me 12,000 pesos. The entry is 6000 pesos per day. They are not aware of the RR beyond the first few KM &amp; it seems best not to discuss it. As there is no water for about 7KM on RR after you cross the first bridge it seems best to stay on the small road which is quicker &amp; easier than RR. There is an official campsite at the end of the road. Fill up when you cross the river after campsite, the first camp &amp; water source on RR is normally dry. I came in on RR &amp; night hiked about 10KM as I didn't have enough water to camp. There is more water as you go further in. On 2nd night approaching the pass where a waterfall comes down a cliff I went downstream &amp; camped by a big boulder. Room for 1 small tent here. You could also camp in the last valley before the pass. After the pass you are on a dirt road all the way to the mine.<br /> <br /> Once over the pass the landscape changes &amp; it's semi desert with a long way between water sources. As you approach a green hut there is a spring coming from the rock by the road. Go into the puesto, if there is no one there you can get water from a spring at the back. The puesto owners are friendly &amp; will have no problem giving you water if they are there. Best to camp at or near the puesto, fill up &amp; start very early next day. Walk the first few KM on the road before dawn if you can. Last water 25KM? was as dry as dirt in January. When you get to the mine stay outside it, go to the right of the boundary fence &amp; handrail it, then you will have no problems. Midsummer i.e. January is not the best time to do the last section, there is hardly any shade &amp; it becomes a desert survival test. The water I had in my pack side pocket was hot enough to make tea. Got to the road OK but felt a bit faint. Heat exhaustion is a real possibility on the last section, go earlier in the season if you can. November once the snow has cleared is ideal. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-06 to 2022–Dec-08 / Hiking / SOBO / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I continued from the Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo. I went up to Cerro Los Cristales, there was entel 4g for fifteen minutes on the ridge and then it stopped completely, but I managed to have a audio call over internet. Nice view on lakes from the top but a detour. Have not met anybody all three days it took me to walk this. The cows were all afraid of me (somebody commented they are territorial).<br /> <br /> The MR till the waypoint last water 50 km (it is not 50 km from there!!!) is actually impassable for cars due to debris. There was plenty of water everywhere until then.<br /> <br /> About 10 km further on, there is a puesto - it has water, you need to go in the puesto. There was nobody there so I slept there in the yard. From here on, there was 4g Entel coverage pretty much everywhere.<br /> <br /> About 1 km from the puesto, there is a horse trail going to the left (not mapped), I took it. It goes up and then it us easy CC downhill. I took a detour to south-east due to misunderstanding what the mine looks like (it is that large flat white-yellow valley - probably debris from the mine). Thanks to that Ihave not met any gates. There was a trickle of water in the last water point ( i crossed it somewhat upstream from RR). Walked under the dam and along the fence of the mine. Kept up from the RR, its suggested track lose some altitude for no reason.<br /> <br /> The part on the ridge is quite beautiful, I would recommend not taking the emergency exits if you can. Very clear path pretty much everywhere. But it is far, took me five hours of fast walking to get to the road to Coya from mine. At the end, do not take the TL {02-M} option the seems like the shortest way to Coya from the end of the ridge. There is no trail, it is overgrown, I would call it bush bashing. No fun in the dark. Once i get to the PR, I immediately hitched a car to Coya and stayed at a hostel for 15000 at 34.2057545S, 70.5306223W. Now I will try to get some food.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-26 to 2022-Dec-01 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> After a few hundred meters into the section we reached the entrance to the nature reservation and were asked for 6000$ per person + our ID numbers. We enjoyed some time by the river that is close to the entrance. Good to carry enough water from the beginning of this section. The alternative way / climb from the valley with water 37.2 gets pretty steep. Snowfields after Cerros de Pueco were still there but it wasn’t difficult to find a way below them. We met a few bulls close to the minor road trail that didnt look very friendly, rather turn around and find a different way. We took some alternative and more attractive trails from the long minor road part (GPT02 D+E). Tiny stream of water available at Sobo: Last Water 25km. We met some workers at the mine who were nice and reminded us that its a private property, no other problem. As suggested in one of the previous comments we didnt go over the gate at the mine but followed a path close to the fence that connects to the CC part. The whole ridge walk at the end is really nice. Quite a lot of traffic on the road to Coya. Overall really hot weather that requires enough water to carry, but nice section. We took a bus to Rancagua before 5PM - ask locals about the schedule.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-28 / Hiking / SOBO/ RR / tom&amp;miky <br /> <br /> We left on the 24 of November north to south, hard sun, no water on the second spot marked (water?) Around +/- 5 km<br /> The sobo last water was brown, we find clear water few km away maybe due to snow melt?