Cambios

In the zona Palena the hiking and the packrafting route divide and follow completely different bearings. The hiking route goes south while the packraft route takes you to the west to the Patagonian fjords and the Pacific Ocean.

If hiking you traverse a thickly forested region that generally follows quiet back roads and historic horse trails. A major trail section is a national heritage trail (“Ruta Patrimonial”) that is beautiful hiking, with a wonderful perspective of history. The wide river valleys are lovely to note, as are the views when you can see through the trees. Sparsely populated, it gives an idea of the hardy and kind people who inhabit Patagonia.

If hiking be aware that parts of the route receive little to no maintenance and can be quite difficult to track. Some hikers turned back because they lost the trail. At the moment I have no precise GPS record for parts of the trail and only an approximate route is incorporated into the trail file. Your contribution is needed to fill this gap with an accurate record.

For packrafters this zone is an unmatched highlight of the GPT. Just two kilometers after leaving the village Palena you reach the put in at the generally calm river Palena that you can now float down in 4 to 6 days until you reach the Fjord Pitipalena and the tiny harbor village Raul Marin Balmaceda. Don’t try to be fast to enjoy the scenery and to meet some of the people that live for three or four generations on the shore of this powerful but unhurried river.

The few rapids can normally be scouted and portaged if needed but your constant attention is needed to evade the countless sunken trees that lurk under the water. Towards the end the river valley widens exposing you to sometimes heavy head wind and when you reach the intertidal zone the flow direction may inverse twice per day for several hours. So understand the tidal cycles and get tidal charts to plan at what times you can paddle down. When choosing your last camp site make sure that you do not pitch your tent in the intertidal zone otherwise you may suddenly wake up in the middle of the river.