'''All this makes the GPT a discovery network with a good portion of unpredictability but an impressive authenticity.'''
<!-br style="clear:both" />[[File:GPT19-Cordon Caulle.jpg|thumb|right|1200px|GPT19: Cordon Caulle where a major volcanic eruption occurred in 2011. Image: Jan Dudeck]]<br style="clear:both" />[[File:Pat_map.PNG|thumb|400px|Limits of Patagonia. Image: [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia Wikipedia]]][[File:Historic_Map_Patagonia.jpg|thumb|400px|Historic map of Patagonia. Image: [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia Wikipedia]]]
===Trail Length and Trail Type CompositionThe GPT Terrain: Greater Patagonia===The If you are considering exploring the Greater Patagonian Trail is not a normal single line long distance trail but a wide discovery trail network with countless options and alternatives. Therefore wish to enjoy the actual length that someone may walk and paddle depends highly on the selected sectionsexperience, you must be open to experiencing the chosen route and the method unknown diversity of travel (hiking only, packrafting wherever possible or a balanced combination of both)this region. Also a further extension If your imagination of the trail towards the southern tip of the continent Patagonia is in preparation. For this reason there is no precise number for the trail length based on TV documentaries and only examples can be provided.travel magazine than you probably have seen primarily these three heavily hyped tourist magnets:
The below overview shows two example based on * the current regular hiking route and national park Torres del Paine,* the current regular packraft route. The packraft example does not include all possible packrafting but considers a packraft use only on the selected sections where this equipment is clearly more benefit than burden and is therefore highly recommended to be carried glacier Perito Moreno and used (Sections GPT17P to GPT39). This example also excludes * the not yet verified surrounding of El Chalten with Mount Fitz Roy and very challenging exploration sectionsCerro Torre.
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
! style="text-align: left;" " rowspan="2" | Trail Type
! style="text-align: left;" " rowspan="2" | Code
! style="text-align: left;" " colspan="2" | Hiking
! style="text-align: left;" " colspan="2" | Packrafting
! style="text-align: left;" " rowspan="2"| Comment
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
! style="text-align: left;" | Distance
! style="text-align: left;" | Percent
! style="text-align: left;" | Distance
! style="text-align: left;" | Percent
|-style="vertical-align:top;"| Trails| TL| 1415 km| 46.6%| 1088 km| 37.0%| Mostly visible trail These are three truly amazing spots on any terrain ithe eastern edge of the Southern Patagonian Icefield and are internationally known highlights of Patagonia.eBut these three frequently pictured attractions do not represent the Patagonian diversity. If your primary interest is visiting the heavily trod, famous places of Patagonia then stick to the national parks in open landscape or the south and bus in forest. Trails are primarily used by animals (horse, cattle)between.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
| Minor Roads
| MR
| 912 km
| 30.1%
| 735 km
| 25.0%
| Any route that could be used or can be used by a vehicle regardless if this road or car track is open for public use or not. Includes also abandoned roads that are not any more passable by vehicles. Minor roads are without transit traffic therefore hitch-hiking is rarely feasible.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"| Cross Country| CC| 256 km| 8The GPT offers much more than this.4%| 268 km| 9The Greater Patagonian Trail is rather like a gourmet menu of different courses that allow you to experience the different tastes and textures of Patagonia.1%| Route that passes through open landscape without a visible continuous trail but also without dense vegetationIt connects the semi-desert of Precordillera with the Patagonian Icefields and the barren volcanos with the damp green rain forest.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
| Primary Roads
| PR
| 443 km
| 14.6%
| 168 km
| 5.7%
| Public gravel or paved road with moderate transit traffic. Hitch-hiking is generally feasible.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"| Bush Bashing| BB| 10 km| 0The Greater Patagonian Trail crosses most of Patagonia and the adjacent regions to the north.3%| 12 km| 0For this reason I named the trail “Greater Patagonian Trail” when I started publishing in 2014.4%| Route that passes through overgrown terrain. Demanding I coined the term "Greater Patagonia" to combine Patagonia in its traditional limits with the adjacent regions like "Greater London" includes the city of London and very slow advancethe surroundings.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
| River
| RI
| rowspan="3" colspan="2" | -
| 338 km
| 11.5%
| River downstream float with a packraft. One-way only!