<br /> We also found water at Sobo 25 km to finish this section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-10 / Hiking / SOBO / Adrien Kunzli <br /> <br /> Just after San José de Maipo the RR-MR-V (02) (3,6+0,4) at S33°41.069', W070°20.876' was denied to me by some conductors (private propriety). But the other optional road without passing the bridge works perfectly fine.<br /> <br /> Be careful with the wild herd of bulls and cows before getting to Cerros de Peuco. Very territorial ! Better turning around ! <br /> <br /> The camp (02-D)(1,3/2800) at S33°57.791', W070°25.710' were full of snow at this time of year.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021 Nov-20 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> Locked gate (-33.682407, -70.346283) on the route in the beginning of secotion is for the entrance of Reserva Coyanco. There was a lady that opened the gate and said that one day pass through the reserve costs 5000 pesos, but that we can pay it somewhere later. But as the RR doesn’t continue up the valley but across the bridge and up the ridge from the other side then we didn’t meet anyone who would collect the fees. It could be that it’s a weekend thing as there were quite a few people in the area mostly going to see the Calabozo del Diablo. <br /> <br /> No water at the first marked location with question mark (-33.72155, -70.345093), but as Marc Anthony already mentioned there is a small stream of water about 3km further (-33.741233, -70.3534). <br /> <br /> From there we night-hiked until the second ford where we camped. It was such a relief to hike in bearable temperatures and all the critters were out. We saw a snake, a tarantula, a scorpion, some giant bug, bunch of toads, bunnies and a culpeo fox. <br /> <br /> Once we reached the first ford from there onwards until the last water before the mine there was a lot of water in almost every gully, especially as you reach higher elevations. Snow patches are still melting and providing water. The last water is where it’s marked. <br /> <br /> Once we got to the mine/plantation we didn’t jump the gate to walk in the fenced-off plantation, but walked around the fence, handrailed it. There is a faint path for first few hundred meters and then it’s and easy cross country, just aim for the shoulder on the mountain. <br /> <br /> The last part was actually really beautiful and I wouldn’t want to skip it, we had a cloud inversion in the morning and about 8 condors circling us as we descended the ridge, it was spectacular. <br /> <br /> On average we carried 1,7L of water each and besides the first part until the first water and the last part from the last water there really was plenty of water on trail and we could have easily carried only a litre each. For the last part we carried 10L for both of us and it was enough for dry-camping on the ridge and washing dishes and we ended up pouring out about a litre in the morning because we didn’t need that much water. <br /> <br /> Once we descended to the road we had an easy hitch to Machali where we resupplied and hitched back to Coya, again an easy hitch. But unfortunately we could not find a camping gas (with thread) which fitted out stove. We checked every ferreteria and supermercado in Machali, even took the bus to Lider Express on the edge of the town, no luck. They only had the gas canisters where you punch the hole. <br /> However we found a gas with thread in a shop in Coya. Anyways, lesson is - bring the adapter.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 and a half days to hike this section, our last camp was about 9,5km from the road.<br /> <br /> We ate some great food and recharged all of our batteries in a Peruvian restaurant “Sumaq Ñusta” in Coya before heading back out on trail.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-12 to 2021-Nov-15 / 4 days / Hiking / Marc Anthony <br /> <br /> Big locked gate at -33 40.961’ -070 20.773’ after leaving el melocotón heading south. Didn’t find anyone around to ask, but luckily it can easily be jumped if you walk around on the left side. Carry a lot of water! Quite a few kilometers between the water sources. There is a waypoint in the track files at -33 43.298’ -070 20.705’ that is marked “Water ? 02”, there is no water here! But I found an unmarked water source a few kilometers further at -33 44.474’ -070 21.204’<br /> <br /> When walking down from mountain pass towards the mine, the last water source I found was at -34 04.070’ -070 29.602’ marked in track files with “Sobo: Last water 25 km ???”. In was only running a little bit, might dry out soon?<br /> <br /> At the walking into the plantation area close to the mine on the regular route you will encounter a tall locked gate at -34 04.123’ -070 30.702’. I was able to jump over, but keep in mind that there are a lot of the workers at the plantation driving on the road next to it during the day. If you when you continue through the plantation you will encounter a barbed wire fence that runs all the way across the area blocking the path up onto the mountains. Very difficult to jump over! I noticed another gate when walking straight ahead after jumping the first gate. Would advice that you jump over this gate to exit the plantation, instead of following the track files. This way you avoid the barbed wire.<br /> <br /> Took me 4 days to hike this section, but I took the emergency exit number 2 because I ran out of water, so didn’t do the last few kilometers.<br /> <br /> All the river fords were easy. Quite a long distance between water sources in the beginning. Like in GPT 1 i found the beginning of this section to be quite difficult because of the heat even though it is still springtime. But I only have experience hiking in Scandinavia, so I probably don’t have the best heat tolerance :) As soon as I climbed up to the cooler temperature of the higher altitudes it was a wonderful hike.