22
ediciones
Cambios
sin resumen de edición
Resupply in Villa Cerro Castillo we did in Minimarket Villarica, they have gas as well. It was closed but we called them and begged to open for us.
* '''2026-01-12 to 2026-01-17 / 6 Days / Packrafting + Hiking / SOBO / RP + 09 + M + RR + E + RR + Castillo glacier + RR + 10 / Antoine B'''
One of my favourite sections.
Day 3 (I started with 31P)
From the shore of lago Elizalde, it was tricky to find a way through the fences, so I crossed the river and reached the main road where I hiked for about 2 hours (barely any traffic going south). I finally got picked up by a French Guide who drove me to the crossing right after Rio Paloma bridge (looks gorgeous). I finished walking down to the private property where I had a discrete camp by the river trees.
Day 4
When entering the lake at 9am, I met a friendly keeper who let me embark on Lago Desierto (beautiful, some OK waves). Saw no one at the next shore. Another 2h beautiful lake crossing, where waves got bigger and chaotic by the end, especially close to the cliffs. After landing, I saw a keeper and asked for the right of way. He asked the manager who denied access through the property to the MTB trails climbing in the mountains. Puzzled about how I got there (the whole valley is the property of a rich US owner who hires 20 people all-year long). He gave me a boat ride across Lago Paloma, then a car ride uphill to catch up variant M, in front of the gate (with cake and coffee extras). Turned out quite well in the end. Walked in a nice forest, fantastic lookout and had a lovely camp at the start of the ridge section.
Day 5
Bad weather arrived and I slept in until 12. At 2.30pm, when the rain stopped, I explored a potential alpine route following the ridge and slaloming the peaks.
Awesome views but this looked more like mountaineering in steep/scree terrain, and with hail/strong winds starting I decided to go down to connect back with the track, at the difficult waterfall. It was a slow descent in unstable terrain but I liked the offpist experience. The whole area reminded me of Lappland somehow. The descriptions to climb the grassy slope by the waterfall and go by the forest to avoid climbing were useful. The grassy slope is actually better than it looks but I was careful with the wet ground and the 25kg backpack. The valley was beautiful but windy so I continued to the other side and camped in the forest, as indicated by .. at .. quite tired and my shoes suffered so perfect to stop there.
Day 6
Finally some sun among clouds in the morning. Generally easy walking to connect with the main trail. Went running to E up to glacier, without any bag. Cloudy, not the best light but still enjoyed it and the view up there (but I like climbing rocks, for some it may not feel worth it). Still haven't met anyone. Backpack felt pretty even after the roaming freely.. Quick lunch and a power nap in the forest on my way to climb the pass. Barely any snow left (dozens meters on the other side, actually nice to walk on and some footprints of huelmut I believe). I can feel my body is in dire need of calories after these 6 weeks and not having (way) too much food at once. The views after the pass were rewarding, among light rain and wind. The well defined trail through the forest is so enjoyable, what a contrast to many GPT sections! I arrived around 5pm at the Bosque camping and met... no one. What a different experience, I can't complain about the crowds! Hiking during the week with rainy (not stormy) weather is probably the answer for loneliness. At 7pm I went across the forest towards the moraine (a few min walk) and then walked to the Laguna. Pretty nice view, despite cloudy summits and the fierce wind & rain cocktail in my face. Hanged my food in the rainy night, although I haven't seen any mice (only cute colourful birds coming by).
Day 7
An enjoyable long night under singing rain. Very chill day: I took it easy and waited for the rain to stop before getting started, i.e. early afternoon. I left at ~4pm and hiked up to the informal campsites right before the lake. I was planning to go all the way to Camping Neozelandés but watching the Cerro Castillo glaciers I could not resist having a closer look up there. I left my backpack and climbed NW through the boulder field, all the way up to the pass/plateau (-46.07005, -72.19438). Demanding short hike (1km, 400-500m) but the rocky terrain was actually holding well (no scrambling). Incredible views up there on both sides, and the glacier right below Cerro Castillo. I climbed a bit higher up (-46.06911, -72.19559) and spent 2h admiring the mountains with dancing clouds and the sun finally shining. I saw 2-3 spots that may work as mountaineering campsite sites (given a good weather window for the night and morning). Camped at (-46.07268, -72.18411), just along the path but protected from the wind.
Day 8
5cm snow Opened for sunriseAmazingWind and blowing snow on way upStopped on the way to the path and admire the landscape, light and snow for like 1hSnow melted within a few hoursDown to exit the park, met my first humans within 4days in the last 30mn. Left by the river following it, crossing the road until I could inflate the packraft. Still tight water levels I touched the ground several times. But made it to Rio Ibáñez.Super fast, 6km/h flow plus strong tailwinds (over 60km/h?). Topped 10km/h with my single open packraft! Exited as indicated on track files and walked to town, Nordic Patagonia, 10k CLP per person. Garden camping. Friendly, hit showers, WiFi proximity. But street noises and lights are quite annoying after being in the nature...