|-style="vertical-align:top;"| Lake| LK| 290 km| 9The limits of Patagonia are somewhat blurry.9%| Lake crossing This makes it impractical to state where exactly the GPT gets into Patagonia. If taking the administrative limits of Argentina, than you get in throwing range of Patagonia at the end of section GPT05 where you can look over the Argentinian border into the province Neuquén. But with a packraftdifferent understanding you enter Patagonia on section GPT13 where you ford the Río Biobío. Others argue that Patagonia starts with the Chilean administrative region XIV (Región de los Ríos) what makes section GPT16 the gateway into Patagonia. You can be certain to have reached Patagonia on section GPT22 where you arrive at the first Patagonian fjord: the Estuarió de Reloncaví.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
| Fjord
| FJ
| 39 km
| 1.3%
| Fjord paddling with a packraft.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"| Ferry| FY| (145 km)| (0For me this discussion about the limits of Patagonia is irrelevant if I can walk and paddle through pristine and varied terrain.0%)| (427 km)| (0.0%)| LakeActually, river or fjord crossing with a ferry or a boatthe less known regions north of Patagonia more attractive for hiking. Distance covered with a motorized boat is NOT included Here you walk more distance high up in the trail lengthmountains with broad views, here you find the more attractive trails and cross-country routes and here you meet the arrieros and the native Pehuenche people. Also, the climate is more favourable for hiking. During summer, rain is infrequent, and you can mostly enjoy sunny weather.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align: left;" " colspan="7" | '''Land to water ratio on the selected sections where carrying and using a packraft is highly recommended'''<br>(Regular Packrafting Route of Sections GPT17P to GPT39 excluding the exploration sections GPT29P and GPT30P)
|-style="vertical-align:top;"| colspan="2" | Hiking on Land| rowspan="2" colspan="2" | -| 955 km| 58In contrast, when reaching Patagonia, get ready for frequent and enduring rain.9%| Combined hiking distance on land on Also, don't expect to walk high up in the selected sections where carrying a packraft mountains in the heartland of Patagonia as there is highly recommendedsimply no continuously high mountain range. This is In Patagonia high mountains are rather like islands that are surrounded by dense temperate rainforest in the actual distance where west and a semi-desert-like Pampa in the packrafting gear is "death weight" east. These island-like mountains are separated by wide valleys that were carved by giant glaciers during past glacial periods. The wide valleys are now partly filled with lakes that drain their water in your backpackpowerful rivers into the Patagonian fjords. Therefore, “real Patagonia” is best traveled by packraft because a packraft gets you on these lakes, rivers and fjords.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
| colspan="2" | Packrafting on Water
| 667 km
| 41.1%
| Combined packrafting distance on water (Rivers, Lakes, Fjords) on the selected sections where using a packraft is highly recommended. This is the distance where the actual weight of your backpack is zero because your packraft carries you and your backpack.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
! style="text-align: left;" colspan="2" | Length of Complete Trail
! style="text-align: left;" colspan="2" | 3036 km
! style="text-align: left;" colspan="2" | 2938 km
| " rowspan="2" | Complete regular route without optional side trips and ascents to summits. Some short cuts and many optional side trip i.e. up to 8 ascents to summits may substantially alter the actual distance and ascent and descent. Distance traveled by ferry not included.
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
| style="text-align: left;" colspan="2" | Elevation Gain and Loss on Complete Trail
| style="text-align: left;" colspan="2" | Approx. 116'000 m
| style="text-align: left;" colspan="2" | Approx. 91'000 m
|}
[[File:GPT Trail Type H.png|thumb|1050px|left|Greater Patagonian Trail: Trail Type Composition (Hiking Only)]]
[[File:GPT Trail Type H+P.png|thumb|1050px|left|Greater Patagonian Trail: Trail Type Composition (Hiking and Packrafting where most beneficial)]]
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[[File:GPT09-Familia_Carrileo1.jpg|thumb|right|500px|GPT09: The summer outpost ("puesto") of the Pehuenche family Carrileo near Guallalí. Image: Jan Dudeck]]
[[File:GPT09-Familia_Carrileo2.jpg|thumb|right|500px|GPT09: Being guest of the family Carrileo. Image: Jan Dudeck]]
Michael Deckebach summarized this conclusion after his 5-months adventure on the GPT with the following words: "The Greater Patagonian Trail is awesome, but (...) not designed for “purists” who get satisfaction from completing every inch of trail or touching every white blaze. Can it be done? Probably, but why try and fit a square peg into a round hole?”.