<br /> <br /> Had a lot some trouble with locked gates and barbed wire fence when entering the mine/plantation area. And unfortunately ripped open my plastic water bottle when throwing my backpack over the barbed wire, so lost some precious water.<br /> <br /> After a several hours of hiking in the mountains next to the mine I ended up taking emergency exit number 2 because I was running low on water. Must admit that hiking in this exposed terrain during the afternoon heat was also quite exhausting.<br /> The guards that picked me up after a while when waiting by the road where extremely jolly and nice. We had a good talk and some good laughs about the whole situation. They gave me water and put me on a bus to Coya by mine entrance. Bus driver even drove me around town so that I could find a open hostel. Certainly didn’t expect all this kindness when trespassing private property! <br /> <br /> Ended up in a place called Hostel Vista al Cerro in Coya.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-02 / Hiking / SOBO / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> First gate from El Melocoton was closed, but you can just go around to the left and jump the fence. As mentioned by Anthony, there is no water at the marked water point -33 43.298' -070 20.705', but there is water at -33 44.474' -070 21.204'. Nice camp spot a few 100m ahead [S33.73625 W070.35510]. Sufficient water available up to pass (water from melting snowfields). <br /> Way from about 2800 a.s.l. was partly covered by snowfields which could be crossed without problem. After pass sufficient water until &quot;Important Sobo: last water 50km&quot; available. After that only a small trickle at: &quot;Important Sobo: last water 25km???&quot;. (Should be filtered). We used Emergency Exit 1 because our water filter and tent was broken. The worker at the gate was surprised but very friendly. The internal Securitas checked our passports and then drove us to Rancagua. All employees were very friendly and helpful.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Nov-07 / Hiking / SOBO / Fran &amp; Rodri<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 in five days, at first, we wanted to start from Reserva Río Clarillo but it was impossible. The guards of Conaf didn't even try to listen to us, they just said &quot;you can't pass&quot;, so we try the alternative across the river and after 5km, they caught us, it's a natural private reserve and closed for public ( more strict than conaf) so they kick us out. Finally we start in the regular route in &quot;El Melocotón&quot;.<br /> <br /> The entrances it's a private tourism property, once inside, you have 2 alternatives, we took the regular because of the water but we had to pay 5.000 pesos each.<br /> <br /> Then we walk in and the problems disappear. in the beginning the water spots are between 7km aprox so be careful with that.<br /> <br /> In the second day we have a lot of river crossing but it was easy. A lot of sun.<br /> <br /> At the end of the route we took the emergency exit 1 in the &quot;Mina Teniente&quot; of course its a super private zone, but they were very friendly, make us a lot of questions, our personal details and they took us to the end of the private zone. Then we walk 5km and arrive to Coya.<br /> <br /> In town there is a very good place to eat called &quot;bar catan&quot; (delicious and cheap), and pass the night in &quot;Hostal el ensueño&quot; (15.000 each).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-28 / Family Size <br /> <br /> The campground Estero Coyanco (S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779') seams to be only open on weekends? One can walk around the closed gate and a person in the campground allowed me to sleep there on a weekday. There would be a small shop, food places and toilets. I stayed up the valley close to S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779'.<br /> <br /> There was a dead goat further up in the water.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-24 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 five days. Including 2 nero days. Again a really hot section, but there is enough water till Estero Codegua. Marked source before mine (water last 25km) is still flowing. Not much, but flowing. After that you won't find any. Trail is in good condition, in few undefines spots just follow gps. We took last optional trail to the left to meet road to Coya, trail was bit overgrown but doable, then we took a regular trail to Coya which is gravel. Shortly after first emergency exit in mine, where is trail cutting a mine property, they are building a high fence that won't be easy to jump.<br /> <br /> In Coya we are staying in Tu Casita for 20k including dinner. So far it's nice. Ressuplying is good here, we found everything that we needed. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-16 / Hiking / SOBO / RR Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to walk this section. Trails are in good condition. There is practically no snow left and water levels are low. We took the third Emergency Exit in the mine, so we don't know about the last 10 km. The mine's Security Officer wasn't very pleased to drive us out of the mine. In Coya we found accommodation and resupply tiendas. You can also take the bus to Rancagua which runs every full hour.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-14 / Hiking / Ty &amp; America / SOBO<br /> <br /> We camped on Reserva Coyanco for 5000 pesos and sweet spots right next to the river. We took a taxi straight there from the city center of Santiago for 25,000. I just saw on the television that the metro is back up to Puente Alto as well.....so that’s cool.