Cambios

==Season 2023/24==

No tabanos, mosquitos, snow fields, only dry feet fordings, humans (after Pirehueico). Almost all easy hiking on MR but some really nice, remote views deep into the woods. 4km bushbashing on option 01 (OH-TL-V 18-01 (7.4+5.5)). Option 01 has a right of way dispute warning, but I did not met anyone (1st april eastern monday afternoon).

Due to bad weather I went to Valdivia. There I saw a lot of adverts for very expensive tours into the Huilo Huilo Reserve, and the dirt road on 01 is full of car and motorcycle tracks. Guess that rare deer is ok with that, just non paying hikers are a threat...but maybe by now it is ok to walk there. I meet noone and suggest to just try.

Everything has already been said so I'll be short.

Puerto Fuy ➡️ Puerto Pirihueico : 08:00 / 09:00 / 12:30 / 13:30 / 17:00 / 18:00

About the ferry and time schedule in 2024,

About the details, read GPT19's comment.

I missed the ferry because the timetable has changed. It is now 8am, 12.30pm and 5pm. With poor visibility and a ferry booked for the early afternoon, I decided to take option 2. At the bridge in Fuy, the gate was closed and the guard wouldn't let me pass, even though I showed some leg. He called his boss who forbid me to pass. He explained that it was all private property. After discussing the route with him, he suggested I try a few kilometres further down the river.

Added ferry timetables down below.

As we arrived at Futrono (north of the Lago Ranco), the Scotiabank indicated on Google Maps did not exist. We walked on the paved road until Llifén, where some of the campings indicated did not exist either. Maybe, we were too soon in the season... And the next night, we slept in a bus station on the way to Arquilhue.

There's a charged camping on the road 203 CH, where you can charge your batteries and phones for free, by just asking the owner.

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 in the morning.

The reward for 2 days in the dense forest was an amazing campsite with hot springs. We stayed an extra night there and an old man 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!

After section 17P I continued on that section. Had no issues with the armada de Chile. I guess you can prevent problems by inflating the packraft at the park/camping spot as indicated in the packrafting track files (some trees provide shelter, too). The crossing of the lake was amazing. I scouted a potential emergency camp site at (S 30° 53.353' W071° 50.302') with a little creek and an abandoned track that winds out into the mountains but not investigated the track further. The Camp {18} [7.9+0.4/625] is fantastic. Nice views and beach. Next day I continued to Camp {18} [22.2/615]. Some fisherman are around in the afternoon at this part of the lake. Had a nice chat with three of them - the lake is famous for its trouts. Saw also some close to the shore in shallow water. Next day I went ashore at RP-TL-V {18} [22.9+0.1] and continued regular route. The track is in good condition (only a few small trunks) despite the second Bridge {18} [37.1/1012] is collapsed. But the river can be forded easily instead. Snow starts at 1200 m a soon became a problem. As the ascent to Pass {18} [43.0/1485] lies on the southern site, snow is retained on the broad but winding track forming snow shields of 1-3 m thickness. Saying that, the ascent is possible but exhaustive. I only went to the pass and returned as up there the amount of snow gets massive an the track is covered completely under steep snowy flanks. I guess it to be better on the descent on the northern side but I did not investigated. I camped on the track for one night and continued the next day to the shore where I landed the day before. Met a group of 15 mountainbiking Chilenos who said they have to make it to Puerto Fuy over that track, but I do not know if and how they achived. You can encounter Chilean Ocelot Tarantula and Darwin's frog directly on the track close to the lake. Next day I tooked the RH-MR-V {18} [26.0+6.5] to Puerto Pirehueico and toked the ferry back to Puerto Fuy.

* Recommendation Frank in January 2023: Option OH-001 crossing Rio Corrigue: this section barely exists as large parts have been taken back by bamboo. It is now a severe & sustained bamboo bash requiring huge effort to crawl, break & climb through at about 1 kilometre per hour. Try RR or other options instead

Ferry from Pt Fuy leaves 4 times a day (schedule posted to fb group) but in high season it seems to be sold out quickly - at 09:30 we were able to buy tickets only for the last one that day and there was a big line… some people might have a reservation, but we are not sure if its possible to book in advance. The price is a little over 1000 CLP, payment only with cc. However we asked at the 13:30 ferry if we can take it since we have just backpacks and don’t even need a seat, and there was no problem, the ferry had way more seats than people anyway. Possible to charge electronics there and buy drinks. On the other side are 2 accomodation options - cabaña and basic rooms in residence house that are for 40k CLP for 3 bed room and 30k CLP for 2 single bed room, incl. private bathroom with hot water. Basic shop is a little overpriced so better to buy in Pt Fuy. Good options for eating - huge sandwiches, empanadas and local beer in the wooden kiosks where most of the people from ferry go.