<br style="clear:both" />
[[File:GPT19-Cordon Caulle.jpg|thumb|right|1200px|GPT19: Cordon Caulle where a major volcanic eruption occurred in 2011. Image: Jan Dudeck]]
<br style="clear:both" />
[[File:Pat_map.PNG|thumb|400px|Limits of Patagonia. Image: [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia Wikipedia]]]
[[File:Historic_Map_Patagonia.jpg|thumb|400px|Historic map of Patagonia. Image: [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagonia Wikipedia]]]
===The GPT Terrain: Greater Patagonia===
If you are considering exploring the Greater Patagonian Trail and wish to enjoy the experience, you must be open to experiencing the unknown diversity of this region. If your imagination of Patagonia is based on TV documentaries and travel magazine than you probably have seen primarily these three heavily hyped tourist magnets:
* the national park Torres del Paine,
* the glacier Perito Moreno and
* the surrounding of El Chalten with Mount Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre.
These are three truly amazing spots on the eastern edge of the Southern Patagonian Icefield and are internationally known highlights of Patagonia. But these three frequently pictured attractions do not represent the Patagonian diversity. If your primary interest is visiting the heavily trod, famous places of Patagonia then stick to the national parks in the south and bus in between.
The GPT offers much more than this. The Greater Patagonian Trail is rather like a gourmet menu of different courses that allow you to experience the different tastes and textures of Patagonia. It connects the semi-desert of Precordillera with the Patagonian Icefields and the barren volcanos with the damp green rain forest.
The Greater Patagonian Trail crosses most of Patagonia and the adjacent regions to the north. For this reason I named the trail “Greater Patagonian Trail” when I started publishing in 2014. I coined the term "Greater Patagonia" to combine Patagonia in its traditional limits with the adjacent regions like "Greater London" includes the city of London and the surroundings.
The limits of Patagonia are somewhat blurry. This makes it impractical to state where exactly the GPT gets into Patagonia. If taking the administrative limits of Argentina, than you get in throwing range of Patagonia at the end of section GPT05 where you can look over the Argentinian border into the province Neuquén. But with a different understanding you enter Patagonia on section GPT13 where you ford the Río Biobío. Others argue that Patagonia starts with the Chilean administrative region XIV (Región de los Ríos) what makes section GPT16 the gateway into Patagonia. You can be certain to have reached Patagonia on section GPT22 where you arrive at the first Patagonian fjord: the Estuarió de Reloncaví.
For me this discussion about the limits of Patagonia is irrelevant if I can walk and paddle through pristine and varied terrain. Actually, the less known regions north of Patagonia more attractive for hiking. Here you walk more distance high up in the mountains with broad views, here you find the more attractive trails and cross-country routes and here you meet the arrieros and the native Pehuenche people. Also, the climate is more favourable for hiking. During summer, rain is infrequent, and you can mostly enjoy sunny weather.
In contrast, when reaching Patagonia, get ready for frequent and enduring rain. Also, don't expect to walk high up in the mountains in the heartland of Patagonia as there is simply no continuously high mountain range. In Patagonia high mountains are rather like islands that are surrounded by dense temperate rainforest in the west and a semi-desert-like Pampa in the east. These island-like mountains are separated by wide valleys that were carved by giant glaciers during past glacial periods. The wide valleys are now partly filled with lakes that drain their water in powerful rivers into the Patagonian fjords. Therefore, “real Patagonia” is best traveled by packraft because a packraft gets you on these lakes, rivers and fjords.
===Future Extensions of the GPT===
