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→Zone D: Zona Ríos y Lagos Chilenos
Crossing through the “private for profit natural reserve” Huilo-Huilo on section GPT18 can be complicated by private guards. Without a packraft you need to organize a private boat transfer over the Lago Todos Los Santos with one of the settlers on the trail. The border crossing from Chile into Argentina on the southern end of this zone is uncomplicated if you walk into the two police stations on either side of the border to get the much-needed passport stamps.
====Zone E: Zona Ríos y Lagos Argentinos====
Chile and Argentina are like two brothers that share a lot but have some distinct differences in appearance and attitude. This zone is an opportunity to get to know the Argentine culture and taste the difference i.e. by visiting the hippie town El Bolsón.
The hiking route borders numerous pristine lakes and rivers and crosses forest and patches of cattle grazing land. The route passes two national parks and several large private properties. You can enjoy many gorgeous views.
Here the GPT follows in large parts the Huella Andina, a personal initiated trail project by Estefania Chereguini and Walter Oszust. This project unfortunately came to a halt when the Argentine Ministry of Tourism assumed control and forced the founders out. This and recent wild fires mean that much of the trail is no longer maintained and the hiking route becomes in some parts more and more overgrown.
A very challenging but fascinating highlight of this zone is the traverse from Lago Puelo to Lago Cholila that contains some demanding bush bashing and walking in rivers to avoid the dense vegetation. Here you can test what it takes to walk without a trail though partly overgrown forest. This experience may reconcile you with the larger proportion of road walking that is unavoidable if hiking and not packrafting.
With this zone the packraft dreamland continues. The distance on water exceeds 40%. In particular from Lago Cholila to Lago Kruger you have a long continuous section of interconnecting lakes and rivers where you don’t need to leave the water for 3 or 4 days except to rest and to camp.
In this zone rain is rare but heat can be a burden since the trail snakes along of the eastern edge of the Andes in the rain shadow. Expect to climb over many fences and closed gates since the more leveled ground on the eastern edge of the Andes is used as grazing ground for large herds of cattle. In the National Park “Los Alerces” you will meet large crowds on the camp grounds but a short stroll from the camp grounds you will meet much less people.
====Zone Designations, Locations and Planning Status====