Contact: @martin_hanzelka @helenneka

After meeting in Bolivia, we met up again in Puerto Fuy. Dubious section selection for Valentin’s first multi day hike. We took the 09:00 super scenic ferry to Puerto Pirehueico. Another vote for Mané’s empanadas de pescado. After hopping over the signless fence the trail follows an old road bed with a gentle grade for a day and a half: one last dip in the lake, a nice woods vibe, big old trees, some light caressing of bushes, and flowers galore. My paddle blade made an excellent Tábano (horsefly) swatter for the open fields. Views at the pass were rewarding but brief. After the bridge and cabin at 64.2 the bamboo bumping began. A machete would have been cathartic. The regular route trail (RR-TL-V {18} [62.7/72.2+2.1]) was the whackiest. Gaps in the trees allowed sufficient sunshine for walls of bamboo to grow. It was usually possible to see the old treadway but slow goings averaging less than 1 km/hr. “Termas➡️” was written in red on a tree around (-40.1600, -71.9206) but we didn’t investigate. We didn’t see (RR-TL-V {18} [67.6/77.2+1.3]) and forded when the road reached the river, shimmying under barbed wire on the other side. Later we saw the riverside gate a bit south of the southernmost “ford?” location. No problems with guards or property owners. The termas naturales were a splendid end to Valentin’s first backpacking trip. We got a ride out from a couple at the hot springs.

The first 40KM are on an old jeep track. There are some fallen trees but you can generally get round them easily. At Camp 133 the ground is rough & I didn't find a good camping spot. Instead a little before the camp I crossed the stream & 200 metres downstream there are two huts. The smaller one is in good condition & I slept on the floor. Saw wild boar nearby. You cross the river on a bridge to a hut, continuing on a trail that is partly overgrown with young bamboo. Bush bashing is mostly easy. Also some fallen trees & 2 very short sections of severe bamboo bashing.

==Season 2021/22==

Good: You dive deep into old forests, it feels like true jungle. Many beautiful flowery meadows. Beautiful views on the last-ish part before the lake + the lake. We didn't meet anyone after crossing the gate. Nice hot springs in the beginning. The ferry trip itself

==Season 2019/20==

Forest trail, a part technical and slow. The rest is nice and calm, easy to follow, for the ones liking the smell of fresh herbs, flowers, and the bees.

After Camp 134, I crossed a car of Guardaparques : they just asked me where I came from and where I went, made sure that I had the GPS to not loose myself in the forest, and let me continue without discussion. So I guess that there is finally no problems with walking in this part of the parc.

Thanks to the previous comments of Arnaud and Matus we were prepared for the middle part of this section. At the Estero El Africano we didn't try long to find the regular route but crossed the Río Curringue to take optional route 001, 002 and 003 and got back to the regular route at the waypoint "Guard".

We didn't really look for resupply, accommodation or transportation opportunities in Curriñe or Puerto Maihue but at the moment in high season it's very easy to hitchhike to Futrono, where you find everything, plus regular busses to Valdivia.

Packrafted Lago Pirihueico only - as add-on to Section 17P. Didn’t hike any part of Section 18. At Puerto Fuy, an official of the Armada/Navy said solo kayaking on the lake was prohibited, but after a 10 minute conversation I convinced him to let me do it. Key was saying that I, not Navy, bore responsibility. Lake is stunning, especially at dawn.

4 days with one day off due to rain

==Season 2017/18==

Notes to consider before beginning: We were halted by rangers in a jeep on the 4WD road on the west side of Río Pillanleufu. They informed us it was illegal to be in Huilo Huilo at this time because the reserve was closed for the rehabilitation of the Pudú, the world’s smallest deer. We had no knowledge of this since we entered the reserve in a very remote location and there was not adequate signage to inform us of this closure. After explaining this to the ranger, they escorted us out of the reserve. You may want to enquire about the status of Huilo Huilo before beginning this section.

Futrono, about a 40 minute drive from where the route joins T-559, is the nearest large town. It has a variety of restaurants and lodging options and is a good place to resupply. There is no central bus station in Futrono, but there is a gas station at the east end of town where you can pick up a bus that will take you back to the trail.

=Resupply and Accommodation=