==Used Trails==
[[File:GPT02-P0063.jpg|thumb|500px|Greater Patagonian Trail Section 2: Laguna Dial. File: Jan Dudeck]]
When planning the Greater Patagonian Trail the first choice were the '''hiking and horse trails''' that traverse the remote valleys and mountain passes in the heart of the Andes close to the border between Chile and Argentina. Most of these trails are created and maintained by local herdsmen to drive livestock to their summer pastures and by settlers that live in solitary.
The second choice were unused or rarely traveled '''minor dirt roads'''. Such often neglected roads typically provide access to isolated settlements or villages without attracting any transit traffic. Some of these roads are not maintained anymore and not accessible by vehicle but passable for hikers. Most hiking trails in Europe would fall in this category since the majority of hiking trails in Europe are occasionally used by forestry and agricultural vehicles.
Public roads with transit traffic were avoided wherever possible. On such '''major dirt roads''' you may find some moderate traffic but they are safe to hike.
'''Paved roads''' were the last choice of all.
In some areas the Greater Patagonian Trail crosses through open terrain without a visible trail. Some of these '''cross-country''' routes lead through steep and exposed terrain but do not require technical climbing. The cross-country parts also do not pass very dense vegetation and can be hiked without a machete to cut a trail. Valdivian and Magellanic temperate rainforests is very dense and is not suitable for hiking cross-country.
Not all hiking options are recorded yet by GPS since the author investigated the Greater Patagonian Trail with a packraft. There is also a shorter part that could not be hiked because one area was closed at the time of the investigation due to a large wild fire. These '''to be verified''' trails may therefore be imprecisely shown in this trail description and by the KMZ/GPX files. But the author has reliable information that these trails exist and have been hiked recently. At this time the author has simply no precise GPS record and the route is not sufficiently visible on satellite images.
Wherever possible the Greater Patagonian Trail incorporates '''lake''' crossings, '''river''' downstream floats and even paddeling on '''fjords''' with a [[#Packraft|packraft]].If not carrying such a light-weight inflatable boat or if the weather does not permit paddling then all these water sections can be bypassed on foot, by ferry or with private boat transfers. The river downstream floats do not include white-water rivers with large rapids.
'''Update 2017''': the trail type categories will be updated
New category: '''Bush Bashing (BB)'''
The categories Major Dirt Road and Paved Road will be combined into '''Primary or Paved Road (PR)'''
The following categories remain unchanged:
'''Cross Country (CC)'''
'''Horse or Hiking Trail (TL)'''
'''Minor and Two-Track Road (MR)'''
'''Ferry and Boat Transfer (FY)'''
'''River Packrafting (RI)'''
'''Lake Packrafting (LK)'''
'''Fjiord Packrafting (FJ)'''
