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→Season 2023/24
*2023-Dec-7/ 6 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP-LK-2 + RR-MR + RR-MR&BB + OH-BB&TL / Lauren & Sebastian
We were hosted by 2 friendly locals at Puerto Fuy who gave us a ride, cooked dinner and let us stay for a night. Where we launched the packraft, it‘s a quiet spot and we had no issues with authorities about entering the lake. Lago Pirihueico was scenic with strong backwind which allowed us to use our sail on a run and cross in half a day. Lunch break at the beautiful remote beach of Los Baños was splendid. We camped at Camp {18} [22.2/615] but would not recommend on hindsight as we wasted quite some time setting up the boat to get to the trail entry point and repacking. If we had known the trail head was a good campsite, we could have started hiking straight in the morning.
The way up to the pass you will spot tarantulas and has no mentionable difficulties until 1300m where snow starts. The last 150m was still under a blanket of snow, however it was substantially less than what was reported by Tom 2 weeks ago, so walking was smooth but slow. Amazing views above the tree line greet you at the top! We camped at Camp {18} [55.4/871].
We decided to stay on RR-MR&BB to give the infamous bushbashing a try. After Bridge {18} [64.2/652] the path is single track with at first not much difficulty to navigate. This changes quickly, as in the dense forest there were many fallen large trees, which made wayfinding and passing through with the packrafting equipment a challenge. We camped at -40.0942, -71.8924 which was a decent flat spot next to the river.
We cleared a path with our machete and gloves. They will be your best friends in the overgrown conditions and your hiking pants will be put to the test if they will survive without holes. Progress was slowed down near the end of this segment as we crawled through bamboo tunnels. Helps if you are small like Lauren. We forded at Ford {18} [72.2/463], demanding and unnecessary because on the other side there was no trail visible, only an impenetrable fortress of bamboo. Even the trail after the wall as mentioned by Frank is now taken over. We forded back and followed OH-BB&TL which was a better choice. Horse tracks indicate frequent use by the settlers in this area. We camped at intersection of OH-BB&TL-V and OH-MR-I.
The reward for 2 days in the dense forest was an amazing campsite with hot springs. We stayed an extra night there with an Argentinian couple and chatted with an old man who shared bread with us and told us we can buy eggs from the house with the wooden gate you have to climb over. The remaining part to Lago Maihue we mostly hitchhiked as much of the road is now asphalt. There are several well-stocked shops along the way to resupply. Campsites and restaurants further down at Lago Maihue are amazing and there are buses to Futrono and Llifen if you have time to explore the area. An enjoyable end to this section!