GPT24H (PN Los Alerces Tierra)

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* Start Date to Finish Date (use Format YYYY-MMM-DD) / Duration in Days / Hiking or Packrafting / Travel Direction (SOBO for Southbound or NOBO Northbound) / Chosen Route and/or Option Name (RR for Regular Route) / Names or Alias

Summary with remarks to route that are considered useful for other hikers and packrafters. Include alerts, suggestions and personal perception of attractiveness and difficulties.

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Section Log, Alerts and Suggestions

Season 2023/24

• 2024-20-23 to 2024-02-26 / 3 days / Hiking / SOBO /RR / Gerald

If you want you can go around the park entrance: go to the beach at Camping Puerto Cañero and follow the OSM trial. All of the trails until Laguna Verde are officially closed. Either on the start or end (never on both.. doesn't make any sense) are signs stating that. Trails are in good conditions though, just some trees on the ground, but always with a path around. Mirador Laguna Verde is indeed nice! Aura Camp (-42.718615, -71.728694) is a bit more expensive but a lot nicer than camping Lago Verde. Restaurant is worth a visit, thanks Martin & Helen. The free campsites are still not allowed to use and i don't expect it will change at some point. They do check in the evening and ask where you gonna sleep. So either don't even try or come late. All in all maybe worth it if you haven't seen Alerces. There are some nice spots on this section, but in general not too exciting. In the end walking on the stoney beach is quite tiring.

• From 2024-02-14 to 2024-02-15 // 2 day // Hiking // NOBO // VARIANT O, N, M, L, J, A + RR // Quentin Clavel

I came from GPT 25, and I followed the RR, it allows you to avoid the entrance, so I haven't paid, and had no check from guardaparque inside the NP.

I skipped the cross country parts at the beginning of the section, because it looks more like follow the lake on the sandy beach, so I decided to stay on the ruta provincial. It's an asphalt road until PK52,5, then it's a gravel road.

I think the attraction rate is a bit rude with this section that deserves more than a 1/5. I had great time along all these lakes !

Following the Lago Futalaufquen, easy walking, some cars, but I was expecting much worse as we're in the high season.

From PK 46,8, I followed the well marked Huella Andina, then I didn't had to look at the GPS, because the itinerary (mostly the same as RR) is very well indicated with the blue/white mark. I just skipped the last section because the trail was closed, so I followed the gravel road (Variant A).

Best of this section : - The Mirador Lago Verde, PK29,71 (variant F) - The Mirador glaciar (not marked as an option, but worth it imo : at PK33,3 take the passerelle over Rio arrayanes, then there's a marked loop of around 3,5km, near Puerto chucao, there's an access to the beach, where you have a stunning view on glaciar Torrecilla). I arrived late and slept there, there's some tipi made from woods that have been built on the beach, amazing night ! - Point of view of the whole valley, with a view on Lago Verde, Lago Menéndez and the glaciar, near PK 36,81, on the variant J (follow the Huella Andina).

It was so hot during this section I was so happy to have all the lakes around me to take some fresh swim breaks !

The camping yapay peni (PK19,67) seems very cool!

Resupply possible at villa lago Rivadavia. The minimarket "La Negra" at the exit of the village has some basics and accept CC ! I stopped at the establishment "Cerro Là MoMA" in the center, wich is a cozy restaurant, I got very good empanadas here, possible to have some more choice of foods and sleep in cabanas.

Season 2022/23

• 2019-11-10 / Jan Dudeck

The regular hiking route is according to reports from past years mostly unmaintained. This means hikers must deviate on long stretches to the main road making this section less attractive for hikers. Also the trail from Lago Kruger to Villa Futalaufquen might be unmaintained. Therefore, ask before taking the ferry! The packrafting route GPT24P is unaffected by this issue and remains a highlight if the GPT because its 99% on water.

The Regular Route is best hiked between November and April. Hiking either northbound or southbound is feasible and recommended. The 69km of the section can be hiked in around 2.5 days. The national park is home to many alerce trees, believed to be the second oldest living tree species in the world, living for over 3,600 years. It also features many scenic lakes, notably Lago Futalaufquen, which is bordered by impressive mountains. This section is generally straightforward and easy, especially as much of it is now on roads. There a few trail segments that are overgrown in places, but these are officially closed and probably in a process of improvement.

• 2023-Mar-04 to 2023-Mar-07 / 3.5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR + optional on roads / Martin & Helena

Easy walking around the lakes, on now well maintained trails / roads. At the PN entrance (SOBO) we had to pay 3500 ARS, cash only. Not sure if it can be avoided by entering early in the morning or late, we were not asked for the ticket later. Definitely don’t miss the Laguna Verde Mirador and place with pasarela on its southern side, on the other hand we didn’t find trail to Laguna Escondida that interesting. Nice restaurant in Aura camp, where you can pay with cc.

