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==Season 2023/24==
*2024-Jan-19 to 2024-Jan-24 / 5,5 days / SOBO / RR and variants A D E M N/ Matthias de Austria
Gate at 3.3/1049 locked at 8am, only a few barking dogs running towards me, but rather curious, not aggressive. It is relatively easy to climb round the gate directly to the left on the slope via a barbed wire. There's nobody at the reserve and kiosk either, so I save myself the entrance fee.
River crossings: no problems, nowhere more than 30-40cm water level and weak current.
Lots of water sources with the exception of the last stage at the mine. There I took 9 litres at Puesto 73.2/1857 and would have liked to have had more. 78.2/1736 had water at 6am. Water 64.3/1733 very sandy, but ok place to bath about 100-200m upstream on a side arm, a few trees for shade.
Camps:
1: close to ford at 21.6/2033 (without tent on the rock formations just upstream at the river crossing, the only campsite is right by the ford, but I didn't want to interfere with the arrieros - in fact a group crossed there at about 7:30am)
2: -33.8451,-70.4188 at the little arriero shelter, has water from pipe
3: Slightly north of Camp 02-D 1.3/2800 right at a bolder, water but small stream and lots of cow shit
4: Puesto 73.2/1857 (I arrived in the evening and just wanted to get water and then find somewhere to sleep, but they said it was dangerous because of the pumas and invited me to spend the night at the Puesto. They were very nice. They gave me lemonade, tea with whiskey, some bread and a sweet. They also offered me meat straight from the grill, but I kindly declined (vegetarian). We chatted a bit, as much as was possible with my very poor Spanish. I was allowed to use the simple shower and the toilet (it looked like it had never been cleaned, ever). I was offered a mattress, but it was so dirty that I preferred to put up my tent, which wasn't easy because of the dog shit lying around everywhere. At 10 o'clock in the evening, when I was already in my sleeping bag, they turned on a loud generator and music and it was extremely loud until 5 o'clock in the morning, music, 10 men talking loudly and at least as many dogs barking constantly. I didn't sleep a minute and left at around 5.30am when they went to bed. Horrible night!
5: Near 92.9/1734, no water
Two snowfields at the pass at about 3000m, which can be bypassed very easily and quickly.
The march over the ridge at the mine was brutal, no sleep at all, very heavy rucksack because of 9 litres of water, enormous heat without shade, but the worst were the Tabaneros, continuous mass attacks for hours while exposed on the ridge. I must have had 30+ bites and killed hundreds. I found the sections in the high mountains the most beautiful, very quiet, cooler, lots of water, beautiful views, no tabaneros. Saw three condors and arrieros lassoing cows.
Variant E has only partial tracks. I couldn't find a continuous path. I mostly hiked along the dried-up stream bed (the open land is covered in thorny plants), which gets a bit steep towards the end with some easy climbing.
The N variant is partly completely overgrown with quite some bushbashing, partly easy to walk on. Sometimes difficult to find the way, always check the GPS, otherwise you take a supposedly easier path, which then turns out to be a dead end.
To avoid possible right of way conflicts, you can simply bypass the car park at the mine entrance. There is an access to the car park directly from the H-263 road a little to the east. Directly at the entrance to the car park there is a clearly visible trail that climbs steeply a few meters up to the trees. Simply follow this path, it leads parallel to the car park directly to the RR. I recommend managing the RR in this way in future. It would also be a small improvement to avoid the bend in the road just before the 105.8/799 bridge. A staircase leads directly to the bridge as a shortcut.
There is no more accommodation in Coya. A friendly young local helped me, he called numerous numbers and asked people on the street/shops, but there was nothing, everything was closed or takes only larger groups, even the hotel in Termas de Cauquenes was shut down. I then took the bus to Rancagua. Bus stop near the supermarket, towards the bridge. From Monday to Saturday every hour from 7am to 10pm.
* 2023-Dec-28 to 2024-Jan-01 / 4,5 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR and variants A D F J / Matthieu
Really nice hike, from river to high mountain to the long ridge. No big problems with river crossings, snow or slopes (see below). Lack of water will surely be the main issue in the next months.
Some annoying but short cross country/bush bashing part in the spiky herbs after km 15.6, but good visibility.