<br /> <br /> We also took the first emergency exit when arriving at Mina Teniente. Everybody was SUPER friendly. They even gave us a free ride to Machali for Resupply (Isabel supermarket).<br /> <br /> After water at the bridge over Estero Codegua, water is pretty much non existent. Nobody was at the puesto, and the next water source was still and dense with tad poles (definitely not ideal)....and probably won’t last for much longer.<br /> <br /> There was some just recently passable areas near the top of the pass, but pretty easy to get by! Prefect timing 👌<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2018-Dec-20 / Hiking / Martin Lizondo / Regular Route Southbound<br /> <br /> A lot of water capacity is required. Last water source at Estero Bodegua (S34° 00.894' W70° 25.507'). Avoid the route near puesto at S34° 04.633' W70° 30.757' because the pass is forbidden. Instead, keep following the track high off trail.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> Get the metro to Plaza De Puente Alto then Bus MB-72B to El Melocoton.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT02 - Mina El Teniente]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (18).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (13).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian https://www.wikiexplora.com/index.php?title=GPT02_(Mina_El_Teniente)&diff=112957 2023-12-10T23:18:58Z

<p>Lilian: /* Season 2023/24 */</p> <hr /> <div>{{Table all GPTs}}<br /> <br /> &lt;br style=&quot;clear:both&quot; /&gt;<br /> <br /> Add a new log entry always on top in the appropriate season sub-chapter and use format: <br /> <br /> ''*'' Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias<br /> <br /> Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.<br /> <br /> <br /> Add a sub-chapter by placing two &quot;=&quot; before and after the new sub-chapter heading ('==Sub-Chapter Heading==').<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> =Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions=<br /> <br /> ==Season 2025/26==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2024/25==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2023/24==<br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-07 to 2023-Dec-10 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian<br /> <br /> Gate[3.3/1049] : gate is opened, nobody there on 7am.<br /> <br /> Water,bridge{01} : look like is broken, wet feet crossing. Strong flow and up to ankle at early morning.<br /> <br /> Water?{8.7/1298} : dry at river crossing, but is still flowing at downstream, after you cross the stream, dont climb up immediately, there is a side trail on your right side to downstream, follow it about 1 min, you'll hear water flowing, water spot is on your right side, but is overgrown and muddy, not easy to get close. It has a small pool and a spigot (2min/L).<br /> <br /> Water?{11.8/1648} : excellent spot, water flowing good with clear and coldwater, has a huge shade for lunch or a break, also a sandy spot for 1 tent.<br /> <br /> Water{15.6/1616} : good flowing with a small waterfall at RR crossing, great to take a cold shower in hot mid-day.<br /> <br /> Water{20.7/2064} : flowing good.<br /> <br /> Ford{21.6/2033} : easier spot at 30m upstream of RR crossing, flowing fast and up to ankle at early morning, much easier than the broken bridge one. A small sandy spot for a small single person tent.<br /> <br /> Ford, camp?{22.9/2067} : RR crossing look like up to ankle. Downstream 30m is a better crossing spot, rock bar under water, just up to half of calf, easy. After crossing there is a large flat area, have stone wall for 1-2 tents.<br /> <br /> From here to &quot;Ford,camp?{27.5/2209}&quot;, some more river crossing, mostly just up to ankle.<br /> Ford,camp?{27.5/2209} : look like no camping spot here?<br /> <br /> <br /> Climb up steep but easy to follow.<br /> <br /> Snow conditions just like Yannick &amp; Nolwenn said, if not comfortable with snow, wait 1-2 weeks for melting.<br /> <br /> Still lot of snow after the pass. The last snow slope you need to cross is at km54.1<br /> <br /> <br /> Camp{57.0+0.3/2286} : when you first see the meadows from high, keep walking a little and look at the mountain side, a stream with a red and white pipe is there, flowing with crystal clear and cold water.<br /> <br /> Water, bridge{64.3/1733} : tons of brown sandy water.<br /> <br /> Km64.7 : camping spot, but dead cows here.<br /> Km67 : camping spot on valley side, some tree covers and great view, some side trail leads you to there.<br /> Km68.6 : camping spot beside the road.<br /> <br /> <br /> Bridge, water?camp?{78.2/1736} : flowing good with clear and cool water. Can fit some tents at road shoulder. It is the LAST WATER before the ridge.<br /> <br /> Mostly have flat spots for camping at each pass before km85, but windy.<br /> <br /> Km85.5 : excellent camping spot, can fit 1 tent, with a blouder for wind protection from south, great views, BBQ grill and cell service.<br /> <br /> Lastly, i took 4.5L water go over the ridge, and water all gone, better bring more in January and February.<br /> <br /> <br /> Coya have a small shop for resupply, not the best but enough, also friendly!<br /> Beside the store is Bar Catalán Coya, they make nice sandwiches!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Dec-04 to 2023-Dec-08 / 4.5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Stiina &amp; Kris<br /> <br /> Half the bridge gone at the beginning.<br /> 1st water was flowing but not where the trail crosses the stream but lower down - there is a dirt path to the water.