Regarding camping - There are many campsites, that you can find on the map at the entrance, but a new thing is that former free campsites (libre) are officialy closed now. We found out about this from one of the guards, but they are still marked on the official materials and everything, so I suppose you won’t get in any trouble - we met the guard at the entrance to one of the free campsites and he let us stay there with promise to leave early. Paid camps are usually nice and with some minishop. Cost is somewhere between 1800-2500, with hot water and in some of them electricity / light on the spot.

Futalaufquen - there is small shop, marked in the files, with toilets and sheltered place next to it. You can buy some things also in the Los Maitenes camp, where they have wifi and restaurant, but we found it quite expensive. Other places we have seen in Google Maps were closed.

Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka

• 2023 January / Hiking / GPT24 Southbound / Mostly Regular Route / Martin Lizondo

Sections 23, 24, 25 southbound (RR Hiking)

GPT 23: I recently posted that this section is now possible to hike mostly on trail and without bushbashing (alternative route from El Turbio to Lago Cholila via Cerro Plataforma). Also the trail inside burned forest near Lago Puelo is maintained.

GPT 24: Good news. All trails of Huella Andina are now easy to walk, maintained and well marked. Only a few fallen trees can interrupt the easy walking in very specific areas.

GPT 25: walkable, but with some bush bashing following the barbered wire at lat. -43.043163 long. -71.538541.

Happy hiking.

• 2022-Nov-13 to 2022-Nov-15 / 2.5 days / hiking / SOBO / RR & Optional route on roads / Frank

The 3 northern sections of the Huella Andina beside Lago Rivadavia were officially closed when I went through. However they may now be officially open. I walked the 2nd & 3rd sections SOBO, the 2nd was OK & 3rd was passable but a bit rough. Going south from Camping Rivadavia all sections of the Huella Andina on GPT24 were officially open & in good condition.

There were no park rangers at the gates so I didn't have to pay park entry fee. I met them on jeep patrol & they told me to only camp @ authorised $ campsites, not the free camps. Ferry still not running so you will have to continue on road from Punta Matos to Villa Futalaufquen

Season 2019/20

• 2020-Jan-13 to 2020-Jan-14 / 2 days / hiking / SOBO / RR / Shaun

This section was a bit better than I expected. Although they were officially closed due to being overgrown, I walked the first 15km of the regular route / Huella Andina and it was fine. In fact, I met two Alceres Park rangers with chain saws putting the finishing touches to a 4km part that was due to reopen the next day. There are many new-ish Huella Andina blue and white trail markers throughout. There were a few other parts of the trail that were closed that I didn’t walk on, but they also may have been passable or about to reopen. And there were a number of other parts that were open and were fine. So it was possible to avoid walking on the road for much of the first 47km. However, the boat service from Punta Mattos to Lago Krugger still does not operate and so I had to walk on the road for the final 20-25km.

According to park rangers, the trail to Villa Futalaufquen from Lago Krugger is open for its entire length, not just from Playa Blanca. Of course, without the Punta Mattos ferry it’s not possible for hikers to cross and start at Lago Krugger, but the trail is a packrafting option. There is a daily boat service from Puerto Limonao (3km north of Villa Futalaufquen) to Lago Krugger that leaves at noon and returns at 7pm. It’s possible to recharge devices at the VF ranger station.

Resupply and Accommodation

Resupply and Accommodation in nearby Towns

• 2023/ Martin & Helena

Futalaufquen - there is small shop, marked in the files, with toilets and sheltered place next to it. You can buy some things also in the Los Maitenes camp, where they have wifi and restaurant.

• There are a few food shops in both Villa Rivadavia at the northern end of the section and Villa Futalaufquen at the southern end.
• There are several accommodation options of cabañas available in the park.
• Camping in the National Park is only permitted at one of the official free or paid campsites. However, there are also some possibilities for wild camping.

Resupply and Accommodation along the Route

Resupply possible at villa lago Rivadavia. The minimarket "La Negra" at the exit of the village has some basics and accept CC ! I stopped at the establishment "Cerro Là MoMA" in the center, wich is a cozy restaurant, I got very good empanadas here, possible to have some more choice of foods and sleep in cabanas.

Transport to and from Route

• A combination of overgrown/closed trails and the discontinuation of a ferry service from Punta Mattos (Km47) to Lago Krugger means that much of this section must now be walked on park roads – part paved, part gravel. Previously, it was possible to take a ferry to Lago Krugger and walk on a trail from there along the west shore of Lago Futalaufquen to the section’s end at Villa Futalaufquen. Although that trail has been restored after a period of closure, without a connecting boat service section hikers must walk the final southbound 20-25km on road. While it appears that the park is working to clear and re-open some of the overgrown trail segments of the blue and white marked Huella Andina that GPT24H follows, it is unlikely the ferry service will resume since an alternative boat service now runs to Lago Krueger from Puerto Limonao.

Some of the officially-closed trail segments are not impassably overgrown, but occasional bush-bashing may be required.

• Occasional buses can be caught from both Villa Rivadavia and Villa Futaluafquen.

Links to other Resources

Retired Section Article GPT24H - PN Los Alerces Tierra