==Season 2025/26==
'''2025-Dec-30 to 2026-Jan-3 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, E, G / Emily'''
Summary''' GPT 36 | 2/9-2/13 | 5 Days | RR | SOBO | Graham + Gabe ''' Incredible section, tough weather, muddy trails, but perhaps my favorite GPT adventure.Started from Cochrane at around 6pm after conversing with a store owner and family about organizing a ride over the 30km of “paved road.” Was too expensive, opted to camp 8km on side of road, in some trees. Got two rides the following morning, second of which from workers (first time hitching in a truck) who were headed all the way up to Glacier lookout.Trail is in decent shape, weather cleared for some okay views. Some sections with lots of fallen trees can make for slower walking. Encountered 3 aggressive dogs at Puesto (53.1/611) one of which lunged at my legs and got very close to biting me. But they backed off. Was trying to push over the pass as we knew bad weather was incoming the following day. Encounter some Chilean hikers right before Ford at Km 56. Had lunch and did weather check, saw that temp was dropping down to 30/-1C with 4 inches of snow that night, and heavy gusts following morning. This information inspired the Chileans to pack up camp and continue on with us.We took a less that ideal route up the first rock scree, I would recommend following the GPS track closely, despite being CC as it did reconnect with trail. During climb, rain turned to hail, and then snow, which made the rocks slippery and scary. Once on trail in woods, it improved.As we climbed up towards the pass, which was covered in snow, the weather changed dramatically — a few times. One minute it was windy and snowing heavily, and then the sun would break through the clouds. Definitely increased my stress as I debated my decision to push that evening. The ascent to pass is not steep after first scree, but it is quite long. Once at pass, the valley is beautiful, descent was not bad, a little bit of skiing down, and crossing icey cold rivers. The climb up to second pass at end of valley is quite nice.Pushed on to Camp at Km 79, a few good spots to put tents. Very cold night, snowed, but we were protected from wind.Continued next day with our new Chilean friends, short day in the cold. Camped at Puesto El Burro (92.2/660). Not many great tent spots, but it works well enough.Left our friends early, pushed to unmarked camp at Km 116. My Garmin stopped working this day, which was upsetting. Couldn’t get satellite connection, led me to doing soft reset and trying to software update, which stopped my tracking 😞. 3 months of hiking. However, Gaia was working. However, I could still send and receive messages which was good. Eventually my garmin wouldn’t really even turn on when in Expedition Mode, took about 2 minutes of pressing on button and enter to get it to boot up (I resolved this in town, it was another software update and as per other notes, in this part of the route it is better to activate Multi-GNSS, not just GPS Mode)Final day we pushed early to reach Refuge at Km 148. Ended up being a really hot day, which was nice. At some point, in the heavy bushes, my camera got snagged and fell off my bag, I hadn’t noticed for a while after. I was sad, but recently had changed SD card so after 30 minutes of scouring the bushes I made peace with the loss. (Just my luck, our Chilean friends found it and messaged me on instagram and I got it back in Villa O’Higgins 🙏)After 2 hours waiting at road with no cars, finally a settler came and we got a ride all the way to town. He recently bought property near border and plans to build it up into a camping spot.Truly a beautiful section, and a true experience with the beauty and power of the climate. Laying in my sleeping bag with all my layers kinda made me wish I was hiding in the shade of a boulder up north again. But that’s the GPT. *'''GPT36 // 2025 Dec 3-5 // NOBO // 3 days // hiking // Bailey and Ohad''' Challenges - fallen trees across the trail. Long road walking if you don't organize transport or can't get a hitch Difficulty - 4/5 Attractiveness - 5/5 Note - you briefly cross into Argentina and back into Chile but there's no one here or any infrastructure Day 1 We were given a number from El mosco, (+56 9 7751 7721) Christan, who drove us from villa O'Higgins to the end of the road. It cost 40,000 CLP per person, a bit expensive but no one really drives out here, so a hitch would've been difficult. We didn't regret paying because of our weather window. The first day was a lot of up and down but easy to follow trail Camp 1 We camped at camp [110.9/500] which was beautiful and protected from the wind by the lake Day 2 We walked through the forest most of the day, heaps of fallen trees to navigate. The river valley was easy hiking. The fords were not an issue but incredibly cloudy and muddy from the rain Camp 2 We camped at camp [79.9/876] which was a bit lumpy but we found a couple of flat spots. There's mice here. Day 3 The hike up to pass was gradual and beautiful. There was a bit of fresh snow at the pass but not too bad. We actually overshot the pass but after assessing the topographic map we found our way There was an incredibly bad section of fallen trees (photo shown). If going NOBO, kilometer 58.3 km (SOBO) take the trail heading east, with a few fords heading to the puesto. The trail was nice and clear of dead fall. I'll upload a photo from ohads gps in the comments. Can't say much about the condition of RR, but we tried briefly and there were heaps of fallen trees We were lucky to have a hitch from the start of the road into Cochrane from a local We stayed at Hostal Ana Luz 15,000 CLP per person for two beds in one room Ohad will upload our trip report of GPT37 ''' GPT35/2026-02-26 to 2026-03-04/6,5 days/ SOBO/RR + exploration /Denis, Robert ''' We dedicated to go on the section even with worse forecast for next days. Road walk to 48km took us 1,5 days, and we camped next to the Laguna Calluque, on pretty well sheltered spot between bushes. We already here camped in rain and moderate wind. The whole Sendero de Los Pioneros is in pretty good shape, some overgrown parts and fallen trees nothing crazy, but few comments: 1. Variant A seemed to us like easier option, but we decided to stay on RR, because of possible better views (and three other hikers (Laura), who just descended down from there. 