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→Season 2021/22
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* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2021-Dec-18 to 2021-Dec-22 / Packrafting / Option 6 (Valle Balboa), Regular Route (Packrafting Lago Desierto and Lago Azul) and Option 9 (Packrafting Lago Paloma) Northbound and Westbound / Meylin and Jan'''</span>.
General Remark:
This route provides an attractive alternative to the overrun Cerro Castillo trail. The popular Cerro Castillo trail is also highly regulated (obligatory camp sites, closed in suboptimal weather) and costly (27’000 CLP entrence fee) therefore this alternative should be considered by hikers and packrafters.
At the upper terminus of the Valle Balboa is a 5 km long and 400 m wide pasture at an altitude of 1100 m. To utilize this pasture for cattle summer grazing, settlers build a 18 km long trail through the forrest along the Rio Balboa.
This very scenic Valle Balboa trail was hiked and published on Wikiexplora by Tobias Hellwig and Daniel Mahn. But the southbound descent down to Rio Ibañez was made by climbing down with a rope in very steep terrain because the location of the descending trail was not yet documented.
Therefore we investigate this route in the opposite direction to search the southern trailhead to incorporate a feasible hiking traverse from Rio Balboa to Rio Ibanez in the GPT network.
Summary of Northbound Investigation:
Tobias Hellwig suggested where the southern trailhead may be located. A detailed analysis of satellite images and elevation profiles supported this and a local resident confirmed this assumption. After an hour of searching we found the southern trailhead. This trail terminates at a 400 m by 60 m pasture at abandoned camp (“Camp A”) from where no trail appears to continue.
To continue through the last section of forrest we bush-bashed through very steep terrain and continued trail-less through a rather open forrest until reaching open terrain (“Entry Forrest Valle Ibanez”). From this point we traversed the open terrain on a slightly higher route than recorded by Tobias Hellwig and Daniel Mahn and meet the previously recorded route at the descent into the Valle Balboa (“Exit Forrest Valle Balboa”).
From this point we followed closely the previously recorded route in the Valle Balboa from where we packrafted westbound over Lago Desierto, Lago Azul and Lago Paloma.
Recommendation for Southbound Hikers and Packrafters:
Hikers that wish to bypass the Cerro Castillo trail may either road-walk 25.5 km from Villa Frei via Lago Elizalde to Lago Desierto (GPT32 Option 4) or take the bus from Coyhaique to Lago Caro and leave the bus just after the bridge over Rio Paloma.
Alternatively hikers may walk along the lakes Lago Paloma, Lago Azul and Lago Desierto (GPT32 Option 5) but bypass the buildings at the trail start to avoid a right-of-way dispute (see yellow arrow on the image that first follows the beach of Lago Paloma and than sneakers in between some trees to the trail).
Packrafters best paddle the three lakes to get to Rio Balboa. Note that the predominant wind direction is westbound.
After reaching the western end of Lago Desierto hikers and packrafters closely follow the route of GPT32 Option 6. Note that the multiple river crossings of Rio Balboa may become impassable after heavy rain and are generally easier in the morning (due to snow and glacier melting water that reaches it maximum in the evening).
After reaching open terrain at Kilometer 24 (“Exit Forrest Valle Balboa”) hikers and packrafters traverse 5 km open terrain to the waypoint “Entry Forrest Valle Ibanez” while enjoying the wide open view into Valle Ibanez. Starting from Kilometer 24 do not follow any more track “EXP-OP-TL-V {32-06} [0.0+30.6]”.
After entering the rather open forrest best follow the 8 waypoints of “Proposed Improvement for Investigation”. This bush-bashing route probably avoids the very steep descent that we struggled to get up with our heavy packrafting gear. When reaching the trail (either “Record 1” or “Record 2”) follow the generally well-visible and well-maintained trail to “Exit Forrest Valle Ibanez”.
Note that that “Record 1” and “Record 2” includes all our searching, so don’t take these tracks as an instruction but use your common sense to follow only the relevant parts.
When reaching Rio Ibanez packrafters can float on the river towards Cerro Castillo while hikers must walk along the northern side of Rio Ibanez to Cerro Castillo.
As an add-on hikers and packrafters may take GPT32 Option 3 to visit a less frequented trail of Parque Cerro Castillo.
(Note: taken from here https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?id=222224388283455&story_fbid=1256244101548140&_rdr - now the options are part of the GPT Track files)
==Season 2020/21==