<br /> <br /> River crossings are fine until the one at km26.5 was very rapid and strong; we crossed below the regular crossing point. Probably not a good idea atm to do the crossings in late afternoon. We then took the alternate trail that stays on the left of the river in order to skip two crossings. Good campsite when back down by the river, aimed to do the last crossing in the early morning, which was much better.<br /> <br /> The way up had good trail and more water than marked, due to the snowmelt. Snowpatches started once we reached the ridge, mostly very easy to cross except the patches on south-facing slopes; we used microspikes here.<br /> <br /> Careful: an unexploded explosive on the ridge at -33.94081, -70.41171.<br /> <br /> The road on the way down has lots of rockfall, many places with minor landslides. Some extra streams are flowing between Estero Codegua and the mine.<br /> <br /> You can follow us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> * 2023-Nov-12 to 2023-Nov-16 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR + GPT02 variant A + improvised trail due to a lot of snow between km30 and km52 / Yannick &amp; Nolwenn<br /> <br /> - Gates : <br /> (1) gate at km3 for the Reserva, nobody there, the gate was open so we just went through.<br /> (2) Gate at km80,3 was closed, we just went around on the right side of the fence and followed it to reach the track again.<br /> <br /> - Water : water markers correct and more water due to snow melt<br /> <br /> - Camping spot : km 17,7 | km 36,5 | km 55 | km 82,6 <br /> <br /> - River crossing : <br /> (1) bridge (km3,6) was inaccessible for us, stream too strong - so we took the variant A and crossed the river further on. The current was really strong and up until the hips, we took our time and had previous experiences of river crossings before.<br /> (2)Between km21,6 and km27,5 we had to cross the river 9 times, it was usually up until our thighs.<br /> <br /> - Weather : 3 days of sun and 1 cloudy day. <br /> <br /> WARNING : Update on snow conditions.From km 30,5 the snow is present until km 52. Be really careful between km 34.6 and km 41, because it is icy and a fall could be fatal. We diverted from the gpt trail because following was impossible due to the snow. Sometimes there was 1 meter of snow. Follow the ridgline from km 42 to km 47, and not the gpt trail because at the moment it is completely covered in icy snow. For those who are planning to do this section in the next few days, defenetly check the weather and be aware of the impact of the sun on the snow ( melting, icy...)<br /> <br /> - Resupply : Coya, a small shop has everything you need for the next section <br /> <br /> - Accomodation : ' Hostal &amp; Residencial' for 20 000 pesos a night <br /> <br /> - Option roads : variant A ( easy to follow ) / variant M + N ( trail overgrown at some stages ) / at the control Maintenes, a friendly worker didn't let us take the gravel road at km 101,3 so we walked along the ruta H203 and reach the trail again at km102,4<br /> <br /> - Overall : beautiful section but the snow made it really challenging for us. We met some wild cows and bulls and they were afraid of us and ran away, same for wild horses.<br /> <br /> If you want to see some pictures of the sections and/or ask us some questions, you can find us on Instagram : @2funambules<br /> <br /> ==Season 2022/23==<br /> <br /> * 2023-Feb-25 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Luisa &amp; Hannes <br /> <br /> Very hot below 2000m. For river crossing not even wet feet. Passed a kind of informal puesto little below junction to Clarillo, nobody there, just a crazy dog. No territorial cows/bulls around as stated somewhere else. Just give them time they need to check the situation and they will trot away...We where lucky to have met very nice people in the puesto before the mine. Got off at emergency1...took us ttl 6 days for this trip with one day almost off...<br /> <br /> <br /> *2023-Jan-05 4 days RR SOBO Frank<br /> <br /> I arrived at the private nature reserve entrance @ 5PM &amp; admitted I would overnight in the park so they charged me 12,000 pesos. The entry is 6000 pesos per day. They are not aware of the RR beyond the first few KM &amp; it seems best not to discuss it. As there is no water for about 7KM on RR after you cross the first bridge it seems best to stay on the small road which is quicker &amp; easier than RR. There is an official campsite at the end of the road. Fill up when you cross the river after campsite, the first camp &amp; water source on RR is normally dry. I came in on RR &amp; night hiked about 10KM as I didn't have enough water to camp. There is more water as you go further in. On 2nd night approaching the pass where a waterfall comes down a cliff I went downstream &amp; camped by a big boulder. Room for 1 small tent here. You could also camp in the last valley before the pass. After the pass you are on a dirt road all the way to the mine.<br /> <br /> Once over the pass the landscape changes &amp; it's semi desert with a long way between water sources. As you approach a green hut there is a spring coming from the rock by the road. Go into the puesto, if there is no one there you can get water from a spring at the back. The puesto owners are friendly &amp; will have no problem giving you water if they are there. Best to camp at or near the puesto, fill up &amp; start very early next day. Walk the first few KM on the road before dawn if you can. Last water 25KM? was as dry as dirt in January. When you get to the mine stay outside it, go to the right of the boundary fence &amp; handrail it, then you will have no problems. Midsummer i.e. January is not the best time to do the last section, there is hardly any shade &amp; it becomes a desert survival test. The water I had in my pack side pocket was hot enough to make tea. Got to the road OK but felt a bit faint. Heat exhaustion is a real possibility on the last section, go earlier in the season if you can. November once the snow has cleared is ideal. