GPT36H (Ruta De Los Pioneros)

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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 2022/23

• 2022 Dec Frank 6 days mainly SOBO

As weather was initially poor I split the section as follows: 1. Got bus from Cochrane towards Lago Brown, got out @ road junction near Rio Tranquilo bridge, walked NOBO back to Cochrane. 2. While I was waiting for the ferry in Villa O'Higgins I walked out about 25KM NOBO to Padre Antonio Ronchi chapel & hitched back to O'Higgins. 3. I again got the bus towards Lago Brown, got out @ the same junction & walked the central section of the route SOBO in 4 long days.

1. NOBO, nearly all on road. You pass by the 'mortal falls' on Rio Tranquilo (by the bridge) About 1KM further on the road was blocked by aggressive dogs who came up from a settlement about 800M off the road. I had to shout to the settler to call them off. Around 7KM out from Cochrane the road bends left at a metal crash barrier. I left the RR here & went over the low crash barrier & continued straight ahead on forest tracks, quicker & nicer than the road. About 1KM from Cochrane you return to the road by climbing over a small wooden gate.

3. I walked on the road past Calluqueo glacier then on a trail. After the first puesto the track fades out among fallen trees. Camped by a ruined shelter. I crossed the river on RR the next day. La Picota crossing is for horses & best avoided on foot. The RR crossing was easy. After the crossing continue straight ahead & go up the far hillside, pick up a small trail going left above a bluff about 70 metres up. Continued over the 2 border passes. There are some cliffs you need to go round when descending the first pass . There will be snowfields early in the season also. I crossed Rio Bravo high up between two waterfalls, descended to cross it again by the lake, then stayed on LHS of Rio Bravo. No trail initially on LHS of river & a lot of bush bashing over bluffs but judging by later comments the route may now be improved. I continued down to Lago Alegre. There is a settler just as you reach Lago Alegre. She was friendly & allowed me to sleep in her barn. She radioed Ruben, the settler who lives on Lago Christie, to let him know I was coming. It's slow going round the lakes with lots of up & down over bluffs. The hut between the two lakes had been used by sheep & was not in v. good condition. I met Ruben about half way round Lago Christie. He was friendly but I continued on to camp by a ruined hut after descending from bluffs to the lake. I walked out the road to Padre Antonio Ronchi chapel & hitched from there to Villa O'Higgins. There is a good hut on the road at the junction with the X905 road. Another hut further on but it's dusty. All other huts marked on the route are in poor condition or ruined, they are mostly good for cooking & camping outside. The weather for the central section was good so I didn't have any problems. It's possible to hitch part of the road sections - traffic is sparse but they will usually stop. In both cases when you reach the road there is nothing, you need to walk out about 15KM & then start hitching.

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Retired Section Article GPT36H - Ruta De Los Pioneros

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GPT36H: Ruta De Los Pioneros

GPT36H: Ruta De Los Pioneros				Hiking		Packrafting
Group	H: Aysen Sur		Total	192.9 km	55 h	275.6 km	76 h
Region	Chile & (Argentina): Aysén (XI)		Trails (TL)	83.8 km	43.4%	78.9 km	28.6%
Start	Cochrane		Minor Roads (MR)	69.2 km	35.9%	44.0 km	16.0%
Finish	Villa O'Higgins		Primary Roads (PR)	34.6 km	18.0%	7.3 km	2.7%
Status	Published & Verified		Cross-Country (CC)	5.3 km	2.8%	7.7 km	2.8%
Traversable	Dec - Mar (Maybe: Nov, Apr)		Bush-Bashing (BB)	-	-	-	-
Packraft	Very Useful		Ferry (FY)	-	-	-	-
Connects to	GPT35, GPT36P, GPT37H, GPT37P		Investigation (I)	(10.2 km)	(5.3%)	(1.8 km)	(0.7%)
Options	1157 km (16 Options & Variants)		Exploration (EXP)	-	-	-	-
	Hiking	Packrafting		Total on Water		137.7 km	49.9%
Attraction	4 (of 5)	5 (of 5)		River (RI)		45.5 km	16.5%
Difficulty	5 (of 5)	5 (of 5)		Lake (LK)		92.2 km	33.4%
Direction	Both ↓↑	Both ↓↑		Fjord (FJ)		-	-
Comment	Packrafting: ↓ More lake packrafting, ↑ More river packrafting
Character	Valdivian Rain Forest, Alpine Terrain, Farmland, Settlers, Unpeopled Areas, River Packrafting, Lake Packrafting, Road Walking
Challenges	Demanding River Fords, Exposure to Elements, Bush Bashing, Demanding Navigation, Resupply Distance

Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route

Elevation Profile of Regular Hiking Route (2019)