Cambios

After a night in Guallali, we continued on GPT10. This section is short and awesome, definitely worth hiking!

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.

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.

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 "thermas" 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.

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).

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).

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 "some" cars. The road condition looked as if it has been recently fixed and is being improved even more.

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.

Day2

Easy walk towards the junction for option 01 to volcán Copahue with a long conversation and piñone testing with "Pedro" 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&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 "aggressive puesto" @ 1.2 was locked up with no one there.

Day 3

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.

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 "some" 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.

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.

Day4

We rested until late morning as Tomáš was still barely recovered from his stomach bug and walked the long road too ...

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.

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.

Could be a nice option to take if you're in the mood for a change from the open alpine trail.

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.

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.

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.

Route: Trapa Trapa - Laguna Liay - Laguna El Barco - Guallalí

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 :)