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Dec-06 to 2022–Dec-08 / Hiking / SOBO / Tomáš<br /> <br /> I continued from the Reserva Nacional Rio Clarillo. I went up to Cerro Los Cristales, there was entel 4g for fifteen minutes on the ridge and then it stopped completely, but I managed to have a audio call over internet. Nice view on lakes from the top but a detour. Have not met anybody all three days it took me to walk this. The cows were all afraid of me (somebody commented they are territorial).<br /> <br /> The MR till the waypoint last water 50 km (it is not 50 km from there!!!) is actually impassable for cars due to debris. There was plenty of water everywhere until then.<br /> <br /> About 10 km further on, there is a puesto - it has water, you need to go in the puesto. There was nobody there so I slept there in the yard. From here on, there was 4g Entel coverage pretty much everywhere.<br /> <br /> About 1 km from the puesto, there is a horse trail going to the left (not mapped), I took it. It goes up and then it us easy CC downhill. I took a detour to south-east due to misunderstanding what the mine looks like (it is that large flat white-yellow valley - probably debris from the mine). Thanks to that Ihave not met any gates. There was a trickle of water in the last water point ( i crossed it somewhat upstream from RR). Walked under the dam and along the fence of the mine. Kept up from the RR, its suggested track lose some altitude for no reason.<br /> <br /> The part on the ridge is quite beautiful, I would recommend not taking the emergency exits if you can. Very clear path pretty much everywhere. But it is far, took me five hours of fast walking to get to the road to Coya from mine. At the end, do not take the TL {02-M} option the seems like the shortest way to Coya from the end of the ridge. There is no trail, it is overgrown, I would call it bush bashing. No fun in the dark. Once i get to the PR, I immediately hitched a car to Coya and stayed at a hostel for 15000 at 34.2057545S, 70.5306223W. Now I will try to get some food.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-26 to 2022-Dec-01 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Martin &amp; Helena<br /> <br /> After a few hundred meters into the section we reached the entrance to the nature reservation and were asked for 6000$ per person + our ID numbers. We enjoyed some time by the river that is close to the entrance. Good to carry enough water from the beginning of this section. The alternative way / climb from the valley with water 37.2 gets pretty steep. Snowfields after Cerros de Pueco were still there but it wasn’t difficult to find a way below them. We met a few bulls close to the minor road trail that didnt look very friendly, rather turn around and find a different way. We took some alternative and more attractive trails from the long minor road part (GPT02 D+E). Tiny stream of water available at Sobo: Last Water 25km. We met some workers at the mine who were nice and reminded us that its a private property, no other problem. As suggested in one of the previous comments we didnt go over the gate at the mine but followed a path close to the fence that connects to the CC part. The whole ridge walk at the end is really nice. Quite a lot of traffic on the road to Coya. Overall really hot weather that requires enough water to carry, but nice section. We took a bus to Rancagua before 5PM - ask locals about the schedule.<br /> <br /> Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-28 / Hiking / SOBO/ RR / tom&amp;miky <br /> <br /> We left on the 24 of November north to south, hard sun, no water on the second spot marked (water?) Around +/- 5 km<br /> The sobo last water was brown, we find clear water few km away maybe due to snow melt?<br /> We also found water at Sobo 25 km to finish this section.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2022-Nov-10 / Hiking / SOBO / Adrien Kunzli <br /> <br /> Just after San José de Maipo the RR-MR-V (02) (3,6+0,4) at S33°41.069', W070°20.876' was denied to me by some conductors (private propriety). But the other optional road without passing the bridge works perfectly fine.<br /> <br /> Be careful with the wild herd of bulls and cows before getting to Cerros de Peuco. Very territorial ! Better turning around ! <br /> <br /> The camp (02-D)(1,3/2800) at S33°57.791', W070°25.710' were full of snow at this time of year.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2021/22==<br /> <br /> * 2021 Nov-20 / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Kris&amp;Stiina<br /> <br /> Locked gate (-33.682407, -70.346283) on the route in the beginning of secotion is for the entrance of Reserva Coyanco. There was a lady that opened the gate and said that one day pass through the reserve costs 5000 pesos, but that we can pay it somewhere later. But as the RR doesn’t continue up the valley but across the bridge and up the ridge from the other side then we didn’t meet anyone who would collect the fees. It could be that it’s a weekend thing as there were quite a few people in the area mostly going to see the Calabozo del Diablo. <br /> <br /> No water at the first marked location with question mark (-33.72155, -70.345093), but as Marc Anthony already mentioned there is a small stream of water about 3km further (-33.741233, -70.3534). <br /> <br /> From there we night-hiked until the second ford where we camped. It was such a relief to hike in bearable temperatures and all the critters were out. We saw a snake, a tarantula, a scorpion, some giant bug, bunch of toads, bunnies and a culpeo fox. <br /> <br /> Once we reached the first ford from there onwards until the last water before the