2. After pass we followed fresh horse trail going more on the left side of the valley and reconnected back at the bottom of the valley.3. From 105 km we decided to go CC straight to km 110. Beginning was fine than middle part not that much and end agin better, young vegetation and fallen trees. It took us less than one hour. Was it worth it? Probably yes if you are in mood to make it harder for you, otherwise not. (We don’t know in what condition is the RR).4. Traverse of Lago Alegre seemed like never ending for us plenty of ups and downs the second lake was easier to traverse. And the last 8 km are actually trail with nice forest road. River fords were still pretty easy even in rainy weather. We had rain every single full day on the section, it was probably the most challenging part of it. Due to wet and cold weather it was pretty demanding section for us, but in good weather it could be very enjoyable section with difficulty no more than 3, and probably higher attractiveness thanks to better views. Attractiveness 3/5Difficulty 5/5 '''2026-Jan-27 to 2026-Jan-31 / 5 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Kole''' A tranquil segment; the wide open views of the pass nicely compliment the long closed-in forested sections. Attractiveness: 4/5; Difficulty: 3/5 Camps: Night 1: -48.11405, -72.48790 — nice spot on a beach of Lago Christie, but without any wind protection; there could be some sheltered spots in the forest right before Night 2: Camp {36H} [110.9/500] — lovely sheltered spot on the shore of Lago Alegre Night 3: Camp {36H} [79.9/876] — some decent flat spaces in the area amongst the trees after the initial Rio Bravo fords Night 4: -47.62141, -72.46907 — flat sheltered spots right before the Puesto {36H} [53.1/611] Hitches: - I departed Villa O’Higgins at 12:00. Got two partial hitches, and a third that took me all the way to the trailhead, X {36H} [142.0/550], arriving at 15:00. On a day with nice weather during high season there seemed to be a decent number of cars driving in the direction of Lago Christie, and so a good chance on hitching all the way to the trailhead. Might be more difficult in bad weather or early/late in the season. - I arrived to the northern trailhead at Laguna Calluqueo, X {36H} [50.0/553], around 11:00. Luckily it was a nice clear day and so there were several cars around the trailhead and at viewpoints near the Laguna. I walked on the road for a bit and quickly got a hitch from a couple that was returning to Cochrane. Ford Conditions: Water levels were high and currents strong after many days of warm weather contributing to snowmelt. All fords along the RR were still able to be crossed, but particularly the ones near the pass (km 81.3 to 77.4) required some trial and error to find a safe line and some careful footing. Ford {36H-B} [1.3/934] (La Picota, often not fordable) along variant B was indeed not fordable, best to stick to the RR higher up along the ridge unless early in the season. General Notes: - Challenges include blowdowns in the forested sections that require some CC/BB. Trail was overgrown in parts and at times easy to wander off on cow paths. Many flies on warm, windless days. - No longer any snow on the pass - The owner of Puesto {36H} [57.6/667] (Calloqueo) was home - Also the couple caretaking Puesto {36H} [53.1/611] were home and invited me in for mate and some homemade queso and jam, warm and friendly people. * <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2026-01-28 to 2026-01-31 / 4 days / Packrafting / Loop / RP /OP 23 / Daniel.s'''</span> In short: I started in Cochrane paddled on the lake eastbound until Lake {36H} [52.6/155] (Lago Cochrane), hiked to Lago Brown and paddled Rios Tranquilo and Del Salto to get back towards Cochrane, finished at X {36H-04A} [7.7/314]. Day 1: with 2,5 days of very calm and hot weather ahead I started paddling the little upriver section out of Cochrane, river in at Lake {35} [154.1/156]. The current in the upper parts were too strong for the single packraft to be overcome, so I had to portage. Easiest way is to take out at S 47.22448°, W 072.49745° and put back in at Lake {35} [149.0/193]. The lake itself then was calm all day long. Camped at Lake, Camp {36H-L} [0.0/157] (Lago Cochrane), wich I only recommend in calm conditions. Day 2: another calm day with a little tailwind in the afternoon. Camped at Settler Abandoned {36H} [52.7/156]. Day 3: hiked to Lago brown, which is all on MR starting from Settler {36H} [53.9/157] (Serafin). Reached there by noon, headwinds too strong already, so I continued walking until someone gave me a lift to Rio Tranquilo. Camped at S 47.40648°, W 072.38180°. Day 4: put in Rio Tranquilo at S 47.40533°, W 072.37968°, access directly to the river from MR hassle-free. Water level mid high after a few hot days and melting water. The first 2,5 - 3 kms the river fans out a lot and is shallow, expect ground contact and short portage/lining sections if you choose the wrong river-arm. After that short section no problem. I took out just before X {36H} [98.2/349] (River Xersion) at S 47.45777°, W 072.45684° and hiked alon the old riverbed and then through semi-dense brush with cow-paths to put in at S 47.46068°, W 072.47258°. The rest of the river runs fine. No major difficulties, but it wouldn't be packrafting in Patagonia if the wasn't the obvious "occasional tree/log in the water"-warning 😉. Take out and hike across the bridge is straight forward, put in and the rest of the way on Rio Tranquilo and Rio Del Salto is easy. Rapid {36H-23} [42.2/286] was not much of a rapid due to high water level, just some waves. Took out just after and hitchhiked back to Cochrane from Ruta 7. '''2025-Dec-30 to 2026-Jan-3 / 5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR, E, G / Emily'''
A beautiful section, particularly from Glacier Callequeo to the Pass, and around Lago Christie.