Variants
- A to try to go to the calabozo del diablo (day 0 that i didn't count on hike). It was a fail at 100m of arrival, i didn't feel the final river crossing. Later in the season will be good enough. Seems an amazing place.
- D for west exposition (see below) and attracticity
- F and J on the ridge because it looked really safer than the RR below. I didn't feel endangered on these parts of the ridge, it's flat and large, even with windy conditions. RR seemed steepy from above.
- I hitchhiked from the end of the ridge to Coya
Camp :
- Coyanco river on variant A after my calabozo fail, official place for camping with toilets ;
- 22.9 (arrieros camp after river crossing) ;
- 39.3 in the cirque before the pass, very nice but windy ;
- 67, where lilian found the good spot. Actually you have to get all the rocks and cow shit away, and there are a lot of spiky herbs. I found only one good place for a tent after exploring a bit but it was perfect and well protected. Another spot is 1.5km after, plenty of space but less trees for protection ! ;
- 90.4 on variant J on the ridge just below the summit. Nice but unprotected ! You have some more places around the cerro los canelos (with the antenn).
Water : all the markers were still flowing. Bring filter with you as there are cows everywhere in the mountain
-Waypoint 8.7 : you can hear it downstream, not on the RR, but seems hard to reach
-11.8 : minor stream, i dont know if it will still be there in a month
-Between 15.6 and 20.7 : 2 other streams
-Between 20.7 and 27.5 : multiples river crosses, no problem with water
-Less water after the bridge at 64.3.
- Good stream with tiny cascada at 66.7 just before the nice camp spot at 67 km.
-Surely water at puesto 73.2 as you can see a river below, but not on the RR (underground pipe ?)
-78.8 : Important water spot as Lilian said, last until the road on all the ridge. This is NOT a big stream now, I don't know if it will still flow in a month. Note that there is an emergency exit at this moment if you have water problems. Some workers were here, working in fields.
-Sunny and hot conditions on the ridge. I took 5.2 L (I cooked with a few while camping) and got 200 mL at the end.
Snow patches : now only on east and south exposed slopes. No problems with snow at this moment, i didnt have to cross any :
- km 34 where Matthias took the uphill solution, now you have a little hole in the snow juste below the RR.
- after the pass : snow patches block the passage to the minor road RR. Just follow the ridge for a few dozens meter and safe way to join the minor road, without snow.
- variant D : fully exposed west so no patches if you begin it on the RR after crossing the river (directly on the west-exposed slope). I don't know if there are patches on the RR before the variant D end.
- No patches blocking the RR after variant D end
River Crossings :
- first on variant A, at 8 am. The flow is strong, choose wisely the place. A few meters below the usual local crossing (that you can see with a cairn) I found a big rock in the middle of the river. The first part until this rock is easy, the second stronger flow, up to the beginning of thighs but only for two paces. (178 cm 80 kgs).
- No other concerns about river crossings along the way.
Right of way : No problems with gates or private properties on the way. I had to pay 6000 pesos to enter the Coyanco reserve at 11 am.
Other: I saw one snake (the second, another one on GPT01) in the middle of the trail, taking the sun, he moved slowly but I had to make noise for it. Be careful at any time not to walk on it. I think it was a chilean long tailed snake, venom painful but not deadly as wikipedia says. Internet says that it's rarely seen... but seems not on the crazy GPT !
* 2023-Dec-6 to 2023-Dec-11/ 5 days / SOBO / RR, variants A+D+E+G+J+M / Matthias
GPT02 was a great hike in these spring conditions.
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!
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).
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.
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.
Hitch-hiked to Rancagua from road at end of variant M.
Camps:
- on river bank of Coyanco river after fording ca. 33°42'30"S 70°20'45"W
- at track waypoint at km 22.9 (beside stone-walled rock)
- very beautiful at 33°54'15"S 70°23'33"W (in cirque one platform below RR)
- 1.5km after bridge at km 64.3 besides the path (no great spot)
- on the ridge south of Cerro Alto El Paico (km 90.4) - no water
*2023-Dec-07 to 2023-Dec-10 / 4 days / Hiking / SOBO / RR / Lilian