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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.
* 2024 Mar 6 to 2024 Mar 12 / 7 days / Hiking / NOBO / RR / Maddi and Tom
Day 1: Got the public bus from Villa O'Higgins to Lago Christie at 11am, paid 600 CLP per person. Apparently it comes every few days. We were the only ones on it so the driver dropped us at the trailhead. There is a big sign and a picnic table at the start and the trail is pretty clearly defined. Hiked along Lago Christie and camped at the Northern end at a clear spot on the sand.
Day 2: Kept following a clear track to Lago Alegre. Passed the settlers but noone appeared to be home. Had lunch on the lake at a nice pebbly beach (-48.03641,-72.49016), had a swim and Tom caught a rainbow trout to eat. Had a relaxed day hiking and camped at the very northern end of the lake (-47.98559,-72.53109). Tom caught another trout for dinner. Two others hiking joined us later that night as it was a good camp spot with lake access.
Day 3: Tom caught another trout for breakfast before we started hiking for the day. Rain started getting pretty heavy making the track quite muddy and it was very cold. Had lunch at Las Tablas to get out of the rain. Sun came out so we continued on, although it didn't last. Since it was raining heavily and I was getting very cold, we camped next to El Burro for the night.
Day 4: More rain in the morning. Packed up and hiked to La Pampa for lunch. Got a weather update and it was looking bad for the next day (heavy snow and wind) so we decided to camp at La Pampa. Spent a nice afternoon in the sun with a fire going. The two hikers we camped with before also stayed there that night.
Day 5: Woke up to heavy rain and wind so stayed in bed until 11am, not wanting to cross the pass in these conditions. Snow started around lunch and was heavy enough to stick. Got a weather update and it was looking sunny for the next day so decided to wait it out. Hiked up the river around 5pm to do the river crossing and then camped at the base of the pass at (-47.79854,-72.52191). Started snowing just as we went to bed.
Day 6: Got up early and started up the pass. Lots of snow and ice made it quite slippery but manageable. Had to watch out for the black ice on all the rocks around the river. The snow concealed any tracks but wasn't difficult to navigate with my watch. Snow was about knee deep at the top of the pass. Came down the other side with awesome views down the valley. Took the detour to avoid the river crossing above the canyon. Detour is steep uphill but is worth it as where we ended up crossing didn't even get our shoes wet. Did see a dead horse there though that must have been washed down the canyon. Had lunch near the fallen down puesto on the river. Was nice to get some sun after so many days of rain and snow. Continued on and camped at Glacier Calluqueo.
Day 7: Started walking along the road hoping for a hitch. Was actually very hot. Managed to get a ride after about an hour to Cochrane.