The trail is mostly well-defined. There are several sections with a lot of fallen trees, but they’re easily stepped over or passed with CC/light BB on occasion. I found it more bothersome than difficult. Similarly, the sections I had to roadwalk were more monotonous than difficult. No issues with fords; a couple reached my upper thigh/crotch, but all had weak to mild currents. Plenty of water around.
Fortunate to have some great weather - several days of sun and minimal winds. I’d expect that the exposed and swampy sections of the trail would be significantly more difficult in poorer conditions. With the exception of the road and at the Glacier, I didn’t see anyone.
Attractiveness - 54/5
Difficulty - 3/5
Camps (all with decent wind protection and nearby water) * Day 1 - Settler 36H-23 [33.2/290]. Approx. 1.5km off the RR at 15km. This is an established campground, though there’s currently no sign. Friendly family, flat grass area for tents, big dining/kitchen space with fireplace, showers and toilets. 7.000clp p/n* Day 2 - Camp [79.9/876](Approx. 100m before, where there was a flatter spot). * Day 3 - Camp [110.9/500]. Beautiful spot, highly recommend. * Day 4 - -48.162416, -72.414089, approx. 138.5km at the puesto marked on OSM. A slightly lumpy but flat spot for 1 tent below the lean-to.
Resupply Highly recommend Antigua Granel in Coyhaique. A bulk food store with wide variety Points of dry and dehydrated goods, all reasonably priced. Day 1 note * Caught the bus to I started from Cochrane from Coyhaique and started walking at around 4.15pmon a weekday afternoon. I was able to get two short hitches but mostly roadwalked. * The following morning I camped at Settler 36H-23 [33.2/290]; approximately 1.5km off hitched with a local guide to the RR at 15km. This is an established campgroundglacier (from ~20km, though there’s currently no signaround 8am). Friendly family, flat grass area for tents, big dining/kitchen space with fireplace, showers and toilets. 7.000clp p/n. On the roadwalk to Villa O’Higgins (Day 2 * 5) I was able to hitch from ~20km to the glacier with 148km, around 9.15am on a local guideweekend).
* After the Puesto at 57.6/667 there’s a bad patch of fallen trees. For the most part the RR was obstructed or not obvious. I instead followed a mix of game trail and RR; whatever was the path of least resistance. Some CC/BB required, which was time-consuming but not difficult.
* Note that there’s no water at 67.3/1041, but plenty at the following waypoint [68.4/1089].
* Only one small patch of snow on the descent from the pass Pass 71.5/1304 - could be avoided if you wanted. I forded [71.8/1262] on a snow bridge. * Camped a few hundred metres before 79.9/876 where there was a flatter spot. Day 3 * There were a lot of fallen trees throughout the daybetween ~86.5km to 110km, though as with the day before, they could be bypassed relatively easily with CC. Trail improved thereafter, though is still overgrown in parts/requires detours around fallen trees.
* I bypassed the Puesto at [107.3/479] by cutting across at -47.98615, -72.55851. While there’s no trail as such, there are several game trails and it’s easy CC (more straightforward than the RR at times). I reconnected with the RR at -47.99036, -72.55305.
* Space for 1 tent at 110.9 but potentially more in the vicinity if you got creative. Beautiful spot, highly recommend. Day 4 * Trail overgrown in parts but mostly easier to follow. Some CC still required in sections with deadfall. * An incredibly bad patch of mozzies around ~116km, near the OSM-marked camp. Though only for 500m, I’d suggest applying repellant or putting on a head net prior to. * Recommend keeping an eye on your GPS after the puesto at ~135km. I followed a clear trail to the right of the RR. While in other instances these game trails usually reconnected to the RR, this one didn’t; required some BB through swamp to reconnect. * I camped just below a lean-to around 138.5km. Space for one tent; good wind protection, stream nearby, slightly lumpy but overall okay. Day 5* Hitched from ~148km to Villa O’Higgins, arriving around 10am.
==Season 2024/25==