mine there was a lot of water in almost every gully, especially as you reach higher elevations. Snow patches are still melting and providing water. The last water is where it’s marked. <br /> <br /> Once we got to the mine/plantation we didn’t jump the gate to walk in the fenced-off plantation, but walked around the fence, handrailed it. There is a faint path for first few hundred meters and then it’s and easy cross country, just aim for the shoulder on the mountain. <br /> <br /> The last part was actually really beautiful and I wouldn’t want to skip it, we had a cloud inversion in the morning and about 8 condors circling us as we descended the ridge, it was spectacular. <br /> <br /> On average we carried 1,7L of water each and besides the first part until the first water and the last part from the last water there really was plenty of water on trail and we could have easily carried only a litre each. For the last part we carried 10L for both of us and it was enough for dry-camping on the ridge and washing dishes and we ended up pouring out about a litre in the morning because we didn’t need that much water. <br /> <br /> Once we descended to the road we had an easy hitch to Machali where we resupplied and hitched back to Coya, again an easy hitch. But unfortunately we could not find a camping gas (with thread) which fitted out stove. We checked every ferreteria and supermercado in Machali, even took the bus to Lider Express on the edge of the town, no luck. They only had the gas canisters where you punch the hole. <br /> However we found a gas with thread in a shop in Coya. Anyways, lesson is - bring the adapter.<br /> <br /> It took us 4 and a half days to hike this section, our last camp was about 9,5km from the road.<br /> <br /> We ate some great food and recharged all of our batteries in a Peruvian restaurant “Sumaq Ñusta” in Coya before heading back out on trail.<br /> <br /> For more stories of the trail, pictures, videos and in case you want to ask us anything you can find us on Instagram: @smallfootprint_bigadventures<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-12 to 2021-Nov-15 / 4 days / Hiking / Marc Anthony <br /> <br /> Big locked gate at -33 40.961’ -070 20.773’ after leaving el melocotón heading south. Didn’t find anyone around to ask, but luckily it can easily be jumped if you walk around on the left side. Carry a lot of water! Quite a few kilometers between the water sources. There is a waypoint in the track files at -33 43.298’ -070 20.705’ that is marked “Water ? 02”, there is no water here! But I found an unmarked water source a few kilometers further at -33 44.474’ -070 21.204’<br /> <br /> When walking down from mountain pass towards the mine, the last water source I found was at -34 04.070’ -070 29.602’ marked in track files with “Sobo: Last water 25 km ???”. In was only running a little bit, might dry out soon?<br /> <br /> At the walking into the plantation area close to the mine on the regular route you will encounter a tall locked gate at -34 04.123’ -070 30.702’. I was able to jump over, but keep in mind that there are a lot of the workers at the plantation driving on the road next to it during the day. If you when you continue through the plantation you will encounter a barbed wire fence that runs all the way across the area blocking the path up onto the mountains. Very difficult to jump over! I noticed another gate when walking straight ahead after jumping the first gate. Would advice that you jump over this gate to exit the plantation, instead of following the track files. This way you avoid the barbed wire.<br /> <br /> Took me 4 days to hike this section, but I took the emergency exit number 2 because I ran out of water, so didn’t do the last few kilometers.<br /> <br /> All the river fords were easy. Quite a long distance between water sources in the beginning. Like in GPT 1 i found the beginning of this section to be quite difficult because of the heat even though it is still springtime. But I only have experience hiking in Scandinavia, so I probably don’t have the best heat tolerance :) As soon as I climbed up to the cooler temperature of the higher altitudes it was a wonderful hike.<br /> <br /> Had a lot some trouble with locked gates and barbed wire fence when entering the mine/plantation area. And unfortunately ripped open my plastic water bottle when throwing my backpack over the barbed wire, so lost some precious water.<br /> <br /> After a several hours of hiking in the mountains next to the mine I ended up taking emergency exit number 2 because I was running low on water. Must admit that hiking in this exposed terrain during the afternoon heat was also quite exhausting.<br /> The guards that picked me up after a while when waiting by the road where extremely jolly and nice. We had a good talk and some good laughs about the whole situation. They gave me water and put me on a bus to Coya by mine entrance. Bus driver even drove me around town so that I could find a open hostel. Certainly didn’t expect all this kindness when trespassing private property! <br /> <br /> Ended up in a place called Hostel Vista al Cerro in Coya.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2021-Nov-02 / Hiking / SOBO / Yannic &amp; Mirjam<br /> <br /> First gate from El Melocoton was closed, but you can just go around to the left and jump the fence. As mentioned by Anthony, there is no water at the marked water point -33 43.298' -070 20.705', but there is water at -33 44.474' -070 21.204'. Nice camp spot a few 100m ahead [S33.73625 W070.35510]. Sufficient water available up to pass (water from melting snowfields). <br /> Way from about 2800 a.s.l. was partly covered by snowfields which could be crossed without problem. After pass sufficient water until &quot;Important Sobo: last water 50km&quot; available. After that only a small trickle at: &quot;Important Sobo: last water 25km???&quot;. (Should be filtered). We used Emergency Exit 1 because our water filter and tent was broken. The worker at the gate was surprised but very friendly. The internal Securitas checked our passports and then drove us to Rancagua. All employees were very friendly and helpful.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2020/21==<br /> <br /> * 2020-Nov-07 / Hiking / SOBO / Fran &amp; Rodri<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 in five days, at first, we wanted to start from Reserva Río Clarillo but it was impossible. The guards of Conaf didn't even try to listen to us, they just said &quot;you can't pass&quot;, so we try the alternative across the river and after 5km, they caught us, it's a natural private reserve and closed for public ( more strict than conaf) so they kick us out. Finally we start in the regular route in &quot;El Melocotón&quot;.<br /> <br /> The entrances it's a private tourism property, once inside, you have 2 alternatives, we took the regular because of the water but we had to pay 5.000 pesos each.<br /> <br /> Then we walk in and the problems disappear. in the beginning the water spots are between 7km aprox so be careful with that.<br /> <br /> In the second day we have a lot of river crossing but it was easy. A lot of sun.<br /> <br /> At the end of the route we took the emergency exit 1 in the &quot;Mina Teniente&quot; of course its a super private zone, but they were very friendly, make us a lot of questions, our personal details and they took us to the end of the private zone. Then we walk 5km and arrive to Coya.<br /> <br /> In town there is a very good place to eat called &quot;bar catan&quot; (delicious and cheap), and pass the night in &quot;Hostal el ensueño&quot; (15.000 each).<br /> <br /> ==Season 2019/20==<br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-28 / Family Size <br /> <br /> The campground Estero Coyanco (S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779') seams to be only open on weekends? One can walk around the closed gate and a person in the campground allowed me to sleep there on a weekday. There would be a small shop, food places and toilets. I stayed up the valley close to S 33° 40.950', W 070° 20.779'.<br /> <br /> There was a dead goat further up in the water.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-24 / Matus &amp; Anna<br /> <br /> We walked GPT02 five days. Including 2 nero days. Again a really hot section, but there is enough water till Estero Codegua. Marked source before mine (water last 25km) is still flowing. Not much, but flowing. After that you won't find any. Trail is in good condition, in few undefines spots just follow gps. We took last optional trail to the left to meet road to Coya, trail was bit overgrown but doable, then we took a regular trail to Coya which is gravel. Shortly after first emergency exit in mine, where is trail cutting a mine property, they are building a high fence that won't be easy to jump.<br /> <br /> In Coya we are staying in Tu Casita for 20k including dinner. So far it's nice. Ressuplying is good here, we found everything that we needed. <br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-16 / Hiking / SOBO / RR Martina &amp; Ivo<br /> <br /> It took us 4 days to walk this section. Trails are in good condition. There is practically no snow left and water levels are low. We took the third Emergency Exit in the mine, so we don't know about the last 10 km. The mine's Security Officer wasn't very pleased to drive us out of the mine. In Coya we found accommodation and resupply tiendas. You can also take the bus to Rancagua which runs every full hour.<br /> <br /> <br /> * 2019-Nov-14 / Hiking / Ty &amp; America / SOBO<br /> <br /> We camped on Reserva Coyanco for 5000 pesos and sweet spots right next to the river. We took a taxi straight there from the city center of Santiago for 25,000. I just saw on the television that the metro is back up to Puente Alto as well.....so that’s cool.<br /> <br /> We also took the first emergency exit when arriving at Mina Teniente. Everybody was SUPER friendly. They even gave us a free ride to Machali for Resupply (Isabel supermarket).<br /> <br /> After water at the bridge over Estero Codegua, water is pretty much non existent. Nobody was at the puesto, and the next water source was still and dense with tad poles (definitely not ideal)....and probably won’t last for much longer.<br /> <br /> There was some just recently passable areas near the top of the pass, but pretty easy to get by! Prefect timing 👌<br /> <br /> ==Season 2018/19==<br /> <br /> * 2018-Dec-20 / Hiking / Martin Lizondo / Regular Route Southbound<br /> <br /> A lot of water capacity is required. Last water source at Estero Bodegua (S34° 00.894' W70° 25.507'). Avoid the route near puesto at S34° 04.633' W70° 30.757' because the pass is forbidden. Instead, keep following the track high off trail.<br /> <br /> ==Season 2017/18==<br /> <br /> ==Season 2016/17==<br /> <br /> =Resupply and Accommodation=<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns==<br /> <br /> ==Resupply and Accommodation along the Route==<br /> <br /> =Transport to and from Route=<br /> Get the metro to Plaza De Puente Alto then Bus MB-72B to El Melocoton.<br /> <br /> =Permits, Entry Fees and Right-of-Way Issues=<br /> <br /> <br /> =Links to other Resources=<br /> <br /> Retired Section Article [[GPT02 - Mina El Teniente]]<br /> <br /> =Images=<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (18).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo:Greater Patagonian Trail (13).jpg|Greater Patagonian Trail, section 2]]<br /> <br /> [[Archivo: | ]]</div>